The atmosphere in the cellar was gloomy. With the addition of the thick dried bloodstains, the atmosphere was terrifying enough. And now, something unimaginable had happened. Everybody stared at the dark hole that seemed to be connected to the Nether Palace. They couldn't help but feel scared.
Even I felt a chill in my heart.
Han Wennan, Chen Yangting, and the others were bold. Although this case was strange, they weren't too worried. After all, they had the Daoist energy to protect them. No matter what kind of monster they encountered, it was just a fight.
However, I was different. Last time, Liu Chuande had only met Yu Fuda. When he returned, he had broken the Eight Trigrams Mirror and the four Divine Talismans. It meant that this case wasn't just hiding something terrifying, but also a great power.
So, what kind of danger was hidden in this black hole in the blood pond?
Everybody kept silent. The first one to react was Professor Liang's student, Ling Duyu. This quiet boy with thick glasses anxiously ran to the blood pond. He threw his backpack aside and wanted to jump into the black hole to save his professor.
Han Wennan and I hurriedly reached out to grab him, but Ling Duyu was very anxious. He kept struggling and shouting, "Teacher, he's so old. He must have been injured when he fell down. We have to save him quickly. Don't stop me. Let go of me!"
Mu Xin was calm. She also came to help. She pulled Ling Duyu and tried to persuade him. "We have to save Professor Liang. However, we don't know the situation in the black hole. We don't know how deep it is, and we can't see anything inside. If we rush in, we will only make things worse."
I tried my best to persuade this impulsive man. However, although he didn't want to go down there, he urged Han Wennan and me. He said anxiously, "Mr. Zhang, Mr. Han, I know you're all capable people. Professor is old, and he can't stand the torment. If we save him one minute earlier, we'll have more hope. Please, I'm begging you."
Han Wennan, Chen Yangting, and Monk Miaojue didn't look happy.
It wasn't because of what Ling Duyu had said. It was because we had used our Daoist energy to check the situation inside the black hole the moment Professor Liang had fallen.
It was pitch-black inside. Although we couldn't see far, our Daoist energy didn't hinder us. However, after checking, we found that there was some kind of power that prevented our Daoist energy from invading. Even so, our Daoist energy could still reach twenty to thirty meters.
However, it hadn't reached the bottom of the black hole yet. This meant that Professor Liang had fallen to a height of at least thirty meters, which was the height of a ten-story building. Even a young man would die if he fell from such a height, let alone an old man like Professor Liang.
Of course, nothing was absolute. If the bottom of the bottom of the black hole was soft, or if there was enough water, Professor Liang would have been, but he would have died.
In that case, although Professor Liang would still be seriously injured, he might still be able to keep his life.
There was hope, but at this moment, no one was sure about the situation inside the black hole.
In the end, Han Wennan stood up and pushed Ling Duyu aside. He asked the two policemen from the police station to restrain him. Then, he walked to the entrance of the black hole and used the stupidest but most effective method. He picked up a stone from the ground and threw it into the hole.
If his Daoist energy couldn't reach the bottom, he would throw a stone to measure it. It was the most suitable method.
However, to avoid hurting Professor Liang, Han Wennan didn't choose a big stone. He picked up a piece of soil that was smaller than his pinky and threw it into the hole. Then, he put his ear to the edge of the blood pond and listened carefully.
One second, two seconds … Soon, ten seconds had passed. Han Wennan and I changed our countenances again. We didn't hear anything for ten seconds. We couldn't imagine how deep the black hole was. Even if Han Wennan and I knew it was safe, we wouldn't dare to go down this deep hole.
Han Wennan stood up and didn't continue to listen.
If we didn't hear anything for ten seconds, even if the piece of soil touched the bottom of the hole, the sound wouldn't be able to reach us.
After standing up, Han Wennan didn't hesitate anymore. He made a decision. "Take care of Ling Duyu. We should return to the cellar and wait for further instructions.
I've already reported it to our superiors. We'll wait for Chief Zhang to send us some tools. Then, we'll decide what to do. "
We didn't have any objections. Although Professor Liang's two students weren't happy, Ling Duyu was under his control. Mu Xin was a weak girl. She opened her mouth anxiously, but she didn't know what to do. Tears welled up in her eyes.
At this moment, Chen Yangting couldn't bear it anymore. He said, "How about you guys go up first? Little Xin and I will stay here and try to use the talisman technique to check the depth of this black hole?"
Chen Yangting's cultivation base wasn't weak. With him here, it wouldn't be a problem to ensure Mu Xin's safety. Moreover, Mount Longhu's talisman technique was exquisite. I didn't know what he could do.
Han Wennan didn't say anything. He arranged for the others to go up first.
I was the last to go up. Before I went up, I hesitated but didn't say anything in the end.
Among the two major Daoist sects, the Quanzhen Sect advocated getting rid of emotions and desires. They believed that only when one's heart was at peace could one return to simplicity and see one's nature.
That was why the Daoist priests of this sect had to abstain from sexual desires. They couldn't get close to women, and they couldn't get married or have children.
However, the Celestial Master Sect was different. In the Zhengyi Sect, all the Daoist priests stayed at home. They could get married, have children, and live a family life. Usually, they could eat meat, and they could even wear common clothes. They didn't have beards, and their hair style was casual.
Chen Yangting had taken the initiative to stay here to please Mu Xin, which didn't violate the Zhengyi Sect's teachings. However, Mu Xin and Ling Duyu were lovers, so Chen Yangting's behavior was despicable.
Fortunately, we were all above the cellar, so we didn't need to worry about Chen Yangting's improper behavior. Moreover, Mu Xin and Ling Duyu weren't husband and wife. She wasn't married, and Chen Yangting, a male Daoist priest, wasn't married, either.
After leaving the cellar, we all sat at the entrance of the cellar. While waiting for the police's support, we paid attention to the situation down there.
Around twenty minutes later, three police assault vehicles came to the orchard. More than ten armed policemen got off the vehicles. The leader of the team was Deputy Chief Zhang, who was in charge of contacting us.
Unlike our sad face, Deputy Chief Zhang looked excited. As soon as he saw us, he praised, "You're worthy of being the experts sent from the capital. We've been searching for a long time, but we haven't found any clues. You've only been here for two or three days, but you've already made such a big breakthrough. It's really admirable."
While talking, he seemed to notice that the atmosphere wasn't right. His voice became softer, and he looked a little embarrassed. He hurried to say, "Of course, it's more important to save people. I've brought a full set of search and rescue equipment, as well as a professional rescue team. We shouldn't delay any longer. We should go down there to save Professor Liang."
Then, he lifted his head and asked us, "Master Han, Master Zhang, and Master Miaojue, I've heard that the black hole is very dangerous. If we want to go down there, we'll have to rely on you guys. I wonder if any of you would like to go with us?"
Monk Miaojue was a quiet man. I was afraid that Han Wennan and the others would recognize my accent, so I didn't want to talk unless necessary.
Han Wennan had to make the decision. "Let's go down and check the situation in the black hole first. Then, we'll make a decision."
Chief Zhang nodded. He called more than ten armed policemen, who brought a lot of search and rescue equipment to follow us back to the cellar.
The cellar was originally dark, but the rescue equipment Chief Zhang brought had a self-generated searchlight, which directly illuminated the inside of the cellar.
When we went down, Chen Yangting and Mu Xin were still standing next to the blood pond. When they saw us, Chen Yangting didn't say anything, but Mu Xin said excitedly, "Master Chen used a talisman to check the depth of the hole. Moreover, he found that there's water at the bottom. Professor Liang should be fine."
After she finished talking, Chen Yangting smiled reservedly. "That's right. I just checked. The hole is around fifty meters deep, and there's water at the bottom. Although Professor Liang isn't young, his body is still strong. Perhaps, the worst-case scenario hasn't happened yet."
Han Wennan and I frowned when we heard him. The piece of soil we'd thrown hadn't responded for ten seconds. From a physics perspective, it was easy to calculate that in ten seconds of freefall, the distance the piece of soil would fall should be more than fifty meters, even if the air resistance was taken into account.
I didn't say anything, but Han Wennan asked, "What method did Hall Master Chen use? Are you sure?
Saving people is like putting out a fire. If you're sure, we don't need to check anymore. We can just go down and save him. "
His words were filled with suspicion, but Chen Yangting didn't mind. He smiled proudly and said, "I'm a Daoist from Mount Longhu. Naturally, I used the talisman technique. Just now, I used a Ding Jia talisman to summon the Liujia God to enter the hole to check for me.
Although the black hole is magical and can block Daoist Qi, it can't block the Liujia God. That's how I was able to see the situation inside. "
After he said that, Han Wennan and I understood at the same time. Sure enough, everyone had their own specialties. My research on talismans was profound, but I still couldn't compare to the master of talismans from Mount Longhu. In that situation, I didn't even think about using the God Inviting Talisman.
Of course, this was also related to the fact that I had just reached the Glorious Knowledge realm. The God Inviting Talisman had to be at least a scarlet talisman. Up until now, I had only made one scarlet talisman. My understanding of scarlet talismans was naturally not as good as Chen Yangting's.
Hearing his explanation, Han Wennan didn't hesitate anymore. He turned to Chief Zhang and said, "Sage Chen is the Hall Master of Mount Longhu's Celestial Master Mansion's Xuan Altar Hall. The situation that he found couldn't be fake. Chief Zhang, please prepare the equipment. We'll have a discussion here. We'll pick the person to enter the hole later."
Chief Zhang received the order and left. Han Wennan turned to ask us who was willing to enter the hole together.
Chen Yangting had just revealed his face, so he was proud of himself. Without hesitation, he said his name. Monk Miao Jue, who had been silent all this time, chanted the name of Buddha. "Since this poor monk was sent here, I naturally have something to do."
When Han Wennan's gaze shifted to me, I said bluntly, "The dangers at the bottom of the hole are unknown. Why don't we go down together? There's strength in numbers, and we can take care of each other."
In order to rescue Liu Chuande, I had to get to the bottom of this case. Moreover, ever since I found the Mystic Bird and the "Ji" cauldron in the mural, I became very interested in this case. No matter what, I had to make this trip.
Since I had to go down, I naturally had to bring all of them with me to be safe.
Han Wennan pondered for a moment, then agreed to my suggestion.
At that moment, the police had already set up a rope to go down next to the blood pool. When Chief Zhang heard that all of us wanted to go down, he was naturally overjoyed. He quickly arranged for the armed police to help us tie the rope so that we could be the vanguard.
According to Han Wennan's arrangement, I lined up at the back of the four. He was probably worried that my cultivation wasn't high enough. I didn't mind and slowly slid down the hole together with them.
At first, everything was normal. However, when I slid down to around twenty meters, the surroundings suddenly became extremely cold. Moreover, there seemed to be a thick mist hovering in the air below.
Just now, when I used my Dao Qi to investigate, it was at this distance that my Dao Qi lost its effect. I was vigilant and carefully sensed the thick fog. The more I looked at it, the more familiar it seemed. When I slid down to the side of the fog, I realized that the fog wasn't white, but a dark green color.