"A... fully... automatic... prayer... machine?"
Every single word was familiar, but strung together, they left the priest utterly baffled and struggling to comprehend. *Wait, bro, what the fuck are you playing at?*
Yet, looking at Ji Jue's completely earnest expression, his brows furrowed so hard his features nearly twisted out of shape.
It wasn't that he couldn't grasp the concept—it was that he simply couldn't believe it.
*What the hell are you people trying to pull?!*
"It... it..."
"Just as the name implies, it means exactly what you think it does."
Ji Jue smiled and spread his hands. "As long as you wear it, it prays on your behalf. No need for focused meditation, no wasted time. Even while eating, drinking, or using the latrine, it runs ceaselessly, around the clock.
"Of course, as an alchemical device, it does consume a tiny bit of spiritus, so wearing it for prolonged periods causes some fatigue. At most, though, a good night's sleep is all it takes to recover—in fact, you can even keep wearing it while you sleep.
"That way, twenty-four hours a day, thirty days a month, twelve months a year, every moment of every second, it's as if you're praying."
The priest scoffed dismissively. "Ha, why would I need—"
"It must be quite a nuisance, right?"
Before he could finish, Ji Jue cut him off, speaking bluntly: "An important figure like you, attending to countless affairs every day, shouldering the endless burdens of the cult, devoted wholeheartedly to serving the Order and guiding the faithful. You barely have any personal time left to count on your fingers. When you're constantly forgetting to eat and sleep just to manage your duties, how could you possibly squeeze out so much time to pray?"
The Hierophant's expression froze.
He hesitated, words caught in his throat.
If he were one of those destitute believers with nothing to their names, it would be one thing. But for someone who had attained his heights, surrounded daily by so much luxury, pleasure, and the good life, even forty-eight hours in a day wouldn't be enough to enjoy it all... In comparison, the long, tedious, and focus-demanding hours of prayer were an exquisite torment, yet entirely unavoidable.
Not only that, to showcase their piety and sacrifice, priests had to pour even more time into it. Some even resorted to scourging, fasting, and various torturous austerities just to stand out among their peers, racking their brains to make a mark. What was more, to prolong their enjoyment in the Realm of Ultimate Bliss, they had to strain their minds even further.
Hardcore stunts might never die, but novelty ran dry eventually...
There was no helping it; competition in this arena was far too cutthroat. The early bishops and saints had already collected taxes eight centuries into the future. Everyone ground themselves down, then ground down their sanctuaries; having ground down the sanctuaries, they ground down the faithful; having ground down the faithful, they ground down their parishes...
The rat race was endless!
Even here in heaven, it was no different.
For a fleeting second, the Hierophant swallowed hard. Stiffly, he lowered his head to gaze at the sacred seal on the table, his eyes flickering. If this thing was real, then the faith his sanctuary's believers could provide wouldn't it...
However.
The crux lay in who had made this thing!
He could rack his brain until it broke and still never fathom what the resistance camp was up to!
His expression suddenly collapsed into grim chill, dark and cold, as he glared fixedly at Ji Jue and asked, word by deliberate word: "Just what... is your scheme...?"
"To show our sincerity, of course," Ji Jue replied without hesitation, his smile growing warmer and ever more harmless. "And isn't it also to offer you greater value?
"Besides, you don't truly believe anyone is stupid enough to walk a dead end all the way to the dark finish, do you?"
For a moment, the Hierophant was stunned.
Suspicious.
He doubted his own ears.
Then he watched as Ji Jue leaned back against the couch, stretching lazily. Ji Jue lifted a wine goblet, savoring the fine vintage, then picked up the hookah hose, took a deep draw, narrowed his eyes to relish the aroma, and exhaled a plume of blue smoke.
From behind the curling wisps of smoke, the mask of the valiant warrior fell away, revealing a frivolous, cynical true face. "No need for me to waste words; I'm sure you know it as well as I do... That shithole camp isn't going to last much longer."
[?]
The Hierophant dug at his ear, incredulous. *Bro, what the fuck are you saying?*
"Aren't you self-proclaimed resistance fighters, heroic heretics?!"
"That's just nonsense fed to the cannon fodder down below. Good for a listen, nothing more. You've made it all the way to Hierophant—you can't seriously believe that crap, can you?"
Ji Jue scoffed and blew out another puff of smoke. "Honestly, years ago we thought this was a good business, but the pickings grew slimmer, the draft animals grew skinnier, and life got harder by the day. Why not shift gears and look for a way out?
"In this world, what path could compare to the grand avenue of the Order? We've long admired the Realm of Ultimate Bliss, Hierophant."
His smile turned deep and enigmatic. "We can be devout too, don't you think?"
"Ha! Hahaha! Hahahaha!!"
The Hierophant could no longer contain himself. He burst into uproarious laughter, rocking back and forth until tears nearly sprang from his eyes. "Never would I have thought—truly! I assumed everyone in your camp was just as stubborn-headed as before. Who knew there were people like you, so adept at flexible, roundabout faith?"
"Naturally. Fine birds choose their perches wisely, and wise men submit to the times," Ji Jue said, tapping the hookah pipe against the sacred seal on the table with a grin. "I believe these gifts will surely change your opinion of us. After all, the things inconvenient for you and the Order to do can be handled with ease by the godless, lawless heretics in the camp... Since they're all destined for Limbo anyway, why not squeeze a little more value out of them?"
When the Hierophant finished laughing, the warmth abruptly vanished from his face. "That may be so," he asked coldly, "but you come knocking with empty words and hand me this thing—do you think I'd just believe you?"
"That is why sincerity matters most."
Ji Jue gave a flick of his wrist. One, two, three, four... he fished a whole handful of sacred seals out of his pocket and tossed them onto the table. "You've worked with us for so long, Hierophant, and we're counting on you to help us join the Order. Why would we cut off our own lifeline with you?
"At the end of the day, these are just things slapped together on the side. With such a simple design, and with so many talented masters in the Order, could there really be any foul play?
"Besides..." He paused, his smile turning cheerful. "If you're truly ill at ease, why not just find someone to test it on?
"Rest assured, once you've tried it once, you'll understand completely: our desire to abandon the darkness and step into the light is far more sincere than mere words."
The Hierophant pondered, his expression shifting repeatedly. For a long time, he did not speak.
Ji Jue set down the hookah hose, rose, leisurely smoothed his clothes, and gave a courteous bow with a hand over his chest. "When doing business, the most important thing is patience. As for the supplies, there's no rush on our end.
"We're used to roughing it; letting the beasts of burden down below starve a little won't hurt. Once you've seen the results for yourself, get in touch with us again."
After Ji Jue and his companions departed, the Hierophant remained lost in thought in the dead silence of the reception room.
Eyes downcast, deep in meditation, he stared at the string of sacred seals in his hand for a long time.
"Someone come here," he said suddenly.
A servant promptly stepped forward, prostrating respectfully.
"Mix this into the sacred seals distributed by the sanctuary. Leave no trace. Hand it to any random bumpkin, and keep a close eye on him. Understood?"
"Understood."
The servant raised both hands high, received the sacred seal, and turned to leave.
Silence fell over the reception room once more.
Soon, amidst music and dancing, delicate, seductive groans arose, echoing endlessly...
***
Long after they left the warehouse, Yan Fei still couldn't rein in his impulse. Finally gathering his courage, he spoke up: "Mr. Ji, that thing... what... what is it really...?"
"Huh?" Ji Jue turned back, looking puzzled.
"I mean, that fully automatic prayer machine. Does it really..."
"Yes, it does," Ji Jue nodded firmly. "It can pray in place of a person. The principle is identical to praying in a sanctuary. Moreover, it can pass the sanctuary's validation. In fact, it was crafted through a similar method."
The primary materials in those unassuming sacred seals, besides low-grade metal, consisted only of leftover scraps from angels.
Those mass-produced seals could hardly even be called alchemical works; their construction was far too simple.
The only part involving technical sophistication was a soul-like spiritual construct formed through spiritus refinement. It couldn't even be called a fragment. Its greatest function was to act like a prayer wheel: by ceaselessly reciting prayers through meditation, it prayed to the Holy God, thereby siphoning the wearer's self-nature and spiritus to complete the sacrifice.
"Actually, in terms of sheer efficiency, it's even more effective than believers praying themselves. After all, what mortal endowed with seven emotions and six desires could stay focused for twenty-four hours without a single stray thought?"
For a second, Yan Fei was dumbfounded, unable to believe his ears.
Then, a sudden light seemed to dawn on him, as though everything had clicked.
"I get it!" he said decisively. "It must be poison! As long as we lace it with something else, over months and years, we'll definitely be able to—"
"Pfft!"
Beside them, Old Man Bao burst out laughing. Ji Jue exchanged a look with him, and both men couldn't help grinning and shaking their heads.
*Silly kid.*
Seeing Yan Fei's utter bewilderment, Bao Dachai sighed and said, "You're still too green in the world, kid. Nowadays, everyone knows: trust an artisan, and pigs might fly!
"People check a pair of underpants before slipping them on, let alone something coming out of the resistance camp. They'll go over it with a magnifying glass without the slightest fatigue. If there were really something hidden inside, how could you conceal it?
"Besides, why would you even need to poison it?"
"Then... then..." Yan Fei's face flushed red, embarrassed at being laughed at and anxious over Mr. Ji seemingly aiding the enemy. "Why... why would you..."
"Because there's no need for any extra tricks," Bao Dachai said, puffing on his rolled tobacco and blowing out a plume of smoke. "The mere existence of that thing is already a 'poison.'"
Only, it wasn't meant for the Holy God.
This poison targeted every single believer... and the very foundation of the Order's existence!
The moment prayer could be replaced by a tool, it could no longer be called "piety." The very meaning of prayer would be completely alienated.
Stripped of self-indulgent meditation and devotion, prayer would revert to its true essence: paying taxes.
The better it worked, the more convenient it was, and the wider its reach spread, the deeper the toxicity it would inflict!
There was no need to worry that no one would use it.
Sloth is human nature. Even during eight hours of dull classes a day, people zone out and slack off. If everyone could dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to a single task, where in this world would there be such a thing as try-hard grinders?
Endless hours of prayer went entirely against human nature to begin with.
Once an easy method and a convenient shortcut appeared, and once people tasted its benefits, there would be no shortage of users. Not only would there be plenty of users, but even those upright individuals who originally resisted would gradually be dragged down into the mire.
Just like performance-enhancing drugs.
A person could go without food and water for twenty-four hours, but no one could maintain twenty-four hours of unbroken focus in prayer. Yet whoever used a fully automatic prayer machine only had to hang it around their neck to surpass countless others while lying flat...
He uses it, I use it—if you don't use it, how can you keep up with those who cheat and rely on tools to climb to the top?
No, never mind keeping up. If everyone was using it, the only result of not using it would be... getting left dead last in the year-end evaluation!
Just think of the consequences!
Fall behind once, and your legs and feet are severed. Fall behind twice, and your internal organs are gouged out. Fall behind thrice, and you're cast into Limbo!
Falling behind meant ruin!
When that time came, forget about climbing higher—even if you only wanted to keep your original position, there would be only one choice left!
"Now this is a genuine... invention that sows chaos, a creation of Stagnant Rot!"
Bao Dachai chuckled with a strange laugh. "Some people claim to be pillars of the Society, yet never mention being elites of the Profound.
"An eye and a talent capable of seeing straight through to the essence and catalyzing chaos—even those Grandmasters would probably shower you with praise, wouldn't they?"
"Look on the bright side: even if I can't cut it in the Society one day and jump ship to the Profound, there'll still be a spot for me," Ji Jue retorted casually, walking ahead with his hands clasped behind his back. "Still beats drifting around until there's no foothold left in the whole world, right?"
"Heh, and how do you know we don't have a foothold?"
"Oh? Do tell." Ji Jue sounded curious.
"Tell? Tell what?" the old fogey asked back in feigned confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about."
*Damn old teaser. Sooner or later, I'm throwing you into a furnace...*
"I... I don't understand!"
Yan Fei spoke up loudly, literally baffled and dizzy with confusion, unable to make head or tail of what the two had been muttering back and forth about for so long.
Yet he had astutely picked up on one point.
"Won't doing this only make the Holy God stronger?!"
In the brief silence, the two walking ahead exchanged a glance. Their lips parted silently in sinister, vicious grins.
"Of course," Ji Jue said, lifting his gaze toward the vast, empty sky, sighing with mocking amusement. "Haven't we done all this precisely so he eats more and grows stronger?"
Chapter 508