Ma Xiong realized he no longer needed to close his eyes to communicate with them; a mere thought was enough to receive their replies. Thus, when Lu Zong saw Ma Xiong stunned for a long time before announcing, "I know the way now," Lu Zong looked skeptical.

Ma Xiong declared, "I am the King of the Zongzi here now. I can communicate with them wirelessly."

Lu Zong stared at Ma Xiong in astonishment for a long moment, then muttered, "Damn, high-tech!" before obediently following Ma Xiong.

Ma Xiong explained, "According to them, there should be a branching path leading to the main axis of this passage. This main axis is hollow, and we can move freely inside it. This is a large, branching cave with hundreds of side tunnels extending outward, all booby-trapped. A single lapse in attention and we'll become sacrifices to the tomb owner. We must find the correct bearing to locate Chen Si's section of the passage, but the chances are slim. We have to rely on constant questioning."

Lu Zong asked, "Ask who?"

Ma Xiong replied, "They said we'll know when the time comes. Heavenly secrets must not be revealed."

Lu Zong snapped, "Then why didn't you threaten him into telling you?"

Ma Xiong said, "I did threaten him, but he still refused to talk, so I gave him a little punishment."

Lu Zong, looking for a release for his frustration, glanced at the Zongzi to see Ma Xiong's punishment: the Zongzi Ma Xiong controlled were busy cleaning up the corpses of their comrades, finally burying themselves in the dirt afterward. In an instant, the previously bloody and filthy tomb chamber became spotless.

Ma Xiong said absentmindedly, "I hate dirt the most." Lu Zong, however, exclaimed excitedly that in the future, he would definitely capture a few good-looking female Zongzi to take home and have them clean.

They were running low on supplies. Besides a few illumination sticks and simple dry rations, all they had left were the dynamite in Lu Zong's belt and a handgun.

They hadn't eaten in two days, so Ma Xiong and Lu Zong ate a little simple dry food to stave off hunger. Because they were so hungry, Ma Xiong's appetite was completely unaffected by the Zongzi. Ge Mei and Qian Lao still hadn't eaten, merely watching the two eat without any apparent feeling. Lu Zong repeatedly urged them to eat something too, but both refused. Lu Zong was quite puzzled and was about to ask when Ma Xiong stopped him with a gesture to remain silent. Lu Zong knew there must be some secret behind it and didn't press further.

After eating, they settled down to rest. The fatigue and terror of the past few days quickly lulled them into deep sleep.

Just as Ma Xiong was sleeping soundly, Lu Zong suddenly woke him. Ma Xiong mumbled groggily, "What is it?"

Lu Zong said, "I just feel like something is wrong here. Let's get out of here quickly."

The moment Ma Xiong heard "something is wrong," he jolted, and his mind instantly cleared. He quickly asked Lu Zong what felt off.

Lu Zong asked, "Didn't they just burn the female corpse's grave?"

Ma Xiong confirmed, "Yes." Then he added, "Then why did it suddenly go out just now?"

Ma Xiong suggested, "Maybe because the coffin burned out?"

Lu Zong countered, "Impossible. Look, the fire went out before even half of the coffins were burned. Besides, there was still fat from the female corpse on those coffins; they should have burned up much faster, right?"

Ma Xiong suddenly remembered a horror novel he read some time ago, Ghost Blows Out the Light. Could this be the legendary Gui Chui Deng phenomenon?

Lu Zong shivered uncontrollably upon hearing this: "What? Ghosts?"

Ma Xiong replied, "Actually, Gui Chui Deng doesn't hold up scientifically. If we must use science to explain it, the fire went out because the oxygen content in the tomb chamber was too low. Maybe the oxygen here is too low. But why don't I feel it?"

Lu Zong said, "Oh, I see. No wonder I keep feeling dizzy and my breathing is rapid. I'm having trouble taking even a single breath right now, but you really don't feel anything?"

Ma Xiong shook his head, his mind in turmoil: "Do I not need to breathe?" Ma Xiong held his breath, testing how long he could survive without inhaling.

A miracle occurred. Ma Xiong maintained this breathless state for over ten minutes, only feeling slight hypoxia. By this measure, Ma Xiong felt he could hold his breath for over an hour." Lu Zong urged, "Let's find the exit first. I feel like I'm about to suffocate." He looked at Qian Lao and Ge Mei and was surprised to find them completely unaffected, as if they didn't need the air in here at all. The more he looked, the stranger it seemed. Ma Xiong said, "Let's go quickly," while simultaneously giving himself a meaningful look—there must be something more going on. Ma Xiong must have learned something after taking the Soul Returning Pill. But seeing Ma Xiong so confident, Lu Zong felt no real worry, after all, he had the Zongzi King on his side.

To allow Lu Zong more air, Ma Xiong held his breath, constantly using his senses to monitor the surrounding environment to prevent any unclean entities from approaching them.

Ma Xiong and Lu Zong each took responsibility for searching one wall, but after searching for a long time, they still couldn't find any mechanism. By this point, Lu Zong's breathing was clearly labored; every breath was a strenuous effort, accompanied by an extremely unpleasant snore-like sound.

Ma Xiong wondered if it might be underneath that coffin and moved forward, attempting to lift it.

But as Ma Xiong approached the coffin, he distinctly sensed an extremely intense surge of Yin energy near it, more than double that of the surroundings. Ma Xiong tried to search it out with his will and invade its mind to learn its history, but the moment he closed his eyes, he felt nothing at all. Ma Xiong thought perhaps he was being overly sensitive, so he opened his eyes, and the sensation immediately returned to him.

Ma Xiong didn't dwell on it; the circumstances didn't allow for overthinking. He walked forward without hesitation, intending to push the coffin aside.

He held his breath, walked to the coffin, mustered his courage, and peered underneath. Thankfully, there was no giant Zongzi waiting as he had imagined. He let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Then another terrifying event occurred: Ma Xiong heard two sighs of breath. Ma Xiong recognized one as his own. Whose was the other?

He quickly retreated backward, fearing some monster was hidden around the coffin. But the moment he stepped back, the sound vanished, making Ma Xiong wonder if the experiences of the past two days had caused him to hallucinate. So, he used his mental power to sweep the area again, but still found nothing unusual.

Was it his illusion? Unable to explain the supernatural occurrence, he was forced to attribute it to hallucination. This was, in fact, a way to comfort himself.

Forgetting further thought, Ma Xiong walked to the coffin and, summoning all the strength he possessed, suddenly heaved the coffin open.

The moment the coffin was lifted, Ma Xiong felt a gust of strong wind blow up from underneath. Simultaneously, Ma Xiong heard a terrifying female shriek—the sound was extremely thin and sharp, as if squeezed through a door crack.

Ma Xiong's heart tightened; thinking some Zongzi or similar entity was emerging, he stared intently at the patch of ground that had been pressed down by the coffin for a hundred years.

Sure enough, Ma Xiong saw the flat earth beginning to bulge upwards. The smooth ground slowly pushed up, rising and falling, much like a person's abdomen rising and falling while breathing. Furthermore, Ma Xiong noticed the speed was increasing, and finally, the earth began to crack, the small fissures clearly visible. Ma Xiong peered closely and felt these tiny cracks seemed to be arranged in some pattern, a pattern that also seemed strangely familiar.

But he couldn't pinpoint the exact pattern, only vaguely sensing its characteristics. Yet, Ma Xiong kept racking his brain, hoping to find the answer.

As Ma Xiong stared blankly at the cracks, that familiar sound rang out again. A spark ignited in Ma Xiong's mind. Right! The female corpse whose throat Ma Xiong had bitten was exactly like this! Ma Xiong shuddered, feeling a profound coldness spread through his heart.

At this moment, the fissure widened into a large opening. Ma Xiong suddenly felt the space inside expand; it was no longer as stuffy.

It must be the air from outside penetrating here through this fissure channel. With the airflow, Lu Zong, who had grown weak from suffocation, gradually regained his vitality.

After about half a minute, Lu Zong finally recovered and began to move around actively.

Seeing Ma Xiong staring dazedly at the hole, Lu Zong walked over and asked, "What's wrong? Did this opening save us just now? Thanks, little sister."

Ma Xiong replied, "Lu Zong, don't thank it yet. Perhaps they'll be buried inside it soon."

Lu Zong showed no fear, perhaps having grown accustomed to such dangers through experience. He merely asked Ma Xiong with curiosity, "What makes you say that, kid?"

Ma Xiong said, "That opening wasn't there when I lifted the coffin, Lu Zong. That hole opened up slowly before my very eyes." Lu Zong looked doubtful: "What, opened by itself? How is that possible? Did you see a hand stretching out from the earth digging it open or something? Try contacting it with your will to see if you can connect with whatever is in there."

Ma Xiong insisted, "It's true. It felt like something inside was pushing outward, forcing this large hole open. But I just searched the area with my energy, and the distribution of Yang energy is perfectly balanced; there's no object with extremely strong Yin nature here."

Lu Zong muttered to himself, "Could it be some kind of spirit entity more advanced than you, capable of blocking your will?"

Lu Zong and Ma Xiong were silent, locked in this stalemate for a long time.

Finally, Lu Zong couldn't stand it anymore and declared, "Let's go! I refuse to believe a three-thousand-year-old tomb harbors a spirit entity ten thousand years old."

With that, he squeezed into the opening. Seeing Lu Zong enter, Ma Xiong quickly followed.

Once inside, they discovered the space was incredibly vast, like the interior of some creature's cavity, and there were even signs of artificial carving. Ma Xiong and Lu Zong could stand upright and walk freely.

It was manageable at first since they were close to the entrance, and they could still see some things, but the further they went inside, the darker it became, until they couldn't see anything at all.

Ma Xiong said, "Lu Zong, light an illumination stick." Lu Zong refused, "We can't light it. Lights are bad luck for them now; lighting one means exposing ourselves. The danger increases the brighter the light. Furthermore, lighting a lamp in a tomb is disrespectful to the deceased. We shouldn't provoke whatever is in here."