After bidding farewell to those cultivators, who, despite their self-important mission to "save all living beings," had been "tricked" by Lin Qingyue into running an "anti-fraud and anti-pyramid scheme" campaign.
The four-member team, led by Lin Qingyue, continued their advance toward Winred City under the cover of night.
They did not choose to use stealth.
For this team with its unique style, "infiltration" often relied not on concealment, but on a "performance."
In a secluded forest on the city's outskirts, the four changed their outfits on the spot.
Lin Qingyue took out a dress with an exaggerated style and bright colors from her Equipment Space.
Paired with a wide-brimmed sun hat, she looked like a rich young lady out for entertainment.
Lin Xiyue, meanwhile, chose a set of martial arts attire that appeared loose and casual but concealed hidden mechanisms.
She temporarily stowed away the heavy Blackstone's Protection, wearing only a weighty metal bracelet on her wrist.
Su Wan discarded her usual dignified mage robes for a well-tailored court gown.
Her temperament remained as cool and detached as ever, but the aura that kept people at a distance had softened slightly.
Xia Lian donned a low-profile hooded coat, concealing her form within it, almost merging with the shadows.
"Who said heroes couldn't walk openly through the front gate?"
Lin Qingyue put on her hat, pulling the brim low to reveal only a pair of pink eyes flashing with a sly glint.
"This is called integrating with the masses, infiltrating from within!"
She raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Besides, in a place so mixed with all kinds of people, no one will notice those who look 'normal'."
"On the contrary, sneaking around is what's more likely to arouse suspicion."
Guided by this "heretical logic," the four transformed their style.
They blended into a group composed of merchant caravans and tourists, swaggering toward the main gate of Winred City.
At the city gate, the patrolling guards had little interest in these outsiders who had come seeking pleasure.
They merely glanced symbolically before waving them through.
The moment they stepped into the city, they were met with the pungent smell of alcohol, cloying face powder fragrance, and the clamor of various desires.
The streets here were brilliantly lit, forming a sharp contrast with the darkness of the countryside outside the city.
Various neon signs flickered with tempting light, outlining the silhouette of a "Paradise of Pleasure."
On the main street, people were disheveled, their eyes hazy.
Unrestrained laughter and whispers mixed together, forming a suffocating torrent.
If Blackrock Stronghold's "Tender Village" was a meticulously arranged high-end club.
Then Winred City was a supermarket of desire, complete with everything from high-end to low-end, from secret to open.
Besides the establishments directly related to "physical elation," gambling dens, black markets, and even alleys offering "spiritual hallucinatory services" were all bustling with business.
In such a chaotic environment, their attire didn't stand out at all.
After all, as far as they could see, there were all kinds of bizarre and eccentric outfits.
Their target was clear, aimed straight at the most grand and magnificent building in the city.
The Central Cathedral, shrouded in pinkish-purple mist.
-
The Cathedral was exceptionally quiet amidst the city's clamor.
Rather than a sanctuary, it felt more like a meticulously maintained tomb.
Its towering spires pierced the sky, shrouded in mist, exuding an air of mystery and eerie strangeness.
They slipped into the Cathedral's interior soundlessly, switching back into their professional equipment.
The heavy wooden doors opened silently under the influence of Magic Power, then closed just as silently.
The interior of the Cathedral was not the scene of fanatical worshippers or sacrificial rituals that Lin Qingyue had expected.
It was unnervingly quiet.
The air was permeated with a faint scent of machine oil and a crisp, cold metallic aroma.
It was devoid of the nauseating smell of blood or lust that lingered outside.
Deep within the hall stood a colossal statue of a steam gear, shimmering with a mechanical luster unique to its design.
The statue's form was intricate, a tangled web of gears, pistons, and steam pipes, brimming with industrial beauty.
It was identical in style to the crude Mechanical Ascension Legion they had encountered before.
A blonde woman, clad in a pure white priest's robe, was holding a soft velvet cloth, devoutly polishing a small gear on the statue.
Her movements were slow and focused, as if she were performing some sacred ritual.
The woman's blonde hair was tied back in a simple bun.
Her figure from behind looked dignified and elegant, forming a sharp contrast to this city filled with chaotic desire.
As they stepped into the main hall, the woman seemed to notice, her polishing motion pausing slightly.
She made no sound, only slowly turning around.
It was a delicate face, her eyes clear.
But deep within her gaze, there lay a suppressed, unsettling sense of exhaustion and despair.
Ice crystals flickered at Su Wan's fingertips, the hall's temperature plummeting several degrees instantly.
Lin Xiyue silently moved [Blackstone's Protection] to the front, its runic magic circle shimmering faintly on the shield's surface, shielding her teammates behind her.
Xia Lian notched an arrow, the string drawn.
Her sharp gaze locked onto the woman's every minute movement.
The Priestess's gaze swept over Lin Qingyue and her three companions, finally resting on Lin Qingyue's face.
"Welcome."
Her voice was soft and calm.
There was no hint of panic at seeing intruders.
Instead, it carried a composure that suggested she had been waiting for a long time.
"Finally... someone has come."
"No matter who it is, I have waited a long time."
Lin Qingyue narrowed her pink eyes, assessing the other woman, her tone tinged with a hint of nonchalance.
"Waiting for us? You don't seem at all surprised, or afraid, by intruders."
She waved her hand, signaling her teammates to remain calm but without completely lowering their guard.
"Bait sent by the Prophet? Or... someone truly trying to struggle out of this mire?"
The Priestess gently set down the velvet cloth, making no move that could be perceived as a threat.
"Whether bait or struggling ones,"
She smiled faintly, a smile that carried a sense of resignation from having seen through life and death.
"I am merely a trapped spirit, a prisoner longing for liberation."
"As long as it can bring a glimmer of change to this defiled land, even if it's destruction... I will welcome it."
She pointed to the massive steam-gear statue behind her, her eyes a mix of piety and helplessness.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Elena."
Her voice remained flat.
"I was once the guardian of this city, a Bishop who worshipped the 'God of Machinery and Creation'."
"But that was all a very long time ago."
Elena lowered her eyelids.
Her long eyelashes cast fan-like shadows in the candlelight, concealing the sorrow in her eyes.
"My God advocated for rigor, order, and creation."
"It taught us that through precise calculation and unremitting labor, the world could be made more perfect, more orderly."
"This is utterly incompatible with the chaotic desires of the 'Mother of Rebirth'."
Lin Xiyue frowned: "Are you saying... before the Evil God's invasion, this place had its own God?"
Elena nodded: "Yes. However, when the so-called 'Mother of Rebirth' descended, everything changed."
"It didn't bother to corrupt, nor did it try to convert. All it did was simply and brutally... devour."
"It directly devoured my God, seizing its authority and the faith of its believers all at once!"
When Lin Qingyue heard her say the word "devour," her heart jolted violently.
A God... could actually be devoured?
In Elena's voice, a hint of indescribable resentment finally surfaced.
But it was quickly suppressed again, returning to that calm, almost cold tone.
"From that moment on, my faith was forcibly transferred."
"My city was transformed into its current state, and I became a member under the 'Mother of Rebirth'."
She looked back at Lin Qingyue, her clear eyes reflecting the bewildered expressions of the four of them.
"However, within me, the core faith in the 'logic and order' of machinery has never truly wavered."
"It clashed violently with the chaotic 'desire' of the Mother of Rebirth."
"This conflict may have been due to the remnant authority of the God, or perhaps the inertia of faith."
"In any case, it miraculously allowed me to retain a sliver of clarity amidst the brainwashing."
Su Wan mused: "So, you've essentially been forcibly bound, but your core program is still resisting?"
Elena nodded gently: "You could say that. I cannot resist, nor can I escape, nor can I even seek death."
"I can only wait, waiting for a chance to completely sever this distorted connection."
Her gaze fell on Lin Qingyue again, this time with a hint of probing and hope.
"And you... are that chance."