Translator: CinderTL
As the elder spoke with fervent devotion about the Dark God's healing of believers, the Lord of the Mist suddenly interjected:
"Has the Dark God ever resurrected a deceased believer?"
Hearing this, Feng Qi immediately cast a puzzled glance at the Lord of the Mist.
Is he trying to sabotage this?
The elder, who was holding a book, paused in surprise before shaking his head.
"The Dark God does not interfere with the cycle of life and death. However, devout believers receive the Dark God's guidance in their next life, granting them a beautiful new existence."
With that, the elder pointed to a nearby fountain and said:
"This is our Dark God Cult's holy water. Regular consumption strengthens the body and improves health. You may try it."
Upon hearing this, Feng Qi and the Lord of the Mist immediately turned to look at the nearby fountain.
"Let's give it a try," the Lord of the Mist said with a decisive nod.
Approaching the fountain, he picked up a wooden bowl and scooped a ladleful of water from the pool.
After taking a sip, the Lord of the Mist nodded in approval.
"It contains trace amounts of spiritual energy. Long-term consumption would indeed have the strengthening effects you mentioned."
"This has nothing to do with spiritual energy," the elder countered, his tone still humble despite his disagreement. "The holy water in this fountain is blessed by the Dark God himself. If you don't believe me, check if there are any spirit stones embedded within the fountain."
The Lord of the Mist grinned but remained silent.
His gaze pierced through the marble floor of the fountain pool, revealing the intricate formation patterns carved beneath.
It was clearly a small spiritual energy gathering array designed to automatically draw spiritual energy from the surrounding environment.
After continuing to stroll through the Dark God Cult's branch with the elder, they gained a general understanding of the situation.
The Dark God Cult's branch in Star City was currently in its early stages of development.
Compared to Star City's population of tens of millions, the Dark God Cult's few thousand followers were insignificant.
However, the elder's explanation revealed the cult's potential for rapid growth.
By healing followers and other promotional tactics, the Dark God Cult could undoubtedly expand rapidly in Star City.
But this required the cult to reach a critical mass of followers before it could spread like a spiderweb throughout the city.
The fact that the Dark God Cult had only amassed a few thousand followers after years of operating in Star City was likely due to the city's unique environment.
They were now almost certain that the Spirit Energy Clan was behind the Dark God Cult.
After all, the Spirit Energy Clan, which controlled Old Day City, would never allow an uncontrolled Domain Force to grow unchecked.
In fact, the Spirit Energy Clan had likely actively promoted the Dark God Cult's development through media propaganda and other means.
But in Star City, the Dark God Cult clearly lacked such advantages.
Since Star City was beyond the Spirit Energy Clan's control, manipulating the media to support the cult was impossible.
Most importantly, Star City's media outlets were deeply skeptical of such divine claims.
Perhaps there had indeed been cases of terminally ill believers miraculously recovering, but Star City's media, upon learning of such incidents, would promptly classify them as "mere coincidences."
There was no possibility of them widely reporting on such events.
The media served as a crucial window to the outside world, encompassing various information platforms, short-video apps, news outlets, and more.
These channels were the primary means by which Star City residents learned about the world beyond their immediate surroundings.
Without media coverage, the public would remain unaware.
In truth, Star City had already shown considerable tolerance toward the Dark God Cult's existence. Any attempt to promote it would be futile.
This had kept the Dark God Cult's growth in Star City perpetually stagnant.
However, Feng Qi had reason to believe that once the cult's membership reached a critical mass, further expansion would require no media promotion whatsoever. The cult's momentum would then accelerate exponentially.
After touring the Dark God Cult's branch and gaining deeper insights through the elder's explanations, they boarded the Tiger Soul Army vehicle that had been waiting outside and returned directly to Tiger Soul Headquarters.
Back in his core zone office, the Lord of the Mist lay on the sofa, deep in thought. After a moment, he spoke:
"The Dark God Cult may be thriving in Old Day City, but there's no space for them to grow in Star City."
"So, you're planning to take action against them?" Feng Qi asked immediately.
"Of course. Star City is my territory. Do you think I'd tolerate them running rampant here?"
"What's your plan?"
"Most of Star City's media is already under our control. The Dark God Cult needs positive press to gain momentum, and they're at their most vulnerable right now. Naturally, I'll smear them deliberately. Why would I give them positive coverage?"
"Aren't you afraid of drawing the attention of the Spirit Energy Clan from Old Day City?"
"Afraid? Of course I am. But the Spirit Energy Clan doesn't know I'm the one pulling the strings behind the Tiger Soul Research Institute."
A mischievous grin spread across the Lord of the Mist's face.
"Feng Qi, sometimes you can't be a coward when facing a challenge. Even if you know your opponent is far stronger than you, remember this: the enemy is in the open, while I operate in the shadows."
"What do you mean?"
"Let me put it this way: imagine you've entered an unfamiliar territory, facing a challenge from a mysterious force whose true strength remains unknown. What would you do?"
Hearing this, he immediately understood what the Lord of the Mist was trying to convey.
In fact, he had done something similar in a previous timeline.
In that Sacrifice Line, he chose to confront the Technology Research Institute, only to find them extremely cautious in their response.
As the black shadow behind the institute later revealed, they wouldn't have taken any action against him at all if he hadn't provoked them.
That timeline taught him a crucial lesson:
The unknown breeds caution.
The Lord of the Mist clearly shared this belief.
By remaining hidden and projecting an increasingly dominant stance against the Dark God Cult, the forces behind the cult would become even more wary.
After all, they had no way of knowing the true extent of the Lord of the Mist's power.
Reality wasn't a novel.
All factions operated in the shadows. No villain would recklessly send forces to kill the protagonist simply because their plans were thwarted.
The wisest course of action in such situations was to gather intelligence.
Acting rashly without understanding one's opponent could lead to catastrophic consequences.
The Domain Forces infiltrating Human Civilization were no fools.
Their goals were all focused on shaping the future.
With such long-term vision, they wouldn't let petty grievances or impulsive actions derail their plans.
Feng Qi had learned this lesson deeply across multiple timelines.
The Black Shadow Faction behind the Technology Research Institute was the most cautious, even retreating proactively in the face of his repeated provocations.
The Lord of the Mist, on the other hand, was the king of concealment.
If Feng Qi hadn't uncovered the truth 1,500 years later, he would never have suspected anything amiss at the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
It wasn't until he witnessed the Lord of the Mist snap his fingers that he realized just how deeply this man had been hiding.
Feng Qi had limited contact with the Spirit Energy Clan.
But it was clear they were another faction that prioritized concealment above all else; otherwise, Old Day City would have undergone earth-shattering changes long ago.
All the Domain Forces shared a common trait:
If they could hide, they would hide. They never took unnecessary risks.
The sole exception was the blue-skinned creatures.
Through his access to the Tiger Soul Research Institute's records, Feng Qi had uncovered numerous traces of this mysterious force's activities.
All records were textual, with no images or videos.
The blue-skinned creatures were the epitome of recklessness.
To collect miracle items, they recklessly sacrificed their own lives across the globe.
He had personally witnessed the deaths of at least a hundred Blue-skinned Assassins.
In contrast, other Hidden Realm Factions prioritized stability as their core development philosophy.
The Lord of the Mist's aggressive actions in Star City could indeed serve as a warning to the Spirit Energy Clan, who were unfamiliar with his true nature.
It might even make the Spirit Energy Clan realize that other factions were present in Star City, prompting them to withdraw voluntarily.
Yet one question still lingered in his mind, defying explanation.
He wanted to know the true identity of the Dark God, who was currently harvesting power of faith through the Dark God Cult.
According to the Narrator's predictions, if he destroyed the lifeform within the Dark God statue in 1500 years, the Dark God should have been erased from the timeline.
Why, then, did the Dark God still exist in this timeline?
He had two hypotheses to explain this discrepancy.
Hypothesis 1: The Dark God in this timeline had been replaced by a newcomer, accounting for the subtle differences in the divine statue's details.
Hypothesis 2: By killing the life force within the Goat-Headed Demon statue, he had only absorbed a portion of the Dark God's life force, not the entirety.
To uncover the truth, he resolved to continue his investigation.
Only by gathering comprehensive intelligence could his counterparts in other timelines launch their attacks effectively.
Especially now that he possessed the Miracle Bracelet, it was possible that his counterparts in other timelines could use it to acquire the main timeline's abilities, such as the Purple Soul, blood source, malevolence, and more.
If the Miracle Bracelet truly allowed for the transmission of power across space and time, then with clear intelligence, the other timelines could investigate further by launching offensive operations.
(End of the Chapter)
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