“Don’t detonate it!” Uncle Diao stopped them. “We are beneath the desert, and this underground palace is already incredibly fragile. If the explosives go off, we’ll all be buried under the yellow sands, and no one will ever get out.”

The big man listened, furious. “Damn it, if we don’t blow these beasts to kingdom come, we’ll die anyway. We might as well take them down with us.”

“There’s no need for mutual destruction. We’ll exit the way we came in!” Clay Figure Zhang said dimly from the side.

“That won’t work, there’s something inside…” Old Wu hadn’t finished speaking when Clay Figure Zhang interrupted, his voice still dull. “Don’t worry! The mechanisms inside have already been disarmed.”

Young Master Liu started, disarmed? When had that happened?

After speaking, Clay Figure Zhang walked straight toward the opening. The others hesitated for a moment, until Uncle Diao and Old Wu stepped inside, and then they all followed suit.

The group exchanged glances, then looked behind them—the swarm of snakes was almost upon their heels. They had no choice; without hesitation, they jogged into the opening.

As soon as they entered, they heard a loud “Boom!” Young Master Liu turned back to see that the opening was gone, replaced only by a cold brick wall. Still, this was for the best; at least the snakes outside couldn’t follow them in.

In Young Master Liu’s estimation, this entire tomb was one massive mechanism. As for how it was activated, he wasn’t a student of architecture, so he naturally couldn’t figure it out, and he suspected everyone else present was equally bewildered.

Judging by the situation Uncle Diao and the others had encountered earlier inside, it should be the same as what everyone had experienced before. Now that no white smoke was emerging, it seemed Clay Figure Zhang was right: the mechanisms were unlocked.

Young Master Liu saw Uncle Diao and the others standing ahead, staring blankly in the distance. Sensing he had understood correctly, he hurried over to them.

When he reached their side, Young Master Liu completely understood why they were stunned. He hadn't expected that behind this brick wall lay a world of its own. While nothing here seemed miraculous by current standards, it represented a fairly advanced level of construction for that era.

The sight gave the impression of standing beneath a highway interchange, except here, instead of roads, there were tiers of stairs.

Above their heads were crisscrossing steps, not densely packed, but without any supporting pillars. No one knew if a person standing on them would cause a collapse.

This wasn't the most captivating feature. What finally drew Young Master Liu’s gaze was the dense array of tiny holes peppered across the brick wall. The holes were so small that even a large ant probably couldn't squeeze through. It was only because they were so numerous that it was difficult to notice them on the wall at all.

At this point, Young Master Liu was puzzled. These holes were definitely not naturally formed; someone must have intentionally drilled them. But what was the purpose of drilling so many tiny holes in this wall? Ventilation? That seemed unlikely. Although Young Master Liu knew very little about the tombs of the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions, it was common knowledge that ancient tombs were designed to be airtight—this was true even for foreign burial sites. These holes could not possibly be for ventilation.

“These are the mechanisms inside!” While Young Master Liu was pondering, Clay Figure Zhang approached him and looked at the perforated brick wall, saying, “These are the mechanisms.”

Hearing this, Young Master Liu found it strange. How could these holes constitute a mechanism? After thinking it over carefully, he realized it made a sort of sense. The mechanism here was likely a type of gas, and these tiny holes were the channels for its release. What puzzled Young Master Liu now was where this gas originated and why it had remained dormant for so long, only releasing when they entered. He looked at Clay Figure Zhang, assuming he knew the situation, and began to question him.

Clay Figure Zhang explained that this gas was released by the snakes outside. He emphasized that those snakes were not the ‘Nine-Eater Yin’ but were called ‘Black-Bellied Flood Dragons,’ whose blood was more toxic than their venom. He added that these snakes subsisted by eating their own kind and had an extremely high reproductive rate—as long as there was one male and one female, the species would never die out.

Hearing this, Young Master Liu couldn’t help but sigh, thankful that such snakes didn't exist elsewhere, or the world would descend into chaos.

Young Master Liu recalled Uncle Diao saying that this gas was transmitted through human sense of smell and sight. He thought about why Jackson hadn't been affected when the others succumbed and asked Clay Figure Zhang if there was any antidote to this poison gas.

Clay Figure Zhang replied that this poison gas was common, and antibodies would be rare, with a probability of about one in a hundred million.

This puzzled Young Master Liu, so he recounted how Jackson had saved everyone and asked him about it.

Clay Figure Zhang paused, then said, “Perhaps your friend is one of that one hundred million.”

Hearing that, Young Master Liu smiled and shook his head. Jackson really was that unique; facing those snakes, he had been an absolute clown.

The group didn't have time to study the area further; Uncle Diao urged everyone to find a way out.

Wang Feifei, who understood many things, observed the scene for a long time and naturally spotted some clues. She stated that these steps couldn't be climbed randomly; taking a wrong step would prevent them from reaching the top.

Fan Debiao grew anxious and asked Wang Feifei exactly what to do.

Wang Feifei had already deciphered the structure. She pointed to one of the many steps and said, “We go this way.” With that, she walked straight across.

The others, including Uncle Diao and Clay Figure Zhang, couldn't grasp the layout because the design was so unconventional. Having no other option, they followed Wang Feifei.

At first, everyone was deeply concerned. With so many people walking on a structure that seemed only tenuously supported and for such a long time, they worried it might collapse.

But they quickly dismissed this idea. Everyone walked very smoothly on the steps, and the structure showed no sign of imminent failure. After walking for a while, all their anxieties eased, and they began to stride forward confidently.

As Young Master Liu walked, he looked down and saw a figure standing rigidly on the ground. At first, Young Master Liu thought it was a ghost. Looking closely, the person was indeed Fan Debiao.

“Fan Debiao, what the hell are you doing down there? Are you possessed?” Young Master Liu stopped and shouted down to him.

“Damn it, these stairs look a bit shaky!” Fan Debiao appeared slightly nervous.

“Shaky how? Didn’t you see everyone else walking up without any issue? Hurry up and climb on!” Young Master Liu was both exasperated and amused.

Hearing Young Master Liu’s words, Fan Debiao finally calmed down. He carefully stepped onto the stair, bounced on it a few times for emphasis, and then cautiously followed them up.

Wang Feifei certainly knew her stuff; this path was indeed the right one. Everyone reached the top safely—so safely, in fact, that it was somewhat unexpected.

They crossed the tomb chamber where they had previously been afflicted and reached the ring-shaped boardwalk. Wang Feifei led them back to the spot where they had first entered this ancient tomb.

Young Master Liu pointed to the dark, gaping hole and said to Uncle Diao, “Uncle Diao, this is the place. This is where we fell in. Now, let’s see what you can do.”

Uncle Diao rushed to the dark river, looked up, drew two cold flares, struck one against his leg, and tossed the object inside, but the effect was negligible. This was entirely within my expectations.

Uncle Diao clicked his tongue and said, “Rat, you figure it out.”

“Alright, Master Diao,” a short, skinny man with prominent buck teeth replied from the crowd, responding to Uncle Diao before walking toward him.