Before them, an underground river, roughly ten meters wide, flowed steadily onward; beyond it, there was no other path. To everyone's surprise, wisps of steam curled up from the river's surface. Young Master Liu knelt by the edge of the ice, tentatively testing the water. He discovered the underground river was actually quite warm. The group marveled at nature's astonishing ingenuity.

Young Master Liu turned back to the others. "Everyone, take a short rest. Gather your strength, and prepare to enter the water!"

They nodded in agreement. After five minutes of rest and stretching their limbs, an undeniable tension lingered in the air. None of them were entirely certain if they could actually make their way out by following this river. Yet, even with only a one percent chance of survival, they were determined to fight for it.

Whoosh! Fan Debiao was the first to plunge into the steaming underground river. He swam around joyfully. "Hey, hurry up and jump in! It's incredibly warm, almost like soaking in a hot spring!"

Splash! Splatter! Water sprayed everywhere as they jumped in one after another. The comforting warmth enveloped them, and the fatigue in their bodies instantly lessened. The sensation was genuinely blissful.

Fan Debiao scrubbed at the dirt on his skin. "If only we had some body wash or shampoo right now, I truly long for a proper, satisfying bath!"

They drifted forward with the current. The warm flow felt like a soft, large hand gently caressing their bodies. The tension that had held their minds captive for so long finally eased, and their spirits lifted unconsciously. They began to chat idly.

Yang Weidong wiped the water from his face. "This place is truly bizarre. Not only do we have an active volcano, but we also found an underground ice cavern. The fact that these two seemingly opposite environments coexist here is frankly unbelievable!"

Jia Zhuangyuan chimed in, "Nature is precisely this marvelous! Just like the underground river we encountered earlier—the water was bone-chillingly cold—but the water in this river is so wonderfully warm!"

"Hey, has anyone noticed the current is getting faster?" Cai Qingchong’s observation jolted everyone.

Indeed, the flow was gradually becoming more turbulent, and the rushing sound in their ears grew louder.

"Look!" Fan Debiao suddenly cried out, pointing ahead in alarm.

In the dim light, they could see that about twenty meters ahead, the width of the underground river abruptly narrowed, shrinking from ten meters down to barely five. This constriction was caused by a sizeable cavern entrance—a hole that looked like the gaping mouth of a huge fish. The river, which had been flowing placidly, immediately turned into a churning torrent outside this "fish mouth." Numerous whirlpools dotted the surface, and the current was viciously swift.

"Oh my god!" They stared in panic at the frothing, gaping maw, their hearts hammering with terror.

The rushing water propelled them forward rapidly, as if a massive suction force had locked onto them. They were completely unable to turn back against the powerful flow, forced only to watch the fish mouth rush closer, and closer, and closer, as the sound of the surging water began to roar in their ears.

Crash! A massive wave broke over them, swallowing them whole into the violent current.

It felt as if they were experiencing the overlapping weight of a thousand reincarnations, or passing through a thousand shattered dreams. Everything spun as if they were tumbling clothes inside an automatic washing machine. Then, a tremendous force, like a giant hand, thrust them upward.

Outside, it was now deep night. A profound silence reigned, broken only by the faint, cool moonlight filtering through layers of branches onto the water surface, scattering tiny, shimmering reflections. These glints were instantly shattered by their sudden emergence, creating ripples that spread outward on the water.