As he waited to see where the bones would appear, a crack sounded behind him, like the sound of shattering bone. They spun around to see a flicker of flame where Ganda had been buried, sending shivers down their spines. He couldn't help but exclaim to Lu Zong, "Lu Zong, I have good news for you. Your deduction was correct. The space beneath the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus is indeed separate from ours. You can jump down without any issue."

Lu Zong asked, "Where did you see the bones go? They aren't here."

Ma Xiong ran to where the bones were, picked them up, and waved them towards Lu Zong. "They're here! He came into the cave. Heh heh. You go first; we'll follow right after."

In Lu Zong's view, Ma Xiong waving the bone as if saying goodbye felt entirely inappropriate for the scene. He quickly stopped Ma Xiong from bidding farewell, then loosened his grip and fell, closing his eyes as he plunged into the temporal tunnel.

He felt the immense wind rushing past him, his body accelerating rapidly, seemingly surpassing the speed of light. Although his eyes were shut, he could clearly see a multitude of stars flashing. His body felt weightless, though the gale tautened and slightly pained his skin.

Suddenly, his body hung suspended, then began plummeting straight down. He hastily opened his eyes. Below him, he saw the exact scene visible in the cave, but above, everything had transformed into an entirely different landscape. The other three men had vanished, and the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus was gone too. It seemed he had truly traversed into the time stream below. The others must still be on the way; he decided to wait.

Sure enough, less than half an hour later, Ma Xiong and Fatty Ganda successfully passed through as well. Feeling utterly exhausted, they found a relatively gentle stone ledge, sat down, and ate some dry rations and jerky to rest.

Within moments, the sound of the Fatty's snoring echoed through the area. He slept soundly, his mouth smacking and drooling—a rather comical sight.

Ma Xiong watched the Fatty sleep so peacefully, listening to his thunderous snores, and sighed with envy, "Look at him, then look at yourself. What does that tell you?"

Lu Zong answered without hesitation, "It means we won't be able to sleep. Right now, the four of us are in a state where either the Fatty sleeps soundly or the other three of us have insomnia. Damn rotten luck."

Just as he finished speaking, they all felt movement above them. They quickly looked up and were astonished to find that the vine-like plant had somehow crept its way down there too.

Lu Zong's face darkened. "That vine must have fallen into the temporal tunnel and crossed over too. Quickly, wake up the Fatty, and let's climb down."

Ganda, ignoring his throbbing headache, crawled over to the Fatty, covered his head, and shouted forcefully near his ear, "Fatty, wake up! We have to go!"

It was useless; the Fatty merely rolled over and continued sleeping.

Ma Xiong couldn't stand it. He walked over, pulling at the Fatty while saying, "Fatty, hurry up! That thing is back! If we don't leave, it’ll make us dinner."

Only then did the Fatty stir awake. He rubbed his sore, numb eyes and asked hoarsely, "What's wrong? Can't a man even get a decent nap? What kind of mischief are you causing?"

Ma Xiong walked over to Lu Zong, and without another word, the three of them began climbing down.

The Fatty watched them doubtfully and asked curiously, "What are you doing? Aren't we safe now? Why the rush to go down?"

The three ignored him, though Lu Zong remarked dryly, "Oh, you stay there and rest. Maybe if that carnivorous plant eats you, it'll satisfy its hunger for the day, and we won't have to be dragged off as the main course."

The Fatty immediately looked back and locked eyes with the giant carnivorous plant, terrifying him into a panicked scramble down the wall. He cursed as he climbed, "You little brats! Didn't even warn Fatty! Do you think I have a grudge against you... Oh my God, why is that thing so fast?"

By then, one of the plant's vines had already stretched above the Fatty's head, about to latch onto his scalp. Lu Zong suddenly thought of Ganda, wondering how long Ganda’s life could hold out. Not wanting the Fatty to suffer the same fate, he shouted frantically, "Fatty, danger! Jump down!"

The Fatty trusted Lu Zong implicitly, knowing he must be in grave danger. He didn't even bother looking up and simply leaped. After a long moment, a sound of clashing chains and a painful wail from the Fatty drifted up from below, lending an even more terrifying strangeness to the eerie tomb.

The three paused their descent, looked up at each other with questioning expressions, and asked in unison, "What was that?"

After a few seconds of stunned silence, they realized asking each other was pointless. The best course was to go down and see. They resumed their climb. Lu Zong shouted downwards as he went, "Fatty, what happened? Are you dead?"

The Fatty below first let out a string of groans before replying, "Damn it, the bottom is nothing but chains! Poor Fatty’s backside! Ouch, it hurts so bad, I think I might have an anal rupture."

Ma Xiong listened with keen interest to the Fatty's lamentations, managing to slip in a commercial at the end: "For hemorrhoids, use Angtai."

When the three looked up again, they realized the carnivorous plant was moving much faster than they were. In the instant they paused, it had closed the distance to less than half a meter above them. Lu Zong thought that if they kept climbing like this, the thing would soon burrow inside him. The thought of seeds being planted within his body disgusted him; jumping was now the only option.

He declared, "Comrades, this is our moment to sacrifice ourselves for the nation! If we don't jump now, it's over. Look above you!"

As soon as he looked up, the vine struck overhead in the very moment he spoke. He didn't have time to think; he released his grip and jumped.

A few seconds later, Lu Zong's howl and the Fatty's mocking laughter echoed from below.

As for Ganda, Lu Zong's action had frozen him stiff. He stood motionless on the spot, watching the monstrous carnivorous plant speed past him. Having likely never witnessed such a sight in his life, he seemed almost mesmerized.

However, the carnivorous plants did not entangle him. On the contrary, they actively avoided him and flew straight toward Ma Xiong.

Because Lu Zong and Ganda had briefly distracted the vines, the tendrils only reached Ma Xiong moments later. He slowly loosened his hands, spread his limbs as if flying, and jumped down with elegant flair, shouting, "Since ancient times, who hasn't died? In the next life, I want to be a dried corpse!"

The moment the word 'corpse' left his mouth, it was immediately drowned out by an "Ouch!" from his own throat. It was clear they had all landed painfully.

He focused on Fatty and Lu Zong, both of whom were looking at Ma Xiong with expressions of mockery. Poor Ma Xiong was the last to jump; otherwise, he would surely have mocked someone else in turn.

Ganda remained rooted to the spot, unmoving. The three below shouted loudly, urging Ganda to come down, but Ganda simply stared, zombie-like, as the vine-like plants rushed past him.