"Speaking of which, he glanced at Yao Yuzhong not far away, "The situation inside is unclear now. We’ll go ahead first and can promptly warn if we encounter any danger."

Qi Yun understood his meaning.

Twenty minutes later, everyone had already smeared that special juice on themselves, then switched on their searchlights and walked into the cave entrance one by one.

Both An Zai and Da Pao each carried a flamethrower on their backs, in case Yao Yuzhong’s method didn’t work, they still had a way to fend off the snakes.

As soon as they approached the entrance, a moist and cool breeze hit them, making them involuntarily shiver.

The beam of the flashlight illuminated the scene inside the cave, which was very spacious, much taller than the entrance. The walls on both sides were covered with stalactites, in various shapes. Some resembled inverted icicles, very sharp. The consequences of being accidentally struck by them were unimaginable.

However, the scenery inside the cave was stunning. Under the illumination, these stalactites emitted a strange radiance, like polished jade, with a faint glow flowing inside, crystal clear and breathtakingly beautiful.

Just this kind of scenery, if it were outside, would at least sell you a 998 ticket.

Water droplets fell from the stalactites, forming puddles of various sizes on the ground as they struck it. The group walked one step deep, one step shallow, further into the cave.

Nearby, the underground river occasionally churned up splashes, whether it was fish or something else remained unknown.

Qin Sizhi walked at the front, the beam of the searchlight constantly sweeping over the ground and the rock walls above, with a vigilant look in his eyes.

Following him was his apprentice Jin Bao, holding a short knife in each hand, his gaze fixed firmly ahead while constantly watching the sides for any movements, ready to respond to sudden situations.

Next was Yao Yuzhong, who was expressionless and seemed indifferent.

Behind Yao Yuzhong were Brother Quan and Eagle, walking side by side, less than a meter away from Yao Yuzhong in front.

At this distance, Brother Quan was not worried about any tricks from the three people in front, even if someone suddenly turned against them, he could immediately take control of the situation with force.

Indeed, although Qin Sizhi and his apprentice had performed fairly reliably along the way and had indeed been helpful, the contact was too brief, and they weren’t insiders.

Therefore, Qi Yun maintained vigilance at all times against these two, having already secretly instructed Brother Quan and Eagle to keep a close watch on Qin Sizhi and his apprentice, as well as Yao Yuzhong, and not give them any opportunity to act alone.

The group continued forward in the cave for more than ten minutes, with occasional bats fluttering overhead, but nothing else disturbed them. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Look!"

Up ahead, Qin Sizhi suddenly stopped and pointed the beam of the searchlight at a pile of white bones by the rock wall.

Qi Yun followed the light and saw skulls, limbs, and some decayed cloth fragments scattered nearby. This was clearly human remains.

He turned to Yao Yuzhong, conveying a silent meaning.

The latter nodded, "It should be those porters. When I came last time, they should have appeared here as well. There are more further ahead."

Qi Yun signaled Eagle, who immediately crouched down to inspect the pile of bones.

Perhaps due to the long age, the bones had lost their toughness, and upon a gentle touch, fine bone particles fell away.

Eagle carefully examined the skull and limb bones, eventually shaking his head at Qi Yun, not finding anything useful.

The group continued forward, just as Yao Yuzhong had said, more skeletal remains appeared on the ground, with one area densely packed with bones all over.

It seems the rumors were true; those five hundred porters almost all died here.

Even the veterans like An Zai, who had come from the battlefield, felt chills down their spines at this sight of so many bone piles.

"Ssss~"

"Sss~"

Just as everyone focused on the bones, a sudden rustling sound came from somewhere.

The sound was very faint, initially like the wind blowing through cracks, but quickly became dense.

The "Ssss~" "Sss~" sounds came from all directions, like countless strings vibrating simultaneously, carrying an eerie sensation sending shivers down one’s spine.

"It’s a snake swarm!" Yao Yuzhong’s face changed drastically.

As soon as he spoke, the beam of the searchlight revealed slender figures emerging from the rock walls, the bone piles, and even the stalactites overhead.

They were all green, their scales shimmering with eerie light under the lamps, with forked tongues flicking, their cold eyes staring at everyone.

Regarding the snake swarm, Yao Yuzhong wasn’t lying; there were indeed many snakes, densely packed, making one’s scalp tingle!

"Damn, how are there so many!" Niu Da couldn’t help but curse, his forehead sweaty.

Though he was tall and robust, he was most afraid of snakes and spiders...

The scene before their eyes was too eerie; the number of snakes far exceeded expectations, covering the rock walls and the ground, seemingly endless, like a moving green tide slowly approaching!

"Don’t move! Don’t provoke them!" Qin Sizhi cautioned, then did something unexpected by extending his right hand towards a snake in front.

A bizarre scene occurred.

The snake seemed to be afraid of something; initially tense, its body slowly relaxed, its arched back flattening out, and it even began to retreat.

The previously applied juices on the surface were effective!

These snakes really disliked this scent, moving further away when getting even slightly closer.

Seeing this, An Zai’s finger moved away from the flamethrower trigger, while the others breathed a long sigh of relief.

Safe for now!

"They’re just temporarily deterred by the smell. Use sulfur powder to clear the path, quickly get through here!" Qin Sizhi shouted.

Upon hearing, everyone immediately took out sulfur powder from their backpacks, opened the lids, and sprinkled it in the distance.

A yellow powder fell on the wet rocks, emitting a pungent odor, mixing with the previous floral scent to form an even more stimulating smell.

The previously retreating snake swarm moved away faster upon smelling the sulfur, evidently repelled by the odor.

"Hurry, keep up!" Qin Sizhi strode ahead, with everyone following closely behind.

Thus nervously moving under the gaze of the snake swarm for hundreds of meters, ahead no longer saw any snakes, and the originally moving snake swarm behind also stopped.

Seeing this situation, everyone slightly eased their vigilance.

"Are we safe?"

"No!" Qin Sizhi suddenly shouted, sniffing the air, his expression grave.

"What’s wrong?" Qi Yun asked, approaching.

Qin Sizhi frowned and uttered two words: "Putrid!"

Upon his warning, Qi Yun sniffed the air, indeed detecting a strong putrid smell, mixed with the cave’s damp musty scent, carried by the wind towards them.

Compared to the snake swarm, this smell was more pungent, indescribable, perhaps only a seasoned cowboy could understand.

"This smell is odd! There’s a big one ahead!" Yao Yuzhong shouted.

Immediately, everyone’s face changed!

"Wha... a big one? A big snake?" An Zai stammered.

But before Yao Yuzhong could respond, a sudden "boom!" echoed from the front, like a massive boulder collapsing.

"Rustle" came the sound.

Stalactites overhead kept falling and splashed countless water droplets.

The beam of the flashlights quickly swept forward, and right at the end of the passage, a dark shadow emerged amid the dust!

The shadow was truly a snake! A gigantic snake!

Its size was ten times thicker than the green snakes earlier, its waist like a barrel, covered with dark brown scales, reflecting a dim golden sheen.

The snake’s head was as large as a basketball, with triangular head vaguely showing protruding bone spurs, a pair of scarlet eyes like two lanterns were locked on everyone, the forked tongue spreading a pungent putrid smell, almost making one dizzy.

"What... What the heck... Is this the Snake King?!" An Zai swallowed, struggling to speak.

The sight was overwhelmingly shocking, even Qi Ting nearly trembled.