The lake water appeared exceptionally blue against the dark red rocks, yet its stillness felt eerie.
Liu Dashao examined it carefully and asked hesitantly, “Senior Jia, could there be fish or other aquatic creatures living in this water?”
Jia Zhuangyuan replied, “This is a volcanic lake. Initially, volcanic lakes don’t contain fish or aquatic life. But over time, through natural rainfall or snowmelt, some aquatic organisms may gradually appear. However, compared to surface lakes and rivers, the types and numbers of aquatic life here are limited.”
Liu Dashao hesitated again and asked, “But, it seems like there’s absolutely no sign of life in the lake. It’s too eerily calm.”
Jia Zhuangyuan gazed silently at the lake for a moment before replying thoughtfully, “This volcanic lake has existed for an extremely long time. It’s impossible for it to have no aquatic life. Regardless, let’s find a way down first.”
At this moment, standing beside Jia Zhuangyuan, Liu Dashao noticed a strange expression on his face as he spoke about the lake’s aquatic life. A sudden thought struck him—Jia Zhuangyuan seemed to be hiding something.
Slowly, the group began walking along the crater’s edge, searching for a descent route. After circling the entire crater, they finally found a spot where the rocks were uneven and easier to climb down. They decided that Jia Zhuangyuan and Cai Qingchong would go down first to scout the path.
Cai Qingchong descended first along the rope, and then both slowly climbed down using their hands and feet. The others stood at the crater’s edge, keeping watch and waiting for the two to safely reach the boundary between the crater and the volcanic lake.
About ten minutes later, Jia Zhuangyuan and Cai Qingchong successfully reached the bottom. They walked around a bit, confirmed the terrain was relatively flat, and then waved to signal that the others could descend.
Thus, the group split into two teams, holding onto the rope and carefully climbing down to where Jia Zhuangyuan and Cai Qingchong were waiting.
Once everyone was down, the lake was only a few meters away. Looking at the color of the rocks beneath their feet, it seemed they had been washed by water before, indicating that the lake had once submerged this area. Now, however, for unknown reasons, the water level had receded, possibly due to evaporation.
After confirming everyone had safely descended, Jia Zhuangyuan said, “First, we’ll walk around the volcanic lake. If the entrance to the Wujidaozang really exists within the crater, it must be very hidden. However, there should certainly be traces of human work. Everyone should search carefully. If we find any man-made signs, we might have to go into the water.”
Everyone was stunned for a moment. What? They had to go into the water to search? Seeing their shock, Jia Zhuangyuan smiled and said, “This isn’t unusual. Years ago, my companion and I once found an ancient Han Dynasty tomb by the Yellow River, and its entrance was actually underwater in one of its tributaries.”
Yang Weidong shook his head and smiled bitterly, “These ancients sure had strange ideas about hiding their tombs to prevent grave robbers.”
Jia Zhuangyuan laughed, “Putting a tomb entrance underwater isn’t strange at all. There are even stranger examples you don’t know about—for instance, hiding coffins inside certain animals. Of course, these animals aren’t ordinary creatures. Enough talk. Let’s get moving, everyone.”
With that, he turned and led the way along the left side of the lake’s shore. Liu Dashao gestured for everyone to follow, and thus the group began their careful search for the entrance to the Wujidaozang.
Following the curve of the crater’s edge, they only saw the monotonous, jagged dark red volcanic rock. After millions of years of wind and rain, some of it had eroded badly, crumbling at the slightest touch.
They continued walking along the crater’s cliff, observing and touching the rocks, hoping to find any clue to the entrance. However, they were disappointed. As they neared their starting point, they still hadn’t found anything—not even traces of human presence. Back at the spot where they had descended from the crater, everyone felt discouraged. Could it be that Jia Zhuangyuan’s judgment was wrong? Was this volcano not the one hiding the entrance to the Wujimozang?
At this moment, Liu Dashao turned to Jia Zhuangyuan and asked, “Senior Jia, since we haven’t found any clues on the lake’s surface, should we explore the volcanic lake itself?”
Something unusual usually meant something was amiss. He had always felt that something terrifying lurked within this eerily calm volcanic lake.
Jia Zhuangyuan’s expression now seemed somewhat agitated. He didn’t answer Liu Dashao but instead paced back and forth, deep in thought, tapping the rock with his dagger. The sharp “ding-dang” sound echoed as the dagger struck the hard volcanic basalt.
As everyone silently watched Jia Zhuangyuan pacing, suddenly a sharp sound rang out. Jia Zhuangyuan abruptly stopped and began examining the rock he had just struck with his dagger.
Everyone, puzzled, walked over to see what he was looking at.
A flicker of excitement gleamed in Jia Zhuangyuan’s small eyes. He gently tapped the rock with his dagger—about a meter wide and extending unknown lengths into the lake water. Slowly, he scraped the rock’s surface, following its direction all the way to the lake’s edge, finally gathering some powder in his palm and pulling out a magnifying glass to examine it carefully.
Finally, he looked up at everyone excitedly and said, “If I’m not mistaken, this elongated rock isn’t naturally formed—it’s man-made.”
Everyone was astonished. This hard volcanic rock looked no different from the surrounding rocks. How could it be man-made?
Jia Zhuangyuan continued, “Everyone knows that volcanic basalt forms from cooled lava after volcanic eruptions. It’s extremely hard and dense, containing large amounts of crystalline copper and calcite. However, through tapping, I found it produced a completely different sound from the surrounding volcanic rock. And by examining the powder I scraped off, I found that this long rock contains almost no crystalline copper or calcite. Everyone, do you understand what this means?”
“Man-made? This rock is man-made?” someone asked doubtfully.
Jia Zhuangyuan smiled and nodded, “Exactly!”
Cai Qingchong shook his head and said, “Impossible! Basalt can be melted and processed with modern technology, used to extract fibers and for various purposes. But if all the crystalline copper and calcite were removed, it wouldn’t be basalt anymore. How could it then be forged into such a large, elongated rock?”
Jia Zhuangyuan laughed loudly and said, “Perhaps modern technology can’t achieve this, but someone can. I suspect that person isn’t from this world. Finding him would solve all our questions. You’ve seen the Guge ruins, and you’ve seen the Wujifozang. Do you believe modern technology could create those? Yet we’ve seen and experienced them with our own eyes.”
Cai Qingchong was speechless, shaking his head with a bitter smile. The others remained silent too.
Jia Zhuangyuan smiled again and pointed at the elongated rock extending into the water, “You can see that all other rocks have faults, but only this one extends continuously into the water. I’m certain this is a man-made mark, a clue guiding us. The entrance to the Dragon Tomb must be in this volcanic lake.”
At this moment, Liu Dashao asked, “Senior Jia, what should we do now? Should we go into the lake to search for the entrance to the Wujimozang?”
Jia Zhuangyuan’s expression turned serious as he said, “There’s something I should tell everyone now. This volcanic lake, together with Tianchi Lake on Tianshan Mountain, Patar Lake in Xinjiang, and Loch Ness in Scotland, belongs to the same geological system. This terrain dates back to the late Triassic period and possesses spiritual energy and dragon energy according to Feng Shui. Moreover, since it hasn’t been disturbed by humans, some prehistoric creatures may still survive here. Additionally, during my travels in Tibet before, I heard legends about this lake—a legend largely unknown to the world.”
He suddenly turned to gaze at the eerily calm lake and continued, “In the third year of the Chunhua era of the Song Dynasty, records first appeared of a water monster in this volcanic lake. Later records appeared in the first year of the Jingtai era of the Ming Dynasty and the sixteenth year of the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, describing sightings of water monsters. In modern times, due to safety concerns, people rarely visit here, and no one has descended to our current location. Thus, the legend of the water monster faded away.”
Cai Qingchong frowned and asked, “Senior Jia, are you saying there’s something in the water, and you believe it’s a guardian spirit protecting the next stage?”
Liu Dashao’s heart sank. He finally understood why Jia Zhuangyuan had looked so strange when he first asked about aquatic life in the lake. Indeed, the old man’s experience was vast. No wonder he was a legend in the treasure-hunting world.
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