Chapter Fifty-Two: The Mysterious Chasm in the Fox Immortal Cave; Song and Tang Meet Amidst Their Flight for Life

Song Mo broke out in a cold sweat, terrified by the emptiness behind him. He hurriedly shouted Xia Yu’s name at the top of his lungs. But there was no answer in the darkness—only his own echo rebounded endlessly through the cavern. At first, he hadn’t felt too disturbed, but now, truly alone, a chill crept into his heart.

Whether it was just his imagination or not, the further he ventured into the mountain cave, the colder it seemed to become. Even though his body had been strengthened by the ginseng fruit and the Great Strength Pill, Song Mo still found it hard to resist the bone-deep chill, as if it came from the very depths of the underworld.

“To hell with it, if I die, I die,” Song Mo muttered, steeling himself and striding deeper into the cave.

After about the time it takes for half a stick of incense to burn, Song Mo reached a bend. To call it a bend was misleading—it was more like an exit from the cave, as if this place, like a cunning rabbit’s warren, had several ways out. But this exit was strange. At his feet gaped a square pit, seven feet across and six feet deep, and the cave’s exit was not lateral but opened right above his head.

Song Mo looked around for a long time before he understood. This was no natural cave formation—it was as if something enormous had once grown here, forcing its way upward and punching a gaping hole through the cavern ceiling!

A shiver ran down Song Mo’s spine at the thought. For something that size, wouldn't it have to be some monstrous, otherworldly creature?

He had no time to dwell on it; Song Mo quickly realized something was wrong. When he’d first entered this winding cave in the Goat-Intestine Mountains, it was barely midday. Even after walking so far, it couldn’t be much later than mid-afternoon. Though the sky was overcast, it shouldn’t have been so dark that not a trace of light filtered through. By rights, the hole above should have let daylight pour into the cave.

But even when Song Mo employed his night vision technique, the massive hole overhead remained shrouded in perfect blackness.

Something was definitely off.

After a moment’s thought, Song Mo picked up a fist-sized rock from the ground. With a quick swing of his shoulder, he hurled it upward at the gaping hole. There was a sharp crack, then the stone vanished as if swallowed by the sea.

Before Song Mo could react, a stabbing pain shot through his chest—his Seven Aperture Exquisite Heart was warning him again!

He looked up, nearly crying out in fright. His stone had stirred up a hornet’s nest. From the gaping hole above, darkness billowed and roiled like a living cloud. Countless black shapes, clawing and writhing, began to pour down.

Only now did Song Mo realize it wasn’t simply the overcast sky making things so dark; the sheer number of these black shadows had completely blocked out the light from above. That explained why his night vision technique had failed—they were not ghosts or illusions, but solid, pitch-black entities!

He had no time to ponder what these shadows truly were. They seemed to act with purpose, surging straight toward him.

Song Mo didn’t dare linger. He turned and ran.

The shadows, countless and ever-shifting, floated and swirled through the cave, quickly gaining on him. Seeing them draw nearer, Song Mo muttered to himself, “Foolish, I have treasures and don’t know how to use them.”

With the shadows still at a distance, he fished two talismanic wooden horses from his pocket and bound them to his legs. It was none other than the Divine Galloping Horse Technique.

With the power of the talismans, Song Mo soon left the shadows far behind. But a new, serious problem dawned on him—he was lost.

He was lost in the Fox Immortal’s Cave.

Slowing his pace, Song Mo examined the stone walls and ceiling around him. But stone was all he saw; nothing to distinguish one stretch from another.

Though panic threatened, Song Mo forced himself to remain calm. Strengthened by the ginseng fruit and the Great Strength Pill, his body far exceeded that of a normal person—he could likely endure ten days or more. With the Galloping Horse Technique and his night vision, finding the way out shouldn’t be impossible.

This thought brought a measure of peace to his mind. Not knowing which way to go, Song Mo dared not use the Galloping Horse Technique again; instead, he carefully watched the path ahead.

Suddenly, a figure darted past his eyes.

“Who’s there?” Song Mo called out, forcing himself to sound calm.

It had only been an instant, but his instincts—honed in the trade of the underworld—told him that was neither one of the shadows nor a fox spirit. That was a person.

“Show yourself! Stop playing tricks. I warn you, I’m trained!” Song Mo struck a threatening pose, whether or not he was seen, and shouted into the darkness.

After a long silence with no response, Song Mo had no choice but to summon his courage and move forward. In the darkness, he felt a gust of wind at his back, and suddenly a figure appeared to his left and slightly behind him.

Not one to wait and see, Song Mo lashed out with a punch almost instantly.

His strike was fast and, though not particularly skillful, his enhanced body lent it real power. To his astonishment, the figure behind him caught his fist effortlessly.

“It’s me—Tang Yi,” came a disgruntled voice from behind.

Song Mo finally saw the newcomer clearly: black clothes, willow-leaf blade—it was indeed Tang Yi.

“Why didn’t you say something? Don’t you know you could scare someone to death sneaking up like that?” Song Mo grumbled first.

Tang Yi shot him an exasperated look. “I was about to speak when you threw a punch at me.”

She paused, then asked curiously, “By the way, you seem a lot stronger than before?”

Song Mo, relieved to have found Tang Yi, raised an eyebrow and teased, “It’s not just my strength—other parts of me have gotten bigger too...”

Smack!

Song Mo froze, then roared, “What was that for?”

Tang Yi massaged her right hand, affecting innocence. “Nothing, I just wanted to see if your face was bigger than my hand.”

Clutching his left cheek, Song Mo complained, “I was talking about my chest muscles—you’re the one with the dirty mind...”

In the darkness, Tang Yi shot him a knowing look.

“Were you captured by the shadow demons too?” She sobered, setting aside the jokes.

Song Mo grimaced. “Of course not. I came here of my own accord.” Then, realizing how that sounded, he corrected himself, “If I wasn’t worried about you, I’d be living it up at the Mortuary Office. Only an idiot would wade into this mess.”

With his hand still pressed to his cheek, Song Mo didn’t notice how Tang Yi lowered her head, her face tinged with red.

“By the way, what are these ‘shadow demons’ you mentioned?” Song Mo remembered her earlier words.

“Ah, what?” Tang Yi seemed momentarily distracted, not catching his question.

“I mean, isn’t this the Fox Immortal’s Cave? So where did these shadow demons come from?” Song Mo repeated, still rubbing his face.

Tang Yi frowned, silent for a long moment before finally answering in a low voice, “We’ve all been deceived. All the murders in Changning County, all those mysterious missing corpses—they’re all the work of the shadow demons.”