Analyzing the Ninja World Starting from Konoha

Chapter 207 [Ritual]

"boom!"

Aoba felt a sudden shock in his mind, and his vision was instantly replaced by a scene of crimson and pitch black intertwined!

"What the hell is this thing?!"

The old man's mental world has become completely distorted.

This is not a normal person's orderly memory fragments at all, but a chaotic and bizarre scene filled with endless wails and bloodshed!

Countless mutilated limbs, distorted faces, scarlet blood, and some indescribable, terrifying hallucinations flashed wildly in the old man's mind.

That extremely crazy, twisted, and bloodthirsty negative emotion, like a bone-deep infection, followed Aoba's mental power and actually tried to invade Aoba's brain in reverse!

Reverse intrusion!

At this critical moment.

Drop drop! ! !

The chip inside Aoba's body instantly went into overdrive, and a piercing alarm sounded in his mind!

[WARNING! Unknown source of mental contamination detected! Attempting to infiltrate the host's mental network!]

[Firewall activated — Set to highest protection level!]

[It is recommended that the host immediately terminate the mental connection!]

"hiss----"

Aoba gasped sharply, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"That was close!"

He felt a wave of fear wash over him.

Fortunately, I was careful enough not to possess the old man with my spirit just to save trouble.

If I had entered this old man's body in my spirit form, without the buffer of a physical body and the protection of the chip, his spirit would definitely have been contaminated!

Fortunately, although this auxiliary chip has degenerated into a "disabled" state due to its inability to connect to the internet, its effectiveness in security protection is still outstanding.

Seeing that all the contamination signals attempting to intrude were blocked by the firewall, Qingye secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems that I can't just randomly enter other people's bodies when using the spirit transformation technique in the future."

However, mind-reading is ultimately a one-way extraction of memories through mental power. With the chip firewall in place, as long as one doesn't delve into those contaminated core areas, it's still possible to find useful information.

Aoba carefully avoided those dangerous "black areas," quickly extracting the remaining normal memories from the old man's mind.

As the memories were read, Aoba's expression grew colder and colder.

Just as he expected, the old man was no good at all.

The old man was not only the village chief, but also the member of the evil cult he was looking for.

And he was also a key peripheral member of the evil god cult!

The villagers emitting black smoke were all early-stage followers of a cult.

The old man used his position and prestige as the village chief to trick dozens of villagers into joining the evil god cult.

The reason he joined the cult of evil gods is laughable: he was afraid of dying.

This old man contracted a strange, incurable disease in his younger years, and he was on the verge of death.

By chance, he came into contact with several members of an evil cult who had wandered to this area.

Aoba also captured several crucial scenes from the old man's confused memories.

In order to demonstrate the great power of the "Evil God," those members of the evil god cult actually pierced their own hearts and cut their own throats with sharp blades right in front of the old man!

However, those people not only did not die, but instead laughed wildly as they stitched up their wounds, remaining lively and energetic, and the wounds healed in a very short time.

This "immortality," which defies the laws of life, instantly shattered the old man's psychological defenses.

In order to gain this ability to live forever, the old man did not hesitate to swear allegiance to the evil god and took the initiative to become the evil god's eyes and ears and bait at the foot of the mountain.

Using his position as village chief, he constantly tricked villagers who were sick or unhappy with their lives into joining the evil cult, sending them up the mountain to participate in so-called "baptism".

As a reward for recruiting new members, the old man would receive a so-called "holy meal" from the cult for each person he referred.

In my memory, it was a bowl of "holy communion" that emitted a strange medicinal fragrance.

After the old man ate these "holy meals," his health improved day by day, his age-related illnesses that had been afflicting him were cured without treatment, and even his gray hair began to turn black again, showing a subtle trend of getting younger as he lived.

This drove the old man's faith in the evil god to an almost fanatical level. In order to obtain more "Holy Communion," he even began to target passing wandering merchants and orphans.

It's obvious now that the soul has been corrupted to this extent; it must be related to that so-called "Holy Communion."

"Ha~ They really are profiting from human suffering —"

Aoba coldly withdrew her hand.

He stood up and looked down at the old man who had fainted on the ground, his eyes showing no pity whatsoever.

"This kind of person doesn't even qualify as experimental material."

Aoba raised her right foot.

Click!

A crisp cracking sound rang out in the silent room as the old man's neck was snapped instantly, and he fell silent.

This kind of scum deserves to die.

After dealing with the old man, Aoba did not linger in the village.

Following the route the old man remembered, Qingye swiftly traversed the dense mountain forest.

About two hours later, he arrived at an extremely remote mountain valley.

The terrain here is very secluded, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one narrow path for passage.

If it weren't for the old man's memory guiding the way, an ordinary person could wander in the mountains for a month and still never find this place.

Deep in the mountains, there lies a "village".

Or rather, it was the headquarters of an evil cult.

Qingye did not approach rashly, but instead formed hand seals again.

"Spiritualization Technique".

The translucent spirit emerged from its shell once more, slowly rising into the sky and looking down over the entire valley.

From the perspective of the spirits, the entire valley was a sight that sent chills down one's spine!

This is no village; it's a giant black smoke factory!

Thick black smoke billowed from the entire village, a black mist filled with madness and death that almost enveloped the entire valley.

In the very center of the village is a cleared-out area.

On the ground of the open space, a huge circular pattern was etched with dark red blood, with an equilateral triangle in the center of the pattern.

This is precisely the signature formation of the evil god cult!

At this moment, around the formation, there were thirty or forty cult followers of all sizes kneeling in black robes.

They chanted some obscure and eerie prayers, their voices low and rhythmic, like some ancient and evil incantation.

At the very center of the formation, two enormous iron pots were placed.

A raging fire roared beneath the pot, inside which a viscous, dark red liquid was boiling, emitting a pungent, bloody odor.

Aoba's spirit floated in mid-air, silently watching the chilling sacrificial ceremony below.

In the spirit's vision, as the surrounding cultists prayed, the black smoke emanating from their bodies seemed to be drawn by some force, continuously converging towards the two large cauldrons in the center of the formation!

As black smoke was injected, the viscous, dark red liquid in the pot churned violently, emitting a strange fluctuation that even spirits found unsettling.

"So this is the process of making 'Holy Communion'?"

Qingye frowned, her eyes flashing with contemplation.

This black smoke, produced by polluting the souls of believers, is then gathered and condensed through special rituals and prayers to ultimately create what is known as "Holy Communion."

This is completely beyond the scope of conventional ninjutsu!

Whether it's ninjutsu or sage techniques that are based on natural energy, their core is built on the foundation of "energy," and their essence is still the basic application of energy.

Just like the two basic industrial applications today, one is electric drive and the other is mechanical drive, both of which achieve "work" by converting "force".

Ultimately, however, its operating logic can be understood and quantified.

But this sacrificial ritual in front of us has absolutely no involvement of chakra!

This is definitely a bizarre ritual involving some unknown rule!

This made Aoba increasingly interested.

He knew very well that in the ninja world, chakra was actually an external thing, and it only became widespread after Kaguya Otsutsuki planted the God Tree.

So what was the native power system of the ninja world before the advent of chakra?

Besides the natural energy used in the immortal arts of the three holy lands, there must be other extraordinary power systems.

For example, the kind of "ritual" right before our eyes.

It seems more like reaching out to some unknown entity through some specific rule.

An unknown entity, such as an "evil god," borrows power.

It doesn't require hand seals, chakra, or even the caster's own strength.

The vast majority of those evil god cultists kneeling on the ground chanting scriptures were not even ninjas; they were just ordinary people.

Yet it is precisely these ordinary people who, through a fixed ritual process and reciting specific prayers, can extract the polluted parts of their own souls, gather them into those two large pots, and create a holy meal that can make people "immortal".

What does this look like?

It's like submitting a request to some "existence".

You fill out the form according to its format, attach the materials it requires, and it will approve your request and grant you power.

As for what this "existence" is, why it is willing to do this, and what it is after?

Everything is unknown!

Aoba couldn't help but think of the [Ritual: Sharingan Reincarnation Technique] he had obtained earlier.

He had studied that technique for a long time, but he could never quite grasp its essence.

It is simple because as long as the ceremony is arranged according to the requirements, the designated offerings are made, and the specific prayers are recited, the resurrection can be completed.

The difficulty lies in the fact that its offering requires a perfectly intact Mangekyou Sharingan.

Apart from that, this "ceremony" has absolutely no "technical content" whatsoever.

It's so simple that even an ordinary person can perform it as long as they meet the requirements.

Simply put, it's a method of "trading" with a certain entity through a "ritual".

For example, in the ninja world, there are also professions like shrine maidens. They obtain a certain kind of "pleasure" through rituals similar to "shamanistic dances," and can also borrow incredible power to seal away demons.

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