Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

Yi Dou called out loudly to the two, "I've found a mural here!"

Jiang Bai and Hu Tao rushed over quickly. Under the light of the flames, the murals on the wall were exceptionally clear.

This mural is exquisitely crafted, and even now, after an unknown period of time, the content is still clearly visible.

The content of the murals is also very simple, depicting scenes of sacrifice and worship.

The king, wearing a crown, offered sacrifices to the crescent moon in the sky. In the sky, besides the moon, there were stars and clouds, and below the moon were three great mountains.

In the blank spaces of the mural, there are some somewhat blurred characters.

"Master, do you recognize these characters?" Jiang Bai had no idea what these ancient characters were.

"I don't recognize it; it's different from the common language we use now."

"I'll take a picture and ask someone I know about it when I get back."

Jiang Bai took out his camera and photographed the entire mural, and also took a separate picture of the text.

"What do you think this mural means? Why is this king leading his people to worship the moon? And are these three mountains the three high mountains of Crane View that Aru mentioned?" Ichidou looked at the mural, and the more he looked, the more confused he became.

"Worshipping the moon, do you think it might be a primitive form of nature worship by the ancients?" Jiang Bai thought this was a possibility.

Of course, this possibility only exists in situations where civilization is backward and ignorant.

This primitive worship will disappear once people become aware of the principles of nature.

Chapter 557 How did the Sacred Relic come about?

"One mural doesn't provide enough information; let's look around first."

The group quickly found another mural, which was even simpler.

Below the mural is a sea of ​​clouds, above which is carved a huge crescent moon, adorned with a few stars and some unfamiliar text.

Jiang Bai also took a picture.

A third mural appeared nearby.

It's the same moon, the same stars, and the same three mountains.

The three moons are the same image of the moon, but the way they are drawn is very different, obviously to distinguish them.

Hu Tao looked at the mural thoughtfully, "These three moons remind me of a book."

"what book?"

"A very obscure book called 'Moonlit Night in the Bamboo Forest'."

"It tells the story of a young boy who encounters a mysterious and beautiful woman with white hair and golden eyes."

"It sounds a bit cliché. What does it have to do with these murals?" Jiang Bai immediately sensed that it was a love story.

Why is this mural associated with a love story?

"There's a scene in that book where the white-haired, golden-eyed woman tells the boy a story. She says that in the distant past, three bright moons once hung in the night sky. Their lifespans were longer than the Geo Archons', and older than the bedrock of Liyue Harbor. They would take turns every ten days..."

"Later, disaster struck, and the three sisters in the night sky turned against each other, forced to part ways in death. Only one remained, her pale body radiating a cold, serene light..."

Walnut omitted the part in the story where the three moons share the same lover, which is unrelated to these murals.

"Doesn't that mean the story might be true? If it is, how long ago was it...?"

Jiang Bai did the calculations carefully: the old man has existed for over six thousand years, while the bedrock of Liyue Harbor could be traced back tens of thousands, even millions of years...

Let's say it's over 10,000 years old. How exactly have these murals from over 10,000 years ago been preserved?

"The history of Teyvat is really complicated... I'll try to find some history books to read when I have the chance..."

"Don't expect too much. There are very, very few books about history, and the oldest one I've read only records up to the Demon God War. As for history before that, even historians can only find fragments of information through ruins..."

"Moreover, many places do not record their own history; everything is passed down orally, and the history passed down to the present day is vastly different from the true history."

Jiang Bai sighed, "Yes, Haiqi Island is a perfect example."

The history of Haiji Island seems very long and ancient, but only a few parts are known to the world, and those parts have been distorted in various ways during the transmission of the story.

"However, you could go to the Imperial Academy in Sumeru. There are many scholars there, and there should be many people who study ancient scripts and history. You can look through these characters and ask them what they mean."

Jiang Bai nodded; he had originally intended to go back and ask the old man.

However, considering that these texts existed even before the old man, he might not recognize them, so seeking out scholars is a viable option.

Anyway, I'll take it back to the old man for a look first, and we'll see if it works.

"Something's not right." Ichidou sensed something was amiss. "If the moon in the sky is dead and only a corpse remains, why would there still be changes in the phases of the moon?"

The three of them looked at each other, none of them knowing how to answer the question.

In the end, Hu Tao made the final decision: "Why worry about so much? We're here to explore ruins, not to be scholars. Let's go, let's keep looking and see if we can find any treasures."

"Even if there were treasures, there couldn't possibly be Mora, since Mora only appeared after the Emperor's arrival..."

Jiang Bai hasn't found any treasures in the ruins yet, and he doesn't have much expectation of finding any.

"That's too superficial. Aren't antiques and artifacts treasures? For scholars who study history, these artifacts are priceless. Not to mention those that are intact, even the damaged ones are valuable..."

Jiang Bai felt enlightened and looked around with shining eyes.

Although we can't see any surviving artifacts in sight, that doesn't mean they aren't in the rocks or soil!

Seeing Jiang Bai pull out a shovel, eager to try it out, Hu Tao quickly grabbed him.

"Stop right now! If this ruin is underground, what if you collapse the support and bury us? The sea is above us, and if seawater floods in, we'll all die. Besides, do you really need that little bit of Mora?"

“Okay…” Jiang Bai listlessly put down the shovel.

He certainly doesn't lack Mora.

But no matter what, going into a treasure mountain and leaving empty-handed is no different from losing a hundred million.

"Then I'll get a Thunderbird statue to take back; it should fetch a good price..."

"One is enough; scarcity increases value."

Jiang Bai picked out the best-preserved Thunderbird statue and prepared to put it into the Sanqing Bell.

The Sanqing Bell is a mess; it's hard to fit everything in without making some room.

Jiang Bai tidied up and took out a feather from inside.

This feather is exquisite; holding it makes me feel like my control over the lightning element has improved.

"Huh? Where did this come from?"

Hu Tao thought for a moment, "It seems to be left behind by the Thunderbird's resentment when it died. At that time, we were discussing whether the Thunder Element Crystal Gudu was edible, and we didn't notice this feather. You just picked it up without thinking."

The feather looked rather unremarkable back then, completely overshadowed by the light of the lightning element crystal, but when taken out on its own, it was quite exquisite.

"It reminds me a bit of this wine bottle."

Jiang Bai took out the wine bottle and felt the power within it.

"This must be what they call a relic, right?"

Jiang Bai was somewhat excited. This was the real treasure! How could he have overlooked it?

"It should be. Relics are extremely precious and rare. The power within them can enhance the strength of the holder of the Eye of God. They are very rare treasures. However, the effect of one is limited. It is best to use them as a set."

Hu Tao has studied relics and has some herself.

"Where did those relics come from? They couldn't have just appeared out of thin air, could they?"

"According to the old man, some objects embody strong emotions and gradually become immortal over time, thus becoming sacred relics that can be used by people."

"Then there must be many such relics."

Hu Tao shook her head.

"No, no. Not everything can survive the test of time."

"First and foremost, the person to whom one entrusts their emotions must possess a strong and resolute soul."

"These artifacts were either carried by them or witnessed their stories, accompanying these resolute and powerful souls through countless years. Only such sentiments can withstand the test of time and become sacred relics."

"There are also some relics that are unrelated to people, but they bear witness to a certain period of human history. A group's beliefs and feelings are attached to them, which also makes them relics."

Chapter 558 Jiang Bai, the Trash Collector

Jiang Bai understood.

The reason why the wine vessel in his hand became a sacred relic is because it witnessed the glorious years of the Emperor and was the wine vessel used when the seven gods drank together, so it has a very special meaning.

This feather was dropped by a thunderbird and witnessed the entire life of the thunderbird.

Perhaps, what he saw were those fragmented memories because of this feather.

"Master, this sacred relic is for you."

Hu Tao took it and felt it. "There's a bit of Thunderbird's power inside, which can make my moves more powerful, so I'll keep it."

"We'll have to ask Aru when we go up there if there's anything similar at Crane Gate." Jiang Bai rubbed his hands together; he was now very interested in the relics.

He's no longer interested in antiques; all he wants now is to find holy relics.

Ichidou was extremely envious. He felt he had learned something new; there was actually something that could enhance one's strength.

"I want one too!"

"No problem, I'll give you the next one I find."

Jiang Bai considered the Mora in his hand. If he wanted to use Mora to buy this kind of item from adventurers, it was clearly not enough, not to mention that he also needed to save Mora for the old man to pay for.

Once you do the math, hundreds of millions in savings suddenly seem like nothing at all.

Once Jiang Bai got into the mood to make money, he stuffed everything he saw in the ruins into his clothes and even made Yi Dou pick up trash for him.

Broken porcelain shards with patterns, the core of a shattered relic machine, some plants and trees never seen before... I wish I could scavenge the ground and take everything away!

Holding a dusty, chipped, half-person-high earthenware jar, Jiang Bai looked longingly at Hu Tao, "Master, there's no more room..."

Hu Tao said helplessly, "...Just leave it with me."

Jiang Bai decided to wait until he returned and have the old man reforge the Three Pure Bells for him to expand the space.

If the old man refuses to refine it, keep pestering him until he does.

As they explored further in, the ruins grew larger and larger, revealing various mechanisms and doorways.

Unfortunately, many buildings have collapsed, and some artifacts have weathered away over time, making it impossible to glean any information from them.

The group found three more murals connected together. These murals contained a lot of information, but their style was different from the previous ones, being more detailed and realistic.

Sky Island appears in the mural, with celestial stars falling from the sky and crashing onto three great mountains. People, as insignificant as ants, stand among the mountains, watching this scene in horror.

"Did the stars fall from the sky?" Idou didn't quite understand.

"I'm not sure, it could be a descriptive technique, and it might not actually be a star."

Upon seeing this scene, Jiang Bai subconsciously thought of the Frost Nails of the Snow Mountain, which were also dropped from Sky Island.

It's a pity I didn't visit the three hollow mountains that Aryu mentioned, otherwise I might have been able to deduce from the terrain whether the falling objects were the long nails.

"I think I can guess the purpose of this ruin."

"What is its function?"

"It must be a shelter."

Hu Tao thought for a moment, "That's possible."

"A refuge? Why would we need to take refuge?" Ichidou was confused.

Jiang Bai handed him a copy of "Snow Country Chronicles," saying, "Read it yourself."

As usual, they recorded the patterns and words, and after exploring for a while and finding that there was no way forward, they returned the way they came.

"Brother and sister, you're finally back!" Aryu, who was waiting on the ground, had a gleam in her eyes when she saw them return.

"Awaited."

The feathers flew back to the perch, and the withered perch once again shone brightly.

"Aryu, have you ever seen anything like this?"