Lu Zong rationally considered that since rushing was useless, it was better to figure out a plan. He would need to consider how to deal with any monsters they might encounter later. He said nothing more, instead urging everyone to keep rowing.

The boat moved very slowly through the mercury because its density was too great; the boat could barely move at all. But this was still far better than having no boat at all.

Fatty and Ma Xiong rowed together. Ma Xiong ended up breaking his Luoyang shovel in half, giving one piece to Fatty and keeping the other for himself, which made rowing a bit faster. The boat quickly reached the shore.

This side was markedly different from the opposite bank, as this place was utterly barren, stretching as far as the eye could see. If what they had seen on the bridge truly was the Bridge of Helplessness (Naihe Bridge) and Meng Po, then logically, the Palace of Yama should be ahead. Yet, now, not only was there no Palace of Yama, they hadn't even seen a single minor ghost. Despite the desolation, they felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if they had returned to the surface. The landscape here resembled the one above their heads—a desert. No wonder it felt so familiar.

They continued walking, searching for an exit, but the further they went, the hotter it seemed to become, sweat drops forming on their foreheads as large as soybeans. Lu Zong pulled out his binoculars and peered ahead; there was still nothing but endless yellow sand.

The air currents here were unlike the sun overhead; there were occasional pockets of shade. However, the airflow was continuous, penetrating everywhere, offering no place to hide. Fortunately, the environment was moist enough that the evaporation of moisture within their bodies wouldn't be too rapid, preventing them from turning into mummies.

Ma Xiong commented, "I wonder if this place has day and night. It would be great if it got a little darker here; walking at night must be super satisfying. Just like when we were out in the desert."

Lu Zong replied, "If there were a night here, the temperature would surely drop significantly. The reason we have a 'day' here is due to the searing heat from the geothermal energy. If that heat source were to extinguish, the combination of high atmospheric pressure and low elevation would guarantee temperatures plummeting to minus fifteen degrees Celsius. With the clothes we're wearing, we'd be utterly helpless."

Hearing this, Ma Xiong grumbled, "Forget it; I'd rather die of heat than freeze to death. Thermal expansion and contraction, you know. If the ghosts see my corpse shrunken down, they’ll never let me live it down."

Lu Zong countered, "We haven't reached that realm yet. Who says we can't find our way out? Since those ghosts could find a place, so can we. Maybe the Palace of Yama is waiting for us right ahead."

Fatty muttered under his breath, "I wonder if the Yama King here is afraid of us or not..."

And so, after walking for an indeterminate amount of time, they were still traversing the desert. Ma Xiong wiped sweat from his brow. "Damn it, send a cold front already! I can't take this; it’s too hot."

Lu Zong raised the binoculars again, simply unable to bear the sound of Ma Xiong’s incessant grumbling.

This time, Lu Zong did not disappoint the group; rather, he delivered despair.

His complexion worsened progressively until it turned a near-dark green. Anyone seeing him might have thought he had encountered a ghost. Seeing Lu Zong’s dreadful expression, Fatty and Ma Xiong immediately asked, "Lu Zong, what did you see?"

Lu Zong remained silent, apparently too terrified to even muster the strength to speak. Ma Xiong snatched the binoculars from Lu Zong’s hand, cursing loudly, "Damn it, speak of the devil! That guy has come to take our lives."

Fatty, nearly suffocating from tension, snatched the binoculars from Ma Xiong, took a look, and finally exploded, "What the hell are those things? Are they ghosts? Why so many? What are they doing?"

Lu Zong didn't reply, but quietly stated, "Haven't you noticed Han Chong and Lu Sha among them? I suspect these must be the remnants of the Shaman tribe. Since the desert above is no longer suitable for them, they migrated down here."

Ma Xiong and Fatty exchanged glances. "Lu Zong, that makes sense, but why would they lure us here? Could this be the legendary Palace of Yama?"

Neither Lu Zong nor Fatty felt certain. Who could say? Finding the remnants of humanity—or perhaps the last sliver of human conscience—in such a hidden place, what did that imply?

For ages, people regarded the depths beneath the earth as hell, giving rise to the concept of the Eighteen Levels of Hell. Could this actually be it? Were these people demons?

If that were the case, his fate would be truly grim.

Lu Zong reclaimed the binoculars from Ma Xiong and scanned ahead. "Let me see if Han Chong and Lu Sha are in there. If they are, it means our movements have been tracked; we’ve been played by them."

Ma Xiong said nothing, simply watching the scene ahead, hoping nothing went wrong. He also hoped Lu Sha and Han Chong weren't among them, because then they would have to risk their lives to save them, which would truly mean meeting Yama.

However, events did not unfold according to Ma Xiong's hopes. Seeing Lu Zong’s face flush with excitement, he knew it wasn't good news. He collapsed weakly onto the ground and asked, "Lu Zong, did you see Lu Sha and Han Chong in there?"

Lu Zong exclaimed excitedly, "Yes, yes! Look quickly, their lives are in grave danger! They are about to be burned alive as sacrifices! I estimate that tomb robber was also killed by them; otherwise, they wouldn't be so brazen. They seem to think they are the only masters of this world."

Lu Zong nodded. "Right. What do we do now?"

Ma Xiong stated, "I’ll keep watch. You two check the surroundings for any weapons. We need to rescue them."

Fatty was trembling with fear. "What did you say? Rescue them? How can we? There are only three of us, and they have an entire tribe! Even if we chopped every one of them into eight pieces, we couldn't win. Besides, they have two trump cards: Han Chong and Lu Sha. They’ll likely kill one as a warning and keep the other to threaten us, leaving us no choice but to surrender."

Lu Zong was nearly in tears with anxiety. He looked toward Lu Sha and Han Chong’s position and pleaded, "Hurry up and think of something, or those two girls will really be killed by them!"

Ma Xiong declared, "Lu Zong, I have an idea! Since a direct assault is impossible, we must use strategy."

Lu Zong asked with shining excitement, "Tell me quickly what brilliant idea you have."

Ma Xiong handed the binoculars to Lu Zong. "Look at what they are doing right now."

Lu Zong took the binoculars and was greatly startled. "Why are they all kneeling? What are they doing?"

Ma Xiong instructed, "Look in the direction they are kneeling; see what's happening?"

Lu Zong followed the direction of their kneeling figures and saw something resembling a seal lying prone on the sand ahead. It was covered in leopard spots and had very long whiskers, its eyes darting around.

Ma Xiong analyzed, "Based on my understanding, there is only one reason they would kneel to a seal: the seal is their totem, the symbol of their deity. If we could conquer a seal, wouldn't that make us their gods?"

Lu Zong burst into praise. "Excellent plan, excellent plan!"

However, Fatty’s next comment quickly dampened their spirits. "If it's such a good plan, who is going to conquer a seal? Look, that seal looks like an infant, and it’s already this large. If we ran into a full-grown one, wouldn't it swallow us whole?"

Lu Zong retorted, "How could it be bolder than us? We've already broken into this place! We are all family here; our bond is stronger than any monstrous beast!"

Both men fell silent. Even Lu Zong felt a little sentimental. Three men declaring themselves a family with two women present felt tantamount to openly propositioning the wives in front of their husbands.

Ma Xiong coughed, breaking the awkward tension. "We need to work together now; stop having such wild thoughts. Taming a seal requires everyone’s united effort. How can we succeed if we are scattered like loose sand?"

Lu Zong agreed, "Alright, alright, that’s settled then. Let’s go find a seal."

He walked to the edge of the mercury river and looked down. "I wonder if these seals live in this mercury. The air content in mercury is extremely low."

Fatty looked confused. "Didn't you just say this was a mixture of mercury and water? If there's water, there should be oxygen, right?"

Lu Zong slapped his forehead, suddenly enlightened. "How could I forget that? There is water in here! That means we can extract moisture from this mercury. Haha."

But when Lu Zong reached his hand down beneath the mercury, he paused, confused. "Wait, mercury and water don't mix. If two liquids mix, the mercury should settle at the bottom. That means the entire layer floating on top is water! Haha, the top layer is pure water, drinkable." He scooped up a handful, but the water layer was too shallow, and his hand was still coated with glistening mercury.

Ma Xiong also approached the mercury river and touched the surface with his hand. Indeed, the top layer felt soft, but it was only about two centimeters thick; beneath that was solid mercury. Still, it was better than nothing.

Excitedly, he cupped his hands, intending to drink. But Lu Zong knocked his hand away. Ma Xiong looked puzzled. "Didn't you say it was drinkable? Why can't I drink it now?"

Lu Zong explained, "Even though the water and mercury have separated, mercury is still a highly toxic metal. I’m worried that drinking this water will contaminate us. Here's what we'll do: get a pot, boil this water. Mercury’s boiling point is much higher than water’s, so the water will evaporate, but the mercury won't. Then we can collect the evaporated steam and drink that."

Fatty, hearing they would boil water, became enthusiastic. "Later, I'll catch a couple of fish and we can cook them! Let's have a proper meal for once."

Lu Zong looked disappointed. "That probably won't happen. The extreme toxicity of this mercury suggests that creatures like seals can't survive in it. It’s likely those Shamans found a pit or a pond somewhere to store the distilled water they created, where they raise their own stock. They must have their own fish ponds."