North Shore of Conquest Sea, Iweig.
Iweig is an important country on the North Conquest Sea. Its entire territory is a huge peninsula extending south from the Main Continent into the Conquest Sea.
In the southern part of the Iweig Peninsula, there is a continuous range of Cutting Ridge Mountains, extending from south to north along the central ridge line of the peninsula, dividing the entire Iweig Peninsula into eastern and western parts.
Since ancient times, the Cutting Ridge Mountains have played an extremely important role in the history of Iweig. There are many military strongholds with natural chokepoints along the long mountain range, as well as many places with beautiful natural scenery. Therefore, there are many military fortresses and tourist attractions throughout the entire mountain range. However, these are not the most famous places in the Cutting Ridge Mountains. The most famous point in the Cutting Ridge Mountains is located in its southern part.
In the southern part of the mountains, near the coastal area in the southern Iweig Peninsula, there is a place called Lecher Valley. The name of this valley is known throughout the world and has extraordinary influence in the hearts of hundreds of millions of people, because it is the most important Holy Land of the Holy Mother faction of the Shining Light Church, and the final destination for countless Holy Mother pilgrims.
At the southern end of the Cutting Ridge Mountains, there is a lush, scenic valley. Within the wide valley between two verdant slopes, a crystal-clear small river flows gurgling out from the depths of the secluded valley towards the front of the valley. On both sides of the riverbed, every ten meters or so, stands a stone tablet covered with vines and moss, engraved with countless scriptures praising the Holy Mother.
On the not-so-turbulent water, small boats are being rowed upstream by manpower. Those riding on these small boats are pilgrims from all over the world. After traveling thousands of miles, they have finally arrived at this sacred Holy Land in their hearts.
The pilgrimage point of the Lecher Valley Holy Land is the Saving Large Cathedral located at the deepest part of the valley. Legend has it that it is a large Holy Mother Church built under a waterfall. The clear river water flowing in this valley flows out from the Saving Large Cathedral. The last part of the pilgrims' journey of thousands of miles is to row small boats themselves, going upstream by water to the Saving Large Cathedral to complete the final ceremony of their pilgrimage there.
It is now late March, and Lecher Valley has welcomed a new batch of pilgrims. From all over the world, they are now sharing a small boat and rowing strenuously towards their final goal. Soon they will reach the final destination.
In Lecher Valley, countless small boats are striving forward, beginning the last part of their pilgrimage journey. At the entrance of the valley, on a vast square paved with marble and featuring a huge obelisk, there are far more tourists than pilgrims gathered here, jointly paying respects at the entrance of the Holy Land.
However, in order to maintain the tranquility of the Holy Land, the qualification to enter the valley for pilgrimage is not available to everyone. The number of pilgrimage spots open for entry every day of the month is limited. Most of these are people from various circles who have been proven to have devout faith, arranged by the Church itself. Ordinary people who wish to visit the Holy Land can at most come to this square and look into the valley. Although they cannot see anything valuable, because the Holy Land itself is very famous, it still attracts a considerable number of tourists every day.
On the wide square, countless tourists without pilgrimage qualifications are gathered here, curiously observing the surrounding scenery. Although Lecher Valley is difficult to enter, these tourists are still showing sufficient interest in the entrance of the Holy Land. Due to its fame, this place has already become a must-visit attraction on travel routes.
In the lively square, in front of the tall statue of the Holy Mother in the center of the square, a man with a rough appearance is leading his son, who is about eleven or twelve years old, to view the tall statue of the Holy Mother. Their clothes indicate that they are not from a wealthy class or family. This father and son, who seem to be from the countryside, while marveling at the grandeur of the giant Holy Mother statue before them, also began to discuss matters related to the Holy Land.
"It's such a tall statue, Dad, much bigger than the statues in the village... no, in the city's Churches. How big a stone must have been used to carve this? Why did they build such a large statue?"
"Yes, I guess only the Holy Land can have such a large statue... As for why it's made so large... I think maybe the bigger the statue, the more benevolent the Holy Mother is..." Scratching his head, the man, who seemed not to be very educated, said to his son, and his son, after thinking for a moment, continued to speak.
"Is it because this is the Holy Land that there is such a large statue? Then why is this place the Holy Land, Dad?"
"Uh... why is this place the Holy Land..."
Listening to his son's new question, the man's expression suddenly became troubled. He tried hard to think about why this place would be the Holy Land, but his meager knowledge prevented him from figuring out a reason.
At this moment, a clear female voice suddenly sounded not far from the father and son.
"Because this is where the Holy Mother once descended to the human world."
Hearing this voice that suddenly sounded, the father and son turned their heads to look in the direction from which the sound came. Then they saw a beautiful Sister about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a white Sister's habit and glasses. At this time, she was walking towards the father and son with a smile. The man, seeing the Sister, couldn't help but open his mouth in surprise.
"A Sister... in white clothes?"
"Ah, it's a Sister. Sister, do you mean that the reason this is the Holy Mother's Holy Land is because the Holy Mother came here?"
Seeing the young Sister walking towards him, the boy couldn't help but continue to ask curiously. There was no hint of his father's surprise or restraint in his innocent expression.
"Yes, the Holy Mother first descended to the human world and appeared in this Lecher Valley. The great and benevolent Holy Mother once stood on this land of Iweig with our ancestors more than thirteen hundred years ago, defending the people she cherished from the disaster from the sea."
Responding to the boy, the white-clothed Sister spoke, recounting the myth recorded in the Holy Scriptures, and the boy's eyes now showed a look of curiosity.
"The disaster from the sea, what kind of disaster could come from the sea? Was it big waves?"
"That's something far more terrifying than big waves. That's an evil deity, one of the three enemies of the Lord, one of the three disaster beasts..."
"Enemy of the Lord, three disaster beasts..." Listening to the white-clothed Sister's response, the curiosity in the boy's eyes deepened, and the white-clothed Sister turned her head to look at the southern horizon, as if she could see the distant sea, and continued to speak.
"Yes, as recorded in the Holy Scriptures, the Save the World descended into the mortal world in the Light, spent four days pacifying the largest land, completely destroying and expelling all evil from the land beneath our feet. All evil in this world began to hate the Save the World, they united, and launched a counterattack against the Save the World, the most powerful of which were these three heads.
"There is one beast that came from the southern sea. It is a female beast, it is greedy, lustful, and impure.
"That female beast is so greedy, her belly is eternally hungry, everything alive and moving that she passes by will be swallowed by her. When she finished eating the things in the sea, she came to eat the things on the shore.
"That female beast is so filthy, her breath is foul and dirty when she exhales, spreading for ten thousand miles. Whoever inhales her breath will surely suffer from incurable diseases and struggle in pain. Even before she reached the shore, a vast plague had already erupted on the shore.
"That female beast is so promiscuous, she is the most beautiful and also the most ugly. She tempts countless powerful beings to become her slaves, her belly is constantly pregnant with thousands of evil things, and she is constantly giving birth to her minions. She is a disaster beast and also the mother of disaster.
"That female beast came from the abyss of the southern great sea. The great sea submitted to her, and the ocean was turned into red blood by her. She stirred up huge waves in the sea of blood, flooding countless lands. She advanced towards the northern land with the crimson tide, challenging the Save the World on the Holy Mountain from the south. The crimson tide flooded the land, and she, along with her offspring, devoured all life. Nothing was spared wherever she went."
Looking at the southern scene, at the end of the horizon, the white-clothed Sister recounted the mythological content recorded in the Shining Light Holy Scriptures. Listening to the white-clothed Sister's words, the father and son couldn't help but listen attentively to the Sister's sermon. The boy among them, after listening, couldn't help but ask curiously.
"What a terrifying beast, what happened to it afterwards? Did the Save the World defeat it?"
Listening to the boy's words, the white-clothed Sister smiled slightly, and then began her narration.
"There were three beasts, they came from three directions. The southern beast, the western beast, and the northern beast attacked the Holy Mountain together. They vowed to destroy everything that the Save the World had saved. The Save the World surveyed everything from the Holy Mountain, seeing the vast disasters stirred up simultaneously in three directions, so he transformed into three rays of Light and flew towards the three directions. One of these rays of Light flew towards the south, landing in a valley, and then this ray of Light transformed into a beautiful and benevolent woman, this is the Holy Mother."
"The Holy Mother appeared and descended in this Lecher Valley, blocking the path of the Southern Beast going north. The Holy Mother used Her power to save the world tormented by the beast plague, save the servants seduced by the beast, purify the seawater stained red by the beast, defeat the Southern Beast and its filthy offspring, and completely expel their remains from this world. This is also why Lecher Valley became the Holy Mother's Holy Land."
The white-robed Sister continued to seriously recount the story from the Holy Scripture. After listening to the white-robed Sister's narration, the boy beside Her widened his eyes and blinked curiously. After a moment of pause, he spoke with some excitement.
"Oh... so that's how it is? The Holy Mother once descended here and defeated the evil beast, so this is a Holy Land. I finally know why, thank you, Sister."
"Hehe... thanks to you, Sister, for explaining. We are from the countryside and not very educated. My child asked, and I didn't know why. Today, I finally gained some knowledge..." Beside the boy, the man who was his father also replied with a smile. After listening to the father and son's words, the white-robed Sister continued to respond with a smile.
"It's nothing. If there is still one person in this world who has not heard of the Lord's deeds, then we must convey them. This is our duty, and I am merely fulfilling it."
"Ah... is that so? This Sister is truly a devout believer."
After recounting the story of the Holy Mother, the father and son bid farewell to the white-robed Sister and went to visit other places. For a moment, only the Sister was left standing there, gazing into the distance to the south, pondering something in Her heart.
'The story of the Holy Mother's first descent to fight the Southern Beast... Although I've read it many times in the Holy Scripture before, and believed it deeply then, rereading it now gives me a different feeling.'
'Leaving aside the Holy Mother for now, the description of the Southern Beast in the Holy Scripture can't help but make me think of the Cup Mother, the main deity revered by the Fetal Garment Cult. Many descriptions of Her are very similar to those of the Southern Beast. Could the Southern Beast be the Cup Mother?'
'But if that were the case, wouldn't the story in the Holy Scripture mean that the Holy Mother, a mixed-color deity, defeated the Cup Mother, a pure-color deity? Theoretically, that should be impossible. According to Miss Dorothea, pure-color deities should be higher ranked than mixed-color deities. How did the Holy Mother manage to defeat the Southern Beast back then? Or is the true history really as depicted in the Holy Scripture?'
Gazing at the southern horizon, looking in the direction from which the Southern Beast was recorded to have attacked in the Holy Scripture, Vanya thought to Herself in this way, but as she thought, she found something wasn't quite right.
'Ah... no, why am I doubting the contents of the Holy Scripture, even doubting the power of the Three Saints? Why do I have this idea that the Holy Mother shouldn't be able to defeat the Southern Beast? These are things that should not be doubted! These are stories that should be believed unconditionally! Why am I starting to doubt?'
'This is truly disrespectful, Vanya...'
Tapping Her forehead, Vanya blamed Herself in Her heart. In the Shining Light Church, the Holy Scripture must be believed unconditionally and without any doubt. It was too blasphemous for Her to suddenly engage in rational analysis in Her mind. She was even doubting the combat power of the Three Saints. This kind of thought was not something a Sister should have.
'Hmm... Lately, I've been communicating more with Miss Dorothea, and I've been subtly influenced by Her. She always has that personality where she wants to analyze everything, even gods are no exception...'
'So, should I reduce my communication with Miss Dorothea recently and focus on cultivating my piety? But if I don't communicate with Miss Dorothea, there's no one else in the entire Church I can talk openly with... Lord, what should I do?'
Standing before the tall statue of the Holy Mother, Vanya thought with some frustration in Her heart. At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded behind Her.
"Sister Vanya, you are here."
Hearing the voice, Vanya turned Her head to look. What she saw was an older priest walking towards Her. Seeing the other person, Vanya immediately responded.
"Ah, it's Priest Volka. Are you looking for me?"
"Yes, the last batch of boats is almost ready, Sister Vanya. Now we can go to the dock to wait for departure. Regarding your ceremony, the Church has already prepared it. We are just waiting for you to come."
Facing Vanya, the priest named Volka said directly. Hearing these words, Vanya couldn't help but feel a hint of surprise.
"Eh... the ceremony is ready? That quick? I thought the ceremony would be held after the pilgrimage was completed."
Vanya spoke with doubt, and Volka explained directly.
"Originally, that was the case, but Sister Vanya, you are now an evangelist for the enlightenment of Natsuki. We have included the activity of promoting Natsuki's conversion in this pilgrimage. You need to play a more important and special role in this pilgrimage activity, so your rank cannot be too low. Therefore, we decided to advance your promotion ceremony."
"Now all the conditions for the ceremony are ready, and all requirements have reached the best standard. We are just waiting for you to come, so we'd better hurry."
Volka said this, and Vanya was stunned for a moment after hearing his words, then nodded and replied.
"Oh, okay, I understand. Let's go now."
Just like that, Vanya followed Volka to the dock at the mouth of the valley. After boarding the small boat prepared there beforehand, they rowed into Lecher Valley and went upstream into the depths of the valley.
On the small boat, Vanya symbolically rowed the oars while admiring the stone tablets and beautiful scenery on both sides of the riverbank. After a journey of nearly an hour, the small boat she was on finally reached the deepest part of the valley.
At the end of the valley was a huge waterfall rushing down between two mountains, and beneath the waterfall was a large Church built across the river, like one built on a massive bridge. On both sides of the Church were dense religious buildings. Vanya knew this was probably the Saving Large Cathedral of Lecher Valley.
Reaching the end of the valley, Vanya thought they would finally stop the boat, but to her surprise, the small boat beneath Her not only didn't stop but continued to row forward. After passing under the bridge Church, it actually sailed all the way towards the huge waterfall ahead. Vanya was worried about this phenomenon, but Volka advised Her not to panic.
"Don't panic, Sister Vanya, we are going to the true Saving Church. It's alright."
"The true... Saving Church?"
Listening to Volka's words, Vanya suppressed Her inner emotions and watched as the small boat sailed into the turbulent waterfall. She found that the small boat beneath Her was moving forward even without rowing, stable and steady in the chaotic water flow.
Vanya and Volka entered the waterfall. At this moment, Vanya was surprised to find that the turbulent water falling from the sky miraculously avoided the small boat they were on. Not a single drop of water fell into the boat. Vanya passed through the waterfall without getting a single piece of clothing wet and arrived in a cave illuminated by lights.
In the narrow cave with an underground river, the small boat Vanya was on went deep. After rowing for about twenty minutes, it finally rowed out of the cave through a small opening, and suddenly, the view opened up.
Beyond the exit of the cave, Vanya saw another world, another vast and fertile large valley. In Vanya's eyes, clear stream water flowed from afar, tree shade stretched along both banks, countless flowers bloomed among the green grass, and various wild animals like deer were gracefully drinking water on both sides of the riverbank.
At the end of the river, Vanya saw a huge Church that looked like a castle, three or four times larger and more exquisite than the one outside. On the towering spires of the Church, melodious bells echoed throughout the hidden valley. And behind the Church was a towering giant tree, over a hundred meters in diameter, rising from the ground. The shade of the giant tree covered the sky and obscured the sun, seemingly enveloping almost half of the valley.
Seeing the giant tree before Her eyes, Vanya couldn't help but stand there in a daze for a moment. This was not so much due to shock as it was due to surprise.
She had seen similar giant trees in other places. That's right, the giant tree on Xia Shu Island that shaded the fertile sacrificial ground seemed to be of a similar variety, except that the giant tree in the Holy Mother's Holy Land was much larger than the one on Xia Shu Island.
...
Hmm... couldn't resist sleeping, and woke up in the afternoon.