Chapter 276 Gods, Myths, and the Lying Down Old Man

The enthusiasm of the God of War, Chi You, stirred vigilance within Wei Yuan's heart.

However, the group of old men from the Age of Gods didn't directly turn hostile as Wei Yuan had guessed. Instead, they conjured a chair for him to sit on. Wei Yuan thanked them and sat down, only to realize something was off. His lips twitched.

Wait a minute, this is my dream.

Why are you all more familiar with it than I am?!

Zhu Jiuyin didn't give him a chance to complain, calmly asking, "Let's start from the beginning. After all, the past you, even when following Da Yu, was just an ordinary person, and one who couldn't cultivate. Even if you saw some things, you wouldn't be able to understand them."

"You might not even see them at all, and if you did, you'd forget them the next moment."

"Forget?"

"Yes. It's your soul's self-preservation. Seeing things you can't comprehend will naturally lead to you ignoring and forgetting them."

"First, what do you think a mythological concept is?"

Wei Yuan hesitated, thinking of the state of Chong's weighty mythological concept, strong enough to support the very concept of the heavens, his immense size, and the terrifying pressure he felt when Chong intended to unleash his mythical form. He considered it and replied:

"Powerful, extremely powerful."

"Perhaps it's even fair to say it's a power that surpasses anything I know."

"For a moment, I almost felt that it was an insurmountable power."

Zhu Jiuyin was silent, then said, "As expected, that's what you thought."

Wei Yuan: "???"

After a moment of silence.

Xing Tian suddenly burst into loud laughter, gleefully saying:

"I knew it! He'd definitely think that! Hahahaha, worthy of us! Come on, honor the bet, pay up, pay up!" The faces of the old men twisted in displeasure as they pulled out slips of paper from their robes and tossed them into a box Xing Tian had somehow produced.

Xing Tian even casually plucked off his own head with a *pop*.

Then he asked his body for a betting slip.

Wei Yuan's lips twitched. He pointed at the old men and said, "This is..."

Zhu Jiuyin calmly took a sip of tea. "As you see."

"A bet?"

"Yes."

"What's the prize?"

"The right to choose the menu for a while."

Wei Yuan: "............"

The chef raged, "Doesn't that still mean I have to do it?!"

Taking wool from the sheep to gamble on the lamb?

How bored are you all?!

Wei Yuan's lips twitched. Luckily, Zhu Jiuyin was at least calm, rational, and aloof... His thoughts froze as he saw Zhu Jiuyin pull out a stack of betting slips from his sleeve and toss them into the box. Xing Tian, having won big, was laughing wildly, displaying the manner of a true civil official.

Wei Yuan looked at Xing Tian, then lowered his gaze to the dragon who illuminated the Nine Netherworlds.

He didn't ask anything, but he seemed to say everything.

So, why did you get involved too?

Zhu Jiuyin spoke calmly, his face ancient and distant, "Men are easily provoked."

"Let's return to the main topic."

Zhu Jiuyin immediately steered the conversation back on track, ignoring Xing Tian, who was acting like an old farmer celebrating a harvest. He thought for a moment and explained, "First of all, a mythological concept is not equal to combat ability..."

Wei Yuan was slightly taken aback. "Not equal to?"

Zhu Long nodded, saying, "The reason you have that misconception is simply because Chong, whom you fought, is a mythological entity who excels in combat. Like Shi Yi, using his mythological concept for battle is actually quite wasteful. If you still don't understand, I can give a simple example."

"Let's say..."

"Guess which of the beings you've encountered recently possesses a mythological concept?"

Wei Yuan hesitated, guessing several times, but none were correct.

Including Jue, the Lord of Chongwu Mountain, and the strongest deities in the West Mountain realm, the Mountain God of Taiqi and the Mountain God of Qianlai.

All were rejected.

Zhu Jiuyin took a sip of tea, then after a moment of silence, said:

"Actually, it's Bai Ze."

Wei Yuan was silent for a moment:

"Bai Ze?"

Then he exclaimed, "I see."

"I see."

"I never would have thought..."

"Bai Ze is actually the name of a race!" Wei Yuan suddenly realized:

"I didn't even know. I thought there was only that one salted fish in the world. So there are other excellent individuals. Is he his father or ancestor? I really want to see the truly powerful Bai Ze who controls the mythological concept."

"No, there is only one Bai Ze."

"Only one?"

"Only one."

"Only that one?!"

"Yes, only that one."

"No lies?"

"No need."

Wei Yuan—perfect facade shattered.

His lips twitched, and his voice rose several degrees. "Bai Ze?!"

"Is it that Bai Ze?!"

"It's that Bai Ze."

"Mythological form?!?"

"Mythological form, and of the naturally occurring kind."

Wei Yuan: "............"

Shennong Jiang Shu rubbed his temples, slightly wincing as if he had a toothache.

"Yes, he is indeed a bit useless, but he does possess a mythological concept-level ability."

"One could tentatively consider it the most useless mythological concept."

"I've heard that some human sects claim that their gods are omniscient and omnipotent."

"Then Bai Ze is roughly equivalent to 0.5 of their god."

Shennong sighed.

Xing Tian added, "Omniscient."

Chi You said calmly, "But impotent."

Together they said, "Therefore, he is useless."

Xuanyuan was furious. "Nonsense! I won't allow you to say such things about my good friend!"

"He's already trying very hard, okay?!"

Wei Yuan was silent, then said, "Is he useless, then?"

"He is useless."

Xuanyuan replied.

His voice paused, then he slammed his hand on the table and declared loudly:

"What do you all know? He's already trying very hard!"

Alright, I understand.

Xing Tian exclaimed, "Xuanyuan, you really are protective of Bai Ze."

Ji Xuanyuan said, "Of course."

He mumbled for a moment, then patted the Xuanyuan Sword conjured in the dream, and said with a smile:

"After all, Bai Ze and the Xuanyuan Sword only follow me."

"I naturally have to protect them."

Wei Yuan: "............"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes."

"Ancestor, you're right."

He agreed, then calmly shifted his gaze away, his lips twitching.

Bai Ze, just how much of a green tea master were you back then?

A master of latching onto thighs who understood human nature?

Wei Yuan lowered his head and shifted his attention, suppressing the image that naturally arose in his mind of 'the aggrieved Ji Xuanyuan demanding a portion of roasted Bai Ze after discovering Bai Ze's behavior.' He thought seriously and muttered to himself:

"Mythological concept, not equal to direct combat ability."

Zhu Jiuyin nodded: "Yes, mythology is not just about fighting and killing, nor is it about the supremacy of power."

"Moreover, not just any god can possess such an ability. It represents the ultimate in a certain field, something that is condensed and sublimated after reaching the pinnacle... But the pinnacle can be in all aspects, not necessarily representing combat ability. And even mythological concepts that are good at combat have different focuses."

"For example, Chong and Li, the two who represent the ultimate of power, if they were to activate their mythological concept mode."

"Then even Emperor Jun would not be able to win against them in a head-on fistfight."

"Nuwa's creation of humanity is naturally a great power, but you can't ask the Wa Emperor to use her fists to compete with the Pangu Primordial Codex, which supports the heavens, in terms of arm strength, right? If we're really talking about resisting Chong's full-force strike in his mythological form with one's own body, there are only a handful of people who wouldn't be seriously injured."

"Like the rapidly recovering Shi Yi."

"Like Shennong, who represents 'resurrection from the dead,' such a powerful recovery ability in the Age of Gods."

"As for the rest, even Emperor Jun, even the Wa Emperor, wouldn't have a good outcome if they were to forcibly resist Chongli's power. Of course, they have no need to forcibly resist. They should choose a different style to fight Chongli." Zhu Jiuyin took a sip of tea and said:

"Combat is multifaceted, and there are considerations of skill and combat awareness. Pure power doesn't necessarily mean that one will be the victor in a fight."

"Like in the human world, mammoths and giant whales are far stronger than humans."

"But humans can still kill them."

"Chongli's power is great and known throughout the world. This is supreme glory, but it's also a terrible thing, because everyone knows it, so basically no one will choose to fight Chongli head-on at close range... well, except for you."

Zhu Jiuyin calmly praised a certain Wei, then brought up the ways other top existences would fight, saying, "For example, Shennong would choose to use the power of the Shennong Whip to create a poison array targeting the gods. Da Yi would choose to create enough distance, so that he could unleash the Nine Stars Linked Shot before being hit. Xuanyuan would choose to form a formation or use rapid harassment attacks."

"Emperor Jun would choose to constantly bombard his body by shaking down stars, and the Wa Emperor..."

"Well, the Wa Emperor has a high status, creates and gives life, but she's not really the combat type. Mythology isn't just about fighting and killing."

"But it doesn't matter..."

Zhu Jiuyin took a sip of tea, seeming to remember something, and added, "Her brother is very good at fighting."

"One could say, he's very good at fighting."

"The so-called Fuxi drew a line to open the heavens. Among the strong who could partially open up the rules of heaven and earth before the ancient times, only he used a painting scroll as a weapon, while most others used axes. By the way, he also created the congenital Eight Trigrams and invented the earliest method of recording history, ending the human race's past of using knotted ropes to record events."

"He also invented the *se* (zither) and songs, and played in harmony with the Wa Emperor, very elegantly."

"He could play the *se*, paint, and then roll up the painting and smash people with it."

"One can basically assume that the tradition of human civil officials was passed down from that guy."

Xing Tian said triumphantly, "So I am a civil official who composes music and sings songs. Yuan, you must learn from us."

"............"

Wei Yuan's forehead twitched. He lowered his head, supported his forehead, and sighed.

He thought in silence, faintly grasping the mythological concept Zhu Jiuyin spoke of.

It was a realm reached after a certain field reached its peak.

Some are defense-first, some are regeneration-first, and some are creation of all things, moving stars and shifting constellations.

It can be used for combat, but it is not necessarily good at combat.

Letting a regeneration-first deity arm wrestle with Chongli would be using one's weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths.

Therefore, against different top gods, one would make different combat choices based on the other party's mythological concept and authority. For example, against those with strong defense, one would want to break down the solidity of their bodies. Against those who are good at strength, one would choose to kite them, as there is no way to fistfight with them.

Wei Yuan wisely ignored the memory of himself going head-to-head with Chong.

Anyway, that was Chong without activating his mythological form, right? Doesn't count, doesn't count.

If you really want to say who is stronger or weaker in a fight, that depends on what happens after the fight.

It's not a comparison of data.

Besides, even if it's a comparison of data.

If you're holding back a load of old crap and fighting an opponent who has taken an energy booster, even if your paper data is higher, you may not be able to win. How the data turns out depends on performance and the luck in the dark. For example, if you say before a fight, "After this fight, I'm going back to my hometown to get married," you'll probably give yourself a powerful buff.

Wei Yuan was thoughtful, then thought of something and asked curiously:

"Chong's strength is great, but his speed may be relatively weak."

"Is there anyone with even greater strength and even greater speed?"

Zhu Jiuyin said, "Yes, there was in the past."

Wei Yuan was puzzled: "In the past?"

Jiang Shu was silent for a moment, then said, "Actually, it was the Mountain God of Buzhou. His power was roughly equivalent to the combined power of Zhu Jiuyin's main body, Chong, Li, and even the support of the Nine Netherworlds. Although he didn't care much about things back then, his power was ridiculously strong."

"What about him now?"

Xing Tian said decisively, "...Lying down."

Then he looked at Xuanyuan next to him.

Chi You, Da Yi, and Shennong all looked over.

Xuanyuan touched his nose and said awkwardly, "Don't look at me. I'm just an aggregate of past battle memories and imprints of heaven and earth, derived from Xing Tian. I only have a vague impression of what happened afterward. This has nothing to do with me."

Zhu Jiuyin said calmly:

"Back then, Gonggong transformed into a human and fought with Zhuanxu for the position of emperor. Xuanyuan, who was nearing the end of his lifespan, made a decision."

"Gonggong lost and started arguing there."

"The Mountain God of Buzhou was lying down watching the show."

"But he never expected... that he would be the biggest show of all."

Wei Yuan's lips twitched, seeming to vaguely understand—

The Mountain God of Buzhou and Shu Hu, old seniors from the same era as Hundun, were supporting the heavens, bored and literally growing grass, when they suddenly discovered something interesting. Could you not watch? No, you couldn't.

This melon, you had to eat it!

He was lying there eating melons, having a great time, when he suddenly realized that he had become a badger in the melon.

He saw that kid going berserk from afar, and he was enjoying it.

Yo, they're arguing, good, good.

Fight, fight!

Aiyo, that kid Gonggong isn't doing so well, he actually ran away in anger?

Hey, this kid, back in my day, I would have...

Wait? Why is that kid coming over here?

Hmm? Why does he seem to be getting faster and faster?

Damn it, stop for a second!

The Mountain God of Buzhou, who was peacefully lying on the sofa at home, drinking cola and eating potato chips, was dumbfounded to discover that Gonggong, the strongest of the new generation of gods, was actually charging straight at him.

Anyway, the final ending.

The enraged Gonggong accelerated wildly and then delivered a death headbutt, *kuchi*, directly causing the Mountain God of Buzhou to suffer a lumbar disc herniation, and then that old mountain god directly lay down. After all, the Mountain God of Buzhou hadn't fought in probably countless years, and he didn't expect such a stubborn youngster to just hit his lower back.

Mythological form was zero percent activated.

And the result was gone.

Just like Chong didn't expect Wei Yuan to be able to unleash a mythological concept-level attack.

Without activating his own mythological concept, otherwise, he might not have been seriously injured.

Zhu Jiuyin said indifferently: "As for his current existence..."

"Among the human race's so-called thirty-six supreme supernatural powers, carrying mountains across the sea refers not to Mount Tai, but to the Mountain God of Buzhou. In the past, he could carry Mount Buzhou across the outer sea of the Age of Gods to chat with Hundun, who represented the unity of yin and yang. Now that Hundun, who represented yin and yang chaos, has had his seven orifices drilled open and is gone, the Mountain God of Buzhou is also lying down."

"Shu Hu, these two ancient god-emperors, also sealed themselves in the outer sea out of shame."

"These more ancient gods are truly absurd and brainless... No, I mean, absurd and romantic." Zhu Jiuyin calmly added:

"Of course, Mount Buzhou is still there, and the Mountain God of Buzhou may still wake up."

"Well... maybe."

Wei Yuan: "............"

Alright, I understand.

That old gentleman is probably not going to wake up.

Although Wei Yuan hated swindlers, due to certain reasons, he possessed the skill points to communicate with swindlers. Of course, this did not detract from his impulse to tie up all kinds of old and young swindlers. This impulse was so strong that it was as if he had been tied up by some swindler in the dark.

Zhu Jiuyin turned and said: "Of course, in addition to natural mythological concepts like Bai Ze and Chongli, there are two other types."

"One of them is what your human race tries to do in every possible way."

His tone paused slightly, and then he looked at Wei Yuan with a non-smiling smile:

"For example, you actually already possess one of the mythological concepts."

"Want to guess?"

ps: Today's first update...

Four thousand six hundred words, thanks to Alliance Master 龍loong, thank you~