Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?-Chapter 912 - 908: Demonic Scholar

The night deepens, the sky over Si Ming is strewn with fragmented stars, the villa lights gradually dim, leaving only a warm yellow wall lamp in the living room.

Shen Siyuan took out the copper mirror, its surface shimmering under the moonlight, the lines of the patterns growing clearer.

"Is everything ready?"

Xiao Yue, Dou Dou, and Duoduo were already waiting in the living room.

Xiao Yue held the Three Pure Ones Bell, her expression calm.

Dou Dou clutched the Little Old Axe, her small face flushed with excitement.

Duoduo had already opened the Qiankun Umbrella, its surface emitting a faint blue glow in the night.

"Ready!" the three answered in unison, their voices hushed for fear of waking those in the house.

Duoduo turned the umbrella handle, ripples appeared in the air, and the figures of the four instantly vanished from the living room.

Upon landing again, the chilling breath of Yangzhou Netherworld swept over them, the night sky a deep gray-black, not even starlight penetrated it, only the occasional wail of the residual soul echoed from afar, emphasizing the dead silence of this world.

"Let’s go to the ruins first." Shen Siyuan led the way forward, the Five Elements Primordial Magnetic Sword flickering in his palm, the glazed light dispelling the surrounding cold.

Dou Dou followed behind, occasionally hacking at deadwood by the roadside with her Little Old Axe, sparks flew up, startling several tiny mud worms hiding in tree hollows.

About half an hour later, the silhouette of the ruins emerged in the darkness.

The dilapidated walls resembled silent behemoths, the central stone platform still standing, the sun, moon, and star engravings around its edges glimmered coldly in the sword light.

Shen Siyuan stepped forward, his fingertips brushing across the stone platform’s surface, a faint difference from daylight, yet he couldn’t pinpoint where.

At that moment, Shen Siyuan suddenly noticed that there was a palm-sized recess in the center of the stone platform.

Only because countless ages had passed, the entire stone platform was eroded by cold air and Yin Wind, it appeared very faint, so he had not noticed it during the day.

And this recess matched perfectly the shape of the copper mirror in his hand, as if crafted specifically as a base for the copper mirror.

"Wow! It fits the mirror exactly!"

Dou Dou leaned over, extending her small hand, feeling around the edges, sensing the bumps at the bottom of the recess, seemingly corresponding to the patterns on the back of the copper mirror.

To be safe, Shen Siyuan had the three hide by the edge of the stone platform first, he then took a deep breath and slowly placed the copper mirror into the recess.

The moment the mirror surface perfectly adhered to the stone platform, the patterns around the recess suddenly lit up with a pale white glow, like water flowing through the lines.

But this glow only lasted a few breaths before abruptly extinguishing, the stone platform returned to its original gray darkness, and even the copper mirror lost its previous luster, seemingly just a regular piece of copper.

Shen Siyuan was slightly surprised, reaching to remove the copper mirror, only to find it had seemingly grown onto the stone platform, completely immovable.

Shen Siyuan attempted to inject mana — as his fingertips touched the copper mirror, he felt the spiritual energy within him being rapidly drawn, emptied in the blink of an eye, yet the stone platform remained still, instead the suction force grew stronger, as if trying to pull his divine soul into the recess.

His heart tightened, hurriedly withdrew his hand, the loss of mana left his face slightly pale.

He did not insist, trying again to remove the copper mirror, this time without effort, he took it out directly.

Carefully storing the copper mirror, his gaze swept over the ruins, Shen Siyuan sighed lightly, this matter could only be postponed for now, to be addressed later.

Recalling Qi Gaoti mentioning before, that north of the Nine Bends and Eighteen Returns, there was another "Chen Character Camp" similar to the Wu Character Camp.

Just after the petrification incident, both teams lost contact.

Since they were exploring Yangzhou Netherworld, Shen Siyuan decided to visit, to confirm whether Chen Character Camp was also petrified like Wu Character Camp, thereby escaping the Dirt Tribulation in this way.

The four walked north along the valley path, the night in the Netherworld growing increasingly desolate, the air filled with polluted energy, causing dizziness and confusion, fortunately, Duoduo’s Qiankun Umbrella shielded them, keeping such distractions at bay.

Under her umbrella, it was like a self-contained small world, unaffected by any external factors, unless the umbrella surface was breached.

At this moment, Xiao Yue suddenly stopped, the Three Pure Ones Bell gently swayed: "Something is coming."

No sooner had she spoken, a clear reading voice came from afar — "The way of university lies in making the virtue bright, in renewing the people, in resting in the utmost goodness..."

This voice was gentle as jade, like a scholar lecturing in a school, yet in their ears, it struck their hearts deeply, Dou Dou even instinctively halted, her gaze becoming somewhat dazed, as if her spirit was being lured away by the voice.

"Don’t listen!" Shen Siyuan sternly reminded, the sword light from the Five Elements Primordial Magnetic Sword surged, the glazed glow enveloped the four — where the sword light touched, the reading voice seemed to be cut off, instantly weakened.

Dou Dou shook her head, finally coming to her senses, but showed no fear, instead remarked with delight: "That voice sounds really nice."

"That’s what makes it most dangerous, put on your armor." Shen Siyuan advised.

Dou Dou, upon hearing this, obediently took out the Lotus Lamp and placed it on his head. Instantly, the light shone brightly, covering his entire body.

"Huh? Why has the sound changed?"

The same recitation now sounded in her ears, but she found it not pleasing at all. Instead, it carried an indescribable nauseating, sticky feeling, as if something dirty had stuck to her skin.

"Is it the dead soul polluted by Polluted Energy?" Xiao Yue asked solemnly, the soul-hooking chain wrapping around her.

Shen Siyuan nodded without speaking, his eyes fixed on the source of the sound ahead.

The sound of reading gradually approached, and a figure emerged from the darkness—a man clad in a washed-out Confucian robe, holding a yellowed book, with long hair reaching his waist, a clear and handsome face, but eyes as cold as ice, devoid of any warmth.

With each step he took, even the surrounding Yin Wind seemed to subtly avoid him.

"How peculiar, to encounter a living person here in the Netherworld," the Confucian robe-clad man stopped, his voice still gentle.

"Who are you?"

Shen Siyuan tightened his grip on the Five Elements Primordial Magnetic Sword, feeling that the Polluted Energy on this man was different—it wasn’t chaotic evil but carried a certain "Order," as if refining Polluted Energy into his own power.

The man in the Confucian robe let out a light chuckle, flipping through the book in his hand: "In life, I was known as Lu Xiwen and taught at the Imperial College. After being stained by Polluted Energy in death, I comprehended some ’truths’—for instance, human nature is inherently greedy, insatiable desires are the unchanging reality of this world."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his hand, and the text on the book transformed into black threads, shooting towards the four—wherever the threads passed, the air seemed frozen, carrying a chill that could erode Divine Soul.

"Be careful!"

Shen Siyuan swung his sword, clashing Glazed Sword Qi with the black threads, producing an ear-piercing shriek.

The threads were cut apart but transformed into countless tiny Mud Worms, each reflecting the deepest desires in people’s hearts—Dou Dou saw mountains of candies and toys, Duoduo heard the call of her parents, even Xiao Yue, in a daze, saw the ailing Zhang Zhonghe.

But at that moment, Buddhist light blossomed around Dou Dou, the sound of chanting awakened him instantly.

"Watch me!" Dou Dou raised the Little Old Axe, flames of red and blue surged—the flames incinerated the Mud Worms to flying ash, leaving no trace.

Lu Xiwen’s eyes flickered with surprise, then he sneered.

"To break through my illusion, that’s rare. Yet, it’s still insignificant before my ’Confucian Path’."

He spoke once more, this time reciting lines from "Records of the Grand Historian·Biographies of Merchants": "The world bustles for the sake of gaining, the world hustles for the sake of losing..."

The voice was even more penetrating than the previous reading, yet it had far less impact on Shen Siyuan and the trio than the first time.

Because this time, they were prepared.

Dou Dou had Buddhist light for protection, Duoduo’s umbrella created a Qiankun realm, even Xiao Yue was guarded by the Three Pure Ones Bell, whose clear, melodious sound cleansed the soul.

As for Shen Siyuan, a great sun rose behind his head, stabilizing his Divine Soul.

But even so, there was still a sense of swaying soul, as if hearing the true words of the Great Dao, with a desire to listen more closely for enlightenment on the other’s Dao.

In life, Lu Xiwen must have been a master scholar; in death, polluted, he melded Confucian true words with Polluted Energy, forming such mind-disrupting ’true words’.

However, he couldn’t let the other continue reciting, so Shen Siyuan gave Xiao Yue a glance.

Xiao Yue nodded, and the Three Pure Ones Bell rang abruptly—the crisp sound carried the power to dispel the sinister, perfectly suppressing Lu Xiwen’s true words.

Lu Xiwen slightly frowned, the text on his book once again transforming into threads, shooting toward Xiao Yue.

Seizing the chance, Shen Siyuan shot out like an arrow, the Five Elements Primordial Magnetic Sword with Divine Fire, piercing straight at Lu Xiwen’s heart.

Lu Xiwen, surprised by Shen Siyuan’s speed, hurriedly blocked with his book—with a "chi," the Divine Fire Sword Qi burned a large hole through the book, its tip grazing his Confucian robe, leaving a charred mark.

"How dare you harm me!"

Lu Xiwen’s eyes flashed with fierceness, the Polluted Energy around him surged instantly, his Confucian robe whipping up without wind, transforming into black Armor, "Today, I’ll show you the words of a sage, the foundation of the Great Dao."

Not lingering in battle, Shen Siyuan saw that Lu Xiwen’s power far exceeded expectations and immediately told everyone, "Let’s go."

Duoduo reacted swiftly, immediately turning the umbrella handle, causing ripples in the void.

Lu Xiwen tried to grab them, only catching a whiff of breeze—their figures vanished, leaving him standing there, staring coldly at the void, the book in his hand trembling slightly, evidently wounded by the Primordial Magnetic Divine Sword earlier.

Returning to the Mortal World, it was already deep into the night.

Shen Siyuan gazed at the moonlight outside the window, his heart still heavy—the scholar, Lu Xiwen, was more challenging than the black-robed man before, and deep within Yangzhou Netherworld, there might be countless hidden ’experts’ like him.

It seems that the matter of the relic should be put aside for now, concentrating instead on resolving these hidden threats in the Netherworld.