Up to this point, Lao Hu still suspected that Shirley Yang had ulterior motives, and the fact that a woman possessed such skills seemed abnormal to him.
Xu Lang said in a low voice, "I'll say it again, money can buy peace of mind. If there's danger, we'll help if we can, but it depends on the situation. Saving our own lives is paramount."
The three of them had already discussed before coming, although the reward was very generous, they couldn't risk their lives for it.
There was only one direction to go, so they didn't need to make any choices.
Xu Lang took the lead in exploring the path, but he didn't walk fast. He would occasionally use his spiritual sense to probe the surroundings.
Lao Hu had already reminded them of the precautions several times, so Xu Lang didn't need to worry about that. As they went deeper, the road became more difficult, but the space ahead became larger.
Professor Hao said, "How can there be such a large space between two mountains? Could it have been excavated by someone long ago? If we continue to walk forward, we will be right below the glacier."
Professor Chen said, "It's possible. Let's follow Xiao Xu and the others."
Fatty looked around and saw the mica crystals on the ground, he couldn't help but ask, "Professor Chen, what are these things? They look pretty. Are they valuable?"
Professor Chen explained with a smile, "These are mica and crystals, they only crystallize deep underground. These crystals and mica are usually only found deep underground. We see them here because of tectonic movement."
"Look at the deep color of this mica, it shows that the mica's previous geographical location was also very deep. If it wasn't for tectonic movement, we wouldn't be able to see it."
"These mica are not very valuable. Some people collect them to make decorations. Little Wang, if you like, you can collect some when we go back as souvenirs."
Fatty lost interest immediately after hearing that they weren't valuable.
A little while later, the sound of flowing water echoed, and an underground river came into view.
Xu Lang stopped and tested the water temperature, saying, "There's no path ahead. We can only wade through it to continue. Moreover, the water temperature is relatively high, which is not a good sign."
As they spoke, everyone arrived at the riverbank. Some people were curious and tested the water temperature.
Chu Jian asked, "Why is warm water not a good thing? I think it should be a good thing. Warm water is always better than ice water in this situation. If we have to wade through, warm water won't be a burden on our bodies."
Lao Hu replied, "You like the water temperature, which means other things like it too. No one can be sure what creatures are in the water. There are many magical creatures in the Kunlun Mountains. Who can be sure if these creatures are aggressive?"
Gawa said, "I'll go first with the big guy to make sure it's safe. Then you guys can go."
As a soldier, Gawa was undoubtedly very qualified. At this moment, he stepped forward and stood in front of everyone, even though he was still so young.
At this moment, Xu Lang's mind flashed back to an image. Before his rebirth, it was these kind and fearless people who rescued him from the abandoned area.
That image, Xu Lang would never be able to forget.
Xu Lang scanned with his spiritual sense and said, "You and the big guy go take care of Professor Chen and tell him about the special writings on those walls. Fatty, take your jade piece over and show them. It seems like the same kind of writing."
After a while, Professor Chen said, "Everyone come over here. Look at these writings on the stone walls, and the writings on Little Wang's jade pendant. These are Ghost Hole characters. This kind of writing is from the Kingdom of Jingjue, a country in the Western Regions during the Western Han Dynasty."
"Little Wang, can you tell us about the origin of your jade pendant?"
Fatty replied, "A child without a mother has a long story. When I was very young, my father and his comrades in arms got it as loot when they were suppressing bandits in the Niya Oasis. They gave it to me as a birth gift."
Xu Lang's mouth twitched. How is that a long story?
Professor Chen nodded, not saying much. Even he felt that casually gifting an ancient artifact was disrespectful to historical and cultural heritage.
Lao Hu asked, "Professor Chen, you said these are the characters from the Kingdom of Jingjue. Does that mean these characters are related to the ancient city of Jingjue?"
Professor Chen said, "At the very least, they are the same kind of writing. Perhaps there is an unknown connection between this place and the ancient city of Jingjue. The discovery here today will open a new chapter in the archaeology of the Western Regions."
Professor Chen immediately instructed people to take notes. At the same time, he urged them to continue walking forward, hoping that they might find some unexpected discoveries on the other side of the river. They would research these characters later.
Not sensing any other creatures, Xu Lang led everyone across the river. The underground river water was moderate in temperature and felt comfortable to walk in, like soaking in a hot spring. In many sections, the water wasn't deep, reaching only up to their waists.
There were also some deep water areas, which was not good news for Xu Lang. Deep water meant that there might be large creatures. He remembered the prehistoric giant salamander. It seemed to be in this river.
In fact, Xu Lang really hoped that the giant salamander would appear. If everyone worked together to deal with it, they wouldn't have to worry about encountering it on the way back. Unfortunately, the prehistoric giant salamander did not appear.
This led Xu Lang to a hypothesis. The giant salamander appeared after the firebugs attacked, which suggests that the giant salamander might like high-temperature environments. It's also possible that it's a cold-blooded animal and appeared to attack because of the high temperature.
After crossing the river, Xu Lang walked at the front.
Soon, a huge hollow appeared before them.
The space here was enormous. In the distance, there was a massive nine-story tower. Countless corpses hung inside the tower, with countless blue light points emanating from them. The blue light even illuminated the entire space, dazzling and blurring one's vision.
The scene was quiet and eerie. The blue light was undoubtedly beautiful, but it felt chilling and terrifying.
Xu Lang kept his voice low, "Everyone stop. Turn off all the headlamps and flashlights."
"Some creatures are very sensitive to light and sound. The corpses hanging in the tower ahead are all covered in firebugs."
"These firebugs have lived in darkness for years. They must be very sensitive to light. If we disturb them, everyone here will die."
At this moment, Gawa behind them suddenly started kowtowing. The big guy quickly pulled him up, telling him not to engage in feudal superstition, as he was a soldier now.
The magnificent scene before them stunned everyone.
Professor Chen went forward and took a single glance, then excitedly said, "This is definitely a major archaeological discovery. This is the legendary Nine-Story Demon Tower, the burial form of the mausoleums of the ancient demon kings. I've spent my whole life studying the culture of the Western Regions, but I've never seen such a complete Nine-Story Demon Tower."
Sadi Peng said, "Professor, I remember seeing this kind of demon tower in a book. It seems that one was unearthed in the Blood Wei of Qinghai. It's very similar to this one."
Professor Chen said, "That's right, but unfortunately, that demon tower was destroyed by the hero Gesar King during the demise of the Demon Kingdom."
Fatty said in a low voice, "Lao Hu, that means this Nine-Story Demon Tower is a large tomb. There must be a lot of antiques in there."
Before anyone could answer, Professor Hao excitedly said, "More than just antiques, everything here is worth studying. It's simply incredible."
Hearing Fatty's words, the others didn't pay much attention, but Shirley Yang glanced at Fatty.
Xu Lang didn't pay attention to them. Instead, he looked at the sacrificial ditch below. There were too many human remains there. It was impossible to count how many people had been sacrificed in a short time. He was also extremely shocked by the scale of this sacrificial ditch.
At this moment, Lao Hu spoke, "We must leave this place immediately. The insects we encountered before were these firebugs. We haven't seen them along the way. I thought we could avoid them, but we've stumbled into their lair."