As Qiong died, a deafening cracking sound echoed, and the rock face at the cave's apex, centered on the damaged cocoon, suddenly shattered!
The mountain body above, of unknown thickness, now sent down massive stones, crushing the strange monkey pack wailing around Qiong into bloody pulp!
With agile movements, the two dodged and weaved, managing a precarious safety for a while. However, this was not a long-term solution; if they lingered, the fate of the strange monkeys would be their own.
Just then, the familiar thunderous roar sounded again. Zhang Qiling looked over instantly; it was the nearby hydrothermal vent, which had been silent for a long time, erupting once more!
...Beneath the hydrothermal vent was groundwater!
The thought flashed through his mind. Amidst the falling boulders, Zhang Qiling's eyes sharpened. Without time for discussion, he grabbed Hei Yanjing by the collar, sprinted a few steps, and plunged into the pit left by the hydrothermal eruption!
Instantly, bone-chilling underground water enveloped them both!
The moment Zhang Qiling moved, Hei Yanjing understood his intention and held his breath.
With their abilities, neither of them breathing for thirty minutes was entirely achievable.
As long as they could find a new way out within these thirty minutes, they could escape this desperate situation!
There was no light source within the groundwater; before them lay an impenetrable darkness.
In the extremely cold environment, the麒麟 (Qilin) tattoo's self-heating function operated at its peak. Blistering heat radiated through their dark clothing, even causing the water around Zhang Qiling to subtly warm.
Hei Yanjing, beside him, experienced the wondrous sensation of ice-cold water turning warm, feeling as though his entire worldview had been challenged.
Yet, upon recalling the bloody knife's astonishing insect-repelling capabilities and lethality, he suddenly felt it was acceptable.
It wasn't that he had discovered a scientific principle, but rather that such an absurd event seemed reasonable when it involved Zhang Qiling.
So, regardless of whether Zhang Qiling could see, he waved a thumbs-up in the water, expressing his joy at bathing in warm water.
In reality, Zhang Qiling could not see at all.
From his perspective, Hei Yanjing had inexplicably begun breakdancing in the water.
If not for the water's movement indicating Hei Yanjing was still at ease, Zhang Qiling would have suspected he had choked on water.
However, given that Hei Yanjing was such a prone-to-madness individual, Zhang Qiling showed understanding and quietly moved a little further away.
Thus, despite their thoughts being entirely different, the two achieved a peculiar peace.
Just as Zhang Qiling and Hei Yanjing were inwardly praising their own understanding, the calm groundwater suddenly rippled strangely!
Zhang Qiling sensed something was wrong. The Black Gold Ancient Blade immediately struck out, colliding forcefully with something hard less than half a meter ahead, emitting a faint, indistinct clang in the water!
Struck heavily, the object was sent back several meters, disappearing almost as if it had dissolved into the water!
As Zhang Qiling was about to retract his blade, his wrist was suddenly gripped, and Hei Yanjing had already changed their direction!
He instantly followed Hei Yanjing's train of thought. The ancient blade in his hand abruptly shifted angle, and with a posture that would be impossible for an ordinary person to exert force, he slashed at that direction with all his might!
A crisp cracking sound followed!
Based on the sound, Zhang Qiling immediately reached out and grabbed a component that fell from the object.
The tentacle was smooth, chillingly cold, and peculiar in both length and thickness.
...Could this be a segment of human bone?!
Had they just been attacked by a human skeleton capable of moving freely in water?
Since losing his hearing and half his vision, Hei Yanjing's tactile perception of environmental changes had become extremely acute.
He lightly tapped the body of the Black Gold Ancient Blade, and subtle vibrations were transmitted through the hilt.
This was Morse code.
Zhang Qiling carefully deciphered it, realizing what Hei Yanjing wanted to convey—
(They're all around, thirty-six of them.)
Just as he finished deciphering, the water waves around them instantly began to churn violently!
Zhang Qiling understood that those things were attacking in unison. At this moment, he and Hei Yanjing were too close, and their vision was poor; using the Black Gold Ancient Blade rashly could lead to accidental injury.
His mind raced at lightning speed. Just as the skeletons were about to touch them, the deterrent function of the 麒麟 (Qilin) tattoo was forcefully activated!
An invisible force suddenly spread out! The overwhelming aura even stirred countless bubbles in the surrounding groundwater!
Amidst the turbulent water, a faint roar of a 麒麟 (Qilin) could be heard, shaking the heavens and earth. The skeletons froze for a moment under this pressure and then immediately retreated!
Zhang Qiling was about to stop the 麒麟 (Qilin) tattoo's operation when he suddenly felt Hei Yanjing throw something beside him.
After a moment of confusion, Hei Yanjing suddenly grabbed him. Zhang Qiling felt a tremendous force, and he was pulled, moving rapidly through the water!
Only then did he realize that Hei Yanjing had just thrown out the grappling hook from his waist.
The grappling hook had accurately snagged a fleeing skeleton, and now they were honored passengers on a water-wheel pulled by a strange skeleton.
Zhang Qiling: ...It can be done like this?
The skeleton moved swiftly through the water, nimbly avoiding submerged rocks, indeed much faster than the two of them fumbling their way.
However, dragging two people was clearly taxing for the dead, and soon its speed began to slacken.
Hei Yanjing tapped the Black Gold Ancient Blade again.
After a brief moment of self-doubt, Zhang Qiling silently reactivated the 麒麟 (Qilin) tattoo.
The 麒麟's (Qilin's) might swept over, and indeed, the weary skeleton instantly perked up, running even faster than before.
...For some reason, he felt a pang of conscience.
But soon, Zhang Qiling had no time to worry about the survival of his conscience.
As the skeleton swam, the dark water ahead gradually brightened!
They had entered a waterway where the underwater walls were covered with peculiar bioluminescent plants. A soft, ethereal glow permeated the area, making it seem like a beautiful fairytale world.
But this was not the main point.
With the appearance of light, the skeleton ahead became fully visible.
It was indeed a human skull and the upper half of a human torso.
But the lower half of the skeleton was the tailbone of a fish!
...Mermaid.
This name flashed through his mind, and the reason for the skeleton's swift swimming was finally found.
However, new doubts soon arose.
Why would mermaids, who should live in the seabed, appear in Tibet, at an extremely high altitude far from the sea?
With no time for deep thought, Zhang Qiling, using the light, saw a clear crack in the earth wall at the upper part of the water ahead!
Fine bubbles were emerging from the lower edge of the crack!
This could connect to the outside!
He nudged Hei Yanjing to alert him, Zhang Qiling slightly lowered his body to gather strength, and the Black Gold Ancient Blade instantly struck the deepest crack with precision!
Crushed stone flew, soil sank, and Zhang Qiling grabbed Hei Yanjing and leaped up!
Air rushed to meet them, and before them lay another dark cave!
They had successfully escaped!
Zhang Qiling took a moment to catch his breath, shook the water off the Black Gold Ancient Blade, and then activated the 麒麟 (Qilin) tattoo as a clothing dryer.
After completing these tasks, he turned to look at Hei Yanjing, wanting to assess the condition of his temporary teammate.
He saw Hei Yanjing casually tucking away the grappling hook, holding the mermaid skeleton in one hand, and enthusiastically coloring its ribs with a crayon.
Clearly, the water-dampened crayon was not easy to color with, but that was unimportant.
Zhang Qiling: ...Why did you bring it up here?
...Why hasn't your crayon fallen off even after all this?!