The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 1161

**Chapter 1158**

**Eivass: My Relationship with the Ring Heavenly Envoy is Very Good**

Hearing Anar’s words, Eivass, who had not been very interested before, suddenly became intrigued.

—A shrine of the Ring Heavenly Envoy?

The last time he saw a shrine of the Ring Heavenly Envoy was in the Nineteenth Ring of the Church.

Upon hearing this, Lixia also showed some interest: “A shrine of the Ring Heavenly Envoy is not commonly seen.”

As an Ascencist, her Faction Alignment placed her among the Ring Heavenly Envoy.

This was similar to Arthur before he ascended to become a Crown Heavenly Envoy. Although this more adaptable power came from the Butterfly Heavenly Envoy, it was the result of a transaction with the Ring Heavenly Envoy, much like how the Sin Scholar’s power also came from the Ring Heavenly Envoy.

She had now completely completed her second Ascension and was no longer the Silver Crown Dragon loli she once was.

After defeating the Fallen Heavenly Envoy and absorbing the remnants of “Lucifer,” Lixia had completely transformed into a Winged One. The only draconic features visible on her were the pair of slender, elongated curved horns on her head and a few silvery dragon scales on her forearms and calves.

At this moment, Lixia had a pair of soft, warm white wings behind each ear, heel, and waist. Her long silvery white hair and azure, crystal-like pupils made her look as sacred as an angel.

Her apparent age had also increased significantly… The previous Lixia looked like a little girl, but now she appeared to have returned to the age of eighteen or nineteen to early twenties, looking like she was the same age as Isabel.

Lixia’s exceptionally divine appearance filled Anar with fear.

For these Desert People, demons were more common and easier to accept than sacred and inviolable gods and angels.

This was because demons were very likely to live amongst them, and they had seen plenty. In the desert, even cruel and evil demons were merely a “curved blade” that could be lived with. But things that were too sacred and pure were things they absolutely could not touch or approach.

No matter if it was some important figure from another land or a private collection of the Lord, it was something they, as lowly people, dared not touch. Even if they merely contaminated a wing with their sand-covered hands, it would be a certain death.

Young men and women who were too clean and beautiful might be captured and enslaved due to their own beauty; overly clean cloths would be snatched away, or torn apart by jealous people; and overly clear jewels would be stolen or robbed by all sorts of people…

Over time, this had formed an instinct to “fear cleanliness.”

When Anar saw Lixia approaching her, she trembled all over, leaning back as far as she could, not daring to move.

Although Eivass didn’t fully understand the principle behind this, he could still see Anar’s fear.

He reached out and pulled Lixia closer, casually explaining, “This is not surprising. The Ancient Kingdom of Anxi is the only country where a large number of Snake People still survive. Now, Snake People are almost gone from both Primordial Era and Avalon. Besides Anxi, you can probably only find them on the Southern Continent.

“And the main god that the Snake People worship and revere is the Ring Heavenly Envoy.”

“Shouldn’t it be the Father Snake?”

Lixia was very confused: “Wasn’t the Father Snake the creator of the Snake People?”

“That’s right, but the Father Snake doesn’t like to manage these trivial matters. It’s not that the Father Snake is indifferent… to put it another way, since before Supreme Heaven, very few Pillar Gods cared about such things.”

Eivass shook his head: “Apart from the Blood Heavenly Envoy and the Envoy of Mist, there weren’t many racial gods in the Dream Realm to begin with.”

After all, a long, long time ago, high above gods lived among mortals on the ground. Before the severing of the celestial and terrestrial realms, these races were born to test the capabilities of the Origin River of Creation. The gods neither needed these races to provide faith nor to expand their territory.

—It was like a software that could generate AI art. The Pillar God of the Path of the Sun developed it for other colleagues to play with. Then, either out of interest, boredom, or to save face, everyone contributed an image… After that, the topic passed. Not many people cared about what happened to the images they’d created later.

And after the severing of the celestial and terrestrial realms, the Pillar Gods lived in the Dream Realm where they could create by thought. The material world held even less significance for them… It was like after entering university, the group chats for middle school and high school classmates would lose much of their meaning; after graduating from university, one might not even open those group chats anymore, at most only privately chatting with a few close friends.

—Supreme Heaven was like that busybody who, after graduation, remained highly active in the university club group, even remotely controlling his “direct descendants” to fight for power with another group of juniors they had never even met.

Because other Pillar Gods were too lazy to intervene, it was the giants, who were clearly favored and doted on by the Pillar Gods, who went on a rampage in the material world.

“Compared to the Father Snake, the Ring Heavenly Envoy is more like ‘one of their own.’ He is a genuine Snake Person, just like Akropolis and the Medicine Heavenly Envoy. They genuinely take care of the Snake People, just as the Crown Lord also tends to care more about Humans.

Eivass explained softly: “The fact that the Snake People can still continue to exist today is largely due to the care of the Medicine Heavenly Envoy and the Ring Heavenly Envoy. Therefore, almost every Snake Person has mastered herbal medicine and rituals.”

—Even if it wasn’t intentional favoritism, subconscious likes and dislikes could still have an impact.

After all, not all gods were as benevolent as the Shadow Heavenly Envoy… The Silver Crown Dragon had never taken Dwarves or Snake People as apostles, no matter how much they respected authority and worshipped the Crown Lord; the co-dancers of Hengwo were mostly Elves, or humans as an “Elf lite” version.

Even a mere difference in aesthetics, such as “preferring a certain appearance,” could influence the personal preferences of those in power, and consequently lead to unavoidable unfair competition.

After all, the selection criteria for apostles were entirely based on the gods’ preferences, and the power received as “salary” was paid by the gods themselves. Beauty was indeed one of the fundamental laws of the world, and the influence of “personal preference” could not be ignored. As long as a god was willing to sacrifice enough power, even a completely useless mortal could ascend to become an apostle.

—This was also why the Dwarves hoped that the Flame Heavenly Envoy or the Rock Heavenly Envoy would ascend to become Pillar Gods.

They were the ancestral race of the Dwarves, their own kin.

Although to Humans and Elves, this idea of doing anything to get a “Pillar God belonging to the Dwarves” might seem narrow-minded, shortsighted, or even laughable… to the Dwarves, it had a degree of necessity.

Without suffering that hardship, they could not understand their obsession.

“Anar,” Eivass turned to look at the guide, “change direction, I want to go to the Snake People’s shrine.”

Anar was startled to hear this: “But, sir…”

She really wanted to refuse—because this meeting was completely unplanned.

After all, her livelihood was to ferry people back and forth.

Not everyone had a luxurious carriage service like Eivass and his group… For those with insufficient supplies and weak physical strength, a shrine where they could rest was their hope for survival. If the Snake People refused them entry, they would only face death.

So Anar really didn’t want to offend the Snake People.

“Don’t worry, Anar.”

Eivass comforted her softly, “Putting aside what I just told you… this job itself is not safe, and it’s a dead end sooner or later. And we won’t intrude into the shrine… I have no conflict with the Ring Heavenly Envoy; rather, our relationship is particularly close.

“If the Snake People guarding the shrine refuse us entry, we’ll turn around and leave, how about it? Trust me, Anar. Without you, it would be difficult for us to find our way.”

“…Then, alright.”

Anar reluctantly agreed, and confirmed with Eivass again and again: “If the Snake People don’t want us to enter, please don’t lay a hand on them.”

She wasn’t worried about Eivass’s group getting hurt.

The Desert People were accustomed to judging others’ strength by their clothing and mental state; this was ingrained in their instincts—many lords liked to play the game of “incognito visits,” pretending to be commoners out for a stroll. If they weren’t recognized, it would cost them their heads.

Instead, she was worried about bringing troublesome trouble to the Snake People…

Although the Snake People were cold, they had also been partners for several years.

“Don’t worry.”

Eivass said meaningfully, “Perhaps they will warmly welcome us in.”

How could that be—

Anar pouted, not very happy.

How could cold, indifferent Snake People be enthusiastic towards Humans? As expected, people dressed in fine clothes always told lies!