A Pawn's Passage

Sage Qingwei gazed at the strange, black-covered book with a grave expression.

At that moment, Qi Xuansu, who was hiding inconspicuously in a corner of the divine kingdom, also witnessed the scene and could not help but ask, “What is that?”

Through the Green Cloud embedded in Qi Xuansu’s abdomen and the Heavenly Preceptor’s seals left beforehand, the Heavenly Preceptor could share Qi Xuansu’s perception and converse with him. The elder explained, “That is a divine artifact known as the Scripture of Zuriel.”

Thanks to the success of Western studies, Daoists were no longer clueless to the outside world. Instead, they had a clear understanding of the Western Continent and were well-informed about many of its famed divine artifacts.

“Just as our Daoist Order must guard against hidden cults causing unrest, the Holy Court in the West also had to guard against heretics. In the Western Continent, there is a special cult called the Fallen Apostles, akin to the Cult of Fates or the Lingshan Witch Cult of our continent. According to legend, some Apostles refused to submit to Queen Pallas’s rule and started a rebellion, but they were quickly suppressed. The Holy Court claimed that these traitorous Apostles were cast into Hell but not completely destroyed, hence the name, the Fallen Apostles.

“In my view, most rebellions are born from issues of distribution. Some seize too much, others too little. The problem is not scarcity but inequality. It was the same during the Daoist Order’s revival. We couldn’t recruit so many Ancient Immortals and could only let them fend for themselves. The Holy Court must have faced a similar situation. After suppressing that rebellion, many Apostles were exiled, becoming existences akin to our Ancient Immortals.

“Among the many Fallen Apostles, there was one named Zuriel, known as master of slaughter and conspiracy. He was said to be an elder who appeared almost at the same time as the Supreme Will. After the Supreme Will departed from the mortal realm, he sought to conquer other deities. Since a god’s power is tied directly to the number and scale of his followers, Zuriel created a tome that could convert the followers of any other deity who saw or heard it into his own fervent believers. With this, he would destroy other gods, drain their faith, and drive them into the First Death, while he alone became the sole deity. This book is the Scripture of Zuriel.

“It is said the Scripture of Zuriel was completed only after the sacrifice of 397 scribes. Zuriel tested it on another Apostle, and the scripture successfully wove a web of lies within the reader’s consciousness. That Apostle was forced to relinquish part of his divine power before barely breaking free from the scripture’s absolute domination. From this, it became clear that any being weaker than the Holy rank would fall under its sway.

“If a mortal who has not yet attained immortality reads the Scripture of Zuriel, they will believe everything written within, which preached that Zuriel was the one true God, the supreme deity above all others, and thus the only one worthy of worship. Followers of other deities would be converted into Zuriel’s believers, who would ceaselessly spread his divine revelations. Longevity-stage Immortals and Pseudo-Immortals can resist the scripture’s influence if properly prepared, but only by sacrificing a part of their cultivation, risking even a drop in realm. Moreover, exposure to the scripture does not grant immunity, unlike surviving smallpox. One may still fall under its sway again upon another reading.”

Qi Xuansu was shaken by the sheer power of the Scripture of Zuriel and could not help but ask, “Why would the Holy Court send the Scripture of Zuriel here? Do they want Izanagi to become their believer? Setting aside whether Izanagi will be affected by the tome, Zuriel has already betrayed the Holy Court and become a Fallen Apostle. So even if Izanagi were influenced by the book, he would become Zuriel’s follower, not the Holy Court’s. Isn’t the Holy Court just shooting itself in the foot?”