Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1681 Temple
Thebes, Luxor Temple.

This is the center of the Amun faith—although the religion of ancient Egypt no longer exists, it is still strictly protected as an important Roman occult site.

It is ostensibly a tourist attraction, and it is indeed open to the public. At this time, tourists from all over the world are indeed visiting it.

This is actually a fairly popular tourist activity in Rome – it's part of a Nile River cruise.

Board a tall cruise ship departing from Alexandria and sailing upstream along the Nile, passing through Cairo and ending in Thebes. Along the way, you can see not only Africa's magnificent natural landscapes, but also ancient wonders such as the Great Pyramids and the Valley of the Kings.

The journey was very safe. The Nile's flow and wind direction are relatively stable, and the riverbed is excellent for navigation. Despite the large number of tourist boats traveling along it, there haven't been any accidents throughout the year. And once you arrive in the area, you're usually greeted by the local Coptic people.

In the temples of Amun, many Coptic people also play the role of the original priests of Amun to perform religious ceremonies.

The Coptic people are the true native inhabitants of Egypt. The ancient Egyptian language later developed into a phonetic script, and the script used by the Coptic people is the authentic ancient Egyptian alphabet. It evolved from hieroglyphics to descriptive script, and then further developed from descriptive script.

On its own, the tourist attractions are nothing special, and on its own, the Coptic people are nothing special. But when you combine the two—the rituals performed by actual Egyptians to worship the god Amun—then it constitutes everything needed to worship Amun.

Rituals require an audience to function, as their fundamental purpose is to be witnessed; there is no ritual without witnesses. During the decline of ancient Egyptian culture, the worship of Amun was completely abandoned because the priestly class needed the support of a large audience, whether voluntary or involuntary.

After the system of three suns leading Rome was established, the priests of Amun were reinstated. Tourists replaced the original believers as the audience needed for the ceremonies dedicated to Amun. Everything seemed to have changed, yet nothing seemed to have changed at all.

"Wow!" Shangluo watched everything happening on the stage from among the tourists.

The ceremony is currently underway.

The high priest returned from the depths of the temple, carrying a jug of water in a clay pot. The ancient Egyptians believed that all things in heaven and earth were born from water, which is the origin of the later saying, "Darkness was over the deep; the Spirit of God hovered over the waters."

The worship of Ammon places particular emphasis on this element of "creation," because Ammon, as the "hidden god," signifies the ultimate source of creation, beyond human comprehension. Ammon exists within all things, yet is also "hidden" within all things. He exists in the waters of creation, yet transcends and remains invisible.

Therefore, this is what is meant by the "Hidden" God. Even other gods cannot actually know the appearance of the God Ammon—this is actually the state described in the Tao Te Ching: "There is something undifferentiated and complete, which existed before heaven and earth. Silent and still, it stands alone and unchanging, ever-present and inexhaustible, and can be regarded as the mother of all things under heaven."

However, in the ceremony, the god Ammon still has an image. Just as the Three Pure Ones need their own images to receive worship.

The high priest, holding a water jug, walked to the statue of the god Ammon, divided the water in the jug in two, and poured the water into two separate plates.

One jar contains clean water, and the other contains salt water.

The high priest first washed the idol before him with salt water, then rinsed it with clean water. While the surface was still damp, he applied spices such as myrrh and pine resin, symbolizing essence and renewal. At this time, offerings for Amun, including bread, beef, goose, fruit, vegetables, beer, and wine, were prepared.

Finally, the statue of Amun was dressed in new clothes—this was done daily. The statue of Amun already had other parts attached, but its upper body was bare. Every morning, the high priest would drape the statue of Amun in a new linen robe.

The Luxor Temple features a massive central courtyard, and all of this can be witnessed by spectators.

After doing all this, the high priest respectfully backed out of the temple; he was the last to leave. As he went, he bent down to sweep away his footprints with a broom. The others waited behind him, carrying the bread, beef, wine, and other offerings that had been made before the statue of Amun.

The temple gates were sealed with a seal. The high priest first washed his hands with water, then took bread from the plate and faced the crowd:

"Everyone, this bread, blessed by the god Ammon this morning, will be available at the themed restaurant on the east side soon. We also have blessed wine and beer, which you can take away. Limited quantities available daily, so hurry if you want some. The themed restaurant also has dishes made with blessed beef and goose meat. Today we have a special holiday set meal: buy beef and get a free beer! The set meal is also limited, so hurry if you want some."

After speaking, he bowed to the crowd like an actor, and then walked off the stage amidst applause.

Shangluo stared in disbelief at all of this.

He asked Victoria, who was standing next to him, "So, it's true?"

"Yes. He is the real High Priest of Amun, not an actor."

Did he really know he was the high priest?

"Actually, he didn't just know. When we rediscovered the Temple of Amun, the priesthood of Amun was already here, as if they had traveled through time to wait for us—according to them, this was a priesthood established and protected by the ancient Roman Empire. We checked the empire's accounts, and there was indeed an expenditure there. It's just incredible that this allowed them to maintain the structure of the priesthood until we reopened it as a tourist attraction."

"It's quite unbelievable that they would think of selling sacrificial offerings."

They came here to see this high priest. They would need his cooperation in the subsequent actions against Thebes.

The meeting took place in his office—which could also be called the high priest's office, or at least had all the necessary furnishings.

For example, in this office, there's a backdrop of flowing water surrounding the corners. Directly opposite the entrance, a pond is filled with water lilies, a significant symbol of divine power. The display cases on either side also contain scarab beetle amulets, a deluxe edition of the *Book of the Dead*, and a sphinx, among other things.

The high priest himself stood by the pool to greet them. Only then did Shangluo realize that he was bald.

(End of this chapter)