荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

“There are many legends about the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars, but the majority of them say that the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars were sealed in the sea far before the time of the Elam Dynasty. Moreover, in the legends, the Elam Dynasty was a civilization most devoted to the gods and was extremely powerful. However, for some reason, it vanished in the space of a single night, the entire country exterminated.” Bahram’s familiar voice rang out in the ears of Wang Chong and Gao Xianzhi as he walked up to them.

“The Elam Dynasty has left behind very few remnants, but any artifacts connected to it are extremely formidable. But it’s precisely because this is the case that everyone has always been confused about the destruction of the Elam Dynasty.”

The ancient civilization that preceded the Sassanid Dynasty was only understood by the Sassanids and the people of the nearby regions. Wang Chong and Gao Xianzhi clearly understood nothing about it.

Soon, the group began to discover more and more symbols of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars in the cave. With Bahram’s explanations, the pair slowly began to understand how the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars and the Elam Dynasty were related. Before long, the group had finished exploring the outer edge of the cave.

Many of the rebel leaders turned their attention to the most obvious place, the palace complex. Wang Chong was also prepared to head into the palace complex, but as he turned around, his eyes flitted past an unremarkable symbol on the wall. Bzzz! Wang Chong’s body shuddered, his eyes constricted, and he suddenly stopped.

“This is...”

On the wall was a faint black symbol of an eye, and deep within this eye was clearly a human, their arms and legs spread out. Unlike the golden symbols of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars, this symbol was not that obvious, and the symbol was placed in a dark corner where no light could reach. If one was not paying attention, they would find it very difficult to notice.

There was nothing special about this black eye at first glance, but when Wang Chong looked again, the eye on the wall suddenly seemed to come to life. As Wang Chong stared at it, it stared back. It gave an extremely cold and bizarre feeling. But this was not the only thing that shocked Wang Chong.

Impossible! This can’t be!

Wang Chong stared with round eyes at the symbol, massive waves raging in his mind. Wang Chong was no stranger to this symbol, as he had seen it once before during the onset of the calamity. Wang Chong had further investigated the matter and learned that this symbol was inextricably linked to the calamity. The symbol on the wall was not exactly like the one in Wang Chong’s memories, but it was extremely similar. Even if it wasn’t the one in Wang Chong’s memories, it was undoubtedly closely linked.

But one had been a symbol found in the Central Plains while the other was far away in Khorasan, and from the Elam civilization which had vanished thousands of years ago. These two symbols were separated by vast gaps in both time and space. Why would he see a symbol from the end days of the Central Plains here?

Countless thoughts blazed through Wang Chong’s mind.

“Notice! User has discovered the Symbol of Destiny, activating the Riddle of Destiny!”

At this moment, the Stone of Destiny’s urgent voice rang out in Wang Chong’s mind, and the ‘Riddle of Destiny’ reward began to rapidly flash.

Wang Chong almost subconsciously reached out to activate the Riddle of Destiny ability.

“Obtain information from the Riddle of Destiny!”

“Request denied! User needs to acquire more information before being able to unlock the secret of the symbol!”

To Wang Chong’s surprise, his request was immediately rejected. In shock, Wang Chong tried again, and then again, but the Riddle of Destiny ability remained unresponsive.

After some time, Wang Chong finally gave up on these attempts, but his mind was still greatly perturbed. After the victory at the Battle of Talas, he had unexpectedly found a clue to the future calamity in this foreign land.

Although he did not know what had happened, there was a chance that he could discover the origins and truth about the otherworldly invaders from this vanished Elam Dynasty.

Buzz!

Suddenly, Wang Chong had a dazzling flash of insight. His mind was energized and his body tensed. He was no longer being driven by mere curiosity and pleasure.

“A book from the Elam Dynasty! There’s a book from the Elam Dynasty here!” An excited shout came from the palace complex.

Upon hearing this news, Wang Chong felt his heart thump, and he immediately rushed over. In the space of a few seconds, he entered the bronze Elamite complex and hurried toward where the voice had come from.

There were many furnishings in this palace complex, all of them carrying the style of the ancient Elam Dynasty. But none of these objects could compare to the one placed on the bronze altar at the very center of the palace complex, an ancient book.

When Wang Chong arrived, he could clearly see the thick bronze cover of the book. It had already been opened, but after the long passage of time, the pages were already showing signs of decay. There were many places where only half a page was left.

Wang Chong heard the questioning voice of a nearby rebel leader. “The symbol of one of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars, Paimon1, was on this book. It’s rumored that Paimon will only leave his symbol on his personal works or his own possessions. Could this book have been written by Paimon?”

“Impossible! Paimon is one of the Ten Great Demon Gods, one of the most powerful of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars. He was sealed in one of the first waves and immersed into the sea. How could he have possibly survived until the era of the Elam Dynasty?” another rebel leader rebutted.

“Regardless of how it is, these ruins must be intimately connected to Paimon. I truly can’t believe it. Although the legends say that the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars were all wily characters and knew many kinds of languages, there has never been anything said about their handwriting. Can demon gods also write in the characters of humans?”

The surrounding rebel leaders all sighed in shock. This underground ruin of the Elam Dynasty was like a giant riddle, drawing in all the Khorasani and rebel leaders. Even Bahram stared in a daze at that tattered book on the altar, a contemplative look on his face.

“Is there any one of you who understands the words of the ancient era?” Bahram suddenly asked.

“No! Although there have always been scholars researching ancient civilizations, anyone who can recognize words from eight hundred years ago is already quite outstanding. But the Elam Dynasty existed three to five thousand years ago, perhaps even farther back in time. No one in the world exists that can recognize the words on there,” a rebel leader with a curly beard said.

All of them stared regretfully at the book on the altar. This book was an ancient relic originating from a time closest to the era of the demon gods. It most likely contained the impressions and secrets of that dazzling era which all of them dreamed and yearned for.

But despite all the rebel leaders present, none of them were capable of revealing its secrets. This was undoubtedly a great pity.

Moreover, this book was extremely fragile. Although it was right before their eyes, none of them dared to recklessly touch it, much less flip its pages to examine it further.

“Great General, can I try?” A voice broke the silence. Wang Chong suddenly stepped onto the raised platform.

“Wang Chong...”

Gao Xianzhi was stunned by these words. He had noticed as soon as Wang Chong had entered, but not even Gao Xianzhi had imagined that Wang Chong would make such a request.

Although the cover of the book on the altar was forged from bronze, the pages were not, and would crumble at the lightest touch. It was precisely because a rebel leader had touched the pages just moments ago that the book was in its damaged condition.

Moreover, both the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars and the Elam Dynasty were the affairs of the Sassanid Dynasty and the rebel leaders. It was rather inappropriate of Wang Chong to interpose himself at a time like this.

Wang Chong said nothing, only shot a glance back at Gao Xianzhi indicating that he could rest easy.

“Great General, may I?” Wang Chong asked.

“This...”

Bahram hesitated. After scanning the surrounding rebel leaders, he quickly nodded.

“Okay!”

If anyone else were making this request, Bahram and the other rebel leaders would all be furious. This sort of request was truly too rude and could even be considered an offense.

But Wang Chong was different. Wang Chong shone over the coalition army like the noon sun, and as its supreme commander, he even exceeded Bahram in status. At this time, only Wang Chong could make this sort of request and not seem like he was overstepping his bounds.

“Many thanks!”

Wang Chong quickly walked up to the altar, which was about half as tall as a man. Without much hesitation, Wang Chong extended a palm and pressed it onto the mysterious and damaged book.

“Stone of Destiny, help me extract this book’s secrets!”

In a domain that no one else could interact with, Wang Chong communicated with the Stone of Destiny. From the moment he had stepped into this place and set eyes on the book, the Riddle of Destiny in his mind had begun to madly pulse and flash. More importantly, while everyone else was focused on the symbol of one of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars on the bronze cover of this Elamite book, only Wang Chong had spotted that unremarkable symbol of the black eye.

...Exactly the same as the one he had seen outside.

“Translating the Book of Paimon requires 10000 points of Destiny Energy. Does user confirm?” The voice of the Stone of Destiny rang out in his mind, devoid of emotion.

Wang Chong’s heart thumped. Although he had already received indications from the Stone of Destiny that this new ability, the Riddle of Destiny, consumed exorbitant amounts of Destiny Energy, Wang Chong had not expected it to be this much.

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1. In the 72 demons of the Ars Goetia, Paimon is a King of Hell who commands two hundred legions. He is depicted as a man with an effeminate face and riding a camel. Notably, he teaches arts, philosophies, sciences, and can reveal the mysteries to all things in the world.↩