Could the so-called Mandate of Heaven be the will of the world itself? Because it did not want the scourge of the Ancient Gods to continue existing, it used the methods of destiny to arrange for them to slaughter each other until they eventually faded away?
"Is it possible that the so-called Mandate of Heaven is the will of our world itself?" Driven by this doubt, Miketsu asked the white-robed Daoist directly.
"It is possible. This humble immortal has had such thoughts as well and has attempted to verify them through various means. Unfortunately, there is still no sufficient evidence to prove that the Mandate of Heaven is indeed the will of this world," the white-robed Daoist replied to Miketsu in his usual unhurried manner.
"It isn't? Then what exactly is this Mandate of Heaven?" Miketsu muttered, stroking her chin. She felt that this so-called Mandate was becoming increasingly mysterious.
"The Mandate of Heaven is immeasurable, unknowable, and unavoidable... It is even hard to say if it truly exists. Even the Ancient Gods cannot explain it clearly. However, most Chief Gods and Ancient Gods believe in its existence, yet none can truly prove it," the white-robed Daoist added. Miketsu couldn't help but scratch her head after hearing this.
"That really is a mysterious thing..." Miketsu whispered. Although she still didn't understand exactly what this Mandate was, she didn't oppose the trend it brought—in fact, she quite approved of it. As the Inari Okami, she also hoped for the prosperity of all living things and for the gods to interfere less. It would be for the best if those Ancient Gods, who destroyed worlds at a whim and viewed the common people as mere grass, all perished—even though she was, in essence, an Ancient God herself.
"Very well, let us end the topic of the Mandate of Heaven there. Let us return to discussing those mythologies and Modern Gods. You mentioned earlier that mythologies are secondary histories created by 'prophets' born among humans, and that the gods within these myths were originally human leaders and heroes... This sounds a bit like... well, the Investiture of the Gods?" Miketsu said tentatively, as she wasn't sure if the Huaxia mythology of this world included the Investiture.
"Indeed, it is exactly like the Investiture of the Gods. In fact, Ziya was one of those 'prophets.'" Stroking his beard, the white-robed Daoist chuckled. Miketsu was stunned.
"Ziya... Jiang Ziya? The War of the Investiture actually happened?"
"Yes... In truth, the so-called Investiture was not essentially about elevating mortals to Modern Gods, but rather about destroying and sealing the weakened Ancient Gods that still lingered in the world."
"Weakened Ancient Gods..."
"Correct. Even after eons of mutual slaughter, most of the Ancient Gods had vanished. The few that remained were exhausted from years of civil war, yet they continued to rule this world cruelly. Even as mere remnants of their former selves, mortals had no way to resist them... until the appearance of the prophets..." As he spoke, the white-robed Daoist gazed into the distance.
"Take Ziya, for example. Before the Investiture, the path of immortality was one of the few ways mortals could gain transcendent power to rival the Ancient Gods. Ziya was once a seeker on the path of immortality; he yearned to learn celestial arts to save the people. However, the path of cultivation emphasizes innate talent, and he did not possess the gift to become an immortal. Yet, in his pursuit of the path of immortality, this humble immortal saw his uniqueness—his uniqueness as a 'prophet'..."
"I understood his ability and guided him to create the Book of Investiture. With it, he initiated the War of the Investiture and created mythology. Using numerous Modern Gods, he sealed the few Ancient Gods still gasping for breath on the lands of the Central Plains, and thus the mythologies of the Modern Gods began."
Listening to the white-robed Daoist's words, Miketsu nodded silently. She had long thought about how the creation of Modern God mythologies ended the era of the fragmented Ancient Gods. From this perspective, some of the beings who fell during the War of the Investiture were likely Ancient Gods, while the mythology of Yamato focused on sealing Yamata no Orochi.
"Ziya's case is just one example. In fact, this humble immortal and a few friends noticed this gift bestowed upon the world by the Mandate of Heaven long ago. We began traveling the world very early on, searching for those with the potential to be 'prophets' in various places, guiding them to use their power to create mythologies and end the rule of the remaining Ancient Gods in their respective regions. Most of the world's mythologies originated this way."
As the white-robed Daoist spoke while stroking his beard, Miketsu couldn't help but fix her gaze on him.
"So, who exactly are you..."
"Haha, the Exalted One need not concern herself with my identity. This humble immortal is but an ordinary immortal. Before the prophets created mythology, the path of immortality was one of the few means for mortals to barely resist the weakened Ancient Gods. As an immortal who achieved transcendence back then, I naturally became one of the pioneers of the mortals' resistance against the Ancient Gods."
The white-robed Daoist answered calmly. His attitude was simple: he did not wish to reveal too much about himself. Seeing this, Miketsu did not press further. After all, he had repaired her godhead, hadn't he?
Furthermore, since he was a pioneer of mortals against Ancient Gods, it was already quite gracious of him to lend a hand to an Ancient God like herself.
"Phew... alright then. Let's continue with the matter of mythology. Since the primary purpose of creating myths was to use the power of prophets to appoint Modern Gods and eliminate Ancient Gods, then those evil monsters in the various mythologies are likely that last batch of Ancient Gods who ruled the world?"
"The Exalted One is correct. Just like the Yamata no Orochi who is closest to you, the evil gods and monsters in other mythologies—those described as being slain, sealed, or imprisoned in a certain region—are mostly the last of the Ancient Gods in their true forms..."
"Mythological stories are written by the prophets before they actually take place. With the empowerment of mythology, the 'hero gods' possess an extremely strong suppression effect against the designated Ancient Gods. Conversely, the targeted Ancient Gods are weakened because they are 'vilified' by the mythology, rendering them unable to resist the myths specifically designed for them, leading to their eventual death or sealing..."
As the white-robed Daoist continued his explanation, Miketsu felt a wave of realization.
This meant that the reason for the creation of Yamato mythology was to seal Yamata no Orochi. Yamata no Orochi was 'vilified' as a monster by the power of the Yamato myth, while the 'hero god' who was empowered was Susanoo-no-Mikoto. As long as the myth of slaying the serpent existed, Susanoo-no-Mikoto would have a suppression effect on that snake.
It wasn't that the myth of slaying the serpent existed because Susanoo-no-Mikoto killed the snake; rather, it was only after being empowered by the myth that Susanoo-no-Mikoto was able to kill the snake. Though in the end, it seemed he didn't kill it completely, but instead sealed what remained.
Thinking of this, Miketsu suddenly became interested in who the prophet of Yamato mythology was.
"So, who was the prophet who created the Yamato mythology?" Miketsu asked the white-robed Daoist with curiosity.
"The Yamato mythology was actually created quite late, less than a thousand years ago. The prophet who created the Yamato mythology was quite different compared to the others. She was a young girl..."
"She was the writer of the Kojiki, and her name was—Hieda no Are."
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