Chapter 17: The True God Cult

  That group of people's attire is very strange.

  It looks like the kind of ceremonial attire worn by religious personnel. However, all of their clothes were a dark red color with several large eyes embroidered on them, giving off a chilling feeling. The long robes dragged to the ground, and on top of their heads was a pointed hood that covered most of their faces. From afar, an ominous aura approached.

  The place where Ji Ran hid was just right to see Uncle Leis. He found that after Uncle Leis clearly saw the clothes on those people, he suddenly grasped the hilt of the bone sword tightly. The force was so great that even the veins on the back of his hand came out. It can be inferred that he must know what kind of people these strange guys are... and they should be his enemies!

  But Uncle Lais seemed to have controlled his emotions, although the arm holding the sword was slightly trembling, but in the end he restrained himself and did not make a move towards those people.

  The place where several people hid was quite secret, and those few people didn't seem to be very careful in searching around, just walked past from among the crowd. While walking, they were still chatting with each other.

  "This time our cult can summon an avatar of a great true god again, and the power of our cult is getting stronger!"

  "Yes, the true God will finally descend upon this world! Let those insignificant mortals kneel down and worship!"

  "This world needs a true god! Without a true god, we will ultimately perish! The cult is supreme and will definitely bring the entire world under the glory of the true god!"

  What is a true god? That thing? Ji Ran was puzzled. He had heard Les and others mention that the humans in this world also had a church, but they didn't worship a specific deity, instead they worshipped something called "Holy Light". This church was one of the largest powers within the human-controlled areas, with a good reputation, unlike those he had seen before which were corrupt and decadent. Of course, with great power comes some bad apples, but overall the general public's impression of the church wasn't bad.

  But where did this so-called true god come from? Although I've heard that spirits and dwarves also believe in gods, they never had any intention of bringing them into this world...

  A few people walked and talked, seemingly on patrol, but they didn't seem to notice their surroundings because of excessive excitement, and soon disappeared. After seeing several people disappear, a group of people gathered around Uncle Lays.

  "That's right, it's them, the Cult of the True God!" Uncle Les's face was so gloomy that it seemed to be dripping with water, and those words "Cult of the True God" seemed to have been squeezed out from between his teeth.

  "True God Cult? The evil cult that slaughtered an entire town and killed tens of thousands of people over a decade ago?" Beckett's eyes widened in shock.

  Aileen sniffled: "No wonder this place smells so bad. The True God Cult claims to be able to summon the true god's incarnation, but in fact, they are just summoning some evil existence from outside, which doesn't belong to this world. This thing that goes against nature is even more smelly than a rotting corpse for us spirits!"

  Lais nodded: "That's right, it's that notorious cult. I thought that after the Holy Light Church found out about their blood sacrifice in the small town, they would have been struck down by all the forces on the continent and would have disappeared. I didn't expect them to still be hiding in the dark, and now they're reviving!" Whenever Lais mentioned the name of the True God Cult, he gritted his teeth.

  "Then the summoning of the true god's avatar, is it actually summoning that kind of evil existence?" Ben looked in the direction where those people went, and the sword and shield in his hand were raised slightly.

  "It's actually not wrong to say that it's their true god, they wholeheartedly believe in that existence, and that existence is naturally their god. And that evil existence indeed has countless avatars, although the strength of a single avatar

  "Golden Rank?! No way, that guy can take us down with just one move...!" Beckett's eyes widened in an instant.

  "It's not that they're all gold rank from the start. The lowest level of a newly summoned clone is at least one or two, and the highest is only around four or five. Moreover, it's extremely troublesome for clones to merge with each other because each clone has its own consciousness and wants to devour others rather than being devoured itself... Every time they devour each other, it's accompanied by a brutal battle." Lays continued to explain.

  "Huh? Those cultists can totally control them, summon two, cripple one and let the other devour... " Beike's curiosity was still very strong.

  "That's not possible, the people of the church don't dare to confront that evil incarnation head-on. Because after absorbing it, although the consciousness is merged, the subconscious hatred still exists. Such a merged incarnation will eventually produce a sense of disgust towards the church, and at that time, who knows, they might go crazy and kill everyone in the church..." Lays shook his head. It seems that he indeed has a deep understanding of the church.

  "It's indeed an evil existence, even the process of fusion requires mutual slaughter... So, Uncle Leis, what do we do next? Leave here or..." Ji Ran was observing their surroundings, avoiding being discovered by those cult members. But for the next action, they needed a plan after all.

  "I and the cultists... have an unerasable hatred. No matter what, I'll go take a look. If they're opponents we can't handle at all, I'll bring you guys back immediately. But if there's a chance to take them down..." Lays gazed in the direction those people were coming from - which was also the direction of the white light, his bony sword gripped tightly.

  "What a hassle. Fine, let's go take a look now, so our captain doesn't stay anxious and we don't get abandoned to do something suicidal." Elain sighed and swung her arm.

  "Hualuo, go scout ahead!"

  Hualuo, which had been hovering above everyone's heads, flew over the forest and went straight ahead in a straight line.

  Everyone was on high alert, advancing cautiously through the forest. Ailin was an elf ranger and didn't have the druid's ability to communicate with animals around her, but she always had some kind of spiritual connection with her companions. Although the information obtained wasn't very detailed, the general situation could still be seen.

  "Be careful... there's a valley ahead, with people inside, dressed similarly to the ones we just saw..." Suddenly, Aileen crouched down and hid her figure behind a thick clump of grass, gesturing for others to move back.

  The others immediately understood her meaning and hid their figures, then slowly moved forward.

  There is indeed a small valley in front, and the grass and trees in the middle have been artificially cleared. However, the tall trees around still make this valley quite hidden.

  A group of people climbed up to a high place and, using a large rock as cover, cautiously stuck their heads out to look down into the valley.

  Inside the valley, however, was a scene that shocked people at first sight.

  In the very center of the valley, there was a huge, stone-constructed altar-like structure. On top of the altar were intricate patterns that formed a massive circle. And the color of these patterns was unmistakably dark red, the color of blood.

  The patterns were carved into the stone, and the dark red blood filled all the grooves. And in a corner of the valley, a pile of corpses was scattered there - both beasts and humans.

  The monsters don't even need to be mentioned, they're mostly around level 3 or 4. As for those people, judging from their attire, they're all adventurers - it's easy to imagine that they're just some unlucky souls who got caught by these True God Cult guys.

  The summoning ceremony seems to have proceeded more than halfway, and above the altar, a white light is faintly flashing. In that white light, a virtual image roughly in human form is gradually becoming solid.

  In front of the altar, a group of about ten people wearing dark red clothes with eyes were kneeling. In front of these people, a guy whose clothes were obviously more exquisite and luxurious than others was holding an open book in his hand, reciting something towards the altar. At this distance, Ji Ran couldn't hear that guy's words clearly.

  "It seems to be an incantation... Most of it is praising that so-called true god." Others couldn't hear it, but Aileen could. Elves are naturally blessed with sharp hearing - you can tell just by looking at those pointed ears.

  "The ritual isn't complete yet! That white light just now should have only summoned the consciousness of that so-called true god's avatar, and is currently summoning its physical body. If we interrupt them..." Lays' eyes gradually turned red as he stared at the virtual image within the white light.

  "What's the strength of that group?" Ji Ran was now concerned with other issues. After all, he had only heard of this True God Cult for the first time, and there was no deep grudge between them, so the stimulation wasn't that high. Although the pile of corpses next to him was a bit nauseating, he was someone who had helped push corpses in medical school...

  "Most of them are below level 4, only the priest at the front has a level 5 degree. However, he should be in a critical situation now and doesn't dare to divide his attention. If the action is fast enough, maybe...” Lays muttered to himself on that side, seemingly unable to hold back his fighting spirit.

  Ji Ran didn't know why Lais was so excited, and why he had become so reckless that he couldn't care about his own safety - or even the safety of his teammates. But from the current situation, it seemed that no matter what, there was no way to make Lais give up this fight.

  To be honest, Ji Yan didn't want to get into this trouble. This wasn't a game, but reality, where life was on the line. This obvious act of over-leveling and killing monsters - not just one, but a group - could easily get him killed if he wasn't careful. But now, he couldn't back down.

  Over the past month, he had built a deep bond with everyone. Whether it was Uncle Lees, Ben and Beck brothers, or the sharp-tongued spirit Aileen, the shy little magician Lydia, they all made him feel a warmth like that of family.

  It's been a long time since he felt this way - since the day his parents passed away.

  In this case, how can he leave alone?

  Corais is clearly in a bad mood now and needs to be reminded.

  "Uncle Leis, calm down! Even if you want revenge, think about your own safety first! Rushing in blindly might not get you the revenge you seek, and we'll end up getting dragged into it too! If you're going to fight, at least prepare yourself!" Ji Ran whispered loudly into Leis' ear.

  Lai's whole body trembled, as if he had suddenly awakened from some kind of strange realm. The blood color in his eyes gradually faded away, looking at the followers of the True God Cult in front of him, and then at the group of people beside him.

  “…We fall back. Don’t confront them head-on… With our strength, it’s hard to retreat unscathed. Let’s go back and pass on their message to the Holy Light Church, those people are experts at dealing with these guys…” Suddenly, Uncle Lais’ expression turned resolute as he waved his hand.

  “……A wise choice. Fortunately, the flames of hatred haven't burned your brain yet.” Irene was still muttering on one side, but Ji Yan also saw that her mouth corners were slightly curved up, clearly showing a relieved expression.

  "Sorry, I just lost my temper. Seeing those True God cult people makes me a bit lose my mind... This isn't the time for us to have a direct confrontation with them, let's go quickly!" Lais turned around and left the big stone, leading everyone to prepare to leave.

  At this moment, the illusory figure in the light cluster suddenly raised its head and glanced over here.