Chapter 23: Ritual (Seeking Collections)

"Since I am the Creator, my mysterious energy is the source of Spirituality... I should be able to change the world in my dreams, or rather, interfere with reality through the spirit."

With this thought, Aaron entered the dream world.

He walked familiarly into the interior of a building; this was a place where only core members of the Church could gather, and the High Priest would occasionally teach Occultism knowledge here.

His luck was good today; the one on the podium was none other than the High Priest himself.

A trace of black flame constantly leaked from the eyes of the bald, wrinkled, and heavily tattooed old man; this was the manifestation of Spirituality having accumulated to a certain stage and being about to overflow.

He spoke slowly, his voice low:

"Everyone here is someone whose Spirituality has initially awakened. I will teach you how to resist illness, how to stay away from danger, how to obtain power... and even, in the end, to step onto that ladder full of radiance, draw near to our deity, and obtain immortality!"

After fully stirring up the emotions of the congregation below, the High Priest's smile grew even wider: "Of course, with the meager bit of Spirituality you currently possess, you can only touch upon the simplest of Rituals. Remember, all Rituals must have the participation of Spirituality; therefore, those who are not true Unburnt need not attempt them, unless you wish to consume your own life force as a substitute!"

The High Priest casually picked up a tree branch: "Next, the Ritual I am going to demonstrate has only one simple effect, and that is pathfinding! It can help you find a way out as quickly as possible... Pay attention! It is not just for when you are idiotically lost; if you encounter some Dangerous Species that excel at confusion, or fall into a Mysterious fog, it can also provide you with a way out!"

"The entire Ritual is divided into parts such as the Ritual Array, necessary items, Prayer, the target, supplication, Offerings, and so on... Note, we can only pray to the great Black Sun, which is the Lord of the Eclipse. The Ritual Array cannot have even the slightest error, otherwise, it will lead to extremely terrifying results..."

Aaron stood to one side, nodding from time to time as he listened.

It could be seen that, thanks to the tireless pollution or, rather, the ravings of those great existences, the Mystical System of this world was expanding rapidly, even giving birth to a unique mysticism.

It includes many secret transmissions and subjective verification methods, involving fields such as Ritualism, Occult Language, Contemplation, Spiritualism, Wand Dowsing, Numerology, Natural Magic, Witchcraft, Astrology, and Alchemy, which can be called all-encompassing and full of wonders.

On the podium, the High Priest continued: "There is also a choice regarding the time of the Ritual. My Lord likes the early morning and dusk; the probability of success is highest during the transition between day and night, but do not attempt it at noon when the sun is most intense. Last time, a fellow believer unfortunately burned themselves into charcoal..."

"When performing a Prayer, avoid having an unclear subject, slurring your words, or pausing for too long, or the Lord will feel offended..."

Aaron nodded, having gained some understanding of Ritualism: "This kind of mysterious Ritual mainly uses one's own Spirituality to pry into the Mysterious, communicate with the great existences in the Underworld, and pray for power... However, is the Black Sun the kind of guy who would treat believers gently?"

He felt that this High Priest seemed to have only groped at a bit of the way of sacrifice, but was not proficient in it.

Perhaps what was being communicated with was only a tiny bit of the Black Sun's radiance, and the so-called Ritual feedback was just the natural reaction of that radiance, much like an intelligent program.

"Otherwise, given the level of madness of the Black Sun, the guys communicating with Him should all be lunatics!"

Aaron thought mockingly, wondering what kind of expression the Black Sun Church would have when they truly communicated with the Black Sun.

"Alright, the current situation is that I cannot interfere with this world... but what if someone else takes the initiative to communicate with me?"

"For example, a believer uses their own Spirituality to pry into a Ritual, connecting to an unknown existence in the Underworld..."

Aaron thought for a moment, feeling somewhat dejected: "Uh... are there such crazy lunatics who would pray to the unknown?"

"And my connection, or rather my sensing range, is definitely not as good as those guys from the Black Sun... It's a bit difficult to pretend to be an Evil God."

"If I were to design a Ritual for myself, what should the honorific name be? The Creator above the Creator? The Great Observer behind multiple veils? Huh? Even if I designed the honorific name, I wouldn't be able to tell it to my believers..."

Aaron discovered that he had walked into a dead end.

To interfere with the world, one must have believers—to have believers, one needs to establish Rituals and honorific names—to get the honorific name into the ears of believers, one needs to interfere with the world first!

"This is a damn dead knot!"

Aaron muttered: "I'd better continue being a transparent spectator... Who knows, I might just bump into some idiot or lunatic who uses a Ritual with an unclear target, and it just happens to be sensed by me!"

On the stage, the High Priest had already finished today's lecture.

He looked at the many Unburnt below, his eyes filled with well-concealed longing and Greed.

Only then did Aaron discover that Xiu had actually mingled among the Unburnt, evidently having completed the First Stage of the Ritual and successfully awakened her own Spirituality.

"This woman is actually quite talented on the Darkness Path."

A certain guy who was incompetent in reality couldn't help but mutter with jealousy.

He followed Xiu all the way back to the small house where she lived with the two children.

At this time, there were no more watchers outside the small house; it seemed they had been completely accepted by the Black Sun Church.

After entering the house and vigilantly looking around, Xiu quickly closed the door.

"Auntie Xiu!"

At this time, Aike and Lin were both in the house, and upon seeing Xiu enter, they let out a cheer.

"Alright, I have become an Unburnt and learned Curse, so we can leave this place."

Xiu pulled up a floorboard, beneath which was the black bread and canned food they had saved up over this period, packed into a large bag, along with other field tools.

"I have already inquired; the Black Sun Cult is not as simple as it appears on the surface... The rumored burning of living people also exists, and the High Priest may be waiting for specific spiritual numbers and dates... We must leave, we cannot stay, hmm... even if we are outside, we can continue to study the path of Darkness..."

Xiu did not realize that she had already been changed a little bit without knowing it.

For example, she no longer resisted the faith of the Black Sun.

This escape was also just to stay away from the Black Sun Cult, not to stay away from the Black Sun!

"But... Auntie Xiu, are we really going to leave? I think those uncles and aunties are all very kind, and they even gave me and my sister candy."

A look of hesitation appeared on Aike's face.

Xiu's expression changed, suddenly becoming bewildered and pained...

She seemed to have thought of something, her face turning pale: "This kind of influence is too terrifying... If even I, an adult, am like this, you two children must leave here immediately and stay away from the 'Mysterious'!"