Chapter 129 Source Blood Connection

Big Beard had just slipped away from a high-level ascetic monk's internal meeting. He was still dressed in his inconspicuous tattered robe and coarse cloth shoes, looking like an ordinary old man who had just come out of a refugee camp. You couldn't tell at all that this was a senior ascetic monk who could sit on an equal footing with a high-ranking bishop. In fact, Hao Ren didn't have much of a concept of the ranks of these ascetics in the church at first. Later, he learned that these ascetics had a lofty status in the church. Not only were they directly responsible to the Pope, but they were also qualified to participate in major decisions of the church's upper echelons when necessary—because their loyalty to the Goddess was unquestionable, and they possessed the best divine oracle adaptability, allowing them to generate the strongest spiritual resonance with the Goddess. Pious ascetics were regarded as the Goddess's direct guards, so Big Beard was qualified to attend the bishop-level meeting just now.

However, Becky didn't have much of a concept of this. In her impression, Big Beard was an approachable and kind gentleman, and he had been her roommate for a while, so she stood up and greeted him casually: "Yo, Uncle, just got out of the meeting? Want something to eat?"

Big Beard nodded to Becky with a smile, politely declining her kindness, and then looked at Hao Ren and Aofra: "Looks like you've already talked?"

"You mean the Source Blood Imprinting Ritual?" Hao Ren frowned. "What's the church's consideration?"

"Of course, there are some religious ideas," Big Beard nodded frankly. "Whether it's the hand decree left by the Pope or your actions in several incidents, it's hard not to associate you with the Goddess's will. The high-ranking bishops believe that the arrival of foreigners in this world must have its meaning. Although you are not believers, the Goddess's guidance brought you here... So the bishops hope that one of you can accept the Source Blood Imprinting Ritual."

Hao Ren looked into Big Beard's eyes: "What's your idea?"

"You can try it. If you want to investigate the Goddess's affairs, establishing a connection yourself is undoubtedly a good way. But to be honest, I don't know how effective it will be... Our connection with the Goddess is not just a simple bloodline. It also requires devout faith and firm belief. Only those who truly respect the Goddess in their hearts can hear her teachings, and you..." Big Beard looked at Hao Ren with some embarrassment, "I always feel like you don't even believe in your own God."

Hao Ren thought to himself that he would be damned if he believed in Crow 12345. When had that unreliable female psychopath ever been trustworthy? But he was still too embarrassed to express it on his face. He just chuckled and waved his hand: "I understand, I understand. To be honest, I'm also very interested in your Source Blood Imprinting Ritual. Actually, I wanted to try it last time I came, but I thought it was a ritual that only formal clergy members could accept, and I probably wouldn't be allowed to use it casually for testing, so I was too embarrassed to say it."

Aofra was a little surprised: "Does that mean you agreed?"

"Wait, I still have to confirm with the higher-ups," Hao Ren waved his hand. "After all, I'm still affiliated with an organization..."

At this critical moment, he could still remember that he was technically a Pope, but he obviously didn't realize how serious the matter he was about to participate in was in the eyes of ordinary religious believers: a spokesperson for one God was going to try to establish a connection with another God, and through a religious ritual. Just talking about this was enough to scare normal believers, but he dared to consult his own God in a straightforward manner...

Aofra was limited by the common sense of her world, and she didn't expect Hao Ren to agree so readily at first, so at this time, she looked at him as if he were a rare creature. The female marshal stared and asked Big Beard next to her: "...This kind of thing... is it really possible to discuss with your own God?"

Big Beard didn't know how to explain it, so he could only stick his neck out and try to be serious: "...His God allows it."

At this time, Hao Ren had already asked the data terminal to connect to Crow 12345's channel. He heard the other party's lazy voice in his mind: "Hao Ren? What's up?"

"...You're not awake yet at this hour?"

"Nonsense! You've gone to another place again, haven't you? Do you know about time difference?" Crow 12345's voice was still so friendly, "Tell me quickly."

Hao Ren quickly straightened his face: "It's like this, I'm planning to experience the initiation ceremony of another God here..."

"Pfft—"

Hao Ren heard a series of chaotic sounds in his mind, and then Crow 12345's energetic shouting resounded through his mind: "What the?! I haven't treated you badly, how can you just switch jobs?! Are you fighting with your daughter for food?"

Hao Ren realized that his statement was problematic, and quickly explained it. Crow 12345 breathed a sigh of relief: "Phew... I thought it was a big deal. You're not joining any heresy. Aren't you just doing a radio communication test? Go ahead."

Afterwards, the Goddess Sister was still muttering on the other side: "Scared me to death. I thought, looking at the history of the three major divine systems for billions of years, today I actually encountered a Pope who wanted to resign, and he was talking to God on the phone... I almost thought I was going to let those grandsons put it on the headlines again... What the? Not hung up yet?"

Then the mental connection was hurriedly hung up.

Lily curiously looked at Hao Ren's face changing, and asked cautiously: "Landlord Landlord, is the Goddess Sister going to give you a blessing?"

Hao Ren turned his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "I'm telling you, I may never be able to believe in her in this lifetime..."

Lily: "?"

After a short period of preparation, Hao Ren and Big Beard came to a small monastery located in the floating city. This aerial fortress was completely designed according to the structure of a military town, so it not only had military camps and training grounds, but also church facilities such as monasteries. Although the scale was not large, it was enough to cope with most daily affairs.

Hao Ren didn't have any feelings about this Source Blood Imprinting Ritual—perhaps in the eyes of the locals in Holletta, this was a sacred and glorious blessing process, a manifestation of the Goddess bestowing her grace on mortals, but in Hao Ren's view, this was just an ordinary experiment, no different from the projects he carried out in the spaceship laboratory. In fact, even without Big Beard's help, he planned to try "inoculating" himself with Source Blood on the spaceship to see what kind of sounds he could hear.

Anyway, he had Source Blood samples in his hand, as well as professional books from the Radiant Order, and more importantly, complete medical equipment—even if some minor rejection reactions occurred, there was no need to worry.

Of course, it was better this way. With the help of professional religious figures, the success rate should be much higher.

"Why do I feel like you're not nervous at all?" Aofra also came to observe. She was very puzzled by Hao Ren's reaction from beginning to end. "And there's no hesitation or resistance... Aren't you following another God? I heard about your world from the Master."

Hao Ren watched Big Beard preparing incense and Source Blood containers not far away and casually replied: "It's no big deal. In our world, which child doesn't get poked with dozens of vaccines after birth?"

Aofra was shocked: "Is your world so fanatical about religion?!"

This was a cultural difference.

Hao Ren turned his head and looked around, and found that in addition to his friends, the only Radiant Order believers on the scene were Big Beard and Archbishop Auben. He was very strange: "Speaking of which, doesn't this ritual require a lot of people? And chanting scriptures for a long time or something... How did it become a simplified version when it came to me?"

"You're not really planning to join the church, are you?" Big Beard smiled gently. "The rituals of chanting scriptures are partly to enhance the believer's spiritual connection with the Goddess from the subconscious, and partly to give precepts for joining the church, but you're just here to test the Source Blood connection, so let's skip those parts. And to be honest... I don't think reciting a few prayers to you will make you believe in our Goddess."

Elizabeth muttered: "That doesn't sound like something a fanatic would say."

"We are devout believers, but the Goddess forbids us from becoming fanatics," Archbishop Auben said with a straight face. This acting Pope didn't need to participate in this kind of ritual personally, but it was the first time since the establishment of the Radiant Order that a heretic was accepting the Source Blood Imprinting Ritual. Out of various considerations, and as the person responsible for personally approving the matter, he came to supervise it himself. "The Goddess teaches us to be wary of all uncontrolled extreme thoughts. The uncontrollable and extreme are to be discarded. The love of God should be conveyed to the world gently, not scorch them like the scorching sun."

"Yeah, I like this statement," Elizabeth crossed her arms and nodded like a little adult. "The humans in our world believe in a bunch of messy Gods of Light and Gods of Creation or something, each one more fanatical than the last, as if they're afraid others won't know how powerful their God is... It's obviously a guilty conscience."

Big Beard lit incense that had the effect of enhancing mental power, and came to Hao Ren with the strange container containing the Source Blood: "Are you ready to listen to the voice of the Goddess?"

"Let's do it—I hope she really has something to say to me."

(I don't know if I can get more monthly tickets in the last few hours. If you have any tickets left, please vote! Anyway, they will expire soon.)