This time, it was the old man who was surprised.

Originally, he thought that the two overly curious children would definitely follow to take a look. In an unknown passage, he could hardly ensure his own safety, let alone the safety of the two children.

But now, unexpectedly, the two children decisively turned him down, which was simply incredible.

"You really don’t want to go?"

Little Taotie tilted his head and looked at him: "Grandpa, even Head Grandpa couldn’t come out of there. We’re not stupid, why should we go in?"

The old man: "..." There was nothing wrong with what they said, but it was just too piercing.

Did he and his subordinates not know the danger? They knew, but had no choice. They could only go down and explore, searching for that guy Shen Cang.

Life seemed to be going well, but it was only full of trouble, ultimately getting himself stuck.

The old man sighed.

Actually, he used to be a man who detested evil, but as he grew older, he became more composed and was not as strict as before.

"Let’s go and take a look." The old man led the team down.

Tyrant Flower Lady stayed above with Little Taotie and Hua Jinyan.

Little Taotie asked: "Sister, do you want to go down and take a look?"

Queen Flower Lady decisively refused: "In a place where even you dare not go, I can’t enjoy it."

Little Taotie covered his mouth and giggled.

As the old man and his subordinates delved deeper, the underground appearance appeared on the screen, where three heads were gathered together, with Little Taotie and Queen Flower Lady closest.

Little Taotie: "It’s so dark and blurry down there."

Queen Flower Lady: "The resolution is still acceptable. When they went below the deep wells earlier, it was completely pitch black, and nothing could be seen."

The old man knew that the camera he was carrying connected to the outside screen, which was a backup plan. In case something happened to them, people outside could know the situation immediately and have time to escape.

They walked along the long dark passage, and in front was a desolate area, or rather, the withered trees in the desolation were the main characters and overlords of this place.

The withered branches unexpectedly moved, as the tree branches in front appeared to be dancing and intimidating.

But the old man and his subordinates did not take it seriously, thinking they were merely plants that could be reduced with fire.

And indeed, they did just that.

The fire quickly spread, illuminating the tunnel’s range, but it was only a fleeting moment, indistinct, and apart from the desolation, they didn’t know what lay beyond.

Someone squatted down to collect the soil and stones here, intending to take them back for research. Compared to exploration, he was clearly more adept at these things.

Under the firelight, the withered tree was not destroyed by the flames.

As if adding more firewood to a flame, it burned itself without any issues, remaining intact, except now it was surrounded by a layer of fire.

The old man’s brows furrowed deeper as the flames burned fiercely, not clearing the way ahead but turning into a sea of fire, making it impossible to find anyone by crossing it.

Just when he wanted to tell his subordinates to prepare fire extinguishers to put out the fire, the flames receded, and a massive portion was absorbed by the thickest withered tree.

Hua Jinyan noticeably felt the stick hidden in her hair, the one made from withered tree branches, seeming both excited and extremely fearful, very emotionally unstable.

Perhaps those withered trees and branches, and the stick share a common origin, or in other words, the withered tree might be the stick’s main body. As an offshoot, it naturally harbors reverence and fear towards the main body.