Dong dong dong!
Gu Yuan knocked on the door in front of him. He had found the location of the village chief's house in this village according to the address written in the intelligence report.
Creak!
The door creaked open, revealing an aged face.
The old man stared at Gu Yuan, who was wearing the uniform of the Demon Suppressing Division. He frowned and asked in a low voice, "Sir, is there something you need in our village?"
Gu Yuan explained his mission in the village to the village chief, hoping to get his help.
"Oh, I see. Then please come in, sir, come in quickly. We'll talk inside, and I'll explain it to you properly."
Gu Yuan was caught off guard by the village chief's sudden enthusiasm.
He was pulled into the house by the village chief.
Upon entering, the village chief led Gu Yuan to the main hall, had him sit down, and poured him a cup of hot tea in a simple teacup.
Gu Yuan waved his hand and spoke directly, "Village chief, just tell me any information you have. I must complete this mission. Why has your village become like this? Please explain everything truthfully to me, as I am acting on behalf of the imperial court."
"Alright, sir. Before that, I hope you can listen to a story." The village chief wore a cautious smile.
Gu Yuan nodded, indicating that the village chief could continue.
"Alas, the current situation of this village is a long story. It goes back at least a hundred years. In the end, it is due to some lingering troubles caused by my father's generation."
Hearing the village chief speak like this, Gu Yuan couldn't help but feel that things were becoming more interesting. He wondered if there was a secret behind this.
"My father was the village chief back then. Our village was the wealthiest in the surrounding ten miles. But one day, a man in black robes suddenly approached my father and asked him to have the villagers worship a statue."
"If my father refused, he would kill everyone in our village. At that time, our village had no martial artists, and we didn't dare to report it, fearing that the other party would go back on their word and kill us all. So, we had no choice but to endure and worship the statue the man spoke of."
Gu Yuan's eyes lit up upon hearing this. He knew there was the shadow of a cult involved.
Perhaps there was a hidden mission this time. With a hidden mission, he could earn more contribution points, which could be exchanged for resources, and he could accelerate his cultivation and grow stronger quickly.
"I was only ten years old when we started worshiping the statue, but I was already able to remember things. So, the scene of my father discussing it with the villagers is still vivid. My father called a few elders who had prestige in the village and a few who had more wealth at home. They gathered one evening to discuss it, and I listened from the side."
"My father said that the deity the man asked us to worship was called Wusheng Laomu."
Gu Yuan exclaimed, "Good heavens, we're acquainted! Isn't this the White Lotus Society? The White Lotus Society is like a perennial villain, present in every ancient world!"
Speaking of the White Lotus Society, it is truly a powerful and widespread evil cult organization that spans across the heavens.
"Vacuum homeland, Wusheng Laomu" is their eight-character mantra. It is said that Wusheng Laomu is an ancient Buddha who is neither born nor dies in the heavens. She wishes to guide her children in the mortal world back to the heavenly realm to avoid calamity, and this heavenly realm is the vacuum homeland.
Gu Yuan had previously seen information about the White Lotus Society in the Demon Suppressing Division's library.
The book stated that the White Lotus Society's doctrine believes that there are two opposing forces in the world: the Bright and Dark factions. Brightness represents good and truth, while darkness represents sin and unreasonableness. These two forces have been constantly battling in the past, present, and future. After the arrival of Maitreya Buddha, light will ultimately triumph over darkness.
In this metaphor, the White Lotus Society likens themselves to the Bright faction and the current dynasty and the Demon Suppressing Division to the Dark faction. In any case, it is an extremely deceptive and evil cult, with devastating influence on the common people who have not received any education.
Not only that, but the teachings before the incident also stated that the White Lotus Society is an evil cult organization that has persisted for several dynasties. It has always been suppressed by the current court, but it has never been eradicated, always resurfacing like spring breeze.
In that case, the deity the White Lotus Society followers asked them to worship should be Wusheng Laomu.
It was to increase the faith power of this so-called Wusheng Laomu, which is why they forced these common people, who didn't even know what the White Lotus Society was, to worship it. It was likely a hasty decision made by the White Lotus Society members who were in a hurry to meet their quota.
"After a period of discussion, they finally all agreed to let the man in black robes bring the statue for us to worship for a while. After all, the other party's martial power was superior to our village's, and we were forced to submit out of fear for our lives. Later, my father even planned to report it to the Demon Suppressing Division, but without exception, after that person left, and after this so-called Wusheng Laomu statue entered our village, strange things began to happen."
"Since the Wusheng Laomu statue entered our village and was worshiped by the villagers, strange occurrences began. We tried to seek help from the Demon Suppressing Division, but every person sent out miraculously returned to the village. They said that after leaving the village, they completely forgot what they were supposed to do. My father also continuously tried to send messages to the Demon Suppressing Division, but without exception, anyone from our village could not report the existence of the Wusheng Laomu statue to the Demon Suppressing Division."
"It caused our entire village to be in a state of panic, and my father was helpless. He could only use some markings to ensure a few Demon Suppressing Division officers successfully entered our village, but they all seemed unable to see the Wusheng Laomu statue."
"They only came to investigate and then left. Whenever we faced people from the Demon Suppressing Division, we couldn't recall anything about the Wusheng Laomu statue. Therefore, the Demon Suppressing Officers did not find anything in the end. Moreover, the White Lotus Society demanded that we not leave our homes after ten o'clock at night and not light any lamps."
"They also forbade people from our village to marry outside. Women could marry outside, but women within the village were not allowed to marry out. They could only marry within the village, otherwise, the family would be killed. One family did not believe this and married their daughter to a family in another county."
Brothers, I can't update anymore. I'm too tired. I need to rest and recover.