When Chen Chuan drove to the scene, Ren Shu and the others had already arrived. He also met an official from the Administrative Affairs Hall who had been assigned to the case.

When this official heard Chen Chuan was from Central City and was an Executioner from the Headquarter, he became very polite. He explained that the scene was well-controlled; it had been sealed off by the local security team as soon as the incident was reported, and no one had entered since.

After speaking with him, Chen Chuan told Ren Shu and the others to wait outside, then entered the inn where the expedition team had been staying by himself.

The twelve members of the expedition team were split among five rooms. The team members occupied four of them, the wealthy sponsor had his own room, and his two security guards shared another. For ease of protection, the sponsor’s and guards’ rooms were right next to each other.

It was unclear if it was a coincidence, but twelve years ago, another wealthy magnate had come here with two private security guards and nine expedition members. That was why no one thought anything was amiss when these three individuals first appeared.

After all, they were all wearing goggles, and to many people, all foreigners looked the same anyway.

If it weren’t for the bizarre events that followed, no one would have paid any mind to their situation. Even after learning the truth, most would have just treated it as a curious anecdote.

Chen Chuan first walked through the rooms of all the missing expedition members, but he didn’t detect any signs of his Second Self becoming ethereal.

Next, he focused his examination on the three who had returned as skeletons. He found nothing on the two team members, but as he was inspecting the magnate’s belongings, he suddenly felt something was off. At that moment, his Second Self showed faint signs of becoming ethereal, though the effect was so weak it was practically harmless to the human body.

He searched through the items and discovered the source of the phenomenon: a Protective Talisman. It was engraved with a depiction of a squatting figure with its arms crossed, wearing a headdress of bird feathers. Behind the figure was a Sun.

Unsure of its origin, he set it aside for now and checked the other items. But one thing struck him as very strange: the expedition team had left behind almost no written records.

That was unusual. For an expedition like this, besides recording information like the cave’s location, features, size, and shape, they should have at least documented their route, the environmental conditions, and any points of interest. At the very minimum, there should have been a map and related reference materials.

’But now there is nothing. Could they have been left in the cave?’

He examined everything again carefully and finally noticed something odd about a waterproof bag. Turning it inside out, he found it was covered in swirling spiral patterns. An idea began to form in his mind. He organized the items, walked out of the inn, and said to the official:

"I need the files on these individuals. It would also be best if you could get the files on the expedition team from twelve years ago."

"No problem."

The official readily agreed and, a short while later, delivered the pre-compiled files to him.

Chen Chuan looked through them and discovered that the sponsor of this expedition was, in fact, the son of the wealthy magnate from twelve years ago.

A father and son. This was definitely not a coincidence; there had to be some strange connection.

Therefore, this abnormal situation was likely not some urban legend, but rather some kind of Esoteric Ritual.

He couldn’t be completely certain, but fortunately, there were experts for this. He immediately used the inn’s phone to call Director Lei and explain the situation.

After hearing his analysis, Director Lei said, "Your theory makes a lot of sense. I’ll bring a team over right away."

Over an hour later, the people from the Esoteric Review Bureau arrived and took full control of the case.

Director Lei glanced at the Protective Talisman and the waterproof bag that Chen handed him. "You were right, Chen," he said. "These people were indeed followers of an Esoteric sect."

"They were believers in the Florbery Sect, which translates to the Baixiang Sect. Although it’s a legitimate, recognized faith in other countries, it’s strictly forbidden here."

"The Baixiang Sect?" Chen Chuan pondered for a moment. "This cave is called Luoyang Cave. Is there a connection between the two?"

Director Lei said in a low voice, "It’s highly likely these people wanted to use this place to perform the Sun-Origin Ceremony."

He explained, "The so-called Sun-Origin Ceremony is based on the Baixiang Sect’s belief that the Sun goes through a twelve-year cycle. At the peak of this cycle, they believe one can steal the power of life and truth from dark places where sunlight cannot reach."

"Followers of this sect greatly revere the number twelve. The team assembled this time consisted of exactly twelve people. However, the ritual requires a life sacrifice, so it’s likely that many of them were intended as offerings for the ceremony."

Chen Chuan thought for a moment and said, "Of the people who came back up, it was only the magnate himself and his two security guards. If that’s the case, does that mean the other explorers were the sacrifices?"

Director Lei said, "Based on the number of people and the structure of the ritual, that seems to be the case. This time, they most likely made a mistake during the ceremony or were affected by some outside influence. Something went wrong. Not only did they fail to obtain the power they sought, but it also led to their own deaths."

His expression turned solemn as he continued, "But it would be one thing if that was all. There’s another, more critical issue. To perform the Sun-Origin Ceremony, one must have a special ritual material. This item is extremely important—it’s the core of the ritual. It’s called the Sun Wheel Stone."

"This thing is incredibly valuable, and its export is banned by all nations. Its specific purpose is unknown, but it’s known to be dangerous and can have a severe impact on people and animals in the vicinity. So, if possible, we have to find a way to retrieve it. If we can’t find it, we’ll have to seal off this entire area and report it to the higher-ups to handle."

Chen Chuan thought for a moment, then looked up. "Director Lei, this cave is extremely dangerous. It’s notorious in Yangzhi. A normal person would have great difficulty getting in and out. Let me handle this."

Navigating an underground cave system presents numerous dangers where an ordinary person could easily be injured or killed, but for him, none of these posed a challenge.

Director Lei considered this, then said earnestly, "Alright, Xiaochuan. I won’t stand on ceremony then. I’m counting on you for this."

He knew this was the right decision. His team was professional when it came to Esoteric Rituals, but if it came to searching for something inside a cave, they were no different from ordinary people. It was better to entrust the task to Chen Chuan. The survival capabilities of a Third Limit Fighter were far beyond those of an average person.

If even Chen Chuan couldn’t do it, then it was unlikely anyone in Yangzhi City could.

He quickly took out some papers, noting down the possible structure of the ritual and some key points to pay attention to, and handed them to Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan took the papers and committed the details to memory. He then made his preparations, mainly packing some water, Nutrition Paste, a lamp, and essential tools. Then, under everyone’s watchful gaze, he walked into the cave.

He had been through the first section of the path a few days ago. It was relatively wide, the loose stones on the ground had been cleared away, and the light was still fairly bright. But after this section, the path grew narrower the deeper he went, and the light gradually dimmed, making it difficult to navigate. So, he switched on his headlamp.

Because so many people had gone down before, the traces they left behind were obvious to his eyes. All he had to do was follow them.

He had been prepared to overcome all sorts of difficulties, but when he actually started, he found it surprisingly simple. He vaulted effortlessly up sections that required climbing, leaped down from high ledges, and navigated around corners with a simple turn. Nothing was an obstacle.

In truth, the biggest difficulty was the lack of light.

But not only did he have a headlamp, he also possessed keen senses. Even without using his eyes, he could sense the path ahead through changes in temperature, air currents, and acoustic feedback. And that was without mentioning the man-made tracks left behind. As a result, his speed was incredible; he delved more than half a mile deep in less than five minutes.

Along the way, he found several man-made resting spots. At the bottom of a pit, he found a discarded pack. He rummaged through it and found some documents. With no time to read them carefully, he took them with him and continued deeper.

After descending for about another two kilometers, he finally arrived in a fairly spacious cavern. The ground here was relatively flat, the ceiling was about seven or eight meters high, and the space was roughly three or four hundred square meters.

But as he swept his headlamp across the cavern and his gaze fell upon the center, his eyes narrowed. A circle of people were kneeling there, about twenty of them in total. The ground around them was littered with scattered bones.

He walked over and saw that most of the kneeling figures were desiccated corpses. Only three of them still had breath, so faint it was almost undetectable, like animals in hibernation. Their bodies were wrapped in cloth covered with densely drawn ritual symbols in bright red pigment.

He ignored the three living people and looked directly at the ground they encircled. It was also covered in ritual symbols. Comparing them to the rough drawings Director Lei had given him, he could confirm that this was the ’Sun-Origin Ceremony’.

And in the very center, there was a pit in the ground. Inside it rested a strange, red stone. It looked more like a crystal, and when his light hit it, its interior seemed to glow faintly. This must be the Sun Wheel Stone that Director Lei had mentioned.

Chen Chuan scanned his surroundings, and once he confirmed everything was clear, he walked toward it.

As he approached the ritual circle, especially as he got closer to the Sun Wheel Stone, his Second Self began to show signs of becoming ethereal. The closer he got, the more intense the effect became. By the time he reached the center, the influence it exerted was no less than that of a typical paranormal phenomenon.

Just as he was about to pick the stone up, the Snow Monarch Blade he carried began to vibrate slightly. At the same time, wisps of white mist emerged and swirled around the red stone. This only lasted for a moment before the mist quickly receded.

Simultaneously, Chen Chuan noticed that the intense ethereal effect on his Second Self had suddenly weakened, dropping to a nearly harmless level.

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