Chapter 773: Chapter 498: The Most Astonishing Discovery of the Century

The rustling sound rings out again, but this time those unusually large scorpions don’t surge forward; they merely make eerie noises in the darkness.

Without daring to delay, the group quickens their pace, swiftly crossing the spacious cavern and arriving at the opposite rock wall Qi Yun had pointed out earlier.

On the rock wall, there’s an entrance shrouded by vines, its width and height similar to the previous passage.

Without delay, Niu Da uses a machete to swiftly cut and clear the vines at the entrance, revealing a dark opening.

They shine a flashlight around and find nothing unusual, so the group begins entering the passage one by one.

This time, Brother Quan walks at the back. Just as his foot steps into the passage, he suddenly stops.

He stands there silently.

The next second, he seems to sense something, abruptly turning his head to look behind him, his gaze fixed on the entrance to the opposite passage!

"What’s wrong?" The observant Old Bai notices his anomaly and comes back to ask.

Brother Quan watches for two seconds, then slowly shakes his head: "It’s nothing, let’s go."

The new passage is quite similar to the previous one, except it’s dry, without that sticky substance on the ground and walls.

The pungent odor in the air has faded considerably, replaced by a musty soil smell and a faint mold scent.

The passage continues to wind and twist. After about ten minutes, they enter a circular space, resembling a hall, with several similar-looking entrances appearing on the rock walls around!

Scanning with a flashlight beam, Qi Yun counts a total of nine dark entrances, all similar in size.

It’s like the inside of a huge honeycomb, riddled with holes!

The hearts of the group are overwhelmed with shock; who would have thought that such a natural maze is hidden within the mountains deep in Qinling!

"How do we proceed?" Niu Da scratches his head.

Qin Sizhi checks each passage with a flashlight, then takes out his compass that he carries with him.

After examining for a while, his brows furrow tightly, unsure of how to proceed.

"This is completely different from what I imagined. Perhaps, back then, when my master and I entered, it might have been one of these passages...."

Qi Yun takes out his phone, trying to see how far they are from Black Cloud Valley; as expected, there’s no signal here.

At this time, Yao Yuzhong also finishes scrutinizing several entrances. He walks to Qi Yun, pointing at the one on the left and says, "I think what you’re looking for might be inside."

It’s no surprise to Qi Yun that Yao Yuzhong knows his purpose for coming here. Turning his gaze in the direction the other is pointing, Qi Yun’s eyes then settle on Yao Yuzhong’s face: "And your reason?"

Yao Yuzhong opens his coat, revealing a pocket inside; surprisingly, there’s a bird inside, hard to distinguish whether it’s a sparrow or another species, and no idea when he caught it.

"The bird told me." Yao Yuzhong says seriously.

Qi Yun stares at him for two seconds, seemingly trying to see through the trick Yao Yuzhong is playing.

Next to them, An Zai also looks at him in bewilderment: "You know bird language?"

Yao Yuzhong appears unwilling to explain further, merely looking at Qi Yun and adds a line, "Director Qi, in this place, we face the same risks."

Qi Yun is still hesitant to make a decision.

After a few more minutes, Qin Sizhi goes back and forth several times and remains undecided.

Qi Yun ponders slightly, choosing to trust Old Yao’s judgment.

Though unclear how Old Yao reached his conclusion, considering how many tombs the guy has explored and still being lively now, there’s certainly some credence to his fortune.

"Let’s take this way!"

Qi Yun says emphatically, "Da Pao, make sure to mark the trail well, and if things don’t seem right later, we’ll retreat the way we came."

Once prepared, the team sets off again, heading into the entrance Yao Yuzhong pointed out.

Crawling into the entrance, the passage initially shows no abnormalities, remaining dry with musty air.

As they walk further, Qin Sizhi suddenly gets close to Qi Yun, his voice carrying a hint of excitement: "Director Qi, this feels somewhat familiar..."

Hearing this, Qi Yun’s spirit is immediately lifted, signaling Brother Quan to be prepared for any potential crisis.

The formation changes, Brother Quan moves to the forefront, advancing in a triangular formation with Niu Da; Niu Da has already shouldered his machine gun.

After progressing slowly for about ten minutes, An Zai suddenly stops, exclaiming in surprise: "What’s this?"

His head lowered, the flashlight beam precisely illuminating where his right foot had just stepped.

It’s an irregularly shaped hard object, like a small shell or something, with its surface coated in dust and partly buried in fine sand, with one corner cracked by his step.

An Zai bends to pick it up for a closer look, but a figure moves ahead of him.

It’s Qin Sizhi.

He’s already crouching down, holding the object in his hand, his voice trembling with excitement: "That’s right... it’s just like the one I found back then! The patterns..."

All the lights focus on his hands.

After looking for two seconds, Qi Yun retrieves the scale he carries from his backpack, placing both into his palm.

Aside from slight differences in color and size, their texture, shape, and surface patterns, seemingly naturally formed, are almost identical!

The air around seems to freeze.

Under the flashlight beam, the two scales lay quietly in Qi Yun’s palm.

Deep within Qinling, there really exists creatures akin to those of Kunlun... although what they are remains unknown.

But.... perhaps an answer will soon unveil itself...

"Let’s move ahead!"

Having confirmed this fact, Brother Quan and the others’ expressions turn serious.

After all, during their time in Kunlun, they had witnessed firsthand the tragic fate of the Gwen Clan’s small team.