The pale moonlight shone through the glass window, casting colorful shadows.
In the center of the church, Liu Zheng's body was now covered in only one color.
color.
His muscles below the neck were bare, and he was covered from head to toe with thumbtacks like those Helmet Man.
Of course, those bare parts were being rapidly covered by new skin, but no one else could see it.
He was imprisoned inside a blood-red suit of armor, the inside of which was filled with sharp barbs that pierced his flesh.
On Liu Zheng's back was an embroidered picture with iron wire, depicting the image of the Twisted Saint.
With all twelve rituals completed, the Great Baptism, which had not been passed for over a century, was finally successfully completed once again.
The old woman looked at him with an excited expression, her face flushed an unnatural red.
Liu Zheng's expression was quite calm. Some parts of the ritual were indeed very challenging, but after it was over, all that was left was pure pain.
For him, simple pain was the easiest to bear, because the physical deformity itself altered his pain perception system.
Otherwise, the sheer shock of each " Flesh Rebirth " would drive him insane.
"Congratulations, stranger, you have successfully passed the Great Baptism. Your name will be engraved on the back of the Twisted Saint, forever etched in the history of the Church of Pain."
The old woman said.
"No need for that, I already have enough articles under my name."
Liu Zheng shrugged, the barb on his shoulder digging even deeper.
"Go, stranger, and write your name on the back of the Twisted Saint statue with your blood."
The old woman ignored his words.
Is it really necessary to do this?
"This is part of the Great Baptism; I cannot hand over the Twisted Holy Grail to you until this step is completed."
The old woman said.
"You're not trying to trick me, are you?"
Liu Zheng asked suspiciously.
"You are the only person in all these years to have passed the Great Baptism, and I even want you to succeed me as Pope. How could I possibly harm you?"
The old woman said earnestly.
"I'd rather not be the Pope; I think being Deliveryman is a better career path."
He shook his head in refusal and then walked behind the statue.
The back is smooth and new, and there are no other people's names on it.
"After you write your name down, you may see some visions. Don't resist them; open your mind and body to feel them. You may see other things as well. Don't be afraid; the saint's suffering will protect you. With your will, you can certainly Block the impact."
The old woman gave her instructions.
"I knew it wouldn't be that simple."
Liu Zheng rolled his eyes.
However, he did not refuse, but instead took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on.
These are the Pilot Sunglasses that Red Pig gave him. One of their effects is to ignore all visual damage, negative effects, and sanity loss for 30 seconds.
Although it's highly unlikely that you'll need it, it's always good to be prepared.
Liu Zheng opened the armor, smeared some blood on it, and then wrote his name on the back of the statue.
The blood was quickly absorbed by the surface of the wood and disappeared without a trace.
In a daze, he seemed to see the Twisted Saint turn his head, looking at him with a pained expression and compassionate eyes.
Behind the Twisted Saint, instead of various murals, were rows and rows of towering bookshelves.
Suddenly, a strange-looking creature crawled out of the shadows.
It has a pitted, almond-shaped head with a mouthpart in the middle surrounded by a ring of sharp teeth.
Behind the head is a bloated, spider-like body, with many spider-like limbs growing from its underside.
The rest is not visible because only half of its body is visible, with the other half hidden in shadow.
The spider-like creature raised its head blankly and met Liu Zheng's gaze.
The pits and craters on its face were actually filled with pure black eyeballs.
Countless eyes were fixed on Liu Zheng. He seemed to see the sky crack open, and a waterfall of blood poured down from the crack, landing on the moon.
The once pale moon was stained blood red, and beneath the Blood Moon lay mountains of human corpses.
" Sanity Decline Immunity successful."
As the system notification sounded, a slender, withered hand with sharp claws reached out from the Blood Moon and grabbed at Liu Zheng.
"Damn, are these Ross nesting dolls?"
He was preparing to use his Pilot Sunglasses when the Twisted Saint and the spider creatures made their movements.
The Twisted Saint covered Liu Zheng's eyes with his vine-like hands, while the spider-like creature closed its own eyes.
Everything went dark until Liu Zheng felt the invisible force dissipate, at which point he opened his eyes.
Before him stood the brightly lit church, and the old woman looked at him expectantly.
"What did you see, sir?"
She asked respectfully.
"I saw the Twisted Saint, and a very ugly spider."
Liu Zheng replied.
Could you describe the environment surrounding the saint?
The old woman ignored the spider and went straight to the question.
"I didn't see it very clearly, but there were a lot of bookshelves, so it was probably a library or a book depository or something like that."
He recalled for a moment and said.
"It really was the work of the Kalkaluns Academy! Those despicable thieves!"
The old woman said through gritted teeth.
" Kalkaluns Academy?"
"This is the only university in Yate, dedicated to the study of human evolution and cosmic knowledge. The Bloodhealing Church was founded by people from the Kalkaluns Academy."
The old woman explained.
"I see. So you mean the people from the Kalkaluns Academy stole the true form of the Twisted Saint?"
"That's right, that must be it. Those lunatics will do anything to gain knowledge."
The old woman said bitterly.
In fact, the Church of Pain had always had doubts, because ordinary people had no reason to steal the Twisted Saint.
The Twisted Saint himself does not bestow miracles; since his "death," he has served more as a symbol and Divine Finger for the Church of Pain.
The Church of Pain did not hide the Twisted Saint; anyone who entered the church could worship him.
Only those research fanatics at the Kalkaluns Academy would steal the Twisted Saint in order to acquire knowledge and then keep him as their own.
However, the Church of Pain lacked sufficient evidence to file charges and lacked the power to forcibly search the premises. Therefore, they could only continue to hold Great Baptism, hoping to establish contact with the Twisted Saint and confirm his location through this method.
That's why the old woman agreed so readily when Liu Zheng proposed to Twisted Holy Grail.
Compared to the true form of the Twisted Saint, what is a Holy Grail?
"That's awful. I personally despise this kind of behavior. Um, can I have the Twisted Holy Grail now?"
Liu Zheng replied dismissively.
"You certainly have the right to keep it, sir."
The old woman bent over, raised her hands high, and handed him the Twisted Holy Grail with utmost respect.
"Thanks."
Liu Zheng accepted the Holy Grail, his heart completely unmoved.
Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious, and besides, he already knew what the old woman wanted him to do.
It's not that I can't help, it just depends on what price she can ask for.
His gaze shifted from the old woman to the Twisted Holy Grail.