Misty Rain of the Old Times

As they followed the winding cave passage toward the source of the sound, Dujuan and the others could faintly hear voices. There were quite a few people, and it was very noisy, but they couldn't hear clearly because of the distance.

As they drew closer, Chen Xuan recalled the maps he had seen scattered around and, comparing them with their surroundings, roughly concluded that they were inside a side cave that led deep into one of the main roads of Wanku Mountain.

Long ago, Wanku Mountain was a mine, and the side tunnel where they lived must have been a mining tunnel.

As you get closer to the main road, you can vaguely see traces of human excavation around you. Occasionally, there are remnants of supporting structures, and even abandoned pickaxes and bone fragments. The long years have not been able to erase the traces of human activity that once existed underground.

For some time before, Chen Xuan and his group had been in mostly natural caves, not abandoned mines, so they hadn't seen any such traces.

At this moment, Chen Xuan admired the perseverance of the 'ancients', or rather, their obsession with wealth. The reason for his admiration was that, according to the information on the map, this location was more than 10,000 zhang (approximately 6,600 meters) underground, which is equivalent to more than 30 kilometers!

At such a depth, how much manpower and resources would it have taken? Moreover, the underground environment is complex and difficult to access normally, let alone transport heavy minerals out. I'm afraid many miners used to live underground and probably never went out even once a year.

Of course, in a world where extraordinary power is at play, it's not surprising that such deep mines have been dug. In any case, it's always the bottom that suffers and toils, and countless people have been buried underground forever.

Among them, Jiang Hao was the most excited. He had been trapped underground for nearly half a year and was so lonely. Now that there were people, and so many of them, it meant that he was about to return to normal society. Moreover, the purpose of those people was the strange place where everything was gigantic, and that was why he was trapped there. This meant that after reuniting with those people, he would have the opportunity to get what he wanted. How could he not be excited?
Even though Chen Xuan had said he could take him out, he was uncertain until he could truly see the world again. Now he finally saw hope, because so many people could get in, so naturally they could get out.

However, at this moment, before he had the chance to get what he wanted, he was no longer in such a hurry to leave the underground and see the sunlight again.

When people are in despair, they only have one thought: to escape safely. But once they are truly safe, they start to think about many other things. This is human nature and nothing strange about it.

After walking several hundred feet through the winding and intricate cave passages, Jiang Hao and his companions could hear people talking. Chen Xuan asked with a smile, "What are your plans, Brother Jiang?"

"Well... naturally, it's up to everyone to do whatever they want," Jiang Hao said somewhat awkwardly, feeling quite embarrassed, since initially all he wanted was to see the light of day again and escape his predicament.

Chen Xuan was unsurprised by this and nodded, saying, "Then I wish Brother Jiang good luck."

"Young Master Chen, what about you?" Seeing that he didn't seem to be making fun of him, Jiang Hao asked awkwardly. Judging from Chen Xuan's tone, it seemed that they had intentionally parted ways when they got to a crowded place.

With a smile, Chen Xuan said, "Let's just look around. If it's not interesting, we'll go home."

Chen Xuan wasn't particularly enthusiastic about joining in the fun, nor was he especially curious about the place where everything was gigantic. He would just glance at it casually, without being fixated on it. It wasn't because Jiang Hao had changed his mind or had any other ideas; he didn't care. It was just that once they were in a crowded place, Jiang Hao probably wouldn't need his help to escape. They were just strangers who had different purposes, so there was no need to stay together. Perhaps they would naturally part ways eventually.

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Hao pondered and said, "If Young Master Chen also wants to go to that place, and doesn't mind, how about we go together? That way, we can look out for each other. Although I'm not very capable, I can still handle some small tasks."

Actually, he didn't want to separate. Firstly, they had gotten along quite well before, and on that basis, being far from civilization in the underground, other strangers were not trustworthy. Secondly, although he couldn't see through Chen Xuan's cultivation level, Du Juan's innate cultivation level alone provided a layer of security when they were together.

Of course, he's not the kind of person who begs for favors and climbs the social ladder unnecessarily. If things happen together, he'll try his best to contribute.

"Let's talk about it later. I mainly came here to find that kind of ore, and I've already obtained it. The rest is up to us. If we get bored, like we said before, we can just leave and go home," Chen Xuan said, shaking his head.

Not long after their conversation, they left the winding side tunnels and arrived at the spacious main mine tunnel.

The main mine tunnel is two or three zhang high, and the supporting structures are still relatively intact. There are remnants of cableway pulleys at the top, and there are traces of mine carts rolling on the ground. It is likely that the minerals deep underground were transported out by cableway or by oxen and horses. Otherwise, how much could be moved by manpower?
When Chen Xuan and his group arrived at the main mine tunnel, a group of people were passing by in the spacious tunnel, including a master of innate cultivation. Some of them were holding maps, so they were clearly not the first group to arrive at this depth.

When Chen Xuan's powerful senses detected people deep underground, he paid a little attention to their conversation. From their conversation, he learned that the first team had come down two days ago, and the advance team had gone to an unknown depth.

It was truly remarkable that the vanguard of the first echelon was able to penetrate so deeply. Even with map guidance, it took a great deal of effort to dig through hundreds of feet of mine shafts before they could continue to go deeper.

According to the Black Map Society members, the mine in Wanku Mountain once reached a place where everything became gigantic, almost causing a disaster. As a result, the mine was abandoned and sealed off, and all those who knew about it were silenced. The collapsed mine shaft was buried underground forever, but now it has been dug up again and people have escaped.

Originally, the advance team was led by people who had been there before, but they had only been there by chance and couldn't remember the way at all, so they were of little use. Therefore, this time people had to dig along the mine tunnel.

At this moment, Chen Xuan and his group did not seem abrupt as they entered the main mine tunnel from the side tunnel, and they did not even attract people's attention. Firstly, the place was dark, and secondly, Chen Xuan's strong mental will affected other people's senses and intentionally reduced his presence.

Before entering the main mine tunnel, Du Juan put away the dagger she used for lighting and instead lit a lantern so as not to attract attention. In fact, if the little girl hadn't been inconvenienced, they wouldn't have needed any lighting at all.

"It's so good to see so many people. This makes me feel alive," Jiang Hao said sincerely to the people holding torches as they ventured deeper into the dark mine tunnel. He almost shed tears. No one knew how dreary and desperate he had been all alone for the past few days.

The little maid carrying the lantern hesitated for a moment and said, "Master, should we really follow them to see what's going on?"

Without this experience, she would have been very curious about that place, but now she just wants to see the light of day again as soon as possible and never want to stay underground again.

Just then, another person arrived. As they passed by Chen Xuan and his group, they glanced at them briefly before eagerly exchanging ideas on how to advance further.

"We're too late. We received the news too late. We heard the first group went in two days ago. We wonder if they've already reached that strange place."

"We'll find out if we follow them. It seems the leader is the head of the Dongdao Tower and experts from the Martial Arts Forbidden Division. There are at least twenty or thirty Xiantian masters in the first batch to go deep in, and there are others swarming in. In total, there must be over a thousand people. I don't know if it's true or not."

"Hurry up, we're already lagging behind. If we're late, we might not even get a sip of soup." "It's not that I want to get rich; I'm just curious about that place where everything becomes incredibly huge."

"Do you even believe that yourself...?"

As the group left, exchanging their thoughts, Chen Xuan thought to himself that the imperial court hadn't given up on that place either. If it were thoroughly investigated, the court would probably take over in the future. With something to be made of, how could the court not keep it under its control?

“Let’s go, let’s follow them and take a look,” Chen Xuan said, maintaining an indifferent attitude.

From here on, you don't need a map at all. Just follow the mine. There are so many people passing by that you don't have to worry about getting lost.

After walking for an hour or two without reaching their destination, Chen Xuan was getting bored. It was probably already dark outside, and he was even considering giving up, since it wasn't a place he absolutely had to go.

Along this two-hour stretch of road, there were several marks of excavation, each ranging from tens to hundreds of feet in length. These places were often accompanied by carelessly discarded corpses, which shows how arduous and dangerous the first team's land reclamation was, while those who followed had it much easier.

Just as Chen Xuan was about to give up, he suddenly heard a loud roar of flowing water ahead, and the air became humid.

At this moment, Jiang Hao, who had been following along, said impatiently, "Young Master Chen, it's just ahead, we're almost there. We heard from those who came before that if you hear the roar of flowing water, that's where the entrance is."

The reason for this is that someone has already gone to that strange place and confirmed the location of the entrance. In just two days, the news of the entrance has spread to the outside world. However, there is no specific information about the strange place itself. It is estimated that the people who went in have not yet come out. It is unknown whether they cannot come out or if there is another reason.

Continuing onward, Chen Xuan and his group soon arrived at the end of the main mine tunnel. Amidst the roaring torrent of water, it was so loud that one could hardly hear a whisper.

At the end of the mine, Chen Xuan looked around and was speechless. Originally, this place should have been completely sealed off. There were traces of metal casting, a full three zhang thick, embedded in the rock, but the advance troops had forcibly chiseled it through. Judging from the traces, it was obviously done in just one or two days.

Historically, the mine was sealed off, and the entrance to that strange place was completely blocked. Now, people have reopened it out of curiosity.

The underground is a complex maze. Perhaps the normal passage to the entrance has been blocked section by section, but there are always side paths leading there. Those who are lucky enough to reach that strange place and bring back news alive are truly exceptional.

After passing through the chiseled metal wall, Chen Xuan and his group found themselves on a cliff. In front of them was a huge, irregular underground space, over a hundred meters high, several hundred meters long, and only a few dozen meters wide.

This enormous underground space is completely submerged at the bottom by a raging underground river, its depths unfathomable and teeming with turbulent undercurrents.

Standing where Chen Xuan and the others were, to their right was a waterfall cascading down from the top. There was a huge crack at the top, filled with torrents. It seemed that even ordinary innate masters would not be able to go upstream, let alone know where the current was going. The waterfall was turbulent and extended all the way to the end of this underground space, crashing into the undercurrents below, causing the entire underground space to tremble.

In this vast underground space, torches and braziers were lit in many places. Water vapor rose in the flickering firelight, which made it possible to see everything with difficulty.

On the left side of this underground space, near the bottom of the underground flow, there is a semi-natural platform, about the size of a football field, more than ten meters high, and partially embedded in the cliff.

There were already thousands of people stationed on that platform, mostly in tents and stone houses. It seemed that those who arrived before Chen Xuan and his group, apart from those who had already gone to that strange place, were all here.

Standing on the cliff, the little girl exclaimed in amazement at what she saw, "This waterfall must be spectacular in the outside world! It would surely attract countless scholars and poets to stop and admire it. And the fact that so many people have come makes me almost think I've stumbled upon a small town at night."

"I admire these people too, because they came here out of curiosity. I wonder how many more will come after them," Chen Xuan said with a smile as he looked around, thinking to himself that it was probably mostly driven by greed.

As he spoke, he was basically certain that the true entrance to that strange land where everything was gigantic was probably beneath the dark currents at the deepest part of this underground space.

Even though the entrance is right in front of you, looking at the surging water, ordinary people would risk their lives to get in, and if they are not careful, they will be swept away to who knows where.

Moreover, the entrance was already guarded. Judging from their attire, it was a team of people from Dongdaolou and Jinwusi. There were four Xiantian masters and many others on high alert, so few people could sneak in.

It's obvious that their guarding of the entrance isn't for people's safety. If the strange phenomenon of everything becoming gigantic is confirmed, it means that the enormous profits and wealth will naturally lead to a monopoly. Under such circumstances, even Dongdaolou will have to bow to the imperial court.

Carefully observing the terrain, even without knowing how many years had passed, Chen Xuan could tell that this place was definitely not like this at the beginning. The space was at least ten times larger. It was definitely because the 'ancient people' had collapsed the top and even cracked the top to bring in an underground river to flood this place in order to seal off the strange space from the outside world.

But as time passed, the buried history was unexpectedly brought to light again.

"Hey, can you guys get out of the way? We're almost there, don't delay our chance to make money!"

While Chen Xuan and his group paused briefly, more people arrived from behind, clamoring and urging them on.

Get rich? You'd better not lose your life.

Shaking his head inwardly, Chen Xuan smiled and said, "Let's go. Let's go to that platform first, find out what's going on, and then go to that strange place."

Since we're already here, we should at least see what's going on.

Although they were now standing on the edge of a cliff, it didn't mean there was no way out. The advance team had already carved a stone path through the cliff face leading directly to the platform at the bottom... (End of this chapter)