After hearing my explanation, the monkey looked at the stone statues with some resentment: "Young Master Duan, I've noticed that other tomb raiders always take the heads of the tomb guardian beasts when they go down into the tombs! There are rumors that once the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace is opened, the commotion it will cause will be no less than that of Sanxingdui. Do you think I could make a fortune if I knocked off the head of this stone statue and took it out?"

Lin Que was stunned by the monkey's words: "My lord, your statement is even less reliable than Song Laosan wanting to wear a yellow diamond! This rock is so big that it's difficult for several of us to lift it, and you actually want to knock off a head and take it?"

The monkey immediately perked up: "Yellow diamonds? What yellow diamonds?"

“We found a huge yellow diamond in the cave outside. They say that one stone is enough for everyone to retire, but my older brother and the others won’t let us touch it…”

While Lin Que was talking to the monkey about the yellow diamond, I also went to the passageway ahead to examine it.

This passage was not carved out of the stone, but rather pieced together with stones. The road is made up of stones the size of a human head, with the flat side forming the surface.

Although the road is pieced together, its surface is remarkably smooth.

Perhaps because of the crisscrossing underground waterways inside this mountain, even though it has been sealed for thousands of years, there is still not much dust on the ground, only a thin layer of topsoil.

On the loose soil of the road, there was a very clear row of footprints stretching forward. He said to the people behind him, "There is a row of footprints here. There are quite a few people, but the arrangement is long and narrow, which means that these people were moving in an orderly manner. The footprints at the back do not overlap. These were left by the people of Ping'an Village. Duan Jinyan was puzzled and did not take this road."

“Ping An Village entered the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace the earliest. Even if the two sides did not meet on the road, they would definitely encounter each other at the second gate! Duan Jinyan did not take this route and may not know about Ping An Village's ambush. This is beneficial to us.”

Jiang Man looked at the footprints on the ground and seemed quite optimistic: "Now that someone has scouted the road ahead for us and set up an ambush for Duan Jinyan, we've definitely come out on top! Even if we catch up with Duan Jinyan, we might not be able to deal with those seasoned veterans. With the people from Ping'an Village wearing them down, we can take advantage of the chaos and hide ourselves better."

"That's why I'd rather leave Wei Shengnan and the others behind and hurry on my way."

I checked the footprints on the ground again to make sure they weren't faked, and then stepped forward: "Everyone, follow behind me. When you step, pay attention to where the person in front of you is stepping. Make sure you step in the footprints of the person in front of you!"

After hearing what I said, the monkey followed me around excitedly: "Young Master Duan, Lin Que just said that you found a yellow diamond the size of a head in the cave behind us. Is that true?"

I glanced at him: "It's not that small, it's at least the size of a small car! If you want it, go back to the underground river, ride the water monkey upstream, and then get it yourself!"

"Pah, I knew this kid was unreliable. I'd rather smash a stone statue's head and take it back than listen to his bragging!"

As the monkey spoke, it actually examined the statues next to it very carefully, and then said with some surprise, "Hey? Young Master Duan, have you noticed that the eyes of these statues don't seem to be carved, but rather inlaid!"

After listening to the monkey's words, I looked at the stone statues on both sides again and found that their eyes were indeed strange.

The other lines on this stone statue are all carved into the stone, and the lines are generally shallow. However, the eye sockets of these statues are deep, as if a hole has been dug out and then plugged with something. Only the surface is covered with a layer of dust, making it impossible to see what is underneath.

Upon discovering this, the monkey's eyes lit up, and it excitedly drew its dagger: "Young Master Duan, you were able to find yellow diamonds in any cave before, so the things inlaid on these statues must also be priceless stones! Do you want to dig them up and take a look?"

"Don't move!"

I looked at the stone statue beside me and finally shook my head: "Although there are no signs of traps around here, we still need to be vigilant! Our current task is to find Duan Jinyan as soon as possible. Anything that happens along the way will delay us! We absolutely cannot waste our energy on this!"

"Could I wipe the dirt off the statue's eyes and see if there really are gems underneath?"

The monkey sniffed: "I'm not like Song Laosan. I can control my desires. I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity!"

"Forget it, stop looking! Duan Shenxing is right, we shouldn't waste our time here! Besides, if there really is some valuable gem down there, seeing it but not being able to take it with you will only make you feel worse."

Jiang Man snapped her fingers: "Alright, everyone, let's not waste any more time, let's get going!"

"Let's go!"

Hearing Jiang Man's words, I also started walking forward along the footprints on the ground.

The stone path was very long; the beam of a flashlight could not be seen until it was swallowed by darkness, indicating that the terrain ahead was downhill and probably led to another dimension.

According to Qu Ruilin's deduction, the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace should be built underground, so the passage goes deeper and deeper. Since the end of this road is downhill, it means that our judgment is correct. If we continue along this road, we will definitely find the second gate leading to the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace.

My mind was racing with thoughts about the second gate, Ping'an Village, and Duan Jinyan. I panicked for a moment, and as I walked, my foot slipped, and I fell backward.

"Young Master Duan, be careful!"

The monkey behind me saw me fall and quickly caught my shoulder: "Are you alright? How could you fall down on flat ground?"

"I slipped, it felt like stepping on grease!"

I steadied myself and shone my flashlight under my feet. I discovered that the road ahead was covered in dark brown mud, and that's what I had just stepped on.

Jiang Man shone her flashlight on the ground and spoke first: "These muds covered the footprints, which means they were formed after those people left."

"Over here!"

Lin Que shone his flashlight into the gap between the stone statues next to him: "Something is flowing out from behind, and this soil is mixed with that thing!"

"I didn't notice any mud on the road while I was walking; this stuff suddenly appeared."

I looked at the dark brown liquid rolling on the ground and walked behind the stone statue: "You guys stay here and keep watch, I need to check if there are any traps around here!"