Finally, under her fierce attack, the man in black gradually couldn't withstand it and began to scatter and flee, bringing this intense battle to a close.

"Iron Palm" Wu Zhong, "Iron Flute Scholar" Xiang Kun, "Flying Eagle Detective" Xie Wen, and several heroes led the Heroic Sakura Association disciples through numerous trials and tribulations to finally arrive at the cave entrance. The entrance looked like the gaping maw of a giant beast, dark and bottomless.

Inside the cave, it was pitch-dark, the thick darkness seemed capable of devouring everything, and one couldn't see their hand in front of them. A musty, mildewy scent filled the air, as if from debris accumulated over years, mixed with a faint tinge of blood, which rushed into their nostrils, making them almost gag.

Wu Zhong furrowed his brows, took a deep breath, and struggled to suppress the discomfort churning inside him, slowly taking out a fire stick from his pocket.

His fingers trembled slightly, not out of fear, but due to the vigilance toward the unknown in his heart.

With a "poof" sound, the fire stick was lit, and the weak flame flickered uncertainly in this thick darkness, like a candle in the wind, ready to extinguish any moment, yet it illuminated their tense and resolute faces, with determination and fearlessness glinting in everyone's eyes.

Wu Zhong was the first to step into the cave, his steps steady yet cautious, each step as if probing the ground's solidity.

The soles of his shoes rubbed against the cave floor, emitting a faint "rustle" sound.

The brothers closely followed him, maintaining a tight formation, weapons firmly gripped, with swords and spears gleaming coldly. Their breaths were slightly hurried due to tension, audibly within the silent cave.

Not long after stepping into the cave, a rustling sound suddenly came from ahead, as if countless tiny creatures were moving rapidly.

Startled, Wu Zhong immediately stopped and signaled everyone to stay alert.

He held the fire stick high, trying hard to illuminate the path ahead.

They saw the cave walls were crawling with a type of insect they had never seen before, their bodies long and emitting a dim green light, with numerous pairs of small eyes gleaming strangely as they slowly crawled toward them.

"Everyone be careful, these insects may be poisonous!" Wu Zhong shouted loudly.

The group quickly formed a circle, back-to-back, weapons pointed outward, warily watching those insects.

The sound of the insects crawling got closer and closer, like dense raindrops hitting the leaves.

Suddenly, one insect shot out from the cave wall, flying towards a disciple. The disciple reacted swiftly, swinging the long sword in his hand, cutting the insect in two with a "swish," green liquid splattering out, emitting a pungent smell.

The group continued to carefully advance, the cave growing narrower, the ceiling getting lower. As they walked, Wu Zhong felt something swaying above his head, he instinctively looked up, and by the dim firelight, saw many stalactites dangling from the cave ceiling, some of which looked about to fall.

Just as he was about to warn everyone, there was a "crack" and a giant stalactite fell from the ceiling, dropping heavily toward the center of the group. Wu Zhong shouted, "Quick, scatter!"

The group hurriedly dodged in all directions, the stalactite hit the ground with a loud "bang," stones scattered, raising a cloud of dust. A disciple failed to dodge in time, his arm was slashed by the debris, blood instantly stained his sleeve red.

After tending to the injured disciple, the group continued forward.

Not long after, they encountered a fork in the path, both passages shrouded in darkness, the ends invisible.

Wu Zhong pondered for a moment, deciding to have "Flying Eagle Detective" Xie Wen lead part of the group down the left passage, while he took the rest down the right.

Xie Wen nodded in agreement and led a few disciples down the left passage, their footsteps gradually disappearing into the darkness.

Wu Zhong took a deep breath and led the remaining group into the right passage, their figures also gradually swallowed by the darkness, leaving only that flickering firelight wavering in the darkness, like their firm resolve to keep moving forward.

The weak flame flickered in the ink-like thick darkness, like a candle in the wind, poised to be completely engulfed by the darkness at any moment.

The flickering flame illuminated their tense faces, beads of sweat covering everyone's foreheads, their eyes wide with vigilance towards the unknown. They had just walked into the cave not far when a deep and vigorous roar suddenly came from deep within the cave, echoing like rolling thunder, exactly the sound of Vermilion Bird and White Tiger.

"Iron Palm" Wu Zhong, "Iron Flute Scholar" Xiang Kun, "Flying Eagle Detective" Xie Wen, and other heroes converged in the cave, and upon hearing this familiar roar, joy filled their hearts, and their previously exhausted bodies instantly surged with energy, quickening their pace towards the source of the sound.

But when they arrived, they found the cave empty, only chaotic footprints on the ground and some scattered ropes indicating something had happened here. The cave grew narrower as they proceeded, the two sides of the cave walls seeming to close in slowly.

Occasionally, water dripped from the cave walls, "drip drip," the droplets hitting their heads and bodies, the chill climbing along their spines, making them shiver involuntarily.

As they walked, a "hiss hiss" sound suddenly came from ahead, the sound eerie and strange, like countless venomous snakes flicking their tongues.

Wu Zhong was startled, quickly raising the fire stick to shine, only to see the cave walls crawling with numerous spiders, these spiders huge, as large as a palm, their eyes flickering with a dim light, like ghostly flames in the darkness.

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