I couldn't help but wonder what was happening; had that black snake fallen from such a height and actually died?

After a moment's thought, I dismissed the idea; the serpent had tough hide and had gained some of the Dragon's power, so it shouldn't have been killed so easily by a fall.

There was no recourse; mere guesswork wouldn't yield any answers, so we could only lie back atop the pillar, waiting for our strength to return and the venom to dissipate.

However, less than a minute later, we heard someone scrambling up over the edge of the platform.

I tried to sit up alertly, but no strength came; all that remained was a twitching spasm.

Number 12 reacted just as violently, thrashing several times on the ground, attempting to rise but failing each time.

It was then that the newcomer spoke, his first words being, "Amitabha, I didn't expect you two to be injured like this, alas..."

Hearing that familiar voice, I was almost moved to tears, murmuring indistinctly, "Is that Number 2? You're not dead?"

Number 2 walked over to me, helped me up, and said, "How could I die so easily? I practice the Buddhist art of Reincarnation and Regeneration; I have twelve lives. I still have ten left, though it takes time for the revival. I forgot to tell you that at the time, and I didn't expect you actually buried me."

I felt a flush of shame and replied, "We even held a funeral vigil for you; we thought you were finished."

Number 2 smiled faintly and said, "Thank you very much; truly good brothers."

At that moment, Number 12 chimed in, "I told you Number 2 was an extremely formidable XX-level ability user; he wouldn't die so easily!"

Number 2 cautioned, "Neither of you move around, and don't talk too much. Having been struck by that snake venom, within an hour and a quarter, all your internal organs will dissolve. That creature originally intended to capture you and drink your life essence."

I asked, "You were the one who killed that snake just now, weren't you? I never realized you were so formidable! That snake was about to transform into a Dragon!"

Number 2 recited a Buddhist phrase, saying, "Amitabha, this humble monk merely showed a little skill. Moreover, that snake is still far from becoming a Dragon. This wicked beast usually feeds on the liquefied internal organs of humans, absorbing their essence to become sentient; it has lived for five hundred years, and this year is its ninth Jiazi cycle. The Poison Dragon Snake Fruit it has coveted for so long has finally ripened. Although eating it greatly increased its power, it still requires another nine Jiazi cycles before it can achieve the Dragon form."

"Although I allowed the wretch to escape just now, I struck its Tianling (crown chakra) with the Immeasurable True Words of Buddhism. In less than a month, half of its vital energy will dissipate. To recover, it will need to lie dormant for at least another hundred years, so it will pose no future threat. If the opportunity arises, I shall personally eliminate it."

Hearing this, I inquired, "Since you injured it, why did you let it escape, and where did it flee?"

Number 2 recited another Buddhist phrase, saying, "You two don't know, but the stratum below is only * meters thick; beneath it is entirely hollow karst cave systems. When the giant snake was struck to the ground, it smashed a large pit in the surface. It fell into the pit and swam away rapidly, vanishing in moments. I was worried about your safety, so I came to find you first."

I nodded and stopped speaking.

Number 2 then took out a syringe of Universal Antivenom from his case and said, "Even though you weren't bitten directly, you were still poisoned by the snake. This serum will come in handy."

With that, he administered an injection to both me and Number 12.

He then gave us some tranquilizing medicine to eat, telling us to rest properly.

After receiving the injections and taking the medicine, we rested in place for about ten minutes. The dizzying symptoms finally disappeared, and most of our energy returned.

It was then I asked Number 2, "Right, that Poison Dragon Snake Fruit you mentioned, how did it grow out of your grave mound? Number 12 and I both thought that plant had sprouted from your corpse."

Number 2 chuckled, "No flower can grow from my corpse. It was quite a coincidence; you probably won't believe it."

"Didn't you dig a pit and bury me? But that pit was five meters deep, separated from the karst caverns below by only a single wall. When I awoke, the first thing I thought of wasn't climbing out of the grave, but hearing a slight movement beneath the earth layer."

"That sound was bone-chilling, like someone knocking rhythmically at the door late at night. The sound was extremely slow and regular, making it very unnerving."

"I had no choice; my first instinct was that something was moving in the surface soil not far beneath me. I thought this might be the messenger we were looking for causing trouble, so to investigate clearly, I couldn't hold back any longer and punched straight through the soil layer beneath me."

"The perforated layer created a fist-sized hole. I dropped a glow stick inside and watched it vanish instantly—I truly don't know how deep this underworld is."

"And using the glow stick's light, I saw countless vine-like underground plants swaying slowly, like wriggling caterpillars. The knocking sound I heard earlier must have been produced by these plant vines tapping against the earth layer."

"Since I rarely see plants that can move on their own, I couldn't resist my curiosity and stared for a moment too long. Unexpectedly, one of the vines suddenly seemed to detect the breach in the soil layer and shot towards my eye with a swoosh."

"Not only that, but the other plant vines also raised their heads, crowding towards the small opening."

"Seeing how ferocious these plants were, I tried to block the small hole with my hand, but it was too late; one plant had already shot out and was growing at an incredible speed."

"With the aid of the flashlight beam, I recognized it as a Poison Dragon Snake Fruit plant, an extremely fierce species, and the fruit it bore was quite mysterious, said to be able to cultivate an inner core in animals."

"This thing is recorded in Buddhist scriptures as an inauspicious object. So, I drew my blade to chop it, but after cutting one, new sprouts emerged continuously from the tiny hole. Despite my best efforts to clear them, one shoot still managed to emerge and break through the sealed earth mound above the tomb."

"I realized these things must have been driven into a frenzy by sensing the call of sunlight."

"Indeed, when that sprout broke through the seal and made contact with the sunlight outside, it began to grow wildly at a terrifying speed. By the time I brought my blade down, I could no longer cut through it."

"I had no choice but to climb out of the grave to see what was happening above ground. But the moment I poked my head out, I saw the ground was covered in toads."

"I saw you two hanging on the earth pillars nearby, but I couldn't call out because the noise of these toads was deafening; any words from me would have been drowned out."

"So, I could only struggle to break free from the toads' entanglement while trying to figure out how to save you. When that snake leaped up, ready to devour you, I grabbed its tail from behind and pulled it down."

I interjected here, "At the time, I thought the snake had suddenly gone foolish; it turns out you dragged it down! It seems you were saving us all along."

Number 2 recited a Buddhist phrase, saying, "Who told you two to be so worrying... Grappling with the toads on the ground wasn't easy. Some of those toads were as large as horses and were close to becoming sentient. They were clearly also here for the fruit, but after being swallowed by the giant snake, having nowhere to vent their frustration, they made me their target."

"After dealing with those few giant toads, the smaller toads dispersed. I finally gained an opening and engaged the giant snake in combat—and then came the scene you witnessed."

I thanked Number 2 again, then asked, "Where are we going now? Should we try to get out of this earth pillar labyrinth first?"

Number 2 replied, "Of course. There’s nothing worthwhile in the underground Kanas topography. We should go out now and find those amateur adventurers to see if they encountered any danger. Then we must find Old Man Li, as all the clues are still in his hands."

I nodded, "Then we shouldn't delay. If we return to the surface now, we'll get lost in the labyrinth again, but as long as we stay on top of these earth pillars, we won't lose our way. Let's jump across one by one."

Number 2 nodded, saying, "No problem, but you are too weak right now; you shouldn't do strenuous exercise. Let me carry you across!"

With that, he grabbed both our arms, leaped up, and effortlessly jumped to another earth pillar. After a few more swings, moving step by step like a frog leaping across lily pads, we quickly reached the edge of the earth pillar labyrinth.

Number 2 then brought us down to the ground, where we coincidentally ran into that group of amateur explorers laying out their bedding on the ground; it seemed they hadn't given up yet.

Seeing the three of us arrive, these people immediately surrounded us completely again, asking where we had gone, and complaining about how terrifying the wild beasts in this wilderness were.

As they spoke, they began pestering us about the Yuanmou Man, demanding why we suddenly disappeared and didn't take them to see the Yuanmou Man.

I thought these people were truly annoying, and since they were otherwise unharmed, I said, "Come investigate the ruins of the former village with us; you might find something you want to see."

The bespectacled tour guide leading them said, "Really? If you're fooling us again, we’ll report you up top!"