Chapter 22: Meditation and Attempt (Seeking Recommendations)

"It is said that after the barbarians on the ancient grasslands snatched women away, they would kill her firstborn, because they could not be sure if it was their own seed..."

Aaron Sotos walked through Black Sun Town: "However, we Green Forest People are at least a bit better than the grassland savages, right?"

Thinking of the bloody sacrifice of the Green Banyan Tree Grandmother, Aaron could not help but feel a little guilty.

However, he soon cast all of this to the back of his mind.

Because before him, Xiu was already kneeling at the feet of the High Priest, draped in a black robe.

"Congratulations, new Unburnt!"

The High Priest wore a joyful smile on his face; from his eyes, and from his mouth and nose, it seemed as if black flames would flow down at any moment.

"I am willing to honor the Black Sun as my Lord and practice His path!"

Xiu's cheeks were somewhat gaunt, but her eyes were full of spirit.

Aaron could tell that this woman must have attempted the Cult's breathing and Meditation Method, and had reached a certain height.

"Black Flame Meditation can be divided into four levels of temperature: Red Flame, Yellow Flame, Blue Flame, and Purple Flame. You have already crossed the trial of the Red Flame..."

The High Priest said with great delight: "You can begin the Unburnt Ritual and become a true 'Unburnt'."

He signaled for the black-robed believers nearby to come forward and carry over a brazier burning with intense flames.

"As long as the Spirituality of 'Darkness' is awakened, ordinary flames will be unable to harm you."

The High Priest extended his hand and reached into the flames.

"I..."

Xiu gritted her teeth and thrust her hand into the flames.

Sizzle!

Intense pain radiated out instantly, and the scent of charred flesh and skin immediately spread.

Not far away, Aike and Lin, who were watching, immediately closed their eyes, unable to bear looking any longer.

However, even though her face twitched, Xiu gripped the High Priest's palm inside the flames.

"Very good. In the first attempt, it is inevitable to suffer some minor injuries."

The High Priest removed the brazier and saw Xiu's severely burned right hand; a hint of a smile appeared on his face: "Just try more often. You must let your body fully feel the scorching heat of the flames; this helps the awakening of Spirituality."

"I will strictly follow your teachings."

A smile appeared on Xiu's face, which was dampened by sweat.

"Aunt Xiu!"

Once the High Priest left, Lin immediately flew into Xiu's arms, bean-sized teardrops rolling down: "Your hand..."

"Don't worry, I have already begun to partially awaken. Although it looks serious, it is only a flesh wound."

Xiu comforted her: "For the sake of pursuing my Lord and power, this small price is nothing."

Aaron nodded from the side.

If she hadn't half-awakened the Spirituality of 'Darkness', Xiu's hand would likely have been roasted through; how could it look like a mere severe burn as it did now?

After returning to the room and coaxing Lin to sleep, Xiu looked at Aike, her expression becoming serious: "How are you?"

"I follow along in praising the Black Sun every day; they have no suspicions about me..."

Aike replied in a low voice.

"Continue to keep it up. Once I become a true Unburnt, I can come into contact with the Curse and take you all away from here."

Xiu said firmly.

She did not like this Cult, but she was not averse to gaining power.

Aaron watched all of this without saying a word.

He knew that the influence of the Black Sun on believers was subtle yet extremely intense; although Xiu had planned well, whether she could succeed was truly a very slim hope.

"However... why was I not affected?"

Aaron pondered.

According to his eavesdropping, even those who did not practice the Dark Secret Tradition could potentially hear the babbling of the Black Sun.

And if one believed in the Black Sun, this influence would surge!

However, apart from the very beginning, Aaron could not hear any babbling at all.

It was not just the Black Sun, but also those born on the Moon, as well as other terrifying existences; apart from the beginning, he had not been affected in the slightest.

Furthermore, he had secretly attempted a few times and discovered that even the Obsidian Altar that worshipped the 【Black Sun】 could not detect or alert to his approach, which made his courage to explore grow much larger.

"The first possibility is that my status is too high? No, no, that is unlikely..."

Aaron thought with some amusement: "So... is it that these existences, powerful as gods, have all ignored me?"

"At the beginning, when those existences were born, the signal was strongest, so I could hear it..."

"And now, they are just naturally radiating influence, the signal has weakened quite a bit, so I can no longer hear it..."

"Is this a relatively reasonable explanation?"

With a bit of curiosity, Aaron's consciousness returned to his physical body in reality.

"Daili, get me a brazier!"

He shouted toward the door, and before long, Daili came in with a brazier held by iron tongs: "Lord, although the weather is a bit cold, if you are going to warm yourself by the fire, please remember to open the window."

"Mm, you go out first!"

After dismissing the maid, Aaron faced the flames and began to attempt Meditation.

The Black Flame Meditation, by its nature, required referencing flames, beginning to imagine flames of different colors burning in the mental space, scorching the body, and then crossing through them one by one.

And in the High Priest's teachings, before every Meditation, one needed to pray to the Black Sun, hoping to get a little closer to that existence during the Meditation.

Aaron felt that he probably could not master this Meditation Method, but he still tried it without giving up.

One hour, two hours...

Three hours...

After changing the fire basin several times, Aaron opened his eyes, reached out his hand, and grabbed at the burning flames in the basin.

"Hiss..."

The next moment, his hand recoiled as if it had touched Electric, and a burning pain came from his fingertips.

"It's completely impossible..."

"If I continue, my hand will be roasted..."

"If an outsider saw this, they might think I've gone mad!"

Aaron shook his head, let the puzzled-looking Daili take the fire basin away, and closed the room door.

The moment he closed the door, he seemed to see the maid's gaze; it was the kind of look one gives to pity a fool or care for the mentally disabled.

"Did she see it?"

"Forget it, it doesn't matter if she saw it..."

Aaron sat back at his desk, opened the locked drawer, and took out his notebook:

【Attempted Black Flame Meditation, failed!】

【Conclusion: Perhaps I am not suited for the path of 'Darkness', or... is this truly a world without Demon?】

【Spirituality exists in all things in that world, but it does not exist in this world... Then, where does Spirituality come from?】

Aaron suddenly thought of the Scarlet sun in the dream world.

And the intelligence Xiu mentioned, that after the Great Catastrophe, everyone went mad, and the maddest ones turned into monsters.

【So... the humans of that world didn't have Spirituality originally either, but were endowed with Spirituality by the Scarlet sun? So those who were the maddest were also the most abundant in Spirituality, and even without walking the correct path, they could mutate into monsters?】

He suddenly felt that this was a very reasonable explanation.

【So... I am the source of everything?!】

Aaron suddenly thought of the information he had obtained at the beginning.

【I am... the Dream Creator!】