The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 1276

Chapter 1274: The Miracle That Cures All Beings

That power, the miracle that cures all beings, did not originate from the Abyss Heavenly Envoy, nor was it the “miracle of resurrection” triggered by the Sin Eater Beast form. It was the power that came from Eivass himself.

However, it was not a healing spell from the Path of Devotion. As his extraordinary knowledge increased, Eivass increasingly understood the principles behind many extraordinary techniques. The Illuminate Spell of the Path of Devotion was, in essence, a replication of the Candlemaster’s miracle of creation. The Candlemaster used himself as fuel, igniting flames to scorch the Sin Thorns. This created the first Pillar God and Taiyi, who was also the Second Sun. Through the spread of flames, the Candlemaster illuminated heaven and earth, giving new life to the world.

In this context, “burning” itself gained a special meaning of healing and creation. Just as fire burns firewood and yields ashes, burning something positive yields something negative; therefore, burning something negative yields something positive. Sin Thorns, a product of the Void, could negate all extraordinary powers and were undoubtedly negative. The Illuminate Spell, by mimicking the actions of the Great Stag, could also burn away almost all pain.

This was also why the healing of the Path of Devotion required tracing back the “energy level of the person who caused the injury.” Injuries inflicted by ordinary people, even a severed waist, could be healed; trivial flesh wounds caused by even a Fifth Tier extraordinary person, which could be easily treated with a prescription from someone at the First Tier of Path Adaptation, might be impossible for a Priest to burn away completely if the assailant was too powerful.

—If that were the case, what kind of mighty power from the Path of Devotion would be needed to burn away the injuries inflicted by a Heavenly Envoy?

To heal their wounds and bring them back to life would undoubtedly be a “miracle.” But if a miracle of this scale were released, Eivass’s soul would instantly overload, turning him into a Sin Eater Beast permanently.

Therefore, this was not a healing method from the Path of Devotion, nor an ancient forbidden technique from the Forbidden Path… it was not even a power from any other known Path. It was Eivass’s own extraordinary power.

Although the Abyss Heavenly Envoy’s body came from the Twilight Path, it was ultimately the body of a Heavenly Envoy. To become a Heavenly Envoy meant obtaining Heavenly Envoy Fragments, and obtaining Heavenly Envoy Fragments meant having communicated with an Origin River. Although there were nine Origin Rivers, they were merely branches split from the River of Creation. All Origin Rivers were originally one… this power was a specialty of this World.

The essence of the Shepherd’s Method was the return of spirituality. The ultimate purpose of this spell’s inheritance may have been for Eivass—or the Ring Heavenly Envoy—to become one with the Abyss Heavenly Envoy again at this moment. The Swamp Dweller was an experiment to determine if two completely identical individuals could be considered the same person.

When the Shepherd’s Method was cultivated to its extreme, completing an “ultimate shepherding,” the powers of the Third Origin River and the Eighth Origin River would merge, giving birth to a new Path Power—a truly “new power” that had never appeared in this World!

When Eivass regretted the atrocities committed by the Abyss Heavenly Envoy’s manifestation, the “Abyss Heavenly Envoy” shed tears. As those miraculous tears dripped onto his body… according to Eivass’s “hope,” the outcome of events changed—injuries recovered, weakness turned into strength, the timid became brave… the dead were resurrected.

Those people stood up again in pure white radiance, somewhat bewildered. They all remembered how they had died… and remembered how they had been resurrected. It was an “impossible” event. It was the power of a “miracle.” After committing an “error,” transcending the “meaningless” void, a miracle was achieved through “hope.”

“So-called miracles…” Eivass whispered, and the gargantuan whale with countless tentacles let out a cry. But this cry did not, as before, destroy cities and bring pain to people. Instead, it was incomparably pleasant, yet tinged with sadness. It sounded like a search for a companion, or like a lament of loneliness. The whale flew up and disappeared into the crystalline sea above, floating in mid-air.

“…The so-called miracle is the ability to correct errors and regain meaning.” Creation generates differences, differences generate civilization, civilization pursues truth, and truth explains order. This is the first stage of creation. In the established order, one seeks a way to survive; the best way to survive is to become stronger; once some people become stronger, the world will change—and finally, errors will inevitably occur amidst countless mutations.

“The original miracle… was the power of the Tenth Origin River.” Eivass had an epiphany, the voice of the Origin River echoing in his mind. According to the original evolutionary rules, after the inevitable errors, came the miracle of correcting those errors… or it could be called “hope.” Use wisdom to survive. Gather power with civilization. Seek change amidst differences, and persevere in creation amidst errors. Eventually, one could transcend the limit of “errors” and reach a new realm—starting from it, breaking through the original limit of the Origin River, touching double digits, and then continuously creating new Origin Rivers through the complex relationships between the Origin Rivers. That was the “possibility” of the future. That was the World’s original path.

At this point, the Void suddenly injected itself into this world, leading the errors in a different direction—thus, the “meaninglessness” produced by the errors engulfed all meaning. All things perish, so the process of life is meaningless; that was the premature death. Precisely because of the Void’s interception, any newly born concept had to face the questioning of its origin—is this meaningful? It was like a rigid and harsh parent, whose every interest, hobby, curiosity, talent, and desire would be met with the question, “What’s the point of this?” Once one began to pursue meaning, they would fall into the trap of nihilism.

And what could change all of this was the newly born power at this moment. Within the prison of the Void, a new power that should not have been born—its name was “Miracle.” It dissolved the causes of past errors and changed the outcome that led to the dead end. It was the will to find the sole possibility within the meaninglessness called “impossible.” —Who cares if it has meaning? Since there’s an error, just fix it, right?

The moment Eivass had a vague concept in his mind… the entire Dream Realm violently shook. The Origin River buzzed, wanting to split into new tributaries, but was blocked by the non-existent Void Power. Finally, the Origin River struggled in the prison of the Void for a moment before shrinking back with a mournful cry. However, a portion of the Origin River’s water that seeped out fell into Eivass’s soul.

Originally, Eivass was not qualified to directly contact an Origin River, but the situation was different now. He was using the Abyss Heavenly Envoy’s body, and the Abyss Heavenly Envoy possessed such an ability! This meant… if Eivass did not use the Shepherd’s Method at this moment, he would be unable to contact the newly born miracle power. Although it was still small and scarce… Eivass felt its power with utter clarity. Its Path of Light was white. It was a tender and pure white, like flowing milk, giving a feeling of warmth and gentleness. This was the power of hope and miracles.