Father Thomas was so terrified by the black particles floating in mid-air that his very soul nearly fled his body. In the eerie, phosphorescent blue light of the lantern, these dark specks flickered in and out of sight, seeming to coalesce slowly. Father Thomas knew, this must be what the Bible referred to… the “Devil’s Breath.”

How does one combat the “Devil’s Breath”? The Bible mentioned something—holy water? The host? Or perhaps the cross? Blast it, he couldn't recall in this moment of crisis. Father Thomas silently chastised himself for being useless, utterly terrified by Satan’s messenger. He’d have no face to meet the Heavenly Father if he died now; he had to summon the courage befitting a priest.

Father Thomas tried every means possible to calm himself, recalling that this wretched “Devil’s Breath” seemed to favor heat. But he had no matches or candles on him now. How could he distract this evil black mist?

Thank heavens, there wasn't too much of this “Devil’s Breath.” Father Thomas suddenly remembered—they seemed to fear things like holy water**, but he had no canteen. Would spitting work? If he urinated, the liquid might be too warm. He cycled through seven or eight ideas in a moment, but none proved useful.

Facing the black mist that had already condensed into a mass, Father Thomas was frantic. Just then, he heard a soft hum from behind him. Turning, he saw “Zhegushao” had awakened. He rushed to help him up, pointing at the small clump of black mist, too nervous to form a complete sentence.

“Zhegushao” had passed out from the pain earlier, losing a good deal of blood, leaving his face deathly pale. He was fortunate that he’d managed to clamp off the blood vessels beforehand; once the blood had drained from his arm, the heavy bleeding stopped. Had he waited for an idiot like Father Thomas to help, he would have been dead long ago.

As soon as Father Thomas supported him, “Zhegushao” regained about eighty percent of his senses. Seeing the small ball of black spectral fog swirling before the white jade archway, clearly drawn toward the warmth of human blood, he quickly drew another gun, flipped the firing mechanism open, and fired directly at the bronze lock on the jade gate.

Elder Liao Chen and “Zhegushao” had previously determined that the bronze lock on the jade gate was a linked core lock; any external force triggering the internal mechanism would release hidden projectiles from the gate openings on either side. Since the opening was wide, these wouldn't be small darts. Based on “Zhegushao’s” experience, they were likely large mechanisms like rolling stones or quicksand. For now, he had no choice but to gamble on using external force. If poison gas erupted from the openings, they would all perish together; if it was something like wooden stakes or quicksand, they could use it to block the ghostly mist at the entrance. After finally escaping this far, he couldn't possibly let himself be killed here in the tomb passage by this untouchable, unknowable ghost mist.

The bullet struck the bronze lock, activating the mechanism within the linked core lock. A deafening, earth-shaking roar erupted from the openings on both sides as countless streams of quicksand poured out like a tide; clearly visible within the sand were many red particles—poisonous sand.

In the blink of an eye, from the moment “Zhegushao” fired at the lock until the torrent of deadly poison sand—one touch fatal, immediate death upon contact—erupted from the openings, less than a few seconds passed. The entire mass of spectral fog was completely buried by the poisonous sand. The remnants of the black fog, sensing the overwhelming lethal energy, struggled briefly before being smothered and extinguished by the deadly dust storm.

“Zhegushao” and Father Thomas dragged Elder Liao Chen, running for their lives toward the tomb shaft, having no time to spare for what was happening behind them. They could only hear the violent cascading of the quicksand piling up between the two openings, the rumbling sound echoing ceaselessly.

Once they reached the vertical shaft and stabilized themselves, they finally had a chance to catch their breath. “Zhegushao” sprinkled Yunnan Baiyao powder on the stump where his arm had been. Most of his arm was gone; he’d never be able to raid tombs again. The thought made his chest tighten, and he felt the urge to vomit blood again. He hastily swallowed two more pills of the "Honglian Miaoxin Wan" to slow the blood loss.

What worried “Zhegushao” most was Elder Liao Chen’s injuries. The old monk had traveled all this way to the foot of Helan Mountain for his sake. If the monk’s life was jeopardized because of him, the sin would be too great. So, he and Father Thomas helped prop up Elder Liao Chen to examine his wounds.

Father Thomas held Elder Liao Chen’s back, and as soon as he touched it, his hand came away covered in streaks of blood. He cried out in alarm, “Oh my… blood… the old monk is hurt.”

From the tomb chamber to the shaft, the three of them had fled frantically. Neither “Zhegushao” nor Father Thomas had paid attention to where Elder Liao Chen was injured. Only now did they see clearly: when the Coral Tree had broken, Elder Liao Chen had fallen to the ground, and a human skeleton hanging near his feet had shattered along with him. One broken bone had pierced deep into Elder Liao Chen’s back. This had punctured his liver; the wound was incredibly deep. It was ninety-nine percent certain he could not be saved.

“Zhegushao” poured all the Yunnan Baiyao he carried onto the wound on Elder Liao Chen’s back, but the blood immediately washed it away. “Zhegushao” was helpless, his heart aching, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. He took the Xuanzhu Pearl of the North Land from his Hundred Treasures Pouch and held it near Elder Liao Chen’s nose. Rubbing it with his finger, he ground out a little saltpeter powder, hoping to wake the Elder to hear his last words.

The saltpeter fumes made Elder Liao Chen choke, causing him to cough twice before slowly regaining consciousness. Seeing “Zhegushao” and Father Thomas watching him with tears in their eyes, he knew his time was short. He gripped “Zhegushao’s” right hand tightly and said, “This old monk is about to shed this stinking mortal shell. You two shouldn't be sad, but… there are some things you must remember.”

“Zhegushao” nodded through his tears and listened as Elder Liao Chen continued, “This old monk has long since washed his hands of the trade and is no longer counted as a Mojin Xiaowei. I pass this Mojin Talisman to you as well. It is a pity that our karma is insufficient; the art of Fen Jin Ding Xue cannot be taught to you. If you ever have the chance, you can seek out a former colleague of mine. He has the nickname ‘Golden Abacus.’ He usually dresses as a merchant, only operating as a tomb raider along the banks of the Yellow River. This man is an expert in astrology, geomancy, numerology, and the celestial stems and terrestrial branches. In recent times, only Zhang Sanlianzi, the master of Han Long geomancy from the late Qing Dynasty, could be compared to him, but that Master Zhang has long passed away. As of today, apart from this old monk, no one in the world surpasses the Golden Abacus in the art of Fen Jin Ding Xue. Take my Mojin Talisman and find the Golden Abacus; he will surely help you. Also, this piece of dragon bone bears the mark of the Phoenix Gall, and it was hidden in the deepest part of the Western Xia Treasure Cave. It may hold extremely important clues, perhaps offering some reference for finding the Muchen Pearl…”

“Zhegushao” thought that since his left hand was gone, he probably wouldn't be raiding tombs for the rest of his life. Even if he knew where the Muchen Pearl was, he might not be able to retrieve it. Watching Elder Liao Chen’s breathing grow weaker, he tried to speak a few words to him but choked up, unable to open his mouth, biting his lip instead, his whole body trembling.

Elder Liao Chen used his last ounce of strength to say, “You must remember, never casually take another life; raiding tombs depletes Yin virtue… Be merciful to those under you… This old monk… this old monk is departing now.” With that, he could not draw another breath and passed away.

“Zhegushao” knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing to Elder Liao Chen’s body. It took much persuasion from Father Thomas to pull him up. This vertical shaft was no place to linger. The two of them carried Elder Liao Chen’s body back into the main hall of the Tongtian Great Buddha Temple. There, before the majestic image of the Buddha, they cremated Elder Liao Chen’s body before tearfully departing.

In the years that followed, “Zhegushao,” following Elder Liao Chen’s final wishes, searched everywhere for the Mojin Xiaowei known as the Golden Abacus, who operated along the Yellow River banks in the Shaanxi region. However, after traversing many places, he found no trace of this man. The exotic script carved on the dragon bone brought out of the Western Xia Treasure Cave was also shown to many learned scholars, but no one could decipher its content.

At that time, the world was descending into chaos, and the air was thick with the brewing of a massive war that would soon sweep across the land. With the help of the American Father Thomas, “Zhegushao” moved his relatives to the distant United States of America. Feeling dispirited and weary, “Zhegushao” settled into seclusion in the state of Tennessee, withdrawing from worldly affairs.

The Zagrama people normally began to weaken after the age of forty, the iron content in their blood gradually decreasing. After more than ten years, their blood would slowly turn yellow and solidify, leading to a tormented death. Many could not endure this suffering and chose suicide in their final days. However, the onset of this condition was delayed the farther one was from the Ghost Cave; on the other side of the Earth, in America, the average onset was postponed by twenty years.

Subsequently, as war engulfed China, finding the Phoenix Gall Muchen Pearl became difficult. Furthermore, the population of the “Zhegushao” clan had dwindled, leaving few capable of shouldering great responsibilities. “Zhegushao’s” heart grew cold; he surmised that in perhaps another hundred years, the last vestiges of their bloodline would be extinguished, and this ancient tribe would cease to exist.

These matters were later learned by Shirley Yang’s father, Yang Xuanwei. Yang Xuanwei was not only passionate about archaeology but also deeply enthusiastic about adventure. In his quest to find a way to save his wife and daughter, he decided to take action. Since the cipher on the dragon bone could not be deciphered, the prospect of finding the Muchen Pearl seemed remote. Yang Xuanwei had studied Western Regions culture since his youth, but his focus was on the Han and Tang dynasties, the period when the Western Regions reached their peak prosperity. Civilizations had risen and fallen in the Western Regions as early as 4,500 years ago, with the Zagrama Oasis being one such entity; the Xiaogang Tomb Cluster, discovered later, also belonged to an ancient civilization four thousand years old. Therefore, Yang Xuanwei knew little about the history preceding the Jingjue Kingdom of the Zagrama. He suspected there must be important clues within the Ghost Cave of the Jingjue Kingdom, and Yang Xuanwei was a man who firmly believed that science controlled everything.

It happened to coincide with China's Reform and Opening Up, which spurred a second wave of desert scientific expeditions. Riding this favorable wind, Yang Xuanwei successfully assembled a professional exploration team. Unexpectedly, after entering the desert, they were never heard from again. Later, in an effort to find her missing father, Shirley Yang joined the archaeological team formed by Professor Chen, his assistant, and students. In the Black Desert, they traversed the black Zagrama Valley, finally reaching the bottomless Ghost Cave deep within the underground palace of the ancient Jingjue City.