Chapter 196: New Boon
The screaming sounded nothing like anything Chu Qiguang had ever heard before. It was an incredibly strange sound, yet it carried an indescribable and undeniable allure that captivated him.
As the voice began to shift in pitch, and the words it uttered became increasingly bizarre, Chu Qiguang felt his consciousness break free from the confines of his physical body. In the next instant, he found himself inside an incomparably beautiful and magnificent golden palace filled with boundless light and heat.
There, he saw a strange and imposing figure, one that was impossible to describe with words. No language could ever hope to capture the essence of that strange being, which seemed to exist amid insanity and blazing heat.
Unintelligible chanting rang out incessantly in Chu Qiguang's mind, and within that palace, reality, matter, and reason all seemed to have been stripped away.
Even so, Chu Qiguang was still able to retain a shred of rationality. It seemed that his so-called makings of a heavenly immortal granted him an extremely high level of resistance to this supernatural phenomenon.
However, in the next instant, everything he was seeing and hearing abruptly vanished, and he snapped back to reality. All of the knowledge he had just absorbed was gone from his mind.
At the same time, he received a new boon, along with an unprecedented sense of joy from the Ring of Ignorance.
He could sense that this new boon wanted to flow in one of three directions: his brain, his heart, and his skin.
He could also sense that he was able to choose which direction the boon would take, so he immediately chose his skin without any hesitation.
After all, he had no idea what effect this boon would have, so it was best not to experiment on organs as important as the heart and brain.
As the boon flowed into his skin, he began to involuntarily channel the Primordial High Zenith Demonic Arts.
An excruciating, burning sensation spread over his entire body. Even though his skin and flesh didn't appear any different from before, he could sense that they were gradually taking on inhuman qualities.
At the same time, knowledge related to the boon appeared in his mind.
***
It was said that snakes had devolved from ancient dragons. They were able to grow through molting, and the sloughs they left behind were said to contain the power of dragons.
By covering one's entire body in a snake's slough, one could enhance their healing abilities, but they would also gradually begin to forget that they were human.
This was the case with all power related to dragons, whether it came through martial arts or Dao arts. Any mortal who worshiped dragons was sure to sink into the abyss.
***
The name of the boon was Dragon Snake Skin. Chu Qiguang took a moment to assess the changes that had just taken place in his body, then returned his attention to the page on the desk before him.
He reread the contents of the page, and once again, he heard the same strange scream and saw the same palace enveloped in boundless flames.
However, this time, the illusions weren't as intense as before, and after several repetitions, Chu Qiguang discovered that he was able to shut them out entirely.
Meanwhile, both the gatekeeper and Lin Lan were stunned to see Chu Qiguang flipping the page back and forth over and over again.
The gatekeeper had never read the contents of the page himself, but throughout his life, he had seen many members of the Demon Vanquishing Department read it. In particular, many cultivators of the Hunter Hand Faction would read texts related to the Vajra Monastery in an attempt to further their cultivation of the Sumeru Strength Scripture.
Some went mad after reading the page, muttering unintelligible incantations while seemingly having visions of something that no one else could see.
Some were so tormented by the hallucinations that even several years later, they either succumbed to demonification or took their own lives.
Some fainted on the spot, then gradually forgot the contents of the page over the next few days. Those were the lucky ones.
"Is... Is Brother Chu reading the page multiple times? Is that why he keeps flipping it back and forth?" Lin Lan asked hesitantly.
"I don't know," the gatekeeper replied, his expression filled with bewilderment. "Normally, everyone who comes into contact with this dark and twisted knowledge for the first time shows some kind of abnormal reaction, but he doesn't seem to be affected at all!"
After reading through the contents of the page several times, Chu Qiguang turned to the gatekeeper and asked, "Where's the rest?"
"You still want to read more?" the gatekeeper asked.
Chu Qiguang nodded, but the gatekeeper refused to grant his request.
"You can only read one page at a time. If you want to read more, you'll have to wait ten days. Those are the rules."
"Ten days?" Chu Qiguang asked with a disappointed expression. "That's way too long!"
"All of the knowledge on the second floor contains strange and twisted power. Reading too much at once can drive you to insanity or even demonification," the gatekeeper warned solemnly.
"But I'm fine!" Chu Qiguang insisted. "I feel like I could read the whole book today in one go and still be fine. Honestly, I feel like I'll be at greater risk of demonification if you don't let me finish the entire thing today."
"Are you really not experiencing anything abnormal?" the gatekeeper asked suspiciously. "You don't see any hallucinations or hear any strange voices?"
Chu Qiguang suddenly caught sight of a golden figure flashing through the room, but he decided to keep that to himself. Shaking his head, he replied, "I haven't seen nor heard anything out of the ordinary."
"That's amazing, Brother Chu!" Lin Lan marveled.