Divine Shrine

The Turkic people favor domed architecture, and for Turkalando's home, it truly was a fortress.

In places like this, once locked, it's extremely difficult to force open the lock.

At least Zhang Xuezhou was powerless in the face of this blockade.

"We even have tunnels where I live!"

Only after Turkalando laboriously pointed did Zhang Xuezhou nod.

Even if a turtle's shell is incredibly resilient, it still needs a safe way to escape.

Obviously, a house with good security must have a retreat route.

He helped Turkalando up, and when Turkalando swiped his fingerprint in the shadows of the study, a wooden floorboard suddenly sank down, revealing a small passageway filled with dim yellow light.

"You definitely didn't consider the possibility of injury when you designed the secret passage!"

Zhang Xuezhou looked at the bottom, which was nearly three meters deep, and then at the narrow entrance passage, which was only wide enough for one person to fit through and had no ladder.

He pointed to the entrance, and Turkalando opened his mouth slightly before Zhang Xuezhou pushed him inside.

A dull thud echoed as Turkalando felt a sharp pain throughout her body. It took her several seconds to understand why Zhang Xuezhou had said that, as her head was still spinning.

"I... I think I broke my leg... broken... you stepped on my head!"

"I'm sorry, I wouldn't dare go through this place without your guidance!"

Zhang Xuezhou jumped down.

Some bumps and bruises are inevitable in this process.

However, these minor problems are easily solved with the Supreme Purity True Technique; it's just that some pain must be endured in advance.

I think I just broke my leg!

As he got up in the passageway, Turkalando touched his shinbone, still somewhat incredulous that the intense pain had suddenly subsided.

She shook her head, feeling that her already sluggish mind had become even sluggisher.

Only when urged by Zhang Xuezhou did she stagger ahead and lead the way.

This escape route has multiple exits, including an exit leading to the green belt with spotlights more than 500 meters away, a hidden entrance to the underground laboratory, and also a route leading towards the shrine.

Turkalando led Zhang Xuezhou around for more than two hundred meters before emerging from a pile of garbage in a small storage room.

"This is the back room of our shrine," Tulcarando explained. "Walk forward from here and you'll reach the main hall of the shrine!"

Once outside the passage, there was no need for Turcalandor to guide them; the elders' frantic prayers and Turcalandor's agonizing cries were the simplest directional signs.

"What rank of experts are your elders?" Zhang Xuezhou asked. "Don't take us down the moment we meet!"

"I brought a gun," Turkalando stammered. "They're afraid of guns!"

Afraid of guns?

"We are clergy serving the god Tu'er. We haven't undergone genetic modification, and none of us have been formally registered in the hierarchy. Only paladins are considered high-ranking members, but they are not permitted to enter the shrine without special permission!"

Turkalando offered a brief explanation, which reassured Zhang Xuezhou.

As long as one can withstand the elders' mental attacks, these eight elders are like harmless old men. He can knock down an old man with one punch, and if he uses long-range shooting, he can take down an old man with one shot.

He adjusted the arm guard, and the three barrels of the Infinite Gun immediately emerged.

"If you want to save your mother, you'll have to be ruthless," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I don't mean I'll kill you elders, but at least I'll make sure you have no ability to interfere!"

Inside the shrine, the agonizing cries of Turcolando, coupled with the elders' frenzied chanting, were met with Ren Anran's complete silence, creating a bizarre and incomprehensible religious scene.

The Scarlet Alliance State's elimination of these ancient traditions brought some losses, but it undoubtedly removed most of the ignorance; few people would so fanatically believe in everything that 'God' does.

If Tulcarando had not been exposed to foreign knowledge, she would have felt equally insane standing in the shrine, and might have even ignored her mother's cries of anguish.

For clergy, the will of God is greater than everything else, even surpassing relationships such as kinship and friendship.

This is also why the eight elders did not take care of Turcolando.

If God wants to take back Turcorando's power, they support it; if God wants to replace the chieftain, they also support it; if God wants to punish or even kill Turcorando, that is also something they support.

Consequently, any attempt to obstruct or sabotage will inevitably be met with hostility from the eight elders.

Zhang Xuezhou mentioned this as the reason for taking such drastic measures.

If these eight old men cannot be quickly overthrown, any one of them escaping the shrine will cause them trouble that will be difficult to manage.

"I'll definitely go all out," Tulcarando said. "Their robes are thick and rough, and they're resistant to slashing and bullets. My small tranquilizer gun can't penetrate them at all without aiming."

"Your reminder was very timely!"

Zhang Xuezhou slightly extended his fingers, controlling the extension and retraction of the three barrels of the Infinite Gun.

He slightly raised his hand, changing the direction of his strike as well.

"Won't this kill someone?" Turkalando asked.

"This is my first time using it, I don't know if it'll kill anyone, but you guys have to sort this out, otherwise I can't go save your mother. After all, it's your mother who's in trouble, not Ren Anran!"

"Then go ahead and attack. At worst, we'll stage a fake death and make them all die for their cause!"

A trace of color returned to Turkalando's pale face, and she raised the firing angle slightly, gripping the small tranquilizer gun.

Her choice was clear: save her mother or side with the elders.

Without a reasonable solution, their attacks on elders and disobeying God's will in the shrine are capital offenses, punishable by being hung up and burned for three days and three nights.

The current situation has completely exceeded Turkalando's expectations. She never imagined that such complicated things would happen after Ren Anran took the Soul Jade.

Her hands trembled slightly a few times, and then she tiptoed forward.

As they walked along a long corridor and climbed a flight of stairs leading to the second floor, they could see the people inside the shrine's main hall through Tongfeng holes in the walls.

Before Zhang Xuezhou could speak, Turkalando fired a shot.

The tranquilizer dart was injected in a mere 0.1 seconds. The elder who had been shot in the forehead stared blankly for a moment, then stopped his frantic chanting and slowly collapsed.

The elders didn't react until Turkalandor fired his second shot.

"Who..."

Before he could even finish his shout, Zhang Xuezhou fired his bullet.

The tiny steel needle pierced the opponent's throat, silencing him. The opponent then clutched his throat and coughed violently.

This type of firearm isn't particularly powerful; a shot to the throat would be similar to having a fishbone stuck in your throat. However, it's clearly very effective for restraint.

One shot was fired, and the opponent lost all normal abilities.

The close-range shooting made it relatively easy for Zhang Xuezhou to complete the demanding shooting mission.

By the time Tulcarandor fired the third shot, the Infinite Spear had already struck the fifth elder in the throat.

Inside the shrine, the elders' chanting turned into violent coughing, which only subsided after Tulcarando rushed into the shrine hall and fired several more shots.

"Mom?"

Turkalando called out urgently to Turkalando, who was struggling on the ground like a snake, and Zhang Xuezhou also looked at the deity worshipped by the Turk tribe.