I changed the world.

Page 273

Of course, they were an envoy, not prisoners. Even if someone was discovered to be secretly going out, it would at most be explained as a sightseeing trip. Even if there were some behind-the-scenes maneuvering that both sides were aware of, they wouldn't actually be arrested. Of course, if it came to that, it would inevitably affect the mutual trust between them and the Celestial Master's Mansion, and it would be basically certain that the envoy's trip to the east would be fruitless, which was not what Bishop Wells and the others wanted to see.

As it turned out, taking a detour was not a simple matter either, as they were worried about encountering villagers on the main road, and the three of them were not familiar with the roads in the area. So, after analyzing several maps, they decided to try to go directly through the forest, which meant that a considerable portion of the path would have to be carved out by hand.

Fortunately, the surrounding roads were not blocked by the Zhao Kingdom's powerful departments. Simon and the others guessed that this was probably a sign of respect, or perhaps a tacit understanding, from the local government towards the Xuanmen Holy Land. This, to some extent, facilitated their actions.

After all, this is the Celestial Master's Mansion, the birthplace of the Great Zhao Xuanmen, a sacred place with a history of two thousand years.

Ten years ago, countries did not pay much attention to this indigenous religion that originated in the Zhao Empire. At most, they thought it was somewhat unique. Many Western religious scholars even criticized it as "a remnant of primitive religion originating from polytheism and animism, which will eventually be eliminated by a higher level of monotheism."

However, in today's world, within small circles in various countries, the Xuanmen (Taoist sect) has been elevated to the level that requires the most attention, and the ancient Dan Ding Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion is seen by many insiders as full of mysterious and awe-inspiring power.

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"Take a 15-minute break." Victor, who was walking ahead, came to a fallen tree trunk. After checking that there were no snakes or insects on the trunk, he took off his backpack and put it on the ground. Then he sat on the tree trunk, took out his water bottle, and twisted on the small opening to drink some water.

Father Simon carried the lightest load, but his stamina was clearly not as good as the other two, so he looked the most tired of the three. He took off his backpack, plopped down next to Victor, and gasped for breath.

As for Alex, he silently sat down on a tree stump not far away, carefully taking out his night vision equipment to observe his surroundings.

Just then, the ground suddenly shook, and Father Simon almost fell backward, but he quickly grabbed the tree trunk and stood up.

"An earthquake?!" The three looked at each other in disbelief.

The ground shook for a while, then gradually calmed down, but not long after, it started shaking again...

As the tree shook, some leaves rustled and fell from the leaves around them and overhead. Father Simon jumped up as if he had been electrocuted, shaking his clothes, and then reached into his collar and pulled out a worm...

In contrast, Victor and Alex were much calmer, only patting their clothes slightly and not reacting much.

Father Simon subconsciously looked up at the treetops, and suddenly his gaze froze. He then adjusted his position, shifting his stance to try and find a better angle to observe the sky.

The other two were immediately drawn to his actions and looked up at the sky as well. Just then, Father Simon found a good angle and observed the changes in the sky through the dense canopy. The next moment, he turned to the other two and said urgently, with some uncertainty, "Look at the moon! It looks like a lunar eclipse!"

Chapter 524 The Priest! What's there?!

Upon hearing this, the other two also hurried over to observe the sky. Because they were in the forest, the sky was covered by layers of tree canopy, and they could only observe through the gaps in the canopy, so they needed to find a suitable angle and position.

By the time they finally found a suitable spot, a huge gap had appeared on the moon, and this gap was expanding at a rate visible to the naked eye!

“Father, I think this is a lunar eclipse.” Victor glanced at Simon and nodded, while Alex beside him nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Simon took out his mobile phone to check the network. Their team had dedicated satellite link support, and there were even dedicated support personnel on the other end of the network.

He quickly received the information that there was no lunar eclipse today! The other side gave a very affirmative answer.

Simon knew that the support staff must have consulted professionals, so there wouldn't be any problem. However, if there was no lunar eclipse today, what would they have seen?!

After a brief exchange, the three chose a tree. Victor crouched down under the tree and made a gesture of clasping his hands together with his fingers interlaced and palms facing upwards. Alex took two steps forward and stepped onto Victor's clasped hands. Victor then lifted him up forcefully, and Alex leaped up, using Victor's hands for support, jumping more than three meters into the air. He grabbed a branch and climbed up the tree.

The trees around him weren't very tall, only about five meters high. He quickly climbed to the top, where the view was unobstructed and he could take clear pictures. He took out his phone, adjusted the angle, and then began shooting at the moon…

The moonlight in the sky quickly faded into darkness, followed by another tremor. Alex immediately stopped filming, reached out and grabbed the tree trunk beside him with all his might. His arm was extremely strong, and although the tree was shaking violently, he was unable to shake him off the tree.

The shaking didn't last long and quickly subsided. Alex released his grip and made a safe gesture towards the ground below. Then he turned his phone back on and immediately sent the footage he had just captured; professionals would analyze it on the other end.

He was positioned diagonally opposite the moon. He had been holding onto the tree trunk with one hand and taking pictures of the moon with his phone in the other. Zhe Bifeng was positioned to the east of him on the other side. After finishing with his phone, he looked up and subconsciously scanned his surroundings, a habitual action of his.

However, it was this action that made him notice the change in Zhe Bifeng! At this moment, Zhe Bifeng was shaking. This shaking looked rather strange. It was not the kind of shaking caused by an earthquake, but rather like ripples on water, as if the Zhe Bifeng in front of him was just a reflection on the water.

Alex paused for a moment, then quickly turned his phone around and started filming, while rapidly gesturing downwards.

Soon, Victor climbed up from below, and then pulled Father Simon up as well. Once the other two had climbed up, their expressions quickly froze.

Then, in the void above the ochre-green peak, an ancient and simple tower appeared like a mirage. The sense of history, imbued with an aura of vicissitude, made them instantly understand that this tower must have withstood countless years of weathering!

The next moment, they sensed the presence of a great will, as if some sublime and majestic being had opened its eyes and looked at them.

It was an extremely awe-inspiring spiritual experience, as if you were on a vast wilderness, looking up at the starry sky.

At that moment, all three of them instinctively tapped their chests six times, drawing the shape of a crown. Father Simon then reached out and grasped the bead hanging from his chest, his throat incredibly dry.

“Our Father in heaven… hallowed be your name, your kingdom come… give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors… lead us not into temptation… deliver us from evil…” Father Simon’s throat bobbed as he murmured the prayer, which he knew by heart. However, at this moment, his mind was no longer on this prayer, but was overwhelmed by a tremendous shock.

What is that? Is it... a god?!

After a while, another earthquake struck, catching the three off guard and nearly causing them to fall. After a flurry of activity, they regained their balance and looked back at Zhebi Peak, only to find that the tower and the sense of being watched by a great will had completely vanished.

Everything that just happened seemed like a dream, as if it had never occurred.

Looking at the moonlight again, the lunar eclipse was fading, and the bright moonlight was shining on the earth once more...

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The three of them climbed down the tree silently, and for a moment, they seemed to be greatly shocked and remained silent.

Suddenly, Alex, who was walking beside Father Simon, grabbed his shoulder and pulled him close, his expression grim, his gray eyes staring intently into Simon's eyes: "Father, just now... what was that?!"

Father Simon was clearly taken aback by Alex's sudden outburst of emotion, and for a moment he was speechless, the two just staring at each other...

"Alex! Watch your behavior!" Victor, who was standing nearby, also reacted at this moment, shoving Alex aside and scolding him sternly.

Alex breathed heavily, trying to calm himself. As a special agent who had faced countless dangers on the Black Continent, he had survived numerous covert operations. Therefore, his sense of danger was far more acute than that of ordinary people. Just now, both the extreme feeling of danger… and the newly reopened, throbbing scar on his abdomen… were reminding him that it was dangerous, extremely dangerous!

I might die!

It seemed like an unfounded fear, yet as a special individual who frequently faced dangerous missions, he never dared to ignore these premonitions.

"I'm sorry... I lost control of my emotions a bit..." After taking two deep breaths, Alex rubbed his face and calmed his tone.

Then he looked at Father Simon again: "But Father, I think perhaps you should tell us more information. It's dangerous there...very dangerous!"

Chapter 525 Lord! May your kingdom come!

Upon hearing this, Father Simon was momentarily at a loss for words. His first instinct was to say that he didn't know either. However, just as the words were about to leave his lips, he hesitated.

He knew that Mr. Alex was indeed his companion at the moment, but behind the scenes, he most likely had a second identity, namely, serving a special agency of a certain country.

As the assistant to the Bishop of Wells, Father Simon was not a naive lamb who knew nothing. He was well aware of the undercurrents beneath the surface of the current peace in various countries. Due to the extraordinary events that occurred from time to time in various places, especially the major event that occurred in Grand Saint-Foss not long ago, major countries have begun to devote a considerable amount of attention and resources to this area, and the Vatican has inevitably faced various tests, infiltrations, or rather, "cooperation" from them.

In fact, given the current weakness of the Vatican, although the higher-ups are still trying their best to maintain their independence, they do not have the confidence to completely reject this "cooperation," which has led to some awkward and complicated situations in his view.

For example, there were many unidentified individuals in this religious mission to the east, and people like Alex joined his group...

Simon was born into a traditional Christian family in Bergopelli. His parents and even his grandparents were devout Christians. He attended church schools from a young age, which is why he was able to become an assistant to the Bishop of Wells at a young age.

Father Simon had also studied in the Republic of Grand, so he was acutely aware of the impact of modern technology on traditional religions. To be fair, Father Simon was a believer; for him, the existence of God was less a religion and more an affirmation of a culture, even an identity and set of values. However, in the quiet of the night, Father Simon had also wondered if the existence of God was merely an illusion woven by the ignorance of the ancients. After all, increasing scientific research showed the absurdity of those myths and legends…

Whenever he thought of this, Father Simon felt a fear from the depths of his soul, and often dared not think any further... However, deep in his heart, he knew that the seed of doubt had long since grown into a towering tree...

In fact, this is a common situation faced by all religions today.

The Vatican's leadership is not unaware of this trend of thought, and they have attempted reforms. The current Pope Clement III rose to power with the voice of a reformer. However, the foundation of the Vatican ultimately lies in the faith itself. When the torch of faith is gradually replaced by mediocrity, no matter how much reform is implemented, decline is inevitable!

Many dedicated members of the Vatican have despairingly believed that the 21st century, a century of cosmic exploration and technological advancement, is not the century of the Church…

However, some recent changes have a completely different meaning in Father Simon's eyes.

It turns out that those myths and legends that once only appeared in classics may actually exist!

Because of his position, Father Simon knew some inside information that shouldn't normally be known to someone of his rank. However, his views shared those of many high-ranking members of the Church. While it was unclear why the Vatican had "lost" that knowledge about "true power," they believed that given time, everything could return to normal…

Lord, your kingdom come! Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!

The Vatican has mobilized all its resources to investigate in various places, and time is of the essence!

At this moment, Father Simon, who had originally intended to tell the truth, suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He calmed himself down, looked directly into Alex's eyes, and said softly, "All trials are the will of our Lord."

Alex had regained his composure. In fact, he was now somewhat puzzled by his momentary loss of control. Having undergone rigorous training and even received specialized psychological guidance, he knew perfectly well that even in the face of danger, his irrational emotions wouldn't bring any positive change; they would only worsen team relations and increase the chances of mission failure. Furthermore, given his position, his superiors would certainly not want him to damage his relationship with these clergy members…

Attributing it to his recent excessive stress, Alex still felt an urge to complain after hearing Father Simon's words...

He became increasingly certain that the taciturn priest before him knew something... These people from the Vatican were always so secretive; he wondered what kind of secrets they were keeping...

However, having just experienced that shocking scene, he still felt a sense of unease and apprehension. He frowned, but ultimately said nothing more. He simply resolved to report the information he had just received…

Victor stepped in to smooth things over, and the two men readily agreed, seemingly restoring harmony to the group.

Soon, the three-person team embarked on their journey again. Their detour was quite successful. Using night vision equipment, they avoided several villagers who were probably out catching fish in the streams at night, and they did not encounter any locals after that.

Around 21:30 p.m., the group arrived at the foot of Zhebifeng Mountain.

By this time, the group was somewhat tired from their journey, especially Father Simon, who had slipped and fallen while hiking. Although he wasn't injured, he looked rather disheveled. Furthermore, as the only one of the three without professional training, he was already panting heavily.

However, what the three were unaware of was that they had already been discovered; a phantom shadow was silently lurking behind them...

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"Phew... Why is there such thick fog?" Father Simon muttered under his breath, frowning. He turned his head and carefully looked around. The thick fog made it impossible for him to see more than a few meters ahead.

Victor, who was ahead, was not walking fast. He was worried that they would get lost if they didn't keep up. In the fog, once you were a few meters apart, you could only see a blurry figure. If you were any further away, you couldn't even see the figure anymore.

Just now, they rested at the foot of the mountain for half an hour. While they were resting, the fog rose silently and became extremely thick by the time they realized it.

P.S.: The cover has been changed. Do you think the new cover is better or the old cover is better?

Chapter 526 The Mist