The Prayer Hall

When Lu Yuan entered the prayer hall, more than ten people were kneeling before a bird-shaped divine statue, murmuring softly. Lu Yuan recognized the man leading them at the front as one of the two who had been with Guo Huai at the beginning. He seemed to be a guard as well.

Lu Yuan also spotted the driver who had brought him here among them.

The unnamed guard glanced at Lu Yuan but said nothing, while the others prayed in peace. Lu Yuan found a spot near the back, knelt down, and murmured nonstop, putting on the appearance of prayer.

Before long, he noticed something. The bird-shaped statue seemed to give off a special power that made him drowsy, and he soon slipped into a strange state between sleep and wakefulness.

Lu Yuan was certain that his devout prayers had not moved this evil god. What he was reciting was not the cult's prayers, but trigonometric formulas. He had been reciting them all this time for fear of forgetting them.

If even that could move the evil god, then this was probably the god of mathematics.

So the statue did not work on believers alone. It should be some kind of spiritual object with a hypnotic effect.

He hurried to check the system.

Lu Yuan had experience now. Whenever he was in doubt, he checked the system first. Simple as it was, with no explanatory text whatsoever, it was sure to react when something unusual happened.

For example, when he had tried the Body-Protecting Shield at the Internal Affairs Bureau, his True Essence had changed in a regular pattern.

Sure enough, the system had changed.

Merit Points: 1499

True Essence: 117/120 ling+

Spiritual Pressure: 12 seals

Divine Sense: 22/24 thoughts

The change in True Essence was no surprise; it had recovered naturally. With sufficient rest, he could recover about three or four points of True Essence in a day and night. Lu Yuan had discovered that this was a good way to keep time. Based on the 117 points, he calculated that he had probably spent more than half a day in this underground cult hideout.

What surprised him was the change in his Divine Sense. Some time ago, when he had visited his mother in the hospital, his Divine Sense had inexplicably risen by four points. Now it had not only dropped by two points, but had also been split into two figures.

Lu Yuan drew two inferences from this.

First, Divine Sense was some kind of power that could be consumed, just like True Essence. The first number was the current amount, and the second was the upper limit.

Second, Divine Sense might be related to the mind. Lu Yuan had been exceptionally excited when he saw his mother at the hospital, and now he was drowsy in front of the strange statue. Both had to do with his mental state.

He seemed to have figured a few things out, but more questions followed. Divine Sense had no plus sign after it like True Essence, so how did it increase, and how was it replenished?

He had no clue whatsoever.

Lu Yuan did not know how long he had spent praying in that state between sleep and wakefulness, and he felt a little dazed. But when the guard leading the prayer at the front got up, the power that made him sleepy disappeared. Looking at the divine statue now, he saw nothing more than an ordinary sculpture.

After the prayer ended, the cultists exchanged a few words in the prayer hall. Lu Yuan heard snatches of their conversation.

"Thank the divine lord, my illness has completely healed."

"Those good-for-nothings in the Cultivators' Federation can't do a thing about Twilight Syndrome, but to the divine lord, it's just a little cold."

"Twilight Syndrome was the divine lord's way of punishing unbelievers to begin with."

"That's why the divine lord is omnipotent!"

Lu Yuan's heart shook at their words. Twilight Syndrome!

He took a closer look at several of the believers talking. Sure enough, they had the characteristic thinness of Twilight Syndrome patients. But their faces were rosy, and they did look much better.

Could the cult really cure Twilight Syndrome?

No, impossible. Ji Yin would not lie to him.

Lu Yuan trusted Ji Yin.

Because Ji Yin had saved him, while the cult had kidnapped his younger sister.

For Lu Yuan, telling good from evil was that simple.

When the prayer ended, the guard at the front stood up. He took out a box and announced:

"The divine lord has bestowed divine water once again!"

The cultists were overjoyed. They dropped to their knees one after another, shouting, "The divine lord is great!"

Thumb-sized bottles were handed out to the cultists, and some drank the divine water on the spot.

When he came to Lu Yuan, the guard paused and said, "You don't get any for now."

Lu Yuan did not want any either. He figured the bottles contained either drugs or stimulants. Now he knew how the cult treated illnesses.

Before long, Brother Cheng came to the entrance of the prayer hall. He first bowed to the guard at the front, and after the guard waved his hand, he led Lu Yuan away.

After collecting the chamber pot from the toilet, they ran into Guo Huai leading someone through the corridor. Guo Huai was somewhat surprised to see Lu Yuan.

"Stop!" he called. "Zhang Cheng, why did you bring him out?"

Zhang Cheng answered respectfully, "Reporting to you, sir, Lord Sheng Hong approved his praying with everyone in the prayer hall."

Guo Huai's expression softened slightly, though he still grumbled, "Sheng Hong is far too unconcerned. The protector hasn't come to preside over the Holy Descent Ceremony yet. How can he let people run around?"

With one lord guard criticizing another, Zhang Cheng, who was responsible for delivering meals and emptying chamber pots, naturally pretended not to hear.

Lu Yuan sized up the person following Guo Huai. He was a youthful-looking boy, seemingly about his own age, and his eyes were full of curiosity and excitement.

When the boy saw Lu Yuan looking at him, he gave him a friendly grin.

Guo Huai had not finished. He said sternly, "Don't let any more newcomers out before the protector arrives. I'll speak to Sheng Hong about it."

"Yes, sir!"

"One more thing." Guo Huai pushed the boy behind him toward Zhang Cheng. "Take him over too and lock... let him stay next door to Lu Yuan."

"Lu Yuan, his name is Xu Wenbin. The two of you should make friends." He said this to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan hastily agreed.

Zhang Cheng took Lu Yuan back to his room and locked the door, then locked Xu Wenbin in the room next door. Once he was done, he shook his head and prepared to leave. Lu Yuan spoke through the transom window. "Brother Cheng, I'm sorry. It was my fault that the lord guard scolded you."

Zhang Cheng just smiled.

"Little brother, I serve Lord Sheng Hong. As long as he approves tomorrow, I'll take you to the prayer hall again."

"Thank you, Brother Cheng!"

Back in his room once more, Lu Yuan glanced at the system. His Divine Sense had returned to 24/24, though he did not know why it had recovered.

"Looks like Divine Sense and True Essence recover differently. True Essence recovers naturally over the course of a day and night, and very slowly. Divine Sense recovers quickly, though."

There was no clock in the cell, so Lu Yuan did not know the time, but he was a little sleepy and did not read any more. He lay down on the bed, and his breathing gradually changed as he used its rhythm to cultivate the Body-Protecting Shield.

According to Ji Yin's guidance, the Body-Protecting Shield could draw on the True Essence in his body to resist some damage. Specifically, if a punch would otherwise kill him, the Body-Protecting Shield could block part of it, leaving him perhaps only severely injured.

It was a very basic form of cultivation, with no dazzling spiritual light effects, but once mastered, it worked fairly well.

In an environment full of lurking dangers, this was exactly what Lu Yuan needed.