Fan DeBiao retorted, "Damn it all, Da Guoguo and I just kept walking straight ahead. We walked and walked until we bumped into a Jiaoren, and we had a massive scrap with it. Then you and that Millennial Worm showed up."

"Huh? If you say so, how did we end up back here again? We’re done for, done for! It really must be a ghost wall!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Da Guoguo raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop. Before Fan DeBiao could ask why, a stench-laden gust of wind washed over them.

Fan DeBiao was ready to drop dead right there; he stomped his foot and burst out cursing, "Damn his ancestors, how did this bastard loop back on us again!"

At this point, all four of them were utterly disoriented by the tomb passage, unable to grasp what was happening.

Da Guoguo raised his gun, "No matter what, we’re bound to run into this damned Jiaoren again, so we might as well fight it head-on." With that, he opened fire on the Jiaoren.

Even the overwhelming firepower of the Thompson submachine gun couldn't halt the Jiaoren’s advance. Seeing the creature drawing closer and closer, a dark shadow suddenly shot out from the darkness behind it.

The sounds of fighting echoed deafeningly in the dark tomb passage. Fan DeBiao stared into the gloom, "Did any of you get a clear look at that shadow just now?"

Da Guoguo lowered his gun, surprise coloring his tone, "That shadow was a person; that must have been Master Liu!"

Hearing Da Guoguo’s words, Fan DeBiao was overcome with shock and joy, saying, "So Old Liu is still alive! Heh heh, truly remarkable individuals are indeed remarkable. We can’t handle the Jiaoren with guns, yet he’s engaging it in close-quarters combat—a truly heroic proletarian fighter!"

While Fan DeBiao was speaking, Da Guoguo had already finished a cigarette, tossing the butt onto the ground and grinding it out twice with his foot. "Yeah, you’re right. At first, I thought being rescued by you guys was just coincidence, but encountering this Jiaoren now, I’ve truly seen Master Liu’s capabilities."

Seeing Da Guoguo rambling on about irrelevant topics, Fan DeBiao cut him off: "Da Guoguo, stop with the nonsense. Young Master is currently fighting for his life against the Jiaoren! Shouldn't we be figuring out a way to go help?"

At Fan DeBiao’s urging, Da Guoguo stopped musing about Liu Da Shao and asked, "So, how should we help?"

"This…"

Just as everyone was at a loss, Liu Da Shao suddenly flashed before them. His upper body clothes were completely shredded, exposing bare skin riddled with wounds, making him look like a living anatomical model. He clutched the Tianshi Sword in his right hand, yet his breathing was steady. If not for the injuries covering him, one wouldn't suspect he had just emerged from a fierce battle.

Seeing Liu Da Shao retreat toward them, Fan DeBiao and Da Guoguo immediately pulled out dried black donkey hooves, ready to attack. Liu Da Shao spread both hands to stop them, saying, "No, the black donkey hooves won't work on this thing. Turn off your flashlights and follow me!" With that, he bolted toward the rear of the group.

The others had no idea what trick Liu Da Shao was up to, but they had no choice. So, everyone switched off their lights and followed him.

Without the beams of the flashlights, the group was plunged into total darkness. They ran in silence, their footsteps echoing down the tomb passage—a sound that sent a chill down the spine.

As they ran, Da Guoguo secretly thought, This is bad; this tomb passage is a mechanism. If we keep running like this, we’ll inevitably run into the Jiaoren again. And if we meet it in the dark, none of us will know who gets struck! Just as he was about to warn Liu Da Shao, assuming he didn't know the passage was a mechanism based on the ghost wall principle, Liu Da Shao suddenly shouted, "Jump!"

Since everyone was following Liu Da Shao’s lead, they all leaped off the ground when he yelled "Jump!"

Da Guoguo figured they must have encountered the Jiaoren, which was why Liu Da Shao told them to jump over it. Just as he prepared to land, he found nothing beneath him. It felt like falling into a ditch, and the sensation utterly bewildered him; he couldn't utter a word.

After falling, Da Guoguo felt himself land on something soft and spongy. Thinking he had encountered another monster, he quickly turned on his flashlight and shone it down. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief: what he was lying on was Fan DeBiao.

Fan DeBiao lay face down on the ground, his mouth agape, equally speechless. A quick sweep with the light showed the others were the same. Da Guoguo mused, It must have been that sudden ditch.

After a while, everyone slowly recovered. Fan DeBiao stood up and pointed at Da Guoguo, cursing, "You grave robber! You son of a bitch, did you have to land right on me!"

Da Guoguo waved his hand helplessly. At this moment, the four flashlights illuminated the area, making everything clearly visible. Directly opposite them, dozens of meters away, was the stone door where they had first entered the tomb. Behind them was a burial chamber roughly the size of half a basketball court.

Fan DeBiao exclaimed, "Did our jump break the mechanism in this passage?"

Liu Da Shao walked into the center of the group and said, "Actually, you all were upstairs just now."

Hearing this, everyone immediately directed their flashlights upward. There, above them, was an identical tomb passage, running parallel to the one they were in. At the far end of the upper passage hung a Taiji Bagua mirror, about a meter high.

Seeing the mirror, Da Guoguo declared, "That’s an Yin-Yang Mirror!"

Before Fan DeBiao could ask, Da Guoguo explained, "The Yin-Yang Mirror is supposedly a high-level Daoist artifact. It can transform the space in front of it into another real space, and these two spaces are exact opposites. I suspect this mirror is what was causing us to run in circles and fail to exit that passage!"

After Da Guoguo’s explanation, Fan DeBiao and the others realized with dismay that they must have been running for so long in a mere ten-meter stretch of tunnel. It was incredibly deceptive!

After a round of curses, Fan DeBiao turned to Liu Da Shao and asked, "Brother, how did you figure out this mechanism?"

Liu Da Shao sheathed the Tianshi Sword back into the scabbard on his back and recounted the events. He explained that after the Jiaoren emerged from the door, he decided to hold it off alone and told the others to run ahead. Later, he saw the short passage they had run down slowly rising, and Yin-Yang Mirrors appeared at both ends of the tunnel. During his fierce battle with the Jiaoren, he kept hearing their footsteps echoing from the passage above, realizing they were trapped. Then, he had a flash of inspiration: he lured the Jiaoren into the upper passage and led the others out, effectively trapping the creature inside. The injuries he sustained were from luring the Jiaoren.

Listening to Liu Da Shao’s explanation, Fan DeBiao finally understood the cause and effect. Thinking of this, Fan DeBiao stared at the Yin-Yang Mirror, his eyes shining greedily. "This treasure is a fine object! It would fetch a good price if we took it out!"

At Fan DeBiao’s comment, Liu Da Shao became furious: "Is that all the ambition you have? We didn't come here as grave robbers! Nothing in this place leaves with us."

Da Guoguo frowned and also advised him, "Fat Brother, you must not touch that thing! If you move it, that Jiaoren will get out, and we’ll all suffer greatly then."

Hearing this, Fan DeBiao nodded repeatedly, "Oh, right, I completely forgot about that son of a bitch trapped inside."

Liu Da Shao cursed silently to himself, Damn it, Fan DeBiao. You were just fighting that Jiaoren to the death up above, and in this short time, you forgot? You’re truly naive, aren't you!

Da Guoguo paused before saying, "Since everything is back to normal, let's continue deeper into the tomb!"

As the group turned to walk into the chamber, they only heard a loud "CRASH" from behind them. They spun around to see the airborne tomb passage had crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces. The two Yin-Yang Mirrors were also smashed beyond recognition. Amidst the rubble, the Jiaoren’s blood-red eyes were fixed directly on them, punctuated by occasional "Awoo" cries.

It seemed the Jiaoren was enraged; this time, it wouldn't stop until it had struck them all down.

Five people and one Jiaoren stood locked in a stare in the tomb passage, each side poised to launch a fatal attack.

In the chaotic tomb passage, the five people and the single Jiaoren maintained a tense standoff. The Jiaoren was also heavily wounded; nearly half its scales had fallen off. It glared at everyone with savage malice; its very look made them uncomfortable. Just as Fan DeBiao and Da Guoguo aimed their guns at the Jiaoren, preparing to fire, Liu Da Shao stopped them.