Chapter 743 Aleister's Resurrection Ceremony
Aleister reached out his hands, and slowly grasped the girl's spirit with his hands that had been wiped with the Harmony Ointment.
As faint purple light flashed in her pupils, the power of transcendence diffused between Aleister's hands, gathering into a ball of glow and forming a faint nebula.
She carefully picked up the spirit and placed it back on the girl's original body.
Aleister had to be extremely careful—her power was now too great. Even with the shielding of the Harmony Ointment, it was difficult to completely protect her spirit from harm. Even so, her spirit curled up... like a ball of plastic bags caught in the wind.
When the spirit almost merged with the physical body, it slowly unfolded like a piece of seaweed that had been soaked. However, it could never completely merge with the physical body, and the boundary between them remained blurred.
"Give me a gold coin."
Aleister called out to the Mirror Demon, "Gold coins need to last longer."
She no longer even asked whether the Mirror Demon was still there—she just gave orders.
And the Mirror Demon is also very adaptable.
A golden light suddenly flashed before Aleister, followed by a deep voice: "This is an ancient coin from the Helasar Empire, six hundred years after it was minted. If it's not enough, I can look for it elsewhere..."
"Ah, that's enough."
As he spoke, Aleister placed the gold coin on the lady's forehead and tapped it gently.
Then, Aleister stretched out her hand, formed her fingers into a knife, and sliced through the air in four directions. Then, she dipped her fingertips into water and sprinkled it, doing this four times in a row, flicking the water onto the girl's hands and feet.
Originally, a silver nail would be used to strike a gold coin to anchor it. Then, a silver ritual knife, heated with incense, would be used to carve out a sacred space in all four directions, impervious to the invasion of spirits. Then, a finger would be dipped in consecrated water or salt, anchoring the soul with its sacred weight.
But for Aleister, who doesn't need any materials for the rituals, she only needs to use this method to perfectly complete most of the rituals.
The principle behind this material-free nature is that her soul itself is a kind of "universal material." Therefore, simply participating in the ritual as a ritualist automatically fulfills most of the required compatibility. Only higher-level rituals require additional symbols to complete the compatibility.
The essence of ritual is to satisfy the nature.
Because from the perspective of the dream world, all the complexities of the material world are nothingness, and to enter the dream world, one must eliminate matter. And the information contained in matter is extremely complex...
From the perspective of "a weapon that hurts people", there is no difference between a pistol and a dagger; from the perspective of "something that cuts", a mirror and a dagger are essentially the same; from the perspective of "premeditated crime", a bottle of poison and a dagger have the same meaning.
Based on this principle, many rituals that originally required a grand scale, expensive and complex materials can actually be reduced to the simplest cost by constantly "simplifying the formula".
This is the essence of "ritual studies".
The original ritual was a basic rule of equal exchange, exchanging material objects for objects from the dream world. Through ritual studies, the miracle of exchanging less for more could be achieved... and the proponent behind this miracle was none other than the Serpent Father, one of the Pillar Gods.
With the signature of the Snake Father, this "tricky trick" that should not exist in theory has become an official "technique."
This is why ritual is the core transcendental skill of the Way of Transcendence.
To the honey badger, all of this seemed so baffling. However, the fluctuations of Dao energy in the air told her that the ritual had begun.
Aleister glanced at the honey badger and began to explain:
"I first suppressed her soul with 'circulating wealth'.
"In some local legends, there's a saying that 'the spirits of the deceased also need Yin wealth.' This belief is based on the fact that 'wealth' can influence the soul itself. Because 'trading' is an act of balance, and the way of balance also includes the balance between the Yin and Yang realms, from a ritualistic perspective, the act of 'trading' can easily achieve a balance between the Yin and Yang realms.
"Demons existed long before demonologists were born. When people crave unbalanced power, their intense transcendental spirits attract demons and form contracts with them... This is also a form of transaction. Similarly, some people also make deals with the dead. Among the various concepts of 'wealth', the longer it circulates and the higher its recognized value, the more 'pressure' it carries.
"Next, I purified her hands and feet with holy water and holy salt. I weakened her soul, allowing her to touch the sky and tread on the earth... In doing so, a portion of her spirit was subdued within her body."
"……ah?"
The honey badger was a little confused: "But when did you use holy water and holy salt..."
She obviously didn't understand the rare Taoist feature of being exempt from ritual materials.
Aleister leaned over to the girl's ear and whispered, "Make a fist."
The next moment, the girl clenched her fists suddenly.
Although she still couldn't fully control her body, the feeling in her hands and feet had returned. She could hear Aleister's voice and knew she wanted to save her, so she clenched her fist with all her strength without hesitation.
But she struggled to clench her fists completely—as if they were weakened from a long sleep. Her soul had been away from her body for too long. If it could return to her body in a matter of seconds, she wouldn't even need to use wealth to calm it; she could simply stuff it back in. But once the soul cooled, sewing it back together would be difficult.
"Keep your fist clenched, dear. Don't ever let go."
Aleister chuckled and threatened, "If you let go, you might never be able to go back, okay?"
Hearing Aleister's words, the girl's forehead was covered with sweat.
Even though she couldn't make a fist at all, she still tried her best to make a fist.
This process was actually Aleister's way of getting her to focus - it was essentially "actively aligning her soul with her body." She wouldn't have been in trouble even if she'd unclenched her fists; it was just easier for Aleister to manipulate her.
Then, Aleister stretched out his finger again and tapped the gold coin lightly.
"Soul, come back..."
Aleister murmured the Primordial Language.
This time the knocking did not make any sound, but a solemn invisible wave spread out in all directions.
"Soul, return from the underworld..."
Aleister switched back to the Hrathrian language.
She struck the gold coin a second time, and the invisible vibration became stronger—it made the honey badger feel a faint pain in its teeth and its bones creaked.
"Souls of the dead, obey my call..."
Aleister once again switched to the soft and lively Elvish language.
She struck the gold coin a third time, and a visible storm erupted from the room—pages rustled, windows slammed open and shut, and ornaments in boxes leaped spontaneously. But only the small piece of sacred space that Aleister had initially carved out remained untouched.
This is a spiritual phenomenon, indicating that nearby spirits have regained their activity, regaining a brief moment of consciousness from the eternal stagnation of the Dusk Path.
These three calls can be made in any language, as they are merely warm-ups.
The real resurrection requires the use of Parthian language - which is also the root of the name of the Parthian Empire.
They master the technology of resurrection and rest.
Suddenly, Aleister switched to the Hierophant language and briefly transformed into the male form of Aiwass.
The first half of the resurrection ritual required the use of a feminine body to guide the soul, while the second half required the use of a masculine body to dispel the adverse effects of the Twilight Path on the body. Normally, this should be performed by at least two ritual priests, but for Aleister, who could change size at will, she could do it alone.
She spoke slowly in the majestic, sunny, and clear voice of the Pope, Aiwass:
"—I command you to return to the human world."
As she spoke, she pressed down hard on the gold coin, then flipped it open.
In an instant——
As the girl clenched her fists completely, her eyes suddenly opened!
"This is a miracle of resurrection from the dead!"
When the honey badger saw this scene, his pupils trembled.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
