Even though the chieftain’s face was bloody and scarred, the expression he wore as he died was clearly one of rallying his forces, fighting fiercely to the last breath. Even the residual light in his eyes held a remnant of glory and exhilaration, showing no sign of pain or dejection—it seemed as though dying here, in the manner he did, was a thing of great satisfaction.

Upon seeing Qi’er’ouke’s expression at the moment of his death, Fang Senyan felt a strange sense of unease. For the powerful clan he had established to crumble, seeing his followers turn against him, he should have been filled with resentment and agony in his final moments, certainly not bearing such an expression of dying contentedly. But this enigma would have to wait; Fang Senyan and his group simply did not have the luxury of dwelling on it now.

For Fang Senyan and the entire Ace Team, the death of Chief Qi’er’ouke was the greatest piece of good news. Perhaps some creatures could survive having their heads chewed off, but that certainly did not apply to the Na'vi species. In that instant, Fang Senyan heard the sighs of profound relief let out by Mogansha and Jiaoshi.

Next, Fang Senyan turned his gaze to Qi’er’ouke’s headless corpse beside him, then drew the knife he had prepared. A minute later, the most crucial, bloody item was secured: the heart of Chief Qi’er’ouke. However, in their euphoria, the three men were suddenly struck by confusion...

What about the altar?

Where was that damned altar used for the sacrifice???

The three looked at each other blankly. In the time they had waited, Fang Senyan had scoured every corner of the Mosak tribe!

As for the pyramid that was meant to be a diversion, he had inspected nearly every crack between the stones, finding nothing remotely resembling an altar. Well, even if Fang Senyan was perhaps ignorant of their customs, Old Mu’erbo had accompanied him during the search!

Furthermore, the scouting performed earlier by the Raptors confirmed that no such altar existed anywhere in this underground space.

At this moment, MD had also located what he needed—the corpse of the legendary Death God Beast. He placed a golden-yellow nut upon the carcass, and gradually, something began to float up from the body.

This entity seemed to lack any fixed shape whatsoever. To be more precise, it was a hazy mass of light. This light appeared to shift colors constantly, faint and indistinct. It was impossible to tell its specific form; when cupped in a hand, it would seep hazily through the gaps between the fingers, droplet by droplet, like a viscous semi-solid substance, before finally morphing into a golden-yellow hue.

Seeing this result, MD let out a wild shout of joy, even dropping to his knees to kiss the ground. It was clear his hopes were realized, and his perilous efforts had not been in vain! Fang Senyan closed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then declared abruptly:

“This underground space is vast. Why would Qi’er’ouke choose to fight to the death right here?”

The dark-skinned man, who was also growing anxious, swallowed hard, lit a cigar, took a deep drag, and shook his head:

“I don’t know.”

Fang Senyan stated seriously:

“Every person, even every creature, possesses an instinctual aversion to death and danger! So even a baby as pure as a blank slate will naturally pull its hand back if burned, and cry out if it falls!”

“This area is wide open terrain, extremely disadvantageous when surrounded. Given Qi’er’ouke’s strength, he had more than enough ability to fight his way out and retreat while battling, even if death was inevitable. At least that way he could fight with obstructions behind him, significantly delaying the arrival of death!”

“But—his choice was to stand his ground and defend! There must be something here more precious to him than life that he absolutely had to protect!!”

Listening to Fang Senyan’s analysis, Jiaoshi’s eyes brightened. Mogansha took a deep pull from his cigar:

“Usually, the things worth guarding are... family members related by blood?”

Fang Senyan slowly shook his head:

“He has no family. That has already been confirmed, or to be more precise, he hasn't had living family for ten years. So...”

At this point, Fang Senyan’s eyes flashed as he reached his conclusion:

“Perhaps this man was guarding this giant conch. If so, a careful search behind this thing might yield a pleasant surprise.”

As Fang Senyan finished speaking, great swarms of Raptors poured in from all directions and began rushing frantically toward the path winding up the giant shell. Yet, as they approached within one meter of the giant conch, they began to run in disarray, even tearing at each other, as if they were completely deaf to commands.

It was as if an invisible line existed before the conch shell; once the Raptors crossed it, they instantly lost control and went mad. Even the sea of Raptors, which even the Earth Goddess Eywa could not control, was brought to a dead halt there!

It was worth noting that the pathway spiraling up the giant conch shell was situated directly behind Qi’er’ouke’s corpse.

Fang Senyan immediately contacted Jiani, the Queen Insect outside, and quickly received a response. All Raptors were controlled by the mental power emanating from the Hive Mother or the owner. In their current location, there was an extremely powerful source of psychic interference—perhaps even the curse affecting the entire Windstone Plateau was caused by it. If the Black Thorn Mother were present, she could easily overcome this interference, but Jiani, who could only act as a ‘relay station,’ could not.

This meant that for the short term, they could not rely on the Raptors to explore that area. Only then did Fang Senyan and the other two grasp the terrifying difficulty of this Golden Side Quest; it truly felt like the last ten percent of a ninety-percent journey—the closer they got to the goal, the more overwhelming the resistance and hardship ahead became!

“Destroy the shell?” Jiaoshi suggested.

Fang Senyan shook his head slightly:

“Doing that might damage the altar, and if I’m not mistaken… never mind that for now. It seems we have to explore this ourselves. Fortunately, highly intelligent beings like the Na’vi shouldn't be affected by that psychic interference source.”

“Let’s go!” Fang Senyan stepped forward grimly. With the highest sensory perception in the team, he naturally took the lead. As he approached the invisible line, he braced himself mentally. However, when he stepped across, he only felt an oppressive chill surrounding him, causing the hairs on his arms to stand up, but no other abnormality occurred.

Upon getting closer, he realized that the giant conch shell naturally possessed spiral ridges winding toward the tip, about one meter wide, resembling a winding staircase leading to the apex. These ridges appeared remarkably smooth, suggesting frequent use, entirely free of the damp moss, soil, and other accretions growing on other parts of the shell.

This discovery undoubtedly bolstered the confidence of Fang Senyan and his team. They rapidly began climbing along the curve of the spiral ridge. They already possessed superior physical constitutions, and time was rapidly slipping away, so they climbed with all their might. MD followed suit.

Under any other circumstances, Fang Senyan and his group would absolutely never have allowed this powerful Predator to accompany them. However, at this moment, the Predator’s objective was purely to assist Fang Senyan in completing the Golden Side Quest; frankly, his goals held no conflict of interest with MD’s, so his presence was tacitly accepted.

Of course, the most crucial factor was: even though the Raptors could not enter, Old Mu’erbo and the remaining fifteen Taqi tribesmen followed closely behind. Fang Senyan had made his stance clear to Old Mu’erbo: if anything were to happen to him here, his sworn brother, Black Thorn, would certainly slaughter the Taqi tribe as his burial escort! Thus, Old Mu’erbo was forced to exert every effort.

The group climbed silently in the darkness. When they neared the sharp tip of the shell, they noticed a portal suddenly appear on the adjacent shell surface. The patterns and decorations on this entrance were crafted from pure gold, clearly in the Na’vi style. It was vaguely discernible that this was originally a breach in the shell caused by excessive age, which had been cleverly embellished into a doorway.

MD took out his signal gun, loaded a flare, and fired it horizontally into the opening.

Suddenly, a sight unfolded before their eyes: a ramped stairway leading steeply down into the depths. The steps were also very smooth, indicating regular traffic. So, Fang Senyan remained in the lead, peering down into the void, and was immediately met with a magnificent and bizarre spectacle.

The fleshy interior of the conch shell must have decayed years ago. Due to the colossal size of the giant snail, the interior space was roughly the size of a football field, most of which was occupied by a small lake shimmering with rippling light.

The lake water was exceptionally clear, housing many endemic phosphorescent plants—yellow, red, and blue—swaying gracefully within the water. Occasionally, tiny, crystalline bubbles would rise with a soft gurgle, creating a scene of profound beauty. However, toward the center of the lake, the light gradually dimmed in tiers of darkness, revealing an abyss, clearly bottomless! The water source for this lake was undoubtedly located there!

Just as Fang Senyan was about to examine it more closely, Mogansha suddenly pushed him from behind, his voice trembling involuntarily with thrilled surprise:

“Boss, look over there!”

On the left bank of the lake, an altar stood towering!!