Exploring Immortality Cultivation

What does "out of character" mean?

It's somewhat like the Yellow Emperor riding a dragon for his Immortal Ascension only to discover upon arrival that he's not facing the Immortal Queen Mother of the West but Hastar, the Yellow Robed King; or like Kil'Jaeden finally crossing the Dimension Gate just to look up and find that the landmark isn't the Great Vortex but the South Heavenly Gate... In short, it's a supremely annoying feeling.

For Earth, Shenzhou, a world that was supposed to be based on scientific principles and immortal hero concepts, was already completely messed up in style, and Wang Qi believed he was no longer affected by style discrepancies.

However, Wang Qi had to admit that he was wrong.

"I'm really stupid, really," Wang Qi said, lifting his dull eyes. "I only knew that our world's Brother Tiandao was a madman, but I didn't realize his imaginations were so wild... What is this thing? Cthulhuya? Balrog Flame Demon?"

In the middle of the Blood Pool was an extremely abstract sculpture, its head encircled by four twisted horns, and the head, which tilted backwards as if howling, seemed to have just a mouth – it might even lack a face altogether. The body of the statue was highly distorted and asymmetric in every aspect. Its right arm was a giant claw, while the left was comprised of three tentacles. The creature's body was also covered in numerous flame patterns, clearly indicating a fiery nature.

Was this Cthulhuya? Balrog Flame Demon? Or some Dungeons & Dragons version of Cthulhuya? Perhaps a Lovecraftian take on the Balrog Flame Demon?

Either way, it was nothing like the Immortal Hero style. Whether it was Rashayaksha or Ghosts and Goblins, none fit this mold...

As Wang Qi felt overwhelmed castigating the insane Brother Tiandao, Zhen Chan suddenly said, "Heterodox Demon Statue."

"What?"

"Heterodox Demon Statue, a relic occasionally found among the Ancient Demon Clan artifacts. We don't know what they're for, but everyone who tried to decipher the secrets of these statues went mad," Zhen Chan asserted with certainty. "These are things beyond our Spiritual Sense, the arts of the Heterodox…"

"I won't start criticizing why the Demon Clan might have some special visual technique..." Wang Qi rubbed his forehead. "You classify this as Heterodox? Isn't this extreme Entropy-increasing Power the very Innate Destruction Dao? Didn't your Ancient Method Practitioners define the forty-nine paths yourselves, and yet you still can't recognize it? How could you still categorize it as something outside the forty-nine paths?"

The aura of this statue was precisely like the final aura emanating from Yang Jun, characterized by the utmost Entropy-increasing Power.

Zhen Chan was shocked. "The peak of the Innate Destruction Dao is the same power as that of a Heterodox Demon Statue?"

"…Forget it, I can't even have a conversation with you." Wang Qi sighed. "Any contemplation leads to madness... haha, it's exactly like a certain myth. It's better to destroy such bizarre relics sooner rather than later—There won't be any problems if I destroy it, right?"

Zhen Chan explained, "Seven Heterodox Demon Statues have been unearthed historically, the first three either drove exceptional masters insane or catalyzed the rise of great powers in the Demon Path; the last four were all smashed upon discovery. As long as it's intact, it can influence one's temperament, but it's essentially a funnel; even mortals can shatter it, nothing miraculous about it."

Hearing Zhen Chan's words, Wang Qi hesitated slightly. According to Zhen Chan, this Heterodox Demon Statue was undoubtedly an antique, and handing it over to the state would assuredly yield substantial Merit. However, the thought was quickly dismissed. The corpse qi in the cave and the blood in the Blood Pool all ignited Wang Qi's desire to destroy the relic.

Wang Qi looked at his ring and asked, "Old man, we're friends, right?"

Zhen Chan seemed puzzled, "Old man compared to you, our relationship is even closer than that of normal friends—why do you ask?"

Wang Qi chuckled, remaining silent.

Cthulhu investigators had three treasures: a crowbar, a friend, and a spare friend. Wang Qi, lacking a sanctified crowbar and friend here, definitely needed a spare friend when dealing with suspected Cthulhu artifacts!

Jokingly, Wang Qi then swung his sword. This stroke, replete with a faint white flame, carried thirty percent of his power as it rushed towards the statue.

Since Zhen Chan had claimed even a mortal could shatter it, this Sword Qi was undoubtedly sufficient…

Wang Qi had barely begun his move when the Sword Qi struck the statue, and then, an anomaly occurred. The Blood Pool suddenly ignited. The Spiritual Energy became chaotic, and the temperature of the dripping blood shot up!

"Fuck, what's happening?" Caught off guard, Wang Qi instantly chickened out and leaped toward the cave entrance. But, the Demon Statue reacted faster. A shadow split from within it and pounced on Wang Qi.

Wang Qi had been possessed by the shadow without noticing and, after escaping the basement, he sprinted dozens of meters. Then, Zhen Chan suddenly said, "Stop! You are #￥￥%#@（*&%..."

"What?" Wang Qi thought that the latter half of Zhen Chan's words was complete gibberish. He paused, looking puzzled at the ring. However, no matter how he questioned, Zhen Chan seemed to have disappeared and did not respond at all.

"Strange?" Wang Qi muttered to himself and continued walking toward the village outskirts. At this moment, he felt dizzy. A flame-like sensation spread from his Dantian throughout his body, as if plunging into a pit of fire.

"This is…" Wang Qi became confused. He began to lose clarity on what he was doing. He stood motionless at the entrance hall for several minutes. Then, he staggered toward the ruins of his own home.

What am I doing…?

At that moment, the Heavenly Calculation Atlas, influenced by the Alien Power, suddenly changed the Cultivation route again, causing a tumultuous surge in his Mana. The Mana from the Heavenly Entropy Technique grew intensely before rapidly declining. In this rise and fall, the Mana from the Heavenly Calculation Atlas rushed straight into Wang Qi's skull, cleansing his Soul!

This isn't right!

Wang Qi suddenly regained consciousness.

The Heterodox Demon Statue was not just similar to the Entropy-increasing Demon aura on Yang Jun… They were essentially the same thing!

"So, this is what it's like to be possessed by a subspecies of Evil Demon?"

Once conscious, Wang Qi's first sensation was "pain." It felt as though countless red-hot steel needles were thrust into his Physical Body, causing heart-wrenching pain! Additionally, his own Mana was becoming increasingly chaotic. The explosive Mana was something Wang Qi couldn't control and instead wreaked havoc on his own Physical Body!

"Wuuuu aaaahhhh…" Wang Qi fell to the ground, emitting meaningless screams. At this time, past memories flashed before his eyes like a carousel.

"Damn... Is it time to reminisce? Am I going to die?" Even then, Wang Qi still had the mindset to ridicule himself. He knew this was not a pre-death flashback, but a result of his disordered consciousness.

The stream of Entropy Increase affected not just the Physical Body. This terrifying power had long infiltrated the young man's Spirit. Human consciousness, originally organized by memories in a form of Negative Entropy, shows its most direct manifestation through disordered memories.

Simply put, Wang Qi's memories had lost their Time Axis; past events seemed as current as those of the present.

"This is really…" Wang Qi forced a bitter smile: "This is really fatal…"

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Explaining a few Cthulhu myths in this chapter

About the Yellow Robed King – In the world of Cthulhu, all religious worship is essentially worship of Evil Gods. Hastar, the Yellow Robed King, is one of the ancient rulers and the origin of Chinese mythological belief in the world of Cthulhu.

Regarding crowbars and friends—Common settings in Cthulhu series tabletop games; investigators are ordered to engage in espionage against cult groups (followers of the Old Gods, Ancient Rulers, and Foreign Gods) typically involving teams of 3-8 investigators. Under the CoC rules, a fulfilling fight is not possible; entities like the Ancient Rulers cannot be defeated, only escaped from. Powerful weapons are needed to kill Favored Clan members. So, how to escape? Give a friend a gun, leave them behind to feed the Shoggoth – at least having something to delay the adversary before it comes for you. The idea is that the friend must not be armed. Or, give a friend a crowbar to deal with pursuers.