On the ground, the old Taoist priest and the remaining men stared intently at the deep pit, their expressions growing increasingly tense. A strange sense of oppression hung over them. Time slowly passed, but still no news came from below the pit.

Holding a torch, Yun Qi and three others hurried eastward along the underground river in the pit, while the squad leader led the rest westward. The underground river flowed swiftly, crystal clear, like a flowing ribbon of crystal. After traveling several miles, an explosion and the patter of gunfire shattered the silence. Yun Qi's expression changed drastically, and without a word, he ran towards the source of the sound. When he arrived, the scene before him was horrific. Beside a small pond, swarms of water rats, as large as house cats, resembled a black tide, their claws like hooks and their teeth like blades, frantically attacking a man. Around them lay three skeletons, their flesh long since gnawed away—clearly the remains of the three men the squad leader had led earlier.

The man being besieged was the squad leader. Although he knew some martial arts and had been holding out for so long, he was now at his last gasp. The last grenade had killed more than ten water rats, but the thousands upon thousands of water rats surged forth like a raging tide. At this moment, the squad leader was exhausted, one of his legs had been gnawed down to the bone, yet he was still fighting desperately, making a final struggle.

Yun Qi strode forward like a whirlwind, the Vajra Sword in his hand gleaming coldly. He wielded the sword with both hands, and wherever the Vajra Sword struck, the water rats fell one after another. In a short while, more than ten water rats lay dead on the ground. Yun Qi quickly helped the squad leader beside him and retreated towards higher ground. The squad leader, his face ashen, was extremely weak and said in a barely audible voice, "Daoist Master, I can't go on. I've bled to death and have no strength left. You must leave quickly..." With that, he passed away.

At that moment, a soldier resolutely pulled the pin on a grenade. With a deafening bang, the water rat was blown to pieces, and the soldier fell to the ground, his body mangled and lifeless. The remaining two were terrified and, in a panic, raised their guns to fire at the water rat, but soon ran out of ammunition. Back to back, they held daggers, ready for a desperate last stand.

Seeing this, Yun Qi's eyes widened in fury. With a roar, he brandished his Vajra Sword and charged into the enemy ranks. In the blink of an eye, even more water rats surged in like a tide, devouring the corpses of their own kind in a gruesome scene. Yun Qi made a decisive decision: "Run! This place is no place to linger!" The three had only taken a few steps when a sharp squeaking sound rang out. Two enormous rats leaped up like ghosts, pouncing on the two warriors. Immediately afterward, two screams pierced the air, and the two men instantly collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony. Within seconds, they were motionless.

Yun Qi was terrified and turned to run for his life. But in that brief moment of hesitation, his path was blocked by more than a dozen enormous water rats. Without hesitation, he ran up a embankment, leaned against a boulder, and prepared to fight to the death. The Vajra Sword spun like a windmill in his hand, and the corpses of the water rats piled higher and higher around him. However, a quarter of an hour later, Yun Qi was exhausted, his body covered in wounds, and he collapsed to the ground. Watching the several enormous water rats approach step by step, Yun Qi smiled bitterly, looked up to the sky, and roared, "Master, thank you for your nurturing grace! I will repay you in the next life!" With that, he drew his sword and plunged it into his own neck.