After I triggered the mechanism in the cave, a large amount of corrosive liquid was sprayed out, and a white mist immediately rose inside the cave.
I watched the rising mist, adjusted my gas mask, and led Jiang Man forward: "It seems the traps here aren't just these corrosive liquids. When they come into contact with these colored dyes, they'll form poisonous gas. When we move forward, we must avoid the corrosive areas on the ground and not get them on us."
Seeing me take a step, Jiang Man followed behind and asked, "Besides these mechanisms, aren't you worried that there might be other traps here?"
"There are a total of twelve poison spraying mechanisms ahead of us. The mechanisms are activated instantly, but the distance between the foremost mechanism and the stone slab on the ground is about 1.5 meters. This means that the mechanism is not designed to prevent people inside from leaving, but to prevent people outside from entering. Because if they want to break the mechanism, they must step on the stone slab. Once it is triggered, it will be too late to run away."
After I left the stone slab, I finally breathed a sigh of relief: "This cave is more than ten meters long and airtight. Once the poisonous gas spreads, there would be no way to prevent it in ancient times!"
"If this mechanism is indeed to prevent outsiders from entering the passage, could it be that our observation just now wasn't thorough enough, and we didn't find the passage leading to the third door?"
Jiang Man took a few steps forward, shone her flashlight on the dust on the ground, and gently swept it with her toe: "There is a thick layer of dust here, but there are no footprints. No one can walk through such a long passage without leaving footprints! It seems we were wrong. Duan Jinyan and the people from Ping'an Village are still in the cave behind."
I walked out of the cave through the dust: "Since we're already here, let's go out and take a look! There's such a big statue built behind to suppress it, and the feng shui formation above our heads is like an upside-down needle. I have a feeling that the main tomb of the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace is not so simple."
Jiang Man was curious about my actions: "Our goal is to capture Duan Jinyan, but you're going to check the terrain of the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace. Doesn't that go against our objective?"
"No, I did this precisely to confirm my own idea."
As I walked out, I explained to Jiang Man, "Actually, along the way, I've become increasingly suspicious that the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace isn't the legendary immortal tomb we're talking about! Because everything we've encountered is too bizarre, violating the principles of Yin and Yang and Feng Shui in every way! I can see that, and Duan Jinyan definitely can too, so I believe his current goal is to enter the main tomb chamber as quickly as possible to confirm if what he wants is inside. If not, he'll leave immediately!"
Jiang Man looked at me: "In that case, shouldn't we be searching for the main tomb chamber as soon as possible to prevent Duan Jinyan from escaping?"
“No, if my guess is correct, even if Duan Jinyan finds the main tomb chamber, he probably won’t get away easily. Besides, even if he does get away, he will definitely leave Miao Jiang Immortal Palace as soon as possible. And since we are located underground, returning the way we came is the best option. Now that Monkey and Manjing are blocking our escape route, Duan Jinyan will not be able to get away in a short time.”
As I spoke, I quickened my pace: "My plan is that once my guess is confirmed, we will retreat to the passage, ambush Duan Jinyan, and never set foot in the main tomb chamber!"
Upon hearing my answer, Jiang Man's tone turned serious: "Duan Shenxing, what exactly is your guess?"
I took a deep breath: "I can't explain the specifics right now, but what's buried here is definitely not the legendary Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, but a heinous villain! Or rather..."
Seeing that I hesitated, Jiang Man pressed me for an answer: "Or what?"
"It's nothing. I hope my guess is wrong."
Before things were certain, I didn't make any definitive statements and quickly led Jiang Man out of the cave.
The moment we left the cave, it suddenly became bright outside.
This is a square hall with white walls and is filled with stone pillars of varying heights.
On each stone pillar sits a crystal-clear triangular gemstone. The reason this place is so bright is because these gemstones reflect the light from a flashlight.
As the light source moves, the light refracted by these gemstones also changes.
I kept adjusting the flashlight, and a beam of light, refracted through the gems, made the entire cave very bright.
"There are murals here!"
Jiang Man finished speaking by pointing to the patterns on the mountain wall, and then pointed to a row of stairs directly opposite us that led to the cave: "There is another passage going up there, which is very likely the passage from the fluorescent forest to this place."
I looked at the patterns on the surrounding cliff face, found two stones to hold my flashlight in place, and then quickly walked towards the cliff face: "We've never seen any writing along the way. The murals here are very important. Let's see what they say!"
The walls of the main hall were meticulously repaired and covered with densely packed patterns drawn in black lines.
Starting from the right side of the steps, the scene depicts a group of primitive people, armed with spears and dressed in grass skirts, hunting in the wilderness.
The next scene shows a blizzard. Because the snow has blocked the mountains, these primitive people are trapped in caves, suffering from hunger and cold. Hunters who went out hunting could not find food, and the fields were littered with corpses of the starving.
The third scene shows a group of people dressed in animal skins arriving at the tribe, giving them medicine, and teaching them how to make fire.
The appearance of these people led a group of primitive people to worship them as gods, and they all knelt down to worship one of them.
Although the murals here are very simple, judging from the outline of the person's chest, it should be a woman.
Seeing this scene, Jiang Man said to me, "In ancient times, when food was scarce and humans were extremely vulnerable, the emergence of matriarchal societies was inevitable. Almost all human tribes in ancient times were matriarchal societies. Do you think the woman they are kneeling to could be the legendary Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady?"
"This mural does indeed match the legend. It is said that during the Miao period, the appearance of a goddess brought the ancient tribes into the era of slash-and-burn agriculture."
I nodded, then looked at the dense murals on the wall: "The content of the murals here is less than a fraction of the total. I'm afraid things are far from simple."
As I spoke, I looked up and continued to look at the murals on the wall.
With the addition of that woman, this primitive tribe stopped living a nomadic life and began to cultivate the land, make tools, and move their living environment from caves to the plains, where they began to build thatched huts and gradually separated themselves from primitive society.
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