Treasures that opened a path to the hidden depths

After Chen Chuan's reminder, Xu Mutang followed his gaze and soon noticed something as well.

Every three to five statues, there was a fleshly body coated only on the outside with gold paint. They came in different sizes, the largest over ten meters tall, the smallest no different from an ordinary person. Apart from being dressed like immortals and gods, their faces and poses were remarkably lifelike.

His expression suddenly shifted. "Could it be..."

Chen Chuan asked, "Did something occur to you, Chief Inspector Xu?"

Xu Mutang said, "I once heard that Emperor Ying's father, Emperor Gao, built a Dew-Collecting Terrace specifically to honor his meritorious subjects. Civil officials and military officers who rendered great service to the New Dynasty would have statues erected and temples built for them, receiving offerings from later generations. There were apparently as many as thirty-six whose names were recorded. Most of them died during Emperor Ying's reign. These people..."

He looked at the statues around them. "These might well be them."

Chen Chuan took a look. Some had the physiques of ordinary people and were probably the civil officials of that time.

As for the military officers, most who qualified for a place on the terrace would have been figures on the level of a Zheng Country General. Their deaths within just a few decades seemed rather incredible, but were actually quite normal. The Old Era differed from the New Era: the two worlds alternated between separation and connection.

During a period of cold isolation, these people could not sustain themselves at all. Even with a Lost Object to preserve them, the best outcome was merely a prolonged slumber. Historical records even described them being unearthed, dissected, and refined into medicine.

During a period of change, they usually went to live in a Convergence