World Occult Usage Guide

Ashanti, the scattered spirit.

After recovering his energy, Lin An recorded the names of the Lacono Mystic Organizations and listed them in the "Complete Encyclopedia of Mystic Families in the World," a database he had just created within the World Tree System, with an access level of "Emerald."

It includes the mysterious organizations that Lin An has witnessed along his journey, including both existing and extinct families.

If I remember correctly, the Ashanti Empire was the most glorious and vast empire in the history of Lacono, an ancient country rich in gold mines and controlling the gold trade and its shipping routes.

The empire was headed by the Akhens, who worshipped the sun god Nyankopon, and supported by several chiefdoms similar to vassal states.

The birthplace of Voodoo, Ivory Coast was one of the chiefdoms of the Ashanti Empire.

The plump woman—Mama Kum—called herself "the Scattered God." Could it be that the mystical family of Lacono, like the ancient Ashanti Empire, was dominated by the main ethnic group's Akhen gods, and that it gathered ethnic deities who had been active throughout Lacono?

This organizational structure is somewhat similar to the "Thirteen Heavens" of the Lower Eastern Continent, where a weakened and broken pantheon within the same cultural region elects a powerful leader and gathers around him to resist invasions and attacks from other pantheons.

Regardless of the organizational structure of the "Scattered Gods," Lin An guessed that the mystics who were based in the Ivory Coast were inseparable from voodoo, which is why he told Edward that someone was cleaning up the mess.

Unlike Gilgood, who was an ordinary person, Lin An noticed that Koum's mother had arrived near the building.

She was in a strange state. Lin An turned the "One Eye of God" and heard all sorts of sounds coming from her body. Different individuals were talking, arguing, and kissing, yet they were all crammed into the same soul, just like someone with schizophrenia.

Lin An, who was familiar with "Comers," was not surprised. After a little thought, he roughly understood the mystery of Comers' mother—it was indeed related to mental classification.

Voodoo is a branch of Hermes' three mystical arts, specifically the art of summoning spirits.

Koum's mother used some means to store a large portion of the soul and several smaller portions within her body, creating a scene as lively as a reality TV villa.

Regardless of size, every soul can bring forth a Loa, returning to the material world.

As she entered the building, a Loa descended through a medium of souls, seized Gilgood's soul without a word, and dragged him into the "villa".

Koum's mother made it clear from the start that she wanted to use an unrelated person as a bargaining chip, and that she wanted to have a confrontation with Lin An.

Although she didn't mean much harm, if Lin An were to fall behind, this Voodoo Cult's rogue deity might become less friendly.

Even after leaving the rainforest, the survival rules there still apply.

The animals Gilgood saw were all incarnations of Loa, and the two humans carrying birdcages were the spirits of Mother Koum.

The first to act was the Great Soul, which transformed into a noisy parrot, chattering incoherently and moving in a specific pattern, forming a strange, erratic symbol.

Orthodox Voodoo can involve rituals that bring an individual into a special state.

The images used in the ritual were crucial in determining the state; priests drew cognitive symbols, some with intellectual significance and others that stimulated rational thinking.

For example, when a priest uses the image of a "bent spine," the individual will enter a state of inspiration because the "bent spine" represents the "snake," which the Laconians regard as a source of spirituality; using other images will result in different states for the individual.

The symbol under the parrot's feet resembles both a bird and a rooster, conveying a sense of aggression and provocation.

It stared intently at Lin An, who immediately felt an urge to rush up to the parrot and have a fierce argument with it.

However, the parrot was merely bait; the real trap lay with the male and female priests beside Mother Kum. They too moved with unassuming steps, forming an equilateral triangle with the parrot, awaiting their prey.

The human priest's "statelessness" concealed the power that was about to descend upon the Loa. If they were to be attacked by all three, it would be a surprise attack for any mystic.

The animal transformations reminded Lin An of the "Lord of the Earth," a medium whose power increases the more of its kind it gathers together.

Once a mysterious person rushes into Mama Koum's "Soul Villa," they almost never return.

However, Mama Koum messed with the wrong person. Provoked, Lin An did not hesitate to use the most basic [Soul Expulsion Ritual], destroying her soul domain like a tornado.

Before the two human priests could even summon the Loa, the male priest was struck by Lin An's Hittite ritual, his soul vanished, and the Loa, who was about to prostrate himself, fell out.

Loa is the embodiment of the "Comerth" energy. He has no consciousness or signs of life. After losing his medium, the image of the monkey gradually dissipated after Lin An took Gilgood away.

If Koum's mother wants to summon it again, she will have to pay a price.

Lin An's overwhelming strength extinguished Mama Kum's fighting spirit. After losing a Loa link, she made a truce gesture, and Lin An readily agreed to stop.

Even if he were to actually kill this mysterious figure, who is likely of mythical status, he would have to expend a lot of unnecessary energy and effort, and would also incur the hatred of the powerful family behind this person, which would be a net loss.

Lin An, who was not particularly antagonistic towards the World Tree, did not want to make enemies everywhere.

Before long, Mother Koum will tell the [Scattered Gods] of Lacono about the outcome of this confrontation, letting them know of Lin An's existence. A slightly fishy, ​​animalistic smell mixed with the scent of herbs brushed against his cheek; he lowered his head, and a loud laugh rang out.

"Haha!"

An elephant-hide chair emerged from its horns and appeared before Lin An.

Four waiters struggled to lift Mama Kum, who sat on top of them. She wore a dark mask made of coconut shell, her bright red lips painted with natural dye were exceptionally vivid, and her reddish-brown hands held a peacock feather fan as she let out a shrill laugh.

Upon closer inspection, Lin An discovered that under the eaves covered by Kum's mother's enormous body, tiny, illusory figures were busily working, some the size of seven or eight-year-old children, others only the size of a palm.

Their form closely resembles the Voodoo temple system, where a temple dedicated to orthodox Voodoo deities requires two male priests (hougan), two female priests (mambo), several assistants (hounsi), and their congregation.

So, where does the origin of what makes them come from?

Lin An recalled how, when Kum's mother dealt with the group of people poisoned by the voodoo priests, her main soul transformed into a giant glutton, tearing apart souls like eating cake and stuffing them into its own mouth.

The mystery of Mama Kum is a temple dedicated to a deity, possessing the power to "devour souls".

She can tear off a piece of another's soul, sew it together like weaving cloth to create a new, smaller piece of soul, and stuff it into the temple as her servant and the medium for summoning the Loas.

When Lin An learns that the Loa corresponding to Kum's mother's main soul is displayed, the system should display the corresponding panel.

“Sun God! You’re so slender!” Mother Koum exclaimed, looking Lin An up and down. “That’s what happens when you drink those burnt coffee beans! You never gain weight!”

"Kum, would you like to discuss soul magic again?"

Lin An made a gesture in a Hittite ritual, and a serene and ethereal image of a birch tree appeared. Kum's mother instinctively flinched and fanned herself repeatedly.

"No, no! I'm perfectly fine! Perhaps in places where evil spirits dwell, malnutrition is a kind of beauty!"

Strangely, the breeze she fanned was just the right amount of cool, making the room temperature comfortable.

This is probably the "Comfort" alternative for air conditioners.

“Since you’ve chosen to show yourself, you must be aware of what’s happening here,” Lin An said.

"Hehe, I dare not say I know everything! I only know that you drove away the cobra that occupied my front yard a hundred years ago, killed the snake vulture that betrayed us more than seven hundred years ago, and scared away the big bug that came uninvited a few months ago."

Koum's mother spoke with great energy, her fat body jiggling as she gestured wildly.

The cobra refers to Jacob, the head of the Red Poppy Merchant Guild, while the serpent eagle is most likely a voodoo priest who dresses like a colorful serpent eagle.

The betrayal she mentioned should have occurred around the Middle Ages on the orbit of "Comers," a time when various powerful families were engaged in fierce battles.

Lin An was too lazy to ask about the love-hate relationship between the Voodoo priests and the Voodoo Cult. It was nothing more than a backstabbing and family feud, just like the grudges between the Four Living Gods. He was only a little curious about who the so-called "big worm" represented.

Unfortunately, Kum's mother continued her rapid-fire speech without giving him a chance to ask questions, so Lin An had no choice but to temporarily assume that the animal represented the Kumasi family, who had recently fled to Lacono for refuge.

"Forest ranger!" The Voodoo shrine opened its arms, the chair beneath it shaking violently, and the four attendants, their faces contorted in agony, cried out, "I know nothing about the World Tree!"

“I don’t know that much about the [Scattered God] either,” Lin An replied with a smile.

"Haha, that's easy!"

Koum's mother kicked the ivory stool under her bottom, making the little phantom grimace and tremble.

"For the Ashanti, the stool represents power and is a symbol of our social unity! It is both a physical object and a representation of position or throne. The ascension and dethronement of leaders are both linked to the stool; this is the most solemn ritual of the Ashanti!"

"You mean, in the [Scattered Gods], the stool a mystic sits on determines his rank, ability, and family status?"

“That’s right, a ranger!” Mother Koum swung her legs, making the elephant-skin stool creak. “Elephants, one of the most powerful animals in the South!”

The implication was that she held a very important position in the [Scattered Gods], but Lin An felt that there was something more to her words.

"Kum, you didn't just come here to chat with me, did you?"

It was less of a chat and more of a cacophony of shouts.

This girl has a really loud voice. In just a few minutes, Lin An's head was buzzing from her noise.

"Forest Ranger!" Even the mask couldn't drown out Mother Kum's incessant chatter. "Cooperate! We'll help you win the Bantu election and make you a friend of Lakon'o! In exchange, do us a favor!" (End of Chapter)