Fishing requires a lot of skill—choosing bait, the material of the fishing rod, controlling the fishing spot. Of course, aside from all this, the most important thing for fishing is patience.
I was in the dark passage, much like fishing, and the centipedes crawling below were the targets I wanted to catch. After killing two centipedes in a row, the others ran away for a while but soon gathered again under the stone steps, making threatening noises, but obviously not scaring me. I picked up the dead centipede and threw it to the ground, the hard shell making a "crack" as it hit the ground.
Animals all have some degree of intelligence, and so do centipedes. Despite their appearances and instinctive behaviors, these creatures quickly understood the meaning behind my actions. In response to my provocation, they soon acted.
The minefield was finally crossed!
Two centipedes rushed up, one in front and one at the back, and I hurriedly retreated. I quickly jumped into the stone coffin and, just as the centipede was about to stick its head out, I pressed the nearby control mechanism for the secret passage. The lifting platform slowly pushed upwards, and the two centipedes felt the danger and tried to retreat, but the platform had already moved halfway, trapping the centipede's body.
The bodies of the centipedes were tough, but the lifting platform had astonishing power. Soon, I heard the sound of their shell cracking.
This was my plan. If too many centipedes suddenly appeared, it would be difficult for me and the chubby guy to deal with them. But by using the lifting platform in the secret passage, it would be remarkably effective. The trapped centipede's upper body convulsed strangely, and soon blood stains flowed out from the stones.
"Haha, Xiaoshan, your method is quite effective!" the chubby guy laughed. I nodded and raised the three-edged spike, stabbing and nailing the two centipedes.
"There are probably five or six more below. I'll go down again."
I twisted the mechanism, the stone opened. I was about to do the same thing again, but this time it turned out to be a disaster! When the stone of the secret passage opened, four or five centipedes suddenly rushed out. These centipedes must have followed the first two, hiding under the stone slabs, avoiding the fate of being crushed. But now they rushed out, and the centipede closest to me suddenly darted up my leg, quickly climbing up my leg and wrapping around my arm in no time. It then bit my arm. In desperation, I had to shake my arm, but the centipede was fierce and wrapped tightly. The chubby guy, seeing the situation, rushed up, wielding his three-edged spike before striking my arm, causing it to hurt, but hitting the centipede hard and forcing it to let go of my arm.
"Damn it, my arm is almost broken," I muttered. I stepped back with the chubby guy, but the remaining centipedes surrounded us.
"There are four in total. I reckon I've killed them all, and it's all over now," I said to myself, feeling relieved. "These things are tough. I used all my strength just now, thinking I could crush it to pieces, but I only broke its head."
The chubby guy shook his hand, protecting Shen Mengtian.
As the centipedes approached from all sides, I leaned against the wall, realizing there was no way out, and I could only fight desperately with these earth creatures. "When in a narrow passage, the brave will win," I thought to myself. I couldn't hesitate now. Holding the three-edged spike, I quickly charged forward, immediately drawing the attention of four centipedes, which almost simultaneously launched an attack on me. They were swift, unlike snakes, unable to attack directly but only when very close to me. As they lunged at me, I suddenly leapt away, and at that moment, the chubby guy, who had been waiting there, struck one centipede dead with his spike. The other three centipedes quickly turned around, and the chubby guy struck again, killing another one. Two out of four centipedes were gone. The remaining two seemed hesitant, continuously retreating, trying to escape. At that moment, the chubby guy and I relaxed, and we each pursued one centipede, knocking them mercilessly until their heads turned into a pile of flesh.
"Haha, they're not as difficult to handle as I thought. I was worried like they were poisonous snakes in the mountains!" The chubby guy, still indignant, kicked the centipede corpse several times. I wiped the blood off the three-edged spike, walked back into the stone coffin, and twisted the mechanism. After waiting for a while, making sure there were no more centipedes coming out, I slowly ventured further down with a flashlight.
The bottom was indeed clean, with no signs of centipedes in the secret passage. I turned around and shouted, "I'll continue to explore inside, wait for my news."
Then I walked toward the inside of the secret passage. The centipedes had disappeared, but there was still a heavy Yin aura in the secret passage. I proceeded cautiously, unable to guarantee that the centipedes were completely gone, nor could I be sure that there were no other creatures here besides centipedes.
However, this time, it was much easier for me to walk through than the last time. The secret passage was very long, much deeper than I had imagined. I had walked about 200 meters, and to my surprise, the entire distance was covered in white bones. At the end of the secret passage, I saw a huge door!
It was a door made of iron, covered in rust on the surface. There was a gap in the middle of the door, devoid of complex carvings, with a simple, fan-shaped design, like the entrance to a factory.
Looking around, there seemed to be no other way to go. I reached out and pushed the iron door, and to my surprise, the huge iron door was not closed! Although it was heavy, I managed to push it open enough to create a gap.
A cold wind blew out from the gap, I waited for a while on the side, and nothing strange happened. I pushed on the door again, and the gap got bigger, blowing out an even stronger cold wind. I drew my three-edged spike. When the gap was big enough for one person to slip through, I slowly entered the door.
It was a pitch-black world, and I couldn't see anything, but the cold wind blowing in brought a lot of information. First, there was a faint smell of blood. It was still present. Then there was a Yin aura, which was obviously due to the connection between this place and the outside world. But it carried enough Yin aura, even more intense than the one in the white bone passage.
I didn't dare turn on the flashlight for fear of attracting the attention of invisible creatures. After waiting for a while and finding it calm around me, without any strange sounds or footsteps, I turned on the flashlight and slowly moved it forward, finally seeing a piece of stone, neatly cut. Next, I continued to shine the light up and saw a pillar, similar to the four pillars outside, but carved with ghosts and monsters. Then I shone the light higher, and it fell on a projecting eave, making me frown. I seemed to have guessed what place it was, but I didn't dare to confirm it.
I quickly stepped back a few paces and shone the light from a greater distance, slowly piecing together the images in my mind, finally forming into the shape of a palace!
This was actually an underground palace!
It was Xiaoming Temple on the surface. Through the dried-up well, you could access the underground river, and through a mechanism in the underground river, you could enter behind the earthen wall. Passing through the secret passage inside the stone coffin and crossing the passage made of white bones, you could finally reach here. This was a palace buried deep underground, a place that required perseverance, luck, and even blessings to reach.
I shone the flashlight up to a higher place and finally saw the large symbol on the stone tablet in the main hall. In the center of the stone tablet, there appeared a huge symbol, which resembled the Chinese character "中" and represented the meaning of Central Sky Gate!
Sure enough, this was a stronghold of the Central Sky Gate, just as Zhu had mentioned before. The palace might be the true core area of their stronghold. I didn't rush in because there could be short monsters, other pale-faced creatures, and more unidentified things that could appear in the palace. I slowly began to retreat, intending to go back to find the fatty, when suddenly I heard a sound ahead.
"Clank, clank..."
It sounded like the noise of chains being pulled. I quickly hid behind a large rock, turned off the flashlight, and my heart was in suspense! Something was coming!