Mu Hongling paused, startled, but Nie Kong merely smiled without speaking, merely pointing a hand forward.

Mu Hongling and Bai Yuqing followed the direction of his finger, only to see a black line that had materialized in the center of their space. Astonishingly, the black line was growing rapidly. Only after a few seconds did the two realize that the black line was, in fact, a fissure.

"Huh?"

Mu Hongling blinked her dark, bright eyes, sprang up, and muttered suspiciously, "What is that? An exit?" Her footsteps involuntarily moved toward it.

Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing also couldn't help but stand up and advance.

"Rumble!"

The stone pillars continued to vibrate violently, though the tremor had begun to slowly subside. Under the gaze of the three, the fissure kept widening.

After about a minute, the fissure had become an opening roughly three meters wide and three meters long. It was pitch-black, seemingly bottomless, but the void at the entrance rippled constantly like water. When the fissure stopped expanding, the vibration of the stone pillars also ceased. Silence reigned all around them.

"It really is an exit."

Mu Hongling clapped her hands and laughed, two perfectly round dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth.

Bai Yuqing let out a soft breath, and a hint of joy also surfaced on Nie Kong’s brow. If death had truly descended, the three of them could have faced it calmly, but surviving was certainly a cause for happiness. However, whether this black hole was a safe exit or concealed further danger remained uncertain.

"Not necessarily."

Immediately, Bai Yuqing frowned, clearly harboring the same worry.

Nie Kong nodded. "Before the Soul of the Prison Fire Heavenly Dragon's soul vanished, it swore we would regret it. Perhaps it was referring to this exit. It must have known this exit would appear after its soul dissipated. There might be immense danger hidden here."

"No matter what, having an exit is better than having none," Mu Hongling said, seemingly unconcerned, with a sweet smile. "With the massive disturbance outside just now, the sinkhole must have been filled long ago. Aside from here, there is no other way out. We have no choice left."

"That’s true," Nie Kong smiled. "This exit might be an illusion. Little Master, Sister Bai, wait up above; I’ll check the situation first." As he spoke, Nie Kong's thoughts moved, and his mental projection extended out of his body, surrounding his physical form with a dense mesh of 'Purple Luo Illusionary Spirit Incense.'

"Hold on."

However, just as Nie Kong was about to leap in, Mu Hongling grabbed him, speaking with an air of old maturity. "I am the Master. Good fortune like escaping the heavens should be enjoyed by the Master first. How can an apprentice enjoy something before the Master? You wait up above."

"Uh?"

Nie Kong was deeply moved.

Jumping into this exit might indeed lead to escaping the heavens, but besides escaping the trap, there was an even greater possibility: it could be a death trap. Nie Kong, Mu Hongling, and Bai Yuqing all understood this clearly. The one who went down first faced the highest probability of death.

But despite his emotion, as the only man present and the most powerful among them, Nie Kong could not allow the young girl Mu Hongling to take the risk.

Yet, before he could voice his objection, a white shadow suddenly flashed past him.

"Whoosh,"

Bai Yuqing plunged in abruptly, vanishing into the black hole in an instant.

"This girl!"

Nie Kong and Mu Hongling, surprised that Bai Yuqing had quietly seized the initiative, found no need to argue, and jumped down almost simultaneously.

"Whoosh,"

The rush of wind whistled past his ears, and in a flash, the darkness in his vision turned blood-red, while the sensation of solid ground returned beneath his feet. Nie Kong glanced around and saw Bai Yuqing and Mu Hongling right beside him.

He quietly let out a sigh of relief before examining the surroundings: It was a wide passage, stretching straight ahead for an unknown distance. A blood-red phosphorescence emanated from the walls, illuminating the tunnel clearly.

Safe, for now!

Nie Kong’s eyes turned toward Bai Yuqing. The young girl's expression was composed, though a slight flicker danced in her cool eyes. Before Nie Kong could speak, she said, "Let's go!"

"This time I'm definitely going first," Mu Hongling giggled, flashing past Bai Yuqing.

Nie Kong felt a surge of helplessness.

He swallowed the words that had risen to his throat and brought up the rear.

Now that his mind had calmed, Nie Kong noticed a strange phenomenon: the half piece of 'Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf' in his 'Pet Backpack' was vibrating even more intensely, bathing the entire pack in a vibrant emerald glow, as if something ahead was calling to it.

"Perhaps there is another 'Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf' here!" Nie Kong's heart skipped a beat.

"Step, step..."

The three walked without stopping, their echoing footsteps booming in the passage.

The last words of the 'Soul of the Prison Fire Heavenly Dragon' before its soul dissipated had served as an excellent inoculation. Even though no dangerous aura manifested here, their vigilance did not slacken; instead, their guard intensified. Both Bai Yuqing and Mu Hongling channeled their spiritual energy.

After walking straight for nearly fifteen minutes, all three froze. The passage, having extended to this point, had split into nine identical side tunnels.

Nie Kong, Bai Yuqing, and Mu Hongling stared at each other in astonishment.

The height, width, and shape of the nine side tunnels were entirely uniform, lying there silently, resembling nine ferocious beasts with their bloody maws gaping, ready to devour them.

"Which one do we take?"

Mu Hongling murmured.

Nie Kong pondered for a moment, then suddenly pulled out a small jade bottle from his robes. After pouring out a spiritual medicine, he tossed the empty bottle into the far-right fork.

"Thump,"

A faint sound struck their hearts. The three stared unblinkingly at the passage, feeling a growing tension.

After about a minute...

Amidst violent roaring, the entrance of that fork rapidly sealed itself, and then the entire passage dissolved. In a brief moment, only eight side tunnels remained before the trio; there was no sign that the far-right fork had ever existed, as if it had never appeared.

Seeing this bizarre sight, Nie Kong was startled.

Mu Hongling's delicate, round face showed a solemn expression. "It seems that last statement from that foolish dragon is coming true here."

Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing nodded in silence.

Although they had only tested one fork with a small jade bottle, they could already imagine the danger involved. Regardless of whether the path chosen was right or wrong, once inside, the passage would completely close in a short time. If they realized they had taken the wrong path and wanted to turn back, there was only one result: no way! Even if someone from outside wanted to rescue a companion who chose incorrectly, the answer would still be the same: no way!

"Boom!"

With a booming sound, the far-right passage reappeared.

Upon seeing this, Nie Kong, Bai Yuqing, and Mu Hongling felt no joy. Perhaps the passage had only reopened because it detected no life signs inside. If the three of them had entered just now, it would have been fine if they chose correctly, but if they chose wrongly, they might never have a chance to return.

"The bottle is gone!"

Bai Yuqing suddenly spoke up.

Nie Kong and Mu Hongling had also noticed this; the jade bottle at the entrance of that passage had vanished without a trace. However, based on this alone, they could not determine if that fork was the correct one.

Nine forks—which path to choose? This was a difficult decision!

One wrong step and eternal damnation would follow!

The brows of the three were tightly furrowed as their gazes darted between the nine forks. The passage fell so quiet that a dropped needle could be heard, seemingly only the faint sound of their three heartbeats resonating.

"Hum!" The tremor in the Pet Backpack interrupted Nie Kong's thoughts.

Focusing his spirit inside the backpack, Nie Kong realized that the 'Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf' had quietly shifted its position; the tip of the leaf was now pointing toward the fifth fork.

Nie Kong's heart stirred, and he tentatively turned his back. The 'Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf' adjusted its orientation again, the tip once more pointing to its original location.

"Could it be..."

An idea uncontrollably popped into his mind. Nie Kong suddenly became slightly agitated, turning his body left, then right, then forward, then backward, busily occupied...

"Apprentice, what are you doing?" Mu Hongling asked in bewilderment, seeing Nie Kong’s movements. Bai Yuqing, though silent beside her, also showed deep surprise in her eyes.

"I am searching for the correct way out," Nie Kong couldn't help but say excitedly, his eyes brimming with joy.

"Oh?"

Mu Hongling couldn't help but laugh. "So, have you determined it?"

"I have determined it; it's the fifth one," Nie Kong stated decisively. After more than ten different attempts, the 'Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf' in the 'Pet Backpack' had consistently pointed to the fifth fork. It was highly probable that the 'Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf' it was drawn to was there, meaning the fifth fork should be the true exit. Of course, this was not absolute, but the probability of it being correct was very high.

"Really?"

Mu Hongling was momentarily stunned. Her intention had only been to tease Nie Kong; she hadn't expected him to give such a resolute answer, and judging by his demeanor, he wasn't joking at all. After a moment, Mu Hongling snapped back to attention, smiling wryly. "What basis do you have for that?"

"None! Intuition!" Nie Kong smiled faintly and said with ease.

"Intuition?"

Mu Hongling's eyes instantly widened.

Gritting her teeth, Mu Hongling forcibly suppressed the urge to whack Nie Kong on the head. At a moment that decided life or death, what use was intuition? Nie Kong had intuition; she had intuition too! Her intuition told her the ninth fork was the exit, but she didn't believe her intuition was correct.

"Hmm!"

Bai Yuqing snorted softly and then looked away, clearly not wanting to dampen Nie Kong's confidence.

Nie Kong was not surprised by their reactions and merely said with a gentle smile, "Little Master, Sister Bai, my intuition is usually very accurate. On the summit of Flame Mountain, how did I find that stone tablet and activate the spirit pattern? To be honest, that was also based on my intuition!"

.....