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

Chapter 1229: Chapter 1225: Dou Dou Unleashes Her Power

As the flames fell towards the lake, even the air around seemed to twist under the heat. The once still lake surface was finally struck by a powerful force, creating ripples that spread out in concentric circles.

But the expected screams of the monster fish being burned never came.

The towering flames hit the lake surface as if a stone had plunged into a bottomless cold pool, only to raise a few wisps of black smoke before being completely swallowed by the dark water.

Even the piercing sound waves vanished instantly upon touching the lake, as if the previous earth-shattering blow was nothing more than a child’s pebble toss.

The surface of the lake returned to its dead stillness, with even the ripples smoothed out. Once again, it became a perfect mirror reflecting the sky above, as if nothing had happened.

"What a worthless thing." Dou Dou puffed her cheeks in anger and grabbed the Bronze Double Hammer, ready to strike again.

"I don’t believe I can’t burn you damn liars to death. Give me back my Little Monkey candy!"

She still couldn’t forget about her Little Monkey candy even now.

Whether Tang Tang had something to do with it is hard to say.

"That’s enough, stop wasting your effort."

Shen Qingzhou stopped her next move.

"These things in front of you are nothing but illusions born from death energy, resentment, and polluted energy. The angrier you get, the more they can use your obsession to fortify the Illusion Realm."

Sure enough, as soon as Shen Siyuan finished speaking, the battle-scarred ruins around them became even more vivid.

The scent of blood and burning assaulted them amidst the broken walls and desolate ruins. The iron hooves of the Yuan Army trampled the corpse-laden streets, and the cries of the people, the sobs of children, and the dull thuds of weapons striking flesh were all so clear, as if they were right beside them. Even the ground trembled slightly with the beat of the hooves.

In Shen Siyuan and Xiao Yue’s eyes, the scene wavered their spirits and incited their anger.

But for Dou Dou and Duoduo, it had little effect.

They merely exclaimed, oh how scary, oh this isn’t right, but their eyes never left the scene, not feeling scared or angry at all.

Ignorance is bliss. For Duoduo and Dou Dou, who were like blank slates, how could they let their emotions be stirred by what lay before them?

Yet, at that moment, the phantom images of the fallen spectral soldiers, wielding their blood-stained weapons, began to surround the group.

Their eyes were hollow, their bodies enshrouded in an unbreakable blood line. Though conjured by the Illusion Realm, the murderous aura on their blades was so real it could break skin. Evidently, the accrued resentment and polluted energy allowed the Illusion Realm’s violent power to inflict real harm.

"Xiao Yue, don’t let the bell sounds stop." Shen Siyuan instructed Xiao Yue, as the Three Pure Ones Bell’s sound had the greatest effect on this Illusion Realm.

Meanwhile, at a flick of his fingertips, the Five Elements Primordial Magnetic Sword manifested and he gestured, blocking the incoming long swords aimed at them.

Turning his head, he also instructed Duoduo, "Duoduo, open the umbrella as wide as possible. Don’t let the Illusion Realm infiltrate."

"Got it."

Xiao Yue and Duoduo answered simultaneously.

As Xiao Yue responded, the Soul-hooking Chain coiled around her sped up, and the Three Pure Ones Bell at its end shook more vigorously.

The phantom soldiers surrounding them melted into black smoke as soon as the bell’s sound swept over them, causing the ruins around them to ripple violently again.

Duoduo immediately spun the Qiankun Umbrella, and the halo on its surface expanded, forming an inverted dome of light encapsulating the group.

The patterns on the umbrella surface materialized, pines towering hundreds of feet into the sky, blocking out the sun. Clouds roiled, and immortal cranes soared and darted among the clouds, their cries light and pleasant.

She created her own realm, barring the spectral soldiers from entering the umbrella’s confines. If any approached, they were instantly bounced off by the light dome, dissipating into nothingness.

As she maintained the barrier, she looked at Dou Dou, who was still fuming, and said, "Don’t run around. Be careful not to fall into the lake and become food for the fish."

"I won’t." Dou Dou retorted, stubbornly.

Then she eagerly turned to Shen Siyuan, asking, "What about me? What about me?"

Seeing everyone else with a task, she grew anxious being the only one without a role.

"You just stay put and don’t move," Shen Siyuan replied.

"Hmph."

Dou Dou crossed her arms, looking displeased. This was clearly underestimating her, but she was obedient enough to stand still and not move carelessly, although her eyes were darting around.

She saw the mourning people in the city below, saw them kneeling on the ground praying to the Divine, saw them bowing in front of the Buddha...

Among them was the Guanyin Mother she was most familiar with.

This reminded her of the giant Guanyin Statue standing over the South Sea.

She often flew over there to play. Sometimes she would lie on her arm that stretched across the chest, sometimes she would sit on her fingertip, and sometimes she would dart between her fingers to play hide-and-seek...

So she was really familiar with the Guanyin Mother, and just at that moment, the Lotus Lamp above her head seemed to receive some kind of signal. The half-open petals fully bloomed, and the flame on the wick surged with the wind, completely enveloping her body, transforming into a Red Boy.

But this was not the end. Her Lotus Lamp was inherently capable of transformations, so the flames around her started to rapidly contract, eventually turning into a solemn and dignified Guanyin Statue, albeit not the three-faced Guanyin standing over the South Sea, but with only one face.

However, even so, it was enough.

Then she opened her mouth and said.

"Hia~"

The bright, slightly childish voice exploded in the deathly quiet world.

But in the voice, there seemed to be a special power that made everyone present freeze instantly.

Shen Siyuan had a hint of astonishment in his eyes.

He had seen Dou Dou in the form of Red Boy, but never expected that this little girl could borrow the transformative ability of the Lotus Lamp to form the Guanyin Dharma Aspect.

Duoduo and Xiao Yue were equally astonished, and then they wanted to laugh, because the child’s voice coming from the mouth of the Bodhisattva Guanyin was just too peculiar.

At this moment, all the flames around Dou Dou had converged, turning into a life-sized Guanyin Dharma Aspect.

Though still in the shape of a child, her brows and eyes shed the usual mischievousness, embodying an air of solemn dignity.

Imitating Nanhai Guanyin’s posture from memory, her small hands steadily formed a Fearless Seal on her chest. Even though her fingertips trembled slightly due to unfamiliarity, the vast compassionate aura, oozing from the Lotus Lamp’s wick, capable of purifying worldly sinister spirits, spread like a tide in all directions.

This power was entirely different from a murderous force, devoid of any savagery, yet carrying an indomitable purifying energy.

The surrounding Blood Evil Resentment surging around dissipated swiftly upon touching this aura, like ice melting under the sun, and the Soldier Soul phantoms dissipated into wisps of blue smoke without even a scream.

"Evil creature, reveal your true form~"

Dou Dou, with a small stern face, spoke again, her childish tone managing to exude a semblance of solemn holiness.

She raised her hand, formed the seal, and lightly pointed her fingertip towards the lake surface beneath.

Instantly, the fully blooming Lotus Lamp above her head lit up brightly. Countless streams of gilt Divine Fire spewed out from the wick, akin to falling meteors, slicing through the gloomy sky densely and fiercely pounding onto the lake surface beneath.

This Divine Fire had long since evolved from the mere True Flame that only knew to burn sinister energies into one carrying a compassionate power aimed to purify worldly resentment-formed pollutants.

The moment the Divine Fire fell, the initially impregnable lake surface, which even the Five Elements Magnetic Sword Qi could only cause ripples, issued a piercing, ear-splitting scream.

Numerous Illusion Star Demons surged out from the water, fleeing in all directions. Yet, touching even the edges of the gilt Divine Fire resulted in instant incineration into flying ash, leaving not a trace of resentment.

The pitch-black lake water, which had previously swallowed Dou Dou’s True Flame without a ripple, now seethed and churned frantically, like cold water poured into boiling oil. Those flawless city illusions and war-torn remnants fractured inch by inch under the golden light of Divine Fire, like soap bubbles popped, leaving not a trace.

A dizzying sense of vertigo suddenly struck.

When everyone managed to stabilize themselves again, the scene before them had changed drastically.

Where was the boundless, mirror-like smooth giant lake? Where was the inverted starry river reflecting the sky?

Beneath their feet had never been a suspended lake surface, but a vast, already dried-up, and cracked lake bed.

The blackish-brown soil was as hard as rock, cracking with countless deep, bottomless crevices, embedded with numerous fragmented dry bones, exuding a stench of decay accumulated over millennia.

The whole lake bed was devoid of the slightest hint of moisture, only brimming with the resentment rolling relentlessly from the dry bones, wisp by wisp, but was soon burnt away by the residual power of the Divine Fire emanating from Dou Dou.

It turned out, from the moment they stepped into this area, they had already fallen into the Illusion Realm of the Illusion Star Demon.

The so-called Wind Control, crossing over the lake, were all fake from the start; they had always been walking across this skeletal lake bed.