The surging river swept me forward, tossing me up and down in the current; I swallowed several mouthfuls of water but still couldn't find anything to push off against.

Listening to the sound of the water behind me grow louder, rumbling like thunder, I had no idea how deep that chasm was. Even if it were only tens of meters deep, I would be smashed to pieces.

My heart was filled with a thousand regrets, but there was nothing I could do.

A few seconds later, I felt my body sink, and a powerful dragging sensation radiated up from beneath my feet.

I knew this was the suction generated when water descends over a waterfall, a force so strong only present when one is extremely close to the cascade.

Knowing that utter destruction was imminent sent a chill through my heart.

Just as my body continued to plummet, feeling the grip of despair, my hand thrashed wildly in the current and accidentally grasped something slippery.

At first, I thought I had caught some kind of fish, but quickly, several more of these strange things blocked my path, yanking me to a halt.

I instantly sighed in relief and carefully felt the cold objects with my hand, realizing they were slender iron chains.

Seven or eight chains stretched across the middle of the river channel, intercepting whatever was rushing down from upstream.

It was somewhat reminiscent of the nets used in wastewater treatment plants to block debris.

However, it was obvious that such a clear underground river could hardly carry any refuse to be caught by these links.

So what were these chains meant to stop?

I didn't dwell on it, because while the chains had momentarily prevented me from plunging over the cliff, the violent current battered my body, leaving me weightless, bobbing aimlessly and gulping water.

I couldn't remain there, so I felt along the chain, inching my way toward the bank.

It took nearly ten minutes before I finally managed to shuffle to the shore.

Then, gathering the last vestiges of my strength, I pulled myself onto the bank and immediately fell backward, gasping great lungfuls of air toward the ceiling.

My current state of exhaustion was accurately described by the phrase "a drowned dog."

After resting for a few minutes, I gradually felt some strength returning.

So, I rolled over and slowly climbed up from the ground.

With a loud whoosh, all the water draining from my clothes leaked out, and I instantly felt much lighter.

Illuminated by the strange white light, I saw that I had stopped only two or three meters away from where the waterfall dropped.

Had it not been for those chains in the water, I would have already plummeted into the abyss.

I slowly approached the edge of the fissure in the ground and looked down, immediately feeling a wave of dizziness.

Beneath my feet was an endless expanse of darkness; this crack in the earth seemed to have no discernible bottom.

Moreover, I noticed that although the fissure was only seven or eight meters wide, it extended along the entire perimeter of the cave opening, seemingly forming a ring.

The landmass where I stood was an isolated island encircled by this abyssal ring.

The ceiling above, like a colossal lid covering the entire space, allowed countless subterranean rivers to plunge from all directions, resembling white dragons arching into magnificent rainbows—a truly spectacular sight.

And upon this island, numerous other rivers radiated outward from a central point, flowing in all directions.

The turbulent stream I had fallen into was merely one of them.

I was somewhat astonished, thinking that given the speed of these currents, there must be an enormous water source at the center of this island-like continent.

It might be a massive underground spring; otherwise, there would be no way to generate so many swift rivers.

In sum, I now felt as though I had arrived in a water world, surrounded by roaring rivers and waterfalls, the air thick with pervasive moisture.

Looking toward the center of the island, there was an object, about ten meters high, elliptical and resembling an egg, emitting a faint white radiance that illuminated the entire cavern brightly.

Since I was still very far from this central object, I couldn't discern what exactly was glowing.

I stood there for a moment, stunned, feeling truly overwhelmed.

No one could have imagined that within this subterranean world, there existed such a beautiful expanse.

It was like the legendary Peach Blossom Spring, a hidden sanctuary where immortals might reside.

The oppressive feeling from the previous caverns vanished entirely; the contrast was simply too vast.

Slowly, I managed to compose my awe and looked toward the chains spanning the river.

Since there was evidence of human artistry here, this had to be the "other Golden Hall" Zoya had mentioned.

Yet, I hadn't expected this level to be less gold and more of a silver-clad water world.

After resting a while longer, I began to walk along the swift river toward the massive glowing egg at the center, intending to discover what it was.

The scene before me appeared hazy, partially obscured by layers of water vapor.

Fortunately, as long as I followed the river, I wouldn't lose my way, and the central object was so conspicuous that it served as an unmistakable landmark.

Walking forward for perhaps another ten minutes, I started to notice something strange.

Although I hadn't veered off course, after walking for so long, the giant egg-shaped object in the middle did not seem any closer.

Could this cavern truly be so immense? Had I walked this far only to still be far from the center?

Puzzled, I continued onward.

It was then that I realized the landscape ahead wasn't entirely unchanging.

Where the ground had been bare moments before, countless small dark spots now appeared.

These small dots were somewhat egg-shaped too, squatting on the ground, round and plump, and I couldn't tell what they were.

Because these small dots were silhouetted against the light, they looked like flies pinned to a lightbulb, allowing me to see only their outlines.

So, I quickened my pace; getting closer would naturally bring clarity.

As I moved faster, another five or six minutes passed, and the outlines of the small dots became much clearer.

But they transformed from small dark spots to large ones, until, upon reaching them, they became huge dark masses.

I paused quietly not far from one of these large black shapes, and instantly, the hair on my scalp prickled, leaving me momentarily lost for what to do.

Because these things were none other than the bronze incense burners we had encountered before.

These censers were varied in design but all looked exceedingly ancient, covered in a patina of multi-colored verdigris that was rather repulsive.

What truly chilled me, however, was that the lids of most of these bronze cauldrons were ajar, meaning whatever was inside must have escaped.

I couldn't be certain if the monster that took Boss Wu had emerged from one of these censers, but I knew this scene before me was certainly not a good omen.

With a growing sense of unease, I walked up to the closest bronze cauldron.

I touched the copper rust on its surface and found the carvings were still intricate, but much of the metal had decayed.

Looking up at the open mouth on the top of the cauldron, a bold idea suddenly struck me.