The cliff outside the cave is a dead end.

I stood on the edge of the cliff, shining my flashlight on an iron rod wedged between two rocks, and said to the others, "Duan Jinyan and the others went down from here. They tied the rope to this iron rod with a special knot, and then pulled the rope away after they got down. In this kind of tomb, the rope is very important!"

"I think what we should be concerned about now is not the knot problem, but what to do after we get in the water."

Song Laosan shone his flashlight on the rushing river below the cliff and said with some worry, "Don't forget, Duan Jinyan and the others swam across before. You should know what's in this underground river. If we want to swim, is there any way to avoid what's in the water?"

"The road ahead is dangerous, and retreating is the same; we have no other choice."

As a successor of the sect dedicated to exorcising demons and protecting the righteous path, Wei Shengnan was also helpless in this situation: "The things in the water are physical entities, and the Wei family's methods are ineffective against them."

Song Laosan walked to the edge of the cliff and shone his flashlight on the rushing river below: "The underground river water here is extremely cold, and those jade insects secrete paralyzing toxins. If we get hit in the water, we will surely die!"

"That's not the worst part. Have you forgotten what the Wei family went through before?"

Lin Que chimed in, "His arm was submerged in the water for only a few seconds and it was already mangled. If there are more of these things in the river below, it'll be no different from sending us to our deaths."

Qu Ruilin took a deep breath: "Just like what Duan Shenxing said when he was persuading Third Master in the cave, we have no choice but to move forward, so everyone has to go down into this cave."

I looked at Qu Ruilin: "Are you planning to charge in headfirst?"

"We have no choice but to charge in."

Qu Ruilin shone his flashlight on the river below: "Look closely at the mountain walls on both sides of the river. The terrain here is different from the previous river. The protruding rocks on both sides of the mountain walls allow us to walk along the edge of the river! Although we can't defend against anything in the water, the advantage is that there are many of us. If someone is attacked, the others can lend a helping hand!"

After hearing Qu Ruilin's words, Lin Que's features scrunched up: "This plan sounds so unreliable."

"I think it's a good idea! Since no one can think of a better solution, we should act as soon as possible."

Jiang Man acted decisively: "To prevent the current from scattering everyone, we can use ropes to connect everyone together, and at the same time leave a safety rope on the cliff, just like when we launched the boat before. If we can't withstand the attack from below, we can retreat back to the cliff."

Wei Shengnan nodded: "Agreed."

A member of the Wei family stepped forward: "Young Miss, the situation here is too dangerous. I'll go down and scout ahead!"

“What we lack is not people to explore the way, but partners to support each other! Going down to explore the way is meaningless except for taking risks, because no matter what dangers are below, we only have this one road.”

Seeing that both women had made their decisions without hesitation, I said, "Since everyone has decided, let's lower the rope into the water. The men will go first, the two girls will go last, and Manjing will be at the back."

After the group came up with a plan, Song Laosan went to set up the ropes. The rest of us tied the ropes around our waists, and then connected one teammate every two meters.

According to the group assignments, I was fourth in line. Lin Que, who was behind me, started tying ropes around himself after I had prepared last night. At the same time, he asked me, "Brother, since the scenes we saw in the cave behind us were different, do you think the yellow diamond that Third Master saw at the beginning might be real?"

I shook my head: "The super magnetic field here has a hallucinogenic effect, so everyone sees different things. Since everyone has seen that yellow diamond, it means it must exist. As for whether its actual form is a yellow diamond, I can't say for sure."

“Brother, you’ve all been saying that the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace has countless treasures. If that yellow diamond was real, then there must be something even more valuable inside this tomb!”

Lin Que scratched his head: "Big brother, once we catch Duan Jinyan and take some treasures out, can we retire completely for the rest of our lives like Song Laosan said, and never have to live this life of licking blood off the knife again!"

I smiled and looked at Lin Que: "What, scared?"

"A little."

Lin Que nodded honestly: "When I first met you, I dared to do anything, and I didn't even feel guilty about giving explanations. That's because I was poor back then. I was just hanging around outside every day and couldn't even afford to eat. I didn't know what fear was! But since I've been with you, I've saved up a lot of money. I don't know why, but the more money I have, the less daring I become."

I nodded: "That's normal. People say money gives heroes courage, but I think money is more like a heavy burden! Once people have money, they become more careful about their lives. When most of their troubles are resolved, there's nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy life."

“Brother, I’m very grateful to you for making so much money for me, but after we catch Duan Jinyan this time, I want to quit! Money is only money when it’s spent. When it’s in a bank account, it’s just a string of numbers.”

Lin Que paused for a moment: "Back when I was penniless, I didn't care if I died or not. Now I still have so much money left to spend. I really don't want to live this kind of anxious life anymore!"

"I understand your thoughts. Regardless of whether we can catch Duan Jinyan today, I will arrange a sinecure for you in the company after we get out."

I nodded understandingly: "Tomb raiding is not a profession that ordinary people can do. It's understandable that you're afraid."

"Big brother, although I'm scared, I'm not a coward. As long as you don't catch Duan Jinyan, I'll stay by your side and I'll never let you take any risks alone!"

Lin Que paused for a moment, then waved her hand and said, "Pah, pah, pah! We'll definitely catch Duan Jinyan today! He's done so many heinous things and hurt you so deeply, he'll definitely get his comeuppance!"

While Lin Que and I were talking, the others had finished securing their ropes. Song Laosan stood on the edge of the cliff, gave the rope a hard tug, and turned to shout, "The descent ropes are installed. I'll go down first. You guys follow me closely and be careful with the spacing between your ropes so as not to interfere with the others' movements!"

When we heard Song Laosan's shout, we all gathered in that direction.

At this moment, the group was unusually quiet. The thought of crossing the river without protection weighed heavily on everyone's mind.