The Yin Ground lay deep within Netherdeep Gorge. Chief Ben Sun had brought Evan Yang to this place—a crack whose bottom and edges could not be seen. He pointed at the abyss and said, "This is where she went down all those years ago. She never came back up, so it's clear she's trapped here."
"Are you sure she's not dead?" Evan Yang worried that the woman trapped here might have died.
"I can't be certain, but I guess she's still alive. If someone dies here, their corpse floats back up to the Yin Ground—this place doesn't keep dead people!" Chief Ben Sun's words made Evan Yang even more confident.
"Thank you. If you hadn't helped me, I wouldn't have known she was here," Evan Yang said.
"No need to thank me—you helped me just now, didn't you?" Chief Ben Sun laughed.
Evan Yang smiled, and then the man and ape said their farewells. After Chief Ben Sun left, Evan Yang stared at the abyss, took a deep breath, and leapt down.
Below was like a bottomless chasm. Evan Yang plunged straight down, but soon something blocked his way—a layer of ice appeared before him.
"An ice layer? Why is there suddenly ice here for no reason?" Evan Yang muttered in confusion.
If he wanted to go further, he'd have to break through the ice. Evan Yang placed his hand on it, feeling a stream of cold, but this level of chill meant nothing to him. He waved his Ice Sacred Flame and opened a hole, then passed through the layer.
The ice was about ten meters thick. Evan Yang descended headfirst through it, finally plunging with a splash into the water below.
"Water? There's actually water beneath the ice—and it's freezing cold," Evan Yang muttered to himself.
Just as Evan Yang was curious, the water beneath the ice suddenly surged like a torrent, sweeping him away to somewhere else.
"Where am I being taken? Might as well go along—maybe I'll find traces of the person I'm looking for." Evan Yang had planned to struggle, but seeing the situation, decided to let the current carry him.
The water carried Evan Yang through many places. Finally, with a loud splash, he was swept into a new space—a cliff connected to the water, which poured out and dropped into a lake below. In the lake, Evan Yang rose up, came ashore, and looked around. "So there's a hidden space down here. I wonder how the Yin Ground formed—could it be man-made?"
Evan Yang was intrigued by this mysterious place. He decided to explore the area first, but hadn't gone far before he felt as if he'd passed through a thin membrane—the sensation of entering a formation.
This gave Evan Yang an instant premonition: he'd entered a formation. He released his divine sense and activated Heaven's Eye Sight, seeing everything inside the array. Not far away sat a woman—the very one he was searching for.
"Excellent, she's really here. I've finally found her." Evan Yang was thrilled and slowly approached. The internal array wasn't too complex, so Heaven's Eye Sight guided him straight to the woman.
The woman clearly sensed someone approaching, so she opened her eyes in shock and stared at Evan Yang. "Who are you? How did you get here?"
"Senior, don't be alarmed. Someone sent me here to find you," Evan Yang said.
"Someone sent you? Who? It's not that hypocritical sect again, is it?" The woman frowned.
"What hypocritical sect? I'm here on behalf of a friend of yours who asked me to find you," Evan Yang replied.
"Who?" The woman looked at Evan Yang suspiciously. Evan glanced at her, then showed her the mental image. The moment she saw it, she froze, as if drawn into a scene—she felt nothing, even if someone tried to kill her.
"It's him, it's really him—he still remembers me." The woman was so moved she shed tears.
"He asked me to find you and wanted me to give you this," Evan Yang said, handing her Mad Elder's wooden plaque.
The woman took it eagerly. After reading its contents, her expression turned shocked and wild. She stared at Evan Yang—her eyes almost devouring him. If he weren't Mad Elder's friend, Evan might have thought she was some kind of villain.
"You... your name is Evan Yang, right?" the woman asked, excited.
Evan Yang realized she knew his name, probably because Mad Elder had told her, so he wasn't surprised. He replied, "That's right. Is there anything you need my help with, Senior?"
"I do need your help. Can you go deeper inside and retrieve something for me? Once you have it, take me away from here," the woman said.
"Deeper inside? What do you need?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"A black, diamond-shaped stone, with a dragon mark engraved on it," the woman replied.
"Alright, I'll go take a look. If I find it, I'll bring it back for you," Evan Yang said.
"Thank you so much," the woman said, excited.
Evan Yang nodded and continued through the array. Meanwhile, the woman thought to herself, "You still haven't forgotten about me after all this time—thank you. When this is all over, I'll go find you. Wait for me."
Passing through the array, Evan Yang entered a tunnel littered with beast bones—already many years old. Just stepping on them caused them to crumble.
"A diamond-shaped stone? What could it look like?" Evan Yang searched curiously. Finally, in a rock crevice, he spotted a black, diamond-shaped object. He reached for it in delight, but a surge of danger flashed—what looked like a stone suddenly moved. A snake with a black, diamond-shaped head shot out, aiming straight for Evan Yang.
It was so close and so fast that the snake bit Evan Yang's hand immediately, leaving a wound with black blood inside. It was clear how venomous this snake was.
The snake licked its tongue, then spoke in human language: "Your blood tastes so good. I didn't expect someone to deliver themselves here."
"What kind of snake are you, acting so arrogantly?" Evan Yang asked.
"Me? Haha, everyone calls me Beauty Serpent." The snake laughed, then transformed into a human form and stood before Evan Yang—a stunningly beautiful woman, seductive but with a terrifying snake behind the allure.
"A shape-shifting snake, huh? That's interesting. You know it's pretty rude to act like this, right?" Evan Yang hid his wounded hand behind his back, then summoned his Ice-fire power and sealed the wound shut.
Seeing Evan Yang seal his wound, the snake burst out laughing. "It's useless. My poison is already inside you. In half an hour, it'll devour your soul—so don't waste your effort."
"Are you that sure? Is this world really playing a joke on me?" Evan Yang laughed.
"I'm not joking—I'm telling you the truth. Look around: every beast and person here died from my poison," Beauty Serpent sneered.
"I'm telling the truth—I won't die. In fact, you'll be the one in trouble," Evan Yang said, smiling at Beauty Serpent.
Beauty Serpent thought Evan Yang was just joking before dying, so she sneered, "Stop struggling. Just wait for death."
"Let's see who dies first!" Evan Yang said. In a flash, he appeared behind Beauty Serpent, patted her shoulder, and said, "If I wanted, you'd be dead right now."
Beauty Serpent was shocked—she hadn't expected Evan Yang to be so terrifyingly strong. But she was still confident her poison would work.
So she kept dodging Evan Yang, but he never lost her—in fact, he let her go several times. After half an hour, Evan Yang was still perfectly fine. Beauty Serpent was stunned: "How are you still okay?"
"No reason. Like I said, I won't die," Evan Yang replied with a smile.