I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Location: 300 meters underground in Beijing, the nation's highest-level biological laboratory]

Under the operating lights, the mummified corpse from the summit of Kunlun Mountain lay quietly on the titanium alloy dissection table.

He was surrounded by top experts in fully enclosed biohazard suits. They held the most sophisticated instruments in the world, but each of them looked at him as if he were a monster from a higher dimension.

"Have the carbon-14 test results come out yet?" Professor Wang Jianguo's voice trembled.

The researcher in charge of the testing took off his goggles, his face filled with despair: "It's out... but it's unusable."

"What do you mean by 'unusable'?"

"The carbon-14 content of this mummy's skeletal sample... is dynamic." The researcher slammed the report on the table. "One second it shows it's two thousand years old, the next it shows it's fifty thousand years old, then another test shows it died just yesterday! The isotopes here are constantly jumping between decay and reverse decay! This completely contradicts the second law of thermodynamics!"

The laboratory was deathly silent.

If the laws of physics have broken down, it means that this mummified corpse possesses a power that can "defy time".

"What about DNA?" Wang Jianguo turned to the other side.

"Even more outrageous." The female PhD student in charge of gene sequencing pointed to the big screen. "Human DNA has a double helix structure, right? But this mummy... its cell nucleus contains triple helix genetic material."

On the big screen, the complex and perfect triangular spiral structure slowly rotated, exuding an eerie beauty.

"That extra chain is extremely stable, like a lock, locking in some kind of energy within his body." The female doctor swallowed hard. "Professor, from a biological perspective... this is no longer 'Homo sapiens.' This is a higher level of evolution... 'Godman.'"

Wang Jianguo stared at the mummified corpse, the eight characters inscribed on the Kunlun stone wall echoing in his mind:

The connection between heaven and earth is severed, and all spiritual energy is cut off.

"Evolution is locked down." Wang Jianguo muttered to himself, "Two thousand years ago, someone, or perhaps a god, put a lock on Earth's civilization. And this person, in order to guard this lock, was willing to sit in the Kunlun Mountains for two thousand years, until he had burned out his last drop of blood."

A somber yet grand sense of historical weight pressed down on all the scientists present, making it hard for them to breathe.

They thought they were studying corpses, but they were actually reading a forgotten epic.

……

Location: Linhai City, on the coast of the East China Sea

As night falls, the sea breeze carries a salty, damp scent.

Gu Qing stood on a deserted cliff, with the dark sea crashing against the shore below.

Compared to the desolate and vast Kunlun Mountains, the sea evokes a sense of turmoil and profound depth. It is the cradle of life, and also the greatest graveyard.

Current credit balance: 120 points.

"120 points, this is the hard-earned money I earned by acting for two days straight without sleep."

Gu Qing looked at the system panel, a slight smile playing on his lips. The "dried corpse script" from Kunlun Mountain had been remarkably effective, and the shockwaves among the higher-ups provided him with a continuous source of confidence. Now, he had the leverage to make a big splash at sea.

"Kunlun represents 'defense,' while the East China Sea represents 'destruction.'"

Gu Qing's thinking was very clear.

The mummified corpses in Kunlun Mountain suggest a past where "spiritual energy was cut off."

Therefore, the relics in the East China Sea must be an indication of the "revival of spiritual energy".

"System, open the [Ocean Mythology] category."

A dazzling array of redemption options unfolded before his eyes:

The Sea-Stabilizing Needle (Fake): 10000 points of Faith. (Can't afford it)

Dragon King's Third Prince (Infant): 5000 Faith Points. (Can't afford it)

Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals (one team): 500 Faith Points. (Still can't afford it)

Gu Qing sighed, "It seems that rebuilding the Crystal Palace directly is a pipe dream. We can only go for the 'battle-damaged' approach."

His gaze fell on the broken and damaged items. Often, broken items are cheaper and have a more tale-like quality than complete ones.

Ultimately, he chose three things:

[The Ruins of the Dragon Palace: The Broken Dragon Pillar (Giant)]

Price: 50 points of Faith.

Description: A 30-meter-tall white jade pillar, carved with a relief of a real dragon, has been broken in half, with scorch marks from a lightning strike remaining at the cut.

【Deep-sea pressure (range: 5 kilometers radius)】

Price: 30 points of Faith.

Description: Simulates the lingering scent of superior beings (such as dragons). This will frighten marine life and cause them to flee, and will also cause humans to feel chest tightness and palpitations.

[Ancient Battlefield Relics: Broken Spear]

Price: 10 points of Faith.

Description: The enormous weapons scattered on the seabed are already rusted, but their size, which is not human, is still faintly visible.

Total points consumed: 90.

Remaining: 30 points (for future use).

"This isn't a set design, it's burning money."

Gu Qing reluctantly clicked to redeem.

"Deployment coordinates: 124 degrees east longitude, 30 degrees north latitude. Edge of the East China Sea continental shelf, at a water depth of 200 meters."

That is the area where the Chinese oceanographic research vessel "Exploration 9" is currently operating.

……

[Time: 11 PM]

Location: East China Sea, on the research vessel "Exploration 9"

In the captain's cabin, the first mate was staring blankly at the sonar screen.

"What's going on with these fish?"

On the screen, the echoes of the fish, which should have been evenly distributed, were now fleeing the area at an alarming speed, as if they had gone mad.

Whether it's bottom-dwelling crabs, mid-water sardines, or even top-dwelling sharks, they're all desperately trying to escape.

"What happened? An underwater earthquake?" The captain walked in, wearing a coat.

"No tremors detected, Captain," the first mate pointed to the screen, "but this area of ​​the sea... is empty. It's like some overlord came and scared them all away."

Just then, the sonar operator suddenly shouted, "Captain! The multibeam echo sounder has detected an anomaly!"

"What's wrong?"

"The seabed topography... has changed."

The sonar operator's voice was filled with disbelief: "Right below us, there should have been a flat continental shelf with mud and sand. But now, the scan shows... a pillar has suddenly risen up there."

"Pillar?"

"Thirty meters high, five meters in diameter... and that's the height after it broke off. It's too regular; it doesn't look like a naturally formed rock."

The captain frowned: "Could it be a mast from an old shipwreck? Or a piece of discarded drilling platform equipment?"

"Unlike... its surface echoes are very complex, like they're in relief."

After a moment's hesitation, the captain decisively ordered, "Stop the ship! Activate the 'Sea Dragon' ROV (Unmanned Submersible). I want to see this thing for myself."

……

Half an hour later.

The "Hailong" slowly sank into the dark depths of the sea, its orange searchlights gleaming.

The water depth is 50 meters...100 meters...150 meters.

On the large screen in the control room, the seawater was becoming increasingly murky. That was the mud and sand stirred up by the fish as they fled.

"We're close to the target." The operator's hands were slightly sweaty. "Depth 190 meters."

Sudden.

A strong turbulence struck, causing the "Hailong" to shake violently and alarms to sound.

"Hold on! That's the bottom current!"

The operator gritted his teeth, forcibly adjusted his posture, and turned on the main searchlight.

A beam of light pierced the darkness of the deep sea.

next second.

All the dozen or so crew members in the control room held their breath.

Under the intense light, a pale, enormous stone pillar, exuding an aura of holiness and majesty, lay silently and obliquely in the silt of the seabed.

It was enormous. Compared to it, the "Hailong" was like a tiny fly.

The stone pillar is as white as jade, and even after being submerged at the bottom of the sea for countless years, it remains free of any barnacles or seaweed. It stands there cleanly and proudly.

The camera zooms in.

The crew members could see the reliefs on the stone pillars.

That was a dragon.

A five-clawed golden dragon coils around the pillar, its scales clearly defined, its whiskers flying, and its eyes wide open in fury. Although it is just a sculpture, the overwhelming aura of royalty emanating from the screen still sends a chill down everyone's spine.

"This is... a dragon?" the captain asked hoarsely. "Who threw this artwork here?"

"Captain, look up there!"

The operator controls the camera to move upwards.

The top of the stone pillar is broken.

The break wasn't due to natural weathering, but rather a charred, crystalline appearance. It looked as if... it had been cleaved in two by a devastating bolt of lightning!

At the foot of the stone pillar lay several enormous, long-corroded bronze halberds. Each one was three meters long, weapons that no human could possibly wield.

That's not art.

This is a battlefield.

The ruins of an ancient battlefield from a mythical era.

"Captain..." the sonar operator suddenly took off his headphones, his face pale. "I heard a sound."

What was that sound?

"Near that pillar... there's a low-frequency vibration. That's... that's..."

The soprano trembled as he connected the audio to the radio.

"hold head high----"

A faint, desolate, and tragic dragon's roar, mingled with the sound of deep-sea currents, echoed in the narrow cabin.

That wasn't the sound of a living creature.

That broken pillar tells the story of its past glory and its fall to the vast sea.

"Quickly...quickly send the video back to headquarters!"

The captain felt his hands trembling; he realized he might have discovered something even greater than the Titanic.

"This is the Dragon Palace of the East Sea... no, this is the ruins of the Dragon Palace!"

……

[Cliffside]

Gu Qing looked at the numbers on the system panel that started jumping again and took a deep breath of the sea breeze with its fishy smell.

[Ding! Scenario Node: "East Sea Dragon Palace Ruins" has been discovered.]

[Gained Faith Points: +40.]

[Global Mythology Revival Progress: 0.0001% -> 0.0002%]

"The progress bar finally moved."

Gu Qing smiled and turned to disappear into the night.

"The mummified corpses of Kunlun tell you: mythology is dead."

"The broken pillar in the East Sea tells you: mythology can be destroyed."

"So, what I'm going to do next is tell you..."

"Mythology is returning."

He looked at the city lights in the distance.

"Now that we have inanimate objects, it's time for the living to take the stage in the next scene."

"It's time to choose the first 'lucky audience member' and make him the first practitioner in this era of spiritual revival."