Immortality Cultivation: I can use my clansmen’s energy and blood to add points.

He tried to inject a trace of chaos power into those runes. At first, there was no reaction, but when he simulated the artistic conception of "returning to the origin of chaos" that he had realized when he killed the black water python before, and integrated the breath of the cycle of life and death into it, the runes on the stone suddenly lit up with an extremely faint light!

hum-

A low, slight vibration was heard, as if coming from deep underground.

The accumulated sand and gravel on the ground in front of the three people actually began to slowly move to the sides, revealing a pitch-black entrance to a downward passage that was only wide enough for one person to pass through!

A richer, more ancient and cold breath, mixed with a faint smell of dust, diffused from the passage.

"Wow! A secret passage!" Su Xiaowan's eyes lit up instantly and she shouted excitedly, "I knew I had good luck! I found the entrance to the treasure just by touching around! There must be good stuff inside!"

"Don't be impulsive!" Luo Qingchen grabbed Su Xiaowan, who was eager to try, with an extremely solemn expression.

This passage appeared too easily and was too strange. The way the runes were activated and the aura of annihilation emanating from the passage made him feel alarmed. The place below was definitely not a good place.

"Master Luo..." Bailing'er looked at the dark entrance with some uneasiness, and instinctively felt a sense of danger.

Lin Wan'er also looked serious: "Brother Luo, I'm afraid that down there..."

Luo Qingchen nodded: "I know. The aura in this passage is purer than the evil aura outside, and also more...dead. I'm afraid it is related to the real secret of this ruin."

He pondered for a moment, analyzing the situation. They needed to rest and recover, but this ruin itself was full of unknowns. Staying here might not be safer than entering the passage. The gravekeeper might catch up at any time, and the energy fluctuations here might also attract other Nine Nether creatures.

And this passage…although dangerous, it could also be a turning point. Perhaps, it leads to a relatively safe hidden place? Or, it contains clues to leave this desert, or even leave the Nine Netherworld?
Of course, the more likely possibility is that there is an even more terrifying trap underneath, an unknown ancient tomb, or the lair of some dormant being.

The choice is once again before them: continue to search for a way out in the dangerous Gobi Desert, or venture into this unknown underground passage?

Luo Qingchen glanced at Lin Wan'er, Su Xiaowan and the weak Bai Ling'er. He couldn't just think about himself, he had to be responsible for the safety of his companions.

"Xiaowan, you just said you were lucky?" Luo Qingchen suddenly looked at Su Xiaowan.

"Uh... yes." Su Xiaowan didn't understand, but still puffed out her chest, "This girl has always been blessed with good fortune!"

Luo Qingchen raised his lips in an imperceptible arc: "Well, you go in and explore the way first."

“Ah?!” Su Xiaowan’s smile instantly collapsed, and her little head shook like a rattle. “No, no, no! Senior Brother Luo, I think this kind of dangerous thing is best handled by a powerful, wise and brave protagonist like you…ah, a leader, it’s better to lead by example! A little cutie like me will just be behind to cheer you on!”

Lin Wan'er couldn't help laughing at Su Xiaowan's words, and the tense atmosphere eased a little.

Luo Qingchen naturally didn't really want Su Xiaowan to die, he just teased her. He took a deep breath and looked into the depths of the passage, the power of chaos flowing in his eyes, trying to see through the darkness.

"We don't have much time to hesitate." Luo Qingchen said in a deep voice, "The gravekeeper may come back at any time, and the movement outside may also cause other troubles. This passage may be our only choice at the moment. It is a risk, but it may also be an opportunity."

He looked at Lin Wan'er and Bai Ling'er: "What do you think?"

Lin Wan'er thought for a moment and nodded: "I agree with Senior Brother Luo's judgment. Instead of searching aimlessly outside, it is better to go in and take a look. At least, here we may be able to temporarily avoid the direct threat from outside." She paused and added, "I will do my best to protect everyone." The blue mark on her wrist glowed slightly, as if responding to her determination.

Although Bai Ling'er felt uneasy, she had an almost instinctive trust in Luo Qingchen. She nodded gently: "I will listen to Master Luo."

"Okay, okay, let's go in!" Su Xiaowan had no choice but to agree, but she still put forward conditions, "But let's make a deal, Brother Luo, you have to protect me! If we encounter a monster that we can't defeat, you have to be the first to go! Also, if we find a treasure, I... we have to split it equally!"

Luo Qingchen glanced at her and ignored the bargaining in the second half of her sentence. He took out a few night-shining pearls from his storage ring, gave them to Lin Wan'er and Su Xiaowan, and kept one for himself.

"I'll go in and investigate first. You guys follow me and stay alert." Luo Qingchen instructed, "Lin Wan'er will cover the rear. Keep an eye out for any signs of the passage closing. Xiaowan, watch your mouth and hands. Don't touch anything."

"I know!" Su Xiaowan muttered.

Luo Qingchen no longer hesitated, holding the Black Dragon Sword, stimulating the Chaos Body Protection Qi to the maximum range, and at the same time using part of his strength to protect Bai Ling'er behind him, and was the first to step into the deep and dark passage. The cold and dead breath rushed towards him, as if to freeze and devour all life.

The passage was not as narrow as imagined, but rather spacious, enough for two people to walk side by side. The stone wall was smooth and hard, and it was unknown whether it was formed naturally or excavated by humans. It was also engraved with those obscure ancient runes, emitting a faint light, barely illuminating the way ahead. The passage sloped down all the way, and no one knew where it led to. Lin Wan'er supported Bai Ling'er and followed closely behind, while Su Xiaowan huddled behind Lin Wan'er, holding tightly in her hands the night pearl and several talismans, and kept looking back at the entrance, fearing that it would suddenly close.

The footsteps of the four people echoed in the silent passage, and seemed particularly clear. Apart from the footsteps, there was only the faint howling of the cold wind coming from deep underground.

What secrets are hidden under these ruins? What fate awaits them? Luo Qingchen gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, taking every step very cautiously. He knew that since they entered this passage, they had already entered a more unknown and possibly more dangerous area.

The stone steps leading down seemed endless, deep and silent. Only the light footsteps and breathing sounds of the four people echoed in the narrow passage, being infinitely amplified and hitting everyone's nerves. The soft light emitted by the night pearl could only illuminate the surrounding area. The darkness in the distance was like thick ink, bottomless, as if a ferocious beast would pounce on people at any time.

The runes on the stone walls on both sides of the passage became denser and clearer. They were no longer single lines, but began to combine into strange patterns, some like twisted ghost faces, some like struggling bones, and more were incomprehensible abstract symbols, but without exception, they all exuded a heart-pounding atmosphere of death and reincarnation.

"Brother Luo, look at these..." Lin Wan'er's voice was solemn as she pointed to a relatively complete pattern on the stone wall. The pattern seemed to depict a grand sacrificial scene, with countless blurry figures kneeling on the ground, worshipping a huge black altar that towered into the sky and was entangled in chains. Above the altar, a vague outline could be vaguely seen, emitting an endless breath of darkness and destruction.

Just looking at this pattern makes people feel their souls tremble, as if countless resentments and curses are about to seep out of the stone wall.

Luo Qingchen stopped and looked at the mural carefully. His power of chaos was particularly sensitive to this kind of spiritual imprint. He could clearly feel that this mural was not just a record, but more like a kind of...seal, or in other words, a carrier of power. The dark outline on the altar gave him an extremely dangerous feeling, even faintly surpassing the gravekeeper he had met before!

"The secrets of the Nine Netherworld are far deeper than we imagined." Luo Qingchen said in a deep voice, moving his eyes away from the murals and continuing to walk down, "Don't pay too much attention to these murals, they may contain spiritual traps."

"Oh..." Su Xiaowan quickly retracted her curious gaze, followed Lin Wan'er closely, and muttered softly, "It's so scary. Even a painting is so creepy. The owner of this place must be a psychopath..."

After walking down for about an incense stick of time, the terrain finally began to flatten. In the darkness ahead, a faint light was faintly revealed. It was not the light of the Night Pearl, but a darker and colder blue halo. At the same time, the dead air in the air became more intense, and even faintly mixed with a hint of... blood? Although it was extremely faint, Luo Qingchen's perception would never be wrong.

"There is light ahead!" Su Xiaowan cheered up.

"Be careful." Luo Qingchen reminded, gripping the Black Dragon Sword tightly and walking more lightly.

The four of them slowed down and approached cautiously. After turning a corner, the scene in front of them suddenly became clear!
They seemed to have come to a huge underground space. Rather than a space, it was more like an incredibly magnificent underground palace!
The dome of the palace was so high that one could not see the top, and one could only see a deep darkness, as if it was connected to the real Netherworld Abyss. Supporting the dome were huge black stone pillars that required dozens of people to hug together. The stone pillars were also engraved with runes and murals similar to those in the passage, but they were more complicated and larger.

The floor of the hall was paved with an unknown black jade stone, as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the faint blue light emanating from the stone pillars. These halos did not come from the light source, but were naturally emitted by the runes themselves as they absorbed the surrounding evil spirits.

The entire hall was empty and silent, filled with an eternal sense of desolation and majesty.

At the deepest part of the hall, facing the direction of the passage they came from, there stood a huge black stone platform! The style of the stone platform was about the same as the altar seen in the mural just now, but it was much smaller in scale and there was nothing on it.

In front of the stone platform, there were some... things scattered around.

"What...what is that?" Su Xiaowan pointed in front of the stone platform with a trembling voice.

With the faint light emitted by the runes, one can vaguely see that it is a humanoid... skeleton!
There were not many, about a dozen, scattered on the black jade floor in front of the stone platform. These skeletons were not normal white, but a strange gray-black color, as if they had been completely eroded by some force. They maintained various twisted and struggling postures, some seemed to want to crawl to the entrance of the passage, and some stretched out their arms, desperately grasping at the empty stone platform.

What was even more horrifying was that around these skeletons, on the black jade floor, there were some long-dried, dark red marks left. The faint smell of blood in the air came from here.

"Someone... is dead..." Su Xiaowan was so scared that her face turned pale and she hid behind Lin Wan'er.

Lin Wan'er also had a solemn expression on her face, and she clenched the sword in her hand. The death of these skeletons was too tragic, and judging from the shape of the bones and the remaining pieces of clothing (although they were already rotten beyond recognition), they did not seem to be native creatures of the Nine Netherworld, but more like... outsiders who had mistakenly entered this place like them!
Luo Qingchen's eyes swept across the skeletons and finally landed on the empty black stone platform. The feeling of uneasiness in his heart became stronger and stronger. This place was full of weirdness and danger.

"Check these skeletons to see if there are any clues left behind." Luo Qingchen said in a deep voice, but he did not step forward immediately. Instead, he remained alert, with the power of chaos covering his whole body, carefully sensing the energy fluctuations in the hall.

Lin Wan'er nodded, suppressing her discomfort and walked forward cautiously. Su Xiaowan hesitated for a moment, then bravely followed. Bai Ling'er stayed beside Luo Qingchen, observing the surroundings vigilantly.

Lin Wan'er squatted down and carefully examined the nearest skeleton. The bones of the skeleton were very hard, but the surface was covered with fine cracks, as if it had been under great pressure. The fatal injury seemed to be in the skull, and the entire skull was shattered. It didn't look like it was caused by a weapon, but more like it was directly crushed by some invisible force.

“Brother Luo, these skeletons… are very old, but they are well preserved. However, their vitality has been completely drained, and there are still strong traces of erosion by Yin Sha.” After inspecting several skeletons, Lin Wan’er came to a preliminary conclusion, “Judging from the remaining clothing fragments and some scattered fragments of magical instruments that have lost their spirituality, they… are likely to be cultivators like us, and their cultivation is probably not low, at least in the Spiritualization Realm, or even higher.”

A cultivator at the Spiritual Transformation Realm, or even higher, actually died here in such a miserable way! This discovery made everyone feel depressed.

Su Xiaowan found a small broken jade slip in a corner. She picked it up, wiped off the dust on it, and tried to inject spiritual power into it, but the jade slip did not respond at all. The information inside seemed to have been erased by time or the strange power of this place. (End of this chapter)