World Occult Usage Guide

"Splash, splash..."

The endless waves of the Atlantic Ocean crashed against the ship, its slanted mast cutting through the waves, sailing against the wind against each wave crest.

Before returning to Kinsasha, the capital of Bantu, Lin An directed the ship to leave the accompanying fleet and, following the seashells given to him by his mother, searched for the place to meet the [Scattered God].

After repeated testing, he determined that the headquarters of the [Scattered Gods] was located deep in the Atlantic Ocean.

"If Maui had such a great compass back then, he wouldn't have needed his four brothers' help to find the island of the goddess of death, and perhaps humanity could have achieved immortality."

In the captain's cabin, the Maori man was quite curious about the seashell and kept making excuses to circle around Lin An, trying to snatch the white seashell that was flashing with coordinates.

“If Maui hadn’t had his four older brothers, perhaps the North Kiwi Island would still be a complete territory,” Lin An said calmly.

Maui was a demigod in Maori culture. He once caught a giant fish that resembled a ray with a magical flax fishing line and a hook made from his ancestor's jaw. The fish was so huge that it shocked his four older brothers.

It is said that this is the origin of the North Island of the Kiwi Kingdom, and to this day the Maori name for the North Island is still Te Ika a Maui, meaning fish.

When Maui went to call the others in the tribe, the brothers who stayed behind couldn't resist cutting the fish into pieces, so that the North Island on the map is full of islands with few intact continents.

"Alright, ranger, how do I get this seashell?" The Maori man, understanding Lin An's implication, asked with a smirk.

"Once it takes me to my destination, you can do whatever you want with it. After all, we've strayed from our original course and relied entirely on your guidance to get back to Kinsasha."

“Your allocation is very fair.” The Maori man pounded his chest, which was covered in black tattoos, with his fist. “I will tell Mr. O’Connor that his choice to invest in World Tree was very wise.”

"It would be best if you could ask him for another 20 yuan from Youle. The second recruitment event will cost a lot of money," Lin An thought to himself.

"Forest ranger, look!"

The silent captain pointed ahead, and a small black dot appeared on the horizon. Lin An held the seashell up to the opposite side of it, aligning the pointer and the black dot into a straight line.

"Oh, we've found a small island!" The Maori man made a telescope with both hands, closed one eye, and looked into the distance. "Hmm? It's shaking... Is there a volcano nearby?"

"Don't stare at that spot." Lin An patted the Maori man and the captain on the shoulder. "Moor the ship in international waters and wait for me to come back."

Just as the headquarters of the St. Anilof Foundation possesses the structure and characteristics of the Kabbalah Tree of Life, the Sangod Base could not possibly be just a simple Atlantic island.

By turning the Philosopher's Stone, Lin An continued forward, guided by the seashell.

A strange black dot floated on the churning sea. He stared at it, and suddenly felt a jolt, followed by a slight moment of disorientation. The black dot had changed its appearance.

As if commanded by God, a platform standing on the ocean replaced the black dot, its metal shell standing out brightly in the equatorial sun.

Artificial islands?

As Lin An steadily approached, the platform's outline became clearer with each passing moment.

Finally, he saw the whole thing clearly.

The base of [San Shen] looks like something out of a children's picture book illustration. It is a platform standing on a tree, surrounded by a fleet of small fishing boats painted with blue, red and white stripes.

A magnificent palace stood on the platform, with silks and brocades hanging on the walls of the central courtyard, shimmering chandeliers, and a golden ceiling filled with sparkling lapis lazuli and luminous pearls. A man sat on an imposing snakeskin chair.

Animals came and went around him: tigers, leopards, lions, and jaguars, all wearing crowns and standing tall.

Moreover, the palace was filled with beautiful maids, who were graceful and busy preparing hot tubs, milk, and saffron oil for bathing.

A flagpole soars into the clouds atop the palace, its four-armed cross fluttering in the wind against the azure sky.

According to legend, the king of Ashanti was the incarnation of the sun god Nyakopon. Because sunlight and gold are similar in color, the king usually wore all kinds of gold ornaments.

The symbol of Niacopon is a four-armed cross, with four colors divided by lines representing the four directions of a time compass, a concept similar to the Karenga Line, both belonging to the Central South Asian cultural sphere.

Unlike the Bantu, the Ashanti Empire's study of gods was limited to the sky and had not yet extended to the universe.

The flag's design indirectly revealed the identity of the owner of this place. Lin An looked back at the man on the red chair.

Is this the gathering place of the "scattered spirits"?
Is he the heir to the Ashanti Kingdom?

Sensing being spied on, the man in the center looked at Lin An through the palace's glass and gave him a warm smile.

A familiar glimmer of light flashed, a light haze swept over, and the scene on Platform Mountain suddenly changed, with the bizarre and magnificent palace being replaced by an Iroko tree that rose from the ground.

The maids who walked back and forth became barefoot priests, with strings of thick, colorful prayer beads around their necks and canes inlaid with bloodstone in their hands, which jingled as they walked.

A large, heavy woman sat in front of the Iloco tree. When she saw Lin An, she waved happily.

"Haha, ranger! You've arrived! Come, come, freshly made fried coconut cakes, cola fruit seafood soup, and grilled whale meat! Try it, although the meat is red and coarse, it tastes sweet and will definitely leave you wanting more!"

It was none other than Mother Kum. The temptation of whale meat wouldn't make Lin An lose his mind and rashly enter the ever-changing, eerie platform. With a thought, green data appeared in front of Mother Kum.

"Kum, we meet again. Thanks for the invitation, but I'm not hungry right now."

"Since you've come all this way, don't let the good food go to waste, ranger! Over here—I also made sea crab!"

"Perhaps the ranger would like to take a bath before eating your greasy dishes, Koum."

Upon hearing the second male voice, images of the Elok tree and the magnificent palace overlapped. The man sitting on the snakeskin chair shifted his posture, resting his chin on his hand. The maids wrung out towels and stared at Lin An in the air with watery eyes.

Before the two scenes had faded, a third female voice broke in.

"Whichever you choose, I believe you'll enjoy it with a glass of palm wine, which I've randomly paired with any of the flavors: pineapple, passion fruit, honey, ginger, spices, and pepper."

what's the situation.

I remember I came to a mysterious organization's base, not a spa!

Lin An narrowed his eyes, his lips twitching.

To the naked eye, three layers of textures appear on the platform, overlapping each other with images of varying transparency, vying for space, with none able to occupy 100% of the entity.

The unpredictable scenes seemed like a harbinger of madness, making him dizzy and leading him to suspect that these scenes were likely manifestations of energy rather than real reality.

Speaking of which, Lin An noticed that the three of them were each sitting on a chair made of wild animal hide.

As Koum's mother mentioned, the status of the [Dispersed God] is determined by the chair.

Are these three people the current top three leaders of the organization?
or……

Their bickering gradually made Lin An lose patience. He took out the "One Eye of God," and the rose-colored clouds unfurled, revealing a single eyeball. Lin An felt his vision suddenly rise, the illusory mist dissipated, and the true face of the platform was revealed.

There were four people sitting there, three women and one man, and the chairs they were sitting on were of different heights.

Sensing Lin An's gaze, the only woman who hadn't spoken looked up, and all five of her eyes turned to him.

“I’m sorry, they’re just trying to get closer to you in their own way.” Her voice was hollow, like an echo from a cave, coming from all directions. “Welcome to the [Scattered Gods] Council, Ranger.”

"Greetings, lady seated in the lioness-skin chair. I've heard some of your plans from Kum—a so-called 'Tyrant of the South' is about to strike, attacking Laconor and Bantu, while the Scatter Gods hope the World Tree will delay him for a while."

"Yes, forest ranger."

“I came here for two main reasons. First, due to the terrain, unless that tyrant is willing to bypass the entire raging Kuba River and attack Bantu from Swahili below, his marching route cannot bypass Lakono.”

“Taking Lacono and then attacking Bantu is the only option.” The woman with five eyes nodded; her pupils were pale blue and shimmered against her dark skin.

"Put that aside for now, madam. The second question is—the World Tree has no obligation to take the hits for you. If you can't give a particularly compelling explanation, I'll have the World Tree stand by and watch, gathering some intelligence on the [Tyrant]."

"Rewards always come with risks."

A woman blinks her eyes sequentially from left to right. In Western legends, the inability to blink simultaneously is a symbol of evil.

She paused for a moment, then brought up a completely unrelated topic.

"The Ashanti people's family system is matrilineal, with the Abusua (large family) as the basic social unit, distributed throughout the empire. Each social unit shares a common female ancestor who is worshipped by all members."

Lin An glanced at the three people, including Kum's mother, who had fallen silent at some point, and then asked, "Are you this 'ancestor'?"

“You can call me ‘Mother Charo’.”

"I'm sorry, but you wouldn't want to see my mother either."

Queen Charoen licked her silver lips and continued speaking.

"Although ancestor worship played a positive role in maintaining society, the continuation of a matrilineal clan cannot be without male leadership, at least not in the Ashanti Empire."

Due to the ambiguity of the name, some people in modern times believe that matriarchal clans are societies where women are respected. In fact, in most primitive matriarchal tribes, the brother or nephew of the female ancestor was the real power holder, who controlled the property associated with each relative.

The Ashanti Empire was similar; their throne was inherited by a male member of the royal maternal line, who was not only the spiritual leader of the country and the highest administrator, but also commanded the army and represented the country in all foreign affairs.

Lin An glanced at the man looking around in the snakeskin chair and ruled him out of the "king" position.

"Have you heard the story of the 'Golden Stool on Friday'? It represents the Ashanti throne and is a symbol of royal power..."

Queen Charoen, with her five eyes, spoke slowly in a melodious voice, clasping her hands together, and the others sitting in their chairs repeated her gesture.

"And it is right here." (End of Chapter)