World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 309 People with Ulterior Motives
Just as Lin An was about to make a move, he suddenly heard a notification from the system. His eyes darkened, and he changed the subject.

"The 'content' you're referring to is related to these wounds, isn't it?"

"Forest ranger, I cannot fail at this critical juncture. I beg your understanding." The prophet rolled over a few times, and most of his wounds disappeared. The bloodstains spread in the clear water, emitting a fragrant herbal aroma.

"I don't understand."

“If I die, you will be trapped in the fragments of time forever, endlessly repeating until the orbit of ‘Comers’ leaves Titan.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin An's feet slipped, the stable and hard ground turned into real water, and he plummeted straight down.

He was surrounded by darkness, but he didn't feel the suffocation of being underwater and could walk normally.

Like being in a dark sewer, light shines through, like a dirty bus window, through which Lin An can still see the scene above.

The silence lasted for a second, then a sudden change occurred.

The spiral pattern of the python's scales appeared as inward-collapsed rhombuses, first with a bright white light, and then a green SUV suddenly rushed forward.

"Boom!"

Forms and sounds rushed past, and a woman burst out of the python's belly, making the space even more distorted.

"It's nice to meet you again, old friend!"

She laughed loudly, her mouth full of fresh blood and bits of flesh, as if she had just finished a cannibalistic festival.

"It's clear that the Bantu people don't accept your rule!"

“They are not used to fairness and justice, nor to abundance and basic necessities.” The python coiled its body to hide its gaping wounds. “What kind of god is one who only makes demands? He is nothing but a tyrant with a different name.”

"Therefore I never call myself a living god, but rather the Bantu president Tshisekedi Kumasi! Do not stop me on my path to godhood and immortality!"

The woman scoffed, her eyes conjuring up the phantom of a palm tree, its dry leaves ablaze with heat, its fan-shaped roots resembling a colossal beast.

Her body was like armor, standing tall and immovable, gleaming all over, facing the battlefield.

The python buried its head in its body, its tail raised, like a siege crossbow set up, floating on the water's surface, which was divided in two.

"Wisdom makes people think, virtue makes people examine themselves, and your freedom is a game for the unsaved and the unsalvable."

A crisp cracking sound tore through the sky, and the poisonous thought, trailing a shimmering tail, hurtled forward like a comet, shining brightly all the way.

"hideous!"

As the sounds of the leather drum and banjo filled the air, the woman leaned back, turned her head to her left shoulder, and made a strange movement to dodge the prophet's arrow. Then she stretched out her left hand towards him, leaned her front leg back, and stood on her hind leg.

"Enough with the nonsense! Today I'll utterly destroy this antique! I'll turn the 'Four Living Gods' into nothing more than useless historical legends!"

Suddenly, a powerful heavy metal chord begins, filled with modern extravagance and emptiness. It's as if a pile of designer watches and handbags are falling from the sky, disrupting the ancient and melodious music.

The two collided, and neither could gain the upper hand.

A thin mist rose from the empty water surface, the sky was sparse and pale, and the stars danced on one side, their reflections causing ripples to spread outwards in the pool.

The discordant metal music was intercepted by the gentle, calm water vapor, becoming two-dimensional, and then sank to the bottom of the water with a crackling sound.

The woman somersaulted three times, her clothes disappearing into the smoke and flames, leaving only the palm tree pattern covering her body, and the phantom in her jade-like eyes with yellow light spots becoming increasingly clear.

Their battle took place in the blink of an eye, too fast for the naked eye to detect, only a few wisps of breeze could be seen passing by.

[Name]: Makanja Mahongu
[Rating]: Source C

Radiation level: 28.5%
[Pollution Level]: 41.1%
[Medium]: Lord of Dreams
The woman was none other than Bantu President Tshisekedi.

This is his female form, full of irritability, mania, and negative emotions.

Her fighting style was also completely different from that of Tsekedi; it was straightforward and direct, with every strike fierce and direct.

While observing the battle between the two, Lin An also sorted out the ins and outs of the situation.

In short, the prophet's somewhat incoherent words were a sign of weakness to him.

It did not expect that Tshisekedi would leave Kinsasha and come to assassinate it alone. Because it did not know what Tshisekedi looked like as a woman, it was caught off guard and was injured.

The shapeshifting wizard used as a vessel by the prophet would most likely die on the spot, thus it would be in a purely "in-the-air" state and unable to interfere with the mortal world of the living in any way.

In retaliation, it had to pull the president into the roundabout.

Lin An was among them. As a source-level mystic, although he had not found a breakthrough for the "God of Truth," he was more than capable of taking advantage of the chaos during their battle.

Therefore, the prophet warned him that if one prospers, both prosper; if one suffers, both suffer.

During his observation, Lin An discovered that although Qi Sekedi's female form appeared fierce and ruthless, launching continuous attacks, she was actually no match for the prophet and had already fallen into a disadvantageous position in less than a minute.

She possesses only half the power of the chieftain.

Since defeat was inevitable, why did Ciceqo'i send a woman to her death?
Wait, "sending people to their deaths"...

At that moment, the woman coldly wiped her cheek covered with palm tree patterns.

"You want to kill me? Come on! Stop cowering, stop holding your hands and hesitating, and cut my throat with your blade!"

The python flicked its scarlet tongue, glanced meaningfully at Lin An at the bottom of the water, then plunged its head into its coiled body and sank into the energy field where it was with him.

Its adult-sized eyes were like bright lights in the dark night, illuminating Lin An. The light made his whole body ache unbearably, and his soul became restless.

Lin An immediately used the [Unaffected Ship], applying a pain-relieving, icy compress to his burning skin, and scanned the situation with the [One Eye of God].

The creatures of the underwater world leaped and frolicked, the murky river water was desolate, and the bright moon hung high, as if the world had been reborn.

The python swam in the viscous water, its forehead touching a lantern. The beautiful, moon-like light bathed the underwater world, as if it had received a blessing of light, and the prophet's scales shone brightly.

Magnificent, unique, and extraordinary.

From the moment it touched the wick between its eyebrows, the python's spiral pattern reversed direction, transforming all the way from its skull to its tail. At the same time, its body shrank infinitely, and its enormous scales fell off like a snake shedding its skin.

Lin An picked up a few pieces and raised his head.

The snake, which once blotted out the sky and stretched as far as the eye could see, was now only three or four meters long, no different from a normal rainforest python, and its fresh and clear breath carried a scorching heat.

The soul can expand infinitely, but the boundaries of the physical body are difficult to increase.

The finger inherited by the prophet and the chief represents the completely opposite worlds of life and death. If it remains "in the air," it cannot cross the barrier of the Kalenga Line to kill the invading woman. Therefore, it must return to the mortal world, the spiral pattern is completely reversed, the ethereal snakeskin gains substance, and the cold heart gradually begins to beat.

Lin An narrowed his eyes. The system notification told him that the prophet could be locked by the entry.

Before he could act, the python seemed to sense something and burst out of the water.

"Wow!"

"Pay the price for your reckless behavior in Kinsasha!"

Oh wow.

The mine I planted exploded. Lin An thought.

The chief blamed the prophet for the deaths of the members of the Red Poppy Merchant Guild and the loss of the sorcerer's finger.

This was Lin An's Plan A; his backup plan was to have Misuru assassinate the shapeshifter, force the prophet into "in the air," and provoke him.

The woman swept her feet across the water, grasped two sharp-edged palm leaves with both hands, and slashed at the python's soft belly.

"Gah!"

The normal-sized python moved nimbly, dodging the attack, and bit the woman's wrist, causing her to groan and tumble backward several times as she fled in a sorry state.

The two sides faced off in a deathly silence.

Strangely, the woman, who allowed blood to gush from her major arteries, became radiant and as beautiful as a blooming flower.

Her hair changed from a poisonous green back to a soft, smooth, jet-black color, and the palm leaf pattern on her face faded, revealing a healthy sheen.

“This is the technique of a ‘witch’,” the prophet rasped.

"Thanks to my new colleague's improvements," Tsycee chuckled. "If she were still conscious, she'd probably be furious! Serves her right, you bunch of shameful bastards should rot in the mire of death!"

“Shut up, Chief! You’re talking to someone who controls your destiny.”

"And you're talking to someone who controls your future!"

Tsysekdi emitted a series of strange buzzing sounds from his throat, as if proclaiming laws, or chanting songs or incantations, flowing endlessly.

[God's One Eye] The rose petals opened and closed, and Lin An listened with interest through Fatima's raised middle finger, but all that reached his ears were some meaningless gossip.

It seems that speaking is secondary; the most crucial aspect is the exchange of blood between the two.

The powder glowed on the woman's fingertips, the calm water surface rippled, and the waves that rippled in the still water rose to the surface, parted, and broke into piles on both sides.

At the same time, the python's arm tore its own body apart with a strange movement, its sternum opening to become a complete hand, each blue finger carrying dark flames and casting a gloomy light.

His fingers encircled Tshisekedi's neck and slowly tightened.

The woman's face turned pale, and she looked like she was about to suffocate, but her eyes suddenly changed from furious to indifferent, showing no concern for the threat of death.

“Prophet, you have failed,” she said in a masculine tone that Lin An was familiar with. “Your passivity, forbearance, and indecisiveness destined you to lose to me.”

"Your selfishness, arrogance, and inferiority complex will only lead you to dig your own grave."

“I was never one of the Four Living Gods, and I have no desire to devote myself to the Bantu! Why should the responsibility of my ancestors become the entirety of my life? Just because I was chosen as the chieftain's successor? Why has no one ever asked for my consent!”

"Your ancestors' spirits are protecting you."

"You're cursing me!"

The python twisted its neck with a "crack," and the body fell to the ground, still laughing maniacally.

Suddenly, an inconspicuous bump appeared on the python's back, like a small pimple, but it stood out conspicuously against the neat spiral pattern.

It was the mysterious spell that Qisekedi used on Lin An last time.

Once you fall into the trap, as long as you use high-rated items or manipulate your own energy, you will be given nutrients to make the bulge grow until it becomes the individual's "other half".

During this period, individuals will endure physical torment and mental confusion.

There was a price to pay for using it; he coughed up blood and fled the scene, sending his men to chase after Lin An.

If he weren't within a time fragment, he probably wouldn't have used this mysterious technique so easily.

Compared to her understated and unexpected approach to Lin Anshi's "no medium" method, she deliberately allowed the prophet to regain his physical body and bite herself before reciting the incantation.

The process became much more complicated, but the aftereffects seemed to have lessened.

The prophet said this was the way a "witch" cast spells.

Voodoo, huh...?

In short, it seems that Tshisekedi had no intention of letting the woman return alive. Once the assassination was successful, her aura and appearance were completely exposed, and there was no longer any value in keeping it a secret.

Secondly, she severely damaged the prophet with her death, reducing the cost that the original body had to bear.

As the orbit of "Commerx" draws ever closer, the battles between the mystics become increasingly illogical.

After the fierce battle, the prophet lay paralyzed on the spot, his eyes filled with mist, looking around listlessly, even weaker and more listless than when he was covered in blood.

Lin Anping used the snake scales he had collected, and the Philosopher's Stone transformed them into a small golden boat. This boat blocked the viscous liquid at the bottom of the water, and the air currents propelled him upwards.

"Boom!"

In Bantu mythology, water is the intersection of life and death, past and future. The moment Lin An rushed out, he felt refreshed.

The weakened python wearily lifted its eyelids.

"If I die, you will be trapped in fragments of time."

"System, use the first volume of the Complete Book of Magic - [The Ritual of Nineveh Ishtar]."

The prophet's pupils reflected the expressionless Lin An, and ethereal, dark energy piled up to form an ancient stone temple, enveloping it completely.

But it remained calm, and a faint smile appeared on its lips.

"If I'd known you'd do this..."

(End of this chapter)