The group halted at the periphery of the banner formation, looking up at the massive bronze bell suspended above it.

This bronze bell was truly enormous, stretching a full three meters in length, and requiring four or five men merely to encircle its girth. Furthermore, the bell’s design was bizarre; it was perfectly square, unlike typical bells that taper from top to bottom; this one maintained the same thickness from its rim to its base. On each face of the enormous square bronze bell, a distinct carving was etched.

We walked a full circuit around the banner formation, examining the motifs on all four sides of the great bell.

“Huh, these four patterns are all different. They're winding and twisting—what exactly are they depicting? I recognize this side as a bird; what do the other three look like?” Lu Zong scratched his head and remarked.

Ge Mei blinked, turning to Ma Xiong, “Brother Ma Xiong, these four patterns should represent the Four Symbols, right?”

Ma Xiong nodded. “Correct. Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—the Four Celestial Symbols. This casting style appears to predate the Han Dynasty. These symbols are rendered abstractly; you can only vaguely make out their general form. Moreover, based on this bell, we can fix our orientation here. In Feng Shui, the symbols correspond to directions: Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise map to East, South, West, and North, respectively.”

Ge Mei inquired further, “So, this means our current position should be due South, directly facing the Vermilion Bird?”

“Precisely.” Ma Xiong spoke, then glanced toward the four cardinal directions before continuing, “The easternmost point of this space is the pagoda-shaped tomb chamber, and directly north of that chamber is the entrance shaft we fell through. Looking at it this way…”

Before Ma Xiong could finish, Liu Quansheng slapped his forehead. “Brother Ma Xiong, are you saying… No wonder! That tower room wasn't the main burial chamber; this is the main chamber! The Four Symbols on this bell must correspond to the true cardinal directions. It seems my compass was faulty before. Judging by the layout of this space and the opening of the pagoda chamber, this is the principal tomb, and the outer tower room was merely an antechamber leading to it.”

Ma Xiong turned to look at the Soul-Calming Caves, then back at the banner formation, muttering, “We should have realized this sooner. The presence of the Soul-Calming Banner Formation indicates this space is vastly more significant than that outer tower room.”

Lu Zong craned his neck to peer into the formation and asked, “Where is the coffin? Shouldn't a main burial chamber have a coffin?”

Ma Xiong turned to Liu Quansheng and asked, “Old Liu, what’s your take?”

Liu Quansheng shook his head. “Hard to say. Since the coffin in the outer pagoda antechamber was empty, it’s possible this is a hollow grave too. Even if there is a coffin here, it’s probably just an empty shell.”

Lu Zong waved his hand then, rolling up his sleeves as he spoke, “That’s not necessarily true. Even if there aren't many treasures inside, there should at least be the Coiling Dragon Black Gall in the coffin, right? Coffins are usually placed in the center of the chamber, so, Ma Xiong, the coffin might be right in there, within that formation. We need to figure out how to break this grand array quickly.”

Ma Xiong replied, “We certainly need to break the banner formation, but we can’t rush this. Everyone has already experienced the power of this array. Now, with the addition of the Soul-Calming Caves, if this formation activates, it could be terrifyingly unpredictable.”

At that moment, Ma Xiong suddenly noticed a change in Ge Mei’s expression and quickly walked over to her. “What’s wrong?”

Ge Mei opened her eyes wide, carefully surveying their surroundings, her delicate brows furrowing. She looked back at Ma Xiong and said, “Brother Ma Xiong, I think I just heard something.”

“What sound?”

As soon as Ma Xiong asked, a faint tapping sound reached his ears. Listening closely, it sounded remarkably like the hum of the Spirit-Slaying Wind. Ma Xiong suspected it was coming from the pagoda-shaped tomb chamber and urgently gathered everyone to confirm. However, before we could reach the exit, the sound gradually intensified. By then, everyone could clearly hear it: it was indeed the sound of the Spirit-Slaying Wind, and the sound was emanating from the very center of the banner formation!

Lu Zong, who had suffered the most from this sound, instantly swore loudly—a string of vulgarities—upon realizing that this sonic array was present within the banner formation, immediately clamping his hands over his ears.

It was distinctly perceptible that the Spirit-Slaying Wind was growing stronger, and very soon, its roar became quite clear. Ma Xiong instructed Liu Quansheng to guide Lu Zong on how to counter the sound, then turned his attention away from the others to attempt to breach the banner formation. He tried to locate the formation’s core, but after a rough calculation, Ma Xiong discovered the key point was situated dead center within the array. Unwilling to rush in blindly, Ma Xiong momentarily found himself at a loss for what to do.

Next, Ma Xiong attempted to pull up one of the banners at the edge of the formation, but despite exerting the strength of nine bulls and two tigers, the flag remained utterly immobile. Just as Ma Xiong felt helpless, a massive suction force from within the banner formation suddenly yanked him inward. Ma Xiong only managed a startled cry before his entire body shot into the array.

This time, he tumbled for more than ten meters before stopping. He wasn't as fortunate as the first time; as he landed, Ma Xiong’s head struck the ground heavily, tearing his scalp. Touching it, he found blood. Cursing his bad luck, Ma Xiong slowly picked himself up.

Looking around, he realized the banner formation seemed much wider now; needless to say, he was trapped again.

Having bumped around on the ground a few times, Ma Xiong could only stagger forward, bracing himself against a flag pole. Strangely, being inside the formation, the sound of the Spirit-Slaying Wind had diminished significantly, posing no threat. Did the formation possess some acoustic dampening property? If so, why was the Spirit-Slaying Wind emanating from the center audible so clearly from outside the array?

Ma Xiong couldn’t quite figure it out, but as he entered the banner formation for the second time, he suddenly noticed a difference. The first time he was inside, the banners fluttered in utter disarray. This time, although they were still moving, their motion was highly rhythmic.

By instinct, it felt as though the force causing the banners to sway originated from the center of the formation, causing every banner to stream outward in all directions!

If that was the case, finding the center of the formation shouldn't be difficult. With no other options available, Ma Xiong decided to take a gamble.

With this thought, Ma Xiong looked up at the banners and began walking forward, moving against the direction of their sway.

Before long, Ma Xiong indeed reached the center of the banner formation. The colossal Four Symbols bronze bell hung directly overhead. Directly beneath the bell, however, was a large aperture, more than a meter in diameter. This opening dropped vertically downward, and when Ma Xiong shone his flashlight inside, the beam failed to find the bottom.

The center of this banner formation was a bottomless pit—something Ma Xiong had not anticipated. He had expected to find either a coffin or nothing at all, but instead, there was this bizarre hole. The aperture was pitch black, emitting a faint chill. As Ma Xiong stood at the edge, looking down, a sudden dread washed over him. This fear was inexplicable; Ma Xiong didn't know its source, but it arose abruptly as he gazed into the shaft.

Ma Xiong felt as if the abyss led to an endless underworld. If he were to lose his footing and fall, his very soul would plunge into that bottomless chasm—perhaps to a mountain of blades, perhaps to a sea of fire, perhaps into a cauldron of boiling oil, or perhaps into the lair of some prehistoric monster…

Staring into the pit below, Ma Xiong’s mind seemed utterly captivated. The Spirit-Slaying Wind, already faint, was now completely ignored by him. All of Ma Xiong’s attention was focused on this subterranean hole. He desperately wanted to know how deep it went and what lay within. Was it the netherworld, leading to the Ten Courts of Yama, or the fetid nest of some monstrous creature? Or perhaps, was it actually another chamber, where the ultimate treasure of the Black Dragon Corpse-Binding Tomb—the Coiling Dragon Black Gall—lay sealed in its coffin?

Unconsciously, Ma Xiong’s curiosity about the hole expanded limitlessly. Soon, he could no longer control himself, compelled to step into the shaft to discover the truth. A voice in his mind kept urging him: This pit can be descended. This pit can be descended…

At that very moment, Ma Xiong felt a firm hand grip his arm, and instantly, he snapped back to full awareness.

Waking like that, Ma Xiong was startled stiff by the scene directly beneath his feet, a cold sweat instantly breaking out across his body. He looked down, seeing only absolute blackness—the unique gloom of the shaft. He could clearly perceive that if his leading foot moved even half a step further, he would inevitably fall into that bottomless abyss, facing eternal damnation.

Startled by the near-disaster, his mind cleared considerably. He immediately pulled his feet back two large steps, creating distance from the unfathomable opening. The one who had grabbed him was Liu Quansheng. Likely sensing Ma Xiong's abnormal behavior, he quickly pulled him back and asked, “Brother Ma Xiong, are you alright?”

Ma Xiong’s face was ashen, and for a moment, he couldn't speak, merely pressing a hand to his chest and shaking his head at Liu Quansheng. Seeing Ma Xiong’s questioning gaze, Liu Quansheng understood that Ma Xiong was asking how he ended up inside the banner formation. He managed a wry smile and said to Ma Xiong, “At first, we thought only you would be sucked into this array again, but unexpectedly, right after you were pulled in, three more forces dragged the three of us in as well. As soon as we landed, I noticed we were separated. Ma Xiong, you initially didn't know how to get out, but then you saw how strangely the banners were swaying and guessed that walking in the opposite direction might lead to the center. It seems you were right to come in.”

“Good thing you arrived in time; otherwise, Ma Xiong might have had to say goodbye to us all!” Finally regaining his composure, and needing to defuse the tension, Ma Xiong joked grimly with Liu Quansheng.

Just as we were about to continue speaking, a faint squeaking sound suddenly echoed from deep within the shaft. The sound was extraordinarily loud, magnified by the echoes, sounding seven or eight times in quick succession—piercingly sharp.

Liu Quansheng yanked Ma Xiong up and whispered, “Damn it, something seems to be coming out of there!”

Ma Xiong replied to Liu Quansheng, “We can’t leave. If we retreat and then Brother Jizi and the other one wander here and are suddenly mesmerized by the opening like I was, that would be disastrous. I suggest we fall back a few paces and take cover behind two of the banners. That way, first, we can wait to see if Brother Jizi and the other enter this area, and second, we can observe whatever is emerging from inside!”