"This porridge is a mixture of a giant rock worm and moss. It's the staple food of this area. It does not taste good, but it's very nutritious."
Li Jialing said attentively, "This piece of meat is the hind leg of the Red Lizard. The Red Lizard is the main means of transportation in this place. It jumps forward with its strong hind legs. Therefore, its hind legs are the sturdiest. The juices made from the magma that has just solidified are rare delicacies. People here might not have the chance to eat it even once in a year. Brother Yao, eat it while it's still hot!"
"Is that so?"
After sleeping for such a long time, Li Yao indeed felt that his stomach was rumbling and beating like a drum. He took the rock worm porridge and gulped it down. Then, he grabbed the hind leg of the Red Lizard and tore it apart. The taste of the meat porridge was a bit worse. It tasted like a half-solidified candle with only a bit of saltiness. The barbecued meat tasted much better. The tendons and tendons were soft and powerful. The fragrance lingered in his mouth, but it also attracted the gluttonous bug, making him even hungrier.
Li Yao did not care about the taste. He had eaten synthetic food that was even more disgusting than 'tasteless' too many times. All he cared about was the replenishment of energy. While drinking the porridge, he smacked his lips and said, "Why are they all common ingredients? This is Dongfang Mingyue's nest after all. Don't they have some high-energy nutrition drugs? She can't be that stingy."
"Well …"
Li Jialing said dutifully, "There were some, but after Brother Yao was in a coma for so many days, you had to swallow high-energy nutrition drugs dozens of times more than normal trainers every day. As a result, all of Sister Mingyue's stock was used up, which infuriated her. So, we don't have any right now."
Li Yao coughed and somewhat awkwardly changed the topic. "Right, do you know the girl who delivered the meal just now? Why did her attitude feel so strange? She was as cold as ice and told strangers not to come close, as if someone owed her tens of thousands of dollars. Why? Is this place not welcoming us?"
"Not exactly."
Li Jialing shook his head. "Sister Mingyue has a high prestige in this place. Many underground residents are her believers, including those who served us in the past few days. We are all honorable guests that Sister Mingyue brought here. They can't wait to welcome us. Why would they dislike us?
"It's just that Sister Mingyue's believers are all like this. They have to suppress their emotions. Even if they're overjoyed, they won't show too much on the surface."
Li Yao stopped tearing at the Red Lizard's thigh. He sucked on the meat between his teeth. Why does it sound a little wrong? "Believer? What believer?"
"They are the believers of Nepenthe."
Li Jialing said dutifully, "Nepenthe is an organization that Sister Mingyue established in the deepest part of the underground world a few years ago. In the past two years, it has been developing very fast in every area below the ground. Not only are her believers everywhere in the abyssal towns with a population of more than 10000, but many people in the towns that are closer to sunlight have also joined 'Nepenthe'.
"Right. Those believers all call her … 'Serenity Seraph'. Although she is not the leader, she is the spiritual symbol of Nepenthe. Everybody trusts her."
"What the hell!"
Li Yao put the thigh of the Red Lizard that had only bones left on the tray hard and frowned. "Nepenthe? What 'Serenity Seraph'? That girl really can't change her habit. She never forgets her feudal superstitions wherever she goes!
"Come on. Tell me what the doctrine of this' Nepenthe 'is. How exactly did she bewitch people?"
Li Jialing's face was even more conflicted. After considering his words for a long time, he finally said carefully, "The doctrine of Nepenthe is that the feelings and desires of human beings are the source of all pain. If the reality cannot be changed, as long as one suppresses or even obliterates one's feelings and desires as much as possible, one will be able to eliminate all pain and enjoy a carefree new life."
Li Yao was stunned.
His eyes gradually widened, and his mouth opened, as if he were going to swallow Li Jialing.
"What? Really? "
Li Yao grabbed the thigh bone again and waved it like a saber. "Eliminating feelings and desires will eliminate all pain, and 'enjoying a carefree new life'? Is — Is — Is it any different from the proposition of the Holy League?"
Recalling the "scheme" that Long Yangjun talked about ten days ago, Li Yao immediately had a cold sweat on his back. The meat porridge and the roasted meat that he had just eaten seemed to have turned into poisons.
"Sister Mingyue said that her idea is slightly different from that of the Holy League."
Thinking for a moment, Li Jialing said, "If the Holy League is trying to annihilate the feelings and desires of human beings and turn them into heartless, tearless puppets, all she needs to do is to annihilate 90% of the feelings and desires of human beings. No, it should not be 'annihilate' but 'suppress'.
"Sister Mingyue said that if there were enough resources, everyone would be able to freely release their emotions and desires. Then, there would naturally be no need to suppress anything. Everyone would be able to be their truest and freest self. But what if there were insufficient resources, or even extreme shortages? In order to avoid unnecessary conflicts and pain, 90%, 80%, 70% … Suppressing it like that will reduce people's demand for all the unnecessary resources in the outside world is something that can't be helped! "
Li Yao was stunned for a long time before he said, "Isn't it the same theory of the Holy League? It's just a disguise at best. There is no essential difference at all!"
Li Jialing nodded his head and bit his lips. "In fact, when she said that, I was bold enough to refute her in the same way. But she simply said with a smile that there was nothing she could do if I insisted on thinking that way. Let's just consider her a spy from the Holy League for now."
"A spy from the Holy League?"
Greatly shocked, Li Yao smashed his fists hard. "Great. The she-devil's ambitions and repulsiveness have finally been revealed! That's not right. By logic, shouldn't she be playing the tricks of feudal superstition deep below the ground and planning some shocking operation, only to have her scheme exposed by me at the last moment, resulting in her ultimate failure and loss of reputation? Why did she confess everything dutifully before I started my investigation and infiltration?
"Then? She said that she was a spy from the Holy League. Then what? Did she say anything else to you? You didn't fight it out with her? "
"How could I resist her?"
Li Jialing said gloomily, "Her combat ability was obviously much higher than mine. She did not need to attack at all. As long as she sat there and stared at my neck with a smile, I felt that my carotid artery and spine were about to be broken by her telepathic thoughts. Besides, this was her territory. You were not awake, and she seemed to be open and harmless. What could I have done?
"As for whether or not she was a spy from the Holy League and her purpose, she did not say anything. She only asked me to ask you. She said that you would tell me everything, including her real name. She was not the real Dongfang Mingyue. You two had known each other for a long time and were good friends, right?"
Li Yao: "Well …"
Li Jialing: "Right. She also said that you would start talking nonstop after every 'well' and asked me not to believe anything you said after the 'well'."
Li Yao: "…"
Li Jialing: "In fact, I don't need her to remind me. I know that Brother Yao likes to talk nonsense most of the time. It's just that I am too embarrassed to expose you when I see that you are bragging so happily. I can only play along with you in case the atmosphere is too awkward.
"After all, Li Lingfeng and Wuying Lan's years of refinement on me were not for nothing. I'm just young and inexperienced, but I'm not an idiot."
Li Yao: "Enough. Time is of the essence. Let's get down to business. The woman is indeed not the real Dongfang Mingyue. Her name is' Long Yangjun '. I can't tell you much about her identity and background. I can only tell you that she is an extremely dangerous and dreadful woman."
Li Jialing asked, "Is she more dreadful than Blackstar the Great?"
"They are dreadful in two different directions. You cannot simply compare them."
Li Yao thought for a moment and said, "I can only say that I would rather face Blackstar the Great who is fully-armed, raging, and backed by thousands of soldiers than Long Yangjun who is unarmed and smiling. Of course, if she is truly on the Holy League's side and insists on brainwashing everybody into emotionless and desireless idiots, I will cut off all ties with her and fight her to the end no matter how dreadful she is!"
Li Jialing was surprised. "So to speak, she is really from the Holy League? How did she sneak into the Imperium and lurk around the Prime Minister? How did you become best friends with such a dangerous person, Brother Yao? "
Li Yao thought for a moment and realized that it was not accurate to say that Long Yangjun was a spy of the Holy League.
Long Yangjun was an elite warrior of the Nuwa civilization who had been corrupted by the Pangu. Her bloodline, techniques, and ideology should be equally shared by the Pangu and the Nuwa Clan.
She was half an heir of the Pangu, and the Pangu was worshipped by the people of the Holy League as the supreme god. Therefore, instead of saying that Long Yangjun was a spy of the Holy League, it would be better to say that Long Yangjun was a living god of the people of the Holy League.
Even though the Pangu blood inside her body was too thin to reach the level of "god", it was not a problem for her to be an angel, a saintess, or a leader.
Now that he thought about it, it was not surprising that she secretly spread the ideas of the Holy League deep below the ground of the Imperium of True Human Beings as the "Serenity Seraph".
Li Yao wiped his mouth and said, "She … can't be counted as a member of the Holy League, can she? The situation is too complicated to be explained in a few words. All in all, where is she right now?"
"Sister Mingyue — no, Sister Long went to the dark area deeper below the ground three days ago, claiming that she was going to stop the war of a few barbaric tribes so that they would abandon their conflicts and hatred."
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