Li Yao looked into the distance and scanned the appearance of the Channeling Temple with the surveillance cameras on the shell of the shuttle, his own vitality field, and his soul perception.
In almost an instant, he fell into the enormous, vast, deep and unfathomable force field created by the Channeling Temple.
The temple itself was an asteroid floating in the boundless sea of stars. The asteroid had been hollowed out millions of years ago. Inside the asteroid were zigzagging, complicated beehives. Judging from the appearance, it had been built into the shape of a human head.
No. It was not a human head but the head of another intelligent life. It was the head of a deity!
'It' had tentacles and long hair that looked like vipers. The thick, intertwining 'hair' was also full of dense sucking discs that were dancing crazily in the vacuum.
Set off by the long hair was a pair of eyes that almost occupied half of the face. Even the pupils were vividly carved. The pupils were divided into nine levels, like interconnected caves that led to another mysterious universe.
In the middle of the two enormous, weird eyes, there was also a weird protrusion. It looked both like a flesh-and-blood rune that had been branded on the forehead and a third eye that had not been opened yet. Although the eye was not opened yet, Li Yao was still under tremendous pressure, as if the third eye would be able to see through his disguise, rip apart his soul, and dissect his entire life the moment the third eye was opened!
It did not have ears, but in the place where human beings should have ears, it had two organs that looked both like stamens and flames. Li Yao estimated that the owner of the skull statue had long gotten rid of the phase of communicating with soundwaves and received each other's brainwaves directly. The 'stamens' were exactly the organs that received brainwaves.
In the lower part of the face, it had a mouth like a human being. It seemed that no matter how powerful the soul was, it had to obtain energy from food. However, its bloody mouth was as terrifying as its eyes and hair. The circular mouth was full of sharp teeth, making it look like a super crusher that could tear apart any material, including steel.
The combination of all the features gave Li Yao an indescribable sense of horror. Although he knew that it was fake, Li Yao still could not help but feel that his soul was shaking and his belief was shaking. In a trance, he had the feeling that the enormous asteroid fortress was really the skull of a certain primeval deity.
Is this Channeling Temple built in the image of the kings of the Pangu people?
Li Yao thought to himself. Or rather, is it a combination of the images of the experts of the Pangu civilizations into such a weird 'honor'?
While he was deep in thought, the shuttle, mixed with the carriers that had returned from the frontline, entered the bloody mouth of the 'head' that was full of tusks.
It seemed to have been swallowed by the deity.
"Chi —"
The super enormous airlock was slowly lowered behind him. The anti-gravity unit of the shuttle spurted out white air currents and landed at the center of the inner spaceport of the Channeling Temple.
They were sort of 'special investigators' from the Inquisition of Heresy, who represented the Inquisition of Heresy and even the Ultimate Benevolence Masters. Naturally, a lot of staff of the Channeling Temple and the senior priests who managed the temple were waiting for them and leading the way, providing them with the highest permissions to investigate everything.
Li Yao was not interested in the case of the King of Puppets for now.
His attention was focused on the carriers that were taking off and landing not far away.
On his left side, tremendous captives of the Imperium were transported from the frontline by the carriers. Those people had not lost their feelings, desires, and self-awareness. The strong ones were roaring and struggling hard, and the old, the weak, the women, and the children were crying in desperation. But regardless of their strength, they were all shackled and bound by the electrified shackles. Some of the more disobedient ones were even cuffed and strapped to their backs. There was nowhere for them to go.
Escorted by a bunch of emotionless warriors of the Holy League, countless captives of the Imperium were crying, moaning, and cursing as they staggered into the depths of the Channeling Temple.
On his right side, a few teams of fresh people of the Holy League, however, staggered close at the same time and boarded the carriers that had just been emptied.
They were all wearing confused smiles, and there was nothing but docility and loyalty in their eyes. According to the tribes of water, wood, gold, fire, and earth, they were wearing uniforms of different colors. Other than the minor difference, there was nothing different about them. They were like … a bunch of spiritual puppets that had just been assembled on a magical equipment assembly line.
When the captives on the left saw the fresh people of the Holy League on the right side, they were even more frightened and infuriated. They struggled hard and shouted, trying to attract the attention of the people of the Holy League on the right side. Because they were too excited, they were soon foaming at the mouth because of the electric arcs triggered by the shackles.
The new recruits of the Holy League on the right side, on the other hand, simply strode forward without looking at them. Even though they occasionally glanced at the miserable captives on the left side, there was not the slightest emotion in their lackluster eyes. They were still walking forward mechanically.
In the senses of Li Yao's telepathic thoughts, the two lines of people, one entering and one leaving, were particularly different, too.
The captives of the Imperium on the left side were like a colorful, surging river full of astounding tides and colorful swirls.
The new recruits of the Holy League on the right side, on the other hand, were like a river that was almost frozen and dry. The river was flowing lifelessly, unable to raise any waves.
Aren't the new recruits of the Holy League on the right side transformed from the captives of the Imperium on the left side?
Li Yao thought to himself and tried to control his feelings. The captives of the Imperium were shipped here one after another. After a few days of refinement, they were turned into the loyal and docile 'tools' on the left side. Then, they were shipped out again and again, either to the dark mines, the frontline that was like a meat grinder, or the bottommost floor of the shabby starships that was full of venomous gas and dirty water in a cramped environment. They were the fuel that powered the rumbling operation of the evil machine that was the Holy League!
Li Yao noticed that the members of the yaksha squad seemed to have learned the truth about the Channeling Temples a long time ago, but their reactions were different.
'Major' Chu Zhixiao had known that she had undergone the memory-removal surgery in places such as the Channeling Temples. She was only slightly confused for a moment before she made up her mind again by 'lying to herself'.
'Seven Star' Guan Qixing, on the other hand, did not have any unusual reaction. His soul was steady all the time. He was probably one of the typical technical maniacs who only cared about questions related to technology. As for the ethics beyond technology, they had nothing to do with him at all.
'Black Dream' Yun Haixin, on the other hand, was as furious as Li Yao. He was so angry that he was clenching his fists hard.
Yes. He was an Immortal Cultivator. He was a native of the Imperium. Those lambs waiting to be butchered were all his compatriots.
Although the people of the Imperium did not pay much attention to compatriots, the Immortal Cultivators at the very least had their dignity. With Yun Haixin's wisdom, he couldn't have been unaware that he would never be able to make a name for himself if he worked as a dog for the Holy League. Was it really interesting to live an ignoble life like that?
Li Yao was more and more confused about what kind of force had confined Yun Haixin to the Holy League and made him work for his mortal enemy unwillingly.
However, compared to Yun Haixin, 'Titan' Yuan Kou was the one that puzzled him the most.
Yuan Kou was scared.
Although there was not the slightest air of fear on his face, Li Yao could clearly sense that Yuan Kou's soul was shivering. The magnificent giant, who could punch through multiple layers of armor with one punch, was shivering like a little boy who had peed in his pants.
What was going on?
Li Yao recalled what Yuan Kou said yesterday.
He said that the King of Puppets had said to him in the illusion, 'I know what you are scared of.'
Then, what was' Titan 'Yuan Kou scared of exactly?
With a stomach full of questions, Li Yao and the other four members of the yaksha squad walked into the main temple of the Channeling Temple and saw a nightmarish scene.
On both sides of the main hall, there were tens of thousands of metal pillars that were hundreds of meters tall. Each pillar had countless branches that extended around it, and each branch had a dozen to twenty metal cocoons. The length of each cocoon was between three to five meters. Through the translucent shell, one could see that the inside was filled with some kind of viscous liquid, and inside the liquid, there were human beings that were curled up like babies.
Dense runes had been carved on the shell of the metal cocoons, and there was something that looked like a 'progress bar' at the bottom. At first, it was bloody red, but as the progress bar gradually lengthened, the red became dimmer and dimmer until it turned into a bright green.
A lot of elevators and floating discs were rising and falling among the pillars, branches, and metal cocoons, carrying countless expressionless workers. Whenever the progress bar on a metal cocoon turned completely green, they would ascend, lift the cover, and get the human beings inside out. After simple cleaning and debugging, they would lock another human being who was full of anger and fear and struggling hard inside.
Through the translucent cover, it could be vaguely seen that at first, the people who were locked inside were still jumping around and hitting the cover hard. However, the viscous liquid seemed to contain powerful hypnotic ingredients, causing them to quickly lose the ability to resist and fall into a deep sleep, unconsciously curling into the shape of a baby.
As far as Li Yao could see, at least a hundred thousand people were receiving such special refinements.
In the places where his crystal cameras could not scan, there was no telling how many people's feelings, desires, and selves were being butchered inhumanely!
Li Yao could clearly sense that the most intense feelings of human beings blossomed to the maximum like flowers in a febrile wind, only to be ripped apart and burnt into ash, turning into clusters of solidified gray mist.
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