Chapter 153: Becoming a Legend of the Past

The phoenix was incredibly excited. "The only living thing that can approach me," it thought, carefully wrapping the azure lotus with its spiritual energy and carrying it out of the ocean.

Soon, it discovered the flower's unique properties. The azure lotus was remarkably heat-resistant, even surviving in dry soil. The phoenix quietly planted it in its Sun Palace, treating it like a pet, talking and chatting with it every day.

Xu Zhi watched this scene with mixed feelings. "This phoenix, with such gushing sentimentality, is supposed to be the Sun God!" he thought. "But after a hundred years of boredom in that desolate world, it's natural to be thrilled to finally have a living creature near it."

The phoenix was incredibly gentle, having inherited the memories and character of its ancestors. Generations had lived peacefully, without any hint of aggression, unlike its forebears, the "funeral chickens" who constantly sought to bring about the demise of gods.

"The first mass extinction in this large sandbox world occurred surprisingly quickly," Xu Zhi mused. Having experienced creation once before, he was accustomed to such events. "After this mass extinction, marine species will dwindle, and it will take another day or two for them to recover."

For the oceans to recover and marine plants to flourish again, and for various creatures to emerge, they would first need to spread to land.

"That will take several more days," he concluded. Xu Zhi was not in a hurry. Even if species went extinct several more times and new ones emerged, it wouldn't matter; evolution always required the survival of the fittest. It wasn't even fair to call it the phoenix's "human" factor; the phoenix was already an integral part of that world's natural environment, its very sun. If it couldn't withstand the sun's upheaval, then extinction was inevitable.

Having been busy until now, even persuading the phoenix to start a new sandbox, Xu Zhi finally finished his work. He hadn't checked the progress of the Wizard World since the great catastrophe a few days ago. He returned to the chair by the courtyard door, took out some Phoenix Spirit Tea from the fridge, and took a delighted sip. Chilled, it tasted even more refreshing.

While Xu Zhi was busy creating the new sandbox for two days, the Wizard World was slowly recovering from the great catastrophe. The entire forum, amidst cries of despair from players who felt the main storyline had been neglected, became lively once more. This was because, after two hundred years, the Book of Light in the Wizard World had awakened!

SmallBrainTiger_DownMountain: "Some scoundrel insisted it would only take a a hundred years to awaken, but what happened? Two hundred years!"

CuteGirl_EvolvingToDragon_LegendaryWebgameEndorser: "Someone already wants to become a capon, offered for cooking to the Creator God (confirmed)."

AkinaMountainSpeed_Confused: "That's not right! Medusa's research should have taken only seven or eight years, with a hundred-year gap in between, it should have been done by now (innocent eyes)."

However, facts spoke louder than words: Medusa had indeed taken two hundred years to complete her research on SmallBrainTiger_DownMountain's species.

Xu Zhi sipped his Phoenix Spirit Tea. "It's because I entered the sandbox and had a chat with Medusa about life, adjusting the time flow, which made her spend a lot of time. After our conversation, she immediately passed through five years of awakening before falling into slumber."

Regardless, after two days, SmallBrainTiger_DownMountain could finally re-enter the sandbox. Everyone on the "Spore Evolution" forum was incredibly excited, eager to see the world after the great battle.

And indeed, the entire Wizard World had changed dramatically.

New God Era, Year 203.

The world had transitioned from the extraordinary back to the mundane, and people had gradually forgotten that incredible era. Now, two great kingdoms stood in opposition: the Human Kingdom of Vidichimia and the Half-Orc Kingdom of Nephthys. Between them lay the ancient Balchik Monster Mountain Range, rife with danger, where countless magical beasts thrived and multiplied.

The former site of the Cthulhu Wizard Federation. The ruins here, with collapsed mountains and cracked earth, were now overgrown with trees and moss. Stubbornly, trees grew crookedly, leaning in all directions, forming a peculiar "crooked forest" landscape. Two hundred years later, this fragmented land was no longer suitable for habitation. However, this unique landscape still attracted countless tourists. Not far away was a small, dilapidated European-style town with medieval architecture, where several windmills slowly rotated on farm lawns, welcoming many visitors each year.

At this time, a tour guide was leading a group of tourists through the forest. Her skin was smooth and fair, her beautiful eyes bright and clear, and her golden hair flowed down. Dressed in a blue noble girl's evening gown with a black noble longsword at her waist, she cut a heroic figure, which was why countless tourists signed up for her tours.

They struggled through the distinctive forest landscape to a central monument. The beautiful guide, holding a small flag, led everyone on a tour of the cracked earth.

"In those days," she began, "the great emperors and monarchs of the three powerful Wizard Kingdoms, driven by noble ideals and unwavering determination, gathered the might of all wizards in the world to confront the Cthulhu Evil God that descended upon our world. The entire land was devastated! Royal cities crumbled! Ultimately, we established the Netherworld Forging Array, opening the gate to the truth of the world—the Gate of the Underworld—and achieved a devastating victory. Even after two hundred years, this land..."

As the guide spoke in a serious tone, they walked along. On the massive monument, the names and brief biographies of thousands of wizard heroes were inscribed. Only wizards of level five or higher from the three kingdoms had their names recorded on the monument; countless more nameless wizards had sacrificed their lives before their names could even be noted.

"That catastrophe brought peace to our world today! But our civilization was lost," the beautiful young guide said, her voice grave, as she walked steadily.

"Heh heh heh...," a young nobleman scoffed from the side. "Women, how could they possess such immense power? A group of wizards supposedly ruled our world centuries ago, from their wizard towers, schools, and academies?"

"Exactly," chimed in another. "And not to mention the rest: alchemical airships frequently seen in the sky? The legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon, massive flying cities, the ability to meet the gods in heaven? It's all too exaggerated."

"Even more exaggerated is the Cthulhu Evil God!" someone else added. "Countless human wizards building cities on its body? Such a myth is too outlandish; no normal person would believe it actually existed."

Discussions and whispers filled the air.

"What’s even funnier," a chubby, freckled young man exclaimed, making an extremely exaggerated gesture and wiggling his waist provocatively, "is that in the ancient Babylonian myths, half-orcs were supposedly the alchemical creations of evil witches on mountaintops! My goodness! Is that even possible? Half-orcs are clearly intelligent beings just like us humans! They are even stronger and more perfect beings, combining the advantages of both humans and giants…"

Among the crowd, a retired border soldier couldn't help but interject, "Half-orcs have constantly harassed our human borders. They have enormous appetites and are always plundering our border towns. A single half-orc can smash down our houses…"

"They can also communicate with monstrous beasts, those terrifying behemoths, using them as war beasts to invade our country. Our borders are lined with defensive arrow towers, and many Church Knights, armed with their swords, are there resisting the invasion."

Everyone exchanged glances, aware that the front lines were indeed under heavy pressure.

"Furthermore, the half-orc royalty, the Harpies, possess terrifying venom!" a voice added. "They are born with the ability to poison any living thing in the world. If not for the scarcity of half-orc royalty and the Monster Forest separating the two kingdoms, humanity would have perished long ago."

Among the crowd was a handsome, blonde-haired nobleman with two knights accompanying him, indicating his prominent status. He spoke gently and calmly, "I've tried practicing everything in those wizarding books, but they're all fake, completely useless! On the other hand, the bardic tales passed down from that era are quite interesting, though most of them are now lost. Only 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' remains, with no stories before or after it…"

An elderly nobleman with a small mustache, leaning on a dark mahogany cane, spoke with great knowledge, "But it's undeniable that it was an era of splendid development. I've heard that the winemaking techniques of that time were very mature, and there were also board games like Gwent. The popular phrase in bars back then was: 'Say nothing, let's play a round of Gwent!' It made the bar culture of that era very vibrant, but it's now lost."

"I've read the bards' travelogues; they're wonderful!" a girl said, more engrossed in the stories of that world. "Some of the surviving unique copies are made of unknown materials and feel a bit unsettling! But the wizards in Harry Potter already seem very powerful to me. Our wizards were supposedly many times stronger than them? Impossible."

"It's all just myth," someone interjected. "Ancient Sumerian myths, ancient Babylonian myths—which one isn't a myth?"

They continued to discuss and argue amongst themselves. As ancient myths, they were certainly spectacular. However, some in the crowd blushed and countered, arguing that the ancient truth-seeking wizards on this land must have truly existed, perhaps just not as exaggeratedly as the tales suggested. The power of wizards couldn't possibly rival deities; that would be too blasphemous to the gods in heaven! How could weak humans possibly defeat the gods in heaven? They probably just possessed some unique form of energy. After all, many alchemical airships had been excavated from the former sites of the three kingdoms' royal capitals. Although all were damaged, their immense size was beyond what current humans could manufacture.

After their discussions and tour, they moved to the next location: individual statues and monuments to great figures. These included the Three Witches, Ermin, and the First Pope of the Church of Light, holding a book. The Church of Light was not well-known during the Wizard Era, but in the current Kingdom of Vidichimia, where divine right ruled, the Church of Light held significant power, even possessing the authority to depose kings. Thus, the Pope was naturally considered one of the great figures.

"Everyone… the history the guide speaks of is real!" a young man among the tourists couldn't help but exclaim. "Wizards were a group of truth-seekers, incredibly admirable. They bestowed infinite knowledge and could influence the entire world. They truly possessed powers comparable to deities!"

"What evidence do you have?"

"Blasphemer, do not speak like that in front of the clergy of the Church of Light. You will be burned at the stake by the Church of Light."

People scoffed in response.

"I have proof," the young man said seriously, pointing to the statue of the Pope of Light. "Because I am him."

"Hahaha! You claim to be the First Pope?? That's a legendary figure! In myths, he led the suffering people of his time in resisting evil gods on a land filled with disaster."

"By Mercury, Goddess of Wisdom! If a cleric from the Church of Light were here, you'd be sent to the stake!" the surrounding tourists, strongmen, and noblemen couldn't help but comment.

"Who said I was the Pope? Look closely," the young man said very earnestly, pointing again. "I am the book in his hand! The Pope was actually a pervert who kept saying Emperor Ermin was his wife. We almost beat him to death for it."

Everyone stared blankly.

Many shook their heads. He was quite a character, probably a madman. To dare spread rumors about the great Pope of Light, a legendary hero who founded the entire Church of Light and lived in epics—how could he be a pervert?