We lingered at the entrance for a long time, discussing the possibilities of this cave. During this time, Chen Pi Ah Si suddenly went stiff for a while but miraculously recovered. We were baffled, but Chen Pi Ah Si seemed uninterested in mentioning what had just happened, so we had no choice but to shift our focus to this strange ice cave.

We gathered around the edge of the cave to discuss the specifics of going down. Although we had all experienced quite a few cave explorations, they were mostly on plains and in mountainous areas, which were quite different from this place and required careful consideration.

The cave initially sloped down at about a forty-degree angle, going deep below and difficult to navigate. Earlier, when Fatty and the others fell in, if they had lost control of their position, it could have been very dangerous. They might have rolled around in the cave, and if they hit their heads, it could have been fatal.

Pan Zi tossed down a glow stick, and the yellow cold light quickly rolled down, bouncing a few times before disappearing into the distance. If what Huaheshang said was correct, recalling the layout between our two snow-capped mountains, this cave must follow a “V” shaped path that goes down and then back up. Since the two snow mountains belong to the same mountain range, the elevation of the canyon between the peaks is also quite high, and the distance of this “V” shaped route should not exceed 5 kilometers.

Of course, if the craftsmen back then had a preference for digging in a “Z” shape, there would be nothing we could do about it, but such unexpected scenarios shouldn’t be considered.

Since this was a man-made passage, we didn’t have to worry about oxygen. After our discussion, we decided that Pan Zi would explore the cave first. This time, we were prepared with weapons, in case that corpse was still inside, we could deal with it on the spot.

Pan Zi had been dragged inside earlier and felt embarrassed. He spat on his hand and took out a climbing rope. As he tied it around Fatty’s waist, he tossed it down the cave entrance and climbed down ahead of us. After a while, we heard his voice calling us to come down.

We followed one after another and climbed down the cave entrance. The tunnel was very roughly excavated, with stones protruding inside and out, making it slippery and causing painful cuts on our backsides. As I climbed, I observed the rocks beside me. These were basalt rocks that had emerged during volcanic eruptions, with numerous bubbles on their surfaces. The density of these stones was quite unstable; some were as hard as iron, while others were as soft as tofu. I wondered what the situation had been like during the excavation.

One by one, we made our way down, with Fatty being the last to arrive. Soon, a group of us was crowded at the end of the sloping stone path, gasping for breath. Here, we saw a lot of black liquid, which was definitely the bodily fluid of the corpse, but there was no sign of the corpse itself; it may have gone deeper into the cave.

This narrow, ice-encased passage sloped downwards, and at the bend below, it became tall and narrow. As we went further inside, the height of the cave seemed to continue increasing, opening up into a vast space, but it was pitch black, and our flashlights couldn’t penetrate the darkness.

At first, I thought they had intentionally created a wider section of the tunnel while digging, similar to what we do when we dig a theft tunnel, which we call a “pigeon room.” This space is used to store air and place the “dirt.” Of course, the construction of a pigeon room is complex; you have to dig out a space large enough for two people to turn around without bringing any dirt back out through the theft tunnel, which requires a very clever trick.

However, when the flashlight beam shone in, we were stunned to find that this passageway had come to an end. Ahead, it rapidly narrowed, eventually leaving only a gap wide enough for one person to enter sideways, resembling an irregular sword mark deeply etched into the rock.

Panzi asked, “Wasn’t this supposed to be a secret passage for craftsmen to escape? Now it’s just a narrow slit! Can we even get through?”

Hua Monk thought for a moment and suddenly had a look of realization. He said, “I think this passage might have utilized a natural volcanic cave. Volcanic caves are very common in volcanic regions, interconnected like a spider web underground, with the longest ones stretching thousands of kilometers. Perhaps this volcanic fissure could extend all the way to the opposite San Sheng Mountain. That’s why they could dig such a long secret passage; it turns out they were using a pre-existing natural channel.”

Fatty said, “So we have to squeeze through this slit? You guys are fine, but with my body shape, it’s going to be tough.” Fatty had mentioned wanting to lose weight while in the underwater tomb, but there hadn’t been any visible progress, and looking at his figure, it was indeed quite a challenge.

Hua Monk replied, “You shouldn’t worry. These volcanic caves have a branched structure, and these openings should lead to larger gaps. In geology, this is called an underground corridor. Some underground corridors are quite large and can even form their own unique ecosystems. I believe that once we get inside, the gap will definitely widen, as geological damage usually starts from the inside.”

Hua Monk spoke with conviction, but I wasn’t entirely convinced. However, there was no reason to refute him at that moment, so we took a short break, adjusted our equipment, and with Fatty leading the way, we continued to crawl into the fissure.

Inside the fissure, it was pitch black, and the flashlight was of no use because that kind of darkness was all-encompassing. In Europe, people believe that all such fissures lead to hell, and the locals think caves are the domain of demons and never enter them. Although I had experienced many such situations, the moment we entered the fissure, my heart began to beat anxiously.

One by one, we squeezed our way into the fissure, moving sideways like crabs. The walls of this place showed no signs of human intervention; there was barely enough room to turn our heads. Looking ahead, we were surrounded by traces of colorful stalactites, with various colors of dripstone covering all the rocks, and the surfaces were encrusted with crystalline frost, resembling evenly arranged columns of condensed water.

When I was studying architecture, I learned a bit of geology, and I have a vague memory that what lies before me should be volcanic ejecta, similar to the volcanic fissure we took refuge in during a snowstorm. This type of landform is different from the common volcanic caves; these fissures are formed in an instant during a volcanic eruption, allowing volcanic debris flows to rush out at extremely high speeds. The characteristic of this fissure is that it is extremely long, but the tunnel is singular and does not create a labyrinth of caves like volcanic caves do.

The initial section of the fissure is very narrow, and we had to learn to move in a breakdancing manner. Within fifteen minutes, I was already exhausted and sore all over, thinking back to those craftsmen who fled in the past; it wasn’t easy for them to climb out either. However, as we continued, the fissure really did widen gradually, just as Master Hua had said, and eventually, we were able to turn around and move forward.

Inside the fissure, it was pitch black, but the surrounding glassy surfaces and melted mica reflected the light from our flashlights, creating a magical effect. The large areas of volcanic debris covering the lava spines, rope-like lava crusts, and lava stalactites were breathtakingly beautiful.

As we walked, we gradually discovered some signs of human activity, such as abandoned rusty tools and traces of campfires, all of which were very old.

Along the way, we encountered nothing strange. The fissure was very clean; after nearly six hours of walking, we had reached the tunnel that Master Hua mentioned, which was the scale of an underground corridor, and the fissure here had become very wide.

At this point in the fissure, I noticed a lot of signs of human construction. On one side of the fissure wall, many rudimentary steps had been carved out, leading upwards. Although these steps were called steps, they were actually just some protruding rocks. If someone with big feet like the胖子 were to walk on them, they would probably get dizzy after just a few steps.

We stopped to rest, and I roughly calculated the distance we had traveled and the slope we had descended. I discovered that our current altitude was already below the snow line, and we might be located in the canyon between two peaks. If we were to walk on the surface between these two peaks, even in a straight line, it would take at least eight hours. Now, walking underground, we had saved quite a bit of time. The border patrol above would surely be astonished if they knew there was such an underground corridor.

Now that we were here, if we continued walking at the bottom of the fissure, we might end up reaching the center of the Earth. These rudimentary steps likely indicated that this tunnel had entered its second phase, and the end of the steps might lead to the mysterious underground palace of the Heavenly Palace in the Clouds.

After resting for a moment, several of us could no longer contain our excitement, so we set off again. However, this time, the path was not as smooth.

We all used climbing ropes to connect with each other, then tried to stick close to one side of the cliff, stepping on the jokingly named “stone stairs,” moving up little by little. At first, it was manageable, but once we climbed to a certain height, I immediately felt like a rock climber, yet I had no climbing experience at all, which was quite nerve-wracking.

The胖子 had big feet, and stepping on those stairs felt like walking on stilts for him, so after just a few steps, his legs started to tremble, and I saw him mumbling “Amitabha Buddha.”

Fortunately, we proceeded carefully, almost like a woman sewing, climbing up bit by bit. Soon, the area below us became a pitch-black abyss, where the height was impossible to estimate; just looking at it made one dizzy. If we hadn’t just come up from below, I would have truly believed it led straight to hell.

In the following hours, we climbed higher and higher, losing track of our location and the passage of time, entering a state of confusion. Yet, not a single person suggested taking a break. I couldn’t tell if it was the innate greed of tomb raiders or if the environment here made resting impossible. Imagine standing with one foot on a small rock and the other foot dangling in mid-air above a bottomless cliff—how could one possibly rest?

As we walked, suddenly, we heard the sound of water nearby. Turning on the flashlight, we discovered several springs cascading down the cliff, varying in size. The mist rising from above suggested that the water was hot spring water, though we couldn’t tell where it was coming from. The sound of water was quite loud, indicating that there might be underground water veins in the vicinity.

The fat guy suggested we climb over to wash our faces and feel refreshed, as the nearest hot spring was just within arm’s reach. In fact, we were all quite tired from the journey, and recalling our previous rest by a hot spring made us all want to stop here. However, Shunzi shook his head and said, “No!” He pointed to the rocks beside the hot spring. At first glance, we didn’t notice anything unusual, but upon closer inspection, we felt a chill run down our spines.

We saw that the rocks near the hot spring were covered with very strange patterns. At first, I thought they were volcanic textures, but upon closer inspection, my hair stood on end. It turned out these patterns weren’t on the rock itself; they were actually centipede-like creatures, each about the thickness of an arm, clinging to the surface. The color of these centipedes was identical to the surrounding glassy volcanic rock, making them nearly indistinguishable at first glance.

As we looked around, we realized that the rocks in this area were almost entirely covered with these creatures, motionless, as if they were all dead. Suddenly, we fell silent. The fat guy whispered, “What’s going on? Have we stumbled into a bug nest?”

Shunzi replied quietly, “Creatures in the snow mountains usually gather around hot springs, so don’t just think about getting comfortable when you see one. Some hot springs even have leeches in them. But the temperature is still relatively cold now, so these things are in a semi-dead state. They won’t wake up unless there’s a strong stimulus. Let’s move quickly; once we get past this section, we’ll be fine.”

We quickly got moving again, with the fat guy tiptoeing and asking, “What do you mean by a strong stimulus?”

Before he finished speaking, Shunzi suddenly waved his hand, signaling us all to stop.

We had no idea what was happening and immediately froze in place like wooden dolls, all staring at Shunzi, who was gazing into the pitch-black abyss of the cliff.

After a moment of silence, we gradually began to hear a chilling, sparse sound, as if countless feet were scraping against the rocks of the cliff, drawing closer to us.

“Turn off the flashlight,” Shunzi whispered.

We quickly turned off the flashlight and turned our heads to look. To our shock, almost the entire surrounding cliff was filled with countless green glowing points, large and small, as far as the eye could see, resembling a vast sea of stars. In this darkness, these billions of lights seemed magical, and we felt as if we were in a cosmos of stars; the grandeur was beyond words to describe.

However, when I looked down, I suddenly realized that the scene beside us was nothing compared to what lay below. In the void of blackness at the bottom of the abyss, a green galaxy meandered, like a magnificent emerald tassel against a deep black curtain, cutting through the boundless darkness, stretching from one end of the sky to the other.

I gasped, unable to believe my eyes; the number of glowing creatures below must be in the billions. Just as we were awestruck by this breathtaking scene, which could only be described as otherworldly, a few enormous red glows suddenly flashed from the points of light below. These glows twisted and moved within the sea of stars, then vanished into the darkness, clearly indicating that some of the creatures down there were not small at all…