Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"God! God!" He prostrated himself on the ground. "We have changed. God has not changed—God will never change."

"What he's saying is so confusing, but I seem to understand a little bit."

"He seems to know a little bit of your language, but not completely." Apollonia also looked at him. "It sounds like an inverted sentence, but it's not. He's just using elements of your language to speak his own language. He puts the subject of his speech first, and then the judgment and action. The literal translation should be 'If it changes, it has already happened to us, but not to the gods. The gods will change or anything like that, but such a thing will never happen' - I've filled in the missing elements for you."

"Why does this sound familiar? I think I've heard it somewhere before."

"Many languages use this order. Caucasian and ancient Aryan languages use this, as do Korean and Japanese. Latin occasionally uses it, and quite frequently. This way of saying it immediately brings up the main point, saving effort. Of course, you usually don't understand the meaning of this structure until you hear it all, because the judgment and action come later."

"Tsk, but it's not a big problem. He speaks entirely using our corpus, so even if the order is reversed, it's still not completely incomprehensible."

He continued to look at the person on the ground: "Get up first."

A skinny old man was kneeling before him, which didn't look good.

The old man stood up, but still didn't look Shangluo in the eye.

"What's your name? What's your age?"

"They call me Uma Elder. I'm 8 years old."

"Eight years old??? You look like this when you're eight? So you're not a little old man, you're only this big! How come you look like this?"

“Because of the precepts, we are strict”

"Stop it for now." He beckoned and called a Tianyi nobleman to stand in the middle to translate:

"Because as the son of a shaman, I strictly abide by the commandments of the gods. I do not touch the sinful flames, nor do I eat fire or anything related to fire."

"Good boy! No wonder he's so shrunken. What about the others? They're all as skinny as monkeys."

"Their precepts are weaker, and they occasionally use food cooked in hot water. But please rest assured that no untouchable who has ever touched fire has come before you—wait, ah! You just lit a fire! What should I do? Ah!"

His brain was short-circuiting again.

"Wait, wait, let's get this over with for now. First, let me ask you, who told you not to use fire?"

"Yes, yes." He hesitated a little, but since this was a question from the god, he answered truthfully, "It's my father."

"Your father? Your shaman?"

"Yes."

"Then how did he know?"

"He is an ancient who has seen the Water Serpent firsthand. This is the will of the Water Serpent! And the will of the Water Serpent must also come from you."

"Wait." He raised his hand and turned around to take out the snake pill.

"Hey, ball number two, wake up." He knocked on the ball shell.

"Report to the Lord! I have been awake the entire time!"

"Then what exactly is going on? What decree did you make without telling me?"

"You, Lord, have witnessed it yourself! I haven't said anything! From the moment I offered the snake pill, I've been in your sight the entire time. I haven't done anything! I haven't said a single word!"

This was indeed the truth. This guy was only thinking about finding a dark room to hide in and be quiet. Not only did he not have the time to commit the crime, he didn't even have a motive.

"So, Lord Tian, they are framing me. It has absolutely nothing to do with me! Or maybe they are just making it up!"

"Wait a minute," Shangluo asked, "I know you didn't mention it, but where is your successor?"

"Strictly speaking, that's not my successor, that's another me. Born a second time in the same way, our decision should be similar—to do nothing. Because the nature of water snakes is to hide, and we are the water of hiding. Therefore, I'm afraid we can do nothing but hide."

"Well, I can understand that."

What he saw was that this world didn't need a god to compile "doctrines." If humans came up with something, even the gods themselves would be surprised and wonder if they were heretics.

"Okay, continue your retreat."

"In compliance with the Lord's will, I will turn off the lights."

Just like in the past, he really locked himself up. If Shangluo didn't ask, he wouldn't say a word.

"Then here comes the question." Shangluo looked at the eight-year-old wrinkled elder lying on the ground, who called himself Wuma. "What is your clan's name?"

"Clan? What does that mean?"

"I mean, where are these people who consider fire taboo distributed?"

"Ah! If that's what you're asking, we are the Atayal Water Tribe, living on the Water Continent. After the Water Serpent vanished, our shamans strictly observed the commandments and resolutely prevented any chance of the Fire Serpent's birth. We know the Fire Serpent is the root of all evil. Having betrayed the gods, the Fire Serpent is the common enemy of the Atayal Water Tribe, the Atmospheric Nomads, and the Teren Kingdom. Following the revelations of the earliest and most ancient Asveta Fragments, we will defend our world and fight the Fire Serpent and its followers until the end of time. Only in this way can we live up to the gods' grace and ensure the eternal peace of the Birch World."

Chapter 429 Dragon and Snake

"Ah, this." This differentiation was far beyond Shangluo's expectations. These clearly starving Shui people before him seemed to be still in the early agricultural age. Yet, their social organization seemed quite clear, especially regarding information exchange.

These three continents are quite large for their size, roughly equivalent in area to the area between Greenland and Australia, making them true continents. How are they connected?

And what is the "Aśvata Fragments"?

And why do the Water Tribe and the Air Tribe call themselves tribes, but only the "Tai Lun Kingdom" which seems to be the "Earth Tribe" calls itself a country?

And what is the birch world?

"All this is due to the birth of the Dragon Worship Cult," Uma replied. "The benevolent gods left us the Fragments of the Asveta. According to the first chapter, 'How to Use the Forum,' we should 'make friends and share enlightenment.' This means to have good intentions, to boost and strengthen our hard-earned humanity, and to always yearn for light—for the birch tree at the center of the world that supports it. The Fragments of the Asveta were once a leaf from the birch tree. To remember the gods' teachings, the shamans recited and copied them down, forming our shared Fragments of the Asveta and the Dragon Worship Cult."

"Their memory doesn't seem to be very good," muttered Apollonia. "I remember you wrote 'Meet new friends and discuss new topics'. What a mess! They only remembered the title, and I can't imagine how much more messed up it would be. Oh, and ask them why it's the Dragon Cult. See if it's what I think."

Shangluo asked the same question.

Uma replied, "Because after the snakes were judged by you and given human nature, we believe that the snakes have been transformed into dragons."

"That's right." Apollonia nodded. "Just as I thought. Dragons and snakes are often relative concepts. For example, in Indian mythology, the gods are called Devas, and the non-godly evil creatures are called Asuras. But on the other hand, Persian Aryan culture, which has the same origin as Indian Aryan culture, calls the gods Ahura and the evil spirits Deev. Did you see it? 'Ahura and Asura' are essentially the same word, and 'Deva and Deev', or the evil spirit in English that you are more familiar with, are also the same word from the same etymology. But they have completely opposite meanings in the two cultures, and both sides believe that snakes are evil."

"So, the king who holds the ruling power is the dragon?"

"There's no doubt that when you divided the lands, the snakes were the undisputed rulers—they had the power. It's only natural for those with the power to become dragons. In contrast, if any other creature wanted to overturn the order you established."

"That's a snake?"

"That's right. You see, in the beginning, you established the order of this world, and this was just a server. They clung to the server like termites, causing trouble for you; they were naturally snakes. But after your judgment, you bestowed upon those snakes 'continents,' allowing them to rule their own territories. Now that they had their own lands and subjects, they wore dragon crowns and were no longer snakes. Dragons have horns, don't they? That's the dragon's crown."

"Ah wait."

He tapped the ball again: "Ball No. 2, is your scalp itchy?"

"No. I don't feel like I'm going to grow horns," Ball Two replied directly. Although he didn't speak, he was listening.

"Look," Apollonia continued, "our friend has given up his power to rule and has hidden himself inside your little billiard ball. That's why he never wore a crown and became a dragon. I think the air and earth sides are crowned and actually rule over their people."

"So it's called the Dragon Cult? But that's not right." He looked at Uma, "Where is your water dragon?"

"We believe that although the Serpent Lord has disappeared, he will surely return one day in the future. He will be crowned as the Water Dragon and will completely end the threat of the Fire Serpent. Therefore, we worship the future Water Dragon. We worship him and respect his commandments as if he has always been there."

"Tsk tsk tsk. Ball No. 2, do you hear that? Your people are calling you back."

Ball No. 2 chose silence—it had the right to choose silence, so it didn't speak.

"Okay." Shangluo nodded. "I roughly understand what's going on. The other two sides should be led by dragons, so they have the Daqi pastoral tribe and the Tailun Kingdom, which sounds like a relatively unified lifestyle. But this 'Atayal Water Tribe' has a very broad lifestyle, neither pastoral nor kingdom, and it seems to be something these shamans have figured out on their own. Therefore, it is necessary to adhere to strict precepts, because this is how they establish their self-identity. It's like Hong Xiuquan said, 'Alcohol is the first strict prohibition' - is drinking really that serious? Not necessarily, alcohol is not prohibited in the West either. But if you don't prohibit alcohol, how can others know you are a Taiping God? The counterexample is Manichaeism, which combined Buddhism and Taoism, and ultimately destroyed itself."

After saying this, he looked at Uma in front of him and said, "Your father, bring him to see me."

"Oh, this. Please forgive me for being so presumptuous! But God, I'm afraid he can't come."

"why?"

“He’s taken root.”

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Look over there, look at that tree."

Raising his telescope, Shangluo gazed toward the distant spot he pointed—in the center of a cluster of houses, stood a large "tree." It wasn't a tree, but it looked more like a mushroom, a banyan, a willow, or a geometric object. Roots sprouted from the ground, entwined to form a main trunk, like the trunk of a banyan tree. Then, they fanned out at the treetops, like the branches of a weeping willow.

"That was my father. He reached the end of his life last year. After death, the bodies of our people will quickly decay in the earth. But the souls of our water people have nowhere to go, and our dragon master has disappeared. It is a sad thing that there is no dragon master to receive our souls. But the strong among us benefit from it. They can gather their bodies again and sprout again in the form of trees. So I still have time. I am learning from my father how to become a shaman. Perhaps in the future, I will have my own tree."

"Alright, alright." Shangluo put down the telescope. "You guys really are quite talented. I wasn't wrong about you."

He had thought these mushrooms were quite impressive from the start, but he had never expected that they could be so skilled at it.

"God! Have we grown up to be what you expected?"

Shangluo nodded and said, "I'm very happy to see that you can have your own lives. You are different now than you were at the beginning."

"Then please give us your protection! Please give us your protection, Insula, which is the name of our village and also my father's name."

"Shelter? You have your own houses and your own fields. I don't know how you can live without fire, but it looks like you can live on your own. What do you need my protection for?"

"Because the city of Kaniki upstream has built a stone dam, blocking the water supply. Our fields for crops are drying up, and our village is dying."

"This has nothing to do with me. This is your business."

"But the city of Carnegie is under the protection of another god! Please! We also want our own god!"

Chapter 430 Grilled Red Fruit

"Hello? Brother? I want to ask if anyone besides me has ever entered the gate of the Thunder Department?"

The call lasted three minutes and he hung up.

"How is it? Is anyone coming in?" asked Phaethon.

"No. He also called the Imperial Guards to confirm for me, and they said no. So, now comes the interesting part. They say there's another 'god' here? No wonder they were so attentive right from the start. It turns out they think that since other families have gods protecting them, they think I can protect them too. But what exactly is that? Do you have any idea?"

"There are many possibilities. Besides outside intervention, it could be some powerful psychic entity, a fragment of a dragon, or simply a mortal claiming to be a god—all but the last are things we need to pay attention to. If we're here to inspect something, it's this kind of thing. But something doesn't feel right."

"You mean, time?"

"Hmm," Phaethon nodded. "The time is too short. The power of psychic entities is accumulated over a long period of time. If it had taken a few hundred years, it would have been easy. But this world has only been in order for a total of ten years. It's impossible for such powerful psychic entities to accumulate."

"Maybe it has something to do with the tree?"

"That's possible. These water people seem to have this characteristic—because their souls won't be led away, there's still a chance they can come back together. Also, because the natural laws here aren't as ancient and powerful, the gap between the dead and the living isn't as clear."

"Because there's no hell here?"

"Right. After all, you didn't build a hell for them. You didn't establish any laws for them. All laws were established by the crowned dragons. There are no dragons in the Water Continent, so naturally there are no laws."

"Why do I feel like I've arrived in some ancient time? When the world was first created, even yin and yang were not yet distinguished."

"This is the prehistoric world, absolutely. By the way, if we follow the prehistoric world, what will happen next?"

"Hmm," Shangluo thought for a moment, "Let's go to their village first. We can get a rough estimate of their production level. By the way, this fruit tastes pretty good."

After roasting, the fruit develops a rich and complex flavor. Its rich base and mouthfeel are similar to avocado, while roasting creates a rich and tender texture similar to seared foie gras. As a fruit, it also possesses a refreshingly sweet flavor, with a sour-sweet taste that permeates the tongue and cheeks.

"It's like strawberry-flavored foie gras. Yeah, that's about it." Shangluo gave his evaluation.

Phaethon took a bite.

Phaethon looked troubled.

"Eh? Isn't this delicious?"

"It's delicious. It's delicious, but it reminds me of pickled olives. Pickled olives are delicious too, but even if you eat something this good every day, every month, every year, you'll probably get sick. If I weren't a demigod, my physique wouldn't be much better than this little Uma brother's, after all, we all eat the same thing. My food is even worse than theirs, after all, there aren't any red fruits this big to roast under the sun."

After saying that, she ate two more pieces.

"Won't it bring back bad memories? You seemed to be eating very enthusiastically."

"Because it's really delicious. Oh, by the way, Apollonia, if you don't eat your red fruit, it's going to become mushy! It's almost become limp."

"Wait a little longer, wait a little longer. Ah~~ It's my first time eating, and I want to eat something soft and fluffy."

"Do you really want it to be baked into a paste before eating?" Shangluo asked her, "Then do you want me to crush it with a spoon and put it in a small bowl for you to eat?"

"Yeah."

"What's your taste?"

Phaethon shook his head. "The last thing she remembered about food was probably baby food."

"So you just want baby food, huh? Fine. I'll fill a bowl for you then. If you bake it any longer, it'll get burnt."

He used a spatula to scrape off the Apollonia fruit—he had no choice but to scrape it off; if he touched it with chopsticks, it would probably break. Fortunately, the fruit didn't have much moisture in it, otherwise it would have started to ooze water by now.

He placed it on a small plate and pressed it down with a spoon.

"Oh my goodness, it's not cooked yet. The outside is almost burnt, but the inside hasn't changed color yet. Are you sure you don't want to bake it again?" After confirming again and again, Shangluo still handed Apollonia a piece of unclear stuff that showed every stage from raw to cooked.