This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

The entire stone chamber fell silent instantly.

Now, only Wang Xiaoer and Zhang Chen remain standing on the last two stone bricks that are about to flip over.

The stone bricks underfoot had begun to tilt, making a teeth-grinding "creaking" sound.

More than a dozen crossbows, already cocked, were aimed at them in unison.

The shadow of death was thicker than ever before.

The sinister middle-aged man who called himself "Professor" watched the two swaying figures with great interest, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"You two are quite capable to have made it this far."

His voice echoed in the empty stone chamber.

"Now, I'm giving you a choice."

"Lead the way for us."

"Or, go down and join them now."

The sinister voice of the middle-aged man echoed in the empty stone chamber, each word carrying a chilling killing intent.

The stone bricks beneath Wang Xiaoer's feet had tilted to a dangerous angle, with fine stone chips falling down with a soft, unsettling sound.

If they had deviated even slightly further, the two would have followed in Brother Long's footsteps.

A desperate situation.

However, despite facing certain death, Zhang Chen showed no fear whatsoever.

He even laughed.

The laughter was soft, yet it sounded particularly jarring in the deathly silent tomb, like a needle pricking the taut nerves of everyone present.

"I can lead the way."

Zhang Chen looked at the professor, his eyes as calm as a deep pool of water.

"But are you sure you know what you're looking for?"

The professor frowned sharply.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, this tomb is strange from head to toe." Zhang Chen's voice was unhurried, as if he were not standing on the edge of life and death, but chatting idly in his own backyard.

He held up one finger and pointed in the direction he had come from.

"The mechanism at the entrance, though seemingly mysterious, is actually just for show; it keeps honest people out but not scoundrels."

He then pointed in the direction of the Seven Star Coffins.

"Those seven coffins, arranged in an eerie way, are more like a puzzle than a murder trap."

Finally, his gaze fell upon the bottomless quicksand beneath his feet.

"And here, the quicksand trap, punishes only the greedy and reckless. Do you think this resembles the tomb of a general who died unjustly, his resentment burning brightly?"

The professor's eyes flickered, but he remained silent.

Wang Xiaoer, who was standing next to him, immediately realized what was going on and added at the top of his lungs.

"That's right! The general in the mural was invincible, a truly great hero!"

"Even if such a person was executed by the emperor himself, his tomb should still be filled with the aura of slaughter; there shouldn't be no swords, spears, or halberds left untouched!"

"But here? It all feels like children playing house! Like they're just fooling around!"

Zhang Chen picked up the conversation, his voice tinged with mockery.

"So, we suspect that this is not the general's real tomb at all."

"This is more like... well, a large-scale escape room game set up by a bored wealthy man in ancient times."

He looked at the professor and said, word by word.

"The treasure that you 'Ksitigarbha' have gone to such lengths to find is probably not here at all."

These words were like a boulder thrown into a lake, stirring up a thousand waves in the hearts of Ksitigarbha and his followers.

The professor's expression shifted between light and dark, his eyes alternating between sharpness and scrutiny.

His bespectacled strategist, Xiao Li, whose face turned ugly instantly, hurriedly stepped forward and retorted sharply.

"Nonsense!"

He pointed at Zhang Chen, his voice shrill.

"We have concrete intelligence; that thing is in this tomb! Stop your nonsense and stalling for time!"

Zhang Chen ignored him completely, only looking at the professor, while giving Wang Xiaoer a subtle wink.

Wang Xiaoer understood immediately.

He looked down at the stone brick beneath his feet, which was creaking and cracking, and screamed wildly in his heart.

Hang in there!

I'm holding on!

You're from the same village as me, we might even be relatives! Give me some face!

A miracle happened.

The stone brick, which was already teetering on the brink of collapse and could have toppled at any moment, miraculously stabilized.

Although it was still tilted, the teeth-grinding cracking sound stopped.

The sudden silence stunned everyone.

Zhang Chen's smile deepened.

He spread his hands and spoke casually to the professor, whose expression was changing.

"See, I told you so."

"This tomb has a 'spiritual' quality."

"Whoever it wants to live, can live."

His gaze swept over the dozen or so crossbows aimed at him, his eyes showing no fear, but rather a mocking expression.

"If you make a move now, believe me, this entire tomb will collapse immediately!"

"At that time, we'll all go our separate ways, and nobody will be able to leave."

These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over the heads of Ksitigarbha and his followers.

They looked at the strangely stable stone brick under Zhang Chen's feet, then at the bottomless quicksand, and then at all the strange things they had encountered along the way. The murderous intent on their faces was gradually replaced by an emotion called "fear".

Something definitely doesn't feel right here!

From prey to player, the transformation happens in an instant.

With just a few words, Zhang Chen transformed himself from a fish on the chopping block into a player with leverage at the negotiating table.

Wang Xiaoer's perfect "luck" made everything he said believable.

The atmosphere began to become subtle.

A dozen well-trained assassins, armed with powerful crossbows, dared not make a move.

The professor's eyes narrowed to slits, as if he were reassessing the two young men before him.

His bespectacled strategist, Xiao Li, standing beside him, had beads of cold sweat on his forehead. He wanted to refute, but found that he couldn't find any strong arguments at all.

Because those two bricks that didn't fall down are the most unreasonable evidence.

The two sides remained locked in a standoff, and time seemed to stretch out infinitely.

The air was so tense it felt like it was about to drip water.

Just then!

"Splash... splash..."

A strange sound suddenly rang out from the quicksand layer in the corner of the stone chamber.

The sound was like someone struggling and digging under the sand!

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to it!

Suddenly, the gently swirling black quicksand surged violently, forming a small whirlpool.

Followed by.

"puff!"

A hand, a hand covered in black, wet sand, suddenly emerged from the center of the sand!

That hand was frantically clawing at the air, filled with a desperate desire to live!

The next second, a disheveled figure covered in sand struggled to climb out of the quicksand and up the rough cliff face!

He collapsed onto the solid ground with a thud, gasping for breath, then coughed violently, spitting out streams of black, sandy liquid.