"Really? How can you tell?" Xie Lian asked.
Hua Cheng was about to speak when Pei Su, whose speech was broken, extended his trembling finger and started writing on the ground. Out of some strange respect, the group gathered to watch him. Crookedly, the words "battle formation" were formed under his finger. Once he was done writing, it was like he had used up the last bit of his energy. He clenched his hand into a fist and stopped moving.
Hua Cheng raised his head. "This is it exactly. The Protection Steed of the Rain Master is a black ox, transformed from the golden beast on the knocker on the gates of the Royal Cultivation Hall of the Kingdom of Yushi. Usually when it walks it doesn't leave any trace of itself, but when it enters battle, it changes form. So, this hoof mark is different than the shape of its normal hoof marks; it's much bigger."
"Lord Ghost King is shockingly well-informed," Pei Ming commented.
Hua Cheng pointed at the marks on the ground and continued to speak to Xie Lian. "Gege, look here."
Xie Lian moved his head closer. "Yeah, you're right…this hoof mark appeared very suddenly, so it must've also been very sudden when they ran into the enemy."
"Yeah," Hua Cheng said. "And this hoof mark is deep, so it's obvious the enemy wasn't weak. That ox fought the enemy here with its horns, and was pressed deep into the earth; more than two inches."
The two were simulating the fight scene that had just passed, and Pei Ming also didn't back down.
"But in the end, both sides ended in a tie."
"That's right," Xie Lian agreed.
There was no trace of blood around, nor dispersing essences of evil. So, it appeared that when they ran into each other, they matched quick and hard, but once they found each other a pain to deal with, they both abandoned the fight.
Hua Cheng informed them that the creature in the east had changed its direction, and the group continued on westward, but their pace had slowed. Soon, a giant, peculiar building appeared on the side of the road. Looking at it from afar, it was more impressive than all the other houses around. Even though some of its enclosures and eaves had collapsed, it still had a certain awe-inspiring presence. Xie Lian unconsciously stopped in his step.
"What is this place?"
Hua Cheng only gave it a glance and answered, "Wuyong's divine temple."
Pei Ming had one of Pei Su's arms hooked over his shoulders to drag him along. "And how does Hua Chengzhu know it's a divine temple?"
"Because that's what's written on it," Hua Cheng said.
Hearing this, the group looked up. On the surface of the stone beam before the gates of this building, indeed there were engraved a row of giant characters. Although worn from the ages, and scratched up from strange marks, they were still considerably clear.
However, after some silence, Xie Lian said, "There's certainly writing, but…"
But, he couldn't understand this writing at all!
He had never imagined that not even something like this could trip up Hua Cheng.
He turned to Xie Lian. "The gist of the meaning to that row of words is, 'Eminent Crown Prince Descends With Light to Shine Everlasting Unto the Land of Wuyong', and such nonsensical praise. Gege look, the last couple of characters at the end there, don't they resemble 'Wu' and 'Yong'?"
When he heard "Eminent Crown Prince", Xie Lian's expression twitched unnoticeably. He looked closer. Although that row of characters looked like a child's drawings, all circles and curves mixed with many odd symbols, sure enough, the words "Wuyong" were in shapes and strokes he was familiar with, like it was just derivative writing.
"Hua Chengzhu can actually read and interpret the lost writing of an ancient kingdom; I am truly in awe," Pei Ming said.
Hua Cheng cocked an eyebrow and smiled fakely.
"I stayed in Mount Tong'lu for ten years. Much can already be done in a month; if I can't even interpret some words after ten years, then what am I doing on this earth, am I right?"
Not even the top ten civil gods in the Upper Heavens might dare proclaim such words, so as a martial god, what could Pei Ming do? So he could only smile fakely, too.
"Perhaps."
Xie Lian puffed a breath lightly. "Thank goodness San Lang is here."
"I can only translate some rough Wuyong phrases," Hua Cheng said. "If we run into anything difficult, then I'll need to ask gege to help, and we'll evaluate together."
Xie Lian sweated. "Um…I'm sure I'm not as good as San Lang in this. But, the god worshipped by Wuyong, is it also their crown prince?"
Hua Cheng hugged his arms. "I think so, yes."
Xie Lian frowned to think. "If my master knew of the crown prince of Wuyong, then he must also know that he ascended. So why did he tell me that crown prince 'died'?"
"There are three possibilities," Hua Cheng said. "First, he didn't actually know; second, he was lying; third, he didn't lie, and the crown prince of Wuyong really did die, but it wasn't a typical death."
"If the Emperor was here, then perhaps we could've asked if he knew of this kingdom; if he knew such a person," Pei Ming said.
However, Hua Cheng said, "Maybe not. The Kingdom of Wuyong disappeared over two thousand years ago. In comparison, Jun Wu is only a young'un. They're of completely different dynasties."
Jun Wu ascended around one thousand five hundred years ago. He was a famed general of a warring era, who later proclaimed himself king and successfully became an immortal after ruling for some time. As the number one martial god who had ruled for a thousand years, his background was already completely out in the open. As for the "dynasties" Hua Cheng spoke of, he was referring to the dynasties of the heavens.
Currently, Jun Wu was the ruler, and hundreds of heavenly officials formed the Upper Court, making the current dynasty. The government before them belonged to a different dynasty. Like regimes changed in the mortal realm, the heavenly realm would also go through dynasty changes. Although the time it took was considerably longer, fundamentally it was the same. New worshippers would replace the old, and so too would new gods replace the old.
Sometimes, the decline of a god wasn't caused by any mistakes they may have made and been banished for. Sometimes it was because another, more powerful god had appeared, and sometimes it was for no other reason than because people's lives and beliefs gradually changed, and the people no longer needed them.
For example, a heavenly official who controlled horses must dwell very well. People couldn't leave their horses and carriages alone when they were in need of transportation; who wouldn't want their horses to be strong and healthy, their travels safe? Thus, donations would never cease.
However, what if one day mortals discovered something completely new that ran faster than horses? Then, when this new invention overtook horses, worshippers of this heavenly official who controlled horses would inevitably decrease. Such heavenly officials, flashing by like shooting stars, made up the majority of the heavens.
This way of decline was the cruelest, because the process could not be turned around. Unless that heavenly official jumped down from the heavens and returned to being mortal, to re-cultivate a new path and become a brand new god and ascend, then they would be destined to watch their own decline until they disappeared entirely. However, not everyone possessed such courage and fortune.
The gods of the previous dynasty were said to have faded thus. Some also said it was because they caused a great calamity and fought a chaotic battle, which was why they all fell from grace at the same time. But it couldn't be proven, and it wasn't important anymore; a few centuries later, Jun Wu was born, and created a new heavenly dynasty. Following right after him, a great number of heavenly officials of the new age ascended incessantly, filling the gaps for the worshippers, and gradually formed the stable Upper Court of today.
Which meant, unless there were heavenly officials older than the one thousand five hundred year old Jun Wu, there was no one who could know of how the god worshipped in the Kingdom of Wuyong had been silently wiped from history.
The group of them crossed over the mostly-collapsed enclosure and entered the darkened great hall. It only took a few steps for Xie Lian to notice something amiss.
He had thought the great hall was dark on the inside because the interior hadn't seen light for years, the windows all shut. But the more he looked around, the more he found things peculiar.
He walked next to the wall, his fingers brushing lightly across, and when he brought them before his eyes, he blurted, "This is…"
"Black," Hua Cheng said.
It wasn't that the light was dim, it was that the walls of this immense divine hall were all black!
"As far as I know, almost all the divine temples in Mount Tong'lu are like this," Hua Cheng said.
It was a chilling sight. Why would the walls of divine temples be painted in a colour as black as hell? Just seeing such a colour makes one anxious, so how could anyone worship the divine with a sincere heart in this state?
"All like this?" Pei Ming wondered. "Rotted away from neglect perhaps?"
"The houses we passed by earlier weren't black like this," Xie Lian said. "Logically, those houses would've been the same in age."
As he spoke, he continued to feel around, and lightly explored the walls of this divine temple. Not only were the walls chillingly black, they were also rugged, like the ruined face of a woman that was covered with scars. They were also exceedingly solid. Something clicked in Xie Lian's mind.
"This divine temple was burnt by fire before."
"How can you tell?" Pei Ming asked.
Xie Lian turned around. "The walls of this divine temple would've been covered with murals before, painted with a special paint, a very heavy layer. After fires burned them, they would turn black, and parts would melt and change shape. After solidifying, they would feel rugged and hard like this."
"Your Highness certainly knows a lot, I might as well be in awe of you too," Pei Ming said.
Xie Lian rubbed his forehead and lightly cleared his throat. "This…isn't anything to be in awe of. I only know because in the past, after many of my crown prince palaces were burnt, they'd end up like this."
"…"
Hearing this, the crowd fell silent. Xie Lian suddenly remembered another thing.
"And that stone beam outside! There were many scratch marks on those engraved praises on the stone beam, and it didn't look like regular wear and tear. It must've been people slashing at it with blades."
Pei Ming frowned. "Why would they do that?"
Hua Cheng replied coldly, "Because they didn't agree with the words."
"That's right," Xie Lian said. "It's the same as breaking an establishment plaque."
Banyue was slightly taken aback. "So, this divine temple was burnt down by the people of Wuyong themselves?"
After some silence, Xie Lian was about to speak when Pei Ming suddenly said, "What's the meaning of this?"
Xie Lian turned his head to see, and saw Pei Ming raising his left arm, a scorpion-snake biting deeply into his left hand. Its tail was swinging, trying to sting him.
Banyue was ready to kneel again. "I'm sorry, I've snakes all over my body…"
Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry and held her up. "Banyue, don't get into the habit of kneeling to apologize. General Pei, how did you get yourself bitten by her snake?"
Pei Ming raised his hand, his expression dark. "How should I know? I was only putting my arms around her, and it became like this."
Xie Lian asked patiently, "Then, General Pei, what were you doing putting your arm around her shoulders?"
"…" It was only then that Pei Ming seemed to notice, and started to contemplate this question. A moment later, he answered, "A habit. In a dark, creepy place like this, isn't it normal to hold women in your arms, to comfort them and calm their fears?"
"I'm sorry, but I wasn't scared," Banyue said.
"…"
Xie Lian understood. This was nothing more than a tragedy inflicted by Pei Ming on his own itchy hands. Pei Ming finally yanked off that scorpion-snake, and his left hand was already greatly swollen.
"Give me the antidote, quick."
"I'm sorry, all the shanyue ferns on me have been used up," Banyue said.
"It's alright," Xie Lian said. "General Pei, you're a heavenly official. The swelling will go down in a jiffy."
Then he turned around and continued to examine the walls. Suddenly, his eyes swept over a blackened area, and he instantly froze.
"Everyone, come see," he called. "There's still a face here on this wall!"