Jiang Fa carried the Ghost Head Sword behind his back, and crawled sideways into the crevice. He held the torch in his left hand, and clasped the protrusion on the rock wall with his right hand. He stepped on the descending rocks alternately with his feet, and slowly groped towards the depths.
Lu Pingping followed closely behind, putting his right hand on his shoulder and holding on to the rock wall with his left hand, carefully following his rhythm.
The crack became wider as it went down, and after walking for about ten feet, Jiang Fa's feet suddenly became empty, and he slid downwards. Fortunately, he caught a raised rock with his right hand in time, so he did not fall.
He shined the torch downwards, and the sight in front of him made him slightly startled.
Below is an underground cave several times larger than the cave.
The dome of the cave is extremely high, stalactites hang upside down, and the ground is a wide underground river. The water flows rapidly and roars toward the depths of the cave.
There are slippery rocks and gravel beaches on both sides of the river bank, with many animal bones scattered around.
"There is a way."
Jiang Fa turned over and jumped down. His feet landed firmly on the gravel beach of the river bank, and then he stretched out his hand to catch Lu Pingping.
Lu Pingping After landing, his eyes swept towards both sides of the underground river.
The river flows from the depths of the cave and faces south, in the same direction as the puddles on the outside of the cliff.
"This underground river should flow from the depths of Black Wind Ridge." She speculated. "Rock Lizard crawled in through this underground river. Those beasts trapped at the bottom of the valley may also have swam in along the underground river."
Jiang Fa nodded, and he knelt down to look at the animal bones on the river bank.
Different from those at the bottom of the valley, the animal bones here have obvious gnawing marks, which were obviously left by Rock Lizard eating here.
"Rock Lizard regards this place as a hunting ground." He stood up and shined the torch in the direction of the upper reaches of the underground river. "It goes out to hunt along the underground river. After catching the prey, it drags it back and eats it, and the remaining bones are thrown on the river bank."
"Then we can find the way out by walking up the underground river." A hint of joy flashed in Lu Pingping's eyes.
But Jiang Fa nodded and looked at the flow direction of the underground river. "The water flows out from the depths, which means that the terrain upstream is high and the terrain downstream is low. Rock Lizard can crawl in along the current, which means there must be an exit to the outside upstream."
Lu Pingping Hearing this, the joy on his face couldn't help but become a little brighter.
The two of them walked upstream along the gravel beach on the bank of the underground river.
The cave is sometimes wide and narrow, and the river bank is sometimes missing. In some places, the rock wall plunges directly into the water, with no place to stay. You can only climb the bulges on the cliff and move sideways.
Jiang Fa walked in front, holding a torch in one hand and turning around to pull Lu Pingping from time to time with the other.
Before her strength could be restored, her feet suddenly slipped while walking down a steep gravel slope, and she fell towards the underground river.
Jiang Fa had quick eyes and quick hands. He grabbed her wrist with his backhand and pulled her back hard.
Lu Pingping bumped into him, hitting his chin with her forehead, causing her to gasp in pain.
"Are you okay?" Jiang Fa looked down at her.
"It's okay." She rubbed her forehead,
When they raised their faces, they were almost touching each other.
She looked away in panic, took a half step back, and pretended to be nonchalant. "Let's go."
Jiang Fa didn't think much and continued to explore the way forward.
The cave becomes narrower as you go deeper, and the sound of water from the underground river becomes louder and louder.
Finally, after bypassing a huge stalactite pillar, Jiang Fa stopped.
Ahead, the source of the underground river appears in front of you.
It was a cliff with a height of more than ten feet. There was a waterfall hanging on the cliff. The water poured down from the top of the cliff and hit the deep pool at the bottom, stirring up a large amount of water mist.
On the cliff behind the waterfall, there is a crack washed out by the water. It is about two feet wide and three feet high. The dark entrance is mostly covered by a curtain of water.
"The water flows out of that crack." Jiang Fa pointed to the crack behind the waterfall.
Lu Pingping looked up at the crack, then at the straight and steep cliffs on both sides of the waterfall, and frowned slightly.
The crack is not big, so people have to bend sideways to get in, and the impact of the water flow of the waterfall is not small, so it is not easy to pass through the water curtain.
"I'll go up and take a look first."
Jiang Fa handed the torch to Lu Pingping, stepped on the gravel beside the pool and climbed up the cliff, and walked around the rock wall on the side of the waterfall to the entrance of the crack.
The water splashed on him, and it was bitingly cold.
He squeezed sideways into the crack, and inside was a circular channel washed out by the water, with varying widths and extending upwards at an angle. It was pitch black in the depths, and only the roar of the water could be heard.
"Can go in."
He shouted to Lu Pingping, his voice slightly blurred by the sound of water.
Lu Pingping gritted his teeth, climbed up the cliff, and moved against the slippery rock surface to the crack.
Jiang Fa stretched out his hand and pulled her in.
The inside of the crack is wider than it looks from the outside. The rock walls on both sides are smooth and rounded by the water flow. There is a shallow water channel under the feet, and the water flow is fast, constantly washing the ankles.
The two of them walked one behind the other, groping towards the depths along this natural channel washed out by the water flow.
The passage is winding and winding, with gradients that are sometimes gentle and sometimes steep. In some places, you have to bend down to pass, while in other places it is so wide that you can walk side by side.
The sound of water gradually became quieter.
The rock wall above our head changed from slippery at first to dry, and the water flow under our feet gradually became shallower, and finally dried up completely.
"The water flow is gone." Lu Pingping stopped and looked down at the dry gravel ground under his feet. "It means we have walked out of the main road of the underground river."
Jiang Fa shines the torch forward.
The passage splits into two not far ahead, one facing left and one facing right.
The passage on the left is narrow and low, with water stains still remaining on the rock walls, and it winds towards the depths.
The passage on the right is much wider, with dry ground and rough rock walls. There are a few dry vines hanging on the cave wall, and there is a faint light coming from the depths.
"Go to the right."
Jiang Fa didn't hesitate.
The passage on the left is obviously a tributary of the underground river. It gets deeper and deeper, and there may not be an exit.
The passage on the right is spacious and dry, and there is a faint light coming through. It is probably the road leading outside.
The two of them walked along the passage on the right, and there were fewer and fewer gravels under their feet, replaced by a layer of fine gray-white powder, which was soft when they stepped on it, with a strange feeling of warmth.
The smell of sulfur in the air is getting stronger and stronger, mixed with a hint of spiciness.
"It's getting hotter and hotter in here."
Lu Pingping couldn't help but pull the cloth wrapped around his shoulders, and a thin layer of sweat broke out on his forehead.
Jiang Fa feels it too.
The temperature deep in the passage was significantly higher than outside, as if some geothermal source was continuously emitting heat.
He pressed his palm against the rock wall, and it felt warm to the touch, as if it had been baked by charcoal fire.
"There is geothermal heat, which means there are geothermal hot springs or fire veins nearby."
He whispered.
The two continued walking for a while, and the passage suddenly opened up ahead.
The moment they walked out of the passage, they were stunned at the same time.