"Get up," Ling Shu gently kicked Leader Ying with his toe.

Yue Dingtang and Yang Chunhe were exploring the environment and testing the depth of the water pool.

Not being chased by pursuers should have been a good thing, but the ominous premonition of danger was even more concerning.

Whether it was the contents inside that made them afraid to pursue, or if it was the owner of the Azure Dragon Society who ordered them not to, both possibilities seemed unsettling.

Leader Ying slowly woke up and realized he was still alive.

At first, he was overjoyed, but then he found himself by the water's edge and almost cried again. When he heard Ling Shu's inquiry, he couldn't help but sob.

"I don't know either. This is a forbidden place. From what I've heard, it used to be the tomb of some noble from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, but it was turned into an underground palace. The winding paths actually lead to the coffins. The reason why the divine envoy forbids anyone from approaching is because he invited the Azure Dragon King to settle here. The old dragon sleeps all year round, but if disturbed, the heavens and earth will collapse, and everyone will die!"

Ling Shu's mouth twitched. "Where in Shanghai would you find a noble's tomb from the Shang and Zhou dynasties? Why don't you just say it's the tomb of the Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns? And what Azure Dragon King? Do you really believe this nonsense?"

Leader Ying whimpered, "I believe it!"

Ling Shu: ...

Ling Shu grabbed him by the collar. "If you don't want to die, then hurry up and help us. If the divine envoy sends someone over with a machine gun, we'll all be finished!"

In order to save his own life, Leader Ying had to groan and crawl up, feeling around on the ground with his hands.

"I remember there's a path here, underwater."

Ling Shu was skeptical, "Didn't you say you've never been here before?"

Leader Ying stuttered, "I, I've been here once, but I don't remember!"

Despite knowing that he was talking nonsense, Ling Shu couldn't just shoot him on the spot. He could only continue to threaten and intimidate him.

"If we hadn't caught you earlier, do you think you'd still be alive now? We have no way out, if you want to live, you have to come with us! Don't forget, those people who shot at you earlier didn't hesitate for a moment!"

Leader Ying was trembling with fear. "I didn't lie to you. The divine envoy brought me in, but I was confused and can't remember clearly. I vaguely recall there was a path under the water, and we could step on the stones to cross. But, but..."

He kept saying "but" without any explanation.

Ling Shu couldn't bother to interrogate him any further and pushed him forward. "Think carefully and lead the way!"

"I'm thinking... After crossing the pool, there will be a light and matches at the corner of the wall. The path seems to be..." Leader Ying stumbled and fell to the ground, reaching into the water to feel around.

"Here! It's here!" he exclaimed.

Ling Shu followed his hand and felt a cold, hard stone in the dark, icy water.

The surface was smooth with slight bumps, obviously polished by human hands.

He didn't let Leader Ying be the guinea pig, but stepped on it himself first.

Sure enough, there was a block in front of him. And another one. And another one. Blocks connected one after another, forming a path under the water, leading to the other side.

But suddenly!

Ling Shu stepped on nothing and fell straight into the water. The sound of Leader Ying's exclamation rang in his ears, and the noise of the water drowned out both of his ears.

He was plunged into darkness, with only two faint green lights in the darkness, like ghostly fires in the underworld, leading him to the other side of the Yellow Springs.

Ling Shu felt that those two green lanterns were extremely familiar. Before he could react, the green lights got closer and closer, suddenly within reach!

These were not lanterns at all, but two eyeballs!

Huge, round eyeballs!

This was a giant water snake!

Ling Shu's heart was pounding as he quickly leaned back, trying to avoid it. But the resistance of the water slowed his movements, and the long snake tongue spat out from under the lantern, brushing against his neck.

It was cold and sticky, like the fingers of a female ghost - soft and boneless, but utterly terrifying. Ling Shu felt his hair stand on end all over his body.

Without hesitation, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger, the bullet piercing through the water. It was too dark to see if he hit anything, so he immediately retreated.

Suddenly, his arm was grabbed and he instinctively tried to break free, but couldn't. He was pulled upstream by the other person.

It was Yue Dingtang who was pulling him towards the shore, firing two shots into the water as they swam. The gun was taken from the two guards who had just emerged, and since Yang Chunhe didn't know how to use it, it naturally fell into Yue Dingtang's hands.

The bullet seemed to have stirred up the ferocity of the water monster. The water rippled violently, and two green lanterns suddenly sprang up from underwater, standing half in the air before plunging down again.

They carried a strong stench and rushed straight towards Ling Shu and Yue Dingtang.

Although Leader Ying was useless in this situation, his screams were still ear-piercing.

In an instant, they echoed throughout the cave, even causing the fierce beast, the giant snake, to pause momentarily.

Yue Dingtang and Ling Shu took advantage of this opportunity to swim towards the shore. Surprisingly, the water snake did not chase after them, but instead pounced towards the screaming Leader Ying.

Leader Ying was terrified and scrambled towards the edge of the shore, rolling and crawling.

Yang Chunhe had a moment of safety. She quickly followed the underwater stone steps that Ling Shu and the others had just passed, and at the empty space in the middle, she jumped over it with agility and landed on the next stone step.

Yang Chunhe was the first to successfully cross the water pool. In a flash, she disappeared around the corner of the small path at the end of the pool.

Ling Shu didn't have time to worry about whether she had run away before them.

Leader Ying still had value, and they couldn't just let him die.

They had no choice but to swim across the water.

Yue Dingtang fired his gun at the water snake again.

Bang! Bang!

The sound of metal hitting metal faintly echoed. The bullets couldn't even penetrate the scales of the water snake.

Ling Shu finally understood why this place was forbidden and why the pursuers didn't continue chasing them.

They were convinced that no one could survive coming out of here alive!

The water snake was provoked by the bullet and turned its head, its two green eyes staring at them deeply as it slowly straightened its body and even tilted its head slightly backwards.

Yue Dingtang had seen snakes before and had even been attacked by one. Although that was just a small snake with ordinary toxicity that grew in the wild, it was far from comparable to the giant snake in front of them that was at least three meters long.

However, all snakes have the same habits, and when it makes this kind of reaction, it does not mean fear, but rather a prelude to attack.

They slowly swam backwards, releasing each other's support with great tacit understanding, preparing to run away separately.

This snake couldn't suddenly split into two heads. As expected, the water snake leaned back and immediately used the momentum to lunge forward, its long tongue already extended and aimed towards the middle.

But the water snake reacted quickly and without hesitation, it went straight for Ling Shu after he separated from Yue Dingtang!

Ling Shu was already slow in the water and couldn't possibly compare to this massive creature.

He was about to be bitten when Yue Dingtang, in a moment of desperation, emptied his gun and threw it aside before pouncing on the snake!

At the critical moment, the water snake hissed and turned its head, running away and diving back into the water with a swoosh.

Ling Shu and the others looked up and saw a fireball falling onto the water's surface.

Upon closer inspection, they realized it was a black cloth on fire, the flames not extinguishing on the water.

It must have been soaked in some kind of accelerant like oil or gasoline.

"Quick, come over here!" Yang Chunhe stood on the shore, waving at them with a kerosene lamp in hand.

Ling Shu and Yue Dingtang took a deep breath and groped their way up the stone steps, barely managing to cross to the other side.

Even though the weather wasn't originally cold, they now felt chilled to the bone and couldn't help but sneeze repeatedly.

"Hurry up and bring that fake leader over here, don't let him get away!" Ling Shu's teeth were chattering and his words were almost unintelligible.

"You guys go ahead to the front, there are oil lamps and matches there for warmth, and it seems like there are some supplies too. I didn't have time to take a closer look!"

Yang Chunhe agreed and swiftly leaped over the stone steps. She had already memorized the layout of the underwater steps and moved gracefully like an elf in the darkness, displaying the skills of a martial arts master from a novel.

Unfortunately, no one was there to witness it.

Leader Ying cried and refused to cross the water pool, claiming that a giant snake might emerge and eat them. Yang Chunhe tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't listen.

Frustrated, she slapped him and dragged him along.

Once they reached the second half of the stone steps, Yang Chunhe didn't need to urge Leader Ying anymore. He sprinted forward like a wound-up toy and ran straight into the resting place of Ling Shu and his companions.

There was light here, from a lit kerosene lamp. In this environment devoid of sunlight, just a few lamps were enough to make people feel warm.

A small recess had been chiseled into the stone wall, just big enough for three or four people to squeeze inside. Several small wooden boxes that had been piled up in the corner were opened, and their contents were scattered all over the ground.

There were kerosene lamps, matches, and even some well-sealed compressed biscuits. There were also a few knives, their blades still sharp and shining, completely unaffected by the dampness and moisture.

"I reckon they think we'd already been swallowed up by the giant snake and turned into its food. They probably won't catch up to us anytime soon, so we can rest for a bit," said Ling Shu. He saw Yue Dingtang nod slightly, clearly agreeing with his theory.

Their bodies were starting to feel cold, and they shivered slightly. He knew his body wasn't as strong as before, but he didn't expect to feel so weak that he would start shivering just from being in cold water for a little while.

Yue Dingtang noticed this and subtly moved closer to Ling Shu, pressing his arm against him to transfer some warmth through their clothes.

Leader Ying, who was half-soaked and shivering, unfortunately had no one to help him warm up.

On the other hand, Yang Chunhe had managed to avoid falling into the water multiple times and only got her lower legs wet.

She wrung out the fabric and rolled it up, revealing a small patch of skin in the darkness, but no one paid her any special attention.

Everyone's focus was on the fake leader.

"You can speak now," Ling Shu nudged him with a light kick.

"Speak...speak about what?"

Ling Shu's tone was dangerous: "Don't play dumb. If we think you're useless, when the pursuers come, we'll use you as a human shield. That way, you'll at least be useful!"

Leader Ying trembled even harder.

He had lost all the confidence and charm he had just displayed. He looked like a middle-aged man who had hit rock bottom, even the beard on his face seemed pitiful.

"You...you all know everything already, why do you want me to confess? I don't know anything..."

Yue Dingtang said, "Brother, you know your situation very well. We know you're not the real leader of the Azure Dragon Society. So who is? Where is he? And what's ahead? Since you've been here before, think carefully."

Leader Ying huddled up, shoulders shrunk, and sighed heavily after a long time.

"I may be fake goods, but I was forced into this. I never wanted to do these things!" He stuttered.

"The real leader, you've all met him-" Yue Dingtang's eyes lit up.

"Mr. He?!"

That white-haired man!

Almost simultaneously, Ling Shu also remembered.

The first impression that person gave him was cold, and then it slowly seeped into his bones.

In addition, he had a twisted hobby and a strange way of speaking. Overall, there was an uncomfortable vibe about him.

Previously, Ling Shu speculated that such a person with a peculiar personality and strange behavior might be a key figure in the Azure Dragon Society, but he never thought he would be the leader of the Azure Dragon Society.

"Yes, yes, I don't know his surname. His real name is impossible for us to know. We can only call him the Divine Envoy. I've been in the society for about a year and a half, mostly playing the role of the Divine Envoy in front of people. But in reality, he is the true Divine Envoy."

This fake leader was nothing more than a puppet on stage.

Earlier, Yue Dingtang felt that the process from their arrival to meeting the leader was too smooth.

He used his petty tricks and immediately won the leader's favor, receiving a personal audience and even entrusted with important tasks. If the Azure Dragon Society had been able to cooperate with Lu Tongcang for so long, it should not have been so reckless and unguarded towards outsiders.

Now it was clear, this fake leader was just bait, and they were the fish that had taken the bait.

"After I was chosen, this place should be where he brought me before. I have some impressions, but I can't remember clearly. I only remember there was a waterway, a demon snake, and, it seems, a paradise world..."

"What paradise world? It's all nonsense," Ling Shu couldn't help but kick him again. "Explain it clearly!"

"I can't explain it clearly," the fake leader held his head. "Even now, my mind is still filled with his voice. It's impossible for me to escape from here. He controls everything about me. The Divine Envoy is everything to me. I am willing to sacrifice myself for the Azure Dragon King!"

The more he spoke, the louder he became, and he suddenly stood up.

Yang Chunhe was startled by his sudden outburst and were caught off guard as the fake leader rushed back towards the water!

Yue Dingtang reacted quickly. He jumped out like a rabbit and grabbed the person, who was struggling violently.

Yue Dingtang had to hit him on the back of the neck with a palm to calm everything down.

"The level of control over the people here far exceeds my imagination. I have never seen such powerful hypnosis. It can hypnotize one or two people, but it can also affect dozens or even hundreds of people for such a long time. This person has clearly moved away from Mr. He, but still suddenly relapsed."

"We don't have time to think about it now. Let's find a way out first and deal with Jiang He outside. Since this fake leader just said there is a way ahead, let's explore it."

Ling Shu stood up and without waiting for the other two to speak, he took the lead with the kerosene lamp.

Yue Dingtang turned around and looked back.

The water pool was submerged in the vast darkness, without any trace visible. He felt something was strange. Even if there was a giant snake here, would the real leader really just let it be?

"Mr. Yue! Mr. Ling is walking too fast, let's catch up with him!"

Yang Chunhe urged in a low voice, and Yue Dingtang turned back at the words.

Ling Shu had long disappeared without a trace.