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The person who left these murals—or the owner of this secret chamber—was very likely the Light God.
Ning Tianchen had already suspected as much, and now his suspicions were confirmed.
At present, understanding the content of the murals might help them solve the riddle.
Ning Tianchen didn't rush to interpret the murals but instead looked for the order of each mural to ensure there would be no mistakes in the timeline.
Soon, his gaze fell on the mural at the bottom of the right-hand wall, and he determined it was the "first mural."
"This mural should represent the beginning of the entire event that the owner of this place wanted to record."
With that, Ning Tianchen carefully examined the contents of the mural.
In the mural, there was only a bottomless cavern, which likely referred to the Abyssal Cavern.
Contrary to the legends Ning Tianchen had heard, the Abyssal Cavern seemed to have existed long before and wasn't caused by a meteorite from outer space.
As for its exact origin, the mural didn't elaborate.
Ning Tianchen speculated that the Abyssal Cavern was most likely a naturally formed, peculiar landscape.
Because of the evil god and the generations of oral tradition among the residents of Hongyang City, this place had been shrouded in an aura of mystery.
From the second mural to the sixth mural, the depicted content largely matched the first legend Ning Tianchen had heard.
"Could it really be a god?"
Chen Huayu couldn't help but ask.
The events recorded in the murals were unlikely to be mere myths or legends.
The strong figure with ten soul rings in the mural undoubtedly surpassed the realm of ordinary soul masters.
Ning Tianchen thought for a moment but didn't say much.
The weapon used by this deity was the blue-green claw. However, the murals depicted very few details of the battle, making it difficult to identify the deity.
But there was one detail that Ning Tianchen paid close attention to.
This god used the claw to create cracks in the Death God's evil scythe.
Starting from the eighth mural, the depicted content matched the second legend Ning Tianchen had heard.
Compared to the legend, the murals provided much more detailed information, including vivid depictions of the battle scenes.
Most notably, the Light God was shown using a divine artifact to completely shatter the Death God's evil scythe.
Upon seeing this, Ning Tianchen immediately understood.
Previously, when he fought the Death God, the latter didn't have a divine artifact. Now, it all made sense.
Ning Tianchen inwardly felt fortunate.
Thankfully, the two predecessors from the past had acted, weakening the Death God's power. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stood a chance of winning.
For a deity to unleash their full strength, they needed to use their divine artifact.
Without it, even a god would become a sitting duck.
After a pause, Ning Tianchen withdrew his gaze.
The second-to-last mural depicted the Light God building another ruin atop the original one and leaving the Light Sword here to suppress the Death God within the Abyssal Cavern.
The final mural wasn't set near the Abyssal Cavern but rather in a large canyon.
The Light God stood at the entrance of the canyon, with a massive divine shadow in front of him.
The mural's record ended abruptly here, and no one knew what happened afterward.
"Xiaotian, do you feel like this canyon looks familiar?" Yu Die couldn't help but ask.
Feng Xiaotian nodded heavily without hesitation. "This is the Hurricane Canyon."
After the Soul Master Tournament, Yu Die and Cai Die had trained in the Hurricane Canyon, so they were somewhat familiar with the area.
"Never expected that the history of the Hurricane Canyon goes back even further than our family imagined," Feng Xiaotian added. "Based on the mural's depiction, the Hurricane Canyon was formed at least fifty thousand years ago."
The Hurricane Canyon had always been mysterious. According to the records of the Feng family, no one had ever ventured to its deepest point—they only knew it was an excellent place for training.
Ning Tianchen was momentarily lost in thought. Perhaps the key to the riddle lay within the murals. Knowing about the Hurricane Canyon solved half of the puzzle.
After a long silence, he suddenly spoke: "The Hurricane Canyon is related to wind. The first god depicted in the murals might be the Wind God."
"The divine shadow seen by the mural's creator in the Hurricane Canyon was probably him too."
"If I'm not mistaken, the deepest part of the Hurricane Canyon might be the inheritance site of the Wind God."
Feng Xiaotian didn't refute his view. "It's very likely. However, no one from the Feng family has ever reached the deepest part of the Hurricane Canyon. Perhaps there truly are great opportunities inside."
"Damn, so gods really exist!"
Chen Huayu muttered under his breath.
"Speak less," Oscar reminded him.
While they were talking, the divine trial marks on Ning Tianchen and Ning Rongrong's foreheads emitted a faint glow, followed by a solemn voice echoing in their minds.
"Second Trial of Asura completed. Due to special circumstances causing a significant reduction in difficulty, some rewards will be reduced."
"Reward: Soul Ring year increased by ten thousand years. Reward: Five percent increase in Asura Affinity."
"Total Affinity: Fifteen percent."
Ning Tianchen wasn't surprised.
According to the Asura God's original trial arrangement, when they approached the Abyssal Cavern, they were supposed to face interference from the evil god.
Plans couldn't keep up with changes—the evil god had "escaped" by possessing Carlos's body and was then slain by Asura divine power. As a result, the difficulty of the subsequent trial plummeted.
As for the riddle itself—
Finding the ruins left behind by the Light God wasn't difficult, so solving the riddle wasn't hard either.
The reduction in rewards was understandable.
The rewards from the divine trial were distributed instantly. In everyone's eyes, the year count of Ning Tianchen and Ning Rongrong's soul rings visibly increased.
By now, Ning Rongrong's fourth soul ring had turned into a black ten-thousand-year soul ring.
"Forget it, Boss, what's going on with you and Miss Rongrong?" Chen Huayu couldn't help but ask.
With the divine trial complete, Ning Tianchen's guess was correct.
The other deity who built these ruins was indeed the Wind God.
Feng Xiaotian was already a wind-attribute soul master, and with his talent, he would eventually inherit the Wind God's legacy.
Thus, Ning Tianchen decided to reveal part of the divine trial to everyone.
"Here's the gist of it: Rongrong and I are undergoing trials from deities. Each time we complete a task, we receive corresponding rewards. Xiaotian, make sure to seize the Wind God's inheritance deep within the Hurricane Canyon."
Feng Xiaotian nodded, though he didn't fully understand.
Yu Die and her sister exchanged glances.
There were traces of gods on the continent after all. The Butterfly Valley their mother mentioned might truly exist.
Perhaps they could find their own divine inheritance there.
---
After the training ended.
The group packed up all the treasures they could carry from the ruins and then left Hongyang City.
They had another purpose for this trip—to recruit Lou Gao in Gengxin City.
Before departing, Ning Tianchen had set a trap for Tang San.
Given the current situation, Tang San was barely managing to survive—how could he spare the energy to go to Gengxin City to recruit Lou Gao?
Thus, Ning Tianchen wasn't worried about being outmaneuvered.
---
Meanwhile.
On the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, in a Spirit Beast Town.
After days of travel, Tang San's group finally arrived here safely.
During this time, the Tiandou Empire issued a warrant for the arrest of the Strength Clan. After all, if the Strength Clan hadn't participated in the assassination of Emperor Xue Ye, why would they flee? Their actions clearly showed guilt.
Along the way, Tang San's group managed to evade multiple checks by the Tiandou Empire, fortunately without exposing their whereabouts.
The Spirit Beast Town was the last rendezvous point they had agreed upon earlier. Next, they needed to wait for the disciples of the Strength Clan to catch up, and then they could assemble into a larger group to head toward the Star Luo Empire.
"Tai Tan Senior, don't worry," Tang San said with a smile, seeing the other man's furrowed brows. "The previous rendezvous point was only two hundred li away from here. At that time, the disciples of the Strength Clan encountered no trouble. For the remaining two hundred li, I doubt anything will happen."
Tai Tan sighed. "Hopefully, that's the case."
After all, the safety of the Strength Clan members was directly tied to his own life and fortune.
Before seeing everyone safely arrive, he couldn't afford to let his guard down.
Tang San didn't think an accident would occur, so after a few simple words of comfort, he began discussing their next steps with Yu Xiaogang and the others.
Thanks to the past strength of the Hao Tian Sect, Tang Xiao had a complete map of the continent.
The map clearly marked the cities bordering the southern part of the Star Dou Forest.
Tang San didn't rush to express his opinion but instead looked at Tang Xiao and asked, "Uncle, I've heard from Father that the Hao Tian Sect once supported the Star Luo Imperial Family. You should be familiar with the situation in the Star Luo Empire."
"Where do you think we should go in the Star Luo Empire, and where should we establish the Tang Sect?"
"Xiao San, why don't you build your Tang Sect in the Annan Province?" Tang Yuehua suggested.
She continued, "In the past, I gathered food supplies across the continent for the sect, and I purchased numerous warehouses in the Annan Province. Once we get there, we can simply demolish the warehouses and build the sect on top of them."
"Annan Province…" Yu Xiaogang muttered, quickly searching for it on the map.
The Annan Province was located in the central-southern part of the Star Luo Empire. To enter its borders, they would have to leave the Star Dou Forest through Warmya City and head south.
For now, they were unsure of how the Star Luo Empire viewed them.
Entering the Star Luo Empire without caution could bring either fortune or disaster—there was no telling.
While everyone was deep in thought, a commotion arose nearby.
Following the sound, they saw a group of injured Strength Clan disciples reporting something to Tai Tan.
Tang San knew Tai Tan's temperament well—something must have happened along the way; otherwise, he wouldn't be this angry.
Without time to think further, Tang San and Yu Xiaogang quickly approached and asked, "Tai Tan Senior (Clan Leader), what exactly happened?"
Tai Tan's eyes were bloodshot, and he clenched his fists tightly as he spoke. "The Spirit Hall discovered our whereabouts. Five squads of our disciples clashed with them."
"The Spirit Hall's team had a Soul Douluo-level expert. Apart from these few survivors, no one else made it out alive."
After the Tiandou Empire issued a bounty across the continent targeting Tang San's group, the Spirit Hall almost immediately responded to the call.
The Strength Clan had a large number of disciples, and during their retreat, some were bound to be discovered.
Yu Xiaogang thought for a moment and then waved his hand dismissively. "This is the Spirit Beast Town. Spend some money to hire healing-type soul masters to treat their injuries first. We'll deal with other matters later."
"No!" Tang San interrupted. "We can't take them to be treated."
"Master, look at us—we're in such a state! If we don't receive treatment soon, we'll suffer lasting consequences," the injured Strength Clan disciples pleaded almost desperately.
Hearing this, even Tai Tan turned his attention to the wounds on their bodies.
Their injuries were severe, with both serious external and internal damage.
However, upon closer inspection, there was something very wrong about their injuries.
According to them, they were attacked by the Spirit Hall near Suotuo City.
But Suotuo City was over a hundred miles away from Spirit Beast Town. With such severe injuries, it would have been impossible for them to escape here—they would have collapsed and died along the way.
Tai Tan frowned deeply, as if realizing something.
"Xiao San, what's going on?"
Before Yu Xiaogang could inquire further, Tang San placed his hands on the spirit-guided device at his waist, and two Zhuge crossbows appeared in his hands.
Pulling the triggers, dozens of arrows instantly shot out, killing the injured disciples on the spot.
"Teacher, quickly lead everyone away. They've already been bought off by the Spirit Hall—our position has likely been exposed."
Tai Tan's face grew anxious as he said, "Young Master, the Strength Clan has only regrouped around 180 people so far. Nearly a hundred others haven't arrived yet."
It was foreseeable that those left behind, facing the combined forces of the Spirit Hall and the Tiandou Empire, would almost certainly meet their deaths.
Tang San gritted his teeth and hardened his heart, saying, "We can't worry about them anymore. Retreat for now!"
Losing nearly a hundred people meant that when they eventually established the Tang Sect, it would be short by a hundred disciples.
Though Tang San felt pained, compared to the safety of the entire group, this loss was negligible.
Besides, who knew how many of the remaining disciples had been captured by the Spirit Hall or had betrayed their location?
Tai Tan slapped his thigh in frustration, sighed deeply, and chose to follow Tang San.
---
A group of nearly 200 people marched toward the Star Dou Forest from Spirit Beast Town, drawing the attention of the town's soul masters.
"Look, aren't the leaders extremely similar to the wanted posters issued by the empire?"
Sharp-eyed soul masters immediately recognized Tang San and his group.
Among them were some clever individuals who promptly remarked, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Haven't you heard? That Hao Tian Sect expert is a Title Douluo. Do you really think you stand a chance against the empire's bounty?"
Of course, there were also greedy fools.
They blocked Tang San's group, intending to capture them and claim the reward in Tiandou City.
"How presumptuous!"
Tang Xiao snorted coldly, swung his Hao Tian Hammer, and swiftly dealt with the obstructing riffraff.
Witnessing the power of the Hao Tian Hammer, the surrounding soul masters gradually backed off and stopped interfering with their progress.
Tang San's group didn't dare waste any time. They plunged into the Star Dou Forest and fled deeper into its wilderness.
Not long after they left, a squad from the Spirit Hall arrived in Spirit Beast Town.
This group didn't seem intent on pursuing them but instead paraded around the town under the banner of the Spirit Hall, ostentatiously searching for traces of Tang San's group.
These people assumed that Tang San's large group hadn't had time to purchase supplies before rushing into the forest.
Unless they planned to live like savages, eating raw meat and drinking soul beast blood, they would eventually return to the town to restock.
However, they seemed to underestimate Tang San's determination.
Even if it meant eating raw meat and drinking soul beast blood, Tang San wouldn't turn back.
To him, preserving their fighting strength was the only way to oppose the Spirit Hall in the future. Even enduring humiliation and hardship at this moment was worth it.
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