Hu Lingshang sighed when she saw me like this, and after a while she raised her head, looked at me seriously, and said, "Okay, I will help Zhou Lang."

"Ling Shang, although you are a fox who obtained the human body with the help of the elixir, you are so considerate and much better than many so-called humans. Thank you. But you also have expectations of me, and perhaps you admire me, but I can only let you down and apologize to you." I said.

Hu Lingshang's face also became a little heavy. She looked at me seriously and said, "If I leave you here, but your heart is not with me, then what's the point?"

"Thank you! Apart from that, I don't know what else to say," I said.

She nodded, was silent for a moment, and said, "No need to say more, Zhou Lang has lived up to my expectations, he is daring and daring, and he keeps his promises. I admire him very much."

After that, we didn't say anything else. Hu Lingshang asked me to wait for a moment. After she sent the little red foxes back to the post station, she transformed into the nine-tailed white fox with a shoulder height of two meters and came out to pick me up. I sat on her back. She used the Yin Xie Pot to transform Yin into Yang, flying in the air, stepping on the clouds and wind, flying higher and higher in the sky, and went along the post station to the northwest direction of the Five Poison Mountains. The tiankeng was halfway along that road.

Hu Lingshang's speed was faster than any other creature on the ground. The forest below became a shadow when she passed through it, which showed how fast she was. Soon we arrived near the tiankeng. She stopped at a relatively far place. After I got down, a white mist rose up. When it dispersed, she had returned to the appearance of a fairy-like woman.

I nodded to her, saying what I needed to say, and continued to walk towards the tiankeng. However, I heard her say behind me, "Sister Bai Lu was very sad just now. She said that you had abandoned everyone and broke your promise to her."

I couldn't help but sigh. I could imagine Song Bailu crying, but she was not wrong, so I turned around and said, "Lingshang, I would like to ask you for help on this matter. I know that I may die this time, and the chance of survival is almost zero. I did promise her to keep her safe, so after I go down, can you help me protect Bailu? And those hyena people, if you can, keep them safe while I'm away, and I will keep my promise."

Lingshang nodded and said softly, "Don't worry, Zhou Lang. I will do my best to protect the homeland for you and wait for you and sister Yunwen to return. If they can't come back, I will keep this promise."

Now I understand that Hu Lingshang has deep feelings for me, which is different from the mean person I thought. It's just that I always misunderstood her intentions and her kindness and innocence. I walked towards her and she walked towards me. I said, "If I can get out alive, I will treat you and your fox clan well to thank you for your understanding. Take care."

She sighed, hugged me affectionately, and said, "I'll wait for you."

Although I was reluctant, I was still thinking about my Yunwen, so after a while, I pushed her away and hurried towards the tiankeng. Any more delay would mean more danger, so I couldn't stop any longer and should go as soon as possible. So after I turned around, I didn't look back, but ran forward quickly, without even looking at Hu Lingshang. Although I knew this might be the last time I saw her, time was running out and I couldn't hesitate any longer. I should cut the Gordian knot.

I ran all the way without daring to breathe, and ran all the way to the side of the tiankeng. Sure enough, I saw Sanfu's footprints here, some coming and some going. It seemed that it was just as I expected. Yunwen came here with the help of Sanfu, and then released Sanfu, letting it return to nature.

I could see Yunwen's footprints not far from the tiankeng. It seemed that she jumped into the tiankeng before me, intending to sacrifice her life. In addition, I saw many strange marks around, similar to those on the tiankeng wall, all in the shape of holes, without fixed footprint shapes. Some of these holes were fresh, some were almost buried by soil and sand, leaving only faint holes, and some were not covered much, it seemed that the things in the cave had really come out several times.

What can be seen is that the deepest pits have been covered for more than seven days, but the footprints are very short. They stop a little away from the cave, and the freshest pit prints should be the closest. It can be seen that the distance is very far. Traces can be seen from here to the depths of the woods. It seems that the situation reported by Lingchang is basically fine.

Those things in the Nether Cave really have begun to think about coming out to explore Yunwen's traces, but it is possible that Yunwen arrived earlier, so those things did not go out to cause trouble today. But what kind of thing would leave such a pit mark? What kind of creature is it? In addition, since they have gone out more than once, why do they keep coming back? Only today do they plan to go far away and do something? Why do they plan to go out after exactly seven days?

I can't help but feel confused when I think of this, but since I'm already here, there's no need to think too much about it. I'll know the answer once I go down.

There happened to be quite a few potholes on the wall of the pit, and with those pit marks, it should not be a problem for me to climb down. So I first went to find some stone slabs nearby, climbed up a tree, cut some vines, and tied them together to form a certain length. I tied the vines to the stones first and lowered them into the cave. If it was not enough, I would continue to add vines until it was enough. Only then could I roughly judge the height. The vines were spread flat, and I measured it by span. It was probably about a depth of more than 20 meters, about seven stories high.

After estimating all this, I made some length adjustments, calculated the distance between the hole and the tree, added vines, and then tied them to the tree and tied a clove knot, which is to tie the vines to the tree, wrap the short part around the trunk, and then press the short part on the vines, interlacing the two, and then wrap the short part around the trunk again, and then pass the short part under the knot just now. In this way, according to the principle of force, the tighter I pull the vines, the less likely it will fall off.

After preparing all these, I tied the end of the vine around my waist, and then began to climb downwards. This time, with the vine as support, the difficulty level was much lower than before when climbing barehanded. However, it became darker as I went down, and it became more troublesome to find a foothold, so I wasted quite a bit of time here. But no matter how hard I searched, I finally found a way, and thus successfully entered the pit.

This place is more than 20 meters high. If Yunwen really jumps down, she will be in great danger. My heart is tense, my back is cold, and my forehead is sweating. It's not only because it's dark here and I can't see anything, but I'm also worried about seeing Yunwen fall to death. However, I have heard that there are still survivors after falling from 20 meters. I just hope that Yunwen is lucky enough to survive and I can take her back safely.

It was pitch black and extremely hot down there. I could feel the rising white-hot air from above. It was like a sauna here. I didn't know what kind of creatures could survive in such an environment. I drew out the Golden Que Sword and used the Qi in my body to shine. The golden light of the Golden Que Sword also illuminated the cave. I shone all around, but there was no sign of Yunwen.

If Yunwen fell, she would either die or get hurt, but there was nothing here, which made me wonder, could she have been eaten by the creatures inside? But that was unrealistic, even if she was eaten, there would be bloodstains on the ground after Yunwen fell, and if she was dragged or carried away, there would also be clues left, so I couldn't help but wonder, could she not have fallen?

I thought carefully about the footprints above, and immediately thought of the fresh pit marks and Yunwen's footprints only on the edge, so there is another possibility. She did not jump down, but was taken away from there. There was no blood, so it was very likely that she was not eaten directly, otherwise there would be no trace at all. And judging from the footprints, the creature could not be big enough to swallow a person alive.

But thinking about it this way, maybe Yunwen is not dead yet, so I feel a little more lucky. After all, there must be a reason why she was not killed directly from above.

"What kind of creature is it? It acts so secretly and has characteristics that I can't imagine." I muttered.

As they were talking, they suddenly heard sporadic noises from inside, and judging from the sounds, there were quite a few people coming!