Ma Xiong’s reason for calling out was unknown, but now he only wanted to reach him quickly, to see what Ma Xiong had witnessed. However, unwilling to leave the two young women there unattended, he had to stifle his curiosity, sending the two girls ahead while he brought up the rear. The Fatty, having finally seized an opportunity for intimate contact with a beautiful woman, immediately felt slightly breathless.

But one must remain composed before such beauty; he took a deep breath, then affectionately embraced Han Chong, making Lu Zong wish the Fatty would just fall into the pit. Yet, with the Fatty being their current lifeline, they could only tolerate him for the moment. Still, the Fatty was ultimately human, not yet sunk to the level of a beast, and he successfully ferried Han Chong to the opposite bank.

After a lingering glance at Lu Sha, he swung his arms and pulled Lu Sha into an embrace, slowly swinging across to the other side. Lu Zong took the opportunity to survey the terrain. He felt the water overhead seemed to be moving, and then he saw a slender object emerging from the top of the waterfall.

A thought flashed through his mind: “Heavens, isn’t that a seal’s whisker? They are currently beneath a massive sea leopard!” Before his exclamation could fully fade, he watched a person fall from above—a Shaman, whose head had been brutally torn off, leaving a bowl-sized scar that bled profusely, staining the surrounding quicksilver crimson. Lu Zong dared not breathe loudly, fearful that the great sea leopard might detect him.

And the Fatty still hadn't emerged; who knew what mischief he was up to. Lu Zong had to find a place to hide first. He concealed himself behind a large boulder to the right of the cave entrance, watching as the massive sea leopard slowly lowered its head.

He was momentarily stunned: “Good lord, the thing the Fatty just grabbed was a huge sea leopard whisker. This is going to be major trouble.” Events unfolded exactly as Lu Zong had feared. The great sea leopard dipped its head down and then retracted its great whisker, staring intently at the large waterfall.

And the Fatty deserved his bad luck; he chose that exact moment to emerge. He reached out to grope for the large whisker but couldn't find it after searching for a while. He had to poke his head out to check, and the moment his head appeared, it landed right inside the sea leopard’s mouth.

A foul, fishy stench immediately made the Fatty dizzy. However, he reacted instantly, saw the gleaming teeth, and quickly retracted his head while shouting, “Oh my god, why is this mouth so big? It scared Fatty half to death!” At that moment, Ma Xiong’s voice called out, “What’s wrong, Fatty?

What’s out there?” Lu Zong patted his trembling chest—thankfully, Ma Xiong was still there, and those two young girls surely hadn't suffered the lecherous Fatty's advances. The Fatty replied, “Guess what’s outside? Damn it, it’s that great sea leopard!

We just crossed by holding onto its whiskers. Now Lu Zong is stuck over there and can’t get across. What do we do?” Ma Xiong quickly poked his head out to look.

Lu Zong saw Ma Xiong’s massive head appear near the base of the sea leopard’s whisker and immediately shouted, “Ma Xiong, yank that whisker down, and then pull me across.” Perhaps that was Ma Xiong’s intention anyway. He swiftly drew his dagger from his waist and swiftly hacked at the whisker. Blood sprayed from the cut, drenching Ma Xiong’s face.

Ma Xiong quickly pulled his head back. Lu Zong finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now they only needed to wait for the sea leopard to leave, and everyone would be safe.

He waited for the sea leopard to depart, though inwardly he seethed: Damn it, I should have left Han Chong behind too. Two people’s world would have been so much sweeter. Now look at this—the four of them alone in a room.

Who knows what might happen? That lecherous Fatty might take advantage, and if he does, I will never forgive him. He continued to brood, until screams echoed from beneath the waterfall—from Han Chong, Lu Sha, and the others.

His first reaction was that Lu Sha and Han Chong were in trouble? That lecherous Fatty finally couldn't restrain himself. Just as he was guessing, he suddenly noticed the sea leopard’s head thrusting into the cave.

It seemed he had misunderstood the Fatty. He shouted from his side of the cave, “Ma Xiong, what happened? Why is the sea leopard sticking its head inside?” Ma Xiong replied, “It’s bad!

This isn't a sea leopard; this is the King of Hell! We’ve intruded into the Hall of Yama!” “What? This giant sea leopard is the King of Hell?

Are you sure?” Ma Xiong swore solemnly, “I promise I’m not lying. Come over and you’ll see what’s going on. We’re all flat on the ground, afraid to move, lest we get swallowed whole by this thing.

Hurry and think of a way! It hasn’t noticed you yet.” Seeing their lives hanging by a thread, Lu Zong didn't have time to think further. He pulled a dagger from his waist and hurled it fiercely at the sea leopard.

The dagger struck the sea leopard squarely on its gill. Immediately, its head shot out of the cave, letting out a roar—it must have struck a sensitive spot. Seeing that the sea leopard’s attention was diverted, Ma Xiong quickly stood up, grabbed the gun taken from the corpse, and fired two shots at the beast, hitting its eyes.

The sea leopard became enraged, thrashing wildly, swirling all the quicksilver at the cave entrance into the interior. Lu Zong seized the chance to glance inside and saw that the area was actually an artificial cavern. He didn't look long, but he noticed a stone statue built in the center of the main hall—a statue of a sea leopard, identical to the one they had just seen, only smaller.

He didn't ponder it further; the most important task now was to attack the sea leopard and prevent it from devouring them. He quickly searched the corpse behind him and unexpectedly found several throwing darts and military knives. He was overjoyed.

The sea leopard was in agony, burning with rage, ready to exact revenge on whomever struck it. But blinded by Ma Xiong’s shots, it couldn't see and could only lash out wildly, sending surrounding rocks and quicksilver flying everywhere. It was powerless to fight back, and the darts he threw were instantly swallowed by the deluge of falling stones.

Lu Zong noticed the sea leopard was only hanging by its tail on a rock formation. He gestured to Ma Xiong, saying, “Ma Xiong, look at the tail! No, look at the King of Hell’s tail!

Shoot it, and it will fall!” Ma Xiong looked up at the sea leopard's tail. Indeed, just as Lu Zong said, the sea leopard was concentrating all its strength on holding onto that suspension point. If the tail slipped, wouldn't it fall?

So, he raised his pistol and fired a shot directly at the sea leopard’s tail. Sure enough, that shot severed the tail in two. Blood rained down, soaking Ma Xiong completely.

He touched the blood on his face and was astonished to find that the sea leopard was once again using its tentacles to grasp a vine. The Fatty noticed the sea leopard too and quickly moved over, slashing off one of its whiskers with a knife. Then he continued hacking at the other whiskers until every single one was severed.

The sea leopard was in terrible pain by then, panting heavily. The quicksilver pouring down from above flooded its mouth. Finally, unable to bear the weight of the metal, its entire body dropped, accompanied by a thunderous boom.

The splash of quicksilver waves extended over thirty meters—it seemed the entire underworld was a kingdom of mercury. Ma Xiong got up from the ground and tossed the severed whisker toward Lu Zong’s side, saying, “Tie it to that rock over there and climb over.” Lu Zong quickly followed Ma Xiong’s instructions and safely arrived in this grotto of liquid silver. Ma Xiong pulled Lu Zong out of the quicksilver, saying, “Welcome to the Hall of Yama.” Lu Zong looked around; it was exactly as described.

No other word fit the place better than ‘Hall of Yama.’ It was evident that there were heavy signs of artificial sculpting here. The surroundings were filled with statues: Black and White Impermanences, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and all manner of minor devils. Most importantly, the King of Hell.

The Yama was not human-bodied or human-faced, but sculpted as a massive sea leopard, the same kind they had seen before, just smaller in volume. Could this sea leopard have lived for three thousand years in this cave and only grown to this size recently? It was all too incredible.

He shook his head and then looked at the other sculptures behind him. In the upper right corner of the hall, there was a pot that looked like it was boiling. He walked over to examine it; the inside was gleaming brightly.

Touching it, he found it was hard as rock. But these clearly were not sculpted from stone. He called Han Chong over and asked, “Han Chong, do you know what this stuff is?” Han Chong thought for a moment and replied, “According to the Records of the Grand Historian, when Shamans deal with the Hall of Yama, they melt gold and pour it into a pot.

This is what is known as the Oil Pot. These golden, shiny things are very likely gold.” Hearing the word ‘gold,’ the Fatty’s eyes lit up. He quickly reached out to grab some, resulting in both hands being cut until they bled.

Still unwilling to give up, he scraped at the stone with his military knife for a long time, finally managing to dig out a small portion of gold, about the size of a fingernail clipping. The Fatty was very content, muttering repeatedly, “A souvenir, just a souvenir.” At that moment, Ma Xiong climbed onto the head of the Yama statue and shook its official hat. Lu Zong felt a dazzling flash of light across his eyes, followed by a strange yelp from the Fatty behind him.

Lu Zong quickly turned back and saw the Fatty grimacing at the crown, drooling. Just as Lu Zong was confused, the Fatty suddenly rushed forward, grabbed the hat, and hugged it to his chest as if it were his own treasure. But Ma Xiong refused to be sidelined and charged forward, trying to snatch the hat from the Fatty’s embrace.

However, the Fatty’s strength was immense, and he couldn't wrest it away. Finally, Ma Xiong resorted to biting. Eventually, Ma Xiong got the hat in his hands and held it close, acting overly affectionate toward it.

Lu Zong saw a sinister gleam flash in both their eyes and shouted, “This is bad! Both of them have been cursed by that hat! We have to save them quickly!” Saying this, he, Lu Sha, and Han Chong rushed forward.

He grabbed the Fatty, while Lu Sha and Han Chong pinned down Ma Xiong. But their strength was incredibly immense now; they couldn't be held down. In the end, the two had to break free again and start fighting, wrestling over the hat.