Chapter 238 - 193: The ’Base Color’ of the Gods

"Then, it has to be a personal item, like clothing or an accessory!" Mo Wen nodded in understanding, then glanced at the assassin. "I already interrogated and examined him yesterday..."

"This guy’s Divine Technique is Thousand Shadows and Transformations! He can transform his own shadow into anything—a saber, a sword, clothes, all sorts of other tools. In terms of versatility, it’s incredibly broad! This Divine Technique is by no means weak."

After a slight pause, he continued, "Right, there are a few things I need to make clear beforehand... When Forging an Artifact, according to the unwritten rules of our Moisture Teaching, once you pay, we just do the Forging. Everything else has nothing to do with us! If someone comes looking for revenge, don’t drag us into it..."

"...This guy is from the All-Powerful Lineage. I can guarantee I won’t deliberately direct their hatred toward you! But, the psychopaths from the All-Powerful Lineage..." Chu Bamboo blinked.

Mo Wen’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. "That’s not a big problem either... We’ve always been sworn enemies of the Demon Dao Sect!"

"That’s right." Zhang Hai nodded slightly and added, "Fighting the Demon Dao Sect is the duty of our Orthodoxy."

Chu Bamboo gave Zhang Hai a thoughtful look. ’Could this be the fundamental reason why the Demon Dao Sect focuses on infiltrating the Officials?’

’Thinking about it carefully, while the Officials are indeed preparing to suppress the Demon Dao Sect now, does that mean that before, as long as the Demon Dao Sect didn’t act up too much, the Officials couldn’t be bothered to deal with them? Though, that’s probably also related to the Officials’ limited capabilities...’

’So, the ones in true ecological competition are the Orthodoxy and the Cults?’

"I’m a little curious, what exactly is your process for Forging weapons?" Chu Bamboo decided to ask outright. "Do you have some kind of specific Divine Technique that allows you to Forge Artifacts, or is it purely a matter of skill?"

Mo Wen’s hand trembled, and his expression turned ugly. He took a deep breath. "Good thing we were just heating the furnace! That’s enough!"

The more Mo Wen thought about it, the angrier he got. Even though he tried his best to suppress his rage, he couldn’t hold it in.

"According to the rules... when we officially begin the Forging, no, Young Attendant! Throw them all out for me right now."

A twelve-year-old child in snug black clothes unhesitatingly pulled a whip from behind his back. He respectfully made an inviting gesture, but also cracked the whip with a sharp, loud—CRACK!—that would have given Brother Hei a stress reaction. "Everyone, if you please."

...

「At the main entrance of the Mo Family headquarters.」

"I just asked... Was that really necessary?" Chu Bamboo pouted.

Zhang Hai’s face twitched. He remembered telling him that the topic of Divine Techniques was a sensitive one! He glanced at the completely unconcerned Chu Bamboo, opened his mouth, and finally just sighed. ’Well, I guess this is what makes Mr. Zhu special... His charisma is just too strong!’

’Normally, if you ask a question like that, it’d be normal for them to flip out on you... But in the end, all they did was sulk and kick us out!’

Then, he saw Chu Bamboo turn directly to Wall Announcements. "So, tell me! Don’t look so conflicted... I think your Divine Techniques are probably like Zhang Hai’s over here—the same few types that are derived from your Cultivation Technique! I feel like anyone who’s had deep dealings with your sects would know this... There’s no need to be so secretive... You can’t hide it anyway!"

Zhang Hai: "???"

’This is outrageous! And how did I get dragged into this...? Wait, you know which Divine Techniques are passed down in the God Worship Sect’s direct lineage? How do you know that...’ Zhang Hai started to panic, but then he thought about Chu Bamboo’s terrifying sources of intelligence... ’Seems about right, actually!’

’Whatever. As long as the leak didn’t come from me, it’s not my problem...’

"Huh?" Wall Announcements froze for a moment, then fell into deep thought. "That... makes some sense!"

Wall Announcements hesitated. He recalled that Chu Bamboo held a secret of his. He also thought about his master’s teachings. While his master had emphasized not revealing his *own* Divine Technique, he had offhandedly mentioned that the sect’s inherited Techniques were common knowledge to many...

Thinking of this, he finally grit his teeth. "You can’t tell anyone else... I’ll tell you secretly."

"Deal." Chu Bamboo immediately dragged Wall Announcements to the side.

Zhang Hai: "..."

’Seriously, he was convinced just like that?’ Zhang Hai wanted to say something but held his tongue. In the end, he could only lament... ’The Mo Family people are just too honest.’

"I think I understand... why Bishop Hu always pulls those shady stunts with delaying payments!" Zhang Hai suddenly realized, a bit late to the party.

...

"Actually... the Divine Techniques of our teaching are a bit different from what you think!" Wall Announcements said with a serious expression. "For example, my Divine Technique is related to keys... Don’t ask for specifics! This is the most I can reveal..."

"Keys don’t seem to have anything to do with making ’Artifacts’?" Chu Bamboo found this strange.

"That’s right!" Wall Announcements nodded. "So, strictly speaking, the reason we can Forge Artifacts is because as core disciples of the Moisture Teaching, when we are at a Mo Family regional headquarters... we can receive the blessing of the God of Industry and Civil Engineering!"

"...The God of Industry and Civil Engineering is real? And is still alive today?" Chu Bamboo was horrified. This was completely different from what he’d thought! ’Isn’t the God of Industry and Civil Engineering the founding ancestor of the Moisture Teaching?’

The scene fell deathly silent.

"???" Wall Announcements’s eyes went wide as saucers. He slapped a hand over Chu Bamboo’s mouth in terror, looking up at the sky. After a long moment, seeing that nothing had happened, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and cursed, "Are you crazy, saying that here? Great Goddess Nuwa is also alive, why aren’t you shocked about that? How dare you actually say it out loud! Are you nuts... Good thing the Divine Being is merciful and benevolent, otherwise!"

Wall Announcements shuddered.

Chu Bamboo: "..."

’The problem is that I *do* know about Nuwa! That’s why I’m so shocked... Don’t tell me the God of Concrete Pouring is also an AI?!’

"...I’m not talking to you anymore!" Wall Announcements was clearly sulking and made a move to walk over to Zhang Hai.

"But, before, you were just terrified of being discovered! Not that your faith was being questioned..." Chu Bamboo stroked his chin, thoughtfully watching Wall Announcements’s back, dissecting his mentality piece by piece. "So I feel like your faith in the Moisture Teaching isn’t actually all that pious..."

"I mean, let me think it over carefully, and then I’ll explain in detail," Wall Announcements said. Though his body was still aimed forward, he backpedaled to stand in front of Chu Bamboo again. Looking directly into Chu Bamboo’s eyes, his tone suddenly shifted, becoming sincere and friendly. "Anyway, the gist is, as long as we’re at headquarters! As long as we enter a Forging state... it’s like we automatically gain an extra ’Forging’ Divine Technique!"

At this point, Wall Announcements didn’t dare to keep Chu Bamboo in suspense. He was afraid Chu Bamboo would say something else earth-shattering. ’Seriously, do you have no reverence for Divine Beings at all?’

Wall Announcements was truly baffled. ’How can someone like you exist in this world...’ He had always felt that Chu Bamboo had a peculiar quality that set him apart from others. He used to think it was the air of a great personage, but something felt slightly off. Now, he seemed to realize what was so abnormal...

Suppressing the myriad thoughts in his mind, Wall Announcements spoke quickly, "And then, it’s about learning the skills! Even if we all have this Divine Technique, different Forging techniques lead to different success rates and different quality in the finished weapons... That’s the basics..."

"Okay, I can’t say any more. Really! If this leaks out, my Grandmaster will probably discipline me personally... and you’d probably be forced to join the Moisture Teaching!"

...

「On the electric car back to the Third District.」

Chu Bamboo stared at the pastoral scenery outside the window, organizing the information he had gotten from Wall Announcements.

’The God of Industry and Civil Engineering is still alive, so what about the ones from Confucianism, Buddhism... or even the God Worship Sect... No, the Celestial Court collapsed. The God of the God Worship Sect should be well and truly dead!’

Chu Bamboo’s brows furrowed deeper. ’So, analyzing it from this angle... are the Divine Beings worshiped by the various teachings really still alive?’

’Suspicious, it’s all too suspicious...’

’If God is dead! Then with the other Divine Beings still alive, why would they allow the God Worship Sect to remain the world’s largest religion? That makes no sense at all...’

’At the same time... I have never seen a single miracle.’

’Even considering that due to information contamination, the Extraordinary cannot be revealed to ordinary people, this is still full of holes... Besides, I certainly didn’t get smote by some Moisture Teaching divine punishment earlier!’

’Of course, the thing that made me the most suspicious was the existence of the ancient Great Goddess Nuwa—’

’It’s precisely because I have an understanding of the fundamental nature of "gods," and because I have a guess as to the true identity of the God from the God Worship Sect... that I’m so suspicious of the true nature of these other Divine Beings who are supposedly still alive!’