Chapter 892 - 433: Transcendent Realm
"It’s hard not to recognize."
Li Ang and the Great Witch Priest stared at each other, sending the old man’s resentment back.
If it weren’t for some primitive beliefs of these ancient witches, back then, he wouldn’t have so urgently felt "this is enough."
On Earth, generally speaking, as the level of civilization improves, the practices in ancient times like live human sacrifices, self-harm, and ingesting hallucinogens aimed to achieve certain goals through extreme means become less common.
Such behaviors are also known as primitive barbaric religious acts guided by witchcraft thinking.
But Nebis indeed has extraordinary phenomena.
Li Ang could see that the people of Nebis initially experienced a stage of simple understanding, but indeed, all things have spirit, their ideas of "similar things must be connected" and "synesthesia" received a response, which ought to be the birth of the earliest magic.
Of course, this group refers to those who re-emerged during the Silver Era, not those who enjoyed the Creator’s initial favor, beings of the format as divine spirits and demigods.
In short, the techniques of Nebis’ ancient witches weren’t as extremely cruel as what Li Ang had heard about ancient humans on Earth, but there were moves he considered extreme.
At first, he just came to seek methods of spiritual manipulation, and he planned not to interfere much with their traditions.
However, toward the last few steps, these matters also began to impose upon him.
For example, grinding colorful mushrooms and other unknown objects into powder, lighting them into smoke, enveloping the surroundings in steam.
These things can barely be considered casting materials.
Li Ang had seen some ancient witches scatter mushroom powder everywhere, then start dancing with vigorous but chaotic movements within it.
When it comes to mushrooms, he prefers to stew them for a long time with chicken soup, ensuring the toxins are gone before enjoying them. Best not to use them this way.
Of course, the purpose of this step is to assist him in entering the Transcendent Realm, which the Great Witch Priest could achieve unaided, but Li Ang at the time could not.
After refusing the hallucinogenic mushroom fumigation, the old Witch Priest had other means.
Such as hanging upside down and bleeding until near death, drawing mixed curse runes on the body with the blood, letting the senses transcend at the brink of death. This process must be done in the nude, like slaughtered chickens and sheep.
There were yet other techniques less like entering the Transcendent Realm, more akin to torture, which the High Priest introduced, displaying them one by one before Li Ang.
"These techniques should be very effective, but they may not be suitable for me. Is there, um, a less painful way?" Li Ang asked, twitching at the corners of his eyes and mouth.
"There is."
The High Priest brought a young, innocent girl of pure disposition.
"Entering a state of spiritual and physical fusion can also approach that realm."
"Goodbye."
Yes, this was why Li Ang’s attitude changed after saying a few words to Diao. It was hard to face that young girl, and these ancient witches described as having a whimsical but abstract mindset, which is unpleasantly barbaric and primitive.
Though now, Diao looks like she’s of an age where he’s not guilty... uh, that’s not quite right either.
In short, Li Ang hopes to enter the Transcendent Realm without the help of witch priests.
He even suspects that the so-called Transcendent World is actually the Spiritual Horizon accessed through the Seer Pendant.
"I can now enter the realm where I see the Spiritual Line."
"Oh, that’s very close."
The Great Witch Priest nodded, the complex feather ornaments behind his head swaying with the movement.
"How did you do it?"
Li Ang told the old man about the Empire’s Annihilation Knights, Star Soul Jenoside, Eye of God, and demons characterized by eyes.
"With the power of demons... You are wise, you restrained the spread of the curse and severed the entity anchored by the curse. Without an anchor, it lay dormant."
The old man was referring to his severed arm and the curse’s impact on the new arm.
"If you are obsessed with the power brought by demons, you won’t be able to enter here," the Great Witch Priest said.
Li Ang raised an eyebrow; it seemed cutting was timely. If the curse spread further up to the shoulder, it wouldn’t have been as simple as losing a hand.
The more unwilling to let go, the more severe the consequences.
But speaking of which, this system feels like it’s guiding him to use demon power, what’s the situation then?
If there wasn’t a body modification - demonization panel popping up, Li Ang wouldn’t have delved so deeply into demon power.
Li Ang couldn’t grasp the system’s situation; is it absolutely neutral? Not afraid of mishaps? Or is becoming a demon also an option? It’s unclear.
"Do you know of several demons?" The High Priest asked again.
Li Ang recalled and listed what he knew to the old man.
He encountered the Six Armed Demon, the Guild founder Sword King defeated the Six Winged Demon, Eye of God worships the Demon of the Eye, and according to stained glass murals, the Goddess once slew a Crimson Demon with a body full of fanged mouths.
During the battle with Horarius, the demon scholar wanting to seize Hedaya’s power, he recognized the Divine Power on ALulu came from the Wotam Sect and immediately thought this seems like mythology, but it’s just ancient history, indicating that the Goddess of Kindness and the Wotam Sect that worships her indeed have ties with demons.
"No wonder Ten Thousand Spirits begin to worry. Fortunately, fortunately." The Great Witch Priest pondered for a while, not continuing the topic.