Divine Beast Creator-Chapter 2144 - 2145: Veronia’s Speculation

Agunas didn’t know what to say regarding Veronia’s words. It wasn’t entirely wrong, but...

While the top prowess of humans during the Mythical Era might not have been weaker than them, they would never admit they were human.

Divine Beings was the term those powerful humans used to define themselves during that era, as they disdained being among ordinary humans.

Compared to the present, the enormous power gap of that era forced Agunas to admit, albeit devoid of emotional factors, that the Great Destruction of the Mythical Era eventually led to better order.

Feng Yuan hadn’t paid attention to the conversation between Agunas and the others; his focus was entirely on the pool. Despite the pool’s bottom being bowl-shaped, and the water flowing through fist-sized channels from an underground river below, it seemed to bear no artificial traces.

Yet, in Feng Yuan’s perception, he discovered an intricate mechanism covered by special rocks.

"Huh! Can’t tell if my luck is good or bad."

Though slightly displeased, Feng Yuan utilized his Divine Sense to locate the method to activate the mechanism. At this moment, Agunas and the others noticed Feng Yuan’s strange behavior, looking at him in confusion.

"Is there really something off here?"

Qi Chen asked Feng Yuan quietly, filled with uncertainty. Knowing Feng Yuan well, he understood that Feng Yuan’s current behavior indicated a discovery.

Without keeping them in suspense, Feng Yuan sighed and said,

"That’s right, there’s indeed a mechanism here, concealed by a Soul-Devouring Wondrous Stone from the Netherworld."

Everyone was startled. Even though Feng Yuan didn’t elaborate much, they could associate the term Netherworld with the series of anomalies triggered by Kui Shan Town.

Squinting, Agunas floated over to Feng Yuan’s side and said,

"Wait for Long Boduo if you’re unsure."

"I’m definitely sure, but I don’t understand why their relics are here. Huh, even if they aren’t too far away, it still seems odd." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Feng Yuan remarked, checking the mechanism once again. After confirming there was nothing wrong within his Divine Sense perception, Feng Yuan borrowed power from Xiao Ji.

With the mechanism submerged in water and the water temperature quite low, Feng Yuan had no desire to dive in, so he chose to use Xiao Ji’s power to craft tools, directly using the tool to activate the mechanism.

As the mechanism got activated, the entire cave interior shook ceaselessly. The three Spirit Beasts, brought along to serve as boatmen, watched vigilantly. At the slightest sign of an anomaly, they would opt to propel the boat swiftly back in the direction they came from.

For them, ensuring the safety of travelers was their duty, even though they knew Feng Yuan’s group likely didn’t require their protection.

"Wait, this is..."

Agunas exclaimed in surprise as a passage suddenly opened within the mountain chamber they were in. Despite having used spiritual power to sense the surroundings earlier, they had detected only solid rocks, no gaps, yet a passage unexpectedly appeared now.

Such a development could be explained away by the presence of various special energies capable of similar alterations. But what truly surprised them was the lack of any energy response despite the tremor.

Turning to Feng Yuan, Agunas queried,

"Is this mechanism...?"

"It’s purely mechanical, seems like water flow is used as the power source. The structure is quite complex."

Feng Yuan shook his head, unwilling to explain further, partly due to the intricate nature of the mechanism. After all, in this world of extraordinary forces, most mechanisms would be designed using various unique energies.

A purely mechanical structure like this one is quite rare since both construction and maintenance present a significant challenge for the designers.

If he were the designer, Feng Yuan felt he’d likely opt for more straightforward energy-driven methods to operate these facilities.

A series of stone steps popped out from the rock wall. Before being activated, these steps were seamlessly integrated with the rocks, impossible to notice. But now, upon activation, they could discern a space behind each step large enough to fit them.

These steps extended directly down into the water from the passage along the rock wall.

According to their perception, the steps extended nearly to the bottom of the pool, meaning that they could always access this path to enter the passage as long as the pool wasn’t entirely dried up.

"Let’s go, see what lies inside."

Gesturing to Xiao Ji to transform back to its Eggshell Chicken form from an eagle, Feng Yuan smiled and said.

Agunas flicked its tail, asking,

"Are you sure it’s safe inside?"

The effect of the Netherworld’s Soul-Devouring Wondrous Stone is simple; it can devour spiritual power, rendering spiritual power perception useless against it.

The stone perfectly concealed the relic until Feng Yuan’s arrival led to its discovery.

Exchanging glances with Dou Yanlan, Qi Chen seemed keen on retreating, not due to fear of potential danger but out of concern they’d hinder progress.

Ultimately, they both chose to follow along; Dou Yanlan had Cotton closely trailing behind, while Qi Chen had the Hao Chun Bird perched on his shoulder.

The passage remained narrow but still wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

On either side of the passage lay inset altars, each holding a statue of an unknown deity.

Besides Feng Yuan, even Agunas and the others found these objects rather peculiar.

Given the existence of Divine Beasts here, this world has no god worship, or rather, gods in this world are represented by various Spirit Beasts and Divine Beasts rather than humans.

Yet here rested statues of human gods within the alcoves, an odd sight indeed.

"These artifacts... Kui Shan Town’s history extends back so far?"

Dou Yanlan muttered under her breath in surprise, her hand pinching her chin. Qi Chen looked at her perplexedly, while Feng Yuan casually wiped off the dust covering one of the altars, saying:

"Maybe not that far back; it’s just that human god worship is so rare, huh!"

For some reason, Feng Yuan thought the human god figures looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he’d encountered such sights.

Although he was certain the statues deviated from this world’s dominant cultural norms.

"Not long ago?"

Dou Yanlan looked at Feng Yuan in disbelief, while Agunas nervously flicked its tail, saying,

"Indeed, not more than a couple thousand years at most. But these artifacts..."

Feng Yuan shook his head slightly and remarked that while those statues and altars dated back a couple thousand years, it didn’t inherently mean the culture itself originated from that era.

Recalling what Tamur had mentioned earlier, if Kui Shan Town served as a haven for those people, it implied they persevered with a unique cultural legacy.

Unlike Agunas, Veronia, while insightful, chose not to dodge the topic, instead looking at the still-argumentative Agunas, saying,

"You seem quite scared?"

"What are you talking about?"

Facing Veronia’s remark, Agunas felt flustered and lightheartedly chuckled while Veronia looked at the statues and said,

"For humans, worshiping other humans as gods is incredibly rare, especially maintaining such practices over time, which is an arduous feat."

"Because false gods can’t showcase divine miracles; in the face of survival, faith gradually erodes unless... they knew these gods once existed."

Flaunting a mischievous grin, Veronia slowly stated,

"That would be... Divine Beings!"

"Impossible! Humans couldn’t possibly have escaped the Great Destruction!"

Instinctively refuting, Agunas revealed its anxiety, and before it could explain further, Veronia shook her head and added,

"You might refuse to acknowledge it, but beyond the Mythical Era, other epochs hardly saw any human god worship."

"Unfortunately, even if they were survivors of the Mythical Era, they likely committed quite a few errors as well."

Although Veronia wasn’t certain if her assumption held any truth, the possibility of Mythical Era human survivors seemed considerably more plausible than other theories.

Moreover, it partly explains how they could venture into the Netherworld since, for Mythical Era survivors, such a task wouldn’t be excessively challenging.

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Feng Yuan realized Veronia’s statement was indeed plausible, yet for some reason, he still felt something was amiss.