Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 918 Ancient Negotiation Methods
"By the way, where is the nearest Yuwang Temple?" Xu Xuan turned to ask the silent Stone King.

"In Tushan." The Stone King's answer was still concise and to the point, without any redundancy.

That's one of the advantages of living a long life; you'll at least know the general outline of important locations and ancient legends across the land of Kyushu.

So the two changed direction and headed straight west.

Mount Tu is not hard to find; it stands majestically on the east bank of the Huai River.

Before long, they reached the foot of the mountain and began to climb the steps. Not far along, they saw the group of soldiers from Tunmen, their armor gleaming and their weapons arrayed, guarding the perimeter of the Yuwang Palace.

"These people are really efficient at doing bad things," Xu Xuan couldn't help but complain. "The government orders issued after the New Year have been completely blocked in just a few days. With this kind of execution ability, wouldn't it be better to do something worthwhile for the country and its people?"

Xu, the master of stealth, disdained such outdated human wall defense.

With a few leaps and bounds, he moved like a ghost, silently bypassing all the visible and hidden sentries, easily scaling the high wall and landing in the courtyard of the Yuwang Palace.

The moment his feet touched the ground, before he could even look around, a loud and penetrating "hahahaha" of laughter reached his ears.

The familiar boldness, the familiar recipe.

Then, the smiling old man was seen walking down the altar deep inside the main hall, another incarnation of King Yu.

Enveloped in a faint golden aura of divine power, it was a robust figure. Although its face was slightly different from the two statues seen in Dongting Lake and Taihu Lake, it possessed a unique ancient simplicity and majesty characteristic of this place.

But the laughter was almost identical, carrying a certain universal quality that transcends geographical boundaries.

However… Xu Xuan keenly sensed that this time, there seemed to be something else in the laughter compared to usual.

Upon closer inspection, beneath that boldness lies a subtle... barely perceptible unease.

Meeting this ancestor naturally involves a lively exchange of laughter and chatter.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xu Xuan looked the other person over and asked with some curiosity, "Brother, your avatar seems exceptionally vigorous? The incense and prayer power it gathers is also far more abundant than that of avatars in ordinary temples. Why is that?"

Upon hearing this, the incarnation of King Yu paused slightly with his laughter, then calmly said, "Yu convened the feudal lords at Mount Tu, and ten thousand states presented jade and silk."

He raised his hand and pointed to the land beneath his feet, his tone calm yet carrying the weight of history:
"This place is the starting point where the Holy King once convened the world and established the order of the Nine Provinces, so it is of extraordinary significance."

"There is a small, secret realm left over from ancient times in the mountains that maintains the spiritual energy. In addition, the incense here has been the most abundant and the faith the purest for thousands of years. Therefore, my body, which relies on Tushan for existence, naturally has more spirituality and is slightly stronger than other places."

Each incarnation of King Yu has a very clear understanding of its own position. They are merely the embodiment of the wishes of all beings and the merits of King Yu. They are symbols and shadows, but they are by no means the real King Yu.

Therefore, he explained it without any hesitation, and was surprisingly frank.

As for the Tushan Secret Realm... Xu Xuan indeed couldn't enter.

"Really, it's not that we don't welcome you," the smiling older brother said, rubbing his hands together, still with that same cheerful expression.

"The cause and effect entangled around you is far too complex, like a tangled mess of threads. If you rashly enter, there will likely be great disaster."

Then he changed the subject, his smile becoming even more "amiable," even carrying a hint of inexplicable expectation: "By the way, young man, how have I... treated you?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Xuan gasped in shock.

Oh no! It's that familiar opening line!

When someone says something like that, they're usually either asking for a favor or asking to borrow money!

Moreover... when I tricked Turtle into becoming an undercover agent, my first sentence seemed to be the same.

As the dignified incarnation of the Holy Emperor and the revered ancestor of humanity, you can't possibly resort to this kind of trick!

But... just as Gui Da couldn't refuse Xu Xuan back then, Xu Xuan also found it difficult to refuse King Yu with a clear conscience at this time.

There's no other reason than that this guy... really gave too much!

Through that mysterious Nuo mask, he borrowed the supreme authority of King Yu to suppress mountains and rivers and control the water element on several occasions, which allowed him to escape several near-death situations.

This debt of gratitude is truly owed.

Xu Xuan took a deep breath, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Brother, you've always been incredibly kind to me! Just... give me your orders!"

"Hahahaha! Good! Excellent! You truly are a fine young man of my human race!" King Yu's incarnation laughed even more heartily and patted Xu Xuan's shoulder forcefully.

He then recounted how Wuzhiqi broke the seal and almost casually caused the Huai River to flood both banks.

"Hiss~~" Xu Xuan felt a chill run down his spine. "These ancient demons... why is it that their ultimate goal is to destroy the human race or flood the earth? Putting aside how they got out, let's just say... are all the big shots' pursuits so singular and uncreative?"

"Hehe, you can't say that." The incarnation of King Yu stroked his chin, offering a unique perspective.

"It's similar to when you're angry and casually smash a teacup. Except it's more powerful, and it's like smashing the Huai River."

"For it, it may not be about deliberately destroying anything, but just venting its emotions."

Yu the Great's explanation... sounds absurd, but upon closer inspection, it seems to make some sense. "Then why didn't you just completely eliminate this monkey back then, instead of simply locking it up?" Xu Xuan couldn't help but ask curiously.

The way these ancient powerful beings handle trouble always seems to be taught by the same master.

Seal, seal, and more sealing. Do you guys also have a penchant for leaving plot points and giving experience packs to future "protagonists"?
He couldn't help but complain: "Aren't you afraid that your descendants will be unworthy and some old devils will take advantage of the situation and kill you with a flick of their wrist?"

Upon hearing this, the smile on the face of the incarnation of King Yu faded slightly, and a trace of ancient bloodlust seemed to flash in his eyes, which were formed from the power of incense and prayers.

His tone remained calm, yet it carried an undeniable, metallic edge:
"Believe me, child. If I had been strong enough back then to completely wipe out all the threats to humanity in the world of Kyushu... then there would be nothing left on this land that could threaten your lives, whether it is a demon, a god, or anything else."

He spoke casually, but behind his words, it seemed as if an endless sea of ​​blood was churning, and countless roars and battles were echoing.

In ancient times, the human race fought against all other races of the world; it was an era of truly insane carnage.

They'll use any means necessary to survive and continue their lineage; they have no concept of "morality" what later generations would call it.

The law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak and the victor reigns supreme, was the most naked rule of that era.

While King Yu was already a top human powerhouse, Wuzhiqi, who occupied the source of the Huai River, was indeed stronger when the floods in the Nine Provinces were still raging and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was in chaos.

The monkey used the Huai River as a staff, churning up the river and sea with overwhelming ferocity, and at one point it beat this "smiling old man" so badly that he couldn't laugh at all.

“So,” the Yu King avatar shrugged, his tone somewhat matter-of-fact, “then let’s call for reinforcements.”

So he gathered all the human experts he could muster at the time, laid a trap, and only managed to suppress the arrogant and overbearing monkey through a fierce brawl.

However, Wuzhiqi's physical body was almost indestructible, and it was closely connected to the source of the Huai River. As long as the Huai River did not dry up, its power was almost inexhaustible.

The cost of complete annihilation would be unimaginable, and could even shake the newly restored world.

Left with no other choice, they could only try their best to forcibly stuff it into that specially made "well," hoping to slowly erase it with the help of time and the power of the seal.

"Later," the incarnation of King Yu said with a hint of emotion, "although the flood was quelled, there was still much to be done after establishing the Nine Provinces. We had to sort out the earth's veins, influence the rules of heaven, and make the human race the protagonist of this world; we also had to deal with other equally powerful ancient beings... With so many entanglements, unknowingly, this monkey was 'left behind' and has lived to this day."

Xu Xuan nodded; these ancient secrets were indeed fascinating.

However, judging from Yu the Great's casual remark about "various means," this guy, besides being cheerful, was probably a ruthless character who was well-versed in military strategy back then.

That said, how come this conceptual embodiment of Yu the Great, formed from the power of incense offerings, remembers ancient events so clearly?
How could they know even such details so intimately? Does the Tushan Secret Realm possess a magical function that allows for the backup of memories for those who offer incense?

Seeing Xu Xuan's eyes flicker, revealing a thoughtful expression that seemed to say, "There's more to this than meets the eye," she realized that he was looking for something interesting to discover.

The incarnation of King Yu decisively coughed twice, interrupting this dangerous sign.

"Ahem, enough of the small talk. The problem now is that the monkey is squatting in the Huai River at the foot of the mountain, and it has a terrible temper."

"As for my incense-burning body, it has already exhausted most of its accumulated power in order to suppress the water, and it is temporarily unable to confront it head-on."

"Therefore, in order to avoid the loss of life on both sides of the Huai River, I used a negotiation method commonly used in ancient times."

Ancient negotiation methods?

Xu Xuan felt a sense of foreboding.

After hearing King Yu's explanation, Xu Xuan's expression instantly turned somewhat awkward.

The so-called ancient negotiation method, to put it bluntly, is that everyone agrees on a time and place, you pick up your stick, I pick up my axe, and we start chopping.

The side that wins the fight is considered to have the most to say, and the negotiation is considered to have been successfully completed.

"...But that monkey down there sounds like it's even more capable than you are now, right?" Xu Xuan pointed out the key issue tactfully.

“What came was not its true form, but rather a transformation of one of its life-giving hairs,” King Yu added.

"A single hair?!" Upon hearing this, Xu Xuan immediately perked up, rolled up his sleeves, and exclaimed, "Then what are we waiting for? I'll go down the mountain right now and meet it!"

It's just a hair, how could it cause any upheaval?

“Hmm,” the avatar of King Yu nodded, his tone still steady, “but the power that this monkey’s hair avatar can mobilize within the Huai River basin is almost the limit that the human world can bear, especially since its authority is not much different from that of the real body in person.”

The person froze, silently putting back the sleeves they had just rolled up, and smoothing out the wrinkles.

“Actually,” he added with a serious expression, “I really was born in the Year of the Monkey. Logically speaking, I should have more in common with my monkey ancestors. Fighting and killing would only damage our harmony…”

The problem is stuck like this.

Now, as the "very capable friend" in Yu the King's words, Xu Xuan's first task is both incredibly clear and incredibly difficult.

On behalf of King Yu, he went to confront the monkey hair at the foot of the mountain that could command the Huai River and whose power was comparable to the limits of human ability...

A fight was arranged.

(End of this chapter)