Chapter 2696 - 2697: The Hidden Secrets of History

After visiting the exhibition room at Li Mountain Village last time, Feng Yuan never went back, because those items were quite miscellaneous, offering only limited help compared to the archives.

Even though there were introduction plaques, the cultural significance of these items was unclear, which Feng Yuan couldn’t do much about. This place was the Tea Wood Town Area’s own memorial hall, initially not intended to be open to outsiders. For locals, the plaques were sufficient.

They don’t need too detailed information, and if anyone truly wants to know more, they can consult the archive room.

Of course, since the artifacts provided specific patterns, Feng Yuan couldn’t completely ignore them. At best, during his breaks from viewing the archives, he could visit the exhibition room to refresh his mood.

Now, Feng Yuan skipped the exhibition rooms he hadn’t visited before and headed directly towards his target. This exhibition room wasn’t much different from the others, except for the artifacts it contained.

"It’s really... special, you could say humans always do unexpected things."

Gazing at the colorful artifacts, Veronia couldn’t help but sigh. Feng Yuan’s interest in this place was because of the unique culture of that period.

Despite the involvement of Spirit Beasts in disaster relief, the continuous natural disasters still caused great losses, even leaving traces of Divine Beasts intervening in the archives, as Feng Yuan could faintly see.

Regardless, during that period, the population of Tea Wood Town Area decreased rather than increased due to the continuous natural disasters that inflicted great harm, leading to unprecedented cultural turmoil. The exhibition items before us were a reflection of that era.

If modern-day people dress up as Spirit Beasts for performance effects, during that era, they genuinely hoped to steal the Spirit Beast’s power this way. The Divine Beasts were not in the world back then, otherwise, Feng Yuan could be sure many of these decorations were related to Divine Beasts.

Apart from attempting to gain Spirit Beast power, many directly relied on Gods that didn’t exist. In that era, all sorts of chaotic rituals were exceptionally popular, and people relied on their imagination to piece together a bunch of seemingly reasonable ritual ceremonies.

The decorations for these rituals, in terms of madness, probably surpassed the Spirit Beast decorations, featuring colorful feathers, huge fluffy colored balls, along with all sorts of messy paintings, looking more colorful than circus clowns.

Frankly, Feng Yuan had some doubts about what the archives briefly covered, because the decorations in front of him were entirely different from the conventional civilization passed down in the Tea Wood Town Area. Although traces of traditional civilization could be seen, more often they seemed like the product of illusions.

It’s not that Feng Yuan suspected these items were fakes, but that the period probably wasn’t as simple as the archives recorded. Chaotic rituals weren’t impossible, but rituals without a response would quickly be abandoned.

Especially in a world with Spirit Beasts, humans demand a higher outcome from rituals. Mere coincidence can’t sustain their belief in a ritual’s efficacy.

Since rituals consume time and resources, if there’s no feedback, or it more closely resembles coincidence, why wouldn’t humans consider the Spirit Beasts, who are more adept at creating "miracles"?

After all, if Gods can’t provide reliable returns, no one would willingly give up Spirit Beasts that are within reach, and opt for uncertain efficacy from "Gods."

Even in ancient times when Spirit Beasts were scarce, it didn’t affect this phenomenon. Feng Yuan was sure there are things outside the archival records.

Unlike the archives, the present artifacts mostly stem from erratic rituals. Their sheer volume indicates that ritualism was prevalent in the Tea Wood Town Area during that era.

But the root cause of such changes were briefly touched upon in the archives, making Feng Yuan suspect there might be secrets involved.

However, after pondering, Feng Yuan abandoned the idea of investigating thoroughly, not because it was impossible but due to convenience. Doing so might even touch on Tea Wood Town Area’s secrets.

Apart from glossing over the awkward past, this kind of ambiguous treatment is often used to hide some secrets, and Feng Yuan didn’t quite believe the records became like this merely because that part of history was too disgraceful.

After all, this was their internal record. Normally, beautifying terms would be the limit, and complete neglect wasn’t likely. Hence, Feng Yuan suspected some secrets related to Tea Wood Town.

Moreover, since their archives haven’t been supplemented even now, Feng Yuan believed these secrets are still in use.

Investigating this is purely causing trouble for oneself, and Feng Yuan didn’t think satisfying curiosity was the right choice in exploring these secrets.

"These decorations, picking out traits and incorporating them isn’t a simple matter."

Shooting a glance at Feng Yuan, Veronia remarked with a peculiar expression. Refining features from other time periods was fairly straightforward, but this period... Its variegated rituals couldn’t have a single representation, as it didn’t encapsulate this period.

But refining them presented difficulties, as the ritual-related artifacts came in every conceivable style, resembling chaotic dances.

"Indeed, but skipping them is nearly impossible. I don’t know if it can work missing traits from this period. Let’s take a look first."

Sighing, Feng Yuan said reluctantly. Actually, Feng Yuan had some ideas; these ritual ceremonies certainly couldn’t be used without simplification.

Yet the traits for this period needed inclusion, prompting Feng Yuan to consider the root cause of these changes; perhaps starting from the source could work?

Because of this era’s particularity, even with the archives finished, Feng Yuan couldn’t decide which characteristic pattern to use, as the complexity surpassed other periods.

Summarizing them wasn’t easy. As for the root cause? Feng Yuan thought of symbolizing the disasters, but found it unworkable. The unique Spirit Beast decoration demanded cultural history, even though disasters were a major trigger for changes in this period.

Yet disasters weren’t patternized or turned into totems in culture. Whatever Feng Yuan used to signify disasters seemed like a meaning he imposed, which didn’t fit the requirements of Spirit Beast decoration.

Skipping this period? It’s possible, but if able, Feng Yuan still wanted to try, as being as complete as possible would yield better effects.

Unless truly without alternatives, Feng Yuan hoped for more perfection.

"Tsk, really not feasible, there’s nothing to be done."

Sighing, Feng Yuan took out his cell phone. Veronia, currently reading the news, glanced at Feng Yuan, chuckled lightly, but said nothing; she had already "seen" through spiritual power whom Feng Yuan was calling.

After a while, finishing his call with He Nanqing, Feng Yuan rubbed his brow. His idea was simple: to gauge the importance of what was concealed in this period’s history from He Nanqing.

If unimportant, he would try to find out what it was, but if significant, he would give up; Feng Yuan wasn’t looking to stir trouble.

He Nanqing found Feng Yuan’s question curious, wondering what he intended to do. Such historical information typically interests historians, but Feng Yuan was no scholar.

At least from prior interactions, Feng Yuan didn’t seem like the type to delve into historical research. Upon realizing the purpose was to create something requiring reference to Tea Wood Town Area’s history, He Nanqing straightforwardly expressed it wasn’t too secretive, though clarity would need help from Beastmasters at Li Mountain Village.

According to her, clarifying such matters wasn’t viable over the phone. She planned to arrange someone to assist Feng Yuan, explaining the secret. She indicated that if the period’s culture condensed into one point, it coincided with that secret.

From the chaotic ritual ceremonies to the peculiar mythology of the time, all related to that secret. Feng Yuan was curious about the nature of this secret, but unfortunately, He Nanqing didn’t explain over the call, merely instructing him to wait. She would arrange for someone to contact Feng Yuan and explain the secret.