I didn't hear a sound; the other side of the wooden board was deathly silent, yet my cheek was smeared with something sticky and viscous.

I wiped at it with my hand and discovered it was an unknown slime, carrying a faint, not entirely unpleasant, woody scent.

"What is this stuff?" I muttered, utterly perplexed.

But at that moment, I had no time to investigate the nature of this slime, for if I couldn't push the board away, those Burrowing Moths would soon attack again.

In this emergency, I disregarded any potential danger and pulled out another glow stick, snapping it to life.

Shining the glow stick upward, I saw that the wooden board was indeed sealed tight, but some translucent slime was seeping through the cracks, dripping onto the wooden stair planks.

I surveyed my surroundings again: to my lower right was an unguarded abyss, and to my left, a bare tree wall, devoid of any visible mechanisms or traps.

Looking up at the curved dome of the tree hollow, I made a new discovery that brought a surge of joy.

Not far from the boardwalk, there was a break in the dome, about the size of a large water vat, and crucially, several incredibly tough-looking vines dangled down from that opening.

So, I descended the stairs once more, reaching the edge of the boardwalk.

I didn't leap immediately. Instead, I stood at the cliff's edge, estimating the distance—about three meters. It was quite a gap, but thankfully, the vines were long enough; if I could get a dozen meters for a running start, I might make it.

However, the width of the boardwalk behind me was barely three meters at most, which meant I wasn't entirely confident in my chances.

But at this point, I had no choice but to take the gamble.

So, gripping the glow stick between my teeth, I retreated a few steps until my back was against the tree wall, then violently pushed off the wall and charged forward.

Reaching the edge of the boardwalk, I shut my eyes and lunged forward without hesitation.

It must be said, the move was insane; the old me would have certainly wet myself in fear, but this time, I noticed my agility was far superior to before. I heard the rushing sound of the wind whipping past my ears, and just as I was about to fall, my entire body latched onto a vine.

A wave of relief washed over me, but before I could celebrate, I realized the vine was terribly slick, covered completely in the slime I had seen earlier.

The realization hit me like a lightning strike, momentarily stopping my heart.

Yet, unexpectedly, just as I braced for myself to slide down and plunge into the abyss, my body didn't move at all; instead, I hung securely on the vine.

"What's happening?" The cold sweat that had drenched me instantly receded from the shock of this bizarre phenomenon.

I was utterly baffled, but since I was stable, I couldn't waste time pondering it. I quickly scrambled up the rope and entered the space above the dome.

As soon as I entered the cavern, I raised my glow stick to survey the area, and immediately gasped in surprise, for what astonished me was that inside this colossal tree, there was another tree.

The vines I had climbed were all hanging from this massive, ancient tree.

This species, unlike any I had ever seen, grew beside the hollow, standing perhaps five meters tall. Due to the extreme humidity, the trunk was covered in various mosses and shelf fungi, making the entire tree resemble a grotesque, spiky green monster.

However, I didn't have the energy to consider this too deeply; the heart-stopping drama I had just endured left me struggling for breath. I leaned against this tree and sank down, panting heavily.

After resting a moment, I unshouldered my backpack, preparing to retrieve some compressed biscuits and mineral water for a quick meal.

But then, the strap of the backpack on my right hand refused to let go, as if it had adhered to my skin.

Feeling extremely odd, I grabbed the backpack with my other hand and yanked hard, pulling my right hand free.

When I looked at my hand, I nearly fainted dead away.

Because, at some unknown point, countless sharp green spikes had sprouted all over the palm of my right hand.

Cold sweat beaded on my temples. I stared at my hand, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

"What in the world is happening? Did I get poisoned by one of those Yu, and now I'm slowly transforming into one of those monsters?" I found the reality impossible to accept.

After forcing myself to calm down, I painfully swallowed and slowly pushed up the sleeve of my right arm, drawing a sharp, involuntary breath.

The green spikes had already reached the inside of my wrist joint.

A deep despair welled up inside me; I couldn't believe this truth, especially since I recalled that [Name Omitted] had also been stabbed by one of those Yu before, yet they showed no such mutation!

Could it be that the Yu that injured me was their king?

I considered it; judging by size and strength, that possibility was plausible.

I sat there for a long while, finally shaking my head in resignation, muttering to myself, "At least I'm not dying right now. I'll leave it as it is. I'd rather die than be disabled; I'm certainly not cutting off my hand."

Then, gritting my teeth, I rummaged through my backpack and found my small knife to try and shave off the green spikes.

But the result was exactly as I feared: the moment I touched the spikes, my entire arm burned with an intense, agonizing pain that was utterly devastating.

Ultimately, I abandoned the idea of treatment, put down the knife, and wrapped my entire right hand with a scarf.

Then I took out the mineral water and compressed biscuits and ate some hurriedly.

After resting on the spot for a while longer, I reorganized my backpack and stood up again.

Seeing nothing but darkness all around, I recalled my previous experience of being trapped in the dark caves beneath Black Bamboo Gulch. Now I was alone again, but I didn't feel the same level of panic as before.

I offered a wry, bitter smile and shook my head, pulling out my flashlight to survey the area, habitually choosing the left path to venture deeper into the darkness.

Initially, I assumed that the upper level of the tree hollow would be closer to a natural environment, perhaps a region dense with ancient trees.

But after walking only a few steps, I dismissed that notion.

Once I moved away from the strange, spiky tree, I found no other trees whatsoever.

While the ground wasn't paved with tiles, it was clearly finely polished by human hands, extremely flat.

The beam of my flashlight swept across the floor, occasionally catching sight of a solitary white fungus growing here and there.

Out of long-ingrained habit as a biologist, I picked a few mushrooms; even if they weren't for immediate study, these chanterelles could serve as food in a pinch.

I proceeded like Super Mario, plucking fungi as I walked, until I spotted an object not far ahead—a rectangular structure, about four meters wide and two meters high.

"What is that? A screen?" Curiosity piqued, I hurried toward the dark shape.

As I drew closer, I realized it was a bronze weapon rack, featuring about twelve slots filled with weapons like long halberds, ge polearms, and steel sabers.

I immediately recognized it as a weapon rack from the Qin Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty, weapon racks usually displayed common broadswords and spears with red tassels, but none were present here.

The fact that it was made of bronze further confirmed it was a Qin-era rack.

I murmured to myself, "It seems this place is connected to those Qin Dynasty Lingyu Si officials."

I shone the flashlight over the weapons; most had already decayed into mounds of mud, with only the shapes recognizable.

This was hardly surprising, given the heavy humidity; metal objects would naturally corrode quickly.

However, on the very bottom shelf of the rack, I saw a large earthenware jar, about the size of a human head, sealed with a layer of dark paper. I wondered what it held.

"Is it wine? Who would keep wine on a weapon rack?" Intrigued, I leaned in to sniff, only to discover it wasn't wine, but a very thick oil, smelling faintly of kerosene.

My interest deepened. I took my small knife and slit the paper covering, leaning in again. A lung-searing blast of kerosene odor rushed out, making me stagger back.

"Damn, this stuff is potent." I rubbed my nose, abandoning all caution, and kicked the jar over.

With a sharp smash, the crude pottery shattered, and black kerosene pooled on the ground.