It was indeed so. I don’t know if it was because it was not completely burned, or the paint on the top melted due to the heat and flowed down to cover the image below, saving it from disaster. Under Xie Lian’s fingertips, he could indeed vaguely see half of a human face. He began to carefully peel off the hard black objects. Pei Ming held up his swollen left hand and said, “Your Highness the Crown Prince is so interested in the murals?”

Xie Lian said, “It’s not that I’m interested, but I have a bold idea.”

Pei Ming asked: "Tell me about it?"

Xie Lian said, “It’s a rare opportunity for us to come to Tonglu Mountain. Besides stopping the potential Ghost King, can we also trace its origin? For example, who created it, and what power is supporting it? Perhaps, we can defeat it once and for all, and never have to worry about the Ghost King appearing again.”

Pei Ming said: "Your idea is really bold. However, City Lord Hua hasn't found out yet, so we may have to waste more time. Pei does not recommend doing this at the moment."

Hua Cheng said, "I didn't find out because I am relatively dull and limited in ability, and I was busy fighting at that time. If my brother was in charge, it might not be the case."

Xie Lian said, “No, no, no. It is I who have limited abilities. San Lang is much more capable than I am.”

“…”

As if he couldn't listen any more, Pei Ming threw Pei Su to Banyue, turned around and walked out, saying, "I'd better go out and get some fresh air."

Over there, Xie Lian wiped off a few pieces of black hard objects without any difficulty. He was stunned for a moment and said, “These can actually…”

This layer of black hard substance that looks burnt can actually be peeled off in large chunks!

In the space of a few words, he had already peeled off a large piece, revealing a human face as big as a baby's fist. Although the lines were extremely simple, the expression on the face was lifelike, as if it was chasing something, and even the enthusiasm in the eyes was painted. The layer of black hard material seemed to have formed a protective film, making the color of the mural wrapped in it still very bright, as if it had just been completed not long ago. Xie Lian turned around and said, "Sanlang, let's..."

Hua Cheng did not move, but in the darkness, a silver light flickered. Soon, hundreds of silver butterflies appeared silently, flapping their wings, and landed on the dark wall. As they flapped their wings together, Xie Lian heard a slight cracking sound, as if the mask on his face had been peeled off, and the black wall cracked into countless tiny cracks.

Then, collapse.

The black hard objects that were originally attached to the wall fell down, revealing their true appearance.

A huge colorful mural!

Xie Lian looked up at the wall and felt his scalp tingling.

The whole picture is divided into four distinct layers. The top layer is glittering with golden light, surrounded by clouds, and no one is there.

The second layer only depicts one person, a handsome young man in white. He is painted with brilliant golden light all over his body, using the same pigment as the light on the top layer.

On the third layer, there are four figures, each with a different face, clothing, expression, and action, and they are half the size of the young man in white on the second layer.

The fourth layer, the bottom layer, was filled with countless people, half the size of the four people on the third layer, and a dark mass. Everyone's face was exactly the same, and so were their expressions, all filled with fanaticism, worship, and confusion. The first face Xie Lian peeled off was the one on the bottom layer.

The entire painting had beautiful and mature lines. Xie Lian was stunned by it for a long time before he said, “San Lang, have you… seen this thing before?”

Hua Cheng said slowly: "I have traveled through most of Tonglu Mountain and visited almost every Wuyong Temple. I can be sure that I have never seen this thing."

Xie Lian came back to his senses and said, “I’m afraid this mural is not from two thousand years ago.”

Hua Cheng said: "Absolutely not. Judging from the color and the state of preservation, it is at most a hundred years old. Maybe, newer."

In other words, this mural was painted later!

Xie Lian pointed to the top layer and said, “That layer should be the painting of ‘heaven’. This is because ‘heaven’s way’ is above all living things.”

He pointed to the second floor and said, "This floor should be the Prince Wuyong. Since this temple is dedicated to the Prince Wuyong, the protagonist of the mural is naturally him, so he is the largest figure in the painting. The light on his body is the same color as the sky, and he is second only to the 'Heavenly Dao'."

Then he pointed to the fourth floor and said, "The people at the bottom are the smallest and look the same. They should be the people of Wuyong."

Finally, pointing to the third floor, he said, "But who are these four people? Regardless of their position or size, they are above the people of the country and below the prince. This shows that their status should be the same. Are they ministers? Guards? Or..."

Hua Cheng walked a few steps closer and said, "Brother, look, they also have a layer of spiritual light on them."

Sure enough, there was indeed one, but because the light of Prince Wuyong was too strong, the light on them was almost hidden in comparison. Xie Lian realized it and said, “It was the priest who appointed the prince after he ascended to heaven.”

Xie Lian walked around the temple and confirmed that only the wall facing the main hall door had a secret, as the other three walls were burnt to the point where they could not be burned any more.

Who left this mural? Who is it for? What message does it want to convey?

Xie Lian couldn't tell much from just this one mural. After a moment's hesitation, he said to Hua Cheng, "Let's keep an eye out for other Wuyong Temples on the way. I have a feeling there might be more than one mural like this."

Hua Cheng nodded and said, "That's exactly what I meant."

The two of them carried Pei Su's Banyue and walked out of the temple. Xie Lian then remembered someone and asked, "Where is General Pei?"

Pei Ming had just said he needed some fresh air and left. They had been tossing around in the temple for quite some time but he hadn’t come back. Xie Lian called out a few times but there was no response, so he asked, “Could he have disappeared at this time?”

The four of them searched around this desolate town, but they couldn't use psychic magic in Tonglu Mountain, and found nothing. Just when Xie Lian thought that there was no way to get through this mountain, Hua Cheng said, "Brother, don't worry. I have a way."

He stretched out a hand, and a tiny silver butterfly gently fluttered its wings in the palm of his hand, and flew around Xie Lian for a few circles. Although Xie Lian thought it was cute, he didn't know what it was for, so he said, "This is..."

At this moment, he suddenly heard a gasp, and then a man's voice came from the silver butterfly.

He said, "I never expected to see you here."

Pei Ming!

Xie Lian looked at Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng chuckled and said, "Yesterday, I placed a silver butterfly on everyone."

Pei Su reluctantly raised his head and said, "... Then, you can use that silver butterfly to monitor the other party's every move, and the other party won't notice you, right? You are worthy of being the Xueyu Tanhua."

Hua Cheng said: "Don't talk if you can't punctuate."

“…”

Xie Lian held the small silver butterfly in his palm and said to it, “General Pei? Where are you? Who is across from you?”

Hua Cheng said: "Sorry brother, I can only listen, not speak."

Xie Lian thought about it and said, “That’s right.” If the listener’s voice could also be transmitted, wouldn’t it be easy for the other party to detect it?

Then, another cold young man said tiredly, "Old Pei, a piece of advice - don't talk nonsense now. Be careful or I'll slap you to death."

Hearing this voice, Xie Lian slightly opened his eyes.

It’s the male appearance of Lingwen!

He said, "So that's how it is! The man in black who killed everyone along the way... is Lingwen in male form."

Pei Su said: "Yes, Senior Lingwen, did you take General Pei away?"

Xie Lian said, “I don’t know. I’m still listening.”

Over there, Pei Ming said, "Why are you so angry, Jie Qing?"

Ling Wen said, "Shut up. I told you to stop talking. It's not me who's angry, it's others. Let me make it clear first, I can't control my body right now, so if I cripple you, don't hold me responsible."

Pei Ming said: "We are all in this state now, unable to move, who can scare who."

Xie Lian raised his head and said, “It wasn’t Ling Wen who captured General Pei. Right now, they are all trapped somewhere, controlled by someone.” Then he pondered, “If they could even suppress Jin Yi Xian, who could that person be?”

Pei Ming asked again: "What are you wearing now?"

He didn't say what it was, but everyone knew what he meant.

Fairy in brocade clothes!

Lingwen said: "Yeah. He doesn't like you very much. You'd better be careful with your words."

Pei Ming said: "How do you know what he was thinking? I really admire you. How could you be so careless and make such a scene? You were so bold as to go to the Shenwu Temple to steal things and ruin your golden rice bowl. Now you are running to Tonglu Mountain. Did it ask you to come?"

Ling Wen said, "He didn't ask me to come. I came here on my own. Don't ask, Lao Pei! He's going to be angry. I can feel it."

Pei Ming shut up. After a while, Ling Wen exhaled softly, as if Jin Yi Xian had finally calmed down, so Ling Wen said: "Old Pei, what's wrong with you? Why did you run to Tonglu Mountain? Did your left hand get stung by a million wasps or something, and it's so injured."

Pei Ming's voice was also extremely frustrated and depressed. He said, "It's hard to explain the bad start. It's all because of Pei's carelessness. I shouldn't have been in such a mess. Who knew I would meet my nemesis right away? If I hadn't been injured like this, would I have been dragged to this hellhole? I didn't even see who it was."

Xie Lian thought to himself, “Why don’t you just tell me where it is, whether it’s a cave or a house. At least I’ll know where to look.”

However, it was not that there were no clues. In Tonglu Mountain, it was impossible to use the shrinking technique, so Pei Ming must not have left far away. It could be heard that the sound of their conversation was a bit ethereal and had a faint echo, so it must be in a sufficiently empty space. Moreover, Xie Lian could faintly hear the sound of flowing water.

They had not seen any rivers or lakes on the ground for a long time, and there was no building on the road that was more empty than the Wuyong Temple. Therefore, there was only one possibility for where they were at the moment -

underground!

However, this town is not small, so where exactly is the underground?

Pei Ming said: "What about you? I heard that you killed more than a thousand monsters on the road and scared them all. It's really a cause for celebration. You can't become the number one literary god, so why not switch to being a martial god? What kind of thing can tie you up here?"

Ling Wen smiled bitterly and said, "I don't know either. I accidentally had a fight with Master Yushi and was groggy after the fight. I guess the person hiding behind me took the opportunity to attack me. There's no need to ask, he will come out eventually. Just remember not to reveal your identity."

At this moment, a third voice suddenly interrupted the conversation between the two: "Pei Ming and Nangong Jie, you two, stop making wishful thinking. Don't I know what's under your skin?"