Chapter Sixty-five: Shock

Witnessing such an uncanny phenomenon sent a jolt through my heart.

From this, I could tell that this underground cavern was anything but ordinary. And then there was that seven-colored light just now—what could it be?

Could it be that there is some kind of treasure hidden beneath the earth?

As the thought crossed my mind, an idea took root: could it possibly be a fragment of the Soul Capturing Pearl?

I glanced at Feng Zimo and the others, but it was clear they were as baffled as I was.

Honestly, I was dying to go down and see for myself, but I hesitated. If there was some monstrous creature lurking below, we would be doomed.

Yet, what if it really was a fragment of the Soul Capturing Pearl?

After weighing my options for a long while, I finally summoned Black Jiao.

But before sending him down, I warned him repeatedly: just take a look at what’s down there, and whatever you do, don’t alert anything.

Even so, I still felt uneasy about letting Black Jiao go alone. In the end, I made a bold decision—I would go with him.

When I said this, Feng Zimo and the others instantly grew restless; they all wanted to come with me.

Especially Lin Weiyan—she absolutely refused to let me go alone. Her stance was clear: wherever I went, she would follow, even invoking Old Jiang’s dying wishes.

The more she insisted, the more determined I felt not to let her risk herself. She had already sacrificed so much for me.

In truth, all this time, she was the one protecting me, even at the risk of her own life.

So I spoke to her gently, “Don’t worry. Wait here for me. I’ll be fine.”

Lin Weiyan shook her head, and with unwavering resolve, said, “No. If you go, I go. If you die, I die.”

Hearing her words, I felt a warmth in my heart. In my entire life, apart from my parents, she was the only woman willing to lay down her life for me.

I took a deep breath, lost for a moment, but I couldn’t let her come with me. Who knew what awaited below? There was no room for chance.

So I shot Feng Zimo a look, signaling him to stop Lin Weiyan.

To my surprise, Feng Zimo completely ignored me, pretending not to notice.

Damn it...

Just as I was about to scold him, Feng Zimo impatiently snapped, “Why are you all dawdling? Let’s just go together!”

Before I could respond, he leapt straight into the underground cavern.

What the...

---

Seeing this, I was momentarily stunned.

Feng Zimo was truly a madman.

He always acted without regard for consequences, decisive and swift, never caring what those around him thought.

Once he jumped, we had no choice but to follow.

Riding on Black Jiao’s back, the three of us plunged down into the underground abyss.

As Black Jiao descended, I realized just how deep this cavern was. By my estimation, we’d already flown over a thousand meters, yet the bottom was nowhere in sight.

With Black Jiao’s speed, we quickly caught up to Feng Zimo, who was then pulled onto Black Jiao’s back.

One thing struck me as odd—the deeper we went, the wider the cavern became. Contrary to my expectations, it wasn’t pitch black; in fact, we could see the surroundings clearly.

More than ten minutes passed, and still we hadn’t reached the bottom. But I could already feel the air thinning.

At this rate, we’d suffocate before ever reaching the end.

After a few more minutes, we finally spotted a ledge—a massive boulder jutting out from the cavern wall.

The boulder was huge, at least two hundred square meters, and bare as bone.

We landed quickly, but as soon as I set foot on the boulder, something felt off. Looking down, I lifted my foot and was utterly astonished.

This wasn’t just any boulder.

The footprints left on its surface were golden—reminding me instantly of gold itself.

Indeed, upon closer inspection, the boulder was actually an enormous chunk of solid gold.

I couldn’t even begin to estimate how much it was worth—surely tens of thousands of tons.

If I took this out and sold it, I’d become the world’s richest man in an instant.

No, I’d be wealthy enough to rival nations.

I couldn’t understand how such a massive chunk of gold could exist here, or how it had formed.

Feng Zimo and Lin Weiyan showed no interest in the gold. I knew Feng Zimo only cared for magical artifacts; gold meant nothing to him.

Wu Xin was as stunned as I was, but quickly regained his composure. After all, he’d lived on the mountain with his master, practicing the Dao, and had little desire for wealth.

But I was different. I lived in the world, and money still held a powerful allure for me.

Whatever happened, I was determined to take some gold with me before leaving—otherwise, this adventure would have been in vain.

---

At some point since our descent, the upward rush of water had vanished.

Now, silence enveloped us; every word we spoke echoed from all directions.

Peering over the edge of the golden boulder, the abyss below remained unfathomable.

I had no idea how deep this cavern went, but I knew we couldn’t continue downward.

The air was already dangerously thin, and even breathing was becoming difficult.

If we went further, we’d suffocate for sure.

We moved along the golden boulder toward the stone wall.

The golden boulder extended from one side of the cavern wall, as if wedged into the rock.

Examining the wall closely, I was amazed to find that it too was laced with flecks of gold.

Could this underground cavern be a place where gold was cultivated?

The question troubled me, when suddenly, my attention was caught by a fist-sized lump of gold embedded in the stone, upon which someone had carved a character—the simplified word for “fire”.

Seeing this, I was startled—someone had definitely been here before.

As for who possessed such power, I had no idea.

Staring at the character, I called Feng Zimo and the others over.

Wu Xin frowned thoughtfully.

He suddenly said, “There must be more words here.”

At his suggestion, we searched the stone wall.

Sure enough, not far away, we found the character for “earth”.

Soon after, we discovered three more characters. Together, they formed: “metal, wood, water, fire, earth”.

However, the order was jumbled. Any child over ten would know the correct sequence of the Five Elements.

Why would someone arrange them incorrectly? Was it deliberate?

Was there some hidden meaning?

Just then, Feng Zimo seemed to have made another discovery and cried out in surprise.