Chapter 71: Invite The Bodhisattva Into The Holy Church
After finishing a hearty lunch, Young Master Yuan was preoccupied and ate without tasting the food. His mind was full of the upcoming Holy Light Ritual, so he didn’t even notice the senior student asking him several times about his relationship status, spacing out the whole time…
The enthusiastic senior student felt helpless. It seemed she lacked charm and wasn’t the young brother’s type. But for the sake of the commission, she professionally paid the bill and arranged to meet the next day.
Hurriedly leaving Rain Courtyard, the first thing Young Master Yuan did was go make money!
The bills he picked up at the Sacrifice Ritual site weren’t even enough for the Holy Light initiation fee. At this point, he could only call upon the Golden Bodhisattva!
So he sneaked along, looking around cautiously, found an empty corner, took out a Black Coin: “Teleport!”
The next second, he was back at Happy Home. Before he even opened his eyes, he heard a series of happy and joyful goat bleats.
“Baaah! Baaah!…”
Opening his eyes, he saw the petite back of a figure squatting on the ground feeding the goat. The tender stem branches in her hand looked familiar, being rolled into the mouth bit by bit, with the tail wagging in joy.
The leaves looked more and more off the more he looked—they were clearly Mad Tomato branches! The leaves on the branches faintly showed a five-finger outline, like wriggling struggling hands, as if trying to grasp the air and escape the goat’s mouth before death.
Heavens! A stranger was using Mad Tomato branches to feed Mad Sheep at Happy Home? Was this cultivating Demonic Creatures?!
“Hey, who are you?” Young Master Yuan called out.
The clothes on his body began to change, from casual everyday style to pitch-black Racing Suit, looking ready to fight at a moment’s notice.
The petite figure suddenly turned around, revealing a puzzled expression and an exquisite metal face. Below a pair of metal eyes, there were tear gland-like splice marks on each side, actually quite nice-looking. This was clearly a Mechanical Person doll with the appearance of a little girl.
“Young Master Yuan, you’re back? I’m the maid of Happy Home, Happiness No. 3. You can call me No. 3. I’m feeding this mascot right now.”
Young Master Yuan raised an eyebrow: “Maid? I don’t remember you. Are you a new member of Happy Home too?”
No. 3 shook her head: “No, I’m not a squad member, but a maid. I was purchased by the master to serve everyone. I’m proficient in housework and cooking. After you all return to Happy Home, I can fulfill any needs or orders, like making meals. Even when you’re away, I continue executing tasks at Happy Home, like taking care of this pet.”
Mao Mao King bought a shared Mechanical Maid for everyone?
Happy Home suddenly having this talking sweeper loli robot surprised him a lot. In this backward steam era, was Du Ling Technology this advanced? The sweeper robot’s appearance was so striking, much better than the senior student. Zhou Chu’s appearance dominance was in jeopardy, Meng Xiyue could sit at the same table as Mai Lili.
“Are you a Mechanical Person? Or some other race? Do you really have consciousness?” Young Master Yuan asked curiously.
No. 3: “I’m an autonomous steam maid. My consciousness was created by the master. I’m not sure if I count as having consciousness or a soul. But I’m quite intelligent, have self-taught all elementary school courses, and know three languages. Honored to serve you!”
With that, No. 3 curtsied to him.
“Can I steal you home?”
“No. My body is anchored to Happy Home and can’t leave. Do you have other needs? I’m proficient in massage, bartending, and tea brewing.” No. 3 was meeting someone she could communicate with at Happy Home for the first time and really wanted to do something for Young Master Yuan.
“No need. Where did you get this Mad Tomato branch?”
“Captain Li robbed a large number of Blood Bodhi seedlings from Little Xihong Realm and is cultivating them in the bedroom. Not long ago, he found someone in Space of Gods willing to buy Mad Tomato, so he opened a new farm. These are waste leaves I trimmed from the crops, perfect for feeding the sheep.”
“Baa baa baa!” The Little Goat saw Young Master Yuan and remembered that he had saved its life, so it stuck out its tongue at him, licking the air in greeting.
Young Master Yuan worried: “Feeding it Mad Tomato won’t cause problems? Like degenerating into a Demonic Creature?” If the Little Goat really went mad from Filthy Blood, he would personally send it off with Holy Light.
No. 3: “It’s fine. This goat has already been polluted; this level of pollution won’t affect it. Plus, the captain decided to deduct a small portion from the squad’s total revenue for its Reinforcement, so it’s even less afraid of it eating random things.”
“Why is that?”
“The captain thinks since none of you take care of it, the whole squad should cover it, raise it as the squad mascot. If it lives, it means the squad’s fortune is strong; if it dies, it means disaster is coming.”
Young Master Yuan: “That’s a threat, a curse.”
No. 3 tilted her head: “Sorry, I don’t understand. Is there anything you need me to do?”
“Forget it, keep feeding the sheep. I need to check information.”
This time, Young Master Yuan planned not only to invite the Bodhisattva to visit Running, but also check Holy Light Reinforcement info in the Stone Pillar. Soon, he found the Holy Light project, but due to insufficient level and no Holy Light Initiation, he couldn’t go deeper.
Just the outermost visible info let him understand the types and differences of Holy Light Reinforcement. Like Lu Rang’s, just the most basic Holy Mark, requiring 1000 Points.
But above that, there were multiple different Holy Marks, like Holy Nail Piercing for 500 extra Points per nail. Eyeball Removal to dig out the eyeball, forming a Holy Mark in the socket, 5000 Points. Palm Hollow, Piercing Roar Ritual, Noise Piercing…
These bizarre options varied in price, all variants of Holy Mark Reinforcement, each more masochistic than the last.
“No. 3, do you know about Holy Light?”
The Mechanical loli squatting in the Hall feeding the sheep stood up straight upon hearing this, replying seriously: “Young Master Yuan, I know a little. Please ask me questions!”
Young Master Yuan: “Why are there so many weird options for Holy Light initiation Holy Mark? What’s the difference from the most basic one?”
No. 3: “Different Holy Mark Rituals correspond to special faction Inheritances and specific Holy Seals. If you plan your future development path in advance, you can prepare during the Holy Mark for specific Reinforcement effects, lowering future thresholds and difficulty.”
“I see, doesn’t seem very useful. By the way, can Points be exchanged for money?”
No. 3: “Space doesn’t offer this service, but the great Mao Mao King provides a private exchange channel. Young Master Yuan is from Running; we offer 1 Point to 100 yuan exchange. You can also choose currencies from other worlds.”
Young Master Yuan calculated: Rain Courtyard charged 12,500, much cheaper than Space of Gods, barely reliable. But quoting 30,000 was black-hearted.
Unfortunately, his Human Stance Supernatural Powers needed to go through official channels, so he could only Reinforce at Rain Courtyard.
“By the way, No. 3, do you know how to land on the Moon?” He suddenly remembered he had a debt on the Moon and asked.
No. 3: “Landing on the Moon with your Physical Body is very difficult; I can’t help. But for Spirit access to the Moon Sea of Consciousness, you need to improve Spirit strength and perform a ritual on the full moon night for a chance to enter. Or choose System Reinforcements related to Sea of Consciousness. If you have debts on the Moon, you can go to large banks in the Real World, or enter Nightmare Bubble Layer, where professional financial institutions provide service.”
Young Master Yuan: “The Moon is the Sea of Consciousness? Ocean of consciousness?”
“Yes, Sea of Consciousness full name Du Ling all lifeforms’ collective unconscious ocean. Every soul-bearing lifeform’s daily conscious activity scatters thoughts that naturally evaporate, rise to the sky, drift and Sublimate through unknown channels, condensing on the Moon. After death, souls decompose into ‘light and heavy’—essence floats to the Moon, impurities fall to Yellow Springs. Thus the Moon contains consciousness info from all Du Ling lifeforms past and present (400 years). Now, Sea of Consciousness is a cultivation element for multiple Systems, similar to Spirit Layer—that’s a pure Spirit and consciousness world, unrelated to Physical Body and matter. The Moon has not only Soul Bank and Consciousness Bank, but other institutions too.”
Though steam era, local humans had really achieved moon landing and even opened banks. His debt could even be settled at Human World major banks.
“Anything else you need?”
“No, take good care of this sheep.” Young Master Yuan patted No. 3’s iron head. Tsk! Not comfortable at all, cold, hard, and empty inside.
But No. 3 looked like she was enjoying it.
In his exclusive bedroom, he snapped off two deformed Bodhisattva heads. Young Master Yuan weighed them—felt like over ten thousand. He packed the golden head and hurried back to Running. Without hesitation, he went straight back to Rain Courtyard, getting in on familiarity.
From leaving the Holy Church at noon, his thoughts had been restless. Not because something bad was coming, just his mind full of Reinforcement matters, anxious and uneasy.
His mental fortitude was still too weak. Better to get it done early than suffer until tomorrow, tossing and turning. With time still early, he could familiarize himself with Holy Light Power sooner, not fall too far behind Pipe Wrench Sword Immortal.
Seeing Young Master Yuan again, the old man was a bit surprised: “Back already? Forget something? And brought gifts, you know some manners.”
Clang clang! Two heavy thuds on the table. Young Master Yuan: “Not gifts, the fee! See how much over, give me the Price Difference back.”
With that, he uncovered the packaging, revealing the somewhat stained, twisted, deformed golden Bodhisattva head.
“Died real pretty.” Seeing the two snapped-off Bodhisattva heads, the old man was delighted, tested them hands-on, nodded in approval: “Indeed overweight. You kid’s got wild ways, using Bodhisattva as entry fee— the Dao Lord appreciates it. So, complete the ritual now, or tomorrow?”
Young Master Yuan asked: “Today, is it in time?”
“No problem, wait half an hour for preparations. I have Holy Light initiation books here; you can browse to learn.” With that, the old man pulled a Holy Light textbook from the nearby shelf, handed it to Young Master Yuan, and went out.
