Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?-Chapter 965 - 961: Another Altar

This world covers a considerable area. Xiao Yue and the others had been flying and swirling in the sky for quite a while without encountering any boundaries. Moreover, those monsters whispering softly in the woods had all disappeared, hiding somewhere unknown.

However, they did find traces of human habitation; it was a collapsed and abandoned village.

Yet, everywhere exuded an eerie atmosphere, with continuous crumbling walls, mud walls collapsed into low slopes, and green bricks gnawed by the years into pits.

The cracks were filled with gray-white dust, devoid of climbing vines or grass sprouting through cracks. Even the most drought-resistant moss was nowhere to be seen, leaving only exposed building materials guarding the fading traces in the emptiness.

In the center of the village, the slanted wood beam, its grain long dried and brittle, had leftover carvings that were only faint outlines. There were no wormholes, nor traces of birds nesting, as if its vitality had been drained by time, quietly standing in place.

The whole world seemed paused, leaving only lifeless bricks, wood, and dust, ground slowly into finer powder by time in eternal silence.

"This place is so strange."

Duoduo looked around, always feeling that something was off, but couldn’t quite pinpoint it. In short, everything around exuded a discordant aura.

"What’s so strange about it? It’s just some broken houses."

The carefree Dou Dou couldn’t see anything strange about it.

Then Xiao Yue pointed out the reason for the strangeness in one sentence.

"This place should have been abandoned for a long time, but there’s no grass or vines."

"And no animals or insects either," Duoduo realized this upon hearing it, finally understanding why she felt something was strange.

"What’s so strange about that? Maybe they just don’t want to grow here."

Only Dou Dou remained indifferent.

Xiao Yue ignored her, turning her gaze to the edge of the village, where tall trees and undergrowth full of grass and thorns were abundant.

It was as if someone had set up a barrier, isolating all animals and plants outside.

The three little fellows, also bold and skillful, strolled around the village, but there was only exposed yellow earth, a stone mill, and pottery eroded by time, as if frozen in the moment of ’abandonment,’ exuding an indescribable eeriness.

Dou Dou felt very bored, looking around aimlessly. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she pointed to the mountainside in the distance, saying, "Sister Xiao Yue, Duoduo, look over there, there’s a big stone."

Xiao Yue and Duoduo followed her finger to see a huge stone pillar at the mountainside behind the village. Even the tall trees couldn’t hide its presence.

"Let’s go~"

Xiao Yue was the first to ride the Yin Wind towards the mountainside, with Dou Dou and Duoduo quickly following.

As they approached, Xiao Yue realized she had initially mistaken it; it was not just a stone pillar but a massive altar half-buried in the ground.

The altar was constructed with dozens of millstone-sized large green stones, each polished smooth but retaining the natural chiseling marks on the edges, exuding a primitive rustic charm.

No adhesive material was used between the green stones, yet they fit perfectly and remained stable through countless ages.

The ’stone pillar’ she initially saw was actually a totem pole standing at the center of the altar.

The pole’s diameter required two people to embrace it fully. It was entirely black, with its surface intricately carved with patterns.

Beast shapes with open jaws, looking like tigers and bears, had dark red unnamed minerals embedded in the eye sockets, glowing eerily in the dim forest.

There were also dense patterns of small people, some holding stone tools, others dancing around beast shapes. The lines were simple yet filled with power, as if depicting the devout looks of tribal ancestors in sacrificial rituals thousands of years ago.

"These patterns... seem to be telling a story."

Duoduo leaned against the totem pole, her fingertip hovering over the patterns, feeling a slight, cool sensation creeping up her finger.

"Look, these little people seem to be kneeling, and there are sun and moon patterns beside them."​

Dou Dou, already fascinated, couldn’t resist stretching out her finger, slowly tracing along the pattern of the dancing people.

"This big beast is so majestic, and what about this, is it a big tiger? It looks like a big picture book... "

She traced along the patterns with her finger, highly intrigued by these complex designs.

Just then, a faint tearing sound came from the sky, followed by a multi-colored radiant light tearing through the clouds, like the Heavenly Emperor’s paint palette toppled over, dragging a long tail of light as it fell towards the altar.

As the radiance landed, it turned into a soft rainbow halo. When the halo dispersed, Shen Siyuan stood steadily in its center, holding the Five Elements Primordial Magnetic Sword, whose body flowed with its colorful radiance, which slowly faded away and disappeared.

"Potato!"

Dou Dou immediately rushed over, tugging at Shen Siyuan’s sleeve and giving it a shake.

"There’s a big stone here, and there are drawings on the stone, but they look like they’re drawn by kids, not very pretty..." Dou Dou commented seriously.

Shen Siyuan laughed, ruffling her hair while his gaze swept over the altar and totem pole, his eyes instantly deepening.

He walked to the edge of the altar, squatting down to carefully observe the patterns on the green stones.

These patterns were more intricate than those on the totem pole, resembling either naturally formed veining or manmade carved sigils, intersecting and linking the entire altar into a unified whole.

He reached out to touch the surface of the green stone, finding a chill transmitted through his fingertips.

At that moment, from the corner of his eye, he saw Dou Dou squatting not far away, her little finger still tracing a pattern on a green stone, following the lines meticulously, her face full of concentration.

Shen Siyuan suddenly felt a sensation in his heart, thinking that these patterns seemed like some kind of unactivated formation.

Hence, he attempted to inject a slight amount of his spiritual power into the altar, but it had no effect.

Nevertheless, Shen Siyuan did not give up, contemplating for a moment. He thought, then summoned the Five Elements Primordial Magnetic Sword once more.

As he activated the Five Elements Primordial Magnetic Sword, an invisible magnetic field, like a large net, quickly spread along the patterns on the altar.

It seemed as if a power within the land was being drawn out, resembling the underground primordial magnetism or chaotic Five Elements Power.

"You all, come behind me," Shen Siyuan reminded in a profound manner.

Xiao Yue and Duoduo, upon hearing it, turned into a burst of Yin Wind and landed behind Shen Siyuan.

Xiao Yue even grabbed the tracing Dou Dou halfway through.

As the Primordial Magnetic Power kept extending outward, faint white light initially flickered within the patterns, resembling fireflies.

As the magnetic field continued pouring in, the white light grew brighter, spreading along the green stone’s textures, soon illuminating the entire pattern on the altar, like a giant glowing net draped over the altar.​

"Vroom..."

A deep hum came from the center of the altar, with the beast pattern on the totem pole suddenly "coming to life;" its dark red eyes lit up with dazzling red light. The patterns on the pillar also lit up, reflecting off the altar’s white glow.

The next second, a golden beam of light shot up from the center of the altar, soaring towards the canopy of the Alternate Space, with countless tiny bands of light swirling around it, like stars hanging upside down.