As the words left his mouth, they felt the passage shudder, quickly looking around, yet discovering nothing amiss. However, the tunnel continued to shake, the amplitude growing steadily larger.

Ma Xiong roared, "Damn it, what the hell is going on? Someone tell me, even a guy like me needs a break!"

It seemed Ma Xiong was showing signs of breaking down, and one could only imagine the severity of the disaster that could push this hardened veteran of combat to the edge. Yet, it was understandable; after facing so much danger, even the strongest among them would have a fragile side.

The Fatty stammered, "Look behind you, do you notice anything strange about the floor?"

The others hastily turned back, finding nothing unusual.

The Fatty explained, "Look at the footprints on the floor."

Prompted by the Fatty, everyone quickly glanced down. The first to notice something amiss was Lu Zong; his face had turned pale green. He stuttered to the group, "Hurry up and look, there seems to be an extra set of footprints..."

Just as he finished speaking, a few counting voices echoed out: "One, two, three, four... five!"

Five. Five people. Why was there an extra set of footprints?

The group asked the Fatty in unison, their voices trembling. At this moment, they were certain the Fatty was no mere tomb raider; he must have another identity, otherwise, how could he know their footprints were abnormal without even looking back?

The Fatty looked at them, somewhat at a loss, and said, "It seems we’ve encountered the 'Corpse-Possession Path'?"

"The Corpse-Possession Path?" they asked in unison. "What is the Corpse-Possession Path?"

The Fatty explained, "The Corpse-Possession Path means someone died recently in the tomb, but their lifespan wasn't over yet. So, the spirit here possesses that body and continues that person's life. That's why many people become strange after leaving tomb raiding; that’s the rationale."

Lu Zong stammered, "What you're describing is the ghost theory?"

The Fatty shook his head, saying, "I don't know what this 'ghost theory' you speak of is, but I can tell you clearly, I personally don't entirely believe these things; after all, they lack scientific basis. It’s just that some supernatural phenomena are incomprehensible, so our predecessors labeled them with these grand names. We don't bother changing them, and since the explanation works well enough, we just go with it. Regarding ghosts, I've always maintained a neutral stance."

Lu Zong argued, "Impossible. There must be some other reason. How can a ghost leave footprints?"

At this point, Ma Xiong, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up: "If I'm not mistaken, those footprints must be pointing in the opposite direction from ours, and we are about to face grave danger."

So, the others quickly looked down. Indeed, they found that the extra footprint was oriented in the opposite direction to their own. The group asked Ma Xiong, puzzled, "How did you know?"

Only the Fatty stood there blankly, asking in surprise, "How did you know? Could it be, brother, that you are one of us?"

Ma Xiong nodded and said, "We'll discuss that later. Fatty, did you see something just now?"

The Fatty shuddered, looking woodenly at Ma Xiong, afraid to speak.

Ma Xiong comforted him, "It's alright. We’re all in this together. This concerns our very lives, so there's no harm in saying it. Even if you don't tell us, I will, which is beneficial for everyone."

Lu Zong and Gan Da had no idea what the two were talking about, only listening to their conversation curiously.

The Fatty hemmed and hawed for a long time but couldn't get anything out, finally managing only one sentence: "Yes, I saw something."

"Fatty, what did you see?" Lu Zong asked anxiously.

But the Fatty was clearly shaken by something and unwilling to speak, merely pointing helplessly at Ma Xiong, signaling that Ma Xiong should tell them.

The others turned their accusatory gazes toward Ma Xiong. Ma Xiong now began to stammer too. It seemed whatever they had seen was extremely detrimental to them, otherwise, they wouldn't be so tight-lipped. However, Lu Zong understood their predicament; after all, they didn't want to disappoint anyone.

So, the two stopped pressing and resolved to get a clear answer from them once they successfully passed through this passage.

By now, the disturbance was growing louder, occasionally punctuated by violent tremors that made the three men severely uncomfortable. Lu Zong kept vomiting and loudly wailing, "I get motion sickness!"

Ma Xiong cursed, "Damn it, why are you so spineless? Oh, I get it now. No wonder when we first arrived, you absolutely refused to let us drive, insisting on riding your camel. Turns out you kid get carsick."

Gan Da didn't have the energy to care about Ma Xiong's taunts; he just vomited without restraint. Only after emptying nearly everything in his stomach did he feel slightly better.

Ma Xiong said, "Look at the passage quickly, hasn't it gotten a bit narrower?"

The Fatty stared at the gradually constricting passage, constantly exclaiming, "It's so similar, damn it, so similar!" until Ma Xiong roared at him, "Similar to what? Think of a way out, or we'll be crushed to death by this passage!"

Lu Zong proposed from the side, "How about we just run? See if we can sprint out of this passage's range and get into the main hall quickly. Perhaps that's where we'll find an exit."

This seemed to be the simplest and most effective method. So, they rushed forward recklessly. Ma Xiong led the charge; being a professional in this line of work and having a sturdy physique, he could react to any trap encountered ahead. Next was Lu Zong, followed by Gan Da. The Fatty walked last. He was so large that everyone suspected the earthquake was his fault, as the ground shook with every step he took. However, his excuse was that he was "covering the rear," a noble-sounding term that wasn't entirely untrue.

Suddenly, less than four meters ahead of Lu Zong, Ma Xiong ducked his head, and his entire body pitched forward. He vaguely sensed something was wrong and tried to stop abruptly, but inertia carried him forward. He fell to the ground, landing directly on top of Ma Xiong.

Gan Da and the Fatty had enough time to react and both stopped, all of this happening in an instant.

In the next instant, he felt a rush of air pass by his ear, followed by a cool sensation, which quickly turned warm. Warm, sticky liquid streamed past his ear and dripped toward the floor.

But the bead of red blood never hit the floor, because the floor suddenly cracked and rapidly dropped away, leaving the entire passage suspended—only the two high walls of the corridor remained. He felt his body plummeting downward.

Yet, he didn't fall. He looked down and discovered, astonishingly, that his body was pressed directly onto Ma Xiong. Ma Xiong, however, was impaled by three or four iron spears that shot out from the passage walls, effectively halting their descent. They looked as if they were being roasted while dangling above the void of the passage.

He looked up and nearly lost his balance from fright. He saw that the ceiling passage wall was riddled with countless arrows, deeply embedded in the stone. Had he not fallen forward just then, he would certainly have been shot full of holes like honeycomb briquette. He couldn't help but sigh in relief for his own life.

He touched his ear. Fortunately, the spear that shot up from below had only lightly grazed his ear; otherwise, that ear would have been lost. He looked at Ma Xiong, saw his face turning red from strain, and quickly stood up, simultaneously helping Ma Xiong up with the others' assistance.

Ma Xiong was still severely shaken, breathing like an ox. His voice was almost choked, constantly muttering, "Just now, just now... I almost... down there... was all... daggers! If I’d fallen, I’d definitely be honeycomb briquette. Cremation would have been even more thorough. It scared the hell out of me, scared the hell out of me."

Lu Zong soothed him, "There, there, you're alright now, everything is fine."

But Ma Xiong wasn't calming down. He looked back and said, "Damn it, who just landed on me? You almost pushed me down!"

Lu Zong felt embarrassed to admit it and quickly changed the subject, "Everyone, come look and see what's going on!" He hurried to the collapsed section to examine it.

Fortunately, only the rear portion had collapsed, while the front section was untouched. So, they stood safely on the floor of the forward passage, observing what had happened to the back section. They looked down into the collapse and discovered that below was an abyss of unfathomable depth.

Though described as bottomless, the group could vaguely see something at the very bottom, though they weren't sure if it truly was the base. They glimpsed vast expanses of white, resembling the mist clinging to a mountaintop, with an underlying dark, purplish hue—the color of stone.

Gan Da looked into the abyss, then quickly recoiled in fright, exclaiming, "Damn, how can it be so huge and deep? What is down there? I can't see the bottom! Is this a passage leading straight to the Underworld?"

Lu Zong comforted him, "Stop imagining things. This must just be a large natural sinkhole. Don't worry."

Ma Xiong broke off a piece of flooring from the split section and examined it closely in his hand.

The piece of stone looked only two or three centimeters thick, extremely brittle; it would shatter with minimal force. No wonder the two of them almost fell—it was clearly an intentionally set trap.

Lu Zong took the floor piece from Ma Xiong and studied it as well. The thin, crystal-like stone reflected a strange luminescence. He casually snapped it with a light bend, and it broke, appearing incredibly fragile.

He explained, "This type of rock is called 'Beishi' (Shell Stone). Because its density is extremely low, it always forms in very thin sheets. These are likely nature's handiwork. This stone usually appears in volcanic caves. Erupting volcanoes blast magma and other materials out of the crater; after the eruption subsides, a substance of low density remains inside the volcanic vent. It slowly extends through the volcanic tunnels and eventually solidifies into one piece, looking like a complete floor—a trap set by nature. But this stone is only found in volcanic caves. Why is it here? If it was moved here artificially, where on earth was it brought from?"