In a small room with no door, Cao Fengge and Cao Wenyan, Wang Zedong, and three other martial artists were trapped. They had been frantically trying to find the exit for four hours, but the hidden switch eluded them. Cao Fengge and Wang Zedong sat opposite each other, glancing at one another coldly, a tense silence hanging between the former allies. Suddenly, a wall slid down, and Mu Dishi appeared in front of them.
Wang Zedong roared, "Mu Dishi…"
Mu Dishi looked at Wang Zedong and then surveyed the others inside the room. He stated coolly, "Since the trap mechanism has been activated, the stone door will be closed at any time."
Cao Wenyan, desperate to escape, urged his father, "Father, Mu gongzi is correct. We have to leave now."
Cao Fengge refused, his greed overriding his fear. "I will not leave here without my item."
Mu Dishi offered a dangerous compromise. "I will show you the way, everyone can see the real treasures of the Mu Treasure Cave."
Mu Dishi walked to the wall on the right. Starting at the corner, he took one step and gave the wall a single tap, repeating the process until he reached ten steps. Suddenly, the ground beneath him rose up toward the cave ceiling. He then led the group of martial artists through a small corridor and toward a staircase. Once there, he pointed down and announced, "The real treasure of the Mu Treasure Cave is behind that door."
Seven greedy martial artists immediately rushed down the stairs toward the promised door. Cao Fengge and Cao Wenyan followed close behind. Then came Wang Zedong, Wang Biming, and Miao Mingzhu.
As Ma Jingguo passed by, Mu Dishi swiftly grabbed his hand.
Ma Jingguo spun around, his eyes burning with fury and betrayal. "What do you want?"
Mu Dishi looked at him, his voice urgent. "Don't go."
Ma Jingguo approached him, demanding an explanation. "Why?"
Mu Dishi revealed a partial truth. "I don't know how to open that door. Last time Long Da Ye opened the door, he used a special knock on the door."
Ma Jingguo violently ripped his hand away, his last shred of hope dissolving. "Liar," he spat out. Ma Jingguo then began to walk down the stairs, ignoring all warnings.
Mu Dishi knew he could not stop Ma Jingguo from entering Wang Changming's tomb. He watched Ma Jingguo, his voice carrying a final, cryptic instruction: "Stay away from the wall." He watched Ma Jingguo slowly walk down the stairs into the darkness.
The seven martial artists tried to push the door and enter, and a flurry of arrows instantly shot out, killing all seven martial artists on the spot. Simultaneously, the tiles on the wall began to move backwards, and a volley of spears pierced through, killing many of the surviving Yueguang and Beixing disciples who were gathered near the door.
Wang Zedong roared in anger, "Mu Dishi, you bastard! You dare to set a trap for us!" He flew back up to the top of the stairs and began to fiercely attack Mu Dishi.
The remaining uninjured people quickly retreated to the bottom of the stairwell. As three Yueguang disciples cautiously stepped forward, another wave of arrows shot out, killing one of them.
Wang Zedong delivered a heavy blow aimed at Mu Dishi's chest, but Mu Dishi blocked the attack. The sheer force of Wang Zedong's punch sent Mu Dishi flying backwards down the stairs. When Mu Dishi landed in front of the martial artists gathered at the bottom, a new wave of arrows came straight at him.
Mu Dishi had no choice but to flip backward toward the door. As soon as his feet touched the ground near the door, the spears began to poke out of the wall again. He quickly retreated to the door, while Ma Jingguo and Cao Wenyan frantically tried to push the wall away from the victims.
Mu Dishi acted decisively: he shot a golden needle directly into the left eye of the dragon door knocker. Instantly, the spearheads on the wall retracted, and the wall stopped closing in. Mu Dishi looked at the people gathered at the bottom of the stairwell with cold indifference.
Wang Zedong leaped down the stairs and went straight for Ma Jingguo. He grabbed Ma Jingguo's neck and squeezed it hard, holding his own grandson hostage. He looked up at Mu Dishi. "Open, or he dies."
Mu Dishi replied with chilling coldness, "He is your grandson."
Wang Zedong's face was grim. "I don't need a bastard grandson. Open."
Mu Dishi stood before the beautifully carved stone door. He stared at the ornate surface for a moment, concentrating as he tried to recall what Mu Jiao Long had done years ago. He then executed the complex sequence: he knocked on the right knocker three times, once on the left knocker, and once more on the right knocker. With a loud, grinding noise, he pushed open the left door panel.
"Do not open the right panel," Mu Dishi warned sharply before walking immediately into the room.
Wang Zedong instantly dropped Ma Jingguo onto the ground and rushed through the open door. Cao Fengge, Cao Wenyan, and Miao Mingzhu quickly followed.
Once Wang Zedong entered the room, his eyes fell upon Wang Changming. Wang Changming looked exactly the same as when Wang Zedong had last seen him, lying peacefully on an ice bed with both hands resting on his abdomen, holding a wooden box. Wang Zedong was heartbroken. He shouted, "Chang'er!" and walked directly toward Wang Changming's preserved body.
Wang Zedong gently stroked Wang Changming's face and ran his hand through his son's hair, sobbing uncontrollably. "Chang'er, why did you choose that bastard Mu Jiao Long over being the heir of the Wang household?" he wailed. "My beloved Chang'er..."
Cao Fengge, seeing the wooden box clutched in Wang Changming's hands, rushed forward. But as he reached for the box, Wang Zedong stopped him, seizing his arm.
Wang Zedong gritted his teeth and grinned fiercely, "Don't touch my son."
Cao Fengge retorted, his voice tight with greed, "That wooden box belongs to me."
Wang Zedong's lips trembled with combined grief and fury. "No, that wooden box belongs to me. Mu Jiao Long took my son away from me. He died because of that bastard Mu Jiao Long. Therefore, everything here belongs to me. This box and everything inside this cave belong to me."
Deep underground inside the small room that was slowly filling up with water, Zhu Mingyang and Gu Yingjie frantically inspected every inch of the trap room, but they found no trap door or switch. The water level was getting higher and higher, already reaching their waists.
As Zhu Mingyang desperately searched, Gu Yingjie held his hand tightly.
Gu Yingjie spoke softly, "Mingyang…" His voice echoed inside the small, enclosed room.
Zhu Mingyang turned around and understood what Gu Yingjie meant. Even in the dim light, he couldn't see Gu Yingjie's face clearly, but he knew that in this moment, when Gu Yingjie spoke in that tone, there would be a gentle smile on his face.
Zhu Mingyang stopped searching and said, "Yingjie, I don't regret it," referring to his decision to jump into the pit after his partner. He pulled Gu Yingjie into his arms.
Gu Yingjie nestled against him and replied, "I don't regret it either."
Zhu Mingyang needed to hear one final confirmation. "You understand why I have to save Zhanjin first.".
Gu Yingjie responded with unwavering certainty. "I understand. If I don't know you, I am not worthy to be your soul mate."
Meanwhile, in the heart of the Mu Treasure Cave, Cao Fengge struck first. He sent out a red thread that quickly tightened around the wooden box resting on Wang Changming's abdomen and tried to pull it toward him. Wang Biming instantly cut the red thread and kicked the wooden box back toward Wang Zedong. Wang Zedong quickly caught the box and opened it, but as he did, a cloud of powder sprayed directly into his face. Wang Zedong screamed in pain, dropping the wooden box. A small, old piece of leather fell out of the box as the ice bed on which Wang Changming was lying slowly lowered down into the ground.
The floor on which Zhu Mingyang and Gu Yingjie stood in the drowning room suddenly lifted, pulling them out of the water. The two were pushed upward toward the top of the cave at a high speed.
Gu Yingjie exclaimed, "Mingyang, what's going on?"
Zhu Mingyang admitted, "I don't know."
Gu Yingjie speculated, "Maybe someone turned on the switch from somewhere in the cave."
It was then that Zhu Mingyang and Gu Yingjie realized the speed had accelerated terrifyingly fast. They saw the cave wall at the top rushing toward them. Zhu Mingyang hugged Gu Yingjie tightly, and they jumped off the platform just before it struck the roof of the cave. With a loud crashing sound, the platform slammed into the ceiling, and the roof of the cave began to crack.
Zhu Mingyang looked up and saw that the chain supporting the big stone door on the roof of the cave had begun to break.
Zhu Mingyang picked Gu Yingjie up in his arms, and the two walked out of the cave entrance.
Cao Yanmei and Yan Zhanjin saw Zhu Mingyang walking toward them, carrying Gu Yingjie.
Cao Yanmei exclaimed, "What happened?"
Zhu Mingyang delivered the dire warning, "The chain that locks the stone door is broken, and the stone door is about to collapse."
Inside Wang Changming's tomb, Cao Wenyan swiftly seized the wooden box and tossed it to Cao Fengge. He reached down to grab the old leather piece that had fallen out, but Wang Biming kicked Cao Wenyan's hand, allowing him to quickly grab the leather piece instead.
Wang Zedong, meanwhile, was screaming meaninglessly, having been poisoned by the powder. He started punching and kicking, indiscriminately killing everyone within reach.
Wang Biming shouted, "Father!"
Miao Mingzhu grabbed Wang Biming's hand, pulling him back. "Da shixiong, it's useless, there is poison in him. We have to go."
Cao Fengge screamed at his son, "Yan'er, leave now!"
Wang Zedong, his movements erratic but powerful, grabbed two vines and sent them flying straight toward Mu Dishi. Ma Jingguo and Cao Wenyan jumped forward in unison to intercept the two vines.
Wang Biming, Miao Mingzhu, and Cao Fengge fled the room, leaving many people behind to the mercy of the poisoned Wang Zedong.
Wang Zedong pulled the vines tightly around the waists of Ma Jingguo and Cao Wenyan, yanking them toward him. The three men immediately engaged in a chaotic, desperate fight.
Mu Dishi released Honglei and entered the fray against Wang Zedong. Wang Zedong quickly identified Cao Wenyan as the weaker opponent. He slammed Ma Jingguo against the wall and delivered a vicious blow toward Cao Wenyan, but Mu Dishi rushed forward and used his own body to block the attack. Wang Zedong's powerful fist hit Mu Dishi's upper chest, sending him flying toward the door. Mu Dishi instantly recovered, rushed back, and cut the vine around Cao Wenyan's waist. Cao Wenyan helped Mu Dishi stand, and the two men quickly rushed through the door, leaving Ma Jingguo and Wang Zedong fighting alone in the collapsing tomb.
The cave began to crack violently, and debris was falling everywhere.