I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 597 - 597 596. Give yourself a joy_1

Chapter 597: 596. Give yourself a joy_1 Chapter 597: 596. Give yourself a joy_1 Cao Manwen, being an archaeologist, naturally understood much about the history of cultural relics.

Once, there were many exquisitely beautiful artifacts in the country, but during the years of turmoil, these treasures ended up overseas. Some were plundered by armies; others were stolen by those so-called protectors of cultural relics—wealthy merchants and researchers—who took them under the guise of protection, to be placed in the museums and display cases of their own countries.

To this day, they still take pride in this.

This filled Cao Manwen with indignation.

Suddenly, he understood the message that Lu Ban’s film was trying to convey.

It was a denunciation, through the mouths of these superpowered individuals, of those trying to cheat our country out of its cultural relics!

No wonder the movie was not released abroad!

Cao Manwen might not understand movies, but he understood cultural relics!

Unlike abroad, the artistic expression in our country values subtlety.

Sometimes it tells the rise and fall of a large family, but actually, it uses the people within a great house to depict an era.

Other times, it talks about the life experiences of opera singers, but in fact, it uses the operas to express the joys and sorrows of life.

So, Lu Ban’s movie, on the surface, is about the contests and comparisons among superpowered individuals in a time of war, but in reality, it’s about the battles that artisans fought to protect our cultural relics.

Brilliant!

The bizarre powers showcased by those inheritors of the Ninth River lineage, in Cao Manwen’s view, represented the various skills of the artisans.

Thinking this, Cao Manwen couldn’t help but lament his own naivety. Look, Professor Hu understood it at first glance, whereas you, young one, were still pondering.

In the movie, Lu Ban started ascending the steps, one by one heading towards the cave.

Cao Manwen felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

This feeling, it was just like when Lu Ban was going up to the attic in “Peaceful Days in Spring,” hinting that something big was about to happen.

Then, Lu Ban entered the cave sealed by the Mysterious Monarch and saw the books on the table, the skeleton, and those words.

[A salute to the dead, from those who are about to die]

Seeing this, Cao Manwen understood.

The Mysterious Monarch was not some transcendental being, but a candle, a torch, a piece of firewood.

Just like amber, it was only by igniting the life of the Mysterious Monarch that this world could continue.

The only difference was that the Mysterious Monarch could cling to life until it ran out, and it was those who became the Mysterious Monarch that chose this path for themselves.

But why?

Cao Manwen didn’t know why, after witnessing all of this, these people would choose to take up this mantle instead of fleeing, leaving Jiangcheng Mountain behind and never dealing with these supernatural powers again.

But looking at Professor Hu, he seemed to understand again.

Indeed, in such times of turmoil, and even throughout the long history of wars, those talented and superpowered individuals could have lived solely for themselves.

Those with a certain amount of power could indeed live and work in peace and contentment, far from strife, unconcerned with affairs beyond their windows.

But still, some chose to stand up.

To sacrifice their heads, to shed their blood, all for the sake of striving toward a future ideal.

What were they doing this for?

Cao Manwen didn’t quite understand, yet it felt like he did.

He didn’t know who this original Mysterious Monarch was; he was anonymous with no one aware of his identity.

But he could be anyone.

Lu Ban was studying the history of the Mysterious Monarch with a book when suddenly, the earth trembled.

The scene shifted to the foreign research team.

They had dug open the mountain and found a tunnel that appeared to have been bored by a colossal worm, discovering a hidden cave.

Upon entering the cave, they found a coffin and immediately summoned people to try to push open the coffin.

Watching this, Cao Manwen couldn’t help but curse inwardly. Such acts were undoubtedly courting death on a grand scale!

Knowing that a monster was buried in this mountain, they still sought to tamper with the seal. Could the efforts of generations of Inheritors of the Ninth River really be doomed by these people’s hands?

At the same time, the few who stayed in the temple also encountered an abnormal situation.

The stone Divine Idol suddenly, as if summoned by something, shed its stone surface, and the lifelike idol astonishingly transformed into a monster!

The plot suddenly became fantastical.

Seeing the monster with continuously writhing tentacles, Cao Manwen’s scalp tingled, and goosebumps covered his body.

He had never seen such creatures before. No, it wouldn’t be right to call it a creature; surely, such a being could not exist on Earth. This monster represented the embodiment of malice, with its squirming tentacles, the fine teeth spreading from its nostrils, the Sharp four eyes—all questioning the souls of the audience.

Stephen was now thinking, “If I am guilty, let God punish me, not let me see such a thing.”

Initially, he thought Lu Ban was biased upon watching the earlier scenes, questioning why it wasn’t right to explore the unknown in the name of justice. The foreigners had indeed improved the level of superpowered individuals in reality, so why not?

But now, he had completely discarded his previous thoughts.

All he wanted was for these damned creatures to disappear from his sight promptly.

With a splash—

The Divine Idol was knocked down by a rock hurled by Tang Que, but from its head emerged a mass of worms wriggling like earthworms, just like those seen by He Chong with his Yin Yang Eyes on the mountain trail.

These worms were the Clan of the imprisoned Evil God, and this whole mountain was Its grave.

Stephen felt a stabbing pain in his stomach. If it were just the images, it wouldn’t be so bad, but Lu Ban’s movie seemed to possess a peculiar magic, making Stephen feel as though he was there.

It was as if he wasn’t sitting in the movie theater, but standing on the damp, stifling, and eerie Jiangcheng Mountain, facing these indescribable beings.

Even more, he saw the tentacles stretching out from the screen, almost within arm’s reach.

He could hear the low screams in the movie theater, and he himself clutched the armrest tightly, reminding himself that this was only a movie. Yet although his mind was convinced, his body was not; trembling took over him from his fingertips to his spine, a current-like shudder emanating from the massive creature resembling an elephant, making Stephen’s scalp tingle and his teeth chatter uncontrollably.

If such monsters existed in reality, Stephen believed that he would have plunged into madness at the first sight of it, fleeing reality until only death seemed the appropriate action to take.

In the film, the foreign soldiers also fell into madness, unable to resist, and after the few with strong wills fired a couple of shots at the creatures with no effect, they gave up resisting and ended their own lives with bullets swiftly.

However, the inheritors of the Nine Streams showed no fear; they wielded their power, contending with the creatures.

In this crazy world, they were like the sole beam of rational light, sustaining Stephen and all the audience.

Meanwhile, the foreigners who had found the site of the Evil God’s Seal had also entered the Temple.