The problem seemed to resolve itself in an instant, and a wave of relief washed over everyone’s faces.

"However," I cautioned, "I must state the worst-case scenario: all of this is pure conjecture. I can't say for certain if such a passage exists. Therefore, if we truly cannot find it, there is another way."

"What? Is there another way besides this?" Jin Niu gasped, his expression toward me becoming intensely complicated.

"Yes," I took a deep breath and slowly continued, "this is the absolute last resort: we lure the Evil Centipede to the exit, letting it clear the path for us."

"What!" The tall warrior nearly leaped into the air.

"The Evil Centipede!" Jin Niu was equally shocked.

"How is that possible!" Jin Bo almost jumped up. "Don't forget, the Evil Centipede turned dozens of Red Moon masters and hundreds of High-Level Rangers into piles of white bones in the blink of an eye."

...................... The beautiful Taoist woman seemed stunned. "That sounds like something only a madman would think of."

Only the tall Mage nodded slightly.

"It's not impossible!" the tall Mage said with a grave expression. "Although this method seems unthinkable, have you considered this: the Mad Dragon Gang managed to lure the Evil Centipede this far away. That proves one thing—the Evil Centipede's movements can be artificially influenced!"

"That's right!" Jin Niu also nodded slightly. "If the Mad Dragon Gang could do it, then so can we."

Clever fellows. These two caught on instantly. They understood so quickly.

"So, the immediate priority is figuring out exactly how the Mad Dragon Gang managed to lure that behemoth here in the first place," I pressed on.

"That makes sense!" Jin Bo affirmed.

"What do you propose we do next?" The tall Mage looked at me with newfound respect.

But now was no time to bask in self-satisfaction.

"Either way, we must start from the location where you were ambushed by the Evil Centipede. Only by doing that can we find the entrance to its underground tunnel," I continued, "or at least trace its movements to prepare for Plan B."

"But!........" Everyone looked horrified and hesitant. It wasn't cowardice; the Evil Centipede was simply too terrifying. These people had all witnessed its horror and barely escaped with their lives. Asking them to return to that nightmare location was asking too much.

"Let's risk it," Jin Niu ground his teeth and stood up abruptly. "Let me go scout first. If you confirm the Evil Centipede isn't there, then you can check it out."

Hmph. The fellow was certainly brave, but his suggestion was the safest. Yet, I knew that among us, I was the most suitable candidate; after all, I was the strongest Red Moon Warrior here. Even if something unexpected happened, I had the highest chance of escape. Therefore, I stepped forward voluntarily. "I'll take part in this scouting mission."

"But!" Jin Niu and the tall warrior tried to object, but I cut them off. "Originally, the best plan was for me to go alone. However, I don't know the exact ambush site, so I need someone to accompany me."

"Let me go with you," Jin Niu declared proudly.

"Mm," I nodded slightly and looked toward the tall Mage, Jin Bi. "Do you have any way to navigate the underground river?"

"Heh heh!" Jin Bo chuckled playfully. "So even geniuses have things they don't know?"

"Don't worry about that!" Jin Bi patted the dimensional pouch on his back. "We have a complete set of crossing equipment."

"That’s best!" I said with relief.

Jin Niu and I sprinted, but we remained extremely cautious, constantly watching our surroundings. If we noticed anything amiss, we immediately concealed ourselves. After all, within the Coffin of Death lurked the Mad Dragon Gang, intent on seeing us dead.

After evading several Mad Dragon Gang search patrols, we finally arrived at the location where the Shen Yue Palace and the Grand Alliance had been ambushed. The terrain was peculiar: massive, protruding stones encircled a large central area, leaving only one exit. It was undeniably a perfect spot for an ambush. Placing just a few troops at that single exit would be enough to withstand a desperate counterattack from within. No wonder the Shen Yue Palace and the Alliance were nearly wiped out.

The corpses had long been cleared from the area. It seemed only the Mad Dragon Gang could have managed this. Clearing the battlefield was the privilege of the victor, not a strict duty, but the victor was entitled to the spoils. The jewelry and dimensional pouches on the dead were undoubtedly the richest loot, so no one would willingly skip that task. Of course, after collecting the enemy's property, it wouldn't be unreasonable to cremate or bury them on the spot. However, the vast patches of ash remaining on the ground indicated that the Mad Dragon Gang had likely used high-temperature magic like Explosive Flame to burn everyone to ash before abandoning the site.

Well, that was certainly convenient and saved time. Although I couldn't see the bloody scene of scattered corpses, those piles of whitish-gray powder still gave me a surge of nausea. After all, those were once bodies.

Forcing down the discomfort, I followed behind Jin Niu.

Strange! I was sure it was supposed to be right here! Jin Niu looked around blankly, unable to find a single trace of the Evil Centipede's past presence. I looked at him with equal confusion. "Are you sure the Evil Centipede was here?"

Jin Niu nodded affirmatively, yet his feet rested on dry, flat scorched earth. Logically, a creature of the Evil Centipede's size couldn't have vanished without leaving any trace. But the fact remained: we couldn't find the massive hole that should have been there. I had never seen the Evil Centipede's true size, but after Jin Niu drew a circle nearly six meters in diameter, he told me with shock, "The narrowest part of the Evil Centipede’s waist was this big. And that’s only the portion that showed above ground. We don't know how large its body buried underground is."

.............. I asked with some disbelief, "And the height?"

"About twenty-five or twenty-six meters," Jin Niu replied, still looking shaken.

Just thinking about it sent shivers down my spine. Gods, they had actually seen the real face of that monster.

"It was covered in feelers," Jin Niu recalled. "Those feelers were fifteen or sixteen meters long. I don't know how many there were, but at least over a hundred, and each one was as thick as my waist. They were all sticky, covered in disgusting green or red stuff." Jin Niu seemed calmer now, but I could imagine the absolute despair and terror those men felt when facing such a horrifying creature. However, its mouth, compared to its body, seemed disproportionately small. Jin Niu drew a circle with a diameter of about one meter. "It was packed with teeth, densely, frighteningly so."

"Enough! Stop talking!" My stomach was churning, and I felt a spasm. Heaven, even imagining it made my scalp tingle and made me feel sick enough to vomit. If he kept talking, I might lose the courage to even search for the tunnel, let alone enter it.

................

Jin Niu and I searched the area meticulously again, finding nothing. Considering that such a massive creature couldn't just disappear, the only explanation for not finding the exit hole was that it had been sealed. Only the monster itself or the experts of the Mad Dragon Gang could have done this. However, I leaned toward the Evil Centipede sealing the hole itself. I knew many burrowing creatures had the habit of blocking their tunnels—a result of long-term evolution. Groundhogs, for example, seal their tunnels when invaded by a strong enemy, especially if they have young inside. Only in dire desperation will they flee through a backup exit. It seemed this super-sized Evil Centipede might share this habit.

With that realization, I stopped searching randomly and stood directly on the spot Jin Niu had marked earlier.

"It should be here!" I pulled out a hoe from my dimensional pouch and handed it to Jin Niu. "Start digging. The entrance must be sealed here."

"Ah! How is that possible!" Jin Niu looked incredulous.

"Do you have a better explanation?" I countered.

"This, I think the Mad Dragon Gang guys did it," Jin Niu muttered.

"Perhaps," I didn't argue further, as that was also highly possible.

Jin Niu took the hoe and looked at me with confusion. "Then what about you?"

"Me?" I pointed toward the exit path, speaking calmly. "I’ll naturally stand guard. I doubt you want to be surrounded by the Mad Dragon Gang again."

"Surrounded like dumplings?" Jin Niu looked puzzled. "What is that?"

"It means encircling," I explained.

............... Jin Niu gave me a speechless look and diligently started digging. I, meanwhile, cautiously monitored every movement around us. This must be a residual effect from being encircled by Chi Xiao and the others last time.

About half an hour later, Jin Niu finally called out excitedly, "Xing Chen, hurry over here! There really is a huge hole!"

I rushed over.

Good heavens, it was massive—practically a railway tunnel! Looking through the pit Jin Niu had dug, even without entering, I could estimate the rough width and height of the underground passage. It was about twelve meters wide and twelve meters high. Furthermore, the surface of the tunnel appeared smooth and hard, suggesting it had existed for a long time. Moss and other plants had even grown in some places. However, a wave of musty, strange odor washed over me, making even my Taoist helmet feel insufficient; I felt the urge to gag and vomit.

"It’s the Evil Centipede's scent!" Jin Niu said tensely. "But it's not as strong as before. It seems to have left."

"This is the spot. Camouflage the entrance first! Then we’ll go back and bring Jin Bo and the others."

"Understood!"

Jin Niu and I quickly disguised the entrance, making it look as close to its original state as possible. Then, we cautiously returned to our temporary base.

"What's the situation!" Jin Bi, the tall Mage, immediately approached me nervously upon seeing me return.

"The entrance has been found," Jin Niu reported briefly. "We found no trace of the Mad Dragon Gang activity nearby."

"Wonderful!" Everyone couldn't help but show excitement.

"Is everyone prepared!" Jin Niu looked around sternly. When he saw the sturdy frame padded with soft cloth on the back of the tall warrior, Jin Hu, he nodded in satisfaction. At least this way, Jin Lan's body, currently unconscious, would remain stable on the rack while we moved, preventing severe vibrations from harming her.

"Yes!" Jin Bo and the others nodded.

............................

Two hours later, we returned to that valley-like area. After confirming the surroundings were safe, we swiftly pulled back the covering, slipped inside, and naturally sealed the entrance from within, making it look as close to its previous state as possible. The primary goal was to prevent the Mad Dragon Gang from discovering our plan to escape using the passage created by the Earth Dragon God.

Once inside the passage, Jin Bo and the others were awestruck by its sheer size.

"Good! Good! It’s huge!" Jin Bi stammered.

"Mm," Jin Bo swallowed hard and nodded.

If the Earth Dragon God were transported to modern times, it would absolutely be a top-tier excavation machine! I thought to myself, skipping the need for explosives entirely. Just digging tunnels would make a fortune. Looking at this passage, which rivaled modern railway tunnels, I had such a strange thought.

However, I noticed something bizarre. The walls around us were covered in dense, rotting corpses of dead chickens and ducks. The air was thick with a fishy, putrid smell of decaying flesh.

This greatly shocked us.

"Strange, why are there chickens and ducks in the Coffin of Death?" Jin Sha wondered aloud.

"And appearing in the Evil Centipede's tunnel," Jin Bo muttered. "Did someone intentionally throw them here?"

"It seems so," Jin Niu said gravely. "The Mad Dragon Gang probably used this method to lure the Evil Centipede over."

"I can't believe the Mad Dragon Gang's method was that simple," Jin Bi expressed disbelief. "Just using these chickens and ducks to lure the Evil Centipede here."

Sometimes, the simplest methods are the most direct and effective! If we hadn't seen it with our own eyes, who would believe that the Mad Dragon Gang drew the Evil Centipede using such a tactic, ultimately causing the Shen Yue Palace and the Alliance to suffer such heavy losses?

"Centipedes like fresh chicken meat! Almost everyone knows that basic fact, but we never expected the Evil Centipede would like it too!" Jin Bo sighed in realization.

"No matter how large the Evil Centipede is, its essence is still that of a mutated giant centipede, sharing centipede instincts!" Jin Bi explained. "This isn't that strange. People are often blinded by its terror and power, overlooking the analysis of its habits through small details."

"Right," I nodded slightly, strongly agreeing with Jin Bi’s point.

"Just like Xing Chen could deduce the existence of the centipede's tunnel and the presence of water," Jin Bo remarked thoughtfully.

"Exactly!" Jin Bi confirmed.

"We can discuss this later. Right now, we need to hurry and find the water source, then get out of here!" Jin Niu said with a serious expression. "From now on, everyone stay alert. I assume none of you wish to become a snack for that behemoth."

"Mm," Jin Bo and the others nodded involuntarily.

"Jin Bo, you are responsible for using your sensitivity to water elements to guide us to the water source," Jin Niu assigned tasks.

"Yes!"

"Jin Hu, you must protect Jin Lan well," Jin Niu specifically instructed.

"Understood!"

"Everyone take a Phoenix Pearl!" Jin Niu said, looking toward the beautiful Taoist woman, Jin Sha.