This river, strictly speaking, was just a slightly deeper mountain stream.
Hu Ba Yi lowered the bamboo pole into the water—it was less than a zhang deep.
The current was gentle, but the flow was quite fast.
Before long, the bamboo raft drifted downstream, arriving at the foot of Zhelong Mountain.
Ahead, a cave entrance appeared.
There were scattered rocks along the banks on both sides, clearly indicating that this opening hadn't existed for very long.
The tunnel was wide—three to four zhang across—easy to enter.
The moment they passed inside, the light dimmed rapidly.
Wang Pangzi took over poling the raft, while the others used their wolf-eye flashlights to sweep the surroundings.
Inside the tunnel, strange stalactites were everywhere.
Under the flashlight beams, they looked like ghosts and demons.
Very soon, aside from the gentle sound of flowing water, the cave fell completely silent.
Even the rumbling thunder from outside could no longer be heard.
Hu Ba Yi secured a powerful tactical spotlight—brought from the war era—at the front of the raft.
Then he and Wang Pangzi stood on either side, steadying the raft with their poles.
Shirley Yang stayed at the bow, turning on the spotlight periodically to check what lay ahead.
They couldn't keep it on continuously.
Even though the imported tactical light could last over six hours, no one knew how long it would take to pass through this underground river tunnel.
Xu Lang sat at the rear of the raft, wearing a headlamp, constantly scanning his surroundings.
This tunnel was far from safe.
If the timeline of this world hadn't changed, then there were plenty of Exotic Beasts and malevolent entities inside this tunnel—
Plenty that could be absorbed.
But that also meant extreme danger.
Even with the system and the Golden Silkworm Gu, one wrong move could cost him his life.
At first, the raft's journey downstream was smooth.
The water was icy cold—likely melted snow from the distant mountains.
Occasionally, shadows flickered beneath the clear water—
Fish, or perhaps water snakes.
As they ventured deeper into the tunnel, each time the spotlight was switched on, the group couldn't help but gasp.
This underground passage had rarely seen human entry—and had been sealed for hundreds of years.
It retained its most primitive, untouched state.
There were countless stalactites.
Some resembled benevolent Buddhas.
Others looked like ferocious beasts.
Some resembled growing trees, while others appeared like graceful maidens.
Only Xu Lang knew—
This beautiful scenery wouldn't last much longer.
Not far ahead lay the truly horrifying part.
The raft continued forward.
Soon, the spotlight illuminated a massive stalactite formation ahead.
It towered several stories high.
Its shape resembled an ancient, primordial beast—
Its jaws wide open in a savage roar.
It was so lifelike that it was hard to tell whether it had been naturally formed or deliberately carved.
Even from over a hundred meters away, its ferocity could be felt.
Xu Lang even sensed the Golden Silkworm Gu tattoo on his arm stirring restlessly.
The underground river flowed directly into the beast's open mouth.
The stalactites along its jaws resembled sharp teeth.
The mouth itself looked like a gateway to hell—
Swallowing everything in its path.
From the moment they saw the beast, the spotlight remained on.
The current also began to speed up as it approached.
What unsettled Hu Ba Yi, Wang Pangzi, and Shirley Yang even more was what they saw beyond the "gate of hell."
Under the beam of the spotlight—
Figures could be seen hanging upside down in the darkness.
After looking more closely, they realized—
These hanging figures were the same stone human figurines they had seen on the mountain road earlier!
By now, they all knew—
These figurines were hollow.
Inside their thin shells were countless wriggling, bloated maggots.
The thought alone made Hu Ba Yi and the others nauseous.
Even Xu Lang felt a hint of tension.
Inside those hanging human-skin figurines were all Shong worms.
An endless number of them.
Each one absorbed by the Golden Silkworm Gu granted +1 energy.
He didn't know how much energy the next level would require—
But with hundreds, even thousands of these figurines ahead…
It would definitely be enough.Yang
As the raft drew closer, it was about to enter the beast's mouth—
Like crossing from the human world into the underworld.
Hu Ba Yi and Wang Pangzi grew extremely tense, gripping their bamboo poles tightly, afraid the raft might capsize.
Even Shirley Yang was nervous, sweeping the surroundings with both the spotlight and her flashlight.
Finally—
The raft surged forward and plunged into the beast's gaping maw.
Just as they passed through—
Shirley Yang shouted, "Duck down!"
There was a drop of about one meter in the water level inside the beast's mouth.
The raft tilted forward, its front plunging into the water before rising again and stabilizing.
Thanks to her warning, no one fell in.
Just as Hu Ba Yi and the others tried to lift their heads—
They realized they couldn't.
The hanging human figurines were now less than a meter above the water.
If they straightened up, they would crash straight into them.
Hu Ba Yi and Wang Pangzi crouched low, desperately pushing their poles toward the riverbed, trying to slow the raft.
But once inside the beast's mouth—
The water suddenly became extremely deep.
Even their four-meter-long poles couldn't reach the bottom.
Just as they tried to get a better look at their surroundings—
The spotlight at the front flickered a few times—
—and went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.