Chapter 89 89 Mythical Past "Sir, times have changed."...
September 21st, the first year of the spiritual recovery, demiplane Jiuli.
"The mythological age was an era when gods fought for humanity," Li Gui said.
"Classic of Mountains and Seas: Great Wilderness North Classic" states: "Chiyou led an army to attack the Yellow Emperor, and the Yellow Emperor ordered Yinglong to attack him in the wilderness of Jizhou. Yinglong stored water. Chiyou asked the God of Wind and the God of Rain to bring about heavy winds and heavy rains. The Yellow Emperor sent down a goddess named Ba, and the rain stopped, and then he killed Chiyou."
Whether it is Yinglong killing Chiyou for Huangdi or Athena deflecting Hector's spear from Achilles, the legends of each region are engraved with traces of the gods.
"The gods grew tired of the constant wars between the tribes of mortals and the long years of unrest. Then one of the gods came up with a bold idea: 'Why not take the weapons away from the hands of mortals?'"
Ning Changkong subconsciously retorted: "Even so, the struggle will still exist."
Just like human history today.
"It's different. In the era without cultivators, although there is a gap in strength between people, it can be made up through numbers and technology." Chi You obviously anticipated his reaction, pointed to the weapon rack behind him, and continued naturally:
“But with Reiki, everything will change.”
"Without violence, there is no rule; without rule, there is no order. If a tribe wants to maintain a stable life, it needs strong practitioners to shock other tribes."
"However, there were not many methods of practice accumulated in that era, so the emergence of powerful practitioners was extremely accidental and almost entirely depended on personal talent and destiny."
"Even the tribes with the best weapon forging technology may be defeated by a tribe that suddenly possesses high-end combat power due to bad luck."
"——You don't even need a tribe. Perhaps just a powerful practitioner who happens to be bored and passes by is enough to destroy a tribe."
Security is the first need of all living things. In order to ensure their own security, humans gave up the right to do whatever they wanted and voluntarily obeyed a person or a group that they believed could resist all other people and protect themselves. Thus, the concept of the state came into being.
The establishment of the state reduced conflicts among individuals by concentrating power, but the emergence of practitioners, or more broadly, the variable of Reiki, broke this possible balance.
In the early days of civilization, the power of practitioners became the greatest threat to personal safety, but the country could not guarantee the stability of having powerful practitioners as combat power and could not provide sufficient security.
When the powerful protector, the state, fails to fulfill its duties, the previously suppressed struggles and chaos will re-emerge. What follows is endless fighting and destruction between people and between forces... and the intervention of gods as protectors of mortals.
"It would be better to call it the Dark Ages rather than the Age of Mythology." Ning Changkong muttered.
However, "this chaotic situation cannot continue forever." Ning Changkong analyzed, "As long as humans accumulate enough cultivation methods, there will be a chance to form an order like the demon race."
Just think about it, what would happen if a little demon from Penglai possessed enough military power to shake up an entire clan on his own?
Nothing will happen.
In Penglai, cultivation resources and education resources are monopolized by various demon clans. Even if a small demon that does not rely on a large clan absorbs spiritual energy to cultivate by instinct, it cannot obtain the military power to shake the large clan.
When you advance all the way to the point where you can shake up a clan on your own, your interests are already highly tied to the clan. You will rule as a leader, but you will not overthrow the clan system that has brought you countless benefits.
—— This is the operating logic of the demon society.
Li Gui said, "The conditions are completely different. Humans mature much faster. It only takes a dozen or twenty years to train a strong man who can easily destroy a tribe."
"In comparison, the cultivation speed of the demon race is much slower, which makes those old demons who can live for hundreds of years more powerful in shocking power."
"Thinking back to when Penglai was first built, those monsters almost fought to the death for the allocation of the spirit stone mines...that was quite a sight." Li Gui fell into memories.
There is also the environmental factor of the concentration of spiritual energy. Ning Changkong pinched his brows with a headache.
The concentration of spiritual energy in the opened up half plane cannot be compared with that in the real world. The demon race can monopolize the cultivation resources by monopolizing the spiritual stone mines, but what about the real world?
As long as you can breathe, you can continuously absorb spiritual energy and practice - you can stop people from obtaining spiritual stones, but how do you stop them from breathing?
"—— Evil spirit." Ning Changkong whispered.
"Although this thing is a bit evil, it doesn't really deserve this name." Li Pi smacked his lips and told everything he knew. "It was developed by Feng Qingwu. It's an energy that can erode spiritual energy. Its real name is 'Sky Eclipse'."
The clues from the past were connected one by one. Ning Changkong held his breath unconsciously and couldn't help asking, "So this was Feng Qingwu's idea?"
Li Gui was stunned: "If you call your father like that, won't that white bird punish you?"
"Let's talk business." Ning Changkong grumbled back impatiently, "Is it true or not?"
"It wasn't his idea," Li Gui said delicately, "To be precise, it was Yinglong's idea."
The "Classic of Mountains and Seas: Great Wilderness North Classic" records: "Yinglong has killed Chiyou and also killed Huafu, and then went to the south to settle down, so there is a lot of rain in the south."
Thinking about it this way, Li Gui was killed by Yinglong when he was still a human; after becoming a god, in order to escape Feng Qingwu's plan, he directly cut off Jiuli's external channels and exiled himself for a thousand years; after his spiritual energy was revived, he was ready to return to the world, but was driven back to Jiuli by Ning Changkong.
…It seems that this is indeed a feud.
"Yinglong was the one who proposed this plan, Feng Qingwu was in charge of lobbying and sent us a sample of 'Eclipse'... He also sent me a copy that year, but unfortunately it is not in my hands now." Li Gui rubbed his fingertips regretfully, speaking with nostalgia.
Ning Changkong recalled the time when he followed Gu Minghui into the Yaochi illusion by mistake a year ago, and the sword with strange energy pierced his leg.
So the Queen Mother of the West directly used the samples sent to her to set up a formation to protect the illusion?
Ning Changkong sorted out his thoughts and asked, "However, just to take away a weapon that could hurt me from a playful child... isn't the price to pay a bit too high?"
Are the gods willing to commit suicide simply because they are tired of human warfare, using corpses as energy to start a spiritual decline that will last no more than a thousand years?
Li Gui stared at him, his eyes deep as if he could see through people's hearts. Without warning, he brought up another topic: "Do you think that the current mortal society can evolve into the world you imagine?"
A world where one's level of spiritual practice is just one of many ordinary characteristics of human beings, just like one's height and weight.
Ning Changkong narrowed his eyes, thinking back to what he had seen in this world since the revival of his spiritual energy.
Recalling the constantly updated discussion posts on the "Skynet" forum, the content of the discussions ranged from the mathematical derivation of the talisman energy model to the confusion of the failure of alchemy - the elixir that could be refined normally suddenly could not be refined, was it because I did not worship my ancestors before opening the furnace today?
Recalling the third-rate independent practitioners who tried to cash in on the cultivation craze and sold foundation-building online courses, the old monsters who came out of the deep mountains and forests and used modern technology clumsily, and the members of the Alien Bureau who were exhausted from compiling universal cultivation teaching materials.
"I think so," he said with a smile.
Because the world after the resurrection of Aura is really interesting and full of potential.
Li Gui continued to ask: "Why?"
This cannot be simply answered with personal feelings. Ning Changkong coughed twice and quickly organized his words: "First of all, productivity determines production relations. As far as the current social situation is concerned-"
"What are you talking about?" Li Gui interrupted him and blinked in confusion.
Ning Changkong was about to say something but was stopped. He lowered his head helplessly, his eyes once again falling on the reference books that Li Gui had placed beside him: "Advanced Mathematics", "Basic Physics", "Thermodynamics and Dynamics"... Oh, there was even "Modern Spells" written by Ning Changkong himself.
It seems that these ten years were enough for this ancient weapon god to catch up with the pace of modern scientific development. No wonder he was able to develop long-range spiritual weapons that the cultivation world had never been able to break through.
He couldn't help but ask, "Did Li Bo bring these books to you?"
"Yes, it's most convenient for him to come here." Li Gui nodded.
"...I'll bring you some other books next time." Ning Changkong resisted the urge to pat the other person on the shoulder and said earnestly, "You can't just read science books."
Alas, the ideological education of people in the spiritual world is a long and arduous task.
"For example, take this book as an example." Ning Changkong thought for a while and took out the book "Modern Talisman Studies" he wrote.
"To have such a book, the author needs a deep academic background and research ability. Behind this is the support of the education system. The long-term investment of teachers, scholars, researchers and educational institutions provides academic workers with the necessary knowledge reserves and research environment."
"After the manuscript is completed, the book enters the planning and design stage of the publishing house. The professionals here are responsible for the layout design, cover design and market positioning."
"Publishers also need to deal with copyright issues to ensure that books are published and sold legally. Behind this is a whole copyright reporting agency and lawyers who study these laws."
"Once the copyright issue is resolved, the book enters the printing stage, where printers and machine operators operate complex printing machines designed and built by engineers, and the paper and ink used to print the book may come from another corner of the world."
“After printing is completed, a huge logistics network is needed. Logistics personnel, drivers, warehouse managers, etc., they ensure that the books can be transported from the printing factory to the bookstore and online sales platform in a timely and safe manner, and finally delivered to Li Bo’s hands.”
Ning Changkong concluded: "I fully admit that you have the ability to attract those desperate people and establish the system you want to see in Jiuli...but you cannot recruit enough people to recreate such a highly sophisticated modern society."
"Food no longer grows on shelves in an endless supply, but has to be grown from scratch. Gone are the beautifully printed books, replaced by hand-made movable type printing, or even writing on straw paper... A person who is accustomed to living in modern society will never be able to endure this kind of life for a long time."
"By then, the paradise on earth that you long to build will ultimately be nothing more than a castle in the air."
The big demon clans ruled by bribing powerful demons with the system of equivalence of force and power, while modern society bribes practitioners with a comfortable life and economic system - don't you see, after the spiritual energy of the practitioners is revived, the first thought of them is to sell classes and cut leeks?
Li Gui fell into deep thought. Facing Ning Changkong's words, this god who knew little about modern society was obviously still skeptical: "You just said that I can't build such a city-state, but you didn't refute my ideas."
Ning Changkong shrugged and shook the book "Modern Talismanology" in his hand: "Even if we only discuss the strength of practitioners, the methods of practice have formed a scientific system. The country can have a large number of powerful practitioners as an army through the selection and training of talents, and thus maintain a stable order."
"As for the power that ordinary people can possess... do you know nuclear bombs?" Ning Changkong's tone was a little weird.
Of course, the major premise of all these deductions is that the world is not yet that advanced in terms of martial arts.
Practitioners cannot use their spiritual powers to make food and clothes, so there is no significant difference in production efficiency between them and ordinary people. They also cannot blow up a planet with one kick, or kill tens of thousands of people with a breath... If they are thrown into the sun, they will probably be annihilated, and if they are hit by a nuclear bomb, they will probably be seriously injured, right?
Ning Changkong continued, "I cannot describe an entire human society to you with words alone, Senior. Similarly, I do not think you can deduce a perfect social structure solely through theoretical deduction when you know very little about modern society."
"After all, my Lord, times have changed."