37: The secrets of the murals, the choices ahead

The upward tunnel became increasingly narrow and steep. The smell of dust permeating the air overpowered the fishy sweetness of the Devilish Qi, as if no living creature had set foot here for a long time.

After Lin Xuan temporarily suppressed the Heart Demon demonic sound, this place appeared unusually silent, with only the four people's suppressed breathing and footsteps echoing in the cramped space.

Lin Xuan's Divine Sense was greatly depleted, and his complexion remained somewhat pale, but his footsteps were steady, and his hand holding the Moon Brilliance Cold Flame Sphere remained as stable as ever.

The newly acquired spiritual coordinate in his mind was like a lighthouse in the darkness, guiding the way.

The partial mysteries he had unraveled from the source of the demonic sound swirled within his mind, giving him a deeper understanding of mental-level attacks and defenses, and he even faintly touched the threshold of "using sound to control sound" and "using illusion to break illusion."

Su Wanqing followed closely behind, her cold eyes constantly observing Lin Xuan's condition. Seeing that he was unharmed, she felt slightly at ease.

Her Taiyin Power appeared exceptionally condensed in this enclosed environment, and the faint light radiating from her body silently purified the residual Devilish Qi that attempted to approach.

Qu Feiyan trailed slightly behind, her charming eyes shifting as she examined the increasingly ancient, and even somewhat blurred, carvings on the tunnel walls.

These carvings no longer depicted bloody slaughter; instead, they seemed more like a record, documenting some kind of ritual or Law, exuding a solemn and eerie aura.

Her curiosity about the secrets of the Demon Palace was completely piqued.

Gongsun Yu walked at the very back, clutching her thunder light silver ring tightly; although nervous, her gaze was firm.

After experiencing successive fierce battles and the test of the demonic sound, she felt that she had grown a lot.

After walking for about half an hour, the tunnel came to an end. A small bronze door, barely wide enough for one person to pass through and covered in rust, was embedded in the stone wall ahead.

There was no keyhole on the door, nor any obvious mechanism, only some long-dimmed groove patterns resembling star trajectories.

"The coordinate points behind the door." Lin Xuan stopped and carefully scanned the small bronze door with his Divine Sense.

The star grooves on the door gave him a familiar feeling, faintly echoing the aura of the immortal abode pivot token and what he had felt earlier at the observation array platform.

He tried moving his palm close to the grooves and activated the immortal abode pivot token.

Hum—

A faint clear light overflowed from his palm and flowed into those star grooves. Like a dried-up riverbed being nourished, those dim grooves lit up one by one, forming an incomplete star map.

The small bronze door made a soft "click" and slowly opened a crack inward, and an even more ancient, even more desolate aura poured out from behind the door.

"It opened!" Gongsun Yu whispered.

Lin Xuan signaled for everyone to be on guard and was the first to squeeze sideways into the door.

Behind the door was not the room or passage they had expected, but a much wider, circular cavern.

The top of the cavern was embedded with some strange crystals emitting a faint white light, like stars in the night sky, providing some illumination. The four walls of the cavern were covered with huge and complete murals!

These murals were completely different from the ferocious and bloody reliefs in the tunnel outside. Although the colors were similarly dim, the brushstrokes carried a kind of grand tragedy and solemnity. The content of the murals seemed to tell an ancient story—

The initial murals depicted a peaceful and magnificent immortal realm, with continuous palaces, cranes flying in the sky, and countless Cultivators practicing and attaining Dao within, their auras powerful and peaceful.

Immediately after, the scene changed abruptly; the sky tore open, and endless Devilish Qi poured down like a waterfall. A terrifying demonic shadow, with two horns on its head, bone wings on its back, and a body so huge it blotted out the sun, descended. Wherever it passed, mountains and rivers shattered, and immortals and gods fell—it was the Myriad Silence Demon Lord!

The subsequent murals displayed a tragic battle between gods and demons. Immortals and gods followed one after another, paying with their lives to set up a heaven-shaking array, eventually defeating and sealing the arrogant Myriad Silence Demon Lord.

And the core of the Seal was none other than this towering Demon Palace where they stood! The murals clearly showed that the Demon Palace was not built by the Demon Lord, but was the ultimate cage forged by ancient immortals and gods using their supreme Divine Ability, condensing the Power of Stars and the earth's Dragon veins!

Seeing this, the four were shocked. It turned out that this palace, which radiated endless Devilish Qi, was itself a huge sealing Divine Artifact!

The last part of the murals appeared somewhat blurred and eerie. It depicted that after the Demon Palace was built and the Demon Lord was sealed, some of the immortals and gods who participated in the sealing did not leave, but chose to stay behind, becoming the "guardians" of the Demon Palace.

They hid in various corners of the Demon Palace, maintaining the operation of the Seal and monitoring the movements of the Demon Lord to prevent him from escaping. In one of the pictures, an old man holding a green bamboo staff with a blurry figure could be vaguely seen standing by a spiritual spring shrouded in clear light...

"Daoist Shoujing!" Gongsun Yu couldn't help but whisper.

Lin Xuan, Su Wanqing, and Qu Feiyan immediately recognized him too. What was depicted on the mural was clearly Daoist Shoujing and the Purifying Demon Spring on the Square Spiritual Islet! It turned out that he was not there by chance, but was one of the guardians left behind by the ancient immortals and gods!

This discovery gave the four of them a whole new understanding of Daoist Shoujing's identity and purpose. He guarded the Purifying Demon Spring and suppressed the Devilish Qi, which was indeed fulfilling his duty. But why didn't he make it clear from the beginning? And why was he so "friendly" to them, the accidental intruders, even providing help?

The doubts were not resolved, but rather increased.

Lin Xuan's gaze fell on the last few, more incomplete murals that had been deliberately erased by some force. It seemed to depict some kind of... change? The figures of several guardians became dim, distorted, and there were even scenes of them attacking each other? And deep in the Demon Palace, the core of the Seal, the demonic shadow representing the Myriad Silence Demon Lord seemed to... move slightly?

A chill silently crept up the four people's spines.

"It seems that the past of this Demon Palace is even more complicated than we imagined." Qu Feiyan broke the silence, her charming face no longer lazy, but only solemn. "That old Daoist Shoujing probably didn't tell us the truth."

Su Wanqing's cold eyes looked at Lin Xuan: "If the mural is true, the Demon Palace is a Seal, and Senior Shoujing is a guardian, then it makes sense that the only exit is deep within the Demon Palace. But... those erased murals suggest that there might be problems within the guardians, or even... the Seal itself might have developed a leak we don't know about."

Lin Xuan nodded slowly; Su Wanqing's analysis coincided with what he was thinking. Daoist Shoujing might still be "good" and still performing his guarding duties, but he had concealed key information. This Demon Palace was by no means just a dead, silent prison.

He once again cast his gaze toward the spiritual coordinate in his mind. The end of the coordinate seemed to be right at the end of this circular cavern, in front of a relatively smooth stone wall without any murals.

He walked to the stone wall and reached out to touch it. The stone wall was cold and hard, no different from the surroundings. But he could feel that the immortal abode pivot token had a stronger resonance here.

He tried to inject his Divine Sense and spiritual power into the stone wall.

This time, the stone wall did not open a new passage, but rippled like a water surface, revealing lines of ancient text flashing with silver light! These words were not in the narrative style of the murals, but more like a message, or rather... a warning!

"Latecomers, if you can reach this point and glimpse the secrets of the murals, you should know the importance of this palace."

"However, the Seal is not solid, the demonic thoughts have not dissipated, and the hearts of the guardians are not monolithic."

"I am the last generation's Inspector 'Star Trace', falling after a hard battle, leaving this remnant thought."

"To leave this prison, one must go deep into the palace, to the core of the 'Demon Suppressing Palace', and restart the 'circumferential star lock'."

"However, the road is dangerous, the Demon Lord's remnant thoughts are recovering, and there are fallen guardians wandering about..."

"Remember, do not trust... do not trust completely..."

The text stopped abruptly here, as if the writer's power had been exhausted.

Star Trace? Last generation's Inspector? Fallen guardians?

The amount of information was huge, making it difficult for the four of them to digest it for a moment. But this message undoubtedly confirmed some of their guesses—the Seal had problems, and there were traitors among the guardians! And the way to leave was indeed to go to the "Demon Suppressing Palace" in the deepest part of the Demon Palace and restart that so-called "circumferential star lock"!

The goal ahead was finally clear. But the danger level had also increased exponentially. They not only had to face the recovering remnant thoughts of the Demon Lord and countless demonic creatures, but also had to guard against the powerful, fallen guardians that might exist!

Lin Xuan withdrew his hand, and the silver text on the stone wall slowly dissipated.

He turned around and looked at the three people with different expressions, his gaze firm: "It seems we have no way back. The only path to survival lies in the Demon Suppressing Palace."

Su Wanqing met his gaze and nodded gently: "I will go with you."

Qu Feiyan smiled charmingly, but her eyes flashed with excitement and Battle Intent: "That sounds much more interesting than being trapped here to death."

Although Gongsun Yu's little face was pale, she nodded vigorously: "Big Brother Lin, wherever you go, I will go!"

"Good!" Lin Xuan took a deep breath. "Then let us go and meet that Demon Suppressing Palace, and see just how dangerous this dragon's pool and tiger's den really is!"

He looked again at the stone wall that had returned to normal, and the coordinate in his mind pointing to the Demon Suppressing Palace.

The journey had just begun.