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"Follow me!"

After speaking in a low voice, Yi Huawei took the lead and climbed up the wall, disappearing into the dark, small square hole.

The passage initially sloped upwards for about five zhang (approximately 10 meters), then turned downwards, becoming quite steep. Surprisingly, the walls of the secret passage were not covered with moss or other damp, dark-loving plants. However, the air here was so stuffy and suffocating that it was almost unbearable.

"Hold your breath!"

Following Yi Huawei's instructions, Shan Wanjing walked as if she were underwater, holding her breath. After crawling down on her knees for more than ten zhang, Shan Wanjing saw a protruding stone knob on the rock wall, called out "Master", and then pressed down hard on the knob protruding from the left wall in the same way as before.

The creaking sound rang out again.

Suddenly, the passage they were in began to move, and an unpleasant creaking sound came from the bottom of the wall as pulleys rubbed against the granite. The narrow passage, barely wide enough for one person, greatly limited their ability to move and adapt. They had nowhere to retreat, and this section of the passage suddenly became a movable passage, carrying Shan Wanjing down with her, and accelerating continuously.

"Ah... Master!!"

This sudden change was completely unexpected by Shan Wanjing, who immediately turned pale and thought to herself, "I'm doomed." With a "boom," the passageway, after plunging nearly twenty feet, suddenly came to a stop, crashing into something unknown.

The powerful impact carried Shan Wanjing to another space in the vast darkness, where she fell headfirst into something that looked like a fishing net.

The net bounced up and then fell down again, shaking Shan Wanjing so much that her whole body felt numb and dizzy. But the nightmare was not over yet. Suddenly, the net fell downwards, plummeting nearly ten feet before tightening as it fell. Just as it came to a stop, it caught Shan Wanjing tightly, leaving her unable to move.

"Don't panic!"

The calm voice of Yi Huawei rang in her ears, gradually calming Shan Wanjing's panicked heart.

In the darkness, a faint purple aura emanated from the edge of Yi Huawei's palm. His Hunyuan Qi Gong gathered at the edge of his palm, silently slicing through the tough net. The net snapped instantly, but instead of springing apart, it drooped limply as if restrained by an invisible force.

Shan Wanjing felt her body lighten, and before she could react, a strong arm had already wrapped around her waist and held her firmly.

Her cheek pressed against the cool, smooth fabric—Yi Huawei's outer robe. A crisp, clean scent brushed past her nose, completely different from the stale, stuffy air elsewhere, as if it were an invisible barrier. She was pulled away from the restrictive net; her toes didn't touch the ground, but swayed slightly, and a very faint metallic creaking came from beneath her feet.

Dan Wanjing felt weak all over, her muscles and bones still tingling from the violent shock. She couldn't muster any strength, her arms hanging limply at her sides, her forehead resting against Yi Huawei's shoulder and neck. In the darkness, vision was almost useless, so her other senses were exceptionally sharp. She could hear her own heart pounding in her chest, the rush of blood to her ears, and the very soft breathing of the two of them.

"Breathless."

Yi Huawei’s voice rang close to her ear, deep and clear: “The air here has been stagnant for many years, and the stale air is harmful to breathe.”

Upon hearing this, Shan Wanjing immediately held her breath. The panic and suffocation she had just felt had not completely subsided, and as she forcibly suppressed her breathing, her chest felt somewhat tight. However, she knew that what her master said was true. The air deep in this secret passage carried a musty smell and an indescribable stagnant deathly aura. Taking a few more breaths made her head feel dizzy.

She tried to steady herself, her toes shifting slightly on the cold steel wire, causing the rope to tremble slightly. The arms around her waist tightened, securing her more firmly. Even through several layers of clothing, she could feel the strength in those arms, and her cheeks involuntarily began to burn.

Dan Wanjing was thankful that it was pitch black at the moment, and no one could see her face suddenly flush red. As the young master of the Dongming Sect, she had practiced martial arts since childhood and was not a weak woman. Even in dangerous situations, she could calmly deal with them. She never imagined that she would fall into a trap in such a sorry state, and be held in her master's arms in such a... such a close embrace. The clean scent lingering around her nose constantly reminded her of the close distance between them. She could even count the frequency of his breaths.

A strange panic gripped her, and the weakness in her limbs seemed to intensify, making it even harder for her to muster her strength. Her heartbeat, instead of calming down, pounded even faster, as if trying to break free from the confines of her chest.

Dan Wanjing tried to circulate her internal energy to regulate her breathing, but her true energy flowed sluggishly, unlike its usual obedient nature. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts, one moment the terror of her fall, the next the cramped and awkward situation she was in, and then the steady aura of her master so close at hand. She slightly turned her head, trying to avoid the unsettling, refreshing scent, yet she also craved the sense of security it provided, so different from the filth around her.

Yi Huawei didn't look down at her; his gaze slowly swept across the absolute darkness, sensing his surroundings. He could feel the stiffness and subtle trembling of the girl in his arms, and his hearing could detect her erratic heartbeat and suppressed breathing. But he didn't offer any words of comfort, standing as steady as a rock on the steel wire, waiting for her to adjust on her own.

Dan Wanjing took a deep breath to circulate her inner energy, forcing herself to ignore the warm touch on her waist. She slowly raised her limp arm and tentatively, very lightly, placed it on Yi Huawei's shoulder, trying to find a more stable foothold. Beneath the fabric her fingertips touched were taut but not overly bulging muscle lines. She slightly withdrew her fingers as if burned, ultimately only holding on loosely, not daring to grasp firmly.

Beneath her feet lay endless darkness, supported only by a thin thread. The air around her was thick with the stagnant, foul odor of years, yet only the person beside her breathed clearly. Shan Wanjing closed her eyes, trying to calm her wildly beating heart.

Yi Huawei did not look down at her. His gaze swept around like lightning, and his eyes could see as clearly as in daylight even in absolute darkness, taking in the entire surrounding environment.

This was a vast underground cavern, its dome towering high, about ten feet above their feet. The ground beneath their feet wasn't solid, but rather a crisscrossing network of thick iron chains and steel wires, woven into a massive net that covered an area nearly twenty feet square. Below the net, glints of cold light could be faintly seen—a dense array of inverted, sharp spearheads. A fall into it would have unimaginable consequences.

The air was heavy, filled with the thick smell of dust and rust, and deeper in, there seemed to be a very faint, unsettling sweet and fishy odor.

Yi Huawei moved slightly, pulling Shan Wanjing along, and like a falling leaf, they floated down from the steel wire, landing on another, thicker iron chain. The chain swayed slightly, but his feet seemed rooted to the spot, remaining completely still. Shan Wanjing couldn't help but gasp softly, instinctively clutching the front of his shirt.

"It doesn't matter."

Yi Huawei's voice was calm and even: "This place is full of traps and dead ends. The force of the fall from that passage just now would have broken the bones of an ordinary person. If they fell into this forest of bullets, they would have no chance of survival."

Shan Wanjing steadied herself, using Yi Huawei's arm for support, and finally regained some independence. She took a deep breath of the polluted air, but choked and coughed lightly. She quickly held her breath and maintained her balance with her internal energy. Looking around, although her eyesight was far inferior to Yi Huawei's, she could vaguely make out the general outlines after her eyesight gradually adjusted to the darkness, especially the chilling, eerie light below.

"What a treacherous arrangement..."

Dan Wanjing's voice was slightly hoarse as she recalled the terrifying moment: "If it weren't for Master's rescue, Wanjing would have been a pile of minced meat."

“Yang Su once held immense power in the court and was rife with corruption; the mechanisms of this treasure vault must have been extremely malicious.”

Yi Huawei said calmly, his gaze already fixed on the rock wall on one side of the cave: "The way out is over there." As he spoke, he took Shan Wanjing's arm and leaped up again. This time, he did not fall in a straight line, but rather took several leaps between the crisscrossing iron chains and steel wires. Each time his toes touched the ground, he landed precisely on the best point of support. His figure was as elusive as a ghost, completely unaffected by the treacherous environment.

Shan Wanjing felt a slight whistling in her ears, her body sometimes feeling weightless and sometimes heavy, and the scenery before her eyes blurred and changed. After a moment, her feet finally stepped onto the solid, cold ground.

This is a man-made platform, embedded in the rock wall. A cool breeze blows out from in front of the platform, carrying a stronger smell of dampness and rust.

Yi Huawei released his arm, and Shan Wanjing felt a sudden emptiness around her waist as the supporting force disappeared. Her feet felt unsteady, but she quickly regained her balance. Her face was still flushed, and her heart was beating even faster. She quietly straightened her slightly disheveled clothes, her fingers touching the places where the net had bound her, still feeling a faint stinging pain.

"Can you adjust your breathing on your own?"

Yi Huawei asked casually, his gaze already fixed on the dark tunnel.

"can."

Shan Wanjing took a deep breath, suppressed her surging blood and distracting thoughts, and tried to circulate her family's internal energy.

Her breathing was initially sluggish and difficult to gather due to lack of oxygen, but as Yi Huawei placed his palm on her back, a gentle stream of Northern Darkness True Qi slowly flowed in, helping her to unblock her meridians. Her internal strength gradually recovered, and the soreness and numbness in her limbs began to subside.

Sensing that Shan Wanjing had regulated her breathing, Yi Huawei withdrew his hand, walked to the rock wall at the edge of the platform, stretched out his fingers, and slowly pressed on the seemingly seamless rough stone wall. His fingertips traced every tiny crack, sensing the possible cavities or mechanisms inside the stone.

Dan Wanjing watched intently as he suddenly stopped at a certain spot, his knuckles slightly bent, and with a skillful force, pressed a slightly darker-colored protrusion that was almost indistinguishable from the surrounding rocks into the ground.

"Click".

A barely audible click, almost drowned out by the wind, rang out. Immediately afterward, a low, grinding sound came from within the rock wall. Beside them, a stone slab about half a person's height slowly caved inward, then silently slid to one side, revealing a dark opening. A foul wind, carrying the scent of years of dust and the chill of metal, billowed out from the cave.

"Stay close," Yi Huawei whispered, bending down and crawling into the hole first.

Without hesitation, Shan Wanjing immediately followed. As soon as she entered the cave, she felt the space suddenly open up. It was no longer a narrow passage that required crawling on one's knees, but a corridor that allowed people to walk upright.

The corridor floor was flat, and the walls were polished stone, extending straight forward and upward. Most astonishingly, at the end of the corridor, what came into view was no longer absolute darkness, but a hazy, cool glow. The light was extremely faint, but after a long period of absolute darkness, it appeared incredibly clear.

Shan Wanjing slowly straightened up, staring wide-eyed at the distant light source: "Master...that, that's light? Is it because I've been in darkness for too long that I'm having a hallucination?"

Yi Huawei stood half a step in front of her, also looking at the blue light, and shook his head slightly: "You're not mistaken. That is indeed light, but it's not the light of a lamp."

After a brief pause, he added, "Although the air here isn't exactly fresh, it no longer feels suffocating. Clearly, there are ventilation holes, and the design is quite ingenious."

Confirming it wasn't a hallucination, Shan Wanjing felt an indescribable surge of excitement. She took a deep breath; although the air here carried the smell of musty dust and a faint metallic rust, it was indeed breathable, and the suffocating feeling that had made her head throb was gone. Following closely behind Yi Huawei, she moved towards the guiding light, each step taken with extreme caution, her mind highly focused, sensing any subtle anomalies beneath her feet and in her surroundings, lest she trigger some deadly trap.

The corridor was long and straight. The blue light seemed close, but it was quite a distance to walk. All around was silent, save for the soft echoes of their footsteps in the enclosed space. The closer they got, the clearer the blue light became—a cool yet gentle radiance, not dazzling, but enough to dispel the deep darkness.

Finally, the two reached the end of the corridor. A massive door stood before them, its surface a dark, metallic sheen, seemingly forged from some kind of refined steel. There were no ornate decorations on the door, only a cold steel ring as the doorknob. The door was tightly shut, perfectly sealed. The source of the hazy blue light was the luminous pearls inlaid on either side of the door frame. Six on each side, twelve pearls the size of longan eyes in total, emitted a stable, cool glow, illuminating the area in front of the door clearly. Though not as bright as day, it was enough to see every detail, as if one were under a cool moonlit night.

"Ye Mingzhu?"

"I am amazed," Shan Wanjing exclaimed. The Dongming Sect was renowned for its expertise in navigation and trade, and she had seen countless rare treasures since childhood. But she had never seen twelve such enormous, evenly radiant luminous pearls appear at once. The extravagance and mystery of Yang Gong's treasure vault could be glimpsed from this single entrance.

Shan Wanjing's gaze shifted from the priceless pearls to the smooth, mirror-like granite wall beside the door. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed as she noticed something amiss.

“Master, look!” She raised her hand and pointed to the stone wall on the left.

Yi Huawei looked in the direction she pointed. There, on the extremely hard granite wall, which should have been impervious to marks, a line of characters had been carved with incredible force, either by finger strength or a sharp tool. The characters were deeply embedded in the stone, the strokes sharp and unrestrained, conveying a sense of determination and defiance, and appeared exceptionally clear under the blue light of the luminous pearl:
"A Korean Rakshasa woman once visited this place."

Dan Wanjing stared blankly at the words, her heart churning with turmoil. The Korean Rakshasa woman—she had managed to find this place before everyone else and leave her mark here; her strength and methods were truly astonishing. At the same time, these words seemed like a clear sign, announcing that they had finally truly reached the core area of ​​Yang Gong's treasure vault.

Yi Huawei's gaze lingered on the line of words for a moment, then he slowly reached out, his fingertips gently brushing across the cold steel door surface before moving to the lone steel ring on the door.

Dan Wanjing held her breath, watching his movements intently. She knew that behind this door lay the legendary Yang Gong Treasure Vault, a treasure powerful enough to shake the world.

Yi Huawei's fingers didn't directly pull the steel ring, but instead carefully felt around the connection between the ring and the door for a moment. His fingertips gathered subtle true energy, sensing the extremely fine internal mechanisms. After a moment, as if confirming something, he grasped the cold steel ring with his five fingers, but instead of pulling it outwards, he tried to rotate it to the left.

The steel ring remained completely still.

He slowly exerted force to the right again. This time, accompanied by a very faint "creak" sound, as if it had been silent for decades, the steel ring was turned half a turn in his hand.

Immediately afterwards, a series of clearer and more complex mechanical sounds came from inside the heavy steel door, deep and powerful, like a sleeping beast slowly awakening. A few specks of accumulated dust were shaken off from the door cracks.

Shan Wanjing involuntarily took a half step back, fully alert, her right hand resting on the hilt of the sword at her waist. (End of Chapter)