"Uh, Qiao Ying, how does the Divine Stone turn people into Divine Servants, like those dog-headed strongmen?" Ye Feng looked at Qiao Ying with a serious expression. This was important for how he would handle the Divine Stones in his spatial warehouse. After all, he didn't want to be turned into a dog-headed strongman himself, or have Xiao Xiao become one...
"This..." Qiao Ying hesitated. "I'm not entirely sure of the specifics. I only know it involves shining the Divine Stone on someone. Initially, it was said that Hades, the King of the Underworld, conducted experiments where, through the Divine Stone's irradiation, the unique divine power of the gods could be distributed to Divine Servants!"
"However, not just anyone can withstand the irradiation of the Divine Stone. The vast majority of people die on the spot after being exposed..." Although Qiao Ying didn't know why Ye Feng was so concerned, she still explained.
"Is that so~" Ye Feng frowned slightly. From what he had experienced since obtaining the Divine Stone, it wasn't just being near it or being irradiated that turned people into dog-headed strongmen. It likely required some special technique...
"Ye Feng, I know something about the Divine Stone!" At this moment, Wu Ye Lin chimed in. "In the early days of the Great Cataclysm, there were rumors about the Divine Stone. At that time, it was said that finding the Divine Stone would grant divine power, and even allow one to become one of the legendary gods!"
"When the explorer craze began, many people searched for the Divine Stone. Some even believed the Divine Stone was the Lamp of Creation..."
"When I was seven or eight years old, I asked my grandfather. He said the Divine Stone was definitely not the Lamp of Creation... Later, as I gained more experience and strength... my grandfather told me that a mysterious organization had conducted experiments using the Divine Stone..."
"Their members were reportedly able to survive the Divine Stone's irradiation and gain powerful abilities!"
"Every time I went out on expeditions, my grandfather would specifically warn me to be extremely careful if I encountered anyone from this organization, and to avoid them at all costs!" Wu Ye Lin's tone was also quite serious. "The name of this mysterious organization is... the Dark Holy Church!"
"Dark Holy Church? No way!" Hearing the name, Ye Feng was immediately surprised.
"Ye Feng, you know about this organization? Even people from major powers rarely know about them?" Wu Ye Lin turned her head and looked at Ye Feng with surprise.
"Uh... I've heard some things~" Ye Feng scratched his head and didn't elaborate. He changed the subject. "Lin, since many explorers have searched for the Divine Stone, has anyone else found it?"
"Yes!" Wu Ye Lin nodded. "About thirty years ago, explorers found clues to the Divine Stone in the extremely remote and dangerous City of Hope!"
"It is said that the City of Hope was a large survivor base for humans... and someone was researching the Divine Stone there..."
"This news spread widely and attracted many explorers, including some of the later Seven Great Powers. They even established teleportation gates there..."
"But for some reason, a large number of explorers died... No one who went to the City of Hope was heard to have returned. Even if some did, they died within a few days..."
"Over time, the City of Hope became the City of Despair. Fewer and fewer explorers went there. Coupled with frequent great cataclysms and drastic changes in the terrain, eventually, almost no one went there anymore..."
At this point, Wu Ye Lin paused.
"The City of Despair... it really is..." Ye Feng was a bit speechless. When Lin mentioned the City of Hope earlier, he had thought of this, and it turned out to be true.
"Later, I heard my grandfather say that the Divine Stone did exist in the City of Despair, but it was a stronghold of the Dark Holy Church, used for their Divine Stone irradiation experiments!"
"The City of Hope, or rather, the City of Despair, is also a clearly identified, relatively large stronghold of the Dark Holy Church. Other discovered locations are just small outposts," Wu Ye Lin spoke again.
"By the way, Ye Feng, you must be careful if you encounter the Dark Holy Church. Perhaps due to the Divine Stone irradiation, those people possess very strange abilities!"
"The symbol of the Dark Holy Church is this!" As she spoke, Wu Ye Lin's hand flashed, and a piece of paper with an Ouroboros symbol instantly appeared.
"Ye Feng, Lin is right. Even though your strength is considerable now, you must still be cautious when encountering the Dark Holy Church!" Before Ye Feng could respond, Qiao Ying chimed in.
"Oh, okay!~" Ye Feng nodded at Wu Ye Lin, then turned to Qiao Ying. "Qiao Ying, this Dark Holy Church... Ling Xi also warned me to be careful... Do you know anything about this organization?"
"The Dark Holy Church... I'm not very clear, but they are absolutely not to be underestimated..."
"Although this organization is secretive... they once openly challenged Poseidon, one of the Twelve Principal Gods... and Poseidon actually backed down in the end..." Qiao Ying's expression was solemn, and there was a deep trace of apprehension in her beautiful eyes.
"Holy cow..." Upon hearing this, Ye Feng couldn't help but exclaim. His attention to Ke Leji and the Dark Holy Church organization increased even further.
Wu Ye Lin, driving, was also shocked by Qiao Ying's words...
"Big Brother, there are zombies over there!" At this moment, Xiao Xiao, who was observing ahead with binoculars, called out.
"Oh~ let me see!~" Ye Feng had just stored the Divine Stone in a spatial rift fragment for safekeeping. Hearing Xiao Xiao's words, he became interested. After all, as he trained, his available points had dropped to less than 8000.
Ye Feng took out his binoculars and looked in the direction Xiao Xiao pointed. He immediately saw quite a few zombies loitering on the elevated highway between two hills.
"There's a river there... Lin, drive towards the elevated highway. If the river water is clean, I'd like to store some there," Ye Feng said quickly to Wu Ye Lin. After all, as they traveled, the demand for fresh water had increased with the growing number of people, and he had just received a 20-ton capacity water storage device that morning, which was empty.
"Okay!~ My fresh water is almost depleted too!~" Wu Ye Lin clearly had the same intention and immediately adjusted their direction, heading towards the elevated highway.
...
"This place is really bizarre... suddenly appearing hills and an elevated highway..." Arriving by the elevated highway, Ye Feng was somewhat surprised.
"These two hills... they should have been two rather steep mountains, but the terrain was altered by a sudden earthquake or something similar... massive land subsidence, or ground uplift... and that's how we ended up with this sight," Wu Ye Lin explained to Ye Feng as she walked upstream along the river.
After Ye Feng killed a few scattered zombies, he also headed upstream. After all, some zombies were not fully dead, trapped under rocks, trucks, and trees in the river, making the water source unsafe...
"Ah!~ Ah!~" Just a few minutes after the four of them walked upstream along the river, piercing screams came from ahead.
...
"Let's go take a look!~" After exchanging glances with Xiao Xiao and the other two girls, Ye Feng and they quickly ran upstream along the river.