Chapter 183: Chapter 124: Celestial Secret Net Array (2) Si Ye shook his head:
"No, this place isn’t hidden, it doesn’t count as a trap.
"Star Guards, each of them with exceptional Martial Arts, wouldn’t fall down... Even if one did fall, they wouldn’t all fall together.
"Someone would always return to report."
"None returned, which means they’ve found the way down."
Chu Qing didn’t search himself but looked at Gentle.
Gentle understood what Chu Qing meant, sniffed the air, then pointed downward and said:
"They are below."
Tie Chuming was astounded:
"Miss Gentle, even if your nose is good, it can’t be like this, right?"
Chu Qing didn’t intend to explain to her but asked Gentle:
"How far?"
"Thirty to fifty feet."
Gentle answered without hesitation.
Chu Qing nodded and went over to the rock wall for a closer look, discovering traces of artificial carving on it.
These were indentations embedded in the mountain wall.
There were two rows, spaced about five feet apart, arranged meticulously.
Immediately, he leaped and followed those indentations downward.
In no time, he descended about fifty feet and, looking down, found another mountain cave within the cliff.
Chu Qing twisted his foot and landed in that cave, looking up and said:
"You can come down."
The people above came down one by one, with Si Ye entering last, lighting up the cave with fire, his gaze falling onto a part of the mountain wall.
There he saw a star-like carving.
"It’s the traces they left behind; indeed they were here."
Si Ye breathed a sigh of relief.
Chu Qing then asked Gentle:
"What about the scent?"
"Just follow the cave forward," Gentle said blandly.
Tie Chuming’s eyes widened:
"Your nose is really sharp!"
Chu Qing ignored her surprise:
"Let’s go."
The group immediately continued forward, with more and more traces confirming one thing.
"Someone once lived in this cave."
Si Ye pointed to the indentations on the rock wall:
"The previous ones can be considered coincidence, but it’s impossible for every place to have such indentations.
"Obviously, someone lived here for years, intentionally leaving these marks on the mountain wall to facilitate movement up and down."
"Yet, as we walked here, we didn’t even see a ghost, let alone a person."
Tie Chuming rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache... a real one.
Earlier, she stumbled in the dark, accidentally hitting a stalagmite, the pain nearly bringing tears to her eyes.
However, Chu Qing didn’t show concern for her but checked if the stalagmite was okay, while her head seemed less important than a stone!
What an absurdity!
No one continued discussing the issue but added an extra layer of caution.
Heading downward, as time ticked by, they didn’t know how deep underground they were, only feeling that the caverns lay nested within the mountain but not chaotic, descending along a hollow mountain crevice.
It’s uncertain if they’ve reached the bottom of Celestial Star Mountain, but they’ve obviously gone down a significant distance.
At this moment, Chu Qing suddenly said:
"There’s movement ahead."
Si Ye immediately perked up, holding the torch to lead the way.
Chu Qing’s group followed behind, going another thirty feet further down, arriving at a winding passage leading in two directions.
This passage was also naturally formed, without signs of artificial carving.