Master of Ten Thousand Foxes-Chapter 36: The Slave Civilization of the Ancient Immortal Dynasty

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: The Slave Civilization of the Ancient Immortal Dynasty

Expert Huang Fu’s expression grew much more solemn.

"...The history we have recorded isn’t actually very long. The oldest dates back to the era of the Yellow Emperor, more than 4,700 years ago.

"Among the unearthed relics, we discovered the more ancient Sanxingdui civilization.

"And the Immortal Realm you all dream of, we speculate, is a civilization even older than Sanxingdui, one that existed countless millennia ago and revolved around Immortal Cultivation.

"This Immortal Cultivation civilization had no internal combustion engine, no electrical facilities, no informatization, yet it was incredibly prosperous! It could be described as another branch of the technological tree, or another possibility for the development of civilization.

"This Immortal Cultivation civilization possessed Immortals of the Immortal Martial Sequence that connected heaven and earth, had sprawling palaces, endless fields, and gigantic bronze workshops where the fires never ceased both day and night.

"Yet for reasons unknown, this civilization was eradicated cleanly and swiftly, disappearing into the annals of history. For thousands of years, it left no traces, no mention in any records. Until three years ago, when it revealed its ruins in our dreams.

"This is merely our speculation, our preliminary research findings. Not necessarily absolutely correct."

The conference room fell truly silent.

The Immortal Realms each person dreamed of might differ somewhat. However, without exception, all had the ruins of palaces.

Upon hearing this conclusion, everyone recalled the constant overcast skies in their dreams, the endless debris of crumbling walls, and remembered those palaces with collapsed roofs, the copper tripods with rusted inscriptions, the altars with decayed railings, the massive columns broken at the waist... From these, one could almost imagine how majestic and grandiose, magnificent and diverse they must have been before their destruction!

And just why was such a civilization destroyed? Overturned? Wiped out? Why was it so utterly buried in the river of history, not leaving even a trace in the present world? And why does it appear in the dreams of descendants?

The large screen showed Expert Huang Fu continuing to speak.

"We are still continuing our research on many things, and everyone is welcome to keep paying attention.

"But there is one conclusion we are quite confident in, and even find obvious.

"Everyone can think about this: how was the Ancient Immortal Civilization able to build so many such grand palaces? Was it with Immortal Techniques?

"Our team believes no, it wasn’t Immortal Techniques.

"Immortal Techniques are Conquering Techniques; they are not productivity.

"In that era, that civilization, the most important productivity was slaves!"

Was the Ancient Immortal Civilization a slave society?

Bai Mo felt a sudden realization in his heart and immediately felt that this explanation indeed made sense!

No wonder all these Immortal Techniques sequences are so bloody and brutal, like the promotion ritual of the Immortal Martial Path... killing ten people. In modern times, this would undoubtedly be highly controversial, but in a slave society, it would just be a minor matter.

On the screen, Expert Huang Fu continued to speak.

In the audience, many people seemed to have an epiphany, frowning as they thought, even starting to whisper among themselves.

"I see, so all the Immortal Techniques we learn come from a slave society."

"I knew it, these sequence names are all so old-fashioned.

"What’s with Medicine People, what’s with Soup People. What’s with Bloodthirsty, what’s with Blood Man. What’s with Talisman Person, what’s with Talisman Person.

"Turns out they are names given in a slave society, no wonder they aren’t trendy at all."

Sitting in the back row of the audience, Yu Tingting suddenly understood.

"I was just wondering, if killing cattle could replace killing people to complete the ritual, then why didn’t the ancient Immortals kill cattle to advance?

"Turns out it was a slave society!

"In a slave society, cattle are more valuable than people! They would naturally prioritize killing slaves to advance, not cattle."

Upon hearing this, the students unanimously felt enlightened, thinking it made a lot of sense.

Images flooded into their minds... in ancient times, before the great hall, at the promotion ceremony of the Immortal Martial Sequence, someone killed ten slaves in succession, splattered with warm blood, advancing to Bloodthirsty... how creepy!

In the front row, next to Bai Mo, Master Chong’s old face was stiff, seemingly deep in thought.

"So Gu Dao... no wonder Gu Insects hold a higher status than humans... it was because of that..."

Bai Mo also thought of more.

"In the medicinal materials, there are various human skins, bones, hearts, and livers. I thought some evil cultivators had a penchant for meat.

"Turns out it’s because of the slave system...

"What status did those Ancient Immortals hold in a slave society? Nobles? Slave masters?"

...

At night, the cool breeze was gentle.

West State City No. 47 Middle School had finished its evening self-study, students left in groups of three or five, chatting and laughing as they walked out of the school gates with their backpacks.

Bai Mo, wearing a windbreaker and carrying a backpack, was also among the crowd.

He hadn’t come to school in a long time, and this time the entire school organized a mock exam. He came back to participate in the exam to help boost the class average.

Perhaps it had been too long since he’d been here, as he walked past the school gates again, he actually felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

While walking, he overheard his classmates gossiping.

"Have you heard? Chen Bo, that short fatty from Class 8, got bullied by some hooligans."

"I heard, something like his butt got hurt, and now he doesn’t even dare to sit on a bench."

"Huh? What kind of hooligans have such heavy tastes?"

Bai Mo tugged at the corners of his mouth, finding it hard to believe such rumors.

Though indeed boys also need to protect themselves, he knew Chen Bo... Chen Bo comes from a single-parent family, quite similar to his own orphan status. They’ve had a few encounters before, assessing poor students and such. That guy Chen Bo isn’t attractive in the slightest. No way anything would happen.

Nowadays, students love to fabricate stories!

...

After walking along the street for a while, Bai Mo turned into a pitch-black alley.

This alley, without street lamps, led directly to his residential area and was the shortest route.

White mist rose under Bai Mo’s feet, and he then summoned a subordinate, Black Gloves, tossing his backpack to it.

He saw this fellow joyfully embracing the backpack, wagging its tail as it followed its master.

One person and one fox, walking in the night breeze, soon exited the alley and reached a secluded intersection.

There, under a solitary yellow streetlamp, sat a beat-up old van, its purpose unclear.

Bai Mo paid it no mind.

However, from the van emerged a dozen or so people with bizarre hairstyles, wearing tight jeans, their long hair covering most of their faces, who rushed forward and surrounded Bai Mo.

The leader, looking Bai Mo up and down, and then eyeing Black Gloves.

"Walking the dog in the middle of the night?"

His hair was so long it covered his eyes, obscuring his vision, leading him to mistakenly see Black Gloves as a dog.

Bai Mo and Black Gloves were both stunned.

Originally, they thought these ’killmats’ were relics from over a decade ago. How were they still around today?

Black Gloves was also taken aback, its fox eyes roving around, scrutinizing these dozen figures. They looked so strange!

The leader took out a butterfly knife from his pocket, flipping it deftly a couple of times.

He pointed at Bai Mo, then at the van.

"Come, get in the van with me!"