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

Chapter 1232: Chapter 1228: City God’s Treasure

Shen Siyuan stepped forward, first crossing the broken entrance of the Xuzhou City God Mansion.

The threshold had long decayed and shattered over a thousand-year span, while the blue stone path beneath his feet cracked with dense fissures, the columns on either side inclined and skewed, their vermillion paint peeled away to reveal carbonized wooden bones.

Yet even amidst such desolation, there was not a trace of the outside’s chilling polluted energy within the mansion; instead, a faint scent akin to incense lingered, isolating the surrounding polluted energy, and even the heavy black clouds above parted to reveal a few strands of clear, ghostly light.

With the Lotus Lamp held high, Dou Dou walked at the forefront, its wick like a jumping sprite, casting an orange-red glow that illuminated the path ahead brightly.

Her small short legs moved swiftly, squatting to poke at the cracked stone slabs on the ground, and then tiptoeing to touch the mottled carvings on the corridor pillars, muttering continuously, "Wow, though it’s a bit broken here, it doesn’t smell bad at all..."

"Be careful, don’t touch things recklessly."

Xiao Yue followed beside her, the Soul-hooking Chain gently wound around her wrist, the Three Pure Ones Bell hanging from her fingertips, constantly vigilant of the surrounding movements.

Even though there was no polluted energy or evil spirits here, in this Netherworld City God Mansion abandoned for a millennium, no one knew what traps might lie hidden.

Duoduo walked beside Shen Siyuan, holding the Qiankun Umbrella, her gaze curious as it swept through every corner of the mansion.

She was naturally sensitive to spatial fluctuations, her gaze scanning the broken walls, decayed doors and windows, not even missing the gaps in the floor tiles.

Shen Siyuan’s gaze swept over the remnants of the murals on the walls.

The murals were long weathered beyond recognition, yet the patterns on them were still clear.

One side depicted the City God’s judgment of yin souls, rewarding good and punishing evil, while the other portrayed the mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas of Xuzhou, the strokes vigorous, and even after a thousand years, one could feel the solemn spirit hidden within the painting.

They passed through the front courtyard, following the damaged passageway inward, soon reaching the main hall of the City God Mansion.

The main hall’s roof had collapsed a small portion, revealing the blue twilight canopy outside, the light filtering through the holes illuminating the City God statue at the center of the hall.

The statue stood over two stories tall, clad in the City God’s official robes, topped with a black gauze hat, though weathered by millennia, its left arm had broken, the gold lacquer on its face had entirely peeled off, with the whole body covered in black dust, yet those stone eyes remained slightly lowered, the authority in its brow and eyes untarnished, quietly overseeing the few who stepped inside the hall.

The offering table had long decayed into a pile of wood chips, with broken tiles, fractured incense sticks, and several rusted copper coins scattered on the ground, thick cobwebs in the corners, the entire grand hall silent but for the few’s breathing sounds.

This place feels more like a Mortal World City God Temple rather than a Netherworld City God Mansion.

Dou Dou circled the statue with the Lotus Lamp, tilting her small face upwards, clucking her tongue, "This stone person is so big, but why does it seem so fierce..."

"That’s the statue of the City God, you can’t point at it carelessly." Xiao Yue gently pulled her arm, softly reminding.

At this moment, Duoduo paused before the statue’s pedestal, her brows slightly furrowed, her hand on the Qiankun Umbrella moving gently.

She crouched down, intently staring at the green stone base, her hand unconsciously turning the umbrella handle, Shen Siyuan feared she might disappear by turning.

So he approached curiously and asked, "Did you find something?"

"There’s something underneath." Duoduo pointed at the green stone pedestal.

Upon hearing this, Shen Siyuan walked over, reached out to knock, his Divine Sense extending down from his fingertips.

Indeed, beneath the heavy green stone lay an extremely solid enclosed space, filled with a very pure incense-like energy.

"There is something indeed." Shen Siyuan’s face showed delight, he gently exerted force with his fingertips, a soft yet irresistible power spreading across the base.

With a muffled "boom," the statue’s base slowly moved aside, revealing a downward stone stair passage.

Embedded in the stone wall along the passage were numerous Luminous Pearls, their originally dim glow suddenly lighting up with a lustrous white radiance upon sensing the presence of living beings, illuminating the entire stone stairs, devoid of any chilling aura, instead full of warm righteous energy.

"Wow~ there’s treasure..."

Dou Dou instantly became excited, rushing down with the Lotus Lamp, but Shen Siyuan quickly grabbed her by the collar.

"Don’t rush, follow behind me."

Shen Siyuan reminded with a word before stepping down the stone stairs first.

The three youngsters followed immediately, Xiao Yue at the rear, alertly watching the surroundings.

Though the stone stairs weren’t long, only a few dozen steps, upon reaching the end, the scene before their eyes suddenly opened wide.

This was an underground chamber about half the size of the main hall, yet starkly different from the ruined City God Mansion outside.

Embedded in the dome above were countless fist-sized Luminous Pearls, glowing like a sky full of stars, illuminating the chamber as bright as daylight.

The floor was paved with smooth ink jade, reflecting like a mirror, unmarred by any dust; the walls were carved with complete mountain and river maps, along with free-flowing Cloud Seal talismans, emitting a faint golden glow, thoroughly protecting the entire chamber.

More amazingly, at the center of the chamber, there was a spring eye about half a square meter, the spring water emitting a faint clear light, showing no signs of being polluted by any smog.

At this moment, the bead Dou Dou had placed in the Lotus Lamp appeared to sense a kindred atmosphere, slowly rotating within the lamp, its lustrous clear light resonating with the glow of the spring, enveloping the chamber in a thin layer of azure mist, dazzling and sacred.

"Wow, my treasure..."

Dou Dou was overjoyed, running her short legs toward the spring eye, bringing the bead closer to the water.

Shen Siyuan, concerned she might encounter danger, kept a vigilant eye on her.

Xiao Yue also looked around the stone wall talismans in awe, her fingertips lightly brushing against the stone wall, the Three Pure Ones Bell in her palm subtly vibrating, emitting a light, melodious ring, clearly sensing the energy in the talismans.

Duoduo meanwhile had walked to the stone platform at the deepest part of the chamber, the platform about half a person’s height, wholly crafted from white jade, spotless, at its center quietly rested a square bronze seal.

Shen Siyuan stepped closer, his gaze landing on the bronze seal.

The seal was approximately palm-sized, made of bronze, yet free of any rust, rather emitting a warm gilded glow.

The seal button was a proud Piyao, majestic, with the seal’s body carved with Xuzhou’s mountains and Cloud Seal, the base featuring six ancient relief characters, Xuzhou City God’s Seal.

Beside the seal, several other treasures were neatly arranged, all protected by an incense-like power, remaining intact through the millennia.

Shen Siyuan reached out, grasping the City God Seal.

At the moment his fingertips touched the seal’s surface, a vast, magnificent energy surged into his body through his fingertips.

Simultaneously, the entire Xuzhou Netherworld subtly trembled, from Weishan Lake to the wasteland, from the Huai River Shore to the City God Mansion, the whole Netherworld’s earth veins, water veins, and fortunes, all converged toward the seal in his hand.

Don’t underestimate the City God, if King Yan was the ultimate ruling authority in the Netherworld, the City God was its manager.

Aside from their own duties, they also executed King Yan’s orders.

Thus, as the City God of Xuzhou, their authority was immense.

With the City God Seal in hand, a trace of joy flickered across Shen Siyuan’s face.

"Potato, there’s so much stuff here..."

Dou Dou ran over with a palm-sized talisman, the talisman carved from white jade, inscribed with the ancient characters "Suppress Evil."

"This talisman feels so comfortable, holding it, feels cool."

Shen Siyuan chuckled, ruffling her hair, his gaze sweeping over the other items on the stone platform.

Twelve items akin to talismans, in gold and white hues, looked exceptionally luxurious.

A small three-legged, two-eared cauldron, only fist-sized, its body engraved with numerous talisman symbols.

A roll of Jade Scrolls, each like a sign.

And a short sword, its blade extremely short, resembling a large dagger, yet even before lifting it, a sharp energy was palpable.

This was indeed a tremendous find.