Conquest Sea, Xiatree Islands Main Island.
At night, the islanders on Xia Shu Island had already entered their dreams, and the entire island was plunged into Silence. Except for a few important places on the island, most of the Lights in other locations had also been extinguished.
One of these important places was the sacrificial square under the giant tree on Xia Shu Island. In this square, although there were no people there, the burning Lights still illuminated the surrounding dim environment.
At this time, on the empty sacrificial square, before the wooden statue of the Fertility Goddess, a figure in white was standing there, facing the statue in front of her, praying devoutly with a peculiar posture.
Vanya, dressed in a white Sister's habit, was slightly closing her eyes at this moment, assuming a dignified and elegant posture before the statue. Then, with even breathing, Vanya slowly began to move. She rotated her body, stretched out her arms, and danced gracefully before the Fertility Goddess statue in the tranquility.
In the silent night, the white Sister danced under the illumination of the flickering fire Light. Her dance was skilled and elegant, beautiful and natural. Every movement was just right, and every step was precise. Her gentle movements and steps were both like dancing and like worship, worshiping the large wooden statue in front of her. The dancing posture on her body seemed to be specially dedicated to the gods.
Vanya's dance continued. The style of her dance this time was perfectly coordinated and compatible with the surrounding sacrificial square, as if this was the stage it should be on. If Vanya were to change her clothes at this time, this place could instantly become the scene of a divine dance sacrifice.
Standing on the edge of the sacrificial ground, Anman, the Tree Priest of Xia Shu Island, was staring with wide eyes, looking at all this with a look of astonishment. As an old priest who had worked on this sacrificial ground for decades, this was the first time he had seen such a dance, but he had a certain feeling in his heart, feeling that Vanya's dance should be danced on this sacrificial ground, it should be dedicated to the Goddess. This was another part of the Goddess sacrifice that he had not seen.
As Vanya's dance of sacrifice gradually came to an end, there were also subtle changes occurring in the ancient Fertility sacrificial ground. Before the altars in the four corners of the sacrificial ground, the areas around the altars engraved with the shape of dancers seemed to emit tiny specks of Light, like fireflies. In front of the dancer altars, some of the tightly closed flower buds showed slight signs of blooming, just like the flowers before the sailor altars.
"The Altar of Dance... it reacted... it actually reacted! Unbelievable... truly unbelievable..."
Standing on the edge of the sacrificial ground, Anman looked at the scene in front of him and muttered with a shaking head. In the decades since he had served as the Tree Priest of the Xiatree Islands, he had never seen such a phenomenon occur with any altar other than the Altar of Water.
Although there were four altars in this sacrificial ground, Xia Shu's annual sacrifices would only target the Altar of Water. The other three altars were merely decorations. Aside from regular cleaning, there were no activities targeting them. For a thousand years, neither the priests nor the ordinary people on Xia Shu Island had ever seen any changes in the three altars other than the Altar of Water.
"That Sister... is truly a believer of the Goddess, a believer of the Goddess just like us... and she is a believer of the Goddess who has continued to this day under a different tradition than ours. She is the inheritor of the Goddess's Dance..."
"Now, have the inheritors of the Goddess's Dance exchanged the right to continue under the Light by worshipping the Light Holy Mother as the Goddess?"
Watching the Sister whose dance was gradually ending in the distance, Anman said with emotion. After witnessing the other party's dance and the reaction of the altar, Anman no longer doubted that the Sister in front of him was a believer of the Goddess, just like Xia Shu. Compared to the simple hand gestures before, such a skilled dance could not be practiced casually. This required long-term practice from a young age. The other party could already resonate with the altar through dance, so did he still have a reason to doubt?
After confirming that the Sister in front of him was truly a believer of the Fertility Goddess, Anman's originally tense vigilance immediately dropped significantly, and he also believed what Vanya had said before. After seeing Vanya's dance in the distance finally come to a complete end, he straightened his clothes and walked over with a solemn expression.
"I apologize for my rudeness just now, compatriot, you are truly a devout believer of the Goddess..."
Anman bowed slightly to Vanya, who had just finished dancing, and said apologetically. Vanya, who had just stopped dancing, was slightly panting. After hearing Anman's words beside her, she immediately turned around and replied.
"It's nothing, Priest. As the Priest of Xia Shu, you are responsible for all the people of Xia Shu, and it is understandable to be cautious."
Vanya helped up Anman, who was bowing, and Anman, who had straightened up, looked at Vanya in front of him and continued to speak.
"I didn't expect... there is actually such a way of false worship, treating the Light Holy Mother as the Goddess and worshipping her in exchange for survival... our God needs to borrow the name of other gods, it's truly sad to think about..."
Anman said with emotion, and Vanya, after hearing Anman's words, spoke seriously.
"Although it is sad... we have successfully continued the faith of the Goddess through this, preventing its inheritance from being completely cut off, and preventing its believers from suffering destruction. In the current strength of Light, this is indeed a practical way of survival, and I think this method is also applicable to Xia Shu. Compared to fighting the Church to the death and letting Xia Shu be burned to ashes, this method can better preserve the inheritance of the Goddess and the believers of the Goddess."
"What you said makes sense, but this kind of behavior always feels disrespectful to the Goddess..."
Facing Vanya, Anman said with a hint of worry in his tone, and Vanya quickly responded.
"The Goddess teaches us to respect life. Although we cannot clearly know her current state, no matter what, she does not want the creatures of Xia Shu to be devastated, right? For the sake of everyone's life, the Goddess will surely be much more tolerant, right? The Goddess hopes that we can live well, not die meaninglessly for her..."
With a pious tone, Vanya continued to speak to Anman, and her words finally moved Anman.
"Yes... you are right, the Goddess desires the prosperity of all things, the free growth of creatures, and the permanence of life. If Xia Shu is destroyed by the flames of Light, she will surely be sad... compared to us gambling against the people of Light and Light, your choice is indeed a more feasible path..."
Anman said to Vanya like this. Hearing his words, Vanya's heart couldn't help but be shaken. She knew that the Priest in front of her had finally been persuaded. Then, not only she and the other pilgrims, but perhaps all the people of Xia Shu could also be saved. This was the best result she had originally expected, a result she originally thought was impossible to achieve, yet this result was actually about to become a reality.
"Miss Vanya, I want Xia Shu to be like you, to exchange the opportunity to survive under the Light by treating the Light Holy Mother as the Goddess. However, I still have some concerns in my heart. Can Light really be deceived? Can we really hide the faith of the Goddess?
"You know, there are many sacrificial activities related to the Goddess on Xia Shu, and some important activities even directly involve the many people of Xia Shu. These activities are indispensable to us. Can they really be hidden?"
Anman asked Vanya with a hint of worry. What they wanted was to worship the Holy Mother as the Fertility Goddess, to hide the religious activities of the Fertility Goddess under the faith of the Holy Mother, rather than simply hypnotizing themselves into believing that the Holy Mother was the Fertility Goddess and then completely abandoning any religious activities of the Fertility Goddess from then on.
If what Vanya said about treating the Holy Mother as a Goddess means abandoning all Fertility Goddess religious activities and fully accepting the Holy Mother's set, then this kind of feigned faith is meaningless, just self-deception. And if, after feigning conversion to the Holy Mother, one retains too many overly obvious Fertility Goddess religious activities, it won't be hidden from the Church.
Therefore, what kind of feigned faith? How to achieve treating the Holy Mother as the Fertility Goddess? How to conduct original religious activities under the Light's gaze? This involves a host of complex issues that cannot be clearly explained in a few words.
"Don't worry, we have detailed experience to help you with these situations. You just need to give me detailed information on Natsuki's various religious activities and the information from the inherited literature. I will send these things to our priestess over there, and she will help you formulate a suitable plan based on our experience."
Looking at Anman, who had a worried expression, Vanya said seriously. In her words, it seemed that on a distant continent, there really was a tribe that feigned faith in the Holy Mother but secretly maintained faith in the Fertility Goddess, and she herself was a member of this mysterious tribe. Anman, who had witnessed Vanya's dance moves before, naturally had no doubts.
Seeing Vanya's confident appearance, Anman's eyes felt much more at ease for a moment. After sighing, he said.
"Alright... then I'll leave everything to you. Most of Natsuki's literature and information on sacrificial activities about the Goddess have been passed down by our priests through generations, and many are very precious. How much do you need?"
"Give as much as you can. Although we all believe in the Goddess, there are always differences in the ways of various sacrificial activities when we are far apart. Even our priestess needs to fully understand Natsuki before she can formulate a suitable plan for you, so please try to give as much of your literature as possible."
Vanya said directly to Anman, and after hearing Vanya's words, Anman couldn't help but furrow his brow slightly.
"As much as possible? But Miss Vanya, many of our documents contain what you call Spirit Sight. You need to be prepared before you can read them. Do you really need that many?"
"Spirit Sight? That's not a problem. Our priestess has some connection with the Church's Historical Scripture Department and possesses relatively efficient means to defend against Spirit Sight, so you don't need to worry."
"Captain Anman, just let me access those documents for a while. I will use extraordinary means to send the content to our priestess. Once she has a result, she will immediately provide feedback to you."
Vanya said directly to Anman. Seeing the Sister's confident appearance, Anman also nodded without worry.
"Alright, if that's the case, any documents related to Natsuki's Goddess faith will be made public to you."
"Additionally, time is short now. Since I have decided to follow your path and feign conversion to the Holy Mother, the immediate priority is to inform Natsuki's other important elders of this news immediately. I will convene an emergency meeting right away. If everything goes well... then tomorrow morning, we will send a message to the Church stating our willingness to convert and release the hostages."
"After this, I will show you Natsuki's faith, and I will leave the rest to you."
Anman said this to Vanya. Since the Fertility Tree Priest has a very high status on the island, there is no need to worry about any mistakes in the outcome of this meeting.
"Yes, thank you for Captain Anman's trust. We will do our best to help Natsuki overcome the crisis."
With a firm and serious expression, Vanya said to Anman. Anman, after letting out a long breath, slowly left the sacrificial ground. Vanya also followed closely behind. There was still a lot to do tonight.
...
"Phew... it's finally initially settled, this Natsuki..."
Late at night, in a hotel room in Truva, Dorothy, wearing pajamas and lying on the sofa, murmured with a long sigh. With Adele's help, she finally succeeded in making Vanya gain the trust of the Natsuki priest and getting him to agree to her plan.
"Fortunately, Dalena's spiritual legacy left to Adele contained a lot of content from when she was the Fertility priestess successor. She not only knew the gestures for sacrificial ceremonies but also the divine dance for worshipping the gods. Without these things... it would have been impossible to win the trust of that Natsuki priest."
Lying on the sofa, Dorothy murmured. In Dalena's notes, Dorothy had seen a description of a Fertility sacrificial ground, which was almost identical to the one on Natsuki. The only difference was that the sacrificial ground Dalena had worshipped at before, except for the Dance Altar, was completely damaged. On the Fertility side, except for the Water Altar, the other three, although unused, were largely well-preserved. After seeing the Dance Alatsuki sacrificial ground, Dorothy had the idea of having Vanya pretend to be a Fertility believer and win the Natsuki priest's trust with Dalena's dance.
Not long ago, Dorothy found Adele and asked her to give her the content about Fertility sacrifices in her mind through sacrificing to Aka. It was with this content that Dorothy successfully made Vanya appear as a "pious believer" of the Fertility Goddess in Anman's eyes, becoming their "compatriot".
'This time, I owe Adele again. I feel like I'm slowly starting to owe her a favor... It seems I'll have to find a chance to repay her later. I wonder if there will be any valuable content for Adele in Anman's Fertility documents after they are sent over.'
Looking at the """wen hai hang zhi""" by her hand, Dorothy thought to herself. Helping Natsuki escape the fate of being purified by the Church wasn't for nothing. She would gladly accept all the materials on Natsuki's Fertility faith. She happened to be quite short on """Cup""" recently. This wave from Natsuki would probably help her replenish a lot.
Of course, Dorothy didn't want Natsuki's documents solely to replenish her own Spirituality. She had Vanya promise Anman to help Natsuki create a "Feigned Conversion Guide," and she wasn't joking. Dorothy was genuinely preparing to help Natsuki develop a method to maintain the Fertility faith under the Holy Mother's faith.
And the reason she was confident in creating such a method was that she had many rich references, and the provider of these references came from the Wolf Blood Society of the Tayi Sect.
That's right. Back then, in order to infiltrate the Tivian Church, the Wolf Blood Society somehow produced a series of secret transmissions that could blur the faiths of the Cup Mother and the Holy Mother. They used these secret transmissions to corrupt Kirk, Vanya's superior in the Historical Scripture Department at the time, making Kirk an otherworlder who couldn't distinguish between the Holy Mother and the cup mother, essentially believing in the cup mother while outwardly believing in the Holy Mother. Later, Kirk planned to use this secret transmission to corrupt the entire Historical Scripture Department, but it was eventually exposed by Vanya, who was protected by Aka.
Vanya had read this secret transmission. Before, Dorothy had just asked Vanya to give it to her. After deciding to help Natsuki, she remembered this matter and had Vanya give her this secret transmission through Aka. This secret transmission contains many parts that can be used as references for actions like overlapping idols, blurring worship, and disguising faith.
Of course, relying solely on such a secret transmission as a reference, Dorothy wasn't sure if she could really produce a "Feigned Conversion Guide" for Natsuki. Since Dorothy hadn't extracted Spirituality from this secret transmission, which had been stored with Vanya, she could use it to exchange for knowledge, specifically knowledge about this type from other worlds.
Dorothy used this secret transmission along with all the religious knowledge with similar content she had read before in the Crown University library, exchanging them together using the system. Ultimately, she obtained two results.
One was titled "Voodoo Secret Rules," and the other was titled """Nansha Cross Church"""'s "Marketplace Concealment Scroll."