Seeing Peng Yingyu jump into the treasure entrance, the others exchanged glances and soon followed, hopping onto the nearest shells.
Then a strange power lifted the shells, gently moving them into the cave.
The shells were large enough for Chen Jie and his group to stand on one without issue.
However, some groups were crowded, such as Ba Tan’s group, which included fifty or sixty people.
There was also the loose cultivator, Demon Granny, who truly seemed to be there to rob, bringing nearly a hundred people. Each shell could hold about twenty people, but these two groups squeezed at least thirty people on a single shell, which was extremely cramped.
The mechanism’s designer seemed to lead directly into the body of the Mirage.
Standing on the shells, everyone felt as if they were sitting in a small boat entering a dark, watery tunnel.
Through serpentine paths, darkness engulfed them; everyone seemed to be on a fragile boat, swaying into the tunnel, only feeling the magical force pulling the shells along.
There was no light around, only a haziness where one could not see their own hand before their face.
Chen Jie lit the torch he carried, instantly brightening their surroundings.
Light became a solace in the darkness, reducing the fear in their hearts significantly. The torchlight revealed they were navigating a tunnel.
The tunnel was narrow enough that by stretching out their hands, they could touch the rock walls, but none among Chen Jie’s group dared to touch them first because the walls were very peculiar.
What was peculiar about them?
The walls were pinkish and quivering, almost as if they were alive, and appeared damp and moist. Chen Jie stared in shock while Elder Liu swallowed hard and exclaimed, "Oh my goodness, could this wall be alive? Look, it’s still trembling."
Hearing this, everyone turned to look at the wall, which indeed seemed alive, contracting and expanding in a peculiar manner. Chen Jie approached with the torch to examine it more closely but found that the wall retreated from the light source.
This thing clearly disliked fire.
Ah San, standing nearby, spoke up, "Chen Jiusi, try burning it with the torch."
Hearing this, everyone looked at Ah San, thinking this kid was too bold. Dare to burn such a thing?
Chen Jie looked at Ah San and said, "Third Master, we are clearly inside the belly of a giant Mirage. Even those ranked on the Heavenly List dare not act rashly against it. Shall we not seek our own doom, what do you think?"
On hearing this, Ah San replied, "You’re too timid! With so many of us here, should we fear this monster? Even if we are in its belly, don’t you believe that I, Third Master, could tear open its stomach and get out?"
Chen Jie did not respond, but just then Ah Da spoke up, "Shut your mouth, Ah San. You may seek death if you like, but the Commandery Princess is here. Do you want her to join you in death?"
Ah San looked back at Zhao Ya, who was silently scratching her head and said, "Commandery Princess, I... I didn’t mean it like that, I was just..."
Zhao Ya interrupted, "Don’t mess around. If even Heavenly List experts couldn’t capture this Mirage, it shows it’s quite powerful. Don’t make any reckless moves."
Hearing this, everyone dared not act rashly.
Zhao Ya then used the torchlight to inspect the slightly cramped tunnel, "This... must be the Mirage’s esophagus!"
Hearing this, everyone widened their eyes. The esophagus?
Was it really wide enough? How big was this creature then?
This thought made everyone’s expression turn curious, realizing that the portion of the Mirage floating on the water might just be a small part of its body, with the majority still hidden beneath the water.
Like the images of icebergs we see, only a small part is visible above water, while the largest part is submerged.
Zhao Ya looked around at the tunnel walls, "Alright, everyone sit tight, don’t fall off. It’s very dangerous."
Upon hearing this, everyone shut their mouths and huddled deeper inside the shell.
Ah San then said, "Hey, if this is really the Mirage’s esophagus, doesn’t that mean this is its flesh, and Mirage Meat is equivalent to Tai Sui Meat? If we could just cut some Tai Sui Meat here, wouldn’t it make our trip worthwhile?"
Hearing this, everyone paused, then looked at Ah San, "That actually makes sense."
Zhao Ya quickly said, "Are you all crazy? Be careful, don’t mess around."
As Zhao Ya spoke, suddenly cheers erupted from behind, "Got it! We got it!"
Hearing this, everyone was startled, but the next moment, they heard the person who had cheered scream in agony, "Ah, ahh..."
Turning to look, they saw that one of Demon Granny’s underlings on a nearby shell had cut into the tunnel wall with a knife and removed a piece of Tai Sui Meat.
But before he could celebrate, the wall suddenly split open, revealing a cylindrical mouth from which a spurt of sticky fluid hit the face of the man who had cut the wall. Immediately, he screamed like a pig being slaughtered.
Simultaneously, his face began emitting white smoke and emitted a nauseating smell.
Everyone gasped in horror and turned to see that the man’s face was completely corroded, the flesh gone, revealing his oral cavity, where they could clearly see his tongue and teeth.