Alert! The Dragon Lord has emerged from seclusion!

He activated his Yang Spirit Eye at full power, trying to capture any trace of Luo Yunyi's presence.

Suddenly, around a bend ahead, as the beam of his headlamp swept across the rock face, he saw it!

On the rock face, a hastily drawn but clear symbol was made of what appeared to be blood mixed with mud and ash—a simplified Big Dipper pattern, with the position of the star Yao Guang deliberately highlighted.

Below the symbol, there are a few blurry letters: "LY→".

The arrow points deeper into the cave.

"It was left by her!" Chu Ling'er exclaimed. "She's guiding us! She's alive and conscious!"

This news cheered everyone up.

Following the direction indicated by the arrows, the team quickly navigated through the maze-like caverns.

Although the marks left by Luo Yunyi were becoming increasingly distant and sometimes required careful searching to find, they never truly disappeared.

Clearly, she still tried her best to leave clues during her hasty escape.

Finally, after passing through a narrow passage filled with sharp stalagmites, a faint light appeared ahead, along with... the sound of flowing water.

At the end was a huge underground cave, and in the center of the cave, an underground river emitting a faint blue glow flowed slowly.

The river's source and destination are unknown. The fireflies illuminate part of the cave, but also cast a mysterious and eerie atmosphere over the surroundings.

On a relatively flat rock by the river, they found the person they were looking for.

A woman wearing a tattered orange windbreaker leans against the rock wall, half-sitting and half-lying down.

Her face was as pale as paper, her lips were chapped, and there were obvious bandage marks on her right shoulder with blood seeping out.

His left leg was bent unnaturally, as if it were broken.

But she held a uniquely shaped silver dagger tightly in her hand, and although her eyes were tired, they were still sharp as an eagle's as she vigilantly scanned her surroundings.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up abruptly, a short blade held horizontally in front of her chest.

When her gaze met Lin Chen's, a hint of surprise flashed in her sharp eyes, followed by deep wariness and doubt.

Lin Chen stopped and slowly raised his hands to indicate that he meant no harm.

His gaze fell on the woman's face—even in such a disheveled state, her features remained clear and strikingly beautiful.

With a spirit and stubbornness that rivals any man's, she is none other than Luo Yunyi in the portrait on the marriage certificate.

He took a deep breath and spoke in as calm a tone as possible:

"Luo Yunyi?"

"I am Lin Chen."

"I will fulfill... our marriage vows."

The eerie blue glow emanating from the underground river illuminated Luo Yunyi's pale face, making it appear as if it were made of cold jade.

The silver dagger in her hand was as steady as a rock, and the frost on the blade gleamed coldly in the dim light.

"engagement?"

She repeated the word, her voice hoarse but with a clear sarcasm, "I don't remember ordering this from anyone."

Lin Chen did not approach rashly; he maintained a safe distance, took out the marriage certificate from his pocket, and carefully unfolded it:

"This is an agreement made between your father, Mr. Luo Changfeng, and my master. Your birth date and time, and this birthmark—"

He pointed to a butterfly-shaped mark on the woman's collarbone on the portrait of her on the marriage certificate.

Luo Yunyi's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

She subconsciously touched her collarbone—through the tattered jacket, there was indeed a birthmark she had been born with.

"My father disappeared three years ago while on an expedition in the Kunlun Mountains." Her voice turned cold. "You're saying he was engaged?"

"Where's the evidence?"

Shen Qingqiu spoke softly at this moment: "Miss Luo, there are signs of infection in the wound on your right shoulder, and your left tibia appears to be an open fracture."

"If not treated promptly, this cold and damp environment may lead to sepsis or permanent damage."

Ye Qingcheng warily scanned the cave's surroundings: "Don't rush into a standoff. There are signs of a third party here—look over there."

The beam of her tactical flashlight swept across the underground river to the other side.

There were several fresh scratch marks on the rock face, identical to those found outside the altar, only denser and deeper.

Luo Yunyi followed the beam of light and her expression changed slightly: "They're here again."

"What are they?" Lin Chen asked.

"I don't know." Luo Yunyi gritted her teeth. "They seem to be some kind of... creature corrupted by darkness. They're fast, strong, and there are quite a few of them."

"They've been chasing me for five days."

She tried to move her body, but groaned due to her leg injury, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

Mu Qingyao suddenly exclaimed softly, "The light in the river... is dimming!"

Everyone looked towards the underground river.

The originally uniform, pale blue glow began to flicker erratically, and countless tiny shadows seemed to be moving and converging in the river.

Wherever those shadows passed, the fireflies were extinguished as if swallowed up.

Chu Ling'er's spirit-summoning talisman trembled violently, her face turning pale: "There are things in the water... a lot... full of resentment and hunger..."

"We can't stay here." Lin Chen made a decisive decision. "Miss Luo, whether you believe us or not, let's leave now."

"Your injury needs to be treated."

Luo Yunyi stared at him for two seconds, then glanced at the several women with different auras behind him, and finally slowly lowered her dagger:

"Go upstream. There's a fork in the road about 300 meters away. I set up some simple traps and cover there."

Lin Chen stepped forward and carefully helped her up.

Luo Yunyi's body stiffened slightly, but she did not resist.

She was even lighter than she looked; her body beneath her windbreaker was thin and taut, as if she had been on high alert for a long time.

"I'll carry her on my back," Ye Qingcheng stepped forward. "You lead the way."

Lin Chen nodded and carefully moved Luo Yunyi onto Ye Qingcheng's back.

Ye Qingcheng's movements were professional and steady, clearly indicating that she had received relevant training.

The team moved rapidly upstream along the underground riverbank.

The shadows in the river grew larger and larger, and most of the fireflies had been extinguished, leaving only the beams of everyone's headlamps and flashlights cutting through the darkness.

As Mu Qingyao walked, she crouched down and touched the moss on the rock wall, reporting softly, "They're 'saying'... the creature in the water has woken up... and is very hungry..."

Suddenly, the river surface in front of us exploded!

Several dark figures burst out of the water and rushed straight towards Lin Chen, who was at the front of the group!

Under the beam of their headlamps, the group finally saw what it was—a creature that was neither human nor beast.

They have human-like limbs, but the joints are bent backwards, and their skin is dark blue and covered with mucus.

Its face has no facial features, only a round mouth covered with fine, sharp teeth.

Most strangely, each of them had a dark red crystal embedded in its chest, emitting a light that was of the same origin as the underground river's glow, but even more murky.

"Get out of the way!" Lin Chen shouted, releasing his Nine Yang True Qi instantly.

The moment the golden light touched those creatures, they let out sharp screechs, blue smoke rose from their bodies, and their movements became noticeably sluggish—these monsters were afraid of light and the sun!

But there are too many.