Chapter 2543: Doubts Arise

"Such intense, scorching heat... could this be Nuba's hiding place?" As a member of the sea tribe, the Mermaid Queen was most sensitive to this dry and fiery environment.

The Wushan Goddess furrowed her brows. "I don't think so. Nuba didn't leave in this direction, and her dwelling is quite a distance from here."

Zu An ran his fingers across the wall, feeling its glazed, vitrified texture. "Though both involve intense heat, there's a significant difference between the two powers. Nuba's heat is imbued with destruction and death, whereas the heat here, while equally destructive and violent, also contains a vibrant sense of life."

An ordinary person wouldn't perceive the distinction, but his understanding of power had advanced significantly.

"Did the Saintess come here and fight a battle with the master of this cave? Is this power theirs?" the Mermaid Queen speculated.

Zu An offered no comment. Given the state of affairs, it was clear that both parties were equally matched opponents, and a suspicion began to form in his mind.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and he moved to a corner, picking up a metal fragment. It looked like copper but wasn't, as if it had broken off a large cauldron. Strange inscriptions were carved on its surface, but most of them were too damaged to discern clearly, making it impossible to identify its origin.

"Ah!" The Mermaid Queen gasped when she saw it, for carved into the fragment was a human face. The face was astonishingly lifelike, truly resembling a living person, yet its expression was one of extreme pain and distortion, causing an immediate sense of unease upon first glance.

"I wonder who carved such a thing," the Mermaid Queen mused, quite perplexed. "Their skill is so exceptional, yet they chose to carve something so sinister instead of other designs."

"You're mistaken, this wasn't carved," the Wushan Goddess said, taking the metal fragment. She gently touched the face with her finger, her expression turning solemn. "This is a living soul."

The Mermaid Queen looked bewildered.

Zu An had also sensed something amiss with the face from the moment he saw it, and he promptly asked for an explanation.

The Wushan Goddess's beautiful face was entirely serious. "There are evil arts in this world that can capture the souls of living beings and imprison them within special vessels for unspeakable purposes. The runes beside this face are used to suppress these captured souls."

Zu An said gravely, "Could it be that Yumon Beiqing came here for some unknown reason and clashed with the master who was practicing evil arts here, resulting in a fierce battle?"

If that were the case, Yumon Beiqing would truly be in danger. Though she was powerful, anyone dabbling in such dark practices would certainly not be benevolent.

"Quick, look here!" the Mermaid Queen exclaimed. It turned out that her subconscious urge to distance herself from the eerie mask had led her to inadvertently discover what seemed to be a hidden passage in another corner.

Zu An and the Wushan Goddess went over and saw that a section of the wall had collapsed. This was likely due to the high temperature within the cave, causing the wall to expand unevenly compared to the surrounding structure. He gently pushed it, and the wall crumbled, revealing a hidden chamber within.

Zu An performed a quick mental scan, then led them inside. The Mermaid Queen followed behind him. Although she found the place eerie and sinister, emanating malevolence from every corner, an inexplicable sense of security settled in her heart as she watched his back.

Upon entering, Zu An went straight to the innermost stone wall, having sensed something there just moments before. He took the luminous pearl from the Mermaid Queen, and soon the contents of the stone wall became visible. The stone wall was covered with crude lines, outlining twisted human figures and various blood-red talismans. Directly above them was a drawing of a long wooden pole from which hung a vertical, pitch-black banner. Some patterns on the banner were quite faded, but even through the drawing on the wall, they could sense a chilling, ghostly aura.

Zu An's heart stirred. This object resembled the soul-summoning banners he had previously confiscated from demons—banners that could destabilize one's soul with a mere shake, already quite sinister. But compared to this, the former felt like an infant encountering a titan.

"The Ten Thousand Souls Banner!" the Wushan Goddess murmured, her red lips barely parting as she spoke the chilling words.

"Do you know what that is, Goddess?" the Mermaid Queen asked, knowing from the name alone that it couldn't be anything benevolent.

"There are some wicked cults in the world that enjoy collecting living souls and refining them into banners," the Wushan Goddess explained, her beautiful eyes fixed coldly on the lines on the wall. "The more living souls such a banner absorbs, the greater its power. Those exceeding the level of ten thousand souls are called Ten Thousand Souls Banners and possess terrifying might. Their creation often involves deeds that incur the wrath of heaven and resentment of men. Although many parts of this drawing on the wall have been deliberately defaced, it is, without a doubt, a method for refining a Ten Thousand Souls Banner."

"This is merely a simplified sketch, not even a true soul banner, yet it already evokes such an intensely ghostly aura. Its terror far surpasses any Ten Thousand Souls Banner known in this world."

"However, refining such a terrifying Ten Thousand Souls Banner requires extremely harsh conditions," she continued, her gaze lingering on the sketch for a long time. "I recall my father mentioning that, for a Ten Thousand Souls Banner of this caliber, in addition to a ruthless wielder, it also requires assistance from an innate toxic constitution, combined with potent poisons, to maximize its destructive power."

Zu An's expression subtly changed upon hearing this. As the daughter of an Yan Emperor (though he didn't know which one), and knowing that all Yan Emperors belonged to the Shennong lineage and were experts in medicine, if her father had stated this, then it seemed an innate toxic constitution was indeed a critical requirement for such an extremely formidable Ten Thousand Souls Banner. The mention of an innate toxic constitution immediately brought Ji Xiaoxi to mind. His only comfort was that she hadn't come to this world.

However, considering that the Mermaid Queen had appeared in this world, and remembering how long he had been out of contact with Ji Xiaoxi in the fragmented spacetime before, with no knowledge of her whereabouts, a subtle sense of foreboding suddenly arose within him.

"Goddess, have you heard of any similar Ten Thousand Souls Banners appearing in the world recently?" Zu An inquired.

The Wushan Goddess shook her head slightly. "No, and that's precisely what makes it terrifying. It suggests that someone is meticulously planning an earth-shattering conspiracy."

"You just mentioned that this Ten Thousand Souls Banner collects living souls," the Mermaid Queen interjected, her face suddenly pale and her voice trembling. "Could the overnight deaths of the entire Chang clan have been due to this Ten Thousand Souls Banner?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of both Zu An and the Wushan Goddess instantly changed. Zu An, especially, recalled that when he had examined the bodies of the Chang clan members, he had indeed detected no sign of their souls. At the time, he had assumed that because the underworld had not yet been established in this world, their souls had simply dispersed into the heavens and earth. Now, considering it, it was entirely possible that their souls had been collected by a Ten Thousand Souls Banner. Only such a malevolent artifact could silently eradicate so many powerful individuals.

But why, then, had the Ten Thousand Souls Banner spared only him and the Mermaid Queen in the bridal chamber? Furthermore, when Xingtian reported to Houtu previously, why hadn't Houtu, with all her power, mentioned this detail?