Chapter 272: Speculation Subverting History

The Old General's duty was to guard the Immortal Ruins, preventing unauthorized entry. Only Eldest Senior Sister, Lu Yang, and the Immortal Ghost residing within Lu Yang were permitted to enter.

Upon entering the Immortal Ruins, Lu Yang felt a sense of familiarity. The Yanjiang branch of the Immortal Sect had a secret realm built entirely in the likeness of the Immortal Ruins. This was done to foster a sense of belonging and strengthen faith in the Immortal.

The floating platforms and the ancient structures upon them all felt very familiar. These buildings had crumbled under the ravages of time, making it hard to imagine their original state. Eldest Senior Sister snapped her fingers, and the collapsed structures levitated, piecing themselves back together to reform their original shapes, as if time had reversed.

Though their architectural style differed from contemporary designs, these buildings certainly couldn't be described as "ancient" in the conventional sense. Contemporary architecture had evolved over 300,000 years, beginning in the Great Qian era and adapting with each successive age. The ancient period spanned well over 300,000 years. By its later stages, art, language, and other aspects were highly developed, comparable to the present, with the only distinction being in style. The main structure was magnificent, with pavilions elegantly arranged. Even the grand entrance gate was inlaid with yellow jade, green jade, and red gold, exuding an imposing aura.

"Senior, do you recognize these buildings?" Yun Zhi asked.

With only the three of them in the ruins, the Immortal Fairy no longer needed to conceal her presence and emerged from the spiritual dimension. She carefully examined the structures, then gently shook her head. "I don't recognize these buildings," she said. "Although I'm not familiar with architectural styles, I have a strong feeling they don't belong to our era."

Yun Zhi rarely showed surprise, but she did then. "According to the Great Xia Dynasty's assessment, these ruins date back between 300,000 and 400,000 years ago. The Great Xia Dynasty has never made an error in dating historical sites. Furthermore, the architectural style and layout here don't match those of the early Great Qian period. There's a widespread academic consensus that when the nameless Ancient One refined the stars, the glorious ancient era was incinerated, and countless treasures vanished with it. Consequently, when the Great Qian Dynasty was first established, it promoted frugality, reducing taxes and rents. Yet, looking at the architecture of the Immortal Ruins, while not extravagant, it certainly doesn't align with a frugal philosophy."

These points weren't Yun Zhi's personal observations, but rather findings detailed in a report submitted to Emperor Xia by a team of veteran scholars commissioned by the imperial court to investigate the site.

"Then I don't know," the Immortal Fairy admitted honestly, as she wasn't adept at contemplating such matters.

Lu Yang had remained silent throughout. He hadn't expected to encounter difficulties so early in the exploration, with the very age of the ruins remaining undetermined.

Further on, they came across a mural that Lu Yang recognized. The mural depicted an Immortal, whose gender was indistinguishable, with arms outstretched. The Immortal held countless planets, and on each planet, a small kneeling figure presented offerings.

Lu Yang recalled four months earlier, when Steward Chu of Yanjiang County had brought the three of them into the secret realm. Before this very mural, he had explained the Immortal's origins, revealing to them the secret of the nameless Ancient One's planetary refinement. "Things change, but people pass away," Lu Yang sighed to himself. "How much time has really passed? Steward Chu, such a good person, is gone just like that, and the culprit remains at large, unpunished."

To the right of the mural was a lengthy passage of text that Lu Yang couldn't decipher.

"Is this ancient script?"

Yun Zhi nodded and provided a brief translation for Lu Yang. The text roughly stated that in ancient times, the Immortal protected humanity, fought against the nameless Ancient One, and eventually died from exhaustion. However, it claimed that merely speaking the Immortal's name could bring them back to life. It was now confirmed that this historical account was fabricated. Neither Immortal Fairy Huang Doudou nor Immortal Bu Yaolian had ever done anything of the sort. The Immortal Fairy had already perished before the nameless Ancient One began refining the stars, and the Immortal himself had only been born a few months prior.

"So, is this truly an ancient ruin?" Lu Yang frowned, feeling that things couldn't be so straightforward.

Yun Zhi shook her head. "I would have thought so before," she replied, "but after listening to Senior, I now suspect the text on the mural might have been deliberately left by the mastermind to mislead us."

Yun Zhi turned to the Immortal Fairy. "Senior," she said, "I've just translated most of the text. In our current era, people can't fully translate ancient languages. For instance, this specific inscription – neither the scholars sent by the imperial court nor I have been able to decipher it."

The Immortal Fairy gazed at the inscription, frowning in silence. She could, of course, understand it, but the phrase was so peculiar that she wondered if she had misread it. She read it aloud, word by word: "May the Immortal bless the Xin Huo Dynasty, may it last forever."

The Immortal Fairy then asked, "What is the Xin Huo Dynasty?"

Lu Yang was equally puzzled; he had never heard of a dynasty named "Xin Huo." Chronologically, after the end of the ancient era, the Great Qian Dynasty was established from its ruins. One hundred thousand years later, the Great Yu Dynasty succeeded the Great Qian Dynasty, and another hundred thousand years after that, the Great Xia Dynasty replaced the Great Yu Dynasty, continuing to the present day. There was simply no place for a Xin Huo Dynasty in this timeline. Nor could the Xin Huo Dynasty have existed during the ancient period, according to the Immortal Fairy.

Both Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy turned to Yun Zhi, hoping for an answer. Yun Zhi's brows furrowed slightly; she was just as perplexed by this revelation. "I've never heard of a Xin Huo Dynasty either," she admitted. "Could there have been one during the ancient period?"

Lu Yang dismissed the idea. "That's impossible," he stated. "The Fairy told me that during the ancient period, there were only tribes, and the very concepts of 'dynasty' or 'law' didn't exist."

The Immortal Fairy nodded in agreement.

Lu Yang then proposed a hypothesis: "Is it possible that the concept of a dynasty emerged, and one was established, after the Fairy's demise?"

Yun Zhi shook her head. "After Senior's fall," she explained, "the nameless Ancient One quickly refined the continent and eradicated everyone who knew the Fairy's true name. The time gap between these two events wouldn't have been long enough for a dynasty to be established." Yun Zhi's implication was that the Immortal Fairy's demise marked the beginning of the end for the ancient era.

Lu Yang seemed to have a thought, but the conjecture was too terrifying, threatening to completely overturn conventional understanding.

"Since all other possibilities have been excluded, only two remain. The first possibility is that the mural was created by the mastermind. He fabricated a non-existent 'Xin Huo Dynasty' to confuse and mislead us. The problem with this first possibility is that fabricating a non-existent dynasty would be too easily exposed, rendering the fabrication meaningless.

"The second possibility is that between the ancient period and the Great Qian era, there was another dynasty called the Xin Huo Dynasty. This Xin Huo Dynasty would have been the first in history, inheriting from the ancient period, utilizing ancient languages, and possessing ancient wealth. Only with the fall of the Xin Huo Dynasty would the ancient lineage have been completely severed. The problem with this second possibility is: why would no one know of the Xin Huo Dynasty's existence? How could the birth and fall of a dynasty leave absolutely no trace?"