Treasure Hunt all over the World

After a few hours of rest, everyone's mental and physical fitness has basically recovered, and everyone is full of energy and vitality.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Ye Tian, ​​Joshua and the others left the hotel and were going to the famous Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion to meet with high-level figures from the Ethiopian religious circles and Tigray State.

Those who participated in the talks were mainly Joshua representing Israel and the Bishop of Kent representing the Vatican.

As one of the three-party joint exploration team, Fearless Exploration Company only sent a senior employee and an assistant lawyer to attend the meeting to ensure the interests of the fearless exploration company.

As for Ye Tian, ​​David and others, they went to visit the Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion.

When they came out of the hotel, they saw many Ethiopian Orthodox monks and believers in white robes gathered at the hotel entrance.

A few hours later, the Ethiopian Orthodox monks and believers flocked to the hotel and blocked all the places in front of the hotel, as well as several nearby streets.

Many of them sat cross-legged on the ground, staring at the door of the hotel, and everyone's eyes were full of anger.

Fortunately, here is located on a plateau, the rainy season has just passed, and the temperature is not very hot, so they don't have to worry about heatstroke.

Seeing Ye Tian and the others come out of the hotel, those Orthodox monks and believers sitting cross-legged on the ground stood up one after another, glaring.

Of course, there are also many people in the crowd protesting and demonstrating, and even yelling and cursing loudly.

Other than that, these Ethiopians didn't act too aggressively, they didn't attack Ye Tian and the others and the three-party joint exploration convoy.

Obviously, they have received orders from above, so they can exercise restraint.

After walking out of the hotel gate, Ye Tian and the others nodded to the Ethiopians, and then boarded the exploration convoy parked at the hotel gate.

The heavy convoy started immediately and drove straight to the Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion in the city of Axum.

The same as when it came, the convoy still passed among the angry Orthodox monks and believers.

The difference is that the number of Orthodox monks and believers gathered here is more than double that of when they came.

The situation on several streets near the hotel is the same. Sitting in the car and looking out, apart from the soldiers of the Tirenjin with live ammunition,

There are fanatical Orthodox monks and believers everywhere.

This situation gives people the feeling that Axum is a purely religious holy city, and there seems to be no one else in this city except fanatical Orthodox monks and believers.

But this is not the case. Axum is also a distribution center for coffee, grain, livestock products, honey, etc., and produces exquisite woven products, leather and metal products, etc.

This happened only because the arrival of the tripartite joint exploration team touched the sensitive nerves of many people, and even shook the foundation of many people's beliefs.

Looking at the situation on the street, everyone's faces were very solemn and very vigilant.

Fortunately, no accident happened!

It didn't take long for the tripartite joint exploration team to arrive at the famous Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion.

This is a Byzantine-style castle-like church, which is also integrated into the traditional culture of Ethiopia, which is very distinctive.

The entire church complex is tall, magnificent, ancient and solemn, standing on Mount Zion in Axum.

Yes, Mount Zion in Axum, not Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

The Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion is the highest-level church in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It is known as the "head of the monastery" and is a holy place for all Ethiopian Orthodox believers.

According to legend, the Ark of the Covenant was enshrined in this famous church.

To be precise, it is enshrined in the Holy Chapel in the church.

It is closely guarded, and no one, including senior monks of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, is allowed to enter except for a lifelong guard who guards the Ark of the Covenant.

When the tripartite joint exploration team arrived, hundreds of Ethiopian Orthodox believers and monks in white robes had gathered here, occupying the open space in front of the church. The scene was very grand.

At the forefront of the crowd stood some important figures.

They are the governor of Tigray State, the senior representative of the TPLF, the mayor of Axum, the leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the head of the Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion, etc.

These Ethiopians had received the news in advance, and they walked out of the church to meet the tripartite joint exploration team outside the church.

In fact, many of them do not welcome the tripartite joint exploration team, and even hate it deeply.

However, the procedures on the scene still have to go.

Regardless of the Israeli government or the Vatican, they dare not offend or neglect, and Ye Tian and the brave and fearless exploration company are the same!

After the convoy stopped and it was confirmed that the scene was safe, Ye Tian, ​​Joshua and the others got out of the car, and walked towards the entrance of the church under the guard of security personnel.

At the same time, the governor of Tigray State and others also greeted them.

After everyone met, they exchanged polite greetings, introduced each other, shook hands and so on.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Steven, welcome to Tigray State, I hope you like it here, discover something here, and create miracles again!"

The governor of Tigray State said politely, and took a deep look at Ye Tian.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Governor, I am very glad to meet you. We have found the beautiful scenery of Tigray State along the way. I have also admired the ancient city of Axum for a long time."

Ye Tian said with a smile, and shook hands with the other party.

Next, he shook hands with several others and got to know each other.

After going through the procedures on these scenes, everyone walked towards the gate of Santa Maria Church.

When Ye Tian and the others passed among many Ethiopian Orthodox monks, these fanatical monks and believers stared at them with rather unfriendly eyes.

Fortunately, these guys just stared at everyone, and did not act aggressively, and did not cause any accidents.

In a moment, everyone has entered the Church of Santa Maria, temporarily freed from the angry Orthodox monks and believers outside.

The church was very empty and there were no other people.

The walls and ceilings around the church are filled with various murals from the Bible, most of which are themed on the Virgin Mary.

Unlike the murals in churches in Europe and other parts of the world, the characters on these murals, except Jesus, are all based on black people, which is very distinctive.

In addition to many murals of Bible stories, there are also several murals of Ethiopian Orthodox saints, such as the murals of St. Jared, the founder of Ethiopian religious music, and so on.

After entering the church, everyone first took a look at the general situation here, and then began to visit this famous church.

The person in charge of the explanation was an Ethiopian Orthodox monk in his forties.

"Gentlemen, the Church of St. Mary on Mount Zion is the birthplace of Christianity in Ethiopia. In the fourth century AD, Christianity was introduced to Axum and spread rapidly.

In 331 A.D., King Aizana of Aksum converted to Christianity and made Christianity the state religion. In the fifth century A.D., nine saints from Syria came to Ethiopia to preach.

They built churches and monasteries in Ethiopia, so that Christianity spread widely throughout Ethiopia and quickly became the largest religion in Ethiopia.

The church was built in 372 AD by the order of King Aizana. The original church had twelve altars and worshiped the Virgin Mary as the "Eternal Queen of Ethiopia."

After the completion of the Church of St. Mary on Mount Zion, King Aizana personally rushed to the Kokos Island in Lake Tana and invited the Ark of the Covenant stored in the monastery on the island to Axum.

After the Ark of the Covenant was invited to Axum, it was stored in the Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion. The Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion where we are now was rebuilt in 1964,..."

Having said that, the Ethiopian Orthodox monk in charge of the explanation suddenly paused.

He turned his head to look at Joshua, Bishop of Kent, and Ye Tian.

Other Ethiopian Orthodox monks and senior Tigray State officials at the scene also looked at Ye Tian and the others, their intentions being self-evident.

"That supreme holy object, the Ark of the Covenant, has been stored in the Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion since ancient times, and has never been lost. How can you bastards explore it?"

Ye Tian and the others naturally understood what these Ethiopians meant.

But the few of them just smiled, and didn't answer, and they couldn't answer, unless they wanted to turn their faces immediately.

Next, they continued to visit this famous church.

The forty-year-old Orthodox monk continued to introduce the situation here.

"The Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion has suffered several times in history. It was burned down several times and rebuilt several times. It was not until the early seventeenth century that Emperor Fasilidas completely rebuilt the church.

The church he built still exists and is known as the Old Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion, just behind this church, which was rebuilt in 1964 as the new Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion.

The original Old Mount Zion Church of St. Mary Mary did not allow women to come in to visit and worship. It was not until the mid-1960s that the new church was rebuilt and completed, and women were not allowed to enter the church..."

Before I knew it, half an hour had passed.

Everyone has finished visiting the Church of St. Mary of New Mount Zion, and it is time to enter the next link, which is the multi-party talks.

As for the Old Church of St. Mary on Mount Zion and the Church of the Holy Trinity where the Ark of the Covenant is placed, we have no time to visit it yet, so we can only put it after the meeting or another day.

Of course, this is for Joshua and the Bishop of Kent.

Ye Tian has plenty of time and is not bound by this.

When the Ethiopian proposed to start the talks and was about to lead everyone to the room where the talks were held, Ye Tian smiled and said:

"Gentlemen, there will definitely be a lot of content related to religion in the upcoming talks, and it is inconvenient for me to participate in it, and we, the Valiant Exploration Company, will not participate in the discussion of these issues.

I have explained this before, so I will not participate in this meeting, but I will send company employees and assistant lawyers to ensure our interests.

During this period, I want to walk around the church and take a tour. I have been admiring this ancient church for a long time, and I really want to take a closer look. I wonder if it is possible? "

Hearing this, many Ethiopians at the scene were stunned.

After a while, they woke up.

Several main characters immediately stepped aside and discussed in a low voice before making a decision.

Immediately afterwards, the person in charge of St. Mary's Church on Mount Zion said in a deep voice:

"Mr. Steven, you can visit around the church, but only outside. You must not enter the Old Mount Zion Church of St. Mary and the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, where outsiders are strictly prohibited from entering.

In addition to the Old Mount Zion Church of St. Mary and the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, there are several forbidden places here, and you are not allowed to wander around. I will send someone to take you on a tour and protect you! "

Hearing this, Ye Tian immediately nodded with a smile and said:

"No problem, we are only looking outside and will never break into any forbidden areas, please rest assured about this"

Next, the Orthodox monk who was in charge of the explanation took Ye Tian and David to the side door of the church, preparing to visit the Old Mount Zion St. Mary's Church and the Chapel of the Holy Trinity.

They left with Cole, two security personnel, and an interpreter.

After watching Ye Tian and the others leave, the others walked towards the other side door of the church, preparing to go to the conference room to start negotiations.

While speaking, Ye Tian and the others had walked out of the Church of St. Mary of New Mount Zion, and came to the rear of this famous church.

As soon as they came out of the church, they saw some Ethiopian Orthodox monks in white robes.

These guys are sitting or standing, scattered around the church.

Like all the Orthodox monks I met before, the eyes of these guys are also very unfriendly, full of anger and even hatred.

What Ye Tian paid attention to was not these Orthodox monks, but the Sanctuary Hall not far away.

According to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and in the minds of all Ethiopians, the most holy thing, the Ark of the Covenant, is stored in this sanctuary!

The reason why Ye Tian came here today is to see if the Ark of the Covenant stored in this Sanctuary Hall is real or not?

At the same time, he also wanted to see if there were any major secrets hidden in this supreme religious holy place in the hearts of Ethiopians!

The Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion has three main buildings.

They are the Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion New and the Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion Old, and the Chapel of the Holy Crucifixion sandwiched between the two churches.

The Chapel of the Holy Trinity is a square building, like a fortress, very strong.

The chapel is surrounded by a courtyard surrounded by an iron fence, which is tightly guarded and no one is allowed to enter.

On the steps of the chapel, there are mottled and old carpets.

Guarding the Holy Chapel is a monk guard who is responsible for day and night care and is the only person who can enter the Holy Chapel.

However, he was not allowed to leave the courtyard where the chapel was located until his death.

Before he died, he could designate his successor to take over from him to guard the Chapel of the Holy Death and the Ark of the Covenant.

Ye Tian looked at the surrounding situation, as well as those Orthodox believers and monks who were gnashing their teeth, and then led David and the others to the courtyard of the Sanctuary Church.

The Orthodox monk who acted as a guide followed immediately.

Seeing him walking towards the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, the rest of the Orthodox monks and believers followed.

And each of them raised their vigilance, keeping a close eye on Ye Tian and the others, lest they make any unexpected moves, such as breaking into the courtyard that was designated as a forbidden area.

When they came to the wall of the courtyard, Ye Tian and the others stopped, and began to visit the chapel of the Holy Death through the wall and the iron fence.

This chapel was built like a fortress, square and very strong.

Due to its very long history, the exterior walls of the chapel are mottled, adding a bit of historical vicissitudes to it.

In addition, the rainy season has just passed, and there is still a lot of moss growing on it.

Around this chapel, there are only a few small windows, which are tightly sealed, and there are a few arches that are always closed.

Standing outside the courtyard wall, you can't see the situation inside the chapel at all.

Looking at this famous religious building that might store the Ark of the Covenant, David and the others all had bright eyes, but they were also full of doubts.

"Steven, do you think the Ark of the Covenant will really be stored in this Holy Chapel? If so, our trip to Axum will be in vain!"

David asked in a low voice.

Ye Tian turned to look at him, then smiled and said in a low voice:

"I don't know the answer to this question either! Except for the Orthodox monk guard who guarded this holy chapel all his life, it is estimated that no one knows the answer to this question.

Even the top figures of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church should have never seen the Ark of the Covenant enshrined in this Holy Chapel. Of course, they must think that the Ark of the Covenant is here.

According to legend, since the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Ethiopia by Menelik I, it has only been used once, and that was when the Aksum Obelisk was erected 1700 years ago.

At that time, in order to erect the granite obelisk, the king of the Kingdom of Aksum invited out the Ark of the Covenant and borrowed the power of the Ark to erect the huge monolithic obelisk.

Since then, the Ark of the Covenant has never appeared again, except for the Orthodox monks guarding the Ark in the past dynasties, it is basically impossible for others to see the Ark of the Covenant,..."

While explaining in a low voice, Ye Tian had already turned on his perspective, and began to see the situation in this chapel.

His sight easily penetrated the ancient and solid walls of the chapel, into the chapel, and saw the situation inside.

This is a dimly lit religious place, the sky is clear outside, but the inside of the chapel is like dusk.

Only a few rays of sunlight shone into this ancient chapel through the gaps in the doors and windows, bringing a little light and warmth to the place.

On the altar of the chapel, there is a pair of gold-plated candlesticks, with several candles inserted in each, but only one candle is burning, and the light released is very limited.

Behind the altar stands a crucifix two or three meters high, which is very eye-catching.

However, this is not what Ye Tian wants to see.

What he really paid attention to was the building in the center of the chapel.

To be more precise, it should be called 'Holy of Holies'!

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