Deep in the Living
Chapter 298 - 286: Anomaly Baptism

Chapter 298: Chapter 286: Anomaly Baptism

"Hell Monk"

For most demons, the path to becoming a monk is a long and arduous process.

Those demons who complete the pilgrimage of suffering are eligible to enter the Great Monastery and are granted the [Hell Item - Painful Metal].

However, this is just the starting point.

They will undergo ascetic practices within the Great Monastery as apprentice monks, constantly accompanied by suffering.

The metal inside their bodies absorbs nutrients from the suffering, gradually saturating, and eventually manifesting [Anomaly].*

*Equivalent to the Spine’s Opening, this is the initial ultimate manifestation when Hell Items are saturated.

*The quality of suffering absorbed by the apprentice monks and the efficiency of their feeding will determine the quality of the metal and its final form. Not everyone can achieve Anomaly, only those who truly embrace pain and continuously endure suffering can achieve it.

Apprentices who complete Anomaly will then start the formalization ritual, mainly divided into the following three steps.

1. Proceed to the Great Cathedral to receive thought baptism.*

Conducted personally by the Pope, it ensures that the apprentice monks’ minds are free of any impurities and that they would never act against the order. At the same time, their metal quality is inspected to assess whether they genuinely cherished suffering during their ascetic practices.

Upon completion of the baptism, an imprint is left between their skulls, signifying the granting of their monkhood.

2. Based on the characteristics of Anomaly, tailor a Monk’s leather robe, which is the most important symbol of identity when monks venture out.

3. Path choice, based on the abilities expressed by Anomaly and the characteristics of the metal, choose the most suitable path of Demon Ascension for them.

Luo Di’s situation is very special,

He completed Anomaly on his own without undergoing ascetic practices at the Great Monastery; his metal form relates to the spine and manifests as a Metal Chain Saw.

The aura he exudes does not belong here; he isn’t even aware of the monastery’s purposes and various systems.

This is troublesome.

But according to the rules, Luo Di still needs to receive baptism, requiring the Pope himself to inspect his thoughts.

If his thoughts are not pure, he cannot be granted monkhood and may even be permanently banned from setting foot in the Great Monastery. Even though Luo Di possesses Hell Metal, he could only be active in the Punishment Room at most.

Agatha warned him before leaving:

"Luo Di, since you have not undergone any ascetic practices and are directly undergoing thought baptism, you might be subjected to deep inspection by the Pope. Whatever happens, avoid any resistant emotions.

Otherwise, you could be labeled a heretic and never set foot here again.

Also, never disrespect the Pope, as this could be life-threatening."

"Okay."

The Magic Cube spins.

Through the left door of the dormitory area, directly to the core area of the Great Monastery - the Great Cathedral.

Prior to entering the main hall of the Great Cathedral, one must pass through a "Neural Corridor."

This place is crawling with metallic neural tissues, and anyone who steps here feels intense neuralgia.

If dangerous thoughts are detected, these metallic nerves will wrap around, eliminating any exterior threats to the Great Cathedral.

To Luo Di, these metallic nerves are somewhat similar to the Hooks in the Preaching Room, able to detect foreign presences.

He just needs to demonstrate the characteristics of the Punishment Room to avoid activating these nerves’ passive defense and smoothly pass through.

The deeper the passage, the narrower the walkable path... eventually, one must completely squeeze between the nerves to pass through this corridor.

Squeezing out from the dense nerves,

The sight of the Great Cathedral that greets Luo Di is starkly different from any cathedral he envisioned; no splendid golden decorations, no colored glass, not even windows, but a completely sealed area.

The whole is constructed from a special type of dark stone, one of the rare non-metallic structures in the Great Monastery.

Like the Neural Corridor before,

The Great Cathedral is also covered with metallic nerves, converging above the dome, as if the cathedral’s dome itself is some sort of brain structure, controlling everything here, even monitoring and governing the entire Great Monastery.

Furthermore,

The lateral walls of the Great Cathedral are adorned with metal, carving 26 uppercase letters.

Ten of these letters are carved with specific human sculptures, corresponding to members who have already received the letters in the order.

Mr. Hook’s sculpture is on the letter H, corresponding to Hook.

The remaining members of the order also each have distinct characteristics, with each individual mastering a different form of metal and pain traits.

Luo Di also spotted the Iron Pillar related to Agatha, corresponding to the letter P, Pillar, and its sculpture is a similarly stout, bald middle-aged woman.

Before he continued observing, three "apprentice monks" wrapped in skin cloaks walked in from another entrance of the cathedral,

either dragging iron chains as tails behind them, completely inserted with metal blades, or having every possible orifice stuffed with steel balls (such as eyes, nostrils, and mouth).

They are also undergoing thought baptism today to complete their formalization.

"Luo Di, go ahead! Just relax, kneeling on the Spiky Round Rug is all that’s needed."

"Okay."

Agatha then sits on the outermost bench in the cathedral, watching the baptism ceremony unfold.

Perhaps having heard that a Punishment Room Disciple was participating in today’s baptism, many monks have come to the Great Cathedral, including members of the order themselves.

Just as Agatha sat down, the iron rods inside her body began to tremble, and she glanced to the side.

A middle-aged woman was already sitting beside her, a bald head but with column-shaped metal sprouting on the surface of her skull, shining like the sun.

Most importantly, the woman’s back has many Iron Pillars rising, each representing a power column, entwined with dark annular structures.

With her breathing, the energy pillars on her back move up and down.

"Teacher!"

Sequence group member, the Great Nun, representing the Pillar.

...

Luo Di followed three other apprentice monks to the front of the church,

where four "Spiky Round Rugs" were placed.

Without any hesitation, Luo Di knelt on them just like the others, the spikes completely piercing his knees and entering deep into his thigh nerves. The other three showed expressions of pleasure, but Luo Di did not enjoy it, nor did he endure it, he simply remained calm.

Click click click~

The nerves coiled in the nerve corridors and at the top of the church began to move, slowly condensing a humanoid structure in the center of the dome and descending in front of everyone.

He was draped in a distinct pure white monk robe, even trailing behind him like a gown.

The hand that emerged from the sleeves was very delicate and lacked a bone structure, seemingly formed through pure nerves.

Above his neck, he had no usual cranial structure but instead floated metallic nerves resembling thorns. If one looked closely, a face could be discerned among the thorn outlines, the reflective metal parts being his eyes.

The leader of the Great Monastery,

the leader of the Sequence group,

the first monk,

Pope Neo, representing the Neuro.

Without any verbal dialogue, without any explanation of doctrines, the mind baptism began directly. It seemed that for the Pope, time was of utmost importance, efficiency first.

His fingers touched the head of the first apprentice monk,

Crack crack~

The metallic nerves constituting the palm swiftly burrowed into this person’s facial orifices, reaching straight to the brain.

The mind baptism was completed in less than half a minute, and the nerves were withdrawn.

Without verbally indicating whether it was satisfactory, he simply cut open the skin on the other’s crown and carved a symbol representing a monk on the surface of the skull bone, signaling successful official initiation.

Next was the second one, even faster, all done in ten seconds.

The third took about 41s to complete the mind baptism, a bit longer.

Subtle impurities could be seen on the nerve roots withdrawn from the other’s brain, but it wasn’t a big issue, the symbol was still carved on the brain surface.

The baptisms of the three apprentice monks were all completed,

Next, it was Luo Di’s turn, who was different in both appearance and attire, recommended by Hook as a disciple from the Punishment Room.

Soundlessly, the white robe appeared in front of him.

Without any pressure as if he did not exist in this space, Luo Di wasn’t even fully prepared when he felt the nerves crawl into his brain, also reaching his spine.

The first thing was a surface search.

Pope already knew that Luo Di was a dual-system individual, after a targeted inspection of the spine. Instead of feeling any xenophobia, the Pope nodded satisfactorily (his nerves bending).

The reason for satisfaction was simple,

because Luo Di’s spine did not contain that intense, uncontrollable desire for war.

Instead, it was a self-repressible lust for killing, what the Sequence group valued was "controllability." Simultaneously, he also inspected Luo Di’s acceptance of metal and his perception of pain.

Torture device construction skills were not only proficient, but in terms of pain, he had even glimpsed the contours of the door.

Surface examination passed! And all aspects were excellent.

Next was the review of the deep consciousness,

to confirm Luo Di had no ill intentions towards the Sequence group, and his character was not wicked, not likely to act in defiance of pain.

The deep check naturally required reaching into Luo Di’s brain.

The metal nerves belonging to the Pope quickly noticed that distinctly different, moon-like gray pituitary, a biological structure non-existent in Hell.

The sensitive nerves quickly approached, attempting to connect to the nerves around the pituitary, trying to probe the essence of this entity.

The moment the nerves connected...

Buzz!

A wave of whispers from the corners went straight into the Pope’s mind, all the swaying nerves around his neck stopped moving.

At the same time,

inside the Great Cathedral, all areas that met the conditions to form corners appeared with black cracks, exuding a primitive scent of fear.

An unknown spatial structure was descending upon the Great Cathedral,

and from the depths of the corners, one could faintly hear the pitiful screams of creatures not of Hell, the sounds of physical activities beyond recognition.

All the preparatory alarms of the Great Monastery went off, as if an army even more terrifying than the Spine was about to be transported here.

It was then.

Swipe!

Pope voluntarily severed the connection to the metal nerves linked to Luo Di’s pituitary, instantly blocking the communication between them.

For a moment,

the whispers from the corners disappeared, the connecting space in the corners of the Great Cathedral was all blocked, and everything returned to normal.

The few severed, remaining in Luo Di’s brain, nerves belonging to the Pope, were immediately dyed and assimilated by the pituitary due to being disjoined from the main body....