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Mu Fei was studying the stone gate.

Gu Xiaoxi had just washed her face and was about to get up.

Suddenly, she saw the surface of the water start to ripple.

In particular, her sharp ears picked up a rustling sound.

"Zhao Zilong, bring the flashlight!" Gu Xiaoxi shouted.

Zhao Zilong quickly handed the flashlight to Gu Xiaoxi.

She shone the light over the water and saw that what had been clear water was now completely black.

Countless bugs, each about ten centimeters long and resembling sea cucumbers, were swiftly swarming towards them.

Gu Xiaoxi immediately felt her scalp tingle, her fear of swarming things triggered.

She screamed, "Mu Fei, what is this?"

At that moment, the others also noticed something was wrong.

Upon hearing Gu Xiaoxi’s shout, Mu Fei immediately stopped his exploration of the stone gate and ran over to her.

When he saw what was in the water, he was so scared that he plopped down on the ground, "These are Hell Bugs. Not good, run fast, they can eat human flesh and even devour human souls."

"Mu Fei, we can’t open the gate now, and these bugs are swarming everywhere, where can we possibly run to?" one of the villagers asked in fear, swallowing hard.

Gu Xiaoxi steadied herself, as the dense swarm of black bugs had almost reached the edge of the stone platform where they were standing.

Soon, the main force of bugs had actually crawled up onto the stone platform.

Gu Xiaoxi grabbed Mu Fei by the shoulder and pushed him in front of the chamber door, "Quickly figure out a way to open this gate."

Mu Fei was also extremely anxious, standing at the gate with his legs trembling, "What to do? What to do?..."

He became even more frantic as he muttered aimlessly.

As countless bugs drew closer and closer, the villagers were petrified with fear.

Seeing everyone in panic, Gu Xiaoxi turned to Shao Changfeng and Zhao Zilong, "You two, come here and force this stone gate open for me. I will deal with those bugs!"

She immediately stepped forward, positioned the villagers behind her for protection, and four daggers hovered in the air beside her while she concentrated immense Inner Strength in her palms.

With a single palm strike, she forcefully used her Inner Strength to push back the layers of surging bugs by a meter.

However, this did not stop more bugs from continuing to advance.

Gu Xiaoxi used her Inner Strength again, repelling the bugs once more.

At the same time, she swung her daggers fiercely at the teeming swarm, quickly splattering blood all around.

The villagers watched with terror.

Suddenly, the fearlessly advancing bugs leapt up and one bit at a villager.

Gu Xiaoxi was quick to react, slashing with her knife, and the bug was instantly cut in two and died.

But the villager’s shoulder had a finger-sized, two to three-centimeter deep hole bitten into it.

Gu Xiaoxi’s face changed color, not expecting the Hell Bugs to be so formidable. They were only ten centimeters long, but one bite could penetrate a body in the blink of an eye.

If it weren’t for her quick action, that man would’ve been dead in less than fifteen seconds.

It seemed the scent of blood had triggered the bugs’ sense of smell, making them move even faster.

Gu Xiaoxi was gradually struggling to hold off the endless swarm of bugs.

On the other side, no matter how hard Shao Changfeng and Zhao Zilong tried, they could not open the stone gate.

And after what seemed like an eternity of stunned silence, Mu Fei suddenly let out a shriek.

Pointing at the Phoenix Eyes and Dragon Eyes on the gate, he said, "Two people need to press those eyes at the same time.

Everyone be careful, ancient tombs usually have booby-trapped arrows, make room by the door. "

On Mu Fei’s command, Zhao Zilong and Shao Changfeng pressed the Phoenix Eyes and Dragon Eyes on the stone gate.

The villagers also retreated to one side.

Instantly, there was a clicking sound from the gate.

The stone gate slowly opened, and a barrage of arrows shot out from the widening gap.

Gu Xiaoxi, who was busy fighting off the Hell Bugs, did not have time to dodge, and the arrows sped towards her.

She had to leap up to avoid the arrows.

After a frenzy of arrows blindly firing, everything gradually came to a halt, and the gate showed a tendency to close again.

Without thinking, Gu Xiaoxi shouted, "Go in!"

As she spoke, she grabbed a few villagers by their shoulders and forcefully kicked them in.

And she dashed through just before the gate closed.

At the entrance, as the stone gate shut, it crushed the pursuing bugs into a pulp.

Yet some bugs had followed them inside and bitten a few villagers.

Gu Xiaoxi immediately used his dagger to slay these insects.

Three villagers were injured, with bites on their arms, legs, and shoulders, respectively.

The injuries weren’t severe, but chunks of flesh had been bitten off, and blood was flowing from the wounds.

Gu Xiaoxi treated their bleeding and bandaged the wounds with strips of cloth, instructing, "This place is very dangerous—everyone stay alert. Whatever I tell you to do, act fast, got it?"

"Yes!" the villagers were immensely grateful at this time.

If Gu Xiaoxi hadn’t quickly pushed them inside, it would have taken less than ten seconds for the bugs outside to gnaw them down to bone.

After comforting the villagers, Gu Xiaoxi turned to Zhao Zilong and Shao Changfeng, "Are you two alright?"

"We’re fine! It’s just this place..." Shao Changfeng shone his flashlight around.

They discovered they were in a stone tunnel three meters high and two meters wide.

A dank corridor stretched ahead, pitch-black, with the drip-drip-drip of water echoing from somewhere not too far away.

Instantly, a cold draft swept through, sending chills down everyone’s spines.

Shao Changfeng clenched his flashlight tightly, his face turning pale with fright.

Suddenly, he saw a grotesque creature with a green glow flashing across its huge face, lunging towards him...

"Ah!" Instinctively, Shao Changfeng’s legs gave way, and he forgot to move, collapsing to the ground. "Ghosts?!"

At that moment, someone burst out laughing!

Zhao Zilong, holding his flashlight, was still making a scary face. He looked at the floored Shao Changfeng and chuckled, "Hey, bro, you’re a grown man, what are you afraid of a ghost for?"

Hearing Zhao Zilong’s voice, Shao Changfeng nearly punched him.

This guy dared to prank him in such a place—it was too much.

"Zhao Zilong... you... I... I’m cutting ties with you!" Shao Changfeng took deep breaths and swallowed hard to calm his utterly shocked nerves.

"Scared, huh? Got spooked by Gu Feng?" Zhao Zilong slapped his shoulder, then suddenly, in a very chilling voice, called out, "Brother, I am a ghost! I’m going to take you to Hell!"

Shao Changfeng couldn’t help it and kicked Zhao Zilong.

The latter, anticipating this, had already run off.

Gu Xiaoxi looked on speechlessly.

Fortunately, their banter had lifted the tense, fearful, and oppressive mood quite a bit.

Mu Fei patted his chest to steady his nerves, then began to look around with Gu Xiaoxi.

The stone walls were engraved with murals, which depicted vivid figures.

Gu Xiaoxi frowned as he studied the images.

Just then, Mu Fei pointed at one of the images on the wall and explained, "This must be a procession of Queen Dalan. There’s a royal entourage, a sedan chair, ferocious beasts clearing the way, and everyone they pass bows down in worship."

The queen’s lazy and proud, stunningly gorgeous pose was palpable, even from the painting.

Deeper inside, they saw a second image. The Queen was sitting on her throne in the palace, looking down upon the world with ministers lined up neatly below her.

In the third image, the Queen received the worship of her courtiers.

However, this time, amongst those bowing, there was a handsome man.

The final image.

The Queen was playing the lute, while the handsome man played the flute.

On one side, palace maids and guards knelt respectfully.

These murals, no matter from which angle observed, were extremely lifelike. The posture of the Queen, the reverence of the maids and soldiers towards her...

Including the Queen’s valiant appearance on the battlefield, all revealed that the person entombed here was no ordinary individual.

Gu Xiaoxi stroked his chin, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

That being said, they had encountered a hero today.

But, considering they were underground, his mood grew heavier.

Now, with so many Hell Bugs at the entrance, hoping for someone to rescue them was impossible.

Moreover, they didn’t know how many perils lay ahead on their path.

And with so many ordinary villagers in tow, he felt the weight of his responsibility.

At this point, retreating wasn’t an option. Only by pressing forward could they find a sliver of a chance for survival.

Gu Xiaoxi and Mu Fei took the lead, walking ahead while carefully observing their surroundings with the flashlight.

"Judging by the size of this passage, this is worthy of Queen Dalan. Ordinary ancient tombs are only tall enough for one person and no wider than a meter. The further we go, the more spacious it feels," Mu Fei marveled, clicking his tongue in amazement.