Chapter 324: Section 112: The Truth about Mei Lan Temple
Through teleportation, the dragon-man youth returned to the Wave Hall.
Rumble rumble…
Soon, the temple began to tremble violently.
The High Priest’s complexion changed drastically, and she immediately cast a spell. An illusory image, like a small dressing mirror, hovered in the palm of her hand.
She was remotely observing the battle and witnessed the moment the incarnation of the Fish God dissipated.
“This is the ‘Truth Divine Pupil’!” High Priest Mei Lan’s face turned deathly pale.
...
“What’s going on?” standing beside the High Priest was the fishman youth, who was also very puzzled by this scene.
High Priest Mei Lan cast a glance at the surviving fishmen in the hall and whispered to the fishman youth, “It’s time to tell you the truth, but before that…”
She paused, turned to face the fishmen, and loudly beckoned them to gather together, then she cast divine arts.
The Divine Arts took the form of water rings that encircled all the fishmen, constantly emanating divine light that gradually removed the horrific frostbite from their bodies.
“There are powerful enemies attacking the temple, but our lord’s incarnation will surely bring death to any offender.”
“However, the temple can’t withstand this kind of battle, and soon, there will be many places collapsing.”
“This place is temporarily safe. Heal your wounds here, and when the time is right, I will teleport you to the most central part of the temple.”
After saying these words, High Priest Mei Lan took the initiative to grab the hand of the fishman youth, “Divine Son, your safety is of greater importance, we shall depart first.”
Leaving some clergy behind to maintain the water rings, the High Priest immediately used divine arts to teleport herself and the fishman youth, both vanishing from their original spot.
When they reappeared, they had arrived at a lavishly decorated underwater corridor.
“The core area of the temple isolates all teleportation; we have to walk from here. Time is of the essence, so let’s talk as we swim,” the High Priest released his hand with a sigh and swam forward.
The fishman youth swam alongside her, his demeanor calm.
The High Priest began slowly revealing the true nature of the temple to him.
After hearing her words, the fishman youth’s expression was agitated, “Are you saying that this temple is fake? Even the half-plane is fake?”
“Yes.”
“Then you…”
“I, of course, am real. However, some among the Divine Guard Army are mere illusions. There are both real and fake individuals here,” the High Priest answered with a smile.
The fishman youth fell silent, his heart filled with astonishment.
The High Priest shared with him the truth about this place.
Originally, after the Goddess Mei Lan was severely injured, it was difficult for her to return to the Divine Country for recuperation.
The deities of the Holy Bright Empire were continuously searching for Her whereabouts. As soon as she showed any sign of presence, she would be detected by the Holy Emperor. The deities of the Empire would immediately mobilize and try to kill Her. The chances of seeking refuge in the Divine Country were next to nil.
With no other choice, the Goddess Mei Lan could only select a nearby sea area to hide.
She chose the Sky Pillar Sea Eye.
This place was rarely visited, a perilous land, and the closer one got to the Sea Eye, the more formidable the sea beasts became.
The abundant Water Element here was also very conducive to the recovery of Goddess Mei Lan.
At the same time, the numerous fishmen in the Sea Eye City would be Her followers, providing Her with faith to help Her extract divine power.
“Please wait, High Priestess,” after pondering for a moment the fishman youth detected a contradiction, “If I were the Holy Emperor, having seriously injured my lord and not seeing my lord flee to the Divine Country, I would intensify the search in the vicinity of the battlefield. Without finding the target, I would not give up.”
High Priest Mei Lan nodded, “You are correct, very good, indeed worthy of being the Divine Son, and quite different from the other fishmen.”
She continued, “That is because our lord deceived all the deities on the Empire’s side.”
A bolt of lightning shot through the mind of the Fishman youth: Mei Lan, the God of Deception, the God of Disguise!
“The gods of the Holy Bright Empire were influenced by our Lord’s Divine Arts, believing that our Lord had been too severely wounded and had died,” said the High Priest of Mei Lan.
Yet the Fishman youth shook his head again, “If I were the Holy Emperor, I would insist on seeing the body alive or confirm death through the corpse. I wouldn’t just give up because of a mere belief. At the very least, I would dispatch a force to search the vicinity of the battlefield persistently.”
The High Priest of Mei Lan continued to explain, “The contest between gods is not merely a matter of strength, but also of the differences in Divinity and Divine Authority. Besides, our Lord did not completely deceive them; He truly was grievously injured, on the brink of extinction!”
“So, after deceiving the gods of the Holy Bright Empire, our Lord immediately deceived Himself.”
The Fishman youth was stunned, “Deceived Himself?”
The High Priest of Mei Lan sighed, “Our Lord’s injuries were too grave. Why do you think the gods of the Holy Bright Empire believed our Lord would die? It’s because they knew very well, the injuries they caused to our Lord were extremely severe! Apart from a select few gods, there were no other outcomes but death for them.”
“But our Lord’s Divinity is exquisite; apart from deceiving others, He could also deceive Himself.”
“At death’s door, our Lord deceived Himself, believing that the battle that had occurred in reality was just a nightmare, and that the blows He had received and the wounds He bore were all illusory.”
“Only by doing so could our Lord barely maintain His existence.”
“But in doing so, our Lord had to unleash His Divine Domain and constantly consume Divine Power to sustain the Divine Domain.”
“We are now situated within the Deceptive Divine Domain.”
The Fishman youth’s eyes widened, “So, the temples within the Deceptive Divine Domain are but the dreamlike illusions of our Lord?”
The High Priest of Mei Lan shook his head, “The temples, the Half-plane, they are not our Lord’s conception, but ours.”
“Any life that enters the Deceptive Divine Domain will be self-deceived, and all that is seen and heard will be the entrants’ own knowledge and thoughts.”
The Fishman youth protested, “I have never fantasized about the Temple of Mei Lan.”
“It was all intentionally led by us,” the High Priest of Mei Lan replied with a wry smile. “If we let entrants deceive themselves, their experiences would differ drastically. Once they leave the Deceptive Divine Domain and compare notes, the discrepancies would be glaring.”
“To prevent this, we deliberately spread rumors and conjecture, concocting the illusion of a Half-plane and a temple.”
“In fact, the hypothesis about the existence of a Half-plane within the Sea Eye is easy to conjecture, isn’t it?”
The Fishman youth nodded in agreement. At that moment, he thought of Cang Xu. When Cang Xu returned, wasn’t that what he had guessed?
Little did he know the truth was such.
The Fishman youth, or rather the entire Justice Pirate Group, had been misled by Cang Xu.
Of course, even without Cang Xu’s misguidance, the Justice Pirate Group would probably have come to the same conclusion. Whether it was someone else proposing this hypothesis or later encountering Feng Yao, they would have made the same guess.
And once this idea took hold, upon entering the Deceptive Divine Domain, they would be deceived by the same lie and illusion.
The High Priest of Mei Lan continued, “You should know about the selection for the Pirate Throne?”
“Whoever can perform acts befitting a pirate will be favored by the pirate divinity, allowing the one with the strongest Divinity in the end to ascend the throne, rising to the life tier of gods.”
“This is essentially an act of worship. The more frequently one performs such acts, the more Faith is given to the pirate Divinity, and the greater the increase in Divinity.”
“Similarly, the more people are deceived, and the stronger they are, the greater the help to our Lord.”
It was then that the Fishman youth truly had a moment of realization.
Mei Lan was in dire straits, only able to deceive Himself to heal, clinging to life.
But as a result, the Divine Domain was unleashed and could no longer be reined in.
This loophole was exploited by the Divine Guard Army, creating an enormous scam.
Yet the assault of the Barbarian Legend, and crucially the Truth Divine Pupil in his hands, completely destabilized the Deceptive Divine Domain.
All of these led to the current predicament.
Mei Lan was in imminent danger.