Sitting at her desk, Dorothy seriously examined the ancient parchment scroll before her, which was adorned with numerous intricate symbols. It was clear that during his battle with Mukhtar, his power had suddenly increased dramatically at the end, manifesting a powerful Malicious Precept that instantly overwhelmed Vanya and Shadi. This scroll was what he relied on; he must have executed the terms of the contract, allowing Bamigula to grant him power, but the price was one-third of his soul.
'Bamigula the Martyr Beast... a divine creature located in the reverse side. It feels like this thing is similar to Haimo Hois, whom the Sea Abyss Church worships. Powerful existences below the gods, dwelling on the edge of the reverse side or the present world, capable of forming some kind of contractual agreement with mortal organizations, exchanging their help after paying a price.
'In a sense, the Sea Abyss Church's sacrifice ritual back then could also be considered the execution of a contract with Haimo Hois. At the cost of over two thousand lives, what exactly did the Sea Abyss Church hope to gain from Haimo Hois? Surely it wasn't just to please it.'
Looking at the Soul Contract Scroll on the desk, Dorothy pondered about divine creatures like Haimo Hois or Bamigula. However, after only a brief thought, she refocused her attention on the contract scroll itself, considering what use it could be to her.
'This thing can contract divine creatures. I could use it to contact Bamigula and ask it if it's willing to change contract partners, but I don't know enough about this Martyr Beast, nor do I know if its relationship with the Savior Sect is close. Contacting it rashly carries great risk, so it's better not to do that.
'However, the content on it can be erased and re-signed, which means if I encounter any powerful divine creatures or reverse side existences in the future and establish a good relationship with them, I could sign contracts for certain matters and mutually benefit. But I don't know any powerful reverse side existences right now, so this thing won't be very useful for a while...'
Dorothy thought to herself. Not only did she lack a contract target at the moment, but she also wasn't very clear about the content that this contract scroll could be used to contract. Dorothy planned to find time later to thoroughly study the specific functions of this contract scroll before making any decisions.
Next, Dorothy put away the contract scroll, which seemed unlikely to be useful anytime soon, and continued to inventory her spoils of war. All the Extraordinary items had now been inventoried, and the next items to count were the secret transmissions.
Among Mukhtar's collection, Dorothy discovered two secret transmissions also preserved in the form of ancient beast-skin scrolls. After unfolding the first secret transmission, Dorothy carefully examined it and found that it was titled "Essentials of Precept Cultivation," a compilation of key points for Extraordinary individuals cultivating the Path of Asceticism. After reading this secret transmission, Dorothy gained a deeper understanding of the Path of Asceticism, an Extraordinary branch path.
According to the records in this secret transmission, Dorothy learned that the Black Earth Stage of the Path of Asceticism is called the Vowed Monk, the Chalk is called the Precept Observer, the Crimson Tier is called the Precepts Cult Lord, and the Golden is called the Precept Control Venerable. These respectively correspond to the four realms in the Path of Asceticism: Precepting oneself, precepting others, precepting enemies, and precepting the nation, which is a process of extending precepts from within to without, from self to others, and from few to many.
Unlike some other Extraordinary branch paths, Extraordinary individuals of the Path of Asceticism have additional ways to cultivate and temper their minds and characters. When an Extraordinary individual on the Path of Asceticism is still a Vowed Monk at the Black Earth Stage, they must choose several precepts for themselves to practice asceticism. The results of cultivating these precepts are not only related to the promotion ritual of the asceticism practitioner but also to the types of precepts that the practitioner can impose on enemies after reaching the Crimson Tier, the Precepts Cult Lord.
For example, this essential guide records two methods for cultivating precepts. The first is called the Precept of Self-Restraint Without Harm, and the second is called the Precept of Restraint Without Evasion.
Cultivating the Precept of Self-Restraint Without Harm requires the practitioner to refrain from harming others in various trials. It is a restraint of one's inner desire to harm. For instance, when facing mosquito bites, when a venomous snake coils around one's body, or when facing mockery and provocation, one must be able to restrain their desire to retaliate and attack. Even if one suffers harm, they must not fight back. Through prolonged psychological and physical tempering, one reaches a state where they can freely control their desire to attack. After precepting oneself, one can then precept others, and even enemies.
This means that the ability manifested at the Crimson Tier after completing the cultivation of this precept is the disgusting counter-damage precept. And when this precept ability is upgraded to the Golden, it becomes the even more disgusting Malicious Precept.
As for the other Precept of Restraint Without Evasion, its cultivation is largely similar. It involves undertaking various masochistic and dangerous practices and persisting without fleeing during the cultivation, such as meditating thinly clothed on a snowy mountain, or going without food for several months. As long as one continuously persists in completing such masochistic cultivation without any evasion midway, they can complete this Precept of Restraint Without Evasion. When this precept is used against enemies at the Crimson Tier, it becomes the precept that forces enemies to fight them, forbidding them from fleeing or evading.
In other words, the essence of the Precepts Cult Lord's ability is to use the precepts that they previously used to restrain themselves during cultivation to restrain enemies. Whatever kind of cultivation they previously undertook, they can sublimate and use that ability precept at the Crimson Tier. This is the core meaning of precepting oneself before precepting others.
It is also worth mentioning that during the cultivation process of these precepts, no Extraordinary abilities can be used as external aid. The cultivation itself must be arduous for the practitioner, and the practitioner must feel pain during the cultivation for it to be valid, thus eliminating the possibility of cheating.
'So that's it. Precepting oneself and precepting others, this is the essence of the abilities of the Path of Asceticism... These precepts can only be used to govern others after strictly regulating oneself.
'I was wondering why Mukhtar didn't suddenly conjure a precept of no breathing. The reason is that he himself cannot go without breathing. Since he cannot complete the long-term cultivation of the no-breathing precept, he also cannot use this precept to restrain others, as one must first precept oneself before precepting others.'
Looking at the secret transmission in her hand, Dorothy said with emotion in her heart. She also thought that if this essential guide was to be believed, then the precepts that a Precepts Cult Lord could use might all be different, as everyone's cultivation methods are different, and thus the precepts that can ultimately be achieved will also be different.
However, according to this essential guide, the two cultivation methods of self-restraint and restraint without evasion are the most widely spread, so for most Extraordinary individuals on the Path of Asceticism, these two cultivation methods should also be the first choice. And because a person's energy is limited and their body cannot withstand too much hardship, the number of precepts each person ultimately cultivates will not be many, at most around two that can be used on enemies at the Crimson Tier.
'Anyway... since it's a precept focused on restraint, the main body of the abilities of this Extraordinary branch path is passive. Compared to one-on-one combat, its abilities are more effective when used in a team. If Mukhtar had active offensive abilities as strong as an Elementalist, Vanya probably wouldn't have been able to withstand him.'
Dorothy concluded her assessment in her heart. She then put the secret transmission aside and began to extract Spirituality. Since the content of this secret transmission was substantial and partially involved the Crimson Tier and even the Golden, Dorothy obtained a considerable amount of Spirituality, a full 9 points of "Lamp", 7 points of "Silent", and 5 points of "enlightenment".
Next, Dorothy began reviewing the second secret transmission. This secret transmission was also a beast hide scroll, but this time it contained not just text, but also pictures. Looking closely at the annotations on it, it seemed to be a copy of another painting.
"Copy of the Lord's Light World Mural," was the name of this beast hide scroll painting. It was a picture drawn with a fine-line pen. The picture depicted a man with long, unbound hair, bare-chested, handsome and muscular, wearing a laurel wreath on his head, and with pupil-less eyes. He stood at the top of the painting, arms spread, looking forward, expressionless. Around him were radiating sun wheels, and in his outstretched hands, he held two items.
In the man's right hand, he held a staff, and in his left hand, he held a curved saber. And on either side of the sun wheels behind him stood two small figures.
Beside the staff in his right hand was a young boy. He had short hair and wore a robe with the hood pulled back. He stood beside the sun wheels, gazing up at the man within them with an expression of admiration and reverence. The boy stepped forward, arms outstretched, his posture seemingly wanting to step into the sun wheels to embrace the man. His face seemed to bear a slight resemblance to the man's.
And in the direction of the curved saber in his left hand stood a young girl. Unlike the boy, she did not look towards the sun wheels, but stood quietly in place without any large movements. The hood of her robe was properly worn on her head, covering the upper half of her face. Her exposed mouth showed no expression. Her smooth, long hair flowed straight down from the sides of her face beneath the hood, reaching down to her waist. Her serene demeanor formed a stark contrast with the boy on the other side.
Below the depiction of these three figures, one adult and two young, was a world map. On the map were the shapes of several continents familiar to Dorothy: the New World in the west, the Ufeiga Continent in the south, the Extreme Ice Continent in the north, and the Main Continent in the central position. All of them were located beneath the feet of the three figures above. Around the map and the figures were many characters. Dorothy recognized them as Imperial script at a glance.
Laying the scroll painting out on the desk, Dorothy observed it carefully, a hint of fascination on her face. It was clear that she had been deeply drawn in by the content upon seeing the painting. Only after gazing for a long time did she let out a sigh of relief and slowly began to ponder the content depicted in the picture.
At this moment, Dorothy subconsciously felt that the content of this painting seemed quite extraordinary.
'This picture... is it depicting the True Shining Lord, or perhaps the Radiant Savior? From the sun wheel background and Mukhtar's specifically written title, it seems to be the case. But there's also a question: if this painting depicts the Radiant Savior, then who are these two children?'
Gazing at the scroll painting before her, Dorothy thought with confusion. She had seen depictions of the divine systems from the previous epoch. Just like the Fertility Goddess painting found among Dalena's relics, it depicted the scene of the Goddess and her four attendant gods in the eyes of the Fertility Goddess Church during the previous epoch. Each attendant god had distinct characteristics, allowing one to tell at a glance which branch of the """Cup""" system they corresponded to, and what deity they were. Similarly, among the research materials discovered by Duke Barret, there was a drawing made by the resistance during Prit's Wind King Rebellion several centuries ago, depicting a moon emblem and the shield emblems of four knights.
However, this scroll painting was different. It wasn't a format of one main deity and four attendants, but one main deity and two attendants. Not only were these two attendants surprisingly children, but there was also no trace of any """Lamp""" system attendant gods on them. Neither the Holy Mother and Saint Child nor just the Saint Child seemed to match. This was very confusing. If the main figure depicted above was the True Shining Lord, the Radiant Savior, then besides his corresponding attendant gods, who else would be qualified to stand by his side?
'The text on this painting is Imperial script, which means this painting was created during the Third Epoch Empire period. This means the person depicted on it is most likely the Light King. And looking at the annotations above, the Savior Sect should also equate the True Shining Lord and the Radiant Savior with the Light King. Although there are many common points between them, can they truly be completely equated?'
'Also... the items the man is holding in his hands in this painting are also noteworthy. A staff in the right hand and a curved saber in the left feels strange. Generally speaking, in the religious art style of the Light system, staffs are a common element, but curved sabers are extremely rare...'
Looking at the two items held in the man's hands in the painting, Dorothy's confusion deepened. According to Mukhtar's annotation above, Dorothy knew that the painting on this scroll was a copy of a mural from an unknown ruin. Religious murals like this are not like free-style art pieces done at will; their creation is extremely strict. Every element on them is quite particular and must have symbolic meaning. What is depicted must convey something; there will absolutely be no superfluous elements.
Furthermore, in religious paintings, the symbolic meaning of the objects in the deity's hands is of the utmost importance, and can even be said to be one of the core meanings the entire painting intends to express. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to draw or engrave things randomly. Thus, since that curved saber is in the man's hand, it must have a profound meaning.
When she first entered the realm of the hidden Extraordinary, Aldrich explicitly stated in the secret transmission he gave Dorothy that the staff is the most prominent symbol of """Lamp""". A staff with a glowing head represents a torch, represents the sun, meaning the center of attention, representing a Beacon, representing the combination of power and faith. Therefore, staffs appear frequently in the art of the Shining Light Church. However, the curved saber is different. Not only does the symbol of the curved saber not appear in the art of """Lamp""", its usual meaning in mysticism should be completely incompatible with """Lamp"""...
Gazing at the beast hide scroll painting before her, Dorothy's expression grew more solemn. As her observation continued, Dorothy's gaze slowly shifted away from the divine figure at the top of the painting and moved downwards, to the map she had previously overlooked.
The map only depicted a rough outline, with no detailed location information indicated. It appeared quite simplified compared to the divine figure above.
Dorothy originally wanted to see if there were any special locations marked on this map, or perhaps some ancient names from the Third Epoch. However, after scanning this extremely simplified map, she did not find any information worth noting. Feeling somewhat disappointed, she was about to shift her gaze back to the divine figure above for a proper study, when at this moment, she noticed something was off.
Frowning, Dorothy's eyes began to fixate on the map on the scroll painting before her, especially the area on the left side of the map, the position east of the Main Continent. The more she looked, the stranger the shape of this area seemed.
After looking for a while, Dorothy called up the world map she had seen before in her mind to compare. Then she immediately saw what was strange.
The part of the Main Continent on the map in this scroll painting seemed larger than on current maps! The other parts were fine, but the eastern area of this map was significantly larger!
The map on the scroll painting in Dorothy's hand showed a large extra area of land east of the Main Continent compared to current maps! The Main Continent on the map in this scroll painting was actually one-third larger than on current maps!