Xie Lian asked, "Is that so? How do you know? "
Just as Hua Cheng was about to speak,
At this moment,
Pei Su, who was stuck, stretched out his trembling fingers and began to write on the ground. Out of inexplicable respect, everyone gathered around to look at him. They saw his crooked hand writing the words "Battle Form". After he finished writing,
It was as if he had used up the last of his strength,
He clenched his fist,
And stopped moving.
Hua Cheng raised his head and said, "That's it. The Rain Master's guardian mount,
Is the black bull that the Rain Master Country's Imperial Dojo's gate ring beast transformed into.
Usually, it moves steadily without leaving any traces, but once it enters battle,
It will change its form. So,
This hoof print is different from the usual one, it's wider. "
Pei Ming said, "Your Excellency Ghost King's intelligence is astonishing."
Hua Cheng pointed at the mark on the ground,
He continued to say to Xie Lian, "Brother, look."
Xie Lian moved his head over to look,
"En, as expected … … this hoof print appeared suddenly,
It seems like they encountered the enemy very suddenly. "
Hua Cheng said, "En. Furthermore, this hoof print is very deep,
It shows that the enemy isn't simple. That bull wrestled with the enemy here and was forced to sink more than two inches into the ground. "
The two of them simulated the battle scene at that time,
Pei Ming was not to be outdone and said, "But in the end, the two sides still fought to a draw."
Xie Lian said, "That's right."
There were no traces of blood around, nor were there any drifting ghost energy. It seemed like they collided here and exchanged a few moves quickly and fiercely. Then, they realized that the other party was a hard bone to chew and thus gave up.
Hua Cheng informed them that the east and west had changed directions. The group continued west, but their speed was slightly slower. Not long after, a tall and strange building appeared by the side of the road. From afar, it was more imposing than the other houses. Even though a few walls and some eaves had collapsed, it still made people look up to it. Xie Lian couldn't help but stop and ask, "What is this place?"
Hua Cheng only glanced at it and said, "Wu Yong's Shrine."
Pei Ming held onto Pei Su's arm and dragged him along, asking, "How did Master Hua Cheng know that this is a Shrine?"
Hua Cheng said, "Because it's written here."
Hearing this, everyone looked up and saw that there was indeed a row of incomparably large words carved on the stone beam in front of the building's entrance. Although there were still some strange scratches left on it due to the passage of time, they were still quite clear.
However, after a moment of silence, Xie Lian said, "It's indeed written, but … …"
But he couldn't understand these words at all!
Who would have thought that even this wasn't a problem for Hua Cheng? He turned to Xie Lian and said, "The general idea of this line of text is' His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has descended upon the world with light, eternally illuminating the land of Wuyong '. It was just nonsense to sing praises. Brother, look at the last few characters. Don't two of them look like 'Wu' and 'Yong'? "
Xie Lian was slightly moved when he heard "His Highness the Crown Prince". He took a closer look. Sure enough, although this line of words looked like a child's drawing, with circles and curves mixed with many strange symbols, the shape and strokes of the two words "Wu Yong" were quite similar to the characters he was familiar with. It seemed to be some kind of variation. Pei Ming said, "City Lord Hua is actually able to decipher this ancient language that has been lost for thousands of years. I am truly impressed."
Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow and faked a smile. "I stayed in Bronze Cauldron Mountain for ten years. I can do a lot of things in a month. If I can't even decipher a single language after ten years, then what's the point of staying in this world, right? "
Even the top ten literary gods in the Heavenly Court wouldn't dare to say such words. As a martial god, what could Pei Ming do? He could only fake a smile. "Perhaps."
Xie Lian sighed softly. "Fortunately, San Lang is here."
Hua Cheng said, "I can only roughly decipher some of the shallow Wu Yong language. If I encounter something difficult to decipher, I can only ask Brother to help me analyze it. "
Xie Lian blushed with shame. "This … … I'm definitely not as good as San Lang. However, is the god that the Wu Yong Kingdom worships also their Highness the Crown Prince? "
Hua Cheng crossed his arms. "I think so."
Xie Lian frowned in thought. "Since my master knows about the Wu Yong Kingdom's Crown Prince, he should also know that he has ascended. But why did he tell me that the Crown Prince is' dead '? "
Hua Cheng said, "There are three possibilities. First, he really doesn't know. Second, he's lying. Third, he's not lying. The Wu Yong Kingdom's Crown Prince is dead, but not in the normal sense of 'dead'."
Pei Ming said, "If the Emperor is here, maybe we can ask him if he knows about this country, and if he knows about this person."
However, Hua Cheng said, "That's not necessarily true. The Wu Yong Kingdom disappeared more than two thousand years ago. Compared to it, Jun Wu is just a young kid. It's all skipped generations. "
Jun Wu ascended about one thousand five hundred years ago. He was a famous general in chaotic times. Later on, he proclaimed himself king. After ruling for a few years, he successfully ascended to become an immortal. As the strongest Martial God who had been in charge for a thousand years, his background had long been known to the public. And the 'skipped generations' that Hua Cheng mentioned referred to the 'generation' of the Heaven Realm.
Today, Jun Wu was the leader of the Heavenly Court, which was formed by a hundred Heavenly Officials. But earlier than this generation, there was another generation.
Just like the change of dynasties in the mortal world, the Heaven Realm would also 'change of dynasties'. Although it took a very long time, there was no difference in essence. New believers would replace the old believers, and new gods would replace the old gods.
Sometimes, the decline of a god was not because he did something wrong and was demoted, or because a stronger Heavenly Official appeared. It was simply because people's lives and thoughts had gradually changed, and they no longer needed him.
For example, a Heavenly Official who rode horses would definitely be doing well. Because people couldn't live without horses and carriages, who didn't want their horses to be strong and safe? Therefore, his incense would not be cut short.
But if one day, mortals discovered something new that ran faster than horses, and this new thing became the first choice of people when they went out, the incense of the Heavenly Officials who rode horses would definitely become less and less popular. These Heavenly Officials who flashed past like shooting stars were the majority.
This kind of decline was the cruelest, because the process was almost impossible to reverse. Unless that God Official jumped down from the sky and turned himself back into a mortal, changing his path to cultivate once again as a brand new God, he would ascend once more. Otherwise, he was destined to watch himself slowly decline until he disappeared. But, not everyone had such courage and luck.
The previous generation of immortals and gods declined like this. Some said that it was because they caused a big mess, and because of a chaotic battle, they all fell. It was not important whether it was true or not.
Because, a few hundred years later, Jun Wu appeared out of nowhere and opened a new era of the Heaven Realm. Moreover, after him, a large number of new Heavenly Officials rose in an endless stream to fill the gaps of the believers, and gradually formed the stable Heavenly Court today.
In other words, unless there was a Heavenly Official who was more experienced than Jun Wu by 1500 years, it was unlikely that he would know how the Wuyong Ancient Country and the god they worshiped were quietly erased from existence.
The group of people walked over the collapsed wall and entered the pitch-black main hall. After walking a few steps, Xie Lian felt that something was wrong.
He originally thought that the main hall was dark because it didn't see light all year round, so the windows weren't open. Who knew that after looking around, the more he looked, the stranger he felt. He walked to the side of the wall and gently swiped his finger across it. He couldn't help but say, "This is … …"
Hua Cheng said, "Black."
It wasn't that the light was dim, but that the walls of this huge temple were actually completely black!
Hua Cheng said, "From what I saw, almost all the temples in Bronze Cauldron Mountain are like this."
This scene was very frightening. What kind of temple would have walls that were painted as black as hell? Just looking at it was enough to make one panic. How could one devoutly worship the gods here?
Pei Ming said, "All of them are like this? Have they been left here for too long and decayed? "
Xie Lian said, "We just passed by other houses, but they weren't as dark as this. Logically speaking, these houses should all be the same age. "
As he spoke, he continued to gently touch the walls of the temple. Not only was the wall frighteningly black, but it was also uneven. It was like a woman's disfigured face, covered in terrifying scars and extremely hard. Xie Lian's heart skipped a beat. "This temple has been burned before."
Pei Ming asked, "Why do you think so?"
Xie Lian turned around. "The walls of this temple should have been filled with murals. They used a special paint, a very thick layer. After the fire burned, it would turn black, and part of it would melt and change shape. After it solidified, it would have this uneven, hard texture."
Pei Ming said, "Your Highness really knows a lot. I'm also impressed."
Xie Lian rubbed his brows and coughed. "This … isn't something to be impressed about. It's just that many of the Crown Prince's palaces had been burned in the past, and this was the effect."
"… …"
Hearing this, everyone fell silent. Xie Lian thought of something else. "There's also the stone beam outside! There are many scratches on the words of praise carved on the beam. It doesn't look like normal wear and tear. Someone must have used a knife to scratch it. "
Pei Ming frowned. "Why did they do that?"
Hua Cheng said coldly, "Because they don't acknowledge the words."
Xie Lian said, "Yes. It's the same as smashing the plaque. "
Half-moon was startled. "So, this temple was set on fire by the citizens of Wu Yong?"
After a moment of silence, Xie Lian was about to speak when Pei Ming said, "What do you mean?"
Xie Lian turned around. He saw Pei Ming raise her left hand, biting a scorpion snake. She was still using her tail to poke him. Half-moon wanted to kneel again. "I'm sorry, my body is covered in snakes … …"
Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He pulled her back. "Half-moon, don't get into the habit of kneeling and apologizing. General Pei, how did you get bitten by her snake? "
Pei Ming raised her hand. Her face darkened. "How would I know? I put my hand on her shoulder and that's it. "
Xie Lian patiently asked, "Then why did you put your hand on her shoulder?"
"… …" Pei Ming seemed to have only just noticed this question. After a moment, she said, "It's a habit. In this kind of dark and gloomy place, isn't it common sense to put one's arm on a woman's shoulder and comfort them not to be afraid? "
Half-moon said, "I'm sorry, I'm not afraid."
"… …" Xie Lian understood. This was a tragedy caused by Pei Ming's unconsciously itching hands. Pei Ming pulled off the scorpion snake with great difficulty. Her left hand was already swollen. He said, "Hurry and give me the antidote."
Half-moon said, "I'm sorry, I've used up all the good moon grass on me."
Xie Lian said, "It's fine. General Pei, you're a Heavenly Priest. The swelling will subside in a moment." After he finished speaking, he turned around and continued to study the wall. Suddenly, his gaze fell on a black wall, and his eyes froze.