Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 555: Chapter 556: Humiliation

"The real Mount Olympus?" Yang Chen was stunned. What did she mean by that? Was there a difference between a real and a fake Mount Olympus?

But Yang Chen knew that if Yan Sanniang asked in this manner, there must be a reason. He started searching his mind, trying to think of any place other than Greece with a mountain named Olympus. With a mental map of the world's geography, he reviewed all known mountain ranges but couldn't find another Mount Olympus.

Puzzled, he asked, "Grandma Yan, you're not talking about some small hill somewhere, are you? I have no idea."

Yan Sanniang smiled playfully and pointed upwards with one finger.

Yang Chen looked up at the gray, sunless sky, baffled. "The sky? What do you mean?"

But the next moment, a realization struck Yang Chen like lightning. He exclaimed, "You mean Olympus Mons on Mars?!"

"Exactly," Yan Sanniang nodded, smiling.

Yang Chen stood there, his mouth agape, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Anyone familiar with astronomy would know about the other Olympus Mons in the solar system, apart from the one on Earth. Located on Mars, Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the solar system. It resembles a giant shield, with a base area larger than the entire United Kingdom and a height three times that of Mount Everest!

"Grandma Yan, you're not telling me that the gods of Mount Olympus actually came from Olympus Mons on Mars, are you?" Yang Chen shook his head and sighed, "If that's the case, then they're basically aliens."

"Aliens?" Yan Sanniang nodded, "That term fits as well, but we cultivators in Yanxia prefer to call them different species."

Seeing Yan Sanniang's calm demeanor, Yang Chen was speechless. After a long pause, he said awkwardly, "Really? Mars? The gods are Martians?"

Yang Chen felt like he was in a science fiction movie. How could everything be so mystical? Then again, considering the bizarre events in his own life, why should he be surprised at the idea of gods being Martians?

Noticing Yang Chen's strange expression, Yan Sanniang knew it was hard for him to accept. She sighed and slowly began to recount the ancient history passed down through generations from her master.

Over ten thousand years ago, when the most primitive humans on Earth were still in a state of undeveloped intelligence, in what we call the Stone Age, there were some people in Yanxia who had unique encounters that awakened their intelligence early. These individuals, amidst a world full of dangers, comprehended the laws of nature and created a path of cultivation that made them increasingly powerful.

Perhaps it was due to the local environment, or maybe it was sheer luck, but this small group of humans in Yanxia began to write the early chapters of civilization.

To put it simply, these people are the legendary immortals and gods of Yanxia civilization. There are many versions of their stories, and the characters differ, but they all originate from this group.

These ancient ancestors of Yanxia followed the path of the Dao, diligently cultivating without interfering too much with the development of other primitive societies. They believed that Heaven had its reasons for everything, and their role was to seek the fundamental truth of the Dao, eventually understanding the meaning of their existence.

After thousands of years, one day, this group of people witnessed a cosmic anomaly.

At that time, the Earth's atmosphere suddenly became like a meteor shower, with countless colored lights falling everywhere. Most of these lights scattered over the Eurasian plate, where the climate was most pleasant.

The ancestors of Yanxia did not know what these lights were until they found some of them on their land. They discovered that these lights were actually beings who looked similar to humans but wore strange clothing.

These beings were extremely arrogant and seemed to look down upon the primitive humans on Earth. The primitive humans, seeing these beings descend from the sky, immediately worshipped them as gods, driven by their innate reverence for the heavens. They didn't really know what gods were, but their fear of the sky extended to these beings.

However, these extraterrestrial visitors were extremely disdainful of Earth's primitive humans. Finding their intelligence extremely low and of no use, they began to slaughter them mercilessly, preferring to leave animals rather than humans. In their view, animals were more useful as they bred quickly, whereas humans were seen as a waste of resources.

Seeing these alien visitors massacre their people, the reclusive ancestors of Yanxia were finally enraged. After cultivating for over a thousand years, they had become extraordinary beings who mastered the powers of heaven and earth. A group of well-cultivated practitioners fought back, and the once arrogant aliens were decimated. In the end, the aliens were either killed or fled in terror, completely driven out of Yanxia.

The ancestors of Yanxia also discovered that these aliens had unique abilities. They could traverse parallel spaces, and even after their physical bodies were destroyed, they could transfer their consciousness to a special spatial track, allowing them to be reborn. However, compared to the ancestors of Yanxia, these abilities were trivial. The ancestors had comprehended the essence of the Dao, whereas the aliens only used superficial powers of heaven and earth, a fundamentally different and much lesser force.

Seeing the brutal acts of these aliens against Earth's humans, the ancestors of Yanxia believed that it was their heavenly mandate to protect the life on Earth. Thus, the cultivators of Yanxia spread across the world, sweeping the alien invaders away with the might of heavenly thunder.

In the end, the most powerful leaders among the aliens, fearing for their lives, led their remaining kin to beg the ancestors of Yanxia for mercy. They explained that their own planet, the red planet near Earth, had been devastated by a catastrophic celestial collision, rendering it uninhabitable. They were forced to use their spatial abilities to come to Earth as interstellar immigrants.

In fact, those who reached Earth were the most powerful from Mars, possessing the strongest spatial abilities. Many others perished en route, destroyed by cosmic radiation because their mental strength couldn't endure the journey.

Learning that these beings were also pitiful refugees whose homeland had been destroyed, the ancestors of Yanxia, having already killed the majority of their kin, felt it was too cruel to exterminate them completely. They believed it would violate the natural order and so decided to show mercy.

Thus, the ancestors of Yanxia warned the alien beings not to harm humans again and never to set foot on Yanxia soil, or else they would be exterminated!

Seeing that these beings had a higher level of civilization, the ancestors allowed them to stay in other parts of the world. They were instructed to help the primitive humans there—not exactly as protectors but to aid in the advancement of civilization at critical moments.

Terrified, the aliens agreed and settled in a mountain in Europe, naming it after their home mountain, Mount Olympus. The remaining twelve strongest alien leaders became the figures at the start of Western mythology.

As these aliens began assisting humans in growth and development, human intelligence gradually improved, and they started worshiping these beings, which led to the concept of "gods." Naturally, this was limited to areas outside Yanxia. Within Yanxia, the ancestors themselves were considered the legendary immortals and gods.

Initially, the aliens were grateful for a place to stay, seeing it as a blessing from above. As long as they didn't trespass on Yanxia territory, the terrifying cultivators would leave them alone.

However, over time, the aliens realized a disturbing problem: their success rate in reproducing on this planet was shockingly low! After several decades, only a few offspring were born.

The aging aliens tried various methods but failed to produce more children. Most of them could no longer reproduce at all. They finally realized that their species was on the brink of extinction. Returning to Mars was impossible due to its uninhabitable conditions, and finding another habitable planet was out of the question due to the vast distances involved.

Fortunately, they discovered another of their unique abilities besides spatial manipulation—reincarnation—could be used on Earth's humans! This revelation was bittersweet. They realized that the most powerful among them, especially those who had become "Lord Gods," could use their strong mental powers, or divine consciousness, to reincarnate continuously by awakening within ordinary humans.

The downside was that this reincarnation wasn't unlimited. Some of the weaker ones might only manage two or three reincarnations before their mental strength was exhausted. Moreover, their method of reincarnation essentially killed the humans they inhabited. Whenever they reincarnated, the chosen human's consciousness was replaced, meaning the original person ceased to exist, leaving only an empty shell.

Eventually, the Lord Gods of Mount Olympus sought out the cultivators of Yanxia, pleading for permission to reincarnate and promising to promote the development of human civilization upon awakening.

The ancestors of Yanxia, seeing the significant advancements in primitive human civilization over the past decades, knew the aliens were telling the truth. After careful consideration, they concluded that the benefits outweighed the drawbacks. For the majority of primitive humans, these aliens had significant value.

Thus, the ancestors permitted the aliens to reincarnate, but only outside Yanxia territory. To limit the aliens' spatial manipulation powers, the ancestors required them to abide by the "Covenant of the Gods."

After all, if these aliens, after reincarnating, used their spatial powers to kill some opponents during conflicts within human society, it would disturb the balance of the world and cause panic among humans. Therefore, the clause that gods must not "unseal" their powers during conflicts with non-god humans was strictly enforced.

Those few gods who broke the covenant were mercilessly exterminated by the ancestors of Yanxia, making it clear that no one dared to break this rule.

As history continued to evolve, with changes over the ages, humans, under the guidance of numerous extraordinary individuals, gradually gained enough wisdom to enter the era of human civilization's prosperity.

Naturally, to commemorate the lost civilization of Mars, the aliens left behind many traces in history, such as pyramids resembling their Martian homes, and naming Mount Olympus after their original mountain. This led to many ancient relics being perceived as beyond the capability of early humans.

Over generations, the number of these aliens gradually decreased. After countless reincarnations, only the twelve most powerful Lord Gods remained today. The myth of gods eventually became just that—a myth.

As for the ancestors of Yanxia who had always suppressed these aliens, they, too, disappeared into the annals of history like legends. However, the organization "Hongmeng" has been passed down through the ages. Some cultivators, after surpassing the innate great perfection realm, would transcend the mundane world and join this hidden organization.

To continue their ancestors' duty of protecting their homeland, every five years, a "Hongmeng Messenger" would patrol the land of China. This was not only to prevent a catastrophe in Yanxia but also to ensure that the twelve remaining Lord Gods were appropriately restrained, preventing them from thinking they could act without repercussions.

Listening to Yan Sanniang's fragmented recount of this ancient history, Yang Chen went from initial shock and disbelief to gradually understanding and finally accepting it.

No wonder the previous Hades and the other Lord Gods never mentioned this history. They were the most powerful beings who initially arrived on Earth, yet they had lived the most humiliating lives for tens of thousands of years!

This was essentially the history of the gods' humiliation. They watched helplessly as their kin dwindled with each generation, powerless to do anything about it. They couldn't resist Hongmeng and had to avoid Yanxia, refraining from unsealing their powers even during fights.

Yang Chen began to understand why these gods lived such absurd lives. Christine becoming a singer seemed reasonable compared to Apollo and Diana's incestuous relationship, or Ares wandering around looking for fights like a madman. Anyone who had lived in such frustration for tens of thousands of years, watching their kind diminish until only a few were left, would lose the desire to live normally.

They had indulged in every possible pleasure, and everything had become tedious to them, making life worse than death. Apollo and Diana might seem carefree, but Yang Chen could see they acted out of a profound sense of emptiness, finding perverse enjoyment in causing public outrage.

The previous Hades formed Zero, killing countless people, but Yang Chen guessed that his true purpose wasn't merely to kill. He likely aimed to groom a successor among assassins, hoping to free himself from his torment.

Reflecting on all this, Yang Chen found himself deep in thought. The gods' history of humiliation and their current existence painted a picture of profound despair and unfulfilled desires.

Successors, although they can no longer be true Martians, at least they have gathered the twelve main gods. This can be considered a final account to the other eleven fellow clansmen who continue to carry on the history of this race.

However, without the help of the Divine Stone, Yang Chen would not have had the opportunity to comprehend the parallel space transgression technique and the reincarnation technique of the Martian aliens. Speaking of which, why didn't Yanzi mention the Divine Stone at all?

Yang Chen pondered for a moment in confusion, then looked at Yanzi, who was immersed in her memories, and said, "Granny Yan, I can accept the ancient history you mentioned. But I still have a question. Since the remaining twelve main gods are already numb and reincarnated, why do they still fight for the Divine Stone? I know a bit about the Divine Stone's functions. According to Aphrodite and Apollo, Athena and Ares have fought over the Divine Stone. Could it be that the Divine Stone can resurrect their clansmen?"

Yanzi seemed to have anticipated Yang Chen's question and said, "This question is hard for me to answer. What I know, I learned from my master. Ultimately, I am not from Hongmeng. The Divine Stone is a very special object in the world. The person who first discovered it is long unknown. If it were truly so important, Hongmeng would not have let it fall into the hands of aliens. Unless Hongmeng also doesn't know the true function of the Divine Stone, or perhaps Hongmeng believes it poses no threat."

"You are not from Hongmeng?" Yang Chen looked puzzled, "Granny Yan, didn't you say that once you surpass the consummate innate stage, you must join Hongmeng? Your cultivation should have already reached that level, right?"

Yanzi gave a bitter smile, "Young Master Chen, there's a reason for this, which is inconvenient to explain now. I've said almost everything that needs to be said. I've told you all this because I want you to know that although the power of the main gods is unchallenged outside of Yanxia, it should be avoided within Yanxia. If Hongmeng envoys are not people who act lightly, it will inevitably lead to disaster."

Yang Chen naturally understood the critical point and believed that Yanzi's words were true. At this moment, he was definitely not a match for Yanzi. According to Yanzi, once you surpass the consummate innate stage, even if a main god uses reincarnation techniques, they will be eliminated by someone of that level. If he really causes trouble in Yanxia, wouldn't his life be in jeopardy?

Although he wasn't afraid of death, he was still young, had many women, and couldn't bear to die easily.

But living for over twenty years, when had he ever been oppressed like this? Wanting to kill but afraid of provoking others, it was truly frustrating. Yang Chen felt a surge of irritability and was about to ask Yanzi if Hongmeng had any boundaries for taking action so that he could operate within their tolerance. Suddenly, he had a revelation!

Why must he always think about avoiding them? Hongmeng people are also human, and so is he. If they can surpass the consummate innate stage, why can't he?

Let alone surpassing the consummate innate stage, if there are many Hongmeng people bullying him, he could just become stronger than all of them! He didn't believe that Hongmeng people were the ultimate power!

From childhood to adulthood, living in a world of jungle law and survival of the fittest, when had Yang Chen ever been afraid of anyone? Why was he so timid this time, always thinking about avoiding them?

Having figured this out, Yang Chen's eyes suddenly shone with determination. Looking at Yanzi's slightly thin and aging figure, he showed a sly grin and said, "Granny Yan, I have something I'd like to ask you..."