Ah Xiang desperately backed away: "I... I saw that what grew out of the stone hole was... a man's corpse, covered in human blood." With that, she covered her eyes, not daring to look at the vibrant red flower again.

During this time, we had placed great trust in Ah Xiang's eyes, feeling that having her around would save us a lot of trouble. But this time, I couldn't help but harbor some doubt. That intensely bright red flower, though strange in appearance, should absolutely be a plant. How could it be a corpse? The difference between the two... was simply too vast.

Only Uncle Ming accepted Ah Xiang’s words without question; Fatty and I were less convinced. We both turned to look at Ah Xiang. What she said was baffling—where was the corpse? And where was the human blood?

Inley Yang pointed at the red flower growing from the stone hole and addressed the group: "Look, it has borne fruit."

I quickly looked at the red flower again. In the brief moment I had shifted my gaze, it had somehow completed the entire process of flowering and fruiting. At the tip of the tender green vine hung a spherical fruit, resembling a longan. Fatty, Uncle Ming, Inley Yang, and I had all traveled extensively and seen some strange things, but none of us had ever encountered such an odd plant.

It appeared that the holes in the stone wall were created by the plant growing inside forcing its way out. Because the stone holes were curved, we couldn't see directly inside. Behind this cavern, there seemed to be another space, but what kind of place could sustain plant life without sunlight or water?

I put on gloves and gently plucked the fruit. When I cracked open the outer shell, a dark red liquid immediately began to flow out, smelling foul, like decaying blood. In the very center was a small piece of shredded flesh that surprisingly looked like human flesh.

The moment the fruit was picked, the green vine instantly withered, turning into a pile of gray dust. I quickly threw the piece of flesh in my hand onto the ground and told the others, "This is almost certainly the Blood Bait of the Fruit of Living Men."

In the secret arts of Feng Shui, there is a school called "Transformation," which details special cases of Yin-Yang changes in Feng Shui. In locations with unique Feng Shui topography, extraordinary events can occur. What we call the "Dragon's Peak Glacier" is part of what the locals call the "Divine Snail Gully Glacier." Although it is the world's only low-altitude glacier, it is surrounded by jade peaks and snow-capped mountains—a place of singular topographical importance within the Kunlun Mountains. Kunlun is fundamentally the origin of the world's Dragon Veins, and the "Divine Snail Gully" is the apex of the Ancestral Dragon. Its vital energy (Sheng Qi) is unparalleled. In fact, earth-eye points where Sheng Qi gathers are not exclusive to the Ancestral Dragon, but they are extremely rare. Precisely because the Sheng Qi is excessively strong, corpses buried in certain special locations on the Dragon's Peak will not decay after death. Such undecaying corpses in places overflowing with Sheng Qi are called "Black Tortoise Giant Corpses." Even the natural caves in such locations can undergo strange transformations, such as becoming "Fruits of Living Men" that continuously sprout "Blood Bait."

The level we are currently at is the bottom of the Ice Abyss, with an elevation of only a little over a thousand meters, where there is essentially no ice left. It is filled with vast veins of crystal ore. The "Black Tiger Altar" discovered here should be some kind of divine stove or facility, built by the subsequent Reincarnation Sect after the demise of the Demon Kingdom. They worship the evil gods in the Demon Pagoda, and their main rituals are conducted in places like this.

I had assumed, by convention, that the small black humanoid figure was a symbol of some god, but I had overlooked the significant differences between Esoteric Buddhist landscapes and the Qingwu techniques. Perhaps in the Central Plains, a divine seat or statue would suffice, but now I realize that if it were the Reincarnation Sect, they might actually prepare a real corpse for sacrifice here, at this convergence of Sheng Qi, to manifest a miracle affirming their doctrine of eternal life.

I explained these matters to Inley Yang and the others. It was necessary to find the entrance to the space behind the cave and explore it. If we were lucky, we might find many clues about the "City of Evil Sea" or the "Gate of Disaster," at least giving us a macroscopic understanding so that proceeding further would not feel like groping in the dark.

I then told Uncle Ming that since the Sheng Qi was so abundant here, there shouldn't be any danger, and he should relax. If he didn't want to come, he could stay here with Ah Xiang and wait for us to return.

Uncle Ming now relied on Fatty and me like a great wall; he absolutely refused to leave our side, so he reluctantly agreed to take Ah Xiang along. Thus, the group began searching the cave for any mechanisms or secret passages that might lead to the space where the "Fruit of Living Men" was growing.

Uncle Ming asked me, "There is just one thing I don't understand. Before entering Tibet, I studied a lot about Esoteric Feng Shui. When the Demon Kingdom built the Demon Pagoda, Esoteric Buddhism hadn't yet formed its Feng Shui theories; determining a burial spot was difficult and often inaccurate. Looking at the location of this Black Tiger Altar, it seems to correspond to the Nine-Story Demon Tower. Is this truly the most auspicious spot with the strongest Sheng Qi? If there's even a slight deviation and we hit a demonic lair or a ghost spot, wouldn't we be rushing to our deaths?" I thought Uncle Ming, that old fox, wanted to back out again, so I placated him: "Although Feng Shui theory came later, the topography has existed objectively ever since mountains and rivers formed. Later generations merely processed, organized, and summarized it, like attaching a clock. This entire region of the Dragon's Peak is the source of the world's Dragon Veins; Sheng Qi gathers everywhere. How could there be any strange spots? So, don't spread alarmist talk. Fatty and I have hearts of iron and stone; we haven't known fear our entire lives. What you're saying will only scare Ah Xiang."

Uncle Ming, having lost the point, retreated to the side without another word. This crystal cave contained many stone platforms, scattered in disarray. We moved them aside one by one, finally discovering a low passage behind a platform leaning against the wall. Inside was a semicircular slope winding upward toward the inner cavern. Everyone put on gas masks and bent over to crawl into the passage.

This passage was not long. After winding halfway around, we saw a larger domed cavern, about a hundred square meters. The exit was a semi-natural platform hanging in the air, looking down into pitch blackness with no visible bottom.

In truth, I only inferred it was "Blood Bait" from the flower that grew human flesh. Other than that, I knew very little about this substance because it was too rare, and I had no idea if there were any dangers. However, retreating from the forefront was not something I intended to do. Since we had discovered this place, if we didn't investigate this secret and exhaust its depths, I would surely regret it later.

This crystal dome must be adjacent to the cave where we camped. We were suspended several meters above the lower area. The corpse that grew the "Blood Bait" seemed to be down below. It was deathly quiet here; apart from the sound of our breathing, there was no other noise.

Because the lights on our helmets couldn't reach far, everyone leaned over, lying prone on the stone platform, trying to use their "Wolf Eyes" [powerful flashlights] to scout the terrain below. But the beams of the flashlights only illuminated the dense cluster of "Blood Bait Red Flowers" beneath the platform. The plants were extremely thick, and their vines spread across the walls like ivy, obscuring whatever lay deeper within.

I quietly called Ah Xiang over and asked her to look down from the platform first. She had seen the Blood Bait Red Flower before and said it was a man's corpse. Now, she could use her eyes again to see if she could locate the root system of this "Blood Bait"; that should be where the "Black Tortoise Giant Corpse" was located. Ah Xiang’s eyes could only see things within the range of normal vision, unobstructed—like ghosts and corpses in unusual states—even in total darkness.

Encouraged by Inley Yang, Ah Xiang bravely took a look and nodded to confirm. Through the gaps in the "Blood Bait Red Flowers," she saw a tall, human-shaped figure below. All the plants were growing out of that corpse, meaning those "Blood Baits" were part of the body.

I suspected this place below was a sacrificial pit where the corpse was laid, and there must be other sacrificial items beneath. So I asked Fatty to toss down a few fluorescent tubes to illuminate the area and see if there was any solid ground we could descend to.

Fatty had already been planning to go down and search for valuable Mingqi (funerary objects). Hearing my words, he immediately threw down seven or eight blue glow sticks. The area beneath the platform was instantly illuminated by the blue light. Countless blood-red flowers densely covered the cave floor. Many had already sprouted Blood Bait fruits. Looking down from above, it resembled a profusely blooming flower garden, except the colors of the flowers were monotonous, and contrasted against the blue fluorescence, the atmosphere felt heavily gloomy, like fake flowers made of (joss paper), entirely devoid of aesthetic appeal.

At the edge of the flower cluster was a square boulder weighing thousands of pounds, constructed from neat blocks of ice-mountain crystal. We were far away, and the surface of the boulder was covered with "Blood Bait Red Flowers." We could only glimpse some engraved symbols or patterns in the gaps. Underneath the massive stone lay a red wooden coffin with a large hole punched through its front opening.

How could there be such a coffin in this place? I found the huge square ice-mountain crystal stone quite peculiar and was about to move from the platform to examine it closely when my wrist was suddenly gripped tightly. Ah Xiang beside me clutched my hand, her eyes filled with terror. Without her needing to say anything, I knew she must have seen something again.

Inley Yang seemed to have heard a sound too, placing his index finger to his lips and signaling silence to the group. I immediately abandoned the thought of going down, held my breath, and lay prone on the stone platform, shutting off all our light sources with the others, quietly watching what was happening below.

The few glow sticks thrown down hadn't extinguished yet; the light would probably last another two minutes. Then, a faint rustling sound came from the crevices in the stone below. In the faint blue glow, we saw a green... small dog. It was impossible to describe; one could only say that its overall shape resembled a "small dog" covered in green fur. It slowly crawled out of the stone crevice. This thing had no eyes; perhaps having lived in the underground world for so long, its sight and sense of smell had atrophied. It didn't notice the changes in the surroundings nor did it detect the people on the stone platform.

It continuously devoured the fruit of the "Blood Bait," very greedily. As it constantly gnawed away, the red flowers that had lost their fruit withered into ash. Soon, a male corpse, over two meters tall, was revealed beneath.

Watching from above, my heart raced. What in the world was that thing? Just as I was about to look again, the light from the fluorescent tubes began to dim, and the faint glow vanished into the darkness. Suddenly, I felt an itch on the back of my hand, as if something had sprouted there. Touching it, I instantly knew something was wrong—it felt like a tender sprout of a plant was growing.