Pirate Kingship

Chapter 434 - 344: Heaven in the Mind, Alliance of the Natives_2

Chapter 434: Chapter 344: Heaven in the Mind, Alliance of the Natives_2

It was also the main duty of the "[Lord of Heaven]."

Byron, looking at the historical data read from the Sailing Logbook and the information actively transmitted to him by his brain, subconsciously touched his forehead. "So, in theory, the [Heaven in the Mind] has jurisdiction over the souls of all Taya People and can guide their souls into Heaven to live after they die. Usually, it means becoming a tree on Flower Mountain... a tree? Existing eternally alongside Heaven? This description sounds somewhat similar to the Heroic Spirits slumbering in Valhalla."

At the same time, with just a slight concentration, he could see a vast world existing within his own mind. The main body was a massive mountain range resembling a winding giant dragon, covered with dense tropical rainforests above and below, and also countless Thunderbirds, feathered serpents, cheetahs, eagles, tigers, and other fierce beasts.

The Taya People, enthusiastic about Blood Sacrifices, did not fear death. They believed that the cycle of souls and Rebirth after death was the way the Corn God had attained eternity. In reality, it was the cycle of agricultural production—the "rebirth," harvesting, and cultivation of corn. Whether the lowliest slave, a sacrifice, or a noble King, all would achieve this form of eternity after death, becoming a bald cypress, golden tree, palm tree, mahogany, cocoa tree, cactus, dahlia... whether tree, flower, or grass, all growing on the Divine Mountain, also known as Flower Mountain, the origin of all things. This was just as the majority of the Heroic Spirits among the Bayfolk are also forever slumbering in the third layer, the "Land of Night." The more slumbering Undead there were inside, the broader and more stable Heaven itself would become. In reality, it was a process of continually reinforcing the "collective subconscious sea" and enhancing the cultural heritage of the nation.

Furthermore, here, each tree and each blade of grass had once been a Taya person; the larger the tree, the stronger the Power they had possessed in Life. As the [Lord of Heaven], one could temporarily borrow the remaining Spirituality from them to bestow upon the appropriate Beast Spirit Warriors. But one could not overdo it or bestow it permanently, or else it would inevitably lead to the soul being contaminated by predecessors, just like the initial blessing of Power in Tayapan.

This place had a core rule, just like the Secret Realms: "Aside from Transcendents, those of highest status also include those who have died by suicide, warriors who died in Battle, commoners sacrificed as offerings, women who died in childbirth, and priests."

Seeing this, a hint of interest appeared on Byron’s face. "Interesting. The Old Continent’s Church severely prohibits the act of suicide, yet here, suicide and sacrifice are encouraged outright. Considering the actual conditions, there are traces to follow. All religious issues are, in fact, economic issues."

The Taya Empire only occupied part of the southern end of Yucatan Island, and its territory was almost entirely tropical rainforest. Many people think that because rainforests have lush vegetation and a great diversity of Life, their soils must be very fertile and highly suitable for cultivating crops. In fact, the opposite is true—tropical rainforest soils contain almost no organic matter or nutrients! It could even be called a "green desert with a forest," hardly friendly to large-scale agricultural development. The exuberant vitality and high production efficiency of the rainforest actually lie in the rapid recycling of nutrients. A monkey high up in the tropical rainforest trees drops a pile of feces, and in just a few minutes, hundreds to thousands of dung beetles come sniffing by, processing it in the blink of an eye. Most of the organic matter in rainforests is contained within living organisms—nutrients cycle rapidly within the biological system, leaving hardly any for the soil to retain. In such a place, they used primitive slash-and-burn methods to clear land for farming, rotating crops every few years. Even with high-yield crops like corn, one can imagine how pitiful the agricultural output efficiency would be.

Encouraging suicide essentially meant urging those who were useless to the city-state or tribe to give their limited resources to others and themselves go to Flower Mountain for "eternity." The Wars for honor were the same; besides sacrifices, they were also a way to eliminate the surplus population.

This won’t do! High-quality human resources are a critical concern for my future development; how can I afford to waste them on such matters? It’s also time to demonstrate before the public once more not only the Composting Technique but also the most precious and advanced agricultural arts: ’ridge and furrow’ cultivation and the Quyuan Plough. Of course, I must hurry to recover the remaining six Crystal Skulls, especially the gatekeeper of Heaven, number 13, the Crystal Skull [Goddess of Suicide] Xibalba!

As an incurable sufferer of "insufficient firepower phobia," his first thought upon seeing Heaven was: What if I fill Heaven with bombs and then drop them all at once during a battle? "The Technique of Three Hundred Billion Explosive Talismans" would be nothing compared to that!

Only his wild imagination could accommodate the idea of filling a Heaven meant for souls to rest with bombs and then launching an ultimate Art form. But Byron was quickly disappointed to find that this Heaven seemed capable of housing only Spiritual Bodies and not Material. His own Starlight Body could enter, but not with any Material items. Only by gathering all thirteen Crystal Skulls, particularly the most important and final thirteenth Crystal Skull [Goddess of Suicide], could he achieve some level of qualitative Transformation. This involves the ultimate Transformation of a Zero-Level Sacred Relic; there’s no use in rushing it now.

When he came back to his senses, only a few breaths of time had passed in the outside world.

Byron first unleashed a flash of Divine Light from his palm, completely devouring the large lizard before him.