NABC Chapter 156 The Former Owner of the Dark Lodge
Chapter 156 The Former Owner of the Dark Lodge
Chapter 156 The Former Owner of the Dark Lodge
In the dark hut.
Raphael looked at the ground beneath his feet, which was a little soft but not hot.
He asked the white jade-colored round bead, "Why is the Dark Abode like this?"
The white jade-colored bead said, "In the First Age, God tolerated this characteristic. He believed that demons and other evil beings who enjoyed cursing others should live in such an environment."
Raphael looked at the pool and asked, "Could you change the appearance of this place?"
The white jade-colored bead replied, "Now I can establish a connection between you and the Dark Abode, but you must at least reach demigod status before you can become a half-master here. At that point, you can change things however you like."
Raphael glanced again at the lava flowing in the valley and felt that "God's" aesthetic sense was just so-so, and his understanding of demons and alien species was too superficial.
That is, the spiritual remnant of "God" in his body is in a state of self-isolation, otherwise he would definitely ask: Where is it superficial? Tell me, where is it superficial?
Raphael replied, "There's no rush to establish a connection with the Dark Lodge. Until then—"
Raphael looked towards the pool again. He had noticed earlier that four people were sitting in the wooden corridor on the other side of the pool.
The first person collapsed to the ground, half of his body seemingly melted and fused with the ground.
The second one resembled a dried-up corpse, its emaciated body in a meditative posture.
The third person was reduced to a skeleton.
The fourth person transformed into a large tree, with a pained face growing from its trunk. The tree's branches and leaves writhed incessantly, more like an animal than a plant!
Raphael then continued, "—You should first introduce the pool and who those four gentlemen are."
"
The white jade-colored bead said, "That pool of water is the 'Source of the Curse.'"
Raphael was taken aback: "The source of the curse is in the Dark Chamber?"
"Otherwise, where did you think it was?"
"I thought the 'Source of the Curse' was a separate entity."
The white jade-colored bead said, "It exists relatively independently within the 'Dark Abode,' and even 'God' couldn't change its form back then."
Then it added, "As for those four people, they were the four previous owners of 'Dark Abode'."
Raphael asked, "Then the current master of the Dark Lodge isn't here?"
"He won't come in now," the white jade bead replied. "He will only come here after the Dark Abode has assimilated him to a certain degree."
"If he comes in early, it will accelerate the assimilation process."
Raphael nodded and asked, "If I stay here too long, will I be assimilated by the 'Dark Lodge'?"
The white jade-colored bead said, "As long as I'm here, it won't happen."
At this moment, Raphael's spirit seemed to stir, and he looked at the second person in the wooden corridor by the pool. At some point, he opened his eyes.
But he seemed withered from the outside in, his eye sockets were dark and hollow, with only a ball of cloth covering his eyeballs.
He spoke in a voice that was clearly somewhat weak: "With such distinguished guests arriving, I have failed to greet you properly."
According to the description on the white jade bead, this was the second owner of the Dark Abode.
Raphael paused for a moment before asking, "Are you the consciousness of the Dark Lodge?"
"No, I still retain a certain sense of self, even though I've been here for a very, very long time," said the withered second owner of the Dark Lodge.
The other party did not open their mouth, but made a sound. Raphael felt that this was communication through spiritual means.
Raphael then asked, "I've heard that each generation of Dark Lodge masters merges with the Dao of Dark Lodge." Does that process involve allowing Dark Lodge to absorb the consciousness of those who have merged with the Dao?
"You can think of it as a transaction," said the second master of the Dark Lodge. "I gained great power, and I must have paid a price for it."
"The basic techniques of cultivation in the Dark Abode can effectively resist its erosion, but the human spirit has its limits, and ultimately, it cannot escape the fate of merging with the Dark Abode."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "These years of meditation have helped me understand many things. 'Darkness' seems to be a higher form of life, one that has always existed, neither born nor dying, neither aging nor dying, from the beginning of time to the end of the universe."
At that moment, Raphael suddenly discovered that all the knowledge about "Source Matter" and "The Old Ones" was "lying" in his mind.
The reason I didn't notice them earlier is because they seemed to have always been there.
Raphael smiled and said, "Your thinking is very interesting."
It is very close to the description of "source matter".
Then Raphael said, "Aren't you going to introduce the people next to you?"
"Alright." The second master of the Dark Abode said, "The person to my right was the first to discover the Dark Abode. He explored it while utilizing its power. At that time, the techniques to resist the Dark Abode's erosion were not yet complete, so as you can see, he has basically merged with the Dark Abode. Now he only has a little bit of consciousness left, and we can still chat occasionally."
"The skeleton to my left is my successor. When he realized that the Dark Pavilion was about to completely merge with him, he detonated his spirit and soul. As you can see, he no longer has even the most basic spiritual energy. But this is also a kind of liberation."
"That guy over there who looks like a tree was accidentally influenced by a god in the starry sky. As soon as he arrived here, he turned into a tree, which startled me."
"I can sense that 'Dark Lodge' has a close connection with a certain deity in the starry sky. I can even draw the appearance of that deity, but fortunately, there is a barrier between us that isolates her from direct influence. However, if we are not careful enough, we can still be affected."
Raphael thought to himself: The Mother Tree of Desire.
Then he asked, "Won't this tree—the fourth owner of the Dark Lodge—have any impact on the Dark Lodge?"
"There's no impact for now," said the second owner of the Dark Lodge. "But it's hard to say what will happen in the future."
"Perhaps this is a seed planted by the god of the stars, intended to sprout at the right time, but we cannot destroy it."
Raphael nodded: "I see."
The other person then said, "May I ask a question as well?"
"Excuse me."
"Who are you? What are you doing in the Dark Cottage?"
"My name is Raphael, and I don't know why I'm here at Dark Lodge." Raphael paused for a moment, then added, "That's not quite right either. I need to discuss the issue of subordination with this cold bead first, and then I'll see if we can establish contact with Dark Lodge as he plans."
The second owner of the Dark Lodge said "Oh," and then told me, "Tell me when you know why you're here."
Raphael nodded: "No problem."
Then he looked at the white jade-colored bead: "We can begin. Where shall we begin? Oh, right, let's begin with who you are."
The white jade-colored bead said, "I am the original creator."
Raphael was taken aback: "You're not asleep?"
"I don't need to sleep," He said. "I've always been awake."
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