Chapter 501 Showing its Fangs
"In the future, when you encounter other blessed cultivators, you must never ask about their abilities right away, as this is a matter of personal privacy."
The cartographer seemed to have forgotten that he had asked me before if I had any abilities other than manipulating fire. He first earnestly reminded Sandalwood, and then answered, "As for my abilities, I can tell you. My ability is 'guiding the way'."
"Guide the way?" Sandalwood asked, puzzled.
"The most basic application of this ability is that when I face a fork in the road, I know which path best suits my needs," the cartographer frankly stated. "A more advanced application is that when faced with a choice, it can remind me which side is correct. When facing life-or-death danger, it can also help me immediately determine which direction leads to survival..."
"The reason I was able to find you based on bloodstains and shoe prints is because of this ability. Of course, under the influence of the chaotic spacetime, this ability cannot be 100% successful; it must be combined with the guidance of the Blessed Lamp to increase its success rate."
"There is no such thing as absolute power in this world. When faced with something too immense, my abilities will fail. But it is precisely because of this that I have been able to live peacefully and independently until today..."
Towards the end, he gave a self-deprecating smile.
Sandalwood grew increasingly envious and finally asked, "Then... what should I do to become a Blessed cultivator like you and Zhuang Cheng?"
The cartographer said casually, "It's simple, just get deeply infected with madness."
"What...did you say?" Tanxiang's expression changed.
“Blessed monks and karmic demons share the same root: madness,” the cartographer said. “The most distinct characteristic of deep-seated madness infection is the chaotic state of thought, and the resulting visual and auditory hallucinations. You will see a non-existent full moon in the night sky and hear incoherent, insane babbling from unknown sources.”
"Those illusory ramblings are also called 'gospel' by the survivors. They incite you to kill when your mind is in a state of confusion. Most people lose their ability to resist at this stage and become karmic demons."
"Only a few can stand out and become blessed monks."
I asked, puzzled, "The voice that incites others to kill... is actually called 'the gospel'?"
"It is said that in the old civilization there was the story of 'Pandora's Box,' a box that contained countless despairs and a glimmer of hope, and the gospel has the same nature," the cartographer said calmly. "People believed that hidden within the gospel, which was filled with madness and curses, was a voice of blessing, and only the lucky ones who could hear the latter in a state of confusion and delusion could receive the blessing."
"As for whether it is really true, even I, a Blessing cultivator, do not know. Because I cannot remember my mental journey when I was on the verge of becoming a karmic demon. In fact, I can occasionally hear those illusory and insane babblings that command me to kill, but I cannot find the so-called blessing voice."
I remembered Xiaowan's description of the "sounds of the world" she heard.
It was a sound like a life on the verge of death, a very chaotic sound, like the delirious babbling of a mentally deranged person.
Although it sounds like the "gospel" described by the cartographer, Xiaowan never said that the voice she heard would incite her to kill.
Could it be that what Xiaowan heard was the hidden blessing within the chaotic "gospel"?
The cartographer's account was more comprehensive and insightful than anything Asa had previously told me. However, Asa also mentioned something the cartographer hadn't: that in the end times, only the gods and humans of the Evangelical Fellowship could decipher the Gospel. She was likely referring to the hidden message of blessing.
Furthermore, considering that the Gospel House can produce "blessings" with natural rhythms, it is very likely that the Gospel House really does have some unknown connection with the dying "voice of the world".
"To become a Blessed Cultivator, one must be deeply infected by madness..." Sandalwood struggled desperately, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained..."
"I advise you not to have too many illusions about the power of blessing," the cartographer poured cold water on your hopes. "Even if you are lucky enough to awaken the blessing you want, you may regret it."
"Why is that?" I asked on behalf of Sandalwood.
The illustrator said, "The essence of the power of blessing is to materialize the desires in people's hearts. And the greater the desire, the more it represents the inability to obtain it. No, it should be said the other way around: it is precisely because we cannot obtain it that desire can be transformed into the power of blessing."
"In other words, once we are satisfied, we will no longer be hungry and will subsequently lose our strength."
"As if to avoid this, the fate of blessed monks always runs counter to what they desire. The more they want something, the more they miss it. This is the cursed power."
Upon hearing this, Sandalwood paused for a moment, then said, "Wait, according to this logic, Cartographer, your power is 'guiding the way,' which means your fate is to be forever lost?"
"..."
The cartographer didn't reply; instead, he clapped his hands.
As if heeding a call, the boy and girl emerged from the shadows. The boy carried the cartographer's cloak and lantern in his arms. The cartographer walked to his side, put on the cloak, and took the lantern.
It was at this time that I noticed something.
Now, I can also vaguely sense the changes in the boy's and girl's souls and emotions. Just like the cartographer, the taciturn boy was also shrouded in clear malice towards others. I could understand this emotion appearing in a blessed monk like the cartographer, but it was perplexing to see it in the boy. For ordinary people, it wasn't just something they thought about; it was a murderous will that they would absolutely act upon.
Even in that taciturn girl, the same malice could be seen; it wasn't a clearly targeted emotion, but rather a chaotic instinct directed at everyone around her.
From the moment we first met until now, the two children haven't uttered a single word. I used to think it was a natural wariness of strangers, or the dullness and introversion caused by living in such harsh conditions as innocent children. But now it seems that each silence was an effort to completely conceal their impending loss of control over the outside world.
These are symptoms of a deep infection of madness.
Such intense malice would drive an adult mad, so why were these two children unmoved?
Looking at the cartographer again, I noticed something more unusual. The malice emanating from him was directed solely at me and Tanxiang, not at the two children. If that was merely the instinctive malice of a Blessed Monk towards others, it seemed far too targeted.
The cartographer's words also contain some intriguing points. Asahi once said that only fallen Blessed monks would believe the "Gospel" guides them to commit massacres, while the cartographer directly defines the "Gospel" as "a voice inciting humanity to kill." Does this mean the cartographer is a fallen member of the Blessed monks?
"Let's go, Zhuang Cheng."
The cartographer walked to the doorway, then turned to me and said, "Let's go outside together."
“Cartographer, before that, may I ask you a question?” I asked.
“Go on,” the cartographer said, looking at me.
I asked directly, "Why would you want to kill me and Sandalwood?"
Upon hearing this, Tanxiang's expression changed drastically.
The cartographer paused for a moment, then snapped his fingers.
Tanxiang was quietly moving towards the window when the snap of his fingers occurred, and his body suddenly fell heavily to the ground like a puppet whose lifeline had been cut.
Almost simultaneously, I felt my vision suddenly go black, and a strong sense of exhaustion appeared out of nowhere, spreading to every corner of my body, as if I could no longer stand up from the chair.
(End of this chapter)
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