282 The Mysterious Mural
It was no wonder that Shen Changling would have such a worry. There were endless strange things in the cave. First, there were illusions that could not be sensed, and then there were invisible monsters. Dealing with them was very difficult, and no one knew what to expect.
Most importantly, most of Qian Yuan’s abilities had been suppressed. If he was elsewhere, he would have a much easier time. He would not be as sullen as he was now.
Ye Xuan’s view was a little different. He said, “Since we’re already here, there’s no reason to leave. Besides, we’ve already come this far, so why don’t we explore this entire place?”
Qian Yuan felt the same way. After all, the effect of this place on him was too great. If he didn’t investigate this place thoroughly, he wouldn’t be able to rest. Moreover, many great demonic beasts had disappeared for no reason. As their leader, he naturally had the responsibility and obligation to get to the bottom of this.
Even though Qian Yuan’s full power was currently suppressed, he was still able to use a portion of his strength. Coupled with Ye Xuan’s abilities, it shouldn’t be a problem for the three of them to escape unscathed if something really happened.
However, Ye Xuan and the others didn’t dare to take things lightly and continued to move forward.
“There seems to be something on the wall.”
Ye Xuan reached out to touch the wall. The surface was uneven, and a flame formed by spiritual power illuminated their field of vision.
“Come and see what these are.”
Qian Yuan and Shen Changling also came over. Before them was a large mural.
There were many tiny figures carved on it. Some were dancing with joy, some were wearing strange masks, and some were kneeling on the ground, worshiping the sky. Some were dancing around the bonfire, as if they were holding some kind of sacrificial ceremony.
In addition, there were piles of bones in the open space. From the shape of the bones, they all belonged to demonic beasts. There was also a high platform where someone was brutally killing demonic beasts. They all died in various ways.
Even Ye Xuan and Shen Changling, who were humans, felt a little uncomfortable, not to mention Qian Yuan. He couldn’t help but look away after taking a quick glance.
On the wall next to it was a completely different scene. It was engraved with all kinds of ferocious demonic beasts, slaughtering and torturing humans for fun. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was hell on earth.
It was just a cold mural, but it was so lifelike as if the events portrayed were actually taking place. This time, it was Ye Xuan and Shen Changling’s turn to feel nauseous.
Although the conflict between humans and demonic beasts still existed to this day, it was not as intense as in the past. If these murals were real events that had happened before, they must have occurred far back in ancient times.
“What do these murals mean?”
Whether it was the first or the second mural, they were filled with killing and blood. Be it humans killing demonic beasts, or demonic beasts killing people, it was as if they had all fallen into madness.
Ye Xuan also noticed that there was supposed to be a third mural, but it was smoothed out and looked blurry. It was impossible to distinguish what was portrayed, and he didn’t know if it was an accident or intentional destruction.
He muttered, “If only I knew what the third mural is.”
For some reason, he had a feeling that the contents of the third mural was more important.
Ye Xuan looked at the two murals, trying to find the connection between them, but to no avail. At this moment, he felt an extremely evil gaze lock onto him, as if there was a knife on his back, making him feel an inexplicable chill.
The mural was huge. Could it be that there was something that they had overlooked?
Ye Xuan followed his intuition and found a white spot in the clouds that seemed to be covered in dust. He reached out to clean it, and a black outline was revealed.
In an instant, it was as if he had fallen into endless darkness. Ye Xuan’s hands trembled slightly, and even his movements became stiff. The things that were blocking him were now clear, and he could finally see the hidden image.
It was an eye.
It was hidden in the clouds, looking down at everything in the world from above. It was like a mastermind behind the scenes, manipulating everything. Ye Xuan couldn’t describe the feeling he had for this eye. It was cold and evil, as if all the malice in the world was gathered here.
It actually made him feel dizzy. This feeling only lasted for a moment. The shouts of Shen Changling and the others sounded in his ears, as though their voices were far away.
“Elder Ye!”
Ye Xuan suddenly came back to his senses and saw Shen Changling’s worried look. The latter said, “Elder Ye, are you okay? I called you several times but you didn’t hear me.”
Ye Xuan shook his head and looked at the eye on the mural again. Nothing seemed unusual about it now. Shen Changling and Qian Yuan were both extremely calm, as if everything he had just experienced was an illusion.
“Was it really an illusion?” Ye Xuan asked himself internally.
He asked the other two, “Do you guys find this eye strange?”
Looking in the direction Ye Xuan was pointing, Shen Changling and Qian Yuan both shook their heads. Ye Xuan carefully observed their expressions and didn’t notice anything amiss.
“Although the eye doesn’t quite fit the scene, there’s nothing strange about it. Elder Ye, was your sudden lapse just now because of this eye?”
Ye Xuan retracted his gaze and said, “Perhaps I’m thinking too much. Let’s keep going. Maybe we’ll find something new.”
At this point, they were certain that this cave was man-made. Otherwise there was no way to explain the murals. Ye Xuan and the others also came to this conclusion.
The inhabitants of this cave must have been very hostile to the demonic beasts and set up a restriction or something in the cave. Otherwise, they would not have targeted the demonic beasts to the extent that even Qian Yuan’s power was suppressed.
Ye Xuan voiced out his speculation and Shen Changling and Qian Yuan both agreed.