Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?-Chapter 968 - 964: Visualization of the Altar

The night was like ink, enveloping Stone Grinding Village in tranquility. The bonfire had long been extinguished; most villagers were in the realm of dreams, with only the occasional barking of dogs and chirping of insects echoing through the mountains.

Shen Siyuan gently pushed open the door of the RV, his movements so quiet they made no sound; he did not wish to disturb the sleeping group.

Xiao Yue, Duoduo, and Dou Dou had been waiting outside the car, the three little ones transformed into a faint Yin Wind, shimmering under the moonlight.

"Brother, are you heading to the altar?" Xiao Yue asked softly, her eyes carrying a hint of concern.

"Yes, while the night is quiet, I’ll explore the altar’s mysteries again."

Shen Siyuan nodded, advising, "You stay here, look after the RV and the spacecraft, and keep an eye on the village’s happenings. If there’s anything unusual, call me in your mind without acting rashly."

"Don’t worry, brother! We’ll safeguard our home!"

Dou Dou patted her chest in assurance, though a trace of curiosity lay hidden her eyes.

"Should we accompany you? I’m quite capable, you know."

"No need, you are safer here." Shen Siyuan ruffled her hair.

"I’ll go alone; I’ll be back soon."

With that, he leaped forward, his form transforming into a stream of light, swiftly heading towards the altar on the hillside.

The night wind whistled past his ears, the moonlight sprawled over the woodland, outlining the silhouettes of the trees, while far away, Stone Grinding Village appeared to emerge in the night like a motionless ancient painting.

Soon enough, Shen Siyuan arrived at the mountainside where the altar lay.

Compared to daylight, the altar at night seemed even more mysterious; the Totem Pole gleamed faintly with a greenish hue under the moonlight, and the beast-faced patterns on the column appeared to come to life, their dark red eye sockets emitting an eerie radiance.

The air around the altar was particularly dense, with an indistinct sense of energy flowing, akin to the breathing of a slumbering giant.

Shen Siyuan landed at the edge of the altar, refraining from approaching immediately but first releasing Spiritual Power to carefully probe the surrounding environment.

He discovered that the altar’s energy core was not on the surface but concealed beneath the bluestone slabs, extending through the patterns to the base of the Totem Pole, forming a complex energy circuit.

During the daytime, when activating the altar, he had merely attempted to trigger the surface energy, not touching the core.

"To unravel the secrets of Time Travel, the rules of this space must be mastered."

Shen Siyuan muttered to himself, his eyes resting on the altar’s bluestone slabs.

The rough patterns crisscrossed, appearing chaotic, yet contained some celestial dharma closely connected to spatial energy.

He attempted once again to trigger the energy using the magnetic field of the Five Elements Primordial Magnetic Sword,

But this time, the altar remained unresponsive, seemingly plunged into a slumber.

Shen Siyuan furrowed his brow; he realized mere energy stimulation was no longer effective, necessitating a more fundamental method.

Suddenly, he thought of the Contemplation Method.

The essence of Contemplation Method is, in truth, replication; the Sun Observation Method he practiced previously was a form of Contemplation Method.

The safest style of contemplation is the nature of the heavens and earth, sun, moon, and stars.

The most challenging is contemplating birds and beasts, Buddhas, Divines, as they possess their unique Dao resonance, and with slight carelessness, you might be assimilated.

For example, when contemplating a certain Bodhisattva, it’s fine at first, but as contemplation deepens, you transform not into the Bodhisattva, but become assimilated into part of the Bodhisattva.

So contemplating the altar involves much lesser risk; with this thought, Shen Siyuan hesitated no more.

His Sea of Consciousness, forged through cultivation and tempering, had far surpassed the ordinary; even if risks lingered, he had means to avert them.

Thus, he sat cross-legged at the center of the altar, closed his eyes, eliminated distractions, and immersed his spirit completely in a state of emptiness.

First, he expanded his Divine Sense over the altar’s bluestone slabs, meticulously sensing the position, thickness of each slab, and the direction of the patterns.

The cool touch of the slabs, the uneven texture of the patterns, even the residual earthy scent in the slab gaps, all appeared vividly within his Sea of Consciousness.

Following this, he expanded his mind to encompass the entire altar. The height, diameter of the Totem Pole, the depth, and intricacy of every mark on the column, the particulars of each beast-faced pattern, were all perceived and recorded one by one.

His Sea of Consciousness had become akin to a grand canvas, where every subtle detail of the altar was precisely portrayed with no omission.

Yet, this was far from sufficient.

Shen Siyuan took a deep breath, activating his remaining Spiritual Power to its fullest, and pierced through the bluestone slabs, reaching the energy core below.

Instantly, a vast and ancient energy surged into his perception, embodying some sort of rule, so complex it seemed akin to the Heavenly Book.

His Sea of Consciousness oscillated intensely, as though battered by a storm.

Clenching his teeth, he endured the stinging pain from his Sea of Consciousness, capturing and sorting the energy fluctuations and law fragments.

He witnessed the trajectory of some energy flowing within the patterns, like the celestial river in the heavens, following some mysterious rhythm.

Time and space intertwined, forming an invisible web over the entire Alternate Space.

He began replicating all of this within his Sea of Consciousness.

Starting with the physical structure of the altar, the arrangement of the bluestone slabs, the form of the Totem Pole, all impeccably replicated.

Then the trajectory of energy flow was simulated within his Sea of Consciousness, reviving the replicated altar.

Shen Siyuan dedicated all his mind and spirit to this, akin to seeking order within the vast cosmos, piecing together fragments one by one.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, brilliance adorned the entirety, countless talismans shimmered, seemingly enacting the universe’s birth and the formation of time and space.

After an unknown duration, a fine layer of sweat surfaced on Shen Siyuan’s forehead, his complexion grew pale.

Yet the light in his eyes intensified, for within his Sea of Consciousness, a "Sea of Consciousness Altar" identical to the real one had taken shape.

This Sea of Consciousness Altar not only possessed a physical form but encompassed the same energy cycle and certain rules, establishing a mystical resonance with the real altar.

"Buzz~"

The Sea of Consciousness Altar emitted a low hum, subsequently, the real altar trembled, the beast-faced pattern on the Totem Pole flared with red light, an invisible force spread outward from the altar.

However, this time, Shen Siyuan was not swept away by the force; instead, he felt connected to the entire Alternate Space.

He could distinctly perceive every corner of the space, every tree in the woodland, every house in the village, even the villagers’ breaths and heartbeats.

He attempted to channel the energy of the Sea of Consciousness Altar. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

In the next instant, the direction of energy flow around the altar changed, and the originally chaotic time-space fluctuations became stabilized.

With a slight shift in thought, a wild rabbit in the distant woodland suddenly halted, looked around warily, seemingly sensing an invisible gaze.

"Success!" Shen Siyuan’s eyes gleamed with a hint of joy.

He succeeded! Through the Contemplation Method, he not only grasped the altar’s secret but also control over the rules of this Alternate Space.

Now, he could freely regulate the switch of Time Travel and identify the exit of the space, enabling him to take everyone along and leave.

He stood, walked to the Totem Pole, and gently touched the column onboard.

This time, he did not feel the cold stony sensation but a warmth of energy, resonating with the altar in his Sea of Consciousness.

He sensed that the existence of this Alternate Space and the Time Travel was all due to this Totem Pole on the altar; they were like the "stabilizing force" in the river of time.

It was the anchor point of time, rendering time capable of traveling back.

Indeed, Shen Siyuan guessed right, accounting for Shen Siyuan’s activation of Time Travel earlier today, there had been four reversals total.

Yet every time, time moved forward, which is why the first batch of natives never appeared after Time Travel.

Shen Siyuan, with a single thought, slowly circulated the energy of the Sea of Consciousness Altar.

He wished to find where the exit of this space lay.

Immediately, a complete spatial map unfurled within his Sea of Consciousness, clearly marking the boundaries of the space and points of weak energy.

He found, the space’s exit was located at Tunnel number one in Qinling, coinciding with the entrance they came through, yet it required specific energy fluctuations to open.