Yuan Ming had no time to think at this moment, he could only swim with all his might, hoping to reach the next place where they could take a breath before Chen Wan's air supply was exhausted.

Chen Wan was also paddling with her arms to help move forward quickly.

This time she had taken the risk to participate in the trial in order to take a step further to become an Inner Sect Disciple, naturally, she didn't want to just die here.

As time trickled away, the little air she had reserved in her lungs was about to run out. The feeling of suffocation in her chest at the beginning turned into a pain that felt like it would explode.

She was reaching her limit, and she couldn't hold on any longer.

Just when Chen Wan's body had started to uncontrollably convulse, she found that Yuan Ming was rapidly surfacing with her, and all at once, they broke through the water's surface.

"Huh..."

The moment Chen Wan broke through the water, she expelled all the stale air from her chest, and then felt a stinging pain in her lungs, making her involuntarily let out a soft gasp.

But immediately after, she began to breathe in the fresh air around her in short, greedy gulps.

Only when she had finally regained some composure did she look around, only to find that they were still inside the cave, with a pitch-black dome not far above their heads.

"How much further is it to the cavity you mentioned?" Chen Wan inhaled deeply and asked.

Yuan Ming's gaze was solemn, he replied, "We've already arrived."

"Already arrived?" Chen Wan was shocked as if struck by lightning.

"The water in the Underground River has risen too violently, this area will also be completely submerged soon." Yuan Ming let out a sigh and said.

In the darkness, his gaze fell on Chen Wan, whose clothes clung tightly to her exquisite body and whose wet hair stuck to her fair cheeks, making her appear somewhat disheveled but not detracting from her beauty, instead evoking sympathy.

But at this moment, Yuan Ming couldn't afford to feel sympathy, his mind was occupied with the matter of life and death, wondering whether to abandon her there and then.

After all, if it was just him, he would certainly be able to swim faster and preserve air longer, perhaps managing to survive until finding the exit of the Dark River.

Rght at that time, Chen Wan suddenly raised her palm high, and a burst of light ignited within it, which then shot forth and pierced towards the cave's dome.

Yuan Ming was about to question her when he saw that the Fireball kept ascending higher and higher, burrowing its way into the dome.

The next instant, a flash of excitement appeared on his face.

"There's a vertical shaft in the dome," Chen Wan shouted, her tone full of surprise.

By this time, the Fireball that had risen seven or eight zhang away seemed to have hit something, bursting into fierce flames for a moment, before suddenly going out.

"Could it be a dead end?" The hearts of Yuan Ming and Chen Wan both sank upon seeing this.

"I'll go up and take a look," Yuan Ming said.

He then clamped his Toad Beast legs together with force, causing water to be squeezed out from between his legs, and the upward force suddenly propelled his body out of the water and up towards the dome above.

As he crashed into the vertical shaft, Yuan Ming spread his arms to both sides, steadying himself against the shaft walls.

After that, he used his hands and feet to support and climb his way up quickly, soon reaching the end of the vertical shaft, where the residue heat of the Fireball Technique still lingered.

"How is it?" Chen Wan asked anxiously from below.

After a long silence in the dark, Yuan Ming's voice sounded a little muffled as he replied, "There's a slanted shaft connected, not sure where it leads to?"

"Pull me up first, the water level is rising quickly, and the current is getting stronger," Chen Wan urged urgently.

The water level had already risen too much, and she was just about three feet away from the dome.

After waiting for a moment, a hand reached out from the vertical shaft above and pulled her into the tunnel.

Yuan Ming carefully crawled ahead, turning into the slanted tunnel at the end, continuing onwards, with Chen Wan silently following behind, her heart filled with many emotions.

She never imagined she would go through this with a Fur Beast Slave she had just met not long ago.

Not knowing how long they had been crawling in the cramped and dark cave, Yuan Ming suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Chen Wan's heart tightened as she quickly asked.

She feared receiving an answer that it was a dead end.

"There seems to be some noise up ahead," Yuan Ming said in a hushed tone.

"A noise... doesn't that mean we're about to get out?" Joy sprung in Chen Wan's heart, but she soon noticed Yuan Ming's tensed body in front and immediately sensed something was amiss.

Had they encountered some new danger?

"What... what's wrong?" Chen Wan also lowered her voice involuntarily.

"That noise doesn't seem to be made by a person; something's not quite right. I'll go ahead to check it out, don't rush to follow," Yuan Ming said as he took off his Toad Beast skin and pulled on his White Ape Beast Skin.

Without employing the Fur Cloak Technique, he kept low to the ground and continued crawling forward.

After quite a while, a glimmer of light finally appeared in the darkness ahead, and the cave entrance was in sight.

Yuan Ming crawled to the entrance and didn't rush out.

After carefully checking, he discovered that this exit was actually on the wall of another underground cave, and right in front was a hanging stalactite, concealing the entrance and making his position very hidden.

Yuan Ming quietly poked his head out, bypassed the hanging stalactite, and looked toward the distance.

At this glance, his eyes widened instantly.

He saw in a corner of the cave, sunlight from a hole above shone down, illuminating a relatively bright area below.

In that area, there was currently a large group of creatures covered in white long hair, with skinny arms and black sharp claws, looking like some kind of strange human-like monster.

"Human Demons!" The thought flew into Yuan Ming's mind almost instantaneously.

He silently counted them and found that there were as many as seventeen in number.

However, what baffled him was that these Human Demons were all gathered together, each standing with hands drooping, bodies slightly swaying like a bunch of drunken brutes, appearing very odd and grotesque.

Considering his limited knowledge of these creatures, he dared not act rashly and could only retreat to call over Chen Wan.

The two of them squeezed at the cavity entrance, peering out.

Upon seeing this scene, shock clearly flickered across Chen Wan's face, followed by a profound confusion and disbelief.

"Impossible, this can't be…" she murmured softly.

"What's impossible?" Yuan Ming immediately asked.

"Judging by their appearance, these fellows are definitely Human Demons, but… but Human Demons are thought to be devoid of spiritual intelligence, insensible to pain, only knowing to fight and devour, even against their own kind. They simply couldn't gather together peacefully like this," Chen Wan couldn't make sense of it.

"They're all gathered here, how are we supposed to get out?" Yuan Ming was actually worried about this.

Just then, Chen Wan's expression changed again, as if she thought of something terrifying, and her mouth opened slightly in shock.

"What is it?" Yuan Ming frowned.

"There's only one reason that can make Human Demons gather without fighting…" Chen Wan said with a trembling voice.

Yuan Ming's gaze sharpened as he guessed the answer, "Are they being controlled by something?"

"It's the King. A king has emerged among the gathered Human Demons. Only the Human Demon King can control these creatures," Chen Wan said.

"Human Demon King…" Yuan Ming murmured thoughtfully.

"This is bad, very bad, I have to report back to the Sect immediately," Chen Wan said anxiously.

With that, she was about to rush out of the cavity.

Yuan Ming quickly grabbed her and whispered harshly, "If you want to die I won't stop you, but don't drag me down with you. Do you want to serve yourself as food to those creatures by rushing out like this?"

"You don't understand, if a Human Demon King has emerged, then this trial task is compromised, many people may die," Chen Wan said, her face pale, struggling to get her words out.

"Explain clearly, what exactly is going on?" Yuan Ming grabbed her shoulders, demanding. This chapter was made possible by the community at *.

The Registered Disciple of Biluo Cave in front of him was obviously inexperienced in facing danger directly. Her panicked behavior reflected her lack of experience, and Yuan Ming could not help but feel disdain.

"This trial is an entrance evaluation for us Registered Disciples. The objective is to investigate and kill Human Demons. Disciples who perform well may be chosen by the elders of the various halls to become Inner Sect Disciples," Chen Wan explained, her mind stabilizing after Yuan Ming's grip.

"You said that if there's a Human Demon King, there will be a problem. What does that mean?" Yuan Ming pressed on.

"The Human Demon King has a Soul Pearl born inside its body, so it can control the Human Demons to act together. Its strength is far greater than that of ordinary Human Demons. All the participating Registered Disciples are at most at the 6th or 7th Level of Qi Refinement, and they're mainly acting separately. If they encounter the Human Demon King with a large group of Human Demons, they're as good as dead," Chen Wan's voice was hurried with an uncontrollable tremor.

Yuan Ming also frowned upon hearing this.

No wonder Chen Wan was in such a panic. Their trial as Registered Disciples might face massive casualties due to the emergence of the Human Demon King.

"If it were just a few isolated Human Demons, the Sect wouldn't care. As long as they don't show excessive range of activity, no action is taken. However, if multiple Human Demons are active beyond the expected range, the Sect will intervene in due course, organizing trials like this one. But with a Human Demon King, the risk level doubles. It's beyond the trial's acceptable risk, and if we don't inform everyone in time, the consequences are unthinkable. The best way to handle this is to have the Sect send elders," Chen Wan continued rapidly.

Just as Yuan Ming was about to speak, he suddenly heard a "whoosh" sound.

He quickly made a hushing gesture to Chen Wan, urging her to be quiet, and then stealthily looked over towards the Human Demons, only to see a tall White Hair Human Demon jumping down from the place where daylight seeped into the cave from above.

This one looked not much different from other Human Demons, but the hair on its face was sparser and shorter, revealing facial features that were oddly similar to those of the Human Clan.

What was different were the two white bony protrusions on its forehead, each less than half an inch long, resembling raised sharp horns.

Despite its ugly appearance, its posture was erect, emanating an air of a martial and dominating presence.

In its hand, it was holding a young man dressed in a red short robe.

The man's outfit had a flame pattern embroidered on the chest, seeming to come from the same Fire Refining Hall as Chen Wan.