I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

[Like fallen leaves returning to their roots, a soul that yearns for the sky eventually returns to the earth. At least, her soul has returned to its homeland. May peace forever surround her.]

[Reward: 50000 Silence Points]

[Reward: Red Leaf Hairpin]

A crimson hairpin appeared in Lu Ban's hand.

This hairpin seemed to be made of some special material, crystal clear, but definitely not crystal or glass. In Lu Ban's understanding, it was more like bone, crystallized bone.

Holding it in my hand, it felt slightly warm, like a young girl's palm.

【Red Leaf Hairpin】

【pollute】

The shrine maiden's hairpin, never used.

[If a shrine maiden of Wajima Shrine falls into depravity, she will become a jinn (a woman who brings misfortune); the more powerful the shrine maiden, the easier it is for her to fall into depravity.]

This hairpin belonged to a witch who had fallen from grace but was ultimately redeemed.

[Hold the hairpin tightly, for you may witness the despair she once saw.]

"The affairs of the ancient times are long gone, unknown to me."

Lu Ban never expected to obtain Hongye's hairpin, but she seemed to have never used it before and didn't know its specific uses.

He gripped the hairpin tightly, following the description.

Soon, Lu Ban felt a wave of heat.

The heat intensified, and if at first it felt like being under the scorching summer sun, now it felt almost like being in a frying pan.

He saw the surrounding houses engulfed in flames, and he saw a withered hand grab his ankle on the ground, and countless humanoid creatures crawling out of the soil.

These creatures, pieced together from human limbs and internal organs, present a sense of frenzied and perverse chaos, with all of them crawling toward Lu Ban.

He felt as if he had become the same person as the red leaves back then, his body sealed by a spell, lying on a stone bed, watching helplessly as these ugly monsters crawled up to him and tore his body apart with their sharp, filthy claws and teeth.

Even as it was being devoured, the red leaf retained some consciousness.

Lu Ban released his hairpin, and wisps of smoke rose from his head, filling the room with the aroma of roasted pig brains.

thump--

Lu tripped and fell to the ground, motionless.

Several hours later, a blade of grass finally emerged from Lu Ban's ear.

These grasses grew tenaciously, and eventually, Lu Ban's entire body was enveloped in their new green.

When the first rays of morning light peeked through the gaps in the trees and fell on Lu Ban's face, he finally twitched and got up.

His body was covered with withered yellow leaves. He looked at the red hairpin that had fallen to the side, feeling a mix of emotions.

"I never expected that fulfilling Hongye's wish would result in this, something that can only be used to harm people..."

Recalling the pain of being torn apart and devoured by those monsters, Lu Ban felt that Hongye was truly pitiful.

Even after death, they are dragged out and turned into witches to continue harming people. Just thinking about these filthy things is terrifying.

Lu Ban wrapped the hairpin in cloth and put it away carefully. It seemed that only direct contact would cause the illusion to appear, and carrying it normally should not be a problem.

Thinking of this, Lu Ban took out the mask again. He had obtained it after killing the bandaged man. Because he had been at sea, he was worried that there would be problems after the identification, so he had delayed until now.

Now that we're at the heart of the island's extraordinary power, an appraisal shouldn't be a problem.

Lu Ban took out the mask and chose to have it appraised.

Chapter 356 [The Twisted Mask of Pain]

A distorted mask of pain

[Unidentified]

[Appraisal Price: 100 Silence Points]

Lu Ban spent 100 Silence Points to identify the mask.

The mask, covered in wounds and shocking to look at, became increasingly distorted.

Lu Ban saw that the description of the mask had become blurry and distorted, then quickly turned into understandable text.

A distorted mask of pain

【alienation】

[The remains of a corrupted person from another realm, and a perfect mask.]

The air in Chongqing is highly toxic, and the people of Chongqing have evolved a body adapted to survive under its long-term erosion.

When this gray fog merged with pollution from other lands, an even more powerful force was born.

Wear it, and you can become a resident of Chongqing.

"Be careful, you know what I mean if you cough up some internal organs!"

"City of Fog?"

Lu Ban saw a new term, which seemed to be the name of the alien land where the bandaged people lived.

Assuming that the original inhabitants of these alien lands were all human, then these alien lands were clearly more severely polluted, leading to the alienation of the humans.

This gave Lu Ban two insights.

First, the evil gods that corrupt these worlds may not be the same person; they may be ruling over different alien realms.

Secondly, even if polluted, humans can still maintain a civilized form and survive.

"Therefore, there are different levels of pollution, and the interaction between different regions is the process of pollution infiltration."

Because Lu Ban has not yet seen anything that can remove pollution, he can use this as a basis to deduce the first law of pollution in many alien realms, which is that pollution is irreversible and all pollution will only gradually deepen, not decrease.

The entire alien realm will be in a state of constant pollution.

When a highly polluted alien realm comes into contact with a less polluted alien realm, the pollution flows into the less polluted alien realm, causing it to become alienated.

Therefore, one must actively pollute one's own alien world in order to ensure that one does not suffer serious trauma during contact with alien worlds.

The primary indicator of whether a civilization can survive in pollution is its ability to adapt to it.

Lu Ban picked up the mask and decided to try it on.

Anyway, it's free.

However, to prevent a repeat of the previous situation where he was unconscious and slept for a whole day, missing out on delicious breakfast and lunch, Lu Ban went to the courtyard in the sunlight.

There was no one else in the courtyard. It was still early, and the shrine maidens were probably doing their morning prayers.

He stretched his body, loosened his muscles and bones, and then picked up the mask and put it on.

When the mask touched Lu Ban's face, it suddenly sprouted some black, sticky tentacles.

These tentacles were located on the edge of the mask, stuck to his face, and immediately burrowed into his skin, like a stitched wound.

Lu Ban felt his skin being torn apart, and the grass grew rapidly, trying to break through his skin. This was an instinctive reaction. Lu Ban suppressed it slightly, and the mask stuck to his face without any discomfort.

Centered on the mask, gray mist spread and enveloped Lu Ban's body.

He felt lightheaded, as if a qualitative change had occurred in him.

Raising his hand, Lu Ban saw that his body had turned into grayish-white mist, wrapped in mottled bandages.

If Lu Ban so desires, he can transform into wisps of green smoke and roam freely. He can slip through tiny gaps into secret chambers or even enter human bodies.

"Looks a bit like Feng Yu?"

Lu Ban felt that this state was somewhat similar to when Feng Yu entered his body before.

As for those bandages, they are also extensions of the body, or rather, the body with a lower level of sensation, like fingernails.

Lu Ban can use bandages to initially probe things, and only after confirming that they are harmless can he make physical contact with Gray Mist.

This may be the action taken by the bandaged people when faced with contamination.

Experiencing an unprecedented and wondrous state, Lu Ban's mind suddenly exploded with a buzz.

This was the resentment from the filth, the madness of the bandaged people, and the anger of the chosen one as an individual. All of these intertwined, causing Lu Ban to lose control of his body, constantly contracting and expanding, like a cloud of violently breathing mist.

bang——

With a loud bang, Lu Ban vanished.

He transformed into a sparse cloud of mist, spreading throughout the courtyard.

This sparse state made his consciousness thin and difficult to concentrate.

At that moment, a priestess walked into the courtyard.

She was accompanied by two other people, including Amber.

She appeared much more dignified and composed. She came to the doorway, looked at the wide-open door, and called out a few times, but received no response.

"Could it be that they've gone down the mountain?"

The witch behind her asked curiously.

"Why is there so much dust in this yard? It's gotten my clothes all dirty."

Another witch looked at the gray, dusty courtyard, as if it had been hit by a sandstorm, and covered her nose.

At this moment, none of them knew that Lu Ban was right there.

Through the gray mist, he could sense everything about these witches, inside their bodies. He could see that one of the witches following Amber had a knee injury, and the other had liver damage.

Out of politeness, Lu Ban checked Amber's body.

Very healthy, just a little underdeveloped.

He initially wanted to try to focus his consciousness, but then he thought that if he suddenly appeared at this moment, he might be burned to death by Amber as if he were a bandaged man.

The will to survive kept Lu Ban in place, waiting for Amber to leave.

Unable to find Lu Ban, Amber left a note and departed with the priestesses.

Just as Lu Ban was about to shrink and condense into human form, he sensed that someone had come into the courtyard again.