To enter the Miao Jiangxian Palace, waterways are the only way; without a means of crossing the river, it would be impossible to move an inch.

After overhearing Wei Shengnan and the others' conversation, I secretly snatched Lin Que's pistol and put it in my pocket.

Although the enemy outnumbered us, the guns we carried represented the highest level of resources in the cave.

If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, then I will have no choice but to forcibly seize it.

While I was making my calculations, Wei Shengnan shone her flashlight in our direction and said, "There are ten of us in total, but these 3.3-meter assault boats only have four seats, and we have ten people. We'll have to squeeze in. To balance the tonnage, we'll need to have people from both sides ride separately. Do you have any objections?"

Seeing that Wei Shengnan was preparing to join us, I thought for a moment and shook my head: "No problem, I can accept it."

Wei Shengnan took out a rat costume from her travel bag: "Then everyone put on your gear and get ready to go."

Seeing them begin to prepare, Jiang Man whispered to me, "Although we are outnumbered, Manjing and I both have Taser guns, plus the pistol Lin Que picked up. We can easily threaten Wei Shengnan and the others to stay, and then no one will compete with us!"

“We can’t do that! We have limited manpower. If we want to move forward, we will definitely need help. If we let them come with us, our risks will be smaller. If we leave them behind, and it turns out that the people digging the cave are the ones in black robes, we will be driving them to their doom.”

I shook my head: "Let's team up with them first. After we find Duan Jinyan, if they try to steal him, we can use your method to coerce them. Although we are competitors, we are not mortal enemies."

When Jiang Man heard what I said, she didn't insist anymore.

We quickly got dressed. Because Manjing and the two Wei family members were quite strong, the three of them shared a boat with the two girls, Wei Shengnan and Jiang Man. The rest of me, Lin Que, Qu Ruilin, Song Laosan, and another Wei family member took another boat.

Although the crew members were divided up, we didn't launch the inflatable boats yet because we hadn't reached the waterway, and instead began exploring along the passage.

As we walked along, the walls on both sides were covered with skulls, giving it a sinister and terrifying feel.

As we traveled, Qu Ruilin kept his eyes on the instrument in his hand. Seeing the changes in the values, he pointed out, "The humidity in the air has changed, and the temperature has dropped by five degrees Celsius compared to the area we were in before. This means our guess was correct; there must be an underground river beneath our feet."

I chimed in, "So far, there are no forks in the road inside this cave. Since we haven't seen the people who came in earlier, it means they've been walking straight ahead, and this path is open."

All ten of us wore headlamps and carried flashlights, illuminating the tunnel as brightly as day.

Wei Shengnan shone her flashlight on the skulls on both sides and said in a deep voice, "We've already walked dozens of meters here, and there are more skulls than we expected. Could this be a mass grave?"

Song Laosan interjected, "The cave we came into earlier didn't have a tomb door; this is just a passage. I'm more inclined to believe Xiao Duan's explanation that this is some kind of burial method."

Listening to their conversation, I noticed a shadow appearing on the ground ahead and warned, "The terrain ahead has changed, everyone be careful!"

Everyone present knew that we had come to a large tomb, and Qu Ruilin and I had previously analyzed that the blue clay and human sacrifice jars I had found in the two mountains were actually used as traps. Walking in such an unfamiliar environment, everyone was a little apprehensive.

Two members of the Wei family noticed the change in the terrain ahead, cautiously walked over, and turned around to say, "This is a set of steps, and the path below is blocked."

Hearing their response, I went over to observe as well.

We have reached the end of this tunnel. Below us is a set of steps leading down. In front of the steps, on the flat ground, there are two rows of stone sculptures. All of these sculptures are in a kneeling position, with their hands clasped together in front of them, and their faces are all looking up at the stairs.

My heart started racing when I saw these stone carvings.

The entrance to the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace, a legendary tomb that has existed in the tomb raiding world for thousands of years, is very close to us.

Even after seeing it with my own eyes, I could hardly believe that I had actually found this legendary tomb.

Qu Ruilin was eager to find Duan Jinyan and had no time to observe the scene. After confirming that there were no traps on the steps, he led his men down first.

The platform below these steps is not very wide, and two rows of kneeling figurines form a passageway.

At the end of the passage is a wall built of huge stones, and in the very center is a double stone door about three meters high, with the whole structure being about four and a half meters long.

Looking at the dirt in front of the door, Song Laosan squatted down to examine it. He then shone his flashlight through the crack in the door and shook his head at us. "The dirt has signs of compression, which means the door has been opened. But the light can't penetrate the crack, which means either the door is too thick or it uses a mortise and tenon structure, with the two doors stacked together. There are no signs of friction on the ground, so it's an inward-opening door."

Qu Ruilin turned his gaze to me: "Did you bring the beast heads?"

"I brought it; it's in Manjing's backpack."

I swept the outside wall with my flashlight: "Everyone, look for a keyhole!"

The area we are in now is like a long corridor. Behind us, at the top of the steps, are two rows of kneeling stone figures. A meter behind the stone figures are the mountain walls on both sides. The gate in front of us is three meters high and two meters wide. The door frame is made of huge stones and fits very tightly against the mountain wall.

While everyone else was searching for the keyhole, I didn't stay idle either; I went over and started examining the stone figures.

These stone figures kneel on the ground, about half a meter tall, with lifelike carvings all over their bodies. They are all naked statues with long arms but short thighs and bodies, which looks somewhat disproportionate. Their facial features are also carved in a very three-dimensional way.

I examined the statues and found that they all looked pretty much the same. When I got to the third statue, I saw some wear marks on the ground and turned around and said, "I found another one. Come over here!"

Qu Ruilin walked over to me, glanced at the marks on the ground, and said quickly, "These wear marks haven't been there long, which means the statue was just moved. Everyone come and lend a hand, let's see what's underneath!"