I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

What kind of normal phenomenon is this?

This person is even darker than a ghost!

He wanted to shout out loud, but quickly, He Chong's mind came to a head.

Someone with Lu Ban's level of power could kill me in no time.

If I speak recklessly now, I might be ground to dust and turned into that skull by Lu Ban in a moment.

He decided to shut up.

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

After closing his Yin-Yang Eyes, He Chong finally opened them.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Lu Ban smiling at him.

Startled, He Chong jumped up immediately.

"I just panicked when I saw the heavy malevolent aura here."

He Chong glanced at Lu Ban and saw his kind smile.

He Chong smiled in return.

"I've never seen a statue of a deity before."

Du Ming stroked his chin, finding the statue increasingly eerie.

"Haven't you been here before?"

Curious Lu Ban asked.

"You may not know this, but this place is normally inaccessible; it's only accessible around this time every ten years."

"Oh, by the way, I just found some things in the guest room, you can take a look."

He then pulled out a thread-bound book with a withered, yellowed cover.

Lu Ban saw the calligraphy on the cover of the book.

The Secret Scripture of the Crane's Cry in Nine Chapters.

Good guy.

Lu Ban exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, I didn't expect that not only in the ruined capital, but also in this world, the legend of Daoist Heming is circulating."

"Crane's Cry? I've never heard of that name before."

Shi Buwen pondered to himself.

What is written in here?

Seventh Master became curious and watched as Du Ming was about to open it.

Chapter 561 A Little Self-Awareness

"Wait a moment."

Lu Ban spoke up to stop him.

The things belonging to Daoist Heming are 100% contaminated by foreign lands.

If it were opened here, Lu Ban wouldn't care, but everyone else would definitely be corrupted and eroded on the spot, and might even grow a third hand or a fourth leg.

So Lu Ban directly pressed down on Du Ming's hand.

Have you ever heard the rumor that you shouldn't read books you find in the wild?

Lu Ban glanced at the others, then finally fixed his gaze on He Chong.

"...Yes, yes, some things are cursed, we'd better not open them rashly."

He Chong hurriedly echoed Lu Ban's words.

"Indeed, after years of wandering the world, I know that there are some things it's better not to know."

Shi Buwen glanced at the booklet with slight apprehension, but made no intention of opening it.

As for Blind Zhang, he was blind to begin with and couldn't see the contents of the text at all.

Lu Ban roughly understood why these two people had been able to live for so long.

They do have some self-awareness!

Upon hearing their words, Du Ming suppressed his urge to open the book.

"I've studied some ancient text interpretation before, so why don't I check this book first?"

Lu Ban then made another suggestion.

"Didn't you just say you didn't want to read?"

Tang Que blurted out, sounding somewhat strange.

"It can be checked without opening it."

Lu Ban took the thread-bound book from Du Ming and opened [Real World] for a quick browse.

In this situation, Lu Ban could clearly see the contents of the first few pages.

I have often heard that it is not people who diligently seek knowledge, but rather those who know who diligently seek others. However, I know this is erroneous. Those who claim to know do not actually seek others; rather, they actively pursue and chase after others. Their ruthlessness and cruelty are like that of hawks and hounds chasing rabbits…

After a passage that Lu Ban recognized, describing how alien knowledge pursued humanity, Lu Ban saw the table of contents.

This book, "The Nine Chapters of Crane's Cry Secret Scripture," has a total of ten chapters. Apart from the general introductory chapters, the remaining nine chapters each correspond to some spells and related knowledge.

Examples include the Resurrection Talisman of Immortal Sand, which resurrects the dead and makes their remains walk; rituals that transform oneself into a half-ghoul by devouring corpses; methods of controlling imps or otherworldly monsters; and attempts to travel to other worlds.

This kind of knowledge was commonplace for Lu Ban. He estimated that only a few chapters in the main text might make him feel dizzy, while the vast majority would be completely unaffected.

But for those who follow the Nine Streams, each chapter is accompanied by tainted knowledge, and each page will torment their reason. Let alone finishing the book, it is estimated that after flipping through the first chapter, these people present will go mad and wish they could gouge out their own eyes.

Then the problem is coming.

Who put this book here?

If it weren't for Lu Ban, Du Ming and the others would definitely have opened and read this book after finding it, thus becoming corrupted by knowledge, going mad, and possibly even trying out the contents, performing those forbidden rituals, and ultimately summoning something extraordinary.

This is something worth thinking about.

As we all know, the scenes of other realms are frozen moments in the past, a page in history. However, the "Crane's Cry Nine Chapters Secret Scripture" is not a product of this world, but comes from the ruined capital. Its appearance must mean that visitors from the ruined capital have been here, or at least that chosen ones from other realms have been here.

What is his purpose?

If they were hostile visitors from other worlds like the Deep Sea, Fog City, or Twilight City, Lu Ban would easily understand that they were here to destroy the place.

However, the Wasteland is theoretically an alien realm on the same side as this world, so the people of the Wasteland have no reason to harm the people of this world.

Lu Ban carefully examined the thread-bound book, deciding that he would definitely open it and examine its contents when he had the chance.

Even if we take a step back and sell it, Lu Ban could still make the best use of it.

"Did you find anything?"

Du Ming asked from the side.

"This book is not of this world."

Lu Ban said, feigning seriousness.

"Not of this world? Could it be from the celestial realm?"

Du Ming was somewhat curious.

"Are you sure you don't recognize the name Heming?"

Lu Ban asked everyone again.

Everyone shook their heads.

"This is the work of a cultivator who turned into a monster because he practiced forbidden magic. The records he left behind are extremely dangerous. If you read them rashly, you might also become one of those mindless monsters. Nobody wants to end up like this thing, right?"

Lu Ban pointed to the statue.

Everyone fell silent.

"Could it be that kid Dai Yuanyang?"

In the silence, He Chong suddenly spoke.

"He's been in contact with foreigners, and he might have brought something from there. He wants to use this to make us fight each other, and then reap the benefits?"

Upon hearing this, Seventh Master looked around.

Where is Dai Yuanyang?

"He went into the guest room and never came out again."

Shi Buwen pointed to the room where people lived.

"Let's go find him."

Whether out of fear of Lu Ban or genuine dislike for Dai Yuanyang, He Chong, along with Du Ming and Seventh Master, walked in that direction and left the Taoist temple.

Tang Que and Shi Buwen were left behind.

The three looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Gentlemen, I'd like to take a look at the first few pages of this book now. You don't mind, do you?"

Lu Ban was frank and open.

"Whatever. I'm not interested in ancient books of dubious origin."

Shi Buwen left with his hands behind his back, seemingly unconcerned about the contents of the book.

Tang Que looked at Lu Ban with great interest, his eyes urging him on.

"Hurry up and look, what's good that you and I can watch together."

Lu Ban simply smiled in response, and then opened the book, "The Nine Chapters of Crane's Cry Secret Scripture".

As soon as Lu Ban saw the text, he felt as if ants were crawling on his eyes, making them itchy.

He read the contents quickly, and with each word he read, he felt as if ants were biting his eyeballs, waves of pain spreading through him. Anyone else would probably have given up and left long ago.