Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?

Chapter 1228: Chapter 1224: Dou Dou Teasing Dou Dou

The sky was covered with thick clouds, with eerie blue light filtering through the gaps, making it look like patches of moss.

The entire world was silent, without any wind, utterly dead and quiet, fearfully tranquil.

So Dou Dou’s speaking voice seemed especially jarring and loud in this silent world.

Yet, this little creature wasn’t intimidated; instead, it made its voice even louder.

"Troublemaker, where are you?"

"Over there!"

"Troublemaker, stop causing trouble!"

...

Shen Siyuan didn’t find anything odd about it, and even felt like laughing. Duoduo seemed eager to try, while only Xiao Yue felt her head buzzing, even considering shaking the Three Pure Ones Bell in her hand to clear her mind with its pure sound.

She really did so; with a thought, the Soul-hooking Chain danced around her, and the Three Pure Ones Bell, tied again to the Soul-hooking Chain, started to vibrate, producing delightful and crisp sounds.

But—

"Eh? Sister Xiao Yue, do you like listening to me sing? You’re even accompanying me." Dou Dou exclaimed joyfully, and began singing even louder.

Xiao Yue glanced at Shen Siyuan.

Seeing her gaze, Shen Siyuan naturally understood what she meant and smiled, saying, "Let her be, she’s always like that."

"But this will attract those Mud Worms." Xiao Yue expressed some concern.

"Why did we come to the Netherworld?" Shen Siyuan responded with a smile.

"Uh..." Xiao Yue realized as well.

They came here, although to explore the new Netherworld, their primary task was still to eliminate the Mud Worms.

"Alright then, but she’s really noisy."

"Children, they are lovable when they’re noisy." Shen Siyuan said with a smile.

"Brother spoils her the most." Xiao Yue commented.

Upon hearing this, Shen Siyuan glanced at her, then smiled and said, "You’re all the same, if you want to sing, I won’t mind the noise either."

"I don’t want to, childish."

"Haha~" Shen Siyuan laughed heartily.

"Potato, what are you talking about? Tell me, let me be happy too." Dou Dou rushed over upon hearing the laughter.

"We think you’re too noisy, considering whether to give you a beating to shut you up." Shen Siyuan said.

Upon hearing this, Dou Dou immediately covered her mouth, looking at the two with a face of shock.

Beside him, Duoduo chuckled, her brother didn’t make Dou Dou happy, but made her happy for a while.

The group walked along the wasteland for about half an hour, the scorched hard soil beneath their feet gradually replaced by moist, soft black mud, with a chilling aquatic stench filling the air.

Another hundred steps forward, the scene before them suddenly opened up. At the end of the wasteland appeared a vast lake.

This lake was so vast that its edge couldn’t be seen, the water surface was as still as a mirror, without a single ripple, perfectly reflecting the sky above, covered with thick clouds and emitting eerie blue light spots.

The clouds in the lake and the sky above fit seamlessly, those eerie blue light spots floating quietly in the water, corresponding to the spots in the sky, indistinguishable at a glance from what is sky and what is water.

The group seemed to be standing at the junction of two skies, stepping not on the lake surface but on an upside-down starry river, even the dead silent air around them became more stagnant due to the lake, with their breathing heard distinctly.

"Wow, there’s even an ocean here." Dou Dou exclaimed with wide eyes, full of awe.

"Silly, this is a lake, not the ocean." Xiao Yue corrected.

"What’s the difference? Both are so big, you can’t see the edge." Dou Dou scratched her head, looking silly and cute.

Shen Siyuan looked towards the far shore of the lake, his gaze slightly deepened.

This lake corresponded to Weishan Lake in reality, the largest water vein in the Xuzhou Netherworld, and was also the rumored path to the core City God Mansion of the Netherworld.

He could distinctly sense that the lake bed was filled with resentment accumulated over thousands of years, constrained by some power and locked in the water, without a trace leaking outside.

"To reach the other shore, we can only fly over from here." Shen Siyuan said, withdrawing his gaze to the three little ones.

Upon hearing this, the three little ones swept up a gust of Yin Wind, flying into the air.

Shen Siyuan’s wide-sleeved cloak with black trimmed in purple also spread like a hunting flag, the cloak manifested from the Ten Thousand Soul Banner fluttering in the wind, with his toe lightly touching to rise with the wind, steadily hovering in front of them, leading the way into the center of the lake.

The group traveled with the wind, the lake surface beneath remained completely undisturbed, even the forceful wind raised by their flight couldn’t stir a single ripple.

At first, Dou Dou was excited, looking downward and occasionally shouting at the lake. But after flying for about a quarter of an hour, reaching the center of the lake, she gradually quieted down.

The lake was too quiet, eerily silent.

There was no sound of water, no fish leaping, not even the Yin Wind blowing across the lake surface made a sound, except for Dou Dou’s occasional hums drifting in the vast sky.

Just then, the once dead-silent lakebed suddenly lit up with spots of eerie light.

At first, there were just sporadic silver-blue glimmers gently shimmering in the dark waters, but within a few breaths, the lights spread densely, covering the entire lakebed.

Those light spots slowly rotated and flowed in the water, perfectly aligning with the ghostly blue patches leaking from the sky above, merging the sky and the lake into one.

They seemed to be suspended between two boundless skies, with the lake beneath them becoming an endless inverted galaxy, blurring the sense of up and down.

"Wow... so many stars~" Dou Dou gazed in awe, instinctively reaching out, wanting to touch the floating eerie lights in the lake, "Why are there stars in the lake?"

"Those aren’t starlights..." Duoduo instantly grew nervous, grabbing Dou Dou and pulling her back, "Are you a fool? This is dangerous."

Before she finished speaking, the rotating eerie lights on the lakebed suddenly accelerated, the once scattered points swiftly flowing and intertwining, forming a moving picture on the lakebed.

In an instant, the sky spun and the earth turned.

The black clouds of the Netherworld above, the dead-silent great lake beneath, vanished without a trace, replaced by a bustling ancient marketplace.

On both sides of the long street paved with bluestones were rows of brick and wooden small buildings, bronze bells hanging from the upturned eaves gently swayed, while wine flags and cloth signs flapped loudly in the wind.

Peddlers set up wooden tables on the street, selling baked cakes, sugar figurines, wine, and knife sharpening, their cries rose and fell, mixing with stories from the tea houses and dice games from the taverns, the lively atmosphere starkly contrasting with the previous dead silence of the Netherworld.

Pedestrians on the street wore Late Song-style skirts and short jackets, as well as Yuan knights in fur riding tall horses, the horses’ hooves clattering crisply on the bluestones.

At the end of the long street, the majestic city gate tower was visible, with the ancient characters for "Xuzhou" carved on it.

Dou Dou’s heart was immediately captivated by the scene before her, her eyes gleaming as she stared at the old man by the street making sugar figurines. The old man was crafting a lifelike little monkey, with the sugar coating glinting in the sunlight.

She struggled against Duoduo’s hold, wanting to rush forward, shouting, "Hehe, such a cute little monkey, I want to eat it."

"Dou Dou, don’t go, it’s all fake." Duoduo raised her voice in urgency, her whole body instantly glowing with a clear aura, and the Qiankun Umbrella was already positioned in front, "We’re still on the lake, remember?"

Xiao Yue also immediately reacted, with a flick of her wrist, the Soul-hooking Chain moved around her like a living thing, and the Three Pure Ones Bell at its tail began to vibrate.

Ding~ Ding...

The clear and pure bell sound instantly pierced the lively market noise around them, as the cries, hoofbeats, and storytelling sounds were like bubbles being popped, quickly dissipating, and the bustling market scene before them rippled like water, becoming blurred.

But the spectral fish at the lake bottom seemed to be provoked, the eerie lights below spinning even faster, making the once blurred illusion solidify a bit more.

The old man making sugar figurines even smiled and approached Dou Dou, holding up the Sun Wukong sugar figure, his voice gentle without a hint of flaw: "Little girl, would you like a sugar figure? It’s fresh malt sugar, very sweet, and free of charge."

Dou Dou’s eyes instantly turned dazed again, struggling against Duoduo’s grip and inching forward, mumbling, "Want... I want the sugar figure..."

Just as her fingertip was about to touch the sugar figure, the black cloak on Shen Siyuan suddenly unfolded, and the black aura of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner surged forth, forming an impenetrable barrier, firmly protecting the three little ones behind him.

He shouted loudly, making the surrounding illusion tremble: "Mere Fish Demon Illusion Array, and you dare flaunt your petty skills..."

He had long seen through the roots of this illusion.

Those eerie lights at the lake bottom were not stars at all, but "Illusion Star Demons."

These were the spectral fish transformed from the grievances of countless military souls submerged at the lake bottom polluted by evil during the fall of Xuzhou in Late Song and Early Yuan.

They fed on the Divine Souls of living creatures, able to reflect the obsessions in the depths of intruders’ hearts, weaving flawless illusions, anyone whose mind wavered even slightly would be lured into the lake, and their bodies and Divine Souls would be devoured completely.

Shen Siyuan flicked his fingers, and the Five Elements Primordial Magnetic Sword turned into a brilliant stream of light stabbing straight into the lakebed, the Primordial Magnetic bursts like a depth charge, sending ripples through the entire setting, yet still, it did not dissipate.

The eerie lights at the lake bottom suddenly surged, and the bustling market scene around them instantly transformed in appearance.

The bluestone street turned into the ruins of a war-torn city, the iron hooves of the Yuan Army breaking through the city gates, the deafening shouts of battle, the clash of weapons, and the cries of the populace filled the air, the sky lit with flames that dyed half of it red, countless residual souls fleeing amidst the crumbling walls, showing the human tragedy during Xuzhou’s fall.

This was the thousand-year-old obsession submerged at the lake bottom, and also the weapon these spectral fish used to ensnare and capture souls.

"Xiao Yue, use the Three Pure Ones Bell to protect the surroundings," Shen Siyuan instructed solemnly, "Duoduo, keep Dou Dou safe, don’t let her be lured by illusions..."

"Okay." The two answered in unison.

The Soul-hooking Chain rapidly whirled around Xiao Yue’s body, the sound of the Three Pure Ones Bell at the tail grew dense, transforming into an unending wave of sound, sweeping across the entire lake like a tide.

Where the bell sound passed, the eerie lights at the lake bottom instantly dimmed, and those menacing weapon illusions melted away swiftly like snow under the sun.

Duoduo also immediately activated the Qiankun Umbrella, a clear halo instantly enveloping Dou Dou, bringing her into the world within the umbrella, waking her up immediately.

"Oh, where’s my little monkey?" She looked around in confusion, then came to her senses.

Then Dou Dou became very angry, feeling that everyone was so powerful, only she had been fooled.

So she directly placed the Lotus Lamp atop her head, transforming instantly into a set of armor, flames rising around her, and even the air crackling from the heat.

She held the Bronze Double Hammer, striking them together to produce a piercing soundwave, simultaneously releasing a dazzling burst of fire, directly plummeting towards the lake surface.

"Big liar, tricking children, I’m going to beat you up."