I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Including Friday, it took Richard three whole days to completely decipher the remaining two pages of coded messages in Appendix C.

Friday night went the best; the vocabulary covered by the reference table was sufficient.

He only needs to apply the replacement rules and then fine-tune the word order according to the context, and most sentences will come to light.

By Saturday, the afternoon after returning from the antique shop was already quite tiring.

Appendix C shows increasingly deeper nesting of coded messages.

Some words were replaced twice: first with ancient Latin words, then with religious terms.

Mr. Hutton's reference table only solved the first level; for the second level, he had to look up the etymology in religious texts himself.

Fortunately, with the help of knowledge, he can deconstruct word roots much faster than the average person.

He spread a copy of "The Etymological Handbook of Latin from the Church" that he had borrowed from the library on the table, his left hand pressing on Appendix C, his right hand flipping through etymological pages, several clues running through his mind at the same time.

It got even harder on Sunday, as the encryption method for the last half-page of coded messages changed.

The encryptor breaks the complete sentence into fragments and then scatters them among other sentences according to their arrangement rules.

It took him nearly two hours to figure out the pattern: take one word out of every seven words, and string them together to get the original sentence.

Seven is a key number in many occult contexts.

The person who wrote this coded message may be trying to hint at something to the reader.

When the last line was copied onto the white paper, Richard put down his pen, his fingers slightly numb.

He arranged the draft in order and read through the restored full text from beginning to end.

Appendix C is divided into three parts.

The first part states a fact in an extremely restrained academic tone.

Beyond the known material world, there exists a world behind a veil.

If we compare the visible world to a house, then the world behind the curtain is like the pipes and ducts in the walls.

The people inside the house walk on the floor and live in the rooms.

They could hear the occasional noise from the water pipes, but most people wouldn't bother to find out where it came from.

All phenomena that are called "supernatural" by the world are essentially the infiltration of a veil.

The sounds sensed by the medium, the moving pointer on the séance disc, and the unclean things expelled during the exorcism all point to the same thing:

Something slipped through the curtain from the other side, or someone reached out and touched it from this side.

The text is particularly careful with its wording at the end of this paragraph:

"The realm behind the veil is not homogeneous. The closer to the surface, the gentler the permeating power, and the easier it is for humans to understand and utilize."

But there is also depth behind the curtain; the deeper you go, the more the rules deviate from common sense.

"In existing literature, the records left by those practitioners who explored the deeper levels are extremely rare, and the wording is mostly vague, contradictory, and full of fear."

The only consensus is: something is waiting deep inside.

"They may have been waiting all along."

………………

The title of the second part is: On Three Types of Breathing Exercises.

The text first clarifies the concept: of all known starting points for extraordinary spiritual practice, breathing is the oldest and most fundamental.

The reason is not complicated.

Breathing is the natural channel connecting the physical body to what lies behind the curtain.

Every time air enters the lungs, a tiny amount of ether also flows simultaneously.

Pneuma, also known as ether, is sometimes translated as spiritual breath in other literature.

The text describes it as a permeation that diffuses into the air from the other side of the curtain.

It is colorless and odorless, and cannot be detected by any instrument.

Mr. Hutton's famous quote in class, "Instruments don't lie," takes on a different meaning here.

Just because the instrument cannot detect it does not mean that it does not exist.

Ordinary people never perceive it in their entire lives; it enters the body with each breath and leaves without a trace.

However, trained individuals can retain, guide, and accumulate ether within their bodies during the breathing process.

This is the essence of the extraordinary breathing technique.

The article lists three known categories of breathing techniques, providing a classification framework and basic information, but does not teach specific practice methods.

Category 1: The Golden Way.

This type of breathing technique seeks order and balance.

The origins of the Golden Way can be traced back to the Temple of Asclepius.

That was an ancient temple dedicated to the god of medicine, and also the earliest medical school.

Because it originates from medical science, the characteristics of the Golden Way are safety and stability.

Most legitimate supernatural organizations consider the Golden Path as their first choice for entry.

Category Two: The Path of Burning Blood.

Long before the establishment of the empire, a group known as "Witchers" was active in the forests and swamps of the northern part of the Western Continent.

The text states that witcher training begins at the age of twelve.

Apprentices must repeatedly practice alternating between holding their breath and bursting out in icy water during winter until their bodies learn to automatically inject ether into their bloodstream at the edge of suffocation.

Many apprentices don't survive the first winter.

During the Imperial Age, the old witcher traditions were incorporated into the formal system, but the core essence remained unchanged.

The article comments: "Practitioners of the Blood Burning Path often shine brightly in their prime, but few of them peacefully enter old age."

The third category, the Path of the Abyss, uses extremely cautious wording.

The first two types of breathing techniques, whether gentle or violent, are essentially operated on "this side" of the veil.

A person stands on the shore and reaches their hand into the water to take water; the only difference is how much water they take.

The Path of the Abyss requires practitioners to actively immerse themselves behind a veil and dive into the water to breathe.

The text uses a stark analogy:

A person who lights a lamp in the darkness can see everything illuminated by that light.

But at the same time, all eyes in the darkness can see that lamp.

The deeper you go, the brighter the light becomes, and the more eyes see the light.

………………

When Richard got to this point, he realized he hadn't turned the page in a long time.

His heart was beating faster, and the veins in his temples were throbbing.

The information about breathing techniques brought him more benefits than the macro-level description of the veil in the first part.

The conditions for advancing in breathing techniques on the panel have changed; "learning an extraordinary breathing method" is no longer an abstract concept.

It has specific classifications, a traceable historical origin, and a clear logic of practice.

The path of gold, the path of burning blood, and the path of the abyss—three paths lie before us, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Although Appendix C does not teach specific practice methods, it at least proves one thing: the extraordinary breathing method is verifiable and traceable.

As long as he follows this clue, he will eventually find a specific breathing method.

He turned the paper to the last page.

The third part has no title, only a paragraph of text, and the tone becomes somewhat personal:

"If you've read this far and decided to continue, then please remember one thing."

"On this path, the most dangerous enemy is not the evil behind the veil, but your own desires."

"Everyone who steps behind the curtain faces the same temptation—to go deeper, further, and more."

Ether is more addictive than marijuana, and knowledge behind the veil can be obsessive.

The increase in strength can give you the illusion that you can go on like this forever, and that it's okay to go any further.

Those who can resist temptation will ultimately survive.

"No, they will become new wandering spirits."