The black statue was, in essence, a monolithic boulder, hollowed out within. Since the rock itself was an inky black, the space inside was utterly devoid of light. Irley Yang held the "Wolf Eye" flashlight, casting its beam down the passage behind them. The narrow shaft of light struck a corner, revealing Ah Xiang standing motionless, head bowed, facing the wall. None of us had noticed her move before this moment. Seeing her there, silent and spectral, brought back worries about her dissociative episodes, but beneath that concern lay a heightened edge of wariness in all of us.

Before Irley Yang could call her name, Ah Xiang turned on her own accord, her face now oriented toward us. Seeing her turn, we nearly gasped aloud. Two streams of black blood traced down Ah Xiang's cheeks, like tears of blood flowing forth. Her eyes were open, yet utterly devoid of life's spark; the black blood was weeping directly from them.

Seeing her eyes bleeding, Irley Yang immediately moved to examine her injuries. Ah Xiang suddenly raised an arm, pointing toward the wall behind her. "There's a woman there. She's in the wall… It's not just here; every wall inside this grotto holds a woman." As she spoke, her body swayed precariously, threatening to collapse.

Irley Yang hurried forward to steady Ah Xiang, wiping the blood from her face while trying to inspect the damage around her eyes. In the pitch black, it was impossible to see where the blood originated. When asked, she claimed to feel no pain; the blood seemed to emanate from the tear ducts. The relief that her sight was intact brought a collective sigh. Uncle Ming, who had been searching for fuel in the next chamber, rushed over upon hearing the commotion. He lamented Ah Xiang’s condition, then explained to me that the spiritual energy here was too heavy, causing Ah Xiang to bleed inexplicably from her nose and eyes when encountering unclean things. He noted that bleeding tears were exceedingly rare—this had only happened twice in recent years: once at the most haunted residence in Hong Kong, and another time while handling an "antique" salvaged from the South China Sea. On both previous occasions, Ah Xiang’s unusual behavior had aroused Uncle Ming’s suspicion, leading him to hesitate and avoid involvement. It was later discovered that both incidents had precipitated multiple unsolved murders. Uncle Ming’s non-involvement was sheer luck. Since Ah Xiang was behaving so bizarrely inside this statue, staying here was clearly impossible; it risked death.

After stating this, Uncle Ming recalled the swarms of venomous snakes outside, especially that massive one dripping crimson saliva, and a chill ran through him. After a brief consideration, he concluded that despite the oppressive spiritual energy, at least no vengeful spirits were currently crawling out of the walls to claim lives. Therefore, he asserted, "Black governs strong water; at this moment, we must trust Brother Hu, not Ah Xiang. Staying here is the most prudent course."

Fatty was checking the ammunition in his rifle. Hearing Uncle Ming urge everyone to leave quickly, he countered, "I just saw those snakes surging inside already, both to the north and west. If we retreat, we must do so now. If we stay, we must immediately find a location with a clear path for both ingress and egress, allowing maneuvering room for guerrilla tactics against a strong enemy."

I told the group, "Trying to force our way down now is suicide. No matter which direction we take, we certainly won't escape. No matter how fast we run, we can't outpace those black snakes. Who knows how many holes riddle this Stone Ancestor; while we’ve blocked the way we came, we don't know if they have backdoors. Comparatively, this terrain is narrow, easily defended, and hard to attack, so we can likely hold out for a while." Though I knew being cornered wasn't a permanent solution, we had no other choice for the moment.

Irley Yang agreed that under the current circumstances, defense was mandatory over flight. Regardless of speed, just considering the terrain, any retreat path would be completely exposed—running meant certain death. Of course, being trapped here only meant the difference between dying sooner or later. Therefore, we needed to utilize this time fully to see if we could find anything nearby that might repel snakes, giving us a chance to break out.

While debating strategy, none of us stood idle; we continuously hauled objects to barricade the openings. However, the more we worked, the colder our hearts grew—there were far too many holes to seal them all. The sound of the black snakes slithering below was gradually drawing nearer. With no other option, we were forced to retreat upward, attempting to slow the swarm's ascent in every way possible along the way.

We climbed continuously upward, pushing stone slabs to block the path with every level we gained. Finally, we reached the topmost layer and surveyed the terrain—it was extremely perilous. We were on a narrow passage, flanked on both sides by three small, low-ceilinged grottoes. The upward path lay through the chamber at the very end—our only route higher. But above that was open air. Only the bottom half of the colossal statue's head remained; the portion above the nose was missing, perhaps collapsed from age or erosion. Climbing through the passage brought us out to where three sheer, axe-hewn cliffs converged. This titan statue, already immense, seemed insignificant in this deep underground abyss. Standing on the statue’s crown, we felt as small as ants. Fatty and I climbed out onto the exposed half-skull, looked down just once, and Fatty nearly fainted. The eerie currents rising from the great canyon below created a sound like moaning, and the air carried a strange sulfuric stench. The nightmarish environment made one tremble unto death. I dared not look down again and quickly dragged Fatty back down to the level below.

Irley Yang settled Ah Xiang in a corner, letting her rest on a backpack. Seeing me and Fatty descend, she asked if there was any further path upward. I shook my head. Even standing up there for a moment made my heart race; leaving that spot was unthinkable. But with Uncle Ming nearby, I avoided alarming him by stating the truth directly. I merely said we had reached the summit. Fortunately, the statue's head narrowed its structure; as long as we blocked the way up, the snakes couldn't reach us. The statue was too tall, and the exterior angles were too steep; the venomous snakes couldn't climb up from the outside.

Fortunately, each level of grottoes contained slabs of dark stone, resembling coffin lids, though their original purpose was unclear. We found several slabs of suitable size to cover the entrance leading up, weighed them down with rocks, and it appeared reasonably secure. Although the black snakes were fiercely venomous, they couldn't bite through stone.

After repeatedly confirming no gaps remained, we gathered together. Since barriers were placed on every floor, it would take the large mass of venomous snakes at least an hour or two to ascend. This might be our final period of grace. My mind churned. We had climbed dozens of meters up this colossal statue—we had lost count of the levels. Tactically, the top level was the safest and most stable point to defend against a massive serpent invasion. But conversely, there was absolutely no room for maneuver here. Once the snake swarm flooded in, we had only two options: be eaten by snakes, or jump from the height of dozens of meters into the canyon to commit suicide. Neither end was appealing. I truly hadn't expected to find ourselves in a situation with no viable exit at this final moment. Although I had faced countless life-threatening situations since taking up the grave robbing trade, this moment presented the most difficult circumstances: no food, no water, shortage of arms and medicine, sheer cliffs surrounding us that were impossible to scale, and hordes of giant venomous black snakes lurking below. After reviewing every possibility, it seemed only growing wings could allow us to escape.

Uncle Ming was no fool. Even though I hadn't explicitly told Irley Yang we had nowhere left to retreat while speaking with her, Uncle Ming had already understood. He shook his head resignedly; it seemed even the profound "Heavenly Secrets" couldn't save those doomed to die. Heaven had apparently decreed that Lei Xianming would perish on the "Great Black Sky Thunder Mountain."

Fatty and I told Uncle Ming not to despair. "Where is the bravado you showed when you threatened us, sacrificing chickens and burning paper? Are you really suffering from multiple personalities? When you're timid, you're scared worse than a rabbit; when you're bold, you'd puncture the heavens to save your life. You’ve lived so long; why are you so unable to face the matter of life and death? Ah Xiang isn't acting like this. Can’t you set a positive example for us juniors? Remember, how many eyes full of admiration are watching you expectantly?"

Fatty and I had still been harboring resentment over Uncle Ming's actions in the altar chamber, and even in this dire situation, we naturally seized the opportunity to needle him. However, before we could fully deliver our veiled barbs, Irley Yang interrupted. Irley Yang asked Uncle Ming, "Ah Xiang’s background is very sad. Can Uncle Ming tell us about Ah Xiang? What was her past like? And regarding what you just mentioned about Ah Xiang weeping blood twice in Hong Kong—what are the details of those incidents?"

Irley Yang’s question piqued my curiosity as well. I looked over at Ah Xiang; she was resting with her head in Irley Yang’s lap, deeply asleep. Likely due to blood loss, her spirits had been low ever since entering the underground altar from the "Wind Erosion Lake." Now that things had settled, she had finally succumbed to sleep. She certainly needed the rest, though she seemed to be shivering even in her dreams.

Uncle Ming didn't find the request difficult, but given that our lives were hanging by a thread, he felt there was little point in recounting history. Nevertheless, he began to relate Ah Xiang’s life story. Ah Xiang’s parents were Chinese Americans and devout followers of the notorious secret religious society, "The Church of Science." Although their title contained the word "science," some of their doctrines were extremely idealistic. They believed ancient Earth deities were extraterrestrials and dedicated themselves to developing latent human potential. Many social elites, including politicians, famous directors, and movie stars, were fervent adherents. They amassed numerous strange and ancient secret documents, studying their mysteries obsessively. A faction learned from Tibetan esoteric texts of a method to open the 'Heavenly Eye': raising a newborn infant in an environment completely isolated from the outside world, ensuring she never saw the eyes of any person or animal for a period of ten years. Allegedly, a child raised this way could see the true form of "deities."

However, "The Church of Science" had its own interpretation. They believed this ancient and mystical method was not baseless, citing scientific observations that all mammals, fish, amphibians, birds, and reptiles possess a third eye, invisible externally, buried in the superior part of the brain's thalamus—the "pineal gland." In most vertebrates, this gland is located beneath the skin at the top of the skull. The "pineal gland" is extremely sensitive to light, heat, and subtle electromagnetic wave fluctuations. Because of its proximity to the thalamus, those with a developed pineal gland possess sensory acuity several times greater than ordinary people. Legends claim some people have yin-yang vision or opened heavenly sight—either born that way or achieving it after a severe illness or surviving a major catastrophe. This ancient, secret method might be a time-honored technique for opening the Heavenly Eye through ten years of heightened quiescence.

Ah Xiang’s biological parents firmly believed this theory and secretly experimented on their own daughter. From the moment she was born, they placed her in a sterile environment, requiring everyone who approached her to wear special goggles, ensuring she never made eye contact with any living creature. When she was nearing ten years old, her parents died in an accident. Ah Xiang had no other relatives. Uncle Ming was wealthy at the time, and to mask his illicit business dealings, he needed a respectable public image. He frequently engaged in charity work, and taking in Ah Xiang was part of that. Unforeseen by him, Ah Xiang later saved his life several times. The most dangerous instances were at the location dubbed the "Most Haunted House in Hong Kong" and later, the "South China Sea Bone Jar."