"Mr. Qin, you want to go down with us?"
Just after Mo Yongxin and her team finalized their plan to enter the cave, Qin Yu approached her and directly informed her that he wanted to join them in going down the cave.
"Yes, I'm curious about this cave too and would like to explore it together."
Mo Yongxin didn't hear the conversation between Qin Yu and He Ping, but she was delighted to learn that Qin Yu was willing to accompany them. Over the past few days, she had come to understand that Qin Yu was not an ordinary man, and his extraordinary abilities, witnessed firsthand, made her realize that his appearance didn't reflect his true nature. Having such a remarkable person joining them in exploring the cave increased their chances of obtaining the Dragon Crystal Fluid.
"Mr. Qin, since you're willing to accompany us into the cave, I'll give you an additional one million after this is over!"
Qin Yu smiled. His willingness to venture into the cave was not motivated by money; he genuinely wanted to help Mo Yongxin. Additionally, after observing the situation and realizing that he had no chance of resisting the Mo family's influence if they forcefully demanded the Dragon-Seeking Disk from him, he had his own reasons for going into the cave. For these two reasons, he decided to go.
The people who would be entering the cave were already assigned: six bodyguards, the Mo siblings, He Ping, and now Qin Yu, making a total of ten individuals. The six bodyguards went in first, followed closely by the other four.
"Mr. Qin, it's your turn now."
With everyone already seated inside the iron basket, the black-clad person in charge of the pulley helped Qin Yu secure the rope, and then he activated the steel wire, allowing the iron basket to descend.
After descending about a hundred meters, darkness surrounded them. Qin Yu turned on a powerful flashlight, illuminating the rocky walls that were only a couple of inches away, easily within reach of his hand.
As the steel wire continued to lower them, the distance between the rocky walls and the iron basket gradually increased. Qin Yu understood that they had reached a depth of over three hundred meters, just like what the camera had captured earlier.
"Everyone is here. Let's proceed inward, but be careful."
Once Qin Yu reached the cave floor, Mo Yongxin began organizing the team. The four bodyguards took the lead, followed by two bodyguards at the rear, while the four of them stayed in the middle. The cave was spacious enough for them to walk side by side.
Soon, they arrived at the location where the camera had captured the skeletal remains. A burly man in black approached and touched the bones, examining them. He turned back to the group and said, "Based on the hardness and appearance of the bones, it seems like they haven't suffered any injuries."
"If they haven't been injured, how could they not have had enough time to leave and even resorted to cutting off their left hand? Could it be that they were bewitched by a ghost?"
Mo Yongxin's words exchanged a glance of confusion between Qin Yu and He Ping. Both of them wore puzzled expressions. The skeletal remains were eerie, and the missing left hand bone confirmed that it belonged to the old Feng Shui master. However, based on the notes of his eldest son, it was evident that the old Feng Shui master had encountered a dangerous situation. He had chosen to sever his hand to send a signal to his son outside the cave, indicating that he didn't even have time to escape.
"Could this skeleton not belong to the old Feng Shui master?" Mo Yongxin voiced her opinion from the side.
"There is no doubt that the remains belong to the old Feng Shui master," Qin Yu affirmed, patting the Dragon-Seeking Disk in his embrace.
Just three meters away from the skeletal remains, Qin Yu felt a slight tremor from the Dragon-Seeking Disk in his embrace. He sensed that the disk seemed to be wailing, exhibiting the instinctive response of a spiritual artifact upon encountering the remains of its previous owner.
"Why bother about it? Our goal is the Dragon Crystal Fluid. What does this dead person's remains matter?" Mo Yongxin showed little interest in the skeletal remains and urged them to continue forward.
The group continued their journey and soon arrived at the location of the river, where the camera footage had abruptly ended.
A beam of bright light shone onto the surface of the river. Qin Yu followed the light and looked at the water. His expression changed dramatically upon seeing it. The water was pitch black, and the powerful flashlight couldn't illuminate its depths. From afar, it resembled an abyss.
"This... is the River of Styx?" Qin Yu's expression wasn't the only one to change; He Ping's face also turned pale as he exclaimed in shock.
"The River of Styx? He Ping, could you please explain in detail?"
"The River of Styx, known in folklore as the realm of the underworld, is where ghosts reside. The River of Styx is said to be the boundary between the realms of the living and the dead. It is believed that the River of Styx is bottomless, and underground lies the realm of the dead. There have been many ancient legends about it, describing the River of Styx as black as ink, unable to carry anything. Once humans or animals step into it, they vanish. Isn't the river before us black as ink?"
"This is so eerie?" Mo Yongxin didn't believe it and picked up the flashlight. She was about to reach her hand into the water when someone suddenly grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled her back, causing her to sit on the ground.
"Qin Yu, what do you mean by this?"
The person who had just pulled Mo Yongxin back was none other than Qin Yu. His face looked solemn as he explained, "I stopped you because I didn't want your hand to be destroyed. Didn't you hear what He Ping just said? The River of Styx dissolves anyone or anything that enters it. It's not a matter of being submerged but being corroded. Even the slightest contact with this water would corrode your bones."
Qin Yu picked up an iron rod and cautiously dipped one end into the water. Then, he lifted the rod, and everyone looked at it, gasping in astonishment. The submerged part had completely dissolved, leaving a shorter length.
Especially Mo Yongxin, who broke into a cold sweat. She realized how reckless she had been to consider putting her hand in the water. Now, she felt a shiver down her spine and looked at Qin Yu with a newfound sense of gratitude.
However, Qin Yu didn't notice Mo Yongxin's expression. His brows furrowed tightly. The corrosive nature of the River of Styx was mentioned in the ancient text "Zhu Ge's Internal Classic." It referred to this corrosiveness as "dead qi," which emanated from the ghostly spirits of the Nine Netherworlds. Anything not belonging to the realm of the dead would be corroded upon contact with this dead qi. It was said to be even more potent than concentrated sulfuric acid.
"Brother Qin's knowledge is truly extensive. I only have a rudimentary understanding of the River of Styx. I didn't expect you to be so well-informed," He Ping sincerely admired Qin Yu now. Qin Yu's ability to control the Dragon-Seeking Disk and his understanding of the properties of the River of Styx surpassed He Ping's own expertise in Feng Shui.
"Master He, you're too modest. I'm merely benefiting from the wisdom of my predecessors," Qin Yu humbly replied, then continued, gazing at the ink-black river water.
"The corrosive nature of the River of Styx is extremely potent. If we want to cross it, we either have to find a detour or leap over it from above. Otherwise, nothing can withstand the corrosion on the water's surface."
The river was about two zhang (around 6 meters) wide, making it impossible to jump across. The group had no choice but to take a detour, following the upstream flow of the river, hoping to find an end or a narrower part of the riverbank.
The group proceeded cautiously, with Mo Yongxin staying far away from the river, as if there were lurking demons and monsters within it. This amused Qin Yu.
Not only Mo Yongxin but also the group of black-clad bodyguards walked with extreme caution. Having witnessed the corrosiveness of the River of Styx firsthand, no one dared to be careless.
As Qin Yu walked among the crowd, his thoughts began to wander. The River of Styx was incredibly rare. To form the River of Styx, there had to be a sufficient amount of dead qi, which originated from deceased individuals. A small amount of River of Styx water might require the dead qi from thousands of corpses, let alone a river over two zhang wide. The amount of dead qi required for such a river was immeasurable.
After walking for about ten minutes, the group suddenly came to a halt. Qin Yu noticed everyone stopping and looked ahead. Under the illumination of bright lights, there was a rock wall in front of them with a one-yard-wide opening in the middle, from which the Yellow Springs water gushed out.
There was no path ahead; the river flowed out from the stone wall. It was evident that crossing upstream was impossible. Mo Yongxin turned her gaze toward Qin Yu and Master He.
Master He's face displayed a hint of shame as he spoke, "Miss Mo, this Yellow Springs water is extraordinary. I believe the situation downstream is similar to what we encountered upstream. There should be an outlet through which the water flows. The detour option is not feasible."
Master He's words dimmed the hope in Mo Yongxin's eyes for a moment. However, she quickly looked at Qin Yu with hopeful eyes. In her heart, she believed that Qin Yu's abilities were no less than Master He's, and perhaps he would have a solution to cross the Yellow Springs water.
Seeing the look in Mo Yongxin's eyes, Qin Yu let out a bitter laugh and said, "If it were a handful of Yellow Springs water, I might have a solution. But this river formed by the Yellow Springs water is something even I can't figure out."
Qin Yu's words extinguished the last bit of hope in Mo Yongxin's heart. However, just as she felt disappointed, Mo Yongxing suddenly exclaimed, "There's a recess here!"
It turned out that when everyone was at a loss just now, Mo Yongxing was shining the flashlight on the wall and discovered a protruding stone. Without hesitation, he pressed it with his hand. Qin Yu couldn't stop him in time and felt a slight tremor. A circular stone door slowly descended, sealing off the opening of the cave where the Yellow Springs water flowed. It actually cut off the river.
"This..."
Everyone raised their flashlights and shone them on the stone door. It was covered with densely packed patterns, inscriptions, and some special symbols.
Mo Yongxing had confused himself with the stone door he had triggered. He rubbed the back of his head and didn't know what to do.
As the stone door closed, the river gradually dried up, revealing the riverbed in a short time. Everyone widened their eyes. The entire riverbed and the stones on both sides were covered with red inscriptions and peculiar patterns, resembling a heart covered in blood vessels. It was densely packed and sent shivers down their spines.
"This Yellow Springs water flow was artificially designed," Qin Yu stated firmly.
The moment Qin Yu recognized it as Yellow Springs water, he had this idea. Now, with the clearly man-made inscriptions and patterns, he was certain.
"Artificial? Qin brother, are you saying that someone entered this cave before us and created this river of Yellow Springs water?" Master He asked.
"It's likely that more than just us entered before. I assume this river had already been here before the old geomancer entered the cave."
"Qin brother, are you sure?"
Qin Yu smiled and was about to explain when Mo Yongxin's eyes suddenly gleamed, and she spoke up, "I understand."