Wizard Alchemist

Chapter 856 Fifty Thousand Spirits (4 in 1)

"This Vermenos is very proactive!"

Through the spiritual connection between the gods and believers, Roy silently and quietly watched, vaguely witnessing this scene.

He had a general understanding of these people's movements and knew that they had held a secret meeting among the chosen ones under the initiative of Phromenos.

This has actually deviated from its original plan, shifting from individual development to collective action.

"My original concern was that this would make it easy for big data to monitor and then wipe out all of them at once."

Fermenos was not a reckless man and should have understood the risks involved.

But he still chose to gather because in Saqqara, various sects and faith groups are legal.

Perhaps because higher-ups wanted to conduct certain experiments, religious groups were not only able to be established, but could even come out into the open and promote themselves publicly.

Of course, it would be difficult to attract any real believers and connect with the right anchor.

Perhaps he was thinking that by mixing truth and falsehood, and concealing himself among the crowd, he would be safer.

Roy pondered.

Like Phromenos, the soul is in a state of being without a master until it gains its own attention.

His desire was so strong that the light of his soul shone brightly, as conspicuous as a firefly in the night.

In this situation, it would be easy for other demons to discover and capture them.

Many people in the material world are bewitched by the devil because their desires or obsessions are too strong.

If it hadn't been him who discovered him first, but rather some devil from hell, or a demon from the abyss, perhaps his destiny would have taken a completely different path.

Fortunately, the universe is vast, and while we encounter many people, we also encounter many others we don't.

Some people have a persistent and intense desire that drives their souls, and their inner light shines throughout their lives, yet they never encounter divine revelation or devils.

In most cases, the matter is left unresolved.

The remaining major threat then became the Saqqan authorities.

Roy never underestimated them. Their technology, that of a god-level civilization, was genuine level five technology, and they were not so easy to deal with.

Perhaps they will have some means of detecting the soul, or of achieving spiritual resonance.

One should make full use of the advantages of a high position and prepare in advance.

But Roy did not interfere with these believers, but let them do as they pleased.

Even if they interfere a lot now, continue to preach in the future, or even develop new believers in other worlds, they cannot do everything themselves.

Ultimately, we have to let go and rely on the right agent.

……

"The Alchemy Cult is giving away a golden egg upon joining!"

"Sir, would you like to learn about a 24k pure gold egg?"

"Investment and wealth management? No, no, no, we don't do that. All our gold is refined through alchemy!"

Our goal is to enable everyone to achieve financial freedom!

A few days later, in the city of Katari.

Lower layer area.

Even in the lower-level near-air and ground towns, in shantytowns.

A group of religious figures dressed in gray robes, preaching around, attracted the attention of nearby residents.

Refugee Barul squeezed past several large-headed aliens to get a look.

Holy crap! Ostrich eggs!

While mining gold is very convenient for a god-like civilization, mining it from other planets in space still incurs considerable costs.

Local gold deposits are also under special protection and cannot be mined at will.

Gold is also produced using nuclear physics, which is not cheap either.

Therefore, gold still retains a certain value.

I thought there would be some promotional activities or giveaways, like pigeon eggs or chicken eggs, at most worth a few dollars.

I never expected it to be such an exaggerated ostrich egg.

"Stop pushing! Get in line at the back!"

The big-headed alien, who had just been pushed aside, was a little unhappy and quickly pulled him to the side.

Barul wasn't annoyed, because he had arrived early and should be able to take his turn.

So they obediently lined up.

Before long, he received the golden egg he had been eyeing, but he also inexplicably filled out a form and joined this so-called alchemical cult.

"Wait, what is all this? Why do I need to fill in my contact information and home address?"

After a moment of impulsiveness, Barul became wary.

Although Mior has a well-established legal system, there are still many lawless areas in the lower city and on the surface.

Those Saqqas don't care about the lives of non-citizens!
"Don't worry, it's just to facilitate other benefits in the future. Our church has activities and we will visit people's homes from time to time to offer our help."

The aliens behind him urged, "Hurry up, are you going to fill it out or not!"

Barul: "..."

He didn't want to fill it out, but for some reason, he filled it out anyway.

……

Upper District, the church's temporary headquarters.

At the gathering place.

Fomeros and his group met up again to exchange ideas and make deals.

The current situation was also discussed.

"The results are remarkable. In just a few days, the number of registered believers has exceeded 1000."

Although giving away the golden eggs cost quite a bit of money, it was ultimately worth it.

"Yes, it's all thanks to Lord Fermenos's idea..."

Oh, and there was also a donation from an anonymous church member!

Preso and Borrett praised it highly.

Since we all came together to gather and work together, the church's work has developed rapidly.

This made them, who weren't very good at doing things, feel genuinely relieved.

After all, one of them was a couch potato and the other was a doctor; they didn't know much about the ins and outs.

It would be wonderful if someone could take on this responsibility.

Are these fake believers really useful?

I've been praying lately, asking for divine revelation...

But it seems there has been no response.

"Divine favor" doesn't seem secure either.

However, Gram raised objections.

“You’re right. None of these people are useful. They can’t even reach the level of a general believer or a shallow believer.”

Wearing a red robe and a golden mask, Phromenos glanced at him and responded indifferently.

"Then how did you..."

Graham hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"That's because the law doesn't punish everyone. We need to have enough registered believers to create a strong social influence."

Then, through a process of natural selection, truly useful talents are selected and added to the core circle.

This is the next step: selection and recruitment.

Compared to these roughnecks, Fermenos was clearly a level above them all. Long before he even started this project, he had already thought ahead and planned out many follow-up strategies.

"If any officials come knocking, I and the white-robed man will handle it."

The Yellow Robe was responsible for preaching, displaying the content of miracles, and recruiting people to join the cause.

You must be vigilant and protective; if any outsiders harbor malicious intentions, you must swiftly and decisively counter them.

"understood."

Graham responded in a deep voice.

******
Although Gram was somewhat distrustful of Vermenos, he gradually came to believe in him after spending some time with him and seeing how well he managed the entire sect.

Even Roy nodded in approval when he saw it.

"I was lucky; it was like drawing one good card out of four."

Others with strong desires and unusually high mental energy also have the potential to become elite talents.

In that case, the sect will be truly established very quickly.

Sure enough, after some time, the number of registered believers increased.

Through the process of natural selection, people and resources were truly put to good use, and all sorts of talented individuals were selected from the rabble.

Among them were scientists who had smuggled themselves in from less advanced civilizations, gangsters, petty thieves, and spies from unknown forces.

More importantly, there is a large group of shallow and superficial believers who are obsessed with getting rich and whose minds are full of the idea that alchemy can help them become wealthy!

The original meaning of alchemy is alchemy, which is to make money, and it can indeed involve some power in the field of wealth.

Coincidentally, Roy had indeed been involved in the realm of wealth in Eglis and had crafted something called a golden basin.

He had once given it to Serafina, where it served as a sacred relic for the sect. Now, through "interdimensional summoning," he had quietly prepared it and then sent down a divine oracle, ready to perform a "miracle"!
……

“Have you heard?
Tonight at the gathering, His Highness the Archbishop will pray to the god of alchemy, requesting a sacred relic!

"What kind of sacred object?"

"I don't know either, but in short, it is definitely an extraordinary and unimaginable existence."

"Oh, that's something to look forward to!"

Another day, at the gathering place.

The carefully selected representatives of the believers gathered together, crowding in the hall to wait.

What kind of holy relic is this? It's all just a bunch of nonsense!

Agent Gobarro, who was hiding among them, sneered inwardly.

From the very beginning, this so-called alchemy cult came under official scrutiny and was closely monitored.

As Roy and Fermenos, among others, know, artificial intelligence combined with big data is a very powerful force.

If people don't gather in large numbers, it's fine, but a large gathering of people will immediately attract attention.

In particular, it involves economic exchanges and the concentration of goods.

But what the authorities fear is not these rabble, but the elites behind them.

If someone wants to manufacture dangerous goods, it is possible to purchase items through different people and mail them to different addresses.

Big data primarily targets these possibilities.

Although there is no evidence in the short term that this alchemy cult is conducting dangerous experiments or engaging in fraudulent activities, it is indeed necessary to send in some agents to investigate.

Offline gatherings and face-to-face communication are the dark side that Skynet rarely touches.

So, Gobarro was sent to act as a tentacle of Skynet.

Although the sect had some security measures, they were neither professional nor rigorous, and he quickly managed to sneak in with electronic devices.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the moment to witness a miracle is about to arrive. Today, I am very honored to announce to you that our sincerity has won the attention of the Alchemist God. The God has revealed to us and decided to bestow upon us a treasure..."

A true treasure, a golden basin!

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, a believer dressed in a light red robe and wearing a silver mask proclaimed with highly inflammatory emotion.

This is a new believer who used to be a salesman. Judging from his clothing, he has clearly been assigned to Phomenos's service and given important responsibilities.

Within the sect, different levels are distinguished by masks made of various materials such as gold, silver, bronze, and iron. This is already a rapid promotion to the level of a missionary who transcends dioceses.

In the early days of a startup, promotions came quickly.

If we follow the Temple of Light system in Eglis, it would take at least twenty or thirty years to achieve this.

Soon after, Fermenos and others personally took the stage, standing at the four corners of the prepared magic circle to preside over the ceremony.

A powerful golden light pierced through the dome, as if it had shot down directly from the depths of space.

After the grand and magnificent aura subsided, a golden basin appeared out of thin air.

Everyone present seemed to feel a divine revelation, and information about this object naturally surfaced in their minds.

"A magical artifact capable of creating gold using 'natural magic'..."

A golden basin!

This... this is actually true!

Agent Gobarro was dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, his electronic devices quickly stored and transmitted all the information.

In an instant, SkyNet sensed it and immediately drew a conclusion.

"An unknown, powerful entity has invaded; the energy source's characteristics suggest it may be a wizard..."

……

"Have you heard? The cult really does possess divine artifacts!"

"A golden basin, used to produce gold! I saw it with my own eyes, it's absolutely true!"

"It is said that the God of Alchemy personally bestowed upon him the four great tomes of black, white, yellow, and red. Becoming a priest grants one divine magic, which is true extraordinary power!"

"My God, weren't those supposed to be powers from another dimension, completely unscientific? I never expected them to actually descend upon us like this!"

"Miracles" displayed in public can always greatly enhance the level of faith.

After the gathering that day, Roy clearly felt that the golden spiritual light surging towards him from the void had become denser.

Unlike the "zombie fans" in the imaginary space, these believers are real, vibrant souls.

Their spirits were high, and the aura they exuded was full of vibrant energy.

Praying with faith continuously stimulates the leap of soul particles, which then attach themselves to one's body.

The True God Body was originally created to receive these beliefs and was quickly sanctified.

The power of the alchemical deity also increased accordingly, and finally, a significant increase appeared that was visible to the naked eye.

"Deities can enhance their power through faith, and at the same time, the increase in their divine power and spiritual attributes will also be related to this..."

My true divine body's stats immediately exceeded 3, which is almost catching up with the strength of my original body!

The Ladder to Godhood truly lives up to its reputation as a top-tier route; no wonder so many powerful individuals flock to it!

In his apartment, Roy continued to live a secluded life, keeping a low profile. He secretly observed the divine essence, and was genuinely astonished by its rapid progress.

It should be noted that his original body had undergone many years of development, and with the help of his alchemical talent as a cheat, he had made rapid progress, relying on the leaps during his advancement and the creation of artificial demon gods to improve himself.

It would take at least two or three thousand years for others to accumulate such a level of skill.

However, if the gods have enough believers, they can reach the same number within two or three years!
This is an incredibly alarming rate of growth.

******
In the blink of an eye, a month or so has passed.

Roy sat quietly in his apartment, lost in thought.

Several "Chibi Beasts" were playing and rolling around nearby, completely unaware that he had entered some mysterious spiritual space.

Because of the increase in the number of his followers, the spiritual energy he is now gaining is becoming stronger, and the corresponding power value has reached tens of thousands.

"It seems to be much more than expected, and it's not just about registering believers!"

Roy analyzed the true source and discovered that it was actually those unclaimed wandering souls in the imaginary space.

The number of souls accumulated by the Saker civilization is considerable, and the imaginary space is equivalent to an unformed prototype of a divine kingdom.

It felt as if I could manipulate them and take whatever I wanted!
"Of course, this is just an illusion."

To condense divine power, or even use it as a resource in the material world, one still needs to use objects such as condensed divine power crystals.

However, within this imaginary space, there are quite a few casual believers among the unclaimed souls?
Even if each believer can only contribute 1% to 10% of the faith power they deserve, that's still a considerable amount.

After all, this isn't a matter of one or two hundred million, or even a billion or more, but rather hundreds of billions, trillions!

Technological civilization has significant advantages in certain areas, such as agriculture and industry.

While many native gods were still struggling to grow their populations, they had already begun using nutrient paste to feed trillions, even hundreds of trillions, of people across multiple planets.

Just then, Roy, who was swimming freely in a granary, suddenly sensed a threat.

This was not an attack on him, but rather a conflict between the vast spiritual power, carrying the obsessions of all beings, and his own autonomous spirituality.

Roy frowned slightly, but didn't make a fuss.

"This is the drawback of the path to godhood..."

A strong belief can easily shape a spiritual entity.

Even the soul of a god can be altered by these chaotic beliefs.

The priesthood, divinity, even the divine name!

All of these will change subtly and gradually in this process!

If the fundamental question of physics is what elementary particles are, and how they stick together...

Then the mana studied by magic, and the origin of the soul, are the same.

Elementary particles are soul particles, bound together by the power of will.

When it falls into the material plane, it is matter; when it falls into the outer plane, it is spirit; and the intermediate transitional layer exhibits duality!
When Roy's mind came into contact with these massive particles, he immediately felt wave after wave of powerful will impacting him.

The combined spirit and spirituality of billions of living beings, no matter how weak the individuals may be, is terrifying.

A large part of it is about the desire for wealth, and also includes the power of the goddess of wealth.

If Roy wanted, he could even create a new incarnation to serve as the goddess of wealth, or the god of wealth!
Alternatively, one could recruit such subordinates to replace oneself as a vessel.

This is how "theocracy" and "factions" like Heaven and Hell came into being.

However, Roy hesitated for a moment but did not do so. Instead, he used his power to guide the flow and divert it to the golden basin.

"In the future, any similar chaotic spiritual energy will be diverted to the corresponding objects."

If all else fails, create another idol to prevent contamination of your own body!

In this respect, I am also uniquely gifted.

With a sufficiently high position and the alchemical talent of creating a [Source Container], one naturally possesses the ability to cope with such situations.

As a result, the growth of spiritual attributes continued to advance by leaps and bounds.

……

Time flies, and several months have passed.

Roy snapped out of his meditative state, a slight look of surprise flashing across his face.

"50000 points!"

In such a short time, this true god body has actually reached a level equivalent to more than 5 spiritual attribute values!

Even among fourth-level archmages, he is considered a top-tier existence, with the potential to advance further and seek promotion!

He is now completely certain that his True God Body has reached the peak of Level 4, making him one of the most outstanding beings among Grand Wizards, Legendary Mages, or Demigods.

Although it is merely an avatar, not the original body reaching this level.

But with experience, one can effectively handle anything, whether it's concocting potions, absorbing spiritual energy, or doing anything similar.

The main body can also be improved quickly!

"After all, the real difficulty always lies in eliminating impurities."

And he also possessed the formula for a true treasure like the Soul Dew...

Perhaps, we could also find materials in the imaginary space to refine them!

Just as he was thinking this, suddenly, a mysterious wave surged from the void.

Roy instantly became alert, quietly concealed himself, and then quickly disappeared.

During this period, he has been gradually expanding his territory, deviating somewhat from his initial plan to remain low-key and covert, and has become much more unrestrained.

This is because he gained a lot from it. Even if the mission fails now and he quits immediately, it would be equivalent to getting a level 4 peak demigod avatar for free.

He doesn't really care about anything else anymore.

However, his superior position allowed him to evade Skynet's surveillance multiple times.

He was now completely certain that the Sark civilization had sensed something was wrong, but still couldn't lock onto him.

……

"It's happening again, they just disappear without a trace!"

When Roy hid.

Mior Star, on the other side.

In a mysterious location hidden in subspace, the high-ranking officials of the official secret agency, the Anomaly Investigation Bureau, frowned as they watched the large screen.

A dense stream of data poured down, revealing a heat map of spiritual distribution.

Like the flow of spiritual particles in space tides, it shows that some spiritual particles are missing in the imaginary space.

However, it has always been difficult to trace back to the root cause.

Because of Roy's deliberate manipulation, he not only devoured his own "fans" but also those of others.

Large-scale predation, based on the principle of spiritual attraction, has entered the realm of faith, as if shrouded in a mysterious veil, invisible and traceless.

However, research on this aspect of the Sakha civilization has always been somewhat lacking, and they have not been able to fully complete the puzzle of truly becoming gods.

This has led to the other party now being like a ghost hiding in cyberspace!
"It seems the plan to capture their deity has failed. However, the church can escape even if the deity escapes."

We let them develop freely before, so that we could harvest them later when they were mature.

"Suppress that newly formed alchemical cult; I don't believe they won't come out!"

After frowning and looking at it for a while, one of the senior executives suddenly made a suggestion.

The others looked at each other, but none of them objected.

Thus, amidst the undercurrents, an operation targeting the Newborn Church was launched.

******
a few days later.

The Alchemy Cult, temporary headquarters.

More than a hundred believers gathered in the brightly lit hall to listen to the sermons given by the priest in yellow robes on the stage.

After obtaining the information about the Temple of Agris, Roy had a very complete grasp of the theoretical knowledge regarding its organizational structure, missionary methods, and so on.

Phenomenos and others also had no shortage of talent produced by modern education, so at this time, they also established a process for priests who mastered "Yellow Transformation" to spread doctrines, preach, and demonstrate divine magic.

Regular "classes" and discussions are important and indispensable parts of organizational life.

The crowd watched the almost performative alchemical magic on stage and exclaimed in genuine amazement.

Although science can accomplish many things, what these people at the bottom of society see before their eyes is undoubtedly more amazing.

Moreover, the power one possesses personally is always more "reliable" than that of machines or large equipment.

They call this "great power originates from itself," and are unwilling to delve into whether it truly originates from itself.

Many people believe that arcane magic and divine magic are no different, since they are both forms of magic.

"boom!"

Suddenly, the main hall door was blown up.

Dozens of agents from the Bureau of Investigation, dressed in black uniforms, filed in, accompanied by armored vehicles.

The head of the operation raised a megaphone and sternly ordered, "Abnormal Investigation Bureau! Everyone, kneel down with your hands on your heads!"

The meeting hall immediately descended into chaos, and the believers panicked.

"What, what's going on?"

"What are you doing?"

"What are you doing? Someone reported you for holding an illegal gathering!"

"That's what the action team leader said."

The priest on the platform did not resist, because he had only recently joined the organization.

Although they had some faith in the so-called god of alchemy, they were not willing to follow him to the death.

Others dared not resist the authorities and surrendered without resistance.

……

Meanwhile, in several other places, the situation was quite different.

Conflicts of varying degrees occurred at several gatherings and "class" locations.

Especially in the downtown area, some of the people who were originally illegal immigrants or gang members fled in all directions without saying a word.

Some were even more aggressive, pulling out weapons on the spot and starting to create chaos.

Amidst the indiscriminate firing, other church members screamed and fled, creating an opportunity for him.

"Black Hand Gram" was one of those who chose to resist.

He knew his identity was special, and that being taken away by this so-called investigation bureau would be troublesome.

Without hesitation, he unleashed his divine magic, spraying the black liquid, like ink, onto the mobile suit in front of him.

The other party had already studied them, and deployed an energy field, an invisible shield that blocked them.

This is a repulsive shield that uses gravity in reverse. It may seem ordinary at first glance, but it is actually a cutting-edge technology of an advanced civilization.

With the added advantage of its unique ability, it easily withstood the "Acid Splash" spell.

But little did they know, it was just a ruse.

Gram pulled out a cedarwood staff and pointed it out into the air.

"The Midas Touch"!
This classic divine spell, bestowed upon Roy through his divine power, possesses extremely strong offensive capabilities and can penetrate barriers to a certain extent, directly affecting the target.

As long as there is no spatial barrier, power can be mobilized and take effect in a timely manner!
In an instant, the team members' legs and feet were transformed, and the parts of the mechs were rapidly melted and eroded from the surface inwards.

Surprised by his teammates, Gram did not linger and quickly fled to the other side of the passage.

"Damn it!"

The action team leader cursed under his breath.

Their actions were greatly hampered, and the scene was so chaotic that they could only watch helplessly as the other party disappeared around the corner.

Soon, news came from the team members stationed outside that they had lost track of the target and he had escaped.

……

Afterwards, the results of the raid were compiled.

The operation was half successful, as they captured a number of mixed-race believers.

This even includes "Yellow Robe" Preso and "White Robe" Borrett.

But the more important figure, one of the "big fish" targeted, escaped in black robes.

The red robe is even more special.

He surrendered the moment he was about to be arrested, but quickly revealed his identity and summoned his private lawyer.

The Bureau of Abnormal Investigations originally intended to use its privileges to forcibly take him away, but a phone call from above gave them a good scolding, so they had no choice but to let it go.

In the end, only Preso and Borett were injured.

Preso, in particular, as a non-citizen, was seen as a breakthrough point in the interrogation and received extra attention.

People like this, even if they die in the investigation bureau, no one will care. Lawyers, reporters, courts, and the like will find it difficult to cause them any trouble.

"Your illegal activities include, but are not limited to, gathering crowds to cause trouble, illegal fundraising, fraud, and harboring criminals..."

I think you'd better just tell the truth!
What is your role in the organization, and what are your responsibilities?
Even if you don't confess, we already know you're the so-called Yellow Robe Cardinal, Preso!

Preso trembled: "I don't know! I was dragged there by the red-robed man, and I did whatever he told me to do!"

Shortly afterward, an investigator quietly approached and alerted his superior.

Reske, one of the higher-ups, frowned deeply.

The intelligence he had just received indicated that the black-robed figure possessed power far exceeding expectations!
"I originally thought that the god he was connected to was a false god, a pretentious being, at most a demigod."

But now it seems that it can bestow divine arts with multiple branches, and has a complete organizational structure and advancement system...

This is a truly god-level configuration!
The mysterious spirit we encountered in the imaginary space was actually a true god?

This doubt quickly turned into shock after Preso was further interrogated and ordered to demonstrate the divine magic.

Because the data they monitored with their instruments showed that Preso's "yellowing technique" had achieved the reorganization of matter at the level of elementary particles!

Although as a god-level civilization, they could do something similar to some extent, they would need equipment and a large, stable experimental environment!

Soon after the demonstration, the highest authority of the Saqr civilization sent instructions to the top brass of the Investigation Bureau.

"Move Preso in his yellow robe and all the priests who possess divine magic to a safe area and keep them under strict guard. There must be no mistakes!"

At the same time, on the other side.

Ministry of Science and Technology.

Fomeros was invited to the minister's office.

This place is heavily protected by high-tech equipment, and numerous studies have shown that even a god of true divine power cannot breach it.

"Let's make a deal. We want to obtain the power of the gods!"
Could you please invite Him out so we can have an open and honest talk?

The minister got straight to the point and made the suggestion to Fermenos.

(End of this chapter)