Song Wen and his two companions cleared away the remaining Gloom Vines at the entrance, then followed the Corpse Puppet into the cave.
The cave was straight and uniform in width, clearly excavated by human hands.
After they had walked several li inward, Ji Jinglun suddenly stopped and stared at the stone wall beside him.
"Something's wrong. Someone has been here, and not very long ago."
Song Wen and Jiang Wanyue immediately turned their attention to the stretch of wall before Ji Jinglun.
A long, narrow fissure ran deep into the wall, its end hidden from sight.
Song Wen and Jiang Wanyue exchanged a glance, an unspoken understanding flashing in their eyes. Both suspected that Corpse Daoist Yin had left this thin crack.
"It's only a tiny crack. Perhaps a Corpse Moth made it. We can't jump to the conclusion that someone beat us here just because of that," Jiang Wanyue said.
Ji Jinglun still had no idea that Corpse Daoist Yin had already entered the Underground Palace.
Jiang Wanyue clearly wanted to avoid unnecessary complications and keep him in the dark for as long as possible.
But Ji Jinglun shook his head firmly, his gaze fixed on the fissure.
"No! This fissure certainly wasn't made by a demonic beast like a Corpse Moth. A very faint trace of keen metal energy still lingers deep inside. It must have come from a Human Race cultivator's magical treasure or Immortal Artifact. That person was most likely a corpse cultivator, too. The aura they left behind has already merged with the corpse qi that pervades this place. Otherwise, we should still be able to detect faint traces of it."
Song Wen and Jiang Wanyue exchanged another glance.
They were both startled by Ji Jinglun's keen observation and meticulous reasoning: from a single