Under One Person: Starting from the Inheritance of Gods

Chapter 382 Classic of Mountains and Seas = A Biological Atlas of Prehistoric and Post-Nuclear Civilizations? [Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets!]

After the Battle of Liujing River.

Early in the morning, Zuixianju sent over several innocent courtesans for Meng Fan to choose from, presumably hoping to curry favor with him.

"Sang Wen, Yuan Yi, Zhu Ying... and Yuan Meng!"

Meng Fan's gaze was cold and indifferent as he focused on the last person. Who was Yuan Meng? Others might not know, but did he not?
She was once a courtesan on the Liujing River, but later became the woman of Prince Jing's heir, Li Hongcheng, and stopped entertaining other guests.

In the original novel, Yuan Meng was assigned by Li Chengze to become the madam of Baoyuelou, a brothel in Kyoto, where she was involved in illegal activities and could be described as ruthless and vicious.

And who exactly sent these courtesans? Need I say more?

Li Hongcheng must have had a difficult time making this decision, but in the end he decided to use Yuan Meng as a pawn and send her to Meng Fan's side.

Faced with Meng Fan's unbridled scrutinizing gaze, which contained a chilling aura as if he could see right through them, Yuan Meng's heart tightened, and even a few beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

As for Sang Wen, she was also a talented woman, proficient in music and skilled at playing the pipa. She didn't have many complicated thoughts. She still held the pipa, nervously lowered her head, as if she was silently counting ants in her mind, or as if she was looking at her feet.

"Sang Wen, Yuan Meng, stay here. The rest of you, go back!"

Meng Fan waved his hand, and the courtesans dared not object. They immediately bowed, then moved away lightly.

Si Lili glanced at Meng Fan with a resentful expression, and unconsciously increased the pressure of her massage on Meng Fan, thinking to herself, "Men are all such big pigs, they fall in love with every one they see."

Meng Fan glanced at Si Lili's appearance and immediately understood.

Well, the cat at home is jealous.

However, he would never be a sycophant.

Meng Fan stood up with a half-smile, walked up to Sang Wen and Yuan Meng, looked at the two trembling figures, and then snapped his fingers.

Before Yuan Meng could struggle, her figure vanished from the spot, leaving only Sang Wen staring wide-eyed, his bewildered eyes filled with disbelief.

"Do you want to know where she went?"

Sang Wen nodded blankly, then seemed to realize something and immediately shook his head in fear: "No... I don't want to!"

Meng Fan laughed and said, "It's right not to want to. That's a living hell, and I guarantee you'll never want to see it!"

His gaze swept over Sang Wen and Si Lili, making the two of them feel a chill of fear. Si Lili then realized with surprise that the other party was a Grandmaster!
How could I let myself act childishly?

In the Netherworld.

A pretty figure fell onto the dilapidated concrete roof. Below, countless zombies raised their rotting heads after hearing her scream.

After realizing that Yuan Meng had been devoured by the zombies, Meng Fan clicked his tongue and said, "What a waste!"

-----

Several days later, under the protection of the red-armored knights, Fan Xian finally arrived in Kyoto.

At the main gate of Kyoto, Wang Qinian swindled two taels of silver from a map he claimed was drawn by the emperor himself, using his supposedly fine ink and painstaking effort.

This gave him his first glimpse into the "wickedness of people's hearts" in Kyoto.

Subsequently, Eunuch Hou intercepted Fan Xian's carriage and personally acted as his driver, taking him to Qing Temple.

On the flower boat at Zuixianju.

Suddenly, a brother and sister, one in black and one in white, appeared before Meng Fan. The two knelt down and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, Fan Xian has entered the capital and is currently heading to the Qing Temple."

These two were none other than Chang Xuanling and Chang Haoling. Because the Black and White Impermanence were quite useful in observing people's expressions and were easy to use, Meng Fan kept them in front of the emperor to serve him.

"Protect them both, I'll be right back!"

"Yes!"

After Meng Fan had left for a long time, the Black and White Impermanence slowly stood up and bowed to Si Lili and Sang Wen, saying, "My brother and I will protect you from now on, so please rest assured."

Looking at the two people with their strange makeup, Si Lili couldn't help but ask, "What is your strength?"

The Black and White Impermanence exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Ninth Rank, Upper Level!"

Si Lili was suddenly shocked. Meng Fan actually left two top-level ninth-rank experts to protect her. You have to know that top-level ninth-rank experts are not easy to find.

They are extremely rare. The total number of top-level ninth-rank experts in Nanqing, Beiqi, and Dongyi City combined is no more than a handful.

Now, Meng Fan has made a move with two people, a brother and sister, making Meng Fan's image even more unfathomable in Si Lili's mind.

After cultivating the complete Nine Nether Profound Heaven Divine Art, Hei Bai Wuchang had already reached the Great Heavenly Rank. Later, he made contributions in the Heavenly Dao War and shared some of the Heavenly Dao's merits.

However, the two of them still saved up, hoping to exchange for the Heavenly and Earthly Divine Talisman of the Black and White Impermanence, so their strength did not increase much.

In terms of strength, if converted to the world of Joy of Life, after adapting to the special true energy of this world, the strength of a Great Celestial would be roughly equivalent to the upper ninth rank.

However, the two had a premonition that they would soon be able to break through to the Grandmaster realm.

Qingmiao Temple.

Fan Xian looked around and walked to the temple gate. Unexpectedly, the temple gate opened by itself, and a man walked out.

What kind of temple is this?

Fan Xian was new to this place and wanted to inquire about it.

To everyone's surprise, the man remained indifferent and said without any mercy, "Get out!"

Fan Xian immediately pouted, his youthful impetuosity making him want to barge in. "If you won't let me in, I'll just have to go in!"

Upon seeing this, Gong Dian immediately started fighting with Fan Xian.

Before, Fan Xian might have been at a disadvantage, but now that he has mastered the Nine Yang Divine Skill, he is no longer the same person.

The two exchanged a palm strike.

Fan Xian stood motionless, even with one hand behind his back, while Gong Dian was sent flying backward, landing on the ground and spitting out several mouthfuls of blood. The palms of their hands were charred black, emitting a fleshy aroma, clearly indicating that he had been injured by Fan Xian's scorching true energy.

Gong Dian felt a surge of intense, burning true energy flowing from the meridians in his palms into his lungs, surging wildly and scorching his heart and lungs, like being tormented by fire; the suffering was indescribable.

Fan Xian felt a little guilty upon seeing this, after all, it was his first time fighting someone, and who knew that his opponent would be so weak after making a move.

"Are you alright? This has nothing to do with me. You hit me first. I was just defending myself!"

Regardless of whether it's useful or not, let's secure our position first.

Surrounded by numerous guards, Gong Dian was helped to his feet, trembling, to prevent the other guards from drawing their swords against Fan Xian. Clutching his chest, he dutifully asked, "With such scorching and domineering true energy, whose disciple are you?"

To be able to cultivate such true qi at such a young age, one must be from a prestigious school. Drawing the sword hastily could only mean offending the other party. As the deputy commander of the imperial guards and an eighth-rank master, Gong Dian has always been mature and composed, with steady behavior, as well as being cautious and shrewd.

He has extremely high IQ and EQ.

After all, if he weren't intelligent and emotionally intelligent, he wouldn't have been able to sit in this position. In the capital city, where a fifth-rank official is worthless and a third-rank official is everywhere, asking about someone's background before speaking has become a necessary "rule".

Fan Xian was furious at the questioning tone in the other person's eyes: "Don't you know who I am?"

After all, he originally intended to go straight to the Fan residence, but who knew that someone would suddenly appear, drag him to this desolate wilderness, and then abandon him and run away.

Now that Fan Xian is convinced that Gong Dian and Eunuch Hou are in cahoots, he is naturally aware of his own identity. So why would he ask who he is now? Isn't that a joke?
Naturally, his tone of voice was not very pleasant.

As he spoke, Fan Xian was about to step inside.

Seeing that he couldn't stop them, Gong Dian warned, "There are noble people praying for blessings in the temple now. No one is allowed to step into the temple."

Upon hearing this, Fan Xian looked somewhat enlightened and said, "So you're not in cahoots."

Gong Dian frowned: "What?"

Fan Xian waved his hand: "Since we're not in the same group, there's no point in me staying here!"

After saying that, Fan Xian turned to leave.

At this moment, a servant-looking man came running to deliver a message to the palace eunuchs. Because Emperor Qing was traveling incognito, these eunuchs had changed into servant-like attire.

After listening, Gong Dian spoke up to stop him: "The nobleman of the temple has said that all citizens of Qing Kingdom may worship at the temple. You may go in, but you may only enter the side hall, not the main hall."

"What if I don't go in?"

Gong Dian had already reached his limit. He had barely managed to say those few words. His internal energy was in disarray, his internal organs were being tormented as if boiling in soup, and cold sweat poured down his forehead. The pain actually made him faint.

The guards rushed Gong Dian to get medical treatment and sent someone to inform His Majesty of the news, but still left a few people behind to keep watch.

Seeing that Gong Dian had fainted before he could reply, Fan Xian thought it over and decided to go in and check on him.

He grabbed one of the guards who had stayed behind and asked, "What is being worshipped in this temple?"

As a low-ranking figure, the guard naturally dared not be negligent in the face of a master like Fan Xian, and immediately replied, "Young master, please do not joke with me. All the places worshipped in the world are temples of gods. How could you not know that?"

"Temple?"

Seeing that Fan Xian seemed genuinely puzzled, the guard explained, "In the beginning, when heaven and earth were first separated, giant beasts roamed freely. The people of the temple descended to earth with their power and virtue, imparting to the world written language and etiquette, helping people to open up mountains and seas, and establishing the foundation of the human race. This is something that everyone knows!"

"Oh, so it's a myth!"

Fan Xian pursed his lips, not taking it to heart, and then strode towards the so-called side hall.

Approaching the side hall, walking straight ahead, one is greeted by a mural depicting a deity subduing a ferocious beast. The beasts are of various shapes, with scarlet eyes, exuding a terrifying aura.

High above the clouds, there seems to be a temple in the mist, and there are even divine beings holding thunder and fire in the clouds, showing their holiness.

Fan Xian casually picked up a pear from the offering table, took a bite, and, as an atheist, said without any respect, "I've never believed in gods, but I don't know how I came into this world anyway."

"If there really is a temple, please send an envoy down to explain it to me. If you give me an answer, I'll give you face and believe you this once."

While eating a pear, Fan Xian added, "Well, how about reimbursing the envoy's food and lodging? You should consider it!"

Next, just like in the original novel, Fan Xian met the chicken leg girl and watched Lin Wan'er leave with a lecherous look on his face.

"Hey, snap out of it!"

Meng Fan suddenly appeared behind Fan Xian and spoke, startling him awake.

Fan Xian turned around and looked back, frowning as he said, "It's you again?"

Meng Fan chuckled and pointed at Fan Xian's mouth: "You're drooling, aren't you going to wipe it off?"

Upon hearing this, Fan Xian hurriedly wiped his mouth with his hand, but there was no saliva at all.

"What's wrong? You've taken a liking to Lin Wan'er?"

Fan Xian glanced at Meng Fan: "Do I need to tell you whether I like you or not?"

"Wait, who did you say she was?"

Fan Xian hurriedly confirmed it again.

"Lin Wan'er, your fiancée."

Upon hearing the name and her identity, Fan Xian nearly jumped for joy, feeling as if the whole world had brightened up: "My fiancée? Lin Wan'er?"

"That's right!"

Meng Fan directly exposed Lin Wan'er's true identity, saving Fan Xian from having to tarnish his own reputation.

Seeing Fan Xian's smug expression, Meng Fan said, "Alright, stop being so smug. I'm here to talk to you about something important."

Fan Xian composed himself and looked at Meng Fan, asking, "What is your purpose in coming to see me time and time again?"

Meng Fan said, "Some things are more beautiful when they are revealed step by step. Focusing too much on the result and the truth makes them less beautiful."

"Now, I'll give you your first hint: do you know why I chose to meet you at Qingmiao Temple?"

Fan Xian shook his head.

Meng Fan walked up to the mural and said quietly, "You must have heard about it just now. In the beginning, when heaven and earth were first separated, giant beasts roamed freely, and the people of the temple descended to earth with their power and virtue. I wonder what your thoughts are on that?"

Fan Xian frowned, puzzled, and said, "Isn't this a myth?"

Meng Fan chuckled lightly: "As I said, this is the future. Okay, let me ask you a different question: Why do you think modern civilization will perish?"

Fan Xian speculated: "Uncontrollable factors? Dramatic environmental changes? Extraterrestrial invasion? Global warming causing seawater to cover the continents..."

Meng Fan ruthlessly rejected Fan Xian's various speculations: "None of them. The destruction of modern civilization was caused by humanity itself."

Fan Xian exclaimed in surprise, "What?"

Nuclear war!

Meng Fan uttered those two words heavily, then added: "The kind that happens on a global scale, leading to the extinction of civilizations, where the environment is no longer suitable for human survival, and only a portion of the embers can be preserved and sealed off."

Fan Xian thought about it again and again, but he still couldn't think of this aspect.

After all, who could have imagined that the cause of the demise of modern civilization would be something that humanity itself did?

Meng Fan sighed, "This isn't the first time civilizations on Earth have been destroyed. In the beginning, when heaven and earth were first separated, giant beasts roamed freely. Have you ever considered that the Classic of Mountains and Seas might not be a fabricated myth or legend, but a biological atlas and record of the period after a prehistoric nuclear war?"

Fan Xian's eyes narrowed: "What do you mean?"

"Life always finds a way out in desperate situations. Don't you think that so-called giant beasts are creatures that survived nuclear radiation only after undergoing natural selection?"

Fan Xian was startled by Meng Fan's bold statement and suddenly looked up at the ferocious beasts depicted on the mural. They seemed to bear some resemblance to the Qiongqi and other ferocious beasts recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

(End of this chapter)