"Your statement is wrong," Mia retorted, "It's not that the goods have disappeared, but that they have changed their locations, and the types are different."

"Well, there's a very obvious difference." Shuer nodded, "The beginning was referred to by square objects, but in this picture, all the goods were deliberately replaced with round shapes."

"Trade Exchange." The two looked at each other and expressed their conclusion at the same time, "The living lizard man trades with the undead in the wind."

For a moment, everyone was a little stunned, which was definitely a subversive conclusion.

Trading means that both sides have at least self-awareness, but according to Pavatiga's theory, undead, especially skeleton-like undead, cannot have self-awareness. They are just some skeletons driven by instinct.

Even the skull Saren that Militi carries with her was her approval, and she sealed part of his soul into the skull, barely retaining his incomplete consciousness. Even so, once she unblocked the blockade, Saren's soul would dissipate, leaving only an ordinary skull.

However, if the scene described in the mural is real, then the undead who travels through sandstorms must have their own consciousness, and there is probably a civilization belonging to the undead. The key is that the creatures and the undead actually recognize each other, not only will they trade with each other, but they even regard the day of trade as a festival to celebrate.

"An interesting, very interesting story." Shur said thoughtfully, "Is the undead in this world really wise? It doesn't look like it."

"It's not like it," Mia said with a gloomy expression. "What we have encountered these days, no matter what we have in the wind or what we have come out of this temple, can't be considered self-aware."

Indeed, all the undeads encountered these days are obviously acting instinctively. Even the opponents fighting fiercely in the square have not escaped from the category driven by instinct. Their performance is no different from the undeads of Pavatiga, except that they will fly around in the sandstorm, so the shadow chasers are completely unaware of their special features. They did not realize the abnormality until they looked at the murals at this time.

"Saf, you...well, I asked the wrong person. The Book of Knowledge and the Brain of Wisdom are absolutely neutral. Kelly, will your Water Church carve the story of making a deal with Lord Orfregan's followers in the temple?"

"What a joke, I won't be carved into such an evil place." Before Kelly answered, Mobak began to complain habitually. "It's simply a shame to be carved into them... Well, Captain, I'll shut up now."

"We won't." Kelly thought about it carefully before shook her head gently, "Although the battle has been truce now, it's really... to record such things..."

"But now the Lizardman Church records this scene, and it was officially carved in the temple, indicating that the undead who traded with them were at least not aliens, not pagans, and even said that they were likely to believe in these four gods."

"It's not that simple." Militi also intervened in the discussion. "Don't forget that the energy sources of all the undead are provided by black stone and black sand. At least the undead we see now are like this. In contrast, these undeads driven by the earth and flying in the air in the wind are closer to the gods than the lizardman."

"The messenger of the gods? Hell, this is not a trade." Shur murmured, "This is completely a sacrifice."

Although I have never been exposed to these in my hometown world, the experience over the past four years has allowed Sul to have a very thorough understanding of theological knowledge and can see through the essence of lizard-man behavior at a glance.

Yes, this is an extraordinary sacrifice.

Believers offer their own sacrifices to the gods and send envoys to collect them. Of course, the gods do not accept the worship of believers for nothing, but will also give gifts that are enough to satisfy the believers.

It seems to be a trade between gods and mortals, but the essence is still sacrifice, but the process of sacrifice is the carrier of god messengers.

"Yoyou, the gods here are far worse than mothers." Moriya said dissatisfiedly on the piles of sacrifices offered by mortals, "Mother will not ask us to offer so many useless things, at most they will only ask us for a few novel toys."

How naive the mother who asked for toys from her children was? Shure rolled her eyes secretly. He only dared to think about this in his heart, but he didn't dare to say it out loud, otherwise Anika might not have had the same knowledge as him, but someone would definitely give him a headache.

However, Xiaolu said something seems to be wrong.

"What do gods want so many mortal things to do?" Shur finally realized, "It's useless."

This is the problem.

Gods have long been separated from the understanding of mortals and are formed by pure power of laws. Even if some of them were once mortal creatures, even if they showed themselves as wise creatures, from the moment they became gods, they were no longer humans, and mortal objects were worthless to them.

Gods can enjoy food, wine, luxury goods, and gods, but what they enjoy is the symbolic meaning of these things, not these ordinary things themselves. Taking wine as an example, offering a cup, a bucket or a pool is no different from the gods.

Therefore, the offerings dedicated to the gods are often only a symbolic point, which represents the gratitude of the believers, rather than the gift of boxes to the gods. Just like in the Temple of Dark Moon, when eating every day, Shur would place a glass of wine and a piece of bread in front of the statue. This is the intention of the believers of Dark Moon. Although they are eaten and drunk by him every time, and sometimes they secretly use red algae water to pretend to be wine, at least they have the intention and the details are not important at all.

"Are the offerings really for the gods? Or are the gods acquiesced to the messengers collecting sacrifices in their name? What did they give back? Why are the living lizards happy to accept it?"

Questions after questions kept popping up from everyone's minds, but no one asked questions, and no one knew the answers, so it was meaningless to ask.

Leaving the murals that record the sacrifice process, the more they move forward, the more murals that describe priests or nobles. In the murals, these priests are dressed the same, and masks and robes are the biggest difference between them and ordinary lizard people. No matter where they appear, they are always shouting and urging and accepting the kneeling of countless people.

"Buzz", the sudden sound interrupted the shadow-travelers' research on the murals. Looking at the source of the sound, the sacrament object carried by Shuer, the stone axe used for blood sacrifice, seemed to have sensed something, emitting a faint light.

"No, come again?" After an experience of being influenced by illusions, Mobak habitually complained. This time no one condemned him because he expressed everyone's thoughts. It would be too dangerous if he fell into a illusion in such an unknown environment.

Fortunately, what everyone is worried about has not become reality. The stone axe is just shining and shaking slightly, which is more like a resonance of energy. This also reminds everyone that the key position is not far away.

The long corridor is not straightforward, and there are several doors passing by both sides. However, no matter how the shadow chasers try, they cannot open any door. Marcajren and Mia have confirmed that there are no mechanical locks or magic locks on these doors, but the door just cannot be opened. I think the owners here do not welcome them to visit at will.

It’s not impossible to force the door to break through. With the stone architecture, Mobak’s understanding of stone, coupled with the destructive power of the elemental mage Mia, the door can explode even if it is thicker. However, no one can be sure what the temple will react after it is exploded. It is better not to do this kind of thing that may anger the other party.

Since we cannot explore casually, there is only one way to go. Under the urging of the stone axe, the shadow chasers reluctantly gave up the mural containing countless information, allowing their attention to return to the corridor.

It is difficult to tell how long I have been walking in the corridor. The air is still fresh and the temperature remains unchanged. Even the oil lamps on the walls are exactly the same, and the spacing between them is not bad. If the murals were not changing all the time, everyone would even suspect that they had never moved forward.

"It's time to reach the destination." Holding the stone axe, Shuer could feel the vibration of the stone axe being intensified. This is a proof that the energy source that resonates with it is getting closer and closer. He did not think that the resonance of the stone axe was an accidental phenomenon, which could resonate with the sacrament and be in the temple. What would it be? Shuer could have imagined?

"Captain, there is no road ahead." Mobak, who was heading in front, stopped, "There is only one door."

"Well, I saw it." Shuer took a deep breath, "I have been marching at low alert levels, and now my mental state should have recovered, right?"

"no problem."

"Then let's enter the state of combat, but there is a little attention. I don't make clear orders and attacks are strictly prohibited. Once I give orders, don't save your physical strength and strive to eliminate the enemy as quickly as possible." Shuer and the other person were completely different when they were at the door, with a very serious expression. "Our opponent is likely to be an extension of the will of a god in the mortal world. Although it is impossible to have the strength of a god, it will not be easy to deal with. Everyone should be mentally prepared."

"I did it outside just now. Things related to gods have never been that simple." Mia sneered, "and I know that it's wrong to see you relaxed so much at the door. You're not worried that we can't walk anymore, right?"

"Ahem, be careful, especially you, Kelly." Shure avoided Mia's sharp words awkwardly, "You pull that stupid wolf, don't leave Mia and Militi."

"Oh, I got it." The female priest was still so calm.
Chapter completed!