He changed Tiwat

"I actually have things I haven't finished either," Han Fulai said with a smile. "Mr. Ye, let's continue our previous conversation."

He pointed to "the nails of the rock".

“We spoke once before in the consciousness space of the ‘Wishing Stone.’ I said then that even if you kill the ‘Apostle of Fate,’ your work is not over. Although I only vaguely felt then that you had grand ambitions, now I can confirm what you want to do…”

Ye Mingxiang looked at Han Fulai with a slight surprise.

“Although our previous exchanges were brief, you have already revealed enough information in your words.” Han Fulai tapped his forehead. “Your target for revenge is not just that ‘Apostle of Fate.’ He is merely a link in your plan, a pawn used to lure out this giant serpent of ruins. What you truly need is this giant serpent of ruins, or more precisely, what is inside it—the energy core capable of absorbing the power of the abyss.”

“I guess what you originally wanted to do was the same thing that ‘Apostle of Fate’ just did—to merge with this giant serpent of the ruins, right?”

After realizing Ye Mingxiang's identity as a descendant of Kanria, Han Fulai had already realized that his targets for revenge were not limited to just a few people.

His enemies killed his family, but who turned his family into Hilichurls?

Every grievance has its source, and every debt has its debtor. The national and personal grievances that Ye Mingxiang bears, in the final analysis, all fall on the head of that person on Sky Island.

When Jiang Xue recalled his previous conversation with Ye Mingxiang in the "master's sect", he mentioned that Ye Mingxiang wanted to ask him to join her in pursuing "justice" in this world.

Who determines "justice" in this world? Heaven's justice.

As fellow "rebels," Han Fulai only needed to put himself in Ye Mingxiang's shoes to understand her thoughts.

Han Fulai always remembered what Ye Mingxiang had said to him in front of the ancient ruins—

"Humans can also kill gods; from outside the world, we obtain the power to negate the world."

The "power to deny the world" hidden beneath the giant abyss of layered rocks is most likely the giant serpent of the ruins.

So Han Fulai did one thing—

"Sorry, I asked my 'Wishing Stone' friend to help me smash that energy core."

He had just sent Ye Mingxiang over to confirm the fate of the "Apostle of Destiny" so that he could see with his own eyes the energy core destroyed by the "Layered Rock Nail" and extinguish his hopes.

The smile on Han Fulai's face now looked particularly despicable.

Ye Mingxiang stared at him for a long time, then sighed.

He slowly lowered the greatsword and rested it in front of him.

"This is the secret of the Kanria royal family's heritage—the name of this giant serpent of the ruins is 'The Seven Heirs Worm,' also known as 'Haftavid's Worm.'"

"'Haftavid's Worm'...?" Han Fulai frowned. Although he was a transmigrator, this was the first time he had heard this name.

And this name seems to hide some great secret.

"Haft means 'seven' in Old Canrian, and vad means 'child.' The name comes from the Shahnameh, a long allegorical poem in the Canrian royal collection. It comes from an ancient kingdom called 'White Nights'...that kingdom no longer exists."

This is a story that Krodal Jalberridge told Ye Mingxiang many years ago.

Both the Kingdom of White Night and Kanria have fallen, and the Book of Kings has also disappeared with the fall of Kanria. Only Krodal, a high-ranking nobleman from the Kanria regent's lineage, knows many of its secrets.

According to Krodal, the Kingdom of White Nights is an ancient kingdom that survives from the distant past. Unlike the godless kingdom of Kanria, the Kingdom of White Nights was guided by divine messengers, and its wise men had the privilege of hearing divine revelation, thus recording a wealth of valuable information. At that time, the Kingdom of White Nights, like Kanria, was buried deep underground, never seeing the light of day. However, after receiving divine revelation, their wise men even invented an "artificial sun" that could turn the eternal darkness of the underground into daylight.

Two thousand years ago, Kanria sent a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of White Night.

On the surface, this was just a routine state visit. If there was anything special about it—the Kanria diplomats brought with them a large number of their prized "farming machines," later commonly known as Ruin Guardians. Of course, the Kanria diplomats claimed this was for technological exchange with the White Night Kingdom.

But in reality, the true purpose of the Kanria delegation's trip was to find the ancient book of the White Night Kingdom, "The Past of the Sun and Moon".

It was a history book that recorded the time before the gods, at the beginning of creation. That book seemed to contain many secrets about this world and about Sky Island.

The Kanria delegation borrowed the book from the White Night Kingdom's library and framed the "Earth Officials" responsible for receiving and protecting the delegation. Because the book was of great importance and could not be lost, the three Earth Officials from the White Night Kingdom responsible for receiving the delegation were detained for investigation. Meanwhile, the Kanria delegation took the opportunity to attempt to leave the White Night Kingdom with the book, "The Past of the Sun and Moon," and bring it back to Kanria.

Although the plan seemed foolproof, the imprisoned White Night Kingdom's Earth Official escaped from prison and caught up with the Kanriyans. The Earth Official retrieved the "Stories of the Sun and Moon" and engaged in a fierce battle with the delegation and the ruins guards they brought—it is said that the White Night Kingdom's Earth Officials even possessed the strength to destroy ruins guards with their bare hands.

Ultimately, the Kanria delegation failed to take away "The Past of the Sun and Moon" and fled the White Night Kingdom in disarray.

“But they didn’t come away empty-handed.” Ye Mingxiang stroked the hilt of the greatsword.

"Because although the envoy from Kanria failed to bring the book back, he did read it. That's why the Book of Kings came into being." Han Fulai immediately understood.

Just like what those secretaries did in the previous Yuehaiting leak incident. Although they failed to steal the confidential documents, as long as they remembered the contents, the location of the documents themselves was actually unimportant.

Ye Mingxiang nodded, "That's right. Among the survivors of the mission, someone had looked through that book in the library and wrote down parts of it from memory. The history books of the White Night Kingdom contain a lot of allegorical records, so the 'Chronicles of Kings' written by the envoy of Kanria is also an allegorical story..."

In ancient times, there was a great king who ruled over an immensely vast territory. All the city-states submitted to him, and he was revered as the "King of Kings" (Shahanshah).

The King of Kings was named Babak, and he had two sons: the elder named Sapur and the younger named Ardashir. Ardashir is the protagonist of the Shahnameh (Book of Kings).

After Babak's death, his eldest son and regent Shapur succeeded to the throne, but Ardashir refused to recognize Shapur's throne, and war broke out.

Ardashir rallied his loyal followers to fight against Shapur, while Shapur also amassed an army to attack Ardashir.

But during Shapur's advance, his command post suddenly collapsed, burying him in the ruins. The throne then fell to Ardashir. Rumors circulate that Shapur was actually assassinated by his close confidants.

Although Ardashir inherited the throne, his position was not secure. In his quest for the throne, he murdered many who posed a threat to him, and his atrocities aroused public discontent, with city-states constantly declaring rebellion.

The Kingdom of Kerman was once a vassal state of Babak, but declared itself an independent kingdom during the civil war between Shapur and Ardashir. The king of Kerman was named Haftarvid, and he built the strategically important and easily defensible city of Kojaran as his capital.

Haftar was the most wise ruler, and the country under his rule was like the most spiritual tree in a garden.

Haftar possesses many treasures, but the most special one among them is "Haftavid's Worm".

The worm was a terrifying monster, as long as a giant snake and as large as an elephant. Enemy armies would retreat without a fight at the mere sight of it.

Moreover, the worm could spin silk, which could be woven into fine silk, helping the Kingdom of Kerman become the wealthiest kingdom. Such a kingdom would threaten the rule of Ardashir.

Ardashir sent an army to attack Haftar, but Haftar had 10,000 brave soldiers and defeated the army sent by Ardashir.

Ardashir then assembled all his troops and personally led an expedition against the Kingdom of Ackerman. Other nations that had submitted to him followed him in conquering the city of Kojaya. In the end, he breached the walls of Kojaya, killed Haftarvid and his people, as well as the worm, and looted all the treasures within the city.

In the end, Ardashir conquered all the rebellious city-states, ascended the throne a second time, and became the true "King of Kings."

Jiang Xue seemed to be deep in thought; this was a secret his senior brother had never told him.

But if Haftarvid is the king of Kanria, and the "King of Kings" represents the Isle of Sky... this parable has many similarities to history from five hundred years ago—for example, the fall of Kanria.

“This is a parable, and also a prophecy. We all know that the prophecy came true,” Ye Mingxiang said.

Han Fulai's expression turned serious. He suddenly regretted his curiosity. He shouldn't have tried to pry into Ye Mingxiang's secrets.

What Ye Mingxiang said—was it something that could be said, or something that couldn't be said?

And regardless of whether this matter can be spoken of, the "Layered Rock Nail" representing Sky Island heard it all clearly.

The fact that the "rock nail" didn't fall to silence them after hearing this story suggests that fables can be told—because AI might not understand fables.

The only saving grace is that the ley lines of the Abyss are temporarily severed, so their conversation will not leave any record of the ley lines.

Well, since I've already listened, I might as well go all the way.

Han Fulai began, “...If this prophecy is true, it means...Kanria knew it all along? They knew it two thousand years ago?”

Ye Mingxiang nodded expressionlessly.

"Then...why?" Han Fulai pointed once again to the giant serpent of the ruins, the remains of the so-called "Seven Heirs Worm".

The fact that this giant serpent of the ruins was named "The Seven Heirs" already shows that the Kanriyans knew what fate awaited them.

If this fable was written two thousand years ago, and if the Kanreia people received inspiration from the White Night Kingdom two thousand years ago, why would they build this mechanical behemoth?

Now that we know this prophecy, shouldn't we try to avoid this fate of destruction?

If Kanri was attacked by Tenri because of "Haftavid's worm", and if Kanri even touched on secrets that could threaten Tenri's rule as "King of Kings", why would they keep these handles?

Is it because of self-confidence? Because they believe they truly possess the power to defy the laws of nature—"the power to negate the world from outside the world"?

Or is it because, as a nation without gods, the people of Kanria do not believe in so-called "divine revelation" or "prophecy"? By giving the giant serpent of the ruins such a name, they are expressing an attitude of contempt for the laws of nature?

In response to Han Fulai's question, Ye Mingxiang replied with two sentences.

The first sentence is—

"A prophecy is a prophecy because it is absolute."

And the second sentence is—

"But we don't call a prophecy a 'prophecy' if it hasn't been verified."

Chapter 288 "Pearls and Gems" [4k5]

At first glance, Ye Mingxiang's two sentences seem to be "correct but useless statements".

As a civil servant in Liyue, Han Fulai sees this kind of talk on documents eight hundred times a day.

The reason is simple: "prediction" itself is subject to "survivorship bias".

Just now, there was also a "Fate Apostle" who asked people to "listen to a prophecy," saying that his enemy would freeze to death in the snowstorm—and then he manipulated the power of ice elements to kill his enemy. If he killed his enemy, then his prophecy would be absolutely accurate.

As a result, D'Artagnan, who was prophesied to freeze to death, ran away, while Ye Mingxiang stood there perfectly fine, whereas the "prophet" himself was annihilated and left without a complete corpse.

Only verified prophecies are called "prophecies". Prophecies that are not verified are just nonsense and cannot be considered "prophecies".

It's like going to Jade Peak to investigate housing prices in Liyue Harbor and asking the wealthy families living there if they can afford to buy a house in Liyue Harbor—of course they can! Why would someone who can't afford a house live in Jade Peak? They'd even say that land in Liyue Harbor is incredibly expensive, and housing prices are still too low and should rise further.

Ultimately, this is a matter of statistical methodology. If only verified prophecies are counted as prophecies, then those prophecies are of course absolutely correct.

Ye Mingxiang seemed to be telling them that Kanria did not believe in the prophecy of the White Night Kingdom.

As a "godless kingdom," it is not surprising that Canria holds this attitude towards prophecy.

But... Ye Mingxiang spoke these two sentences with a very serious and earnest attitude.

This forced Han Fulai to seriously consider whether there were any other meanings in these two sentences...

Then he suddenly understood.

What is the significance of "prophecy"?

Is it to guide people to avoid the disasters foretold in the prophecy?

no.

Prophecy must be absolute.

If people can avoid the prophesied calamities, then the prophecy has not come true and cannot be called a prophecy. This is fundamentally a logical paradox.

Just like the "2012 doomsday" and "Mayan prophecy of the end of the world" that Han Fulai had heard before his time travel, how many people swore that the ancient Mayan calendar was so advanced, their civilization so brilliant, that they could hear the revelations of the sun god, and that their prophecies would never be wrong...

As it turned out, 2012 passed, and the end of the world did not come. So people changed their tune and said that the Mayan prediction of 2012 was not the end of the world, but the beginning of a new era... Not only that, but a large number of new religions emerged, claiming that their own religion had actively used supernatural powers to prevent the end of the world... In short, the Mayan prophecy was not wrong; what was wrong was the understanding of later generations.

Before the end of the world, cult leaders can sell "indulgences" and "tickets to Noah's Ark" to their followers; after the end of the world has passed and the prophecy has not come true, cult leaders can then sell "thank-you coupons" and "tickets to heaven" to their followers... All these phenomena make one sigh that there are too many fools and not enough swindlers.

—As the old saying goes, people will only believe what they want to believe.

Why would a country like Kanria, which is clearly a godless land and constantly boasts of human wisdom, choose to seek out the "divine revelation" left in the Kingdom of White Night?

If the Kanriyans had believed in the prophecies of the gods, they would not have been a godless nation.

If a prophecy can be evaded, it cannot be called a prophecy.

But... what if Canria simply wanted people to believe the allegorical stories in the "Prehistory of the Sun and Moon"? What if Canria simply wanted this prophecy to be passed down?

“These are prophecies… Whether it’s the Book of Kings or the Book of the Sun and Moon, they’re not talking about ‘prophecy,’ they’re talking about ‘politics,’” Han Fulai said softly.

"What is 'prophecy'?" Jiang Xue asked from the side. It was a completely new and unfamiliar term to him.

The so-called "prophecies and apocryphal texts" were familiar to Han Fulai, who grew up in China. Even in modern society, many people believe that ancient verses and rhymes predict the future, such as the "Tui Bei Tu" (a prophetic book).

History books also record many emperors who acted according to prophecies and omens, thus winning the hearts of the people and fulfilling the mandate of heaven—such as the famous Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu.

He was said to have gained the empire because the popular prophetic book of the time, the "Red Talisman," recorded that "Liu Xiu raises troops to capture the wicked, barbarians gather like clouds, dragons fight in the wilderness, and fire will dominate at the age of 28, the 228th year of the Han Dynasty's founding." This specifically predicted that Liu Xiu would become emperor. The phrase "fire will dominate at the age of 28, the 228th year of the Han Dynasty's founding" even foretold his rebellion.

Rather than believing that this was a prophetic prediction, it would be more convincing to speculate that Liu Xiu deliberately acted according to the prophecy.

Another famous example appears in the Zuo Zhuan.

In the battle that gave rise to the idioms "borrowing a path to attack Guo" and "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold," Duke Xian of Jin besieged the capital of Guo and asked his minister Bu Yan if he could win. Bu Yan then answered Duke Xian with a children's rhyme: "On the morning of Bing, the dragon's tail lies hidden in the sun, all the uniforms are in full swing, take the flag of Guo. The quail are in full swing, the heavenly strategy is in full swing, the army is formed in the fire, Duke of Guo will flee."

The translation is as follows: "On the morning of the Bingzi day, the Dragon Tail Star was illuminated by sunlight. The military uniforms were magnificent and beautiful, and they seized the banners of the Guo army. The Quail Star resembled a large bird, while the Celestial Strategy Star was obscured. Under the Quail Star, men cheered and horses neighed, and the Duke of Guo was about to flee." Historically, the State of Guo perished on the morning of the Bingzi day, the first day of the twelfth lunar month.

The nursery rhyme had already foretold the fate of the State of Guo, and even the timing of its demise.

But in reality, the “Dragon Tail,” “Quail Fire,” and “Heavenly Strategy” mentioned in this prophecy are all names of constellations, representing astronomical knowledge that only the upper class could master in that era—how could a child who couldn’t even read sing such a nursery rhyme?

"This is a tactic of using 'prophecy' to achieve political goals... In the case of Kanria, whether the prophecy is true or false is irrelevant; the key is to make people believe that God wants to destroy Kanria," Han Fulai explained simply to Jiang Xue.

“…I see.” Jiang Xue finally understood the meaning of the two sentences Ye Mingxiang had just said.

The reason why Kanria sent people to steal the "Stories of the Sun and Moon" was not for any hidden historical records, but to obtain "evidence"—evidence of a cruel and tyrannical regime that sought to destroy the kingdoms that did not submit to Sky Island.

According to the prophecy in the Book of Kings, the tyrannical Heaven fears the threat posed by Kanria and will inevitably take action against him sooner or later. Kanria's search for "power beyond the world" and his actions are righteous deeds of "resisting the tyranny of Heaven and making the world belong to mankind!"

Since Kanria is a nation composed of humans, it is impossible for everyone to be of one mind. There must be various disagreements among their leaders—for example, whether they should rebel against the laws of nature, or whether they should study and come into contact with the power of the abyss.

Such a prophecy provided legal support and a righteous justification for the Kanria leadership to formulate a national policy of contacting the forces of the Abyss: Heaven's justice is about to strike, so why don't we quickly prepare our troops?