The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

In one of the relatively intact recording rooms, they found some scattered, tattered notes and sketches made of special animal hides or metal sheets.

The text and patterns on it were also distorted and difficult to understand, but Liu Xiao recognized that some of the sketches depicted alchemical arrays, which were somewhat similar to the blueprints he was looking for.

"We have a clue, but it's not complete yet." Liu Xiao carefully collected the fragments.

Just then, Chen Guan, who had been silent and wary, suddenly spoke, his voice very low: "Listen...can you hear anything?"

Everyone immediately held their breath.

At first, there was only the whistling of the wind through the broken windowpanes and the soft rustling of dust falling.

But gradually, a sound like something being slowly dragged came faintly from downstairs.

Click... Click...

The sound was slow and soft, but in this deathly and eerie environment, it was exceptionally clear, as if it were treading on everyone's heartstrings.

"There's... something down there?" Su Yuehe's voice trembled.

Huo Qixing looked at the detection disc with a grim expression. The pointer was still spinning erratically, but it vaguely pointed downwards.

There's no doubt there's something down there.

Li Yuqing and An Changqing exchanged a glance, both seeing the caution in each other's eyes.

"We can't just sit here and wait to die, let's go downstairs."

An Changqing said in a deep voice, "Since there's something down there, perhaps what we're looking for is also down there."

They quickly left the recording room and searched carefully on the third floor.

Soon, in an inconspicuous corner, they discovered the entrance to a narrow passage that extended downwards, sealed off by thick iron plates.

The iron plate was covered with traces of rust and gold reinforcement, but the edges appeared to have slight deformations from recent violent prying.

"Did someone go down first?" Li Yuqing examined the traces. "It hasn't been long, at most a day or two."

The slow dragging sound was coming from below this passage, and it seemed clearer now.

"It seems we're not the only ones interested in this place." An Changqing's eyes turned slightly cold: "provided that what's below are people."

This world is not only populated by humans with extraordinary powers; there are countless strange and wonderful creatures.

This place isn't big; a few hours at most is enough to explore it all, then report it to the outside world and mark it.

No, before they came in, the place was still deserted. After all, alchemy is a niche discipline, and apart from a very few people, no one would be interested. Most people were busy scrambling for the secret treasures passed down through generations.

Those things are things that An Changqing and his ilk wouldn't be interested in, since they already have them at home.

"Can we go down or not?" Long Ao licked his lips, his fighting spirit rising again. Now that his injuries had healed, he was itching to fight again.

Looking at the tattered sketch in his hand, and then at the passage, Liu Xiao gritted his teeth and said, "I need the complete blueprints. Now that we're here, we can't give up halfway."

A flicker of fear crossed his eyes. Although he was somewhat scared, getting the blueprints was of paramount importance to him.

When discussing the spoils of war, he said that he only wanted this blueprint. If there was nothing else to gain besides the blueprint, he was willing to give a large sum of money to compensate An Changqing's team.

Li Yuqing looked at Huo Qixing, who smiled wryly: "It's even more chaotic down there, so the detection is basically useless, but... we're already here."

They had accepted Liu Xiao's request, and even though they felt something was amiss, they had no choice but to accept it because their boss had spoken.

An Changqing looked at his companions behind him, and they all nodded in unison.

"Then let's go down." Li Yuqing made the decision: "Junior brothers, if things go wrong, you run first, and I'll cover your retreat for you.

She and Huo Qixing had their own ways of protecting themselves, so she wasn't too worried about her safety.

She took a deep breath, gripped the sword with both hands, channeled her cyan spiritual energy, and pressed the tip of the sword against the gap in the iron plate sealing the door, then suddenly exerted force.

crunch.

With a piercing metallic clang, the heavy iron plate was pried open, revealing a dark, chilling opening.

The slow, dragging sound seemed to stop abruptly right below the cave entrance.

A dead silence.

It was as if the things below had also sensed their arrival.

The deathly silence lasted only a few breaths.

Immediately afterwards, the clattering dragging sound rang out again, clearer and more urgent than before, as if something was rapidly approaching. The source of the sound was deep within the dark passage beneath their feet.

"Back off!" Li Yuqing shouted sharply, and at the same time, she rushed backward, holding her long sword horizontally in front of her chest, its blue light shining brightly.

An Changqing immediately protected Su Yuehe and Huo Qixing as they retreated, and a golden light shield instantly rose up. Long Ao stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Li Yuqing. His crimson aura rose again, his fists clenched, and he stared at the cave entrance, ready to make a move at any moment.

Chen Guan did not retreat. Instead, he once again placed the black iron coffin in front of him, gripped the scythe, and stared sharply at the dark cave entrance. His ash energy was not recovering so quickly, and at this moment he could only rely on his physical body and the coffin to withstand the attack.

"It's here!" Huo Qixing's voice tightened, and the pointer on the probe disc in his hand jumped wildly, finally pointing firmly to the bottom of the cave entrance.

next second.

Several dark figures suddenly burst out from the entrance of the passage like a gushing spring.

Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be some strange gelatinous substance.

These gelatinous substances wriggled, extending countless slimy tentacles, sweeping towards Li Yuqing, Long Ao, and Chen Guan, who were closest to them. The tentacles swept through the air, bringing with them a nauseating, fishy smell, and even corroded the stone slabs, creating sizzling pits in their wake.

"Beware of corrosion and mental pollution, don't get entangled with them!" Liu Xiao exclaimed in shock. As someone skilled in alchemy, he clearly recognized the origin of this strange thing.

This is a monster formed from the fusion and mutation of failed alchemy experiments, discarded reagents, and even residual resentment over many years under specific conditions due to improper handling.

It has no fixed form, attacks in bizarre ways, and possesses strong mental pollution and physical corrosiveness, making it generally difficult to deal with.

However, Liu Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that it wasn't some kind of ghost or monster. It was just some alchemical junk, which he had experience dealing with.

"cut!"

Li Yuqing roared, and the cyan sword light poured out like a waterfall, instantly cutting the several clumps of gelatinous substance that rushed towards her into several pieces. The severed parts writhed on the ground a few times, actually trying to reassemble.

Long Ao's crimson fist slammed into a large, gelatinous mass. The intense heat scorched its surface, causing it to sizzle and emit a lot of black smoke. However, the gelatinous mass only contracted violently for a moment before retaliating even more frantically, with several tentacles wrapping around Long Ao's arm.

Chen Guan faced an attack from three clumps of gelatinous substance. He swung his scythe to slash, but the sharp blade pierced into the sticky substance as if sinking into quagmire. The force was quickly dispersed and absorbed, making it difficult to even retract the blade.

At the same time, the corrosive energy attached to the gelatinous substance began to erode the scythe and the black iron coffin, emitting a slight hissing sound. Although it could not destroy the black iron for the time being, it made Chen Guan very alarmed.