“Coming.”
Yin Yang called out in response. Behind the counter, Mr. Ma wiped his hands and spoke.
“Follow me.”
As he spoke, he walked toward a decorative painting on the side, pulling it open to reveal an elevator.
Yin Yang raised an eyebrow slightly and got into the elevator with Mr. Ma, while Canned Food stayed outside.
The elevator traveled vertically downward, stopping after a dozen or so seconds.
When the elevator doors opened again, a large exhibition hall was presented before Yin Yang.
There were stone tablets, tortoise shells, bamboo slips, and even murals.
The sheer volume of ancient texts was staggering.
For Yin Yang, who loved learning, it felt very much like a mouse falling into a rice granary.
His eyes lit up instantly. Mr. Ma, who had been watching his expression, couldn't help but smile.
“Mr. Liu, what do you think?”
“Whose collection is this? Am I allowed to read them?”
Yin Yang looked utterly ravenous for knowledge, making Mr. Ma laugh out loud.
“Of course.”
Yin Yang stepped forward to take a look, only to find that he didn't recognize a significant portion of the script. It belonged to neither Great Wei nor Great Qi.
Yet even the parts he could understand were shocking enough.
For instance, it was recorded that during the early Shang Era, the people of Shang had used a certain method to solidify their bloodlines.
The children born to transcendents would also be transcendents!
What did this imply?
In the current era, there was only one kind of person born as a transcendent: natural transcendents!
Shang could actually “artificially produce” natural transcendents?
Mr. Ma walked over and smiled.
“Incredible, isn't it?”
Yin Yang nodded and continued reading the records.
【The King patrolled the heavens, riding a black dragon, the dragon's presence vast and mighty...】
It recorded that the Shang King of that era had patrolled the world riding a black dragon. The black dragon's presence was so immensely powerful that the mere pressure it radiated could shatter mountains and rivers.
Yin Yang was somewhat dumbfounded. If these records were true, just how terrifying was this dragon's strength, and how much more terrifying must the Shang King who tamed it have been?
“This dragon was likely a transcendent creature.”
Mr. Ma continued to explain.
“A transcendent creature?”
Yin Yang put on a look of confusion. Mr. Ma nodded and explained to him.
“You should have heard of transcendents and promotion potions, right?”
“I have.”
“Then do you know why the subsequent promotion paths of certain pathways are incomplete?”
“Why?”
“There are many reasons, but one of the main ones is the lack of potion ingredients.”
“The promotion potions for some pathways require materials harvested from transcendent creatures.”
“And since many transcendent creatures have gone extinct, without the proper materials to craft the potions, they cannot promote. Over time, those pathways became fragmented.”
Yin Yang thought for a moment before speaking.
“Can't other materials be used as substitutes?”
“They can, but it's extremely difficult because transcendent creatures are becoming increasingly rare. In Great Wei, even transcendent plants are scarce.”
“You mean in Great Wei? Is it not the case in other countries?”
“Of course not.”
Mr. Ma looked at Yin Yang with a smile.
“If you ever have the chance to travel outside, you'll realize that Great Wei is nothing more than a backwater.”
As he spoke, he pointed to a stone slab not far away.
“We discovered this stone slab on an island. There were many transcendent creatures in the waters surrounding that island.”
“They were very powerful. The strongest among them even rivaled a Sequence 4. We had to pay a heavy price just to retrieve this stone slab.”
“Sequence 4?”
Yin Yang looked thoroughly shocked. Mr. Ma nodded.
“Indeed, a Sequence 4.”
“A stone slab guarded by a Sequence 4... What kind of secrets could be recorded on it?”
Hearing this, Mr. Ma laughed.
“Why don't you go take a look and find out for yourself?”
“Am I really allowed to view such a valuable secret?”
“Of course.”
Yin Yang did not stand on ceremony any further and walked straight toward the stone slab.
The stone slab was an asymmetrical rectangle, about a meter long and half a meter wide.
It had long been heavily eroded by time, leaving only a few highly blurred shapes on its surface.
“What is this? A mural?”
Mr. Ma shook his head.
“It's not a mural, but a formation.”
“A formation?”
“Yes. It was previously kept in a temple on the island. Judging by the site, it likely enjoyed worship and offerings for a very long period.”
Yin Yang nodded, then asked with some curiosity.
“An ancestral tablet carved with a formation?”
“You could understand it that way.”
“Do you know what this formation does?”
“Illusion.”
Mr. Ma smiled.
“It's a very interesting formation. Once activated, it allows one to see whatever their heart desires.”
“For example, if someone wants to be an emperor, when the formation is activated, they will become the emperor.”
“If someone wants mountains of gold and silver, when the formation is activated, they will have them.”
Yin Yang nodded.
“Well, looking at it that way, the extinction of their civilization is quite understandable.”
Mr. Ma nodded in agreement.
“You are absolutely right. The effect of that illusion is no different from forbidden drugs; once you experience it, it's almost impossible to break free.”
“So they began to sacrifice frantically. When they couldn't capture wild beasts, they used slaves.”
“When they ran out of slaves, they used the elderly. In just seven or eight years, an entire civilization vanished.”
“The transcendent creatures they had once tamed continued to linger nearby, passing down through generations until they became what we saw when we arrived.”
Upon hearing this, Yin Yang was curious.
“Then who gave them this stone slab? An enemy?”
Mr. Ma shook his head again.
“No. According to the murals, it was a heaven-sent gift, bestowed upon them by the heavens.”
“Bestowed by heaven?”
“Yes.”
Seeing that Yin Yang looked skeptical, Mr. Ma spoke seriously.
“During the Zhou Era, heaven-sent gifts were not uncommon.”
“For instance, some murals record that a young man became a Sequence 3 in a single day after eating a peach bestowed by a celestial god.”
“Sequence 3? That's way too exaggerated.”
Yin Yang was still highly skeptical, but Mr. Ma chuckled.
“Back then, gods still walked the mortal realm, so naturally, one cannot judge those times by modern logic.”
Having laid the groundwork, Mr. Ma narrowed his eyes slightly.
“So, Mr. Liu, are you willing to join us and uncover the truth of this world together?”
Yin Yang took a deep breath.
“You are the True Knowledge Society, aren't you?”
“Yes.”
Mr. Ma did not deny it. After all, with the other's intelligence, it would be stranger if he hadn't figured it out.
“Will there be any danger if I join you?”
“That depends on whether you prefer deciphering texts or going to the front lines to investigate in person.”
“I like both!”
“Then yes, there will be danger.”
“What are the benefits of joining you?”
“The benefit is that you will get to see an entirely different world!”
“A world?”
“Yes.”
After thinking for a couple of seconds, Yin Yang spoke.
“I'm willing!”
Mr. Ma smiled, then pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to Yin Yang.
“For the safety of everyone in our True Knowledge Society, you must sign a non-disclosure agreement upon joining.”
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