Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?
Chapter 141: The Ruined Taoist Temple

Chapter 141: Chapter 141: The Ruined Taoist Temple

Shen Siyuan looked at the overgrown walls and ruins in front of him and set down Ruan Hongzhuang who was in his arms.

No sooner had Ruan Hongzhuang’s feet touched the ground than she started to fall over, and it was only thanks to Shen Siyuan’s quick reflexes that he managed to catch her.

"My legs feel a bit weak, it’ll pass in a moment."

Ruan Hongzhuang’s cheeks were flushed red, though it wasn’t clear whether it was from fear or excitement.

Shen Siyuan picked her up again, found a nearby rock, and set her down upon it.

Then, he turned to look back at the path they had come from.

"What’s wrong, what are you looking at?" Ruan Hongzhuang, having recovered a bit, asked curiously.

"This path, I found it difficult to traverse myself; how do you suppose Lin Jianming and his wife managed to come here back then?" Shen Siyuan wondered.

Hearing this, Ruan Hongzhuang also showed a face full of surprise, and then spoke without hesitation: "It’s almost impossible."

Not to mention anything else, but just the path they had taken to get down here had a section that was nearly vertical, and the footholds chiseled out of the rock wall were no bigger than the size of a palm.

What kind of good person would take their girlfriend on a hiking date on such a path?

"Dou Dou, Xiao Yue..." Shen Siyuan gestured to the air with his hand.

Then two gusts of Yin Wind descended from the sky, and Xiao Yue and Dou Dou revealed themselves in front of them.

"You two stay here and keep Sister Ruan company, I’m going to check out over there," said Shen Siyuan.

"Okay!" Dou Dou replied crisply.

Xiao Yue, however, simply nodded in silence before going to sit next to Ruan Hongzhuang.

Shen Siyuan turned around and walked towards the ruins of the Taoist Temple, Ruan Hongzhuang couldn’t help but admonish him: "Be careful."

"Don’t worry, I’ll be fine," Shen Siyuan responded with a smile and continued forward, soon arriving at Chaotian Temple.

The buildings of Chaotian Temple had mostly collapsed. One wall still bore the marks of fire, seeming to confirm that the old lady had not lied; the Taoist Temple had likely been destroyed in a large fire.

Suddenly, Shen Siyuan felt his footstep on something. Pushing aside brambles and weeds, he saw a broken plaque; most of it had decayed, but the characters for "Chaotian" could still be faintly discerned.

Chaotian Temple also enshrined The Three Pure Ones, but the heads of Yuqing Primordial Heavenly Venerate and Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun were missing, and their bodies were full of holes gnawed by snakes and rats.

Only Taiching Daoist remained relatively intact, but his body was covered with burn marks, while the smaller gods and statues were already shattered into rubble.

Seeing the ruined Taoist Temple, Shen Siyuan was suddenly reminded of the Tingfeng Temple in his hometown, with similar statues of The Three Pure Ones and equally dilapidated.

After searching around for a while, Shen Siyuan found nothing of note.

He then exited the Taoist Temple, approached Ruan Hongzhuang, and handed her a bottle of mineral water.

"I need to meditate inside the temple for a while; please wait here for me."

"Okay."

Ruan Hongzhuang took the water that was handed to her, curious as to where he had gotten it from.

Shen Siyuan then instructed Xiao Yue and Dou Dou not to approach the Taoist Temple without his call.

The two youngsters naturally agreed, and Shen Siyuan went back inside the Taoist Temple, found a dry spot, and sat down.

He then started to activate the Earth Mother’s Primordial Magnetism within his body, since he had found nothing above ground, he decided to try and see if there was anything hidden underground.

The Earth Mother’s Primordial Magnetism could sense objects buried under the earth, somewhat similar to a metal detector in principle.

As Shen Siyuan’s internal Primordial Magnetism interacted with the Earth’s magnetic field, everything around him was reflected into his Divine Sense in a special way.

Like an abstract painting devoid of color, it was filled with various undulating patterns that repelled yet attracted each other, some strong and others weak.

These ripples together formed a vast scroll, which was the electromagnetic waves produced by the omnipresent magnetic field.

If Shen Siyuan’s cultivation of the Five Elements Primordial Magnetic Sword was successful, he could use this omnipresent magnetic field to perform Magnetic Escape, traversing thousands of miles in an instant.

At this moment, the scroll in his mind began to undulate abnormally. After a twist, it surprisingly revealed a different scene.

Shen Siyuan hurriedly opened his tightly shut eyes, only to find that the scene before him had changed dramatically; where were the ruins he had seen before him stood an ancient Taoist temple.

He was sitting cross-legged on a large stone at the entrance of the temple, surrounded by lush flowers and sturdy pines and cypresses. Smoke curled up from the kitchen within the temple—a perfect place for cultivation.

Shen Siyuan was startled, but he still got down from the stone and walked towards the temple.

Looking up, he indeed saw the three characters for "Chaotian Temple" inscribed on the plaque, the calligraphy bold and powerful.

"Is anyone there?" Shen Siyuan knocked on the half-open door.

But no one answered. After a few more knocks and seeing that there was still no response, he pushed the door open and went inside.

What came into view was a modest courtyard, very orderly. To the right was a small pond, to the left were stone tables and chairs, and beside them stood a huge ginkgo tree.

"Is anyone here?" Shen Siyuan called out again from the center of the courtyard.

Still, no one answered.

So, Shen Siyuan carefully examined his surroundings as he walked into the temple.

Everything around him matched the description given by Lin Jianming and his wife. They had said that the Taoist temple was small, with only three rooms, and indeed it was just as they had described.

Aside from the main hall, the Three Pure Ones Hall, there were only two cramped side rooms—one likely a kitchen and the other a sleeping area.

Shen Siyuan first approached the kitchen, as he had seen smoke.

But upon entering the kitchen, he found fire in the stove and rice on it, yet no one to be seen.

"How strange," Shen Siyuan murmured.

Could everything in front of his eyes be an illusion?

Shen Siyuan felt the warmth of the stove with his touch, a clear sensation at his fingertips.

Exiting the kitchen, he ignored the main hall and entered the other side room, which was empty, showing no signs of habitation—a bizarre situation.

Shen Siyuan stood in the courtyard and pondered for a moment before slowly entering the main hall, the Three Pure Ones Hall.

He saw The Three Pure Ones sitting in meditation on a high platform, the corners of their mouths turned up in a smile, their eyes radiating compassion.

On the offering table, there was just one incense burner, with its incense smoke curling upward like auspicious clouds.

Seeing a meditation cushion beneath the offering table, Shen Siyuan knelt down and prayed to The Three Pure Ones.

But when he looked up, he noticed an additional golden bell on the altar, which hadn’t been there before.

The handle of the bell, shaped like the Chinese character for "mountain," was called the sword. This was the Three Pure Ones Bell, also known as the Emperor Bell, Dharma Bell, Dharma Chime, and bell book.

The bell body was covered with densely packed talismans, tiny as tadpoles, and extremely intricate.

Shen Siyuan reached out and picked up the Three Pure Ones Bell; he heard a clear and pleasing "ding" sound that immediately rejuvenated his spirits and cleared his mind.

However, as the sound echoed, the surrounding scene instantly dissolved, turning back into ruinous walls and rubble.

And he, who had been sitting cross-legged on a stone, now found himself standing once more in front of the damaged statue of The Three Pure Ones—everything just now seemed nothing but an illusion.

Yet the gleaming golden Three Pure Ones Bell in his hand told him that all could not be false.

PS: Two more Chapters will be updated in the afternoon. During the double monthly ticket period, extra Chapters for monthly tickets~