"Ah! The real Maya artifact actually appears in the City of the Gods on the Highland, in the xica's Holy Land, Teotihuacan?!..."
A suppressed gasp echoed in the stone chamber of the blue smoke. Maya Kuhuajaw Ti'aj Kin pursed his lips, furrowed his brow, his face unsettled. After a while, he looked at Tikalo, who was bowing his head, and spoke earnestly and uneasily.
"Uncle, the xica have occupied Teotihuacan and risen with such vigor, not only defeating and conquering the Highland Tribes but even crossing thousands of miles of seaside to reach our Maya jungle coast! They can create particularly hard copper cloth armor, equipping the entire legion with golden weapons, carrying vertical and crossbows... They even mastered thunder and fire, creating flaming arrows, explosive clay pots, and thunderous copper beasts!..."
"The seaside tribes said that the xica colluded with volcano demons and thereby grasped the demons' evil power. But the xica themselves claim they were enlightened by the Chief Divine, receiving the divine power bestowed by the Chief Divine!... But now, thinking carefully, would you say the xica might have excavated the Ancient Saint's Skull and secretly mastered the Ancient Saint's power?..."
"Hmm... Kin, your thinking is exactly the sa as my initial thought!..."
The sly old fox Tikalo squinted his eyes and nodded in approval. He took a deep breath of divine smoke, and exhaled slowly, revealing a long-forgotten tale.
"Ever since the xica took over Teotihuacan Holy City decades ago, their rise has been rapid... Previous generations of Divine Descendant ancestors also had so suspicions, but the xican Plateau was too distant, and the Royal Family soon faced the betrayal of Xi Wu, leaving them powerless to focus on the plateau..."
"By rights, Teotihuacan has been extinct for a thousand years and long lost its bloodline inheritance... The xica are of Aztec barbarian lineage, migrated from the distant Northwest wilderness... They couldn't possibly know the secret of the Ancient Saint's Skull, much less master the power of the Ancient Saint!... This power is unattainable even for the Serpent divine descendants of generations!"
"Over twenty years ago, the fleeing Kokom Clan finally settled down a bit... I then led trade caravans to the xican Plateau to conduct business, on one hand, earning wealth to support the clan, on the other seeking support from the Highland Tribes... anwhile, I also occasionally went to Teotihuacan Holy City to trade divine smoke and befriended the Warriors and Priests to secretly gather information..."
"Based on the information I gathered and what I saw with my own eyes... The xica did not conduct large-scale excavation of Teotihuacan ruins, nor did they unearth any Maya-style Holy Relics, and no one has heard of a strange immortal skull... The most sacred sites in Teotihuacan, the pyramids of the sun and moon, haven't suffered any excavation or damage... The xica seem to know nothing, rely performing sacrificial rites on the Teotihuacan pyramids!"
"Until a decade or so ago, when selling divine smoke in tztitlan, I happened to encounter the capture team from Teotihuacan and during an exchange with an old friend from the Holy City, Head Warrior Olosh... Only then did my sight first focus on a very key figure!... And the extraordinary and divine uniqueness gradually revealed from him made start to realize that this young child from the Holy City might have had so degree of connection and contact with the Ancient Saint's Skull!..."
Hearing this, Ti'aj Kin suddenly widened his eyes. He recalled the words his uncle had said early on, shivered abruptly, and said in shock.
"Ah! The Marshal Olosh of the Kingdom of the Lake? A person of divine and extraordinary qualities?... Uncle, you an... the King of the Kingdom of the Lake, the xica's 'His Highness the Divine Revelation'?!"
"Right! Exactly him!!..."
The sly old fox Tikalo squinted his eyes again, took two more puffs of divine smoke, his thoughts drifting back more than ten years. The first encounter in tztitlan, the reuniting in Tenochtitlan... His expression beca ethereal, countless mories swirling, inextricable emotions intertwined, finally softly uttering a judgnt.
"His Highness Xiulote is definitely related to the Ancient Saint's Skull!"
"Olosh had once been pried into conversation by , he ntioned, 'His Highness Xiulote possesses innate wisdom, appearing honest but actually clever and cunning since childhood, hard to manage'... 'When he was young, he always muttered in a language others couldn't understand, even writing unrecognized symbols'... 'Xiulote always preferred to climb the Pyramid of the Moon whenever he had a chance, secretly creeping to the sacrificial forbidden grounds, impossible to stop'..."
"According to the judgnt of the clan ancestors, the most likely place for Teotihuacan people to hide the Ancient Saint's Skull is their two most sacred sacrificial sites, the pyramids of the sun and moon!... Therefore, His Highness might have accidentally activated the Ancient Saint's Skull, attracting and being called by the Divine Object, hence hearing whispers from the divine realm, speaking language from that realm!"
"And in these past dozen years, xica people rapidly thrived, mastered many incredible wonders for conquering the world!... They created bows, bronze armor, bronze weapons, thunder powder, rockets using thunder powder, clay tribulus, copper beasts, as well as crafted paper, fired Lake Gems, launched giant spherical balloons... Others might not be clear, but having personally participated, secretly traded copper materials for His Highness, supplied Stone of the Dead for Avit God King, even smuggled bronze weapons for City-State nobles... I know the source of all these changes!"
"Witnessed by the Heavenly Serpent Divine! Witnessed by the ancestors! The source of all these wonders cos from His Highness Xiulote! These unbelievable matters stem from Xiulote's divine revelation! Even the so-called 'Divine Script' that xica people promulgate worldwide was created by Xiulote in his teens!"
"Ha! A teenager, how could he possibly understand so many mysteries, invent so many unbelievable artifacts, even produce an entire set of thousands of perfect divine scripts?! The Maya tribes have inherited for thousands of years and have never ford such an all-encompassing system of divine scripts!!... Cough! Cough!..."
Old fox Tikalo suddenly clutched his chest, bit his teeth hard, and gasped heavily. After a while, he barely regained his composure, his expression still excitedly and whispered out the now-clearly understood "truth"!
"Heavenly Serpent Divine! I know the origin of xica people's rise, I know all the truth!... What chief divine's enlightennt? It's obviously the enlightennt of the ancient saint!... It's the ancient saint's skull that bestowed the knowledge and mysteries of the starry sky to His Highness Divine Revelation! It's the power of the Maya divine object that brought the rise of xica people!... And the divine object that should belong to the Serpent Divine Descendant, the immortal ancient saint's skull, is buried under the lunar pyramid!..."
"Ah! Guiding the xica people, it's actually not the chief divine, but the ancient saint?... The ancient saint's skull, buried under the lunar pyramid?!"
Upon hearing this clear, seamlessly logical "truth," Maya Kuhuajaw Ti'aj Kin sat dazedly, his heart churning infinitely, shockingly murmuring to himself.
"So that's how it is!... That's how it really is!..."
"Yes, everything has a reasonable explanation!... How could the xica barbarians rise rapidly and grow strong, and why did the chief divine keep sending down miracles?... It was all the power of the ancient saint's skull!..."
"Ah! Damn it! The Maya divine object, which should belong to the brilliant glory of the Serpent Divine Descendant, was stolen by the wilderness xica people!... Ah! If the power of the divine object could return to the hands of the Serpent Divine Descendant!"
Upon this thought, Ti'aj Kin bit his lip, his face flushed red, and his expression sowhat ferocious. Seeing his nephew's behavior, the old fox Tikalo suddenly felt a pang of worry, advising with caution.
"Cough! Kin, xica people are our most important allies and supporters, His Highness Divine Revelation will also beco your in-law by marriage, the Maya royal family must seek their support!... The strength of xica people is evident, His Highness Divine Revelation receives divine enlightennt from the divine object, proving his extraordinary divinity, even surpassing the ancestors of all previous Serpent Divine Descendants..."
"Kin, I'm telling you this secret today not to encourage you to think of the divine object in xica's holy land, but for two purposes! One is to relieve your concern about the Serpent legacy, just wholeheartedly worship the chief divine! In front of xica people, you must appear as devout as possible. Because the Highland Main God you worship is indeed the concentration of ancient saint's divinity. What we told the tribes isn't false at all!... As for the other purpose..."
The old fox Tikalo rubbed his bald head, showing a bit of hesitation on his face. He pondered carefully for a while, despite so areas being unclear, he still confidently judged.
"Ancestor protection! xica people have never excavated the lunar pyramid, seemingly unaware of the existence of the ancient saint's skull... I brought out the imitation of ancient saint's holy artifact not only to negotiate with the Maya tribes but secretly to test the xica people's intentions... And today's East Sea Marshal Bertade, he was once the closest Head Warrior beside His Highness Divine Revelation, guarding him closely for many years... But he looked completely unfamiliar with the ancient saint's skull, even never heard of this divine object!..."
"The divine object has the divine power of remote communication... His Highness Divine Revelation very likely doesn't know about the divine object, nor the source of the divine revelations he listens to!... So, this secret about the divine object is your final life-preserving talisman!"
"If one day, you are truly forced to the cliff by xica people, to the point where there's no way out... Then reveal the greatest secret of the Maya world, offer it to His Highness Divine Revelation of the xica, to preserve yourself and the continuation of the royal family!... It's sincerely hoped that this day will never co... Whew!"
After saying all these breathtaking words, the old fox Tikalo let out a long sigh, gradually showing the rare old age deanor as his straightened back bent, and he took off the wide clan robe, revealing his lean body, and slowly lay down in the corner of the grass bed.
The night had deepened, he no longer looked at his nephew with a complex expression, instead gazed up towards the unseen night sky outside the side hall, singing a hoarse, desolate song.
"...Heavenly Serpent Divine!... Even the immortal ancient saint will die, Stargazing Temple of the Divine Capital is overgrown with wild grass... The highland fire destroyed the divine capital, the ancient saint's curse overthrew the highland... The ancient holy silence, a thousand years without divine descendants to witness, till xica people rise, till the young bestowed with divine enlightennt!..."
"All these events are rely the rise and fall of the mundane human world... And the real mysteries of the divine, the infinite divine realm of the starry sky, where exactly is it hidden, and who truly knows it?..."
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