As soon as I put it on, I met a sickly man

Ding Chen and others stepped into the cave cautiously. As soon as they entered, they felt a strong suction force that almost sucked them into a dark abyss.

Xiaoxuan hugged Ding Chen's arm tightly, her fingers turning white from the force.

"Be careful!" Ding Chen growled, trying hard to stand firm, with a solemn look on his face.

He quickly pulled out a rope from his waist, fixed one end to a protruding rock at the entrance of the cave, and handed the other end to General Lin behind him.

"Everyone hold on to the ropes and don't fall behind!"

It was pitch dark in the cave, so Ding Chen raised the torch and illuminated a small area around him.

The damp air mixed with the fishy smell of earth was nauseating.

The walls of the cave are covered with strange rocks and shadows, as if some terrible creature is lurking there.

They moved forward slowly, taking every step with extreme caution.

After walking for about half an hour, the view suddenly opened up and a wide underground space appeared.

However, before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, they discovered that there was a bottomless abyss under their feet, with only a shaky wooden bridge connecting them to the other side.

There was a chilling wind blowing under the bridge, making sounds like ghosts howling and wolves howling, which was creepy.

Xiaoxuan turned pale with fright and grabbed Ding Chen's arm tightly.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here." Ding Chen comforted softly, but his eyes were extremely firm.

They stepped onto the single-plank bridge cautiously, each step being like walking on thin ice.

The bridge was shaking so much that if you weren't careful you would fall into the abyss.

At this moment, a group of huge bats swooped down from the top of the cave, making sharp cries and pounced on everyone.

Yingfeng drew out his dagger and moved across the bridge like a ghost, shooting down the bats one by one.

General Lin waved his sword to protect Xiaoxuan and the old Taoist priest, preventing the bats from getting close.

After finally crossing the bridge, they reached the other side.

The roads in the cave were complicated and the group had a disagreement at the fork in the road.

Yingfeng thought they should go left because there was a weak air flow on the left, which might lead to the exit; General Lin thought they should go right because there was a faint light flickering on the right.

The two of them insisted on their own opinions and refused to give in to each other, and the atmosphere gradually became tense.

"I think..." Ding Chen was about to speak, but suddenly stopped, his eyes fixed on a corner of the wall.

"Wait..." he whispered.

Ding Chen narrowed his eyes, the firelight casting flickering shadows on his face, reflecting the gleam in his eyes.

He reached out and touched the strange symbols on the wall, his fingertips moving slowly along the uneven lines.

These symbols look like some kind of ancient writing, or like some kind of mysterious totem, filled with an indescribable weird aura.

"These symbols..." Ding Chen muttered to himself, and suddenly a flash of inspiration came to his mind.

He remembered a mysterious old man he had met in the mountains before. The old man had told him some ancient secrets, among which he mentioned similar symbols.

"Could it be... the Five Elements Bagua Formation?" Ding Chen's heart was shocked, and a feeling of sudden enlightenment came over him.

He quickly connected the secrets told by the old man with the symbols before him, and after careful deduction, he finally deciphered the meaning of these symbols.

"I understand!" Ding Chen suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with confidence.

"The correct road is neither the left nor the right, but... the middle!" He pointed to an inconspicuous path that was almost buried by rocks and said in a firm tone.

Everyone looked in the direction of Ding Chen's finger and discovered that there was actually a small path in the middle.

The path was narrow and hidden, and if Ding Chen hadn't reminded them, they wouldn't have noticed its existence at all.

General Lin and Yingfeng looked at each other, their eyes filled with surprise and admiration.

They didn't expect that Ding Chen could decipher such complex symbols and find the right path.

"Mr. Ding is indeed extremely intelligent!" General Lin praised sincerely.

"Ding Chen, you are so awesome!" Xiaoxuan's eyes flashed with admiration and a happy smile appeared on her face.

Ding Chen smiled faintly, feeling an indescribable sense of pride in his heart.

He led everyone along the path in the middle. Although the path was narrow, it was extremely flat, as if someone had specially repaired it.

After walking for about an incense stick of time, an open area suddenly appeared in front of us.

However, before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, they saw a group of huge spiders hanging down from the top of the cave, blocking their way.

These spiders are covered with spikes and their eight eyes flash a strange red light, making them look extremely terrifying.

"Be careful!" Ding Chen shouted, drew the long sword from his waist, and rushed forward first.

General Lin followed closely behind, waving the long sword in his hand and slashing at the spider in front.

However, the spider's shell was extremely hard, and the long knife could only leave a shallow mark on it.

The spider let out a sharp hiss, waved its huge claws, and clamped down hard on General Lin.

"Xiaoxuan, be careful!" Ding Chen caught a glimpse of a huge spider crawling towards Xiaoxuan out of the corner of his eye, and his heart suddenly tightened.

He turned around abruptly, protecting Xiaoxuan behind him. The sword in his hand turned into a silver light and stabbed into the spider's eyes...

"Xiaoxuan..." Xiaoxuan hid behind Ding Chen, her body trembling slightly, and she tightly grasped his sleeves.

Ding Chen felt the strength coming from his hand and comforted softly, "Don't be afraid, I'm here." Xiaoxuan raised her head and looked at Ding Chen's resolute back. A warm current surged in her heart and the fear gradually subsided.

She took a deep breath, tried to calm herself down, took out a few herbs from the medicine bag she carried with her, crushed them quickly and sprinkled them on the hideous giant spiders.

A strange herbal scent filled the air, and the originally ferocious spiders seemed to be stimulated. They hissed and took a few steps back restlessly.

Although these herbs could not completely kill the spiders, they played a certain role in repelling them, buying everyone a precious moment of respite.

Yingfeng's body was as fast as lightning, moving among the spiders, looking for their weaknesses.

He found that the spider's abdomen was relatively soft, unlike its back which was as hard as iron.

"Attack their abdomen!" Yingfeng shouted, and the dagger in his hand turned into a cold light and stabbed accurately into the spider's abdomen.

General Lin understood what he meant and immediately changed his strategy. He no longer attacked the spider's hard shell, but instead cooperated with Yingfeng to target the spider's soft abdomen.

Although Ah Hu was just an ordinary villager, he was not afraid. He waved a thick wooden stick and struggled to resist the attacks of other spiders, buying time for Ding Chen and others.

With the tacit cooperation of everyone, the spider group gradually retreated, making bursts of shrill hissing sounds, and finally fled in all directions.

After a short rest, everyone continued to go deeper into the cave.

The air was filled with a damp and decaying smell that was suffocating.

Suddenly, a low roar came from the depths of the cave, shaking the cave walls slightly.

The roar was full of wildness and power, as if some huge monster was waiting for them ahead.

Ding Chen clenched his fists, a serious look flashed in his eyes. He took a deep breath and led everyone cautiously towards the source of the sound.

"Be careful!" Ding Chen suddenly shouted and stopped abruptly.

He felt a slight vibration under his feet, and then the ground began to shake violently!

"What's wrong?" Xiaoxuan exclaimed.

Ding Chen did not answer, but just stared straight ahead with a terrifyingly solemn expression.

He slowly raised the torch in his hand, illuminating the scene ahead!

"This..." General Lin took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice, "What...is this..."