"Hey! You alright?" Fan Debiao's voice suddenly cut through to Liu Dashao's ears. Liu Dashao looked around frantically, seeing no one, and a shock went through him—had Fan Debiao died? Was this his ghost calling to him?

"Dashao, what are you looking at up there? I'm down here," Fan Debiao roared.

Liu Dashao gripped the stone tightly, twisted his head to look down, and saw Fan Debiao standing near his feet, panting as he looked up at him. Fan Debiao, Jackson, Su Yougui, and the huge grasshopper carrying the green caterpillar were all below.

Only then did Liu Dashao breathe a sigh of relief: "Is everyone okay?"

Fan Debiao said, "We're fine, everyone’s good. It’s just that Jackson got scared half to death."

Jackson retorted, "You’re the one going crazy, I’m perfectly fine."

As soon as Jackson finished speaking, Fan Debiao burst into loud laughter. It turned out Fan Debiao had just been teasing Jackson. Liu Dashao shook his head and chuckled too.

"Liu Dashao, is that you? Is that really you!" At that moment, an old man crawled out from the opposite bank of the underground river, his face haggard, the wrinkles on it nearly obscuring his entire countenance. He looked to be well over a hundred years old. However, judging by his clothing, he was wearing distinctly modern attire. Liu Dashao initially thought a local villager had also ventured into the tomb searching for treasure. Yet, he was intensely curious—why would someone so ancient venture into this cave? Wasn't he afraid for his life!

"You... you... come here!" The old man’s voice was incredibly ancient, as if he were on the brink of death. He called out weakly.

Liu Dashao glanced at the old fellow, his mind drawing a complete blank. So, he asked out of curiosity, "Who are you, and why have I never seen you before?"

The old man didn't answer his question, instead expending all his remaining strength to call out, "Hurry and come here! I have something urgent to discuss with you! Hurry up, Liu Dashao!"

"First, tell me who you are! How do you know my name?" Liu Dashao’s voice suddenly turned ice-cold, making the old man shudder. When things deviated from the norm, there was always a demon afoot. Liu Dashao knew that at this critical juncture, one small misstep could doom them all to eternal ruin.

"Hahahaha, surely you can recognize my voice?" Though the old man’s hair was snow-white and he seemed utterly lifeless, his bearing carried a faint, arrogant air of a domineering hero, giving Liu Dashao a sense of familiarity, as if he had heard it somewhere but couldn't place it immediately. He could count the people he knew on ten fingers; it couldn't be any of them. Moreover, Liu Dashao was just a minor figure; the aura the old man projected was not something a mere peasant could possess or imitate.

As he racked his brain, Fan Debiao suddenly flinched violently beside him, his eyes wide, teeth chattering as he pointed at the old man and stammered, "Ge Shuanwa, I know! You... you are Ge Shuanwa!" As soon as he said it, a surge of murderous rage erupted in his heart, threatening to consume his reason.

Liu Dashao was momentarily stunned, then sneered, "Haha, I never thought the dignified Daoist Master Ge would ever come to this!"

"Heh heh, heheh, wuwu..." Ge Shuanwa's voice gradually shifted from wild laughter to sorrowful weeping. He looked at Liu Dashao with profound sadness and said, "Little fellow, you... ah, actually, I never intended to harm you. If only you would hand over the second volume of the Taiping Sutra..." Although Ge Shuanwa’s tone was mournful, the fragments of his speech could not suppress the endless, frantic desire within him.

Liu Dashao gave him a look of utter contempt, then emphatically flipped him the middle finger, saying, "Men reap what they sow, the heavens watch over all. The moment you sent those tomb robbers ahead of you as decoys, you should have known what your fate would be. Wake up! Stop clinging to those absurd fantasies!"

Ge Shuanwa froze for a moment upon hearing this, then erupted into hysterical laughter: "Hahahaha, the true secrets of heaven are things you lowly dirt-level Daoists will never comprehend. But if I die, you all have to be buried with me!" With that, he gestured wildly toward the ground beneath everyone's feet, his amusement evident in his grin: "Look, look! Look what's coming!"

The group started, hastily looking down, only to discover that after the intense scouring of the tidal wave, the pool had completely collapsed. The rerouted water surged with the frantic power of a fully engaged bulldozer. They were now trapped on what felt like a small island—the result of the earth layers piling up when the pool gave way.

On the other side of the torrent, Ge Shuanwa's face flushed crimson with excitement as he heard the roar of the water.

"Hahahaha, immortality, hahahaha, immortality!" Ge Shuanwa began to cackle to himself: "You... you give me the second volume, and I... I guarantee I will show you a clear path..."

"Do you think we would believe a word you say?" Liu Dashao replied calmly, as if listening to a farce performed by a theatrical troupe.

"You... I'm serious, Liu Dashao. If I am not mistaken, the 'Human Scroll' in the tomb chamber has already fallen into your hands. I never thought my meticulously planned scheme would end up benefiting a mud-footed peasant like you. However, you must be interested in the 'Heaven Scroll' I took, right? How about this? Let's be frank, and I will share the secret of eternal life with you!"

"Hold on, Ge Shuanwa. Tell me, why exactly did you end up looking so monstrous?" Liu Dashao asked curiously, looking at Ge Shuanwa lying on the ground.

"Hahahaha, why do I look like this? Isn't it because I cultivated the first volume!" Ge Shuanwa stated, each word weighted with towering hatred.

"You brought this upon yourself!" Liu Dashao cursed.

"Brought it upon myself?" Ge Shuanwa laughed maniacally: "Hahahaha, the successive abbots of my Wudang Mountain Jiuzhen Temple, including my master, my ancestor—which of them didn't hope to achieve eternal life? But since they failed to realize their wish, they pinned their hopes on me. I... I cannot disappoint the trust Elder placed in me..." Ge Shuanwa's tone was tinged with bitter grief.

Liu Dashao tightened his grip on the Celestial Master Sword strapped to his back and sneered, "Fool, do you know? From the moment you took that first step, you were wrong—completely and utterly wrong. Do you think everyone is as foolish as you? True cultivation is an adaptation to nature, a compliance with the Heavenly Dao. Look at you now, in what way do you resemble a man of the cloth? Take your foolish dreams to King Yama and realize them there!" He finished with a sigh, completely unmoved by the words.

"This poor Daoist, Zhang Jiao, studied the Way for thirty years in the Jialing Emei Mountains of Xichuan. Suddenly, a voice called my name from within a stone wall; when I looked, no one was there. This happened for several days. Suddenly, a celestial thunder shattered the stone wall, and I obtained three volumes of heavenly scripture, called the Taiping Qingling Book. The upper volume is named 'Heavenly Evasion,' the middle volume 'Earthly Evasion,' and the lower volume 'Human Evasion.' Heavenly Evasion allows one to ride the clouds and wind, ascending to the Void; Earthly Evasion allows one to penetrate mountains and stone; Human Evasion allows one to travel the four seas, conceal one's form and transform, wielding flying swords and throwing blades to sever heads. The three volumes combined constitute the marvel of eternal life!" Even after Liu Dashao refused, Ge Shuanwa continued to ramble on by himself.

"Let's go!" Liu Dashao pushed back Su Yougui, who was rolling up his sleeves, ready for a brawl, and restrained Fan Debiao, who was about to rush forward.

"Brother Fan, you shouldn't engage in this meaningless struggle either..."

"But... but Kangzi and the others..." Fan Debiao's face was livid, his teeth nearly shattering. Though he was a scoundrel, he was fiercely loyal to his brothers. Hu Beikang and the Huang brothers had followed him all the way from Harbin, and it was because of this man before them that they had met their miserable ends, directly or indirectly. How could this stout fellow from the Northeast not fly into a rage?

"That's enough, that's enough," the Big Grasshopper took off his sunglasses and patted Fan Debiao’s shoulder, saying earnestly, "You've walked more roads than Brother Liu, yet you haven't grasped things as clearly as he has! This is karma for a man like Ge. Brother, don't get involved anymore. When will the cycle of vengeance ever end?" He finished by flicking a cigarette from his case and putting it between Fan Debiao's lips.

Liu Dashao, standing next to the Big Grasshopper, had heard every word. He shot the Grasshopper a glance of surprise, then broke into a broad smile. "Let's go!"