"It was too dark inside, so I didn’t dare venture too deep. But I’m certain there’s an underground river in there. I also heard something that sounded like snoring. The noise echoed loudly through the cavern, so I didn’t dare linger and came right out."

Recalling the scene, the student’s face went pale. He was still visibly shaken.

"But you said you saw the monster," Qin Ziwen said, taken aback.

The student looked a little embarrassed. "I only said I heard the monster’s voice. I don’t know who started spreading it, but the story somehow became that I’d personally seen some giant monster. It’s not a total lie, though, is it? I heard the sound, so it couldn’t have been too far away. Maybe it was just too dark for me to see anything."

’This student is something else,’ Qin Ziwen thought. "What’s your name?"

"I’m Wei Yu."

Qin Ziwen said, "Alright. I’ll go confirm this information. If it’s true, I’ll owe you one."

Wei Yu’s eyes lit up. "Great! Thank you, Brother Qin! I’ll lead the way!"

As someone living in the Gated Community, he knew exactly how valuable a favor from Qin Ziwen was.

’For instance, if I wanted to join the Qin Alliance’s core Hunting Team, this favor should be enough to get me in, right?’

Although many of his classmates secretly called those who joined the Qin Alliance traitors, only they knew if they were actually envious.

Qin Ziwen brought Zhao Pu along to lead the team. They gathered the Qin Alliance members who were still in the Gated Community, and the large group, armed with hoes, pickaxes, shovels, and wheelbarrows, headed majestically toward the Great Rift Valley to the south.

The fissure Wei Yu had found was on the western side of the Great Rift Valley, about a mile and a half west of the altar.

If it hadn’t been for Wei Yu, Qin Ziwen probably wouldn’t have found this place before this "map" was over.

Thick sand covered the ground. One area, right up against a cliff wall, had been excavated, revealing a fissure just wide enough for one person to squeeze through.

Perhaps due to the damp, cold air seeping out from below, the sand and soil near the entrance were moist.

"Can we widen this?" Qin Ziwen asked, pointing to the entrance.

A man with construction experience stepped forward to examine it. "Leader, we can," he said. "As long as we don’t make the opening too large, it shouldn’t be a problem."

"Alright. I’ll leave it to you all, then."

Working together, the crew chiseled away at the entrance, steadily widening the rocky opening.

Suddenly, a low, deep sound emanated from the depths of the cave. It sounded like the lowing of an ox and carried a clear note of warning.

"MOOO~"

The sound was deep and resonant.

The man swinging a pickaxe froze, turning to look at Qin Ziwen with a startled and questioning expression.

"Hold up."

Qin Ziwen held up a hand. It seemed their work had disturbed whatever was hiding in the cave.

He considered three possibilities.

First, it might have been startled and retreated deeper into the cave system.

Second, it might come out through the entrance.

Third, it could stay put, the sound having been merely a warning.

"Everyone, back up."

Qin Ziwen ordered everyone to retreat to a safe distance.

The Beaked Eagle swooped down from the sky, ready to whisk its master away at a moment’s notice.

After that one sound, the presence inside went silent.

After more than half an hour of silence, Qin Ziwen gave the order. "Keep digging."

A few men came forward and resumed chiseling at the opening.

With a CLINK and a CLANK of their tools, the entrance grew steadily larger.

What was once an opening that could barely fit one person could now accommodate three.

"MOOOOO—"

A low bellow echoed from the depths of the cave again.

This time, the sound was tinged with fury, and it was accompanied by the thud of approaching footsteps.

Through the "window," they could hear heavy footfalls growing ever closer.

Fear was etched on many of their faces.

A stir ran through the team.

Qin Ziwen said, "Don’t panic. Everyone, retreat in an orderly fashion. The entrance isn’t that big. If it can get out, it can’t be that large. If it can’t, then we have nothing to worry about."

His words steadied the team, and they began to fall back in an orderly line along the path they had come.

As the footsteps grew louder, Qin Ziwen glanced back at Wei Yu. "What’s the terrain like in there?"

Wei Yu answered quickly, "Just inside the entrance, there’s a long, gentle slope. I couldn’t see what was beyond that."

Finally, the footsteps inside stopped just behind the rock face.

Only a thin wall of rock now separated Qin Ziwen from the creature.

Suddenly, right before Qin Ziwen’s eyes, the rock wall began to soften like kneaded clay, ripples spreading across its surface.

Qin Ziwen froze for a second before roaring, "Go! Retreat! I’ll hold it off!"

A short distance away, Zhao Pu heard Qin Ziwen’s shout and reacted instantly. "Everyone, orderly withdrawal! Do not panic!"

Fortunately, the group had already retreated forty or fifty meters away.

They were too far away to see what was happening, so while nervous, the team’s formation didn’t break.

Meanwhile, Qin Ziwen watched as the solid earth began to give way, "melting" downward layer by layer like mud in a downpour.

A massive opening was revealed.

The cavern was easily four meters high and five meters wide. Just inside the pitch-black opening stood a Giant Beast. It was yellowish-brown, its back covered in crystalline prisms. It stood on all fours and bore a slight resemblance to an Armored Dragon.

Giant Rock Dragon!

Qin Ziwen recognized it at a glance.

This was the only Level 3 Task target on the Hunting Celestial List.

It met Qin Ziwen’s gaze for two seconds before slowly opening its mouth.

Its maw was filled with rows of densely packed, prism-shaped teeth.

"MOOOO!!!"

"Go!"

Qin Ziwen grabbed onto the Beaked Eagle’s talons.

A powerful gust of wind swirled around them, and in an instant, man and eagle shot into the sky.

The Giant Rock Dragon took heavy, ponderous steps, slowly emerging from behind the ruined wall.

"WHOOSH—"

From the top of the Great Rift Valley, an arrow flew dozens of meters and struck the Giant Rock Dragon squarely in the eye.

It was like hitting solid rock.

Only a small portion of the arrowhead managed to pierce the eyeball.

The pain made the Giant Rock Dragon instinctively shut its eye. Its eyelid snapped the shaft, and the broken arrow fell to the ground with a CLATTER.

"MOO!"

"MOO!"

The Giant Rock Dragon’s cries grew more frantic.

It struggled to raise its head, trying to see where the arrow had come from. But its physiological structure, similar to that of an Armored Dragon, made turning its neck exceptionally difficult—because it didn’t really have one.

The Beaked Eagle set Qin Ziwen down on the edge of the Great Rift Valley.

He steadied himself beside Du Yu.

Looking down, he could see the Giant Rock Dragon had mostly emerged at the bottom of the valley. However, the narrowness of the chasm made it difficult for the beast to turn its body.

Right now, it looked like a massive truck trying to make a U-turn on a narrow street.

...

...