This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

"Holy crap, wait for me!"

Wang Xiaoer followed closely behind, imitating Zhang Chen, and jumped down with his eyes closed.

Brother Long didn't hesitate at all.

He turned back and glared fiercely at the professor and Xiao Li, then turned around without hesitation and jumped down as well.

At the entrance, the professor and his remaining subordinates, including the pale-faced, bespectacled strategist, had expressions of struggle on their faces.

Jumping means entering a completely unknown trap.

Not jumping means all the effort will be in vain.

"Boss!"

The bespectacled strategist let out a terrified scream.

"Jump!"

The professor clenched his teeth and squeezed out a single word.

He had no other choice.

He shoved aside the strategist who was blocking his way and jumped in first.

The remaining members of the Ksitigarbha sect had no choice but to grit their teeth and jump into the quicksand pit one after another, like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Because of Brother Long's intelligence, Zhang Chen and Wang Xiaoer held their breath before jumping down. When they felt they had hit the bottom, they began to struggle to get up and move towards the side with less pressure.

At this moment, Brother Long also came over. With his help, the three of them climbed out of the sand wall with almost no effort and saw the so-called passage.

Soon, the others also climbed out of the sand wall, but they were in a much worse state, and it took them a long time to climb out, only six or seven people in total.

The professor, the bespectacled strategist, and a few underlings.

They had also lost their bows and crossbows, leaving only the clubs and knives at their waists.

The professor and his group originally intended to wait in the passage for their subordinates who hadn't yet climbed out, but then a deafening roar followed.

The dome of the entire quicksand chamber collapsed completely, and countless tons of boulders and soil instantly blocked the entrance.

They have no way out, and those who haven't come out yet probably never will.

The two camps, which were previously at loggerheads, have now reached a strange tacit understanding driven by their shared will to survive.

They had no choice but to continue.

Zhang Chen pushed Wang Xiaoer at the front, carefully moving forward with his extraordinary senses.

This secret passage is not long.

After walking about a hundred meters, a sliver of light pierced through from ahead.

The light was faint, with a strange, eerie blue hue, yet it was enough to give everyone hope in the endless darkness.

Everyone unconsciously quickened their pace.

The moment they stepped out of the passage, the sight before them made everyone who had experienced a life-or-death escape stop in their tracks, their breath catching in their throats.

This is no longer a man-made tomb.

This is a huge, unimaginably large natural underground cave.

The cave's dome is so high that its top is invisible, and countless huge stalactites hang upside down like swords, their surfaces covered with water droplets that reflect phosphorescent light from an unknown source, like an inverted galaxy.

The ground beneath our feet was no longer sand, but a smooth rocky surface.

The air was fresh, and you could even hear the sound of dripping water in the distance.

Compared to the general's tomb outside, which was full of murderous intent and scheming, this place was like a legendary paradise.

In the very center of the cave, there is a three-tiered altar made entirely of white marble.

The white marble was warm and smooth, radiating a soft glow, and served as the main light source for this space.

There was no coffin, no corpse, and no gold or silver jewelry on the altar.

Only a small, simple stone box, no more than half a meter long, lay there quietly, as if it had been waiting for a thousand years.

Everyone's attention was firmly drawn to the stone box.

However, what shocked them even more was the huge, smooth, mirror-like stone wall behind the altar.

On the stone wall, a line of large seal script characters, completely different in style from the previous tomb chambers, was carved in blood-red cinnabar.

His brushstrokes are sharp and penetrating, penetrating deep into the stone, carrying an arrogant air of looking down upon the world.

"General's Tomb, Longevity Bureau."

These six short words, however, struck like a thunderbolt in everyone's mind!

What exactly is this Longevity Bureau?

Is everything here just a setup?

"The Longevity Bureau... the Longevity Bureau..."

The bespectacled strategist standing behind the professor stared intently at the line of blood-red words. His eyes, hidden behind his lenses, were wide with excitement. He muttered to himself, his voice gradually rising until it finally turned into an uncontrollable, uttered gasp.

"The intelligence was correct! The thing... the thing really is here!"

At this moment, all pretense, all scheming, and all forbearance lose their meaning.

The professor's gaze was fixed on the stone box on the white marble altar.

The gloom, vigilance, and ruthlessness on his face vanished in that instant.

Instead, there was an almost manic burning heat, a greed and desire that could ignite the very soul.

His eyes blazed with an unprecedented fervor, as if he had seen through the stone box the secret to immortality and humanity's ultimate dream.

He no longer looked at Zhang Chen, nor at Brother Long, as if in this world only the stone box that could unlock all secrets remained.

"Kill all three of them."

The professor's voice was soft, yet carried an unyielding, cold command as he addressed the five men who remained beside him.

"Then, seize the stone box!"

The order was given, the last pretense was torn away, and the murderous intent was fully revealed.

The remaining five members of the Jizo sect made their move.

Like a pack of wolves that have caught the scent of blood, they approached us, weapons in hand and menacing expressions.

The blade and entrenching tool reflected a chilling glint of death under the eerie blue light.

Zhang Chen took a step forward, shielding Wang Xiaoer behind him, a bright yellow talisman already held between his two fingers.

"snort."

Brother Long let out a muffled groan, then ripped off his jacket and threw it on the ground.

He flexed his wrist, and his knuckles cracked.

At that moment, his entire demeanor changed instantly, transforming him from a disheveled survivor into a ferocious beast about to pounce on its prey.

"Two masters." Brother Long's voice was deep, with a metallic quality.

"I don't want to die here."

His gaze swept over the approaching enemy, his eyes unusually fierce.

"We're in this together now."

"I'll take care of the fighting." He tapped his chest with his thick thumb.

"Just take me out as promised!"

His motive couldn't be simpler—to survive and then kill that traitor surnamed Li.

Before the words were even finished, a member of the Ksitigarbha sect had already launched an attack.

He was tall and wielded a sharp entrenching tool, aiming straight for Brother Long's head with a whooshing sound.

Instead of retreating, Brother Long advanced.

Just as the entrenching tool was about to hit him, he suddenly turned to the side, his footwork unpredictable, and his body twisted at an incredible angle.

The blade of the shovel almost grazed his neck.

so close!

Wang Xiaoer's heart was in his throat.

But Brother Long had already moved into the other's arms.

He didn't even use his fist.

It was just a powerful and unparalleled elbow strike, short, swift, and vicious.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

That elbow strike landed squarely on the opponent's ribs.

"Well!"

The member's attack abruptly stopped, his eyes bulging and his mouth agape in an "O" shape.

The next second, he crashed heavily against the rock wall several meters away like a kite with its string snapped, then slid softly to the ground and passed out.