The first time I tossed the magnet, it flew about five meters before the powerful suction yanked it onto the inner wall of the shaft.

Our rope connected to over fifty meters in length, meaning I could definitely climb much further up, find a secure spot to anchor myself, and then let the other two climb up.

Gripping the rope with both hands and bracing my feet against the cavern wall, I tried my best to appear relaxed and natural, then began the laborious ascent.

The reason I needed to look as natural and composed as possible was because I was * now, not Nie Chuan; I couldn't reveal any weakness in front of the other two.

The consequence of maintaining this facade was exhausting myself completely.

Fortunately, the other two, hanging from the ceiling for too long, were too weary to pay much attention to me; instead, they used the remaining rope to fashion a makeshift hammock on the netting and settled in to rest.

I stopped looking at them and climbed to where the magnet was stuck.

Just then, I noticed two incredibly deep finger impressions not far from the magnet, and beneath them, blade marks large enough to fit half a foot.

So, I planted one foot on the blade mark, grabbed the finger impression with one hand, strained with all my might to dislodge the magnet, and threw it up again.

This time, since it was hard to generate force, it only traveled three or four meters before the wall sucked it in.

However, my luck held out, because three or four meters higher, sparse strands of spider silk had formed between the walls.

These incredibly tough strands could assist my climb up the inner surface.

When I managed to secure a grip on a strand of spider silk again, I was already drenched in sweat from exertion.

Finding two strands, I hung there for a moment like Da Xiong and the others, only to realize these silks weren't as sturdy as I'd thought; within a minute, they would deform and collapse, unable to bear sustained weight.

For safety, I used the magnet and rope to secure myself to the wall, then shouted down, "You can climb up now!"

As soon as I finished speaking, Da Xiong and Nie Chuan simultaneously poked their heads up, then one after the other grabbed the rope and began scrambling upwards.

Seeing a flicker of panic in their climbing posture, I frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

They didn't answer, just climbed frantically.

At that moment, I noticed something far more terrifying: because both were climbing the rope simultaneously, the magnet's suction seemed strained, and it was slowly beginning to slip.

With no other choice, I planted one foot on a nearby spider silk strand and used my body weight to press against the magnet.

But this effort had little effect; the magnet continued to slide downward, bit by bit.

I knew the magnet would soon accelerate, taking the two below with it, sending them crashing down into pulp.

So, while straining to hold the magnet, I yelled, "Climb up one at a time! Use the finger holds on the wall and come up sequentially, otherwise this magnet won't hold!"

My voice was loud, and in the straight shaft of the tunnel, there was no way they couldn't hear me.

But neither of them responded; instead, they climbed even more violently.

By now, I could clearly see beads of cold sweat covering their faces.

Then, I heard a buzzing sound, like a swarm of mosquitoes, growing louder, seemingly pursuing Da Xiong and the other.

I knew something deadly must have caught up to them while they were resting, something lethal, or they wouldn't be this panicked.

I pressed down on the magnet with all my might, daring not to relax, while the spider web beneath my feet was already warping, not capable of holding for much longer.

Still, I desperately protected the magnet, as two lives hung on that rope.

Maintaining the pressure second by second, seeing that the two were about to reach my level, I finally let out a sigh of relief.

And at that exact moment, the spider silk beneath my feet snapped with a pop, my footing vanished, and I plummeted.

My mind went blank; I just watched the magnet, still affixed to the wall, detach and fall with me, dropping straight down.

I knew the three of us were about to fall forty to fifty meters, and the chances of survival were practically zero.

Just as my heart sank and I was about to give up, my collar suddenly felt like someone had seized it.

Staring hard, I saw the Hooded Figure standing right in front of me.

His feet were hooked around a black ancient saber wedged into the wall; one hand gripped my collar, the other held the rope attached to the magnet.

Before I could even process how he appeared, he demanded, "Who told you to follow? Are you tired of living?"

After saying this, he slammed the magnet against the wall and told the two below, "Climb."

Having cheated death, both men took deep breaths and scrambled upwards.

Once they reached me and secured themselves onto the spider silks, the Hooded Figure hauled me up.

The three of us each found a few strands of silk to cling to, and together we looked at the Hooded Figure as if he were a savior.

He gave us a cold stare and said, "There's still enough rope. You three go back the way you came along the line; I'll secure it for you."

The three of us exchanged glances, then shook our heads violently like rattles.

Seeing our innocent expressions, the Hooded Figure paused, then asked, "Then... what do you plan to do?"

We looked at each other again and said, "Follow you!"

The Hooded Figure was momentarily speechless again. "Follow me? Wu... Boss already told me that what you're looking for has nothing to do with the Bronze Gate. Following me won't lead you to your objective, and it will only get you killed for nothing."

His tone was so resolute that we fell silent, momentarily unable to speak.

However, amidst the silence, a question suddenly occurred to me, and I asked, "Did Lei Yun Monk enter the Bronze Gate? Is there something in here?"

Hearing Lei Yun Monk's name, the Hooded Figure's expression instantly shifted. He stiffened his face and said, "There is no Lei Yun Monk here. If you don't leave now, I won't be polite."

Seeing his expression confirmed it for me: Lei Yun Monk must be inside.

The injury the Hooded Figure sustained in the attic must have been from Lei Yun Monk. To help us secure the seeds of the semi-withered grass, the Little Brother got hurt, but clearly, Lei Yun Monk was more severely injured and fled here by submerging himself in the river bottom.

That’s why the Little Brother had said back then, "The person you are looking for has already left; he took what he needed to take."

The person we were looking for must be Lei Yun Monk; otherwise, why would we be here?

Thinking this through, I spoke to the Hooded Figure with sudden seriousness, "Brother, one of our good friends was critically injured by Lei Yun Monk's subordinate and hasn't woken up since. You know about this—how can we not seek revenge?"

I actually wanted to mention the matter of * being killed by Lei Yun Monk, but since I am * now, I couldn't say it directly.

Hearing my words, the Hooded Figure frowned deeply and said, "I already gave you the medicine. As long as you plant the seeds in a dark place and water them once in the morning and once in the evening, they will grow into mature plants in two months. Then, boil their leaves and stems to make a tea, and drink it for seven consecutive days to neutralize the poison."

He was only now telling us the usage instructions. Did he consider our feelings? We almost fed the seeds directly to Liang Qian.

Mulling this over, all three of us stared at him intently.

Seeing our unwavering gazes, the Little Brother pulled his hood down further and muttered, "What? Didn't I tell you then?"

The three of us nodded together, conveying our helplessness.

The Little Brother sighed and said, "My apologies. Since that incident, my memory hasn't been very good. I might recognize you today and forget you tomorrow."

Seeing how courteous he was being, I quickly waved my hand and said, "It's fine, no need to be so formal."

The Hooded Figure looked up at the bronze vertical shaft resembling a tunnel above them and stated, "We don't have much time. You can follow me, but remember this: whatever you see, do not speak. If you lose your life, don't blame me."

Hearing that he relented, we were overjoyed and quickly nodded.

The Little Brother shook his head with resignation, grabbed the wall with one hand, and used the black ancient saber to propel himself forward, leaping over ten meters in just a few moves.

We watched, somewhat ashamed, and felt too embarrassed to make him wait, so we could only follow, clinging to those sticky spider webs.