In the blink of an eye, the blood Fang Cheng and Kanzaki Rin had swallowed had already flowed down into the ground.
The entire process was silent, and no one could detect it.
The other Wishers obediently drank the blood. Even if they were unwilling, they had already paid, and members of the Truth Cult were watching them like hawks. They had no choice but to drink.
After everyone had drunk the blood, the priest led them to another, more spacious stone chamber. They were told to meditate quietly here, and that the gods would soon come to meet them in person.
Throughout the entire process, the brainwashing music never stopped. It grew increasingly hypnotic.
Fang Cheng soon noticed that the Wishers were beginning to act strangely. They looked dazed and vacant, their expressions blank and their eyes unfocused.
Then some began shouting, while others knelt on the ground, babbling incoherently and weeping. At a glance, the place looked like a mental asylum.
Fang Cheng and Kanzaki Rin were startled. They immediately realized that the blood everyone had just drunk probably had hallucinogenic effects.
No one knew what visions the Wishers were seeing, but judging by their reactions, they seemed to be seeing the so-called gods.
Fang Cheng suddenly understood why the Truth Cult had gone through so many strange rituals earlier, from the believers' candles and the Grand Temple's decor to the self-mutilation and the Blood Buddha.
It had all been meant to leave a deeper impression on the Wishers, greatly increasing the likelihood that a god would appear in their hallucinations.
That way, they would feel even more awe toward the Truth Cult.
This sort of thing was not uncommon among cults. They used hallucinogens to control their followers, and even mainstream religions sometimes relied on psychological suggestion.