Chapter 1406: Three Thousand Weak Waters

What could be related to "Er"? Surely not Erlang Shen?

Zu'an was filled with doubts, but the scarcity of information made it impossible to deduce anything.

"Everyone, be careful!" Although their divine senses had scanned the temple and found no living creatures, it was better to be safe than sorry.

The group nodded. Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue instinctively positioned Yu Yanluo in the middle, clearly because her cultivation was the lowest, ensuring her protection in any unforeseen circumstances.

Yu Yanluo saw this and felt a warmth spread through her heart.

After entering the temple, the group found it to be very small indeed. With broken windows and a dilapidated roof, it was almost completely exposed, offering no place for fierce beasts to hide. This allowed them to relax slightly.

However, their attention was quickly drawn to the statue in the center. The statue had a human face and a snake body; despite much of it being dilapidated and damaged, it still conveyed an aggressive, ready-to-pounce posture, with incredibly fierce and unpredictable eyes and expression.

Noticing the others occasionally glancing at her, Yu Yanluo asked, embarrassed and annoyed, "Why are you looking at me?"

Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue offered awkward smiles, too embarrassed to speak. So, Zu'an asked instead, "Could this be Medusa?"

"Impossible!" Yu Yanluo declared firmly. "Medusa is exclusively female, a single lineage; there couldn't be a male."

Yun Jianyue's heart stirred. If that were true, would Yu Yanluo only bear daughters in the future?

This meant no future threat to Honglei. Hmm, she must definitely win her over now to prevent her from allying with the Ice Stone Woman's disciple.

Yan Xuehen's cheeks were slightly flushed, lost in her own thoughts.

"Are there any snake-kind relatives that resemble this male statue?" Zu'an continued to ask. With a human face and snake body, his first thoughts were Nuwa and Fuxi, but the statue before them clearly bore no resemblance to either.

"There's nothing like it," Yu Yanluo said, her delicate brows furrowed as she stared at the menacing statue. "I even suspect he's not truly of the snake tribe, but merely possesses a serpentine form. Whenever I've encountered races related to the snake tribe, I've felt a sense of kinship, but from this statue, I feel absolutely none, only a sense of dread."

"It appears to be an unknown evil god," Yan Xuehen surmised. "Many powerful beings like this have been completely lost to history due to the cessation of worship."

"Could it be the Ya Yu that Shun spoke of?" Yu Yanluo ventured a guess.

"It's certainly possible," Yan Xuehen said with concern. "If it truly is him, we must be careful; his malevolent appearance clearly suggests he's not to be trifled with."

Zu'an wondered what the character 'Er' (贰) outside the temple signified.

"There are some small statues on both sides," Yun Jianyue's voice announced. She had been searching and discovered miniature statues hidden within the walls, but they were so severely corroded by time that their features were barely discernible, and many even lacked heads.

"It seems this person was likely a monarch or similar figure," Yu Yanluo judged. "These two rows of statues are like his ministers. However, neither the scale of this temple nor the number of statues warrants the title of 'all civil and military officials.' Clearly, this isn't a temple for an emperor-level existence. Therefore, the master of this temple was either the ruler of a small nation or the leader of a certain power."

In her younger years, she traveled among various nations, interacting with their most powerful figures. Her political judgment was far superior to that of a free spirit like Yan Xuehen or a gang leader like Yun Jianyue.

"No wonder the worship ceased," the group realized, wondering how many such small nations or powers had been swallowed by the river of history.

"Why is there a missing statue here?" Yan Xuehen asked curiously. Had a statue been missing elsewhere, she wouldn't have been so surprised, but it was precisely the statue at the head of these "ministers" that was gone.

The one in this position would clearly be the chief of all officials, the most important figure among the ministers. It made no sense for statues elsewhere to still exist while this particular one had completely weathered away first.

"Judging by the base, it seems to have been deliberately removed from the very beginning," Yun Jianyue concluded after careful observation.

Zu'an was startled: "If it was removed during the construction, it proves that this individual must have committed an unforgivable crime."

Yan Xuehen suddenly gasped. She gently brushed her hand over the spot where the statue had been, and as a cloud of dust dispersed, some black dots and lines were revealed, forming a simple pattern.

"This appears to be a constellation pattern," Yan Xuehen said after studying it. "This should be Wei Su, also known as the Dangerous Moon Swallow. Do you notice how these lines, when connected, resemble a swallow's tail? In astrology, when the moon enters Wei Su, it should ideally bring light to the dim constellation. However, in reality, lunar eclipses often occur, making the astrological sign even darker. Such a configuration is often very ominous, representing a major disaster."

Zu'an's heart stirred. Since arriving in this world, he had repeatedly discovered connections to his previous life on Earth. For instance, this astrological knowledge was largely similar to what he knew. Did this not prove that this place was Earth?

Yet, this world was far, far larger than his Earth in his previous life. After becoming a Grandmaster and gaining the ability to fly, he further confirmed this, which utterly perplexed him.

At that moment, Yu Yanluo suddenly let out a giggle, causing the others to look at her with confusion. Such an ominous astrological sign was indeed inauspicious; why would she be laughing?

Yu Yanluo's face flushed. She looked at the two women and explained, "Don't you think the name 'Dangerous Moon Swallow' is quite fitting for you two? It contains both 'moon' and 'swallow,' perfectly matching a part of each of your names."

Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue both paused, then suddenly understood, and simultaneously turned their heads.

"Hmph, who's fated with her."

"That's why nothing good ever happens when we're together; the constellations already tell us so."

Seeing the two women arguing again, Zu'an shook his head with a wry smile and began searching the small temple for other clues.

As he reached behind the human-faced, snake-bodied statue, he suddenly paused. "Come here, quickly!" he called out.

The women rushed over and were startled by the sight: a figure was hanging there—no, it was a statue of a person.

This statue had a bird's head, a human body, and held a wooden staff, looking equally fierce. However, its face now showed more distortion and pain, as it was suspended in a bizarre posture.

Its hands were tied behind its back and bound to its hair, its entire body contorted into the shape of a cooked shrimp, but with the twist in the opposite direction.

"Look at his right foot," Yun Jianyue said gravely. "His right foot has been severed. Such a punishment is usually reserved for those who have committed heinous crimes. Combined with his current bound and hanging posture, it's very likely this individual committed a monstrous crime."

"Could this be the missing statue from earlier?" Yu Yanluo asked softly.

"It's certainly possible," Yan Xuehen nodded. "We just don't know what connection it has to that Ya Yu."

Zu'an chuckled, "Since this temple is here, it must be related to Ya Yu in some way. We simply lack enough information to find the connection for now. Let's go look elsewhere."

The three women couldn't help but admire his optimistic outlook. Seeing no further clues in the temple, they simply set their doubts aside.

The group then searched the mountain. This area was barren, devoid of trees, so everything was in plain sight, and they quickly completed their search.

"Where exactly is that Ya Yu hiding?" Yun Jianyue felt a bit dejected, surprised that they were stuck at just the first stage.

"Look quickly! There seems to be a river at the foot of the other side of the mountain?" Yu Yanluo suddenly discovered.

Their hearts stirred, and they immediately employed their movement techniques, quickly descending the mountain to the riverside.

As they approached, they realized it wasn't a river at all; it was wider than a great river, stretching beyond sight.

Logically, such a wide riverbed should have a very gentle current, but surprisingly, the water before them was extremely turbulent and dangerous.

"There's a stone tablet here!"

Using their divine senses, the group quickly found clues.

Zu'an looked at the lines of text on the stone tablet, his expression subtly changing. "Three thousand weak waters deep," he read, "a goose feather cannot float, and a reed flower will certainly sink to the bottom!"