He placed the magnifying glass over the large crystal, then peered through it intently at the very center of the crystal, with the look of someone ravenous for knowledge.

Everyone watched as his face slowly lifted, alarmingly pale, as if he had witnessed something shocking. The others looked at him in confusion, exchanging glances.

Ma Xiong was the first to speak, "Sect Master Lu, what did you see? Tell us quickly!"

Lu Zong spoke with strained excitement, "This... inside... the... person... is actually... ah..."

He stammered for a long while without making a clear statement, clearly overcome with emotion. Everyone grew curious about what he had seen, so Fatty stepped forward, snatched the magnifying glass from Lu Zong's hand, and then, mimicking Lu Zong's posture, bent over the lens.

But after observing closely for a moment, Fatty's expression also began to change oddly. He slowly stood up, looking utterly bewildered and pale, as if he had seen something utterly unbelievable.

This only intensified Ma Xiong's curiosity. To him, that crystal was undoubtedly like a mysterious woman; every person who mounted it received a different degree of gratification for their vanity and curiosity.

Impatiently, he snatched the magnifying glass from Fatty's grasp and quickly lunged toward the crystal, peering inside with intense focus.

However, just like the others' reactions, he too quickly sprang back and stood frozen, silent, plunging the stifling cave into an unbearable stillness.

All of this was observed by Gan Da. Seeing their terrified expressions, he felt utterly baffled and was the first to speak, "What is it you all saw? Why such tension?"

No one answered him. Ma Xiong merely handed the magnifying glass to Gan Da, gesturing for him to look for himself.

Gan Da took the magnifying glass and slowly approached the crystal. At that moment, the crystal seemed to draw everyone's gaze like a beautiful woman; they were all mesmerized, unsure what to do next.

But when Gan Da climbed up, there was no unusual reaction. Finally, he looked up and asked the bewildered group, "What's wrong? There's nothing here! I didn't see anything at all?"

This statement shocked everyone present. Lu Zong cried out in astonishment, "What? Didn't you see the person inside?"

Ma Xiong displayed a hint of exasperation, "You idiot! Can't you see the massive person inside? Look closely—is that Luosha?"

"Luosha?" Lu Zong, standing to the side, looked even more surprised. He interrupted their conversation, pressing Ma Xiong, "What? You saw Luosha inside?"

Ma Xiong looked back at Lu Zong, equally astonished, and replied, "Yes, what I saw was indeed Luosha! A beautiful woman, curled up inside this crystal, looking as if she were asleep."

Fatty, very curious, urged, "Luosha? Who is Luosha? Is she a woman? Because what I clearly saw was Lu Zong, lying quietly inside, holding a huge pile of money and treasures, as if about to pay us our wages."

Before he could finish, Lu Zong interrupted him. Lu Zong was now trembling, his voice shaking as he said, "No way, do you know who I saw just now?"

The other three asked, "Who did you see?"

Lu Zong feigned mystery, "I saw Han Chong, lying inside, smiling mysteriously at me, smiling without moving."

What exactly was going on? Lu Zong scratched his head, wondering, and unconsciously squatted down—a habitual action for him.

His gaze drifted toward the crystal. Although the crystal as a whole still resembled a large, artificially carved ear, a closer look revealed uneven, pitted edges, suggesting this crystal, like the others, was natural.

But if this one was natural, why did it show different images to different people? Was it a hallucination?

That didn't seem right either. If it was a hallucination, why would it be collective? And why didn't Gan Da experience it? He sank back into deep thought.

His eyes swept toward the center of the crystal, but this time he viewed it from the side. He noticed that the person inside the crystal had changed; it was no longer Han Chong. He confirmed with surprise, judging that he didn't recognize this person, yet feeling a faint sense of familiarity.

He walked around the crystal, observing the person inside from every angle. He deduced the approximate features of the individual:

Female, around thirty years old, standing about 1.65 meters tall, face serene, skin delicate, appearing to be asleep. He blinked, certain that what he saw was not an illusion and that the person inside did not look artificial. He then called out to the others to look at the female corpse inside and see if they all saw the same person this time.

The results were astonishingly consistent, aligning closely with what Lu Zong had seen earlier.

Lu Zong asked, "Don't you all feel that this female corpse looks particularly familiar, like you've seen her somewhere before?"

But everyone shook their heads unanimously, insisting they had never seen her; if they had, they surely wouldn't forget. Ma Xiong even offered Lu Zong a reason: "Such a beautiful woman, if we'd seen her, we wouldn't fail to recognize her."

Lu Zong pondered, yet he felt this person was intensely familiar, almost like an old friend who had accompanied him for more than just a day or two. But he simply couldn't place her. A terrifying thought popped into his head: "Did I lose my memory? Or was my memory somehow severed?"

Just as he was lost in thought, the perpetually silent Gan Da suddenly spoke up, "Lu Zong, come look quickly! This person actually has a corn on her foot. I never expected such a common ailment to be prevalent even in ancient times."

Lu Zong hurried over and looked from Gan Da's perspective. Sure enough, he saw a birthmark the size of an ear on the corpse's foot. Because it so closely resembled a corn, Gan Da had misinterpreted it.

"A corn? An ear?" he murmured, finally grasping the crux of the matter. He was now certain that what they had just seen was the long-lost desiccated corpse of the "Loulan Beauty."

The mention of the "Loulan Beauty" stunned everyone into silence. How could it be? Although the Loulan Beauty was remarkably well-preserved, she was a mummy; her skin must have been shriveled and extremely dry. But look at the body inside here—moist and intact, clearly preserved inside since death. How could it be the dried-out corpse of the Loulan Beauty?

Lu Zong explained, "I'm not saying this body is the Loulan Beauty. I'm saying this corpse belongs to the same lineage as the Loulan Beauty, and their appearances are quite similar. There must be a very close relationship between the two."

Ma Xiong chimed in, "I agree. I clearly remember the footprint the desiccated corpse left in the coffin; that footprint also had a distinct ear shape, probably identical to this one. They must be sisters or have direct blood ties—maybe half-sisters or half-brothers born to different mothers or fathers. So we have these two people who look so alike."

Lu Zong silently mused that this explained why the person felt so familiar—it was his long-term object of study. How could he not find her familiar after seeing her face every day?

But why did the image they saw from above differ from the image seen from the side? He voiced this question, hoping someone could provide an answer. The most crucial thing now was to uncover the supernatural aspects to prevent mass hysteria and panic, as a distracted team could easily be pushed to the brink of collapse.

He thought that if Han Chong and Luosha were present, they would be a huge help. These men were adequate for manual labor, but asking them to use their brains was like playing music to a bull.

Gan Da, whom Lu Zong considered the most inept with scientific knowledge, suddenly spoke up, "Boss, I honestly didn't see anything when I looked from above. You must have been mistaken. Also, I found something strange—when I looked, I saw the smaller crystals scattered next to this large one. I think this crystal bends the line of sight, thus preventing us from seeing the female corpse inside."

Gan Da's reminder was an instant revelation to Lu Zong; how could he have forgotten the refractive nature of crystal? If explained this way, it accounted for the difference between viewing from above and viewing from the side.

Lu Zong said, "When we looked from above, the crystal's refractive index was quite high, so our sightlines bent sharply. Our vision bent before it could reach the female corpse and was refracted out along the crystal's periphery. That's why we couldn't see the corpse."

But why did they see different things? I saw Luosha, and you saw Han Chong. The most curious case was Fatty seeing Lu Zong.

Lu Zong thought for a moment, saying uncertainly, "Perhaps this is our collective hallucination. We see whatever we are thinking about."

Ma Xiong laughed, "So if what we think appears inside, then I saw the naked Luosha, which means I must have been thinking of Luosha. You saw Han Chong, which means you must like Han Chong. But Fatty saw you—does that mean Fatty likes you?"

Fatty defended himself, "What I saw was the money in Lu Zong's hands; I was focused on his wealth. Damn it, running into this unlucky fellow means I'm unlucky too. I probably won't get anything tangible out of this trip, so I should at least get some wages, right? After all, I've helped you all quite a bit."

Lu Zong completely ignored their exchange and said, "Perhaps the oppressive atmosphere here is affecting our emotions, combined with the light from the crystals everywhere, creating illusions easily. Look at Gan Da—he has no dark or malicious thoughts, so he saw nothing? It might simply be our own fantasy; we're overthinking things. Ghosts don't exist in this world; people just scare themselves."

His words did comfort them, and everyone let out a heavy sigh of relief. Lu Zong said, "{Alright, let's dig a hole quickly and get out of here. No more lingering here."

Fatty picked up two small crystals from the ground and tucked them into his pocket, intending to sneak them out.

But just as Lu Zong turned away, his gaze swept across the crystal again. His face instantly darkened, as if struck by a sudden thought. He frantically rushed back to the crystal's side, observing it closely once more.