Chapter 411: They Were Looking for the Legendary Fountain of Youth!

The crypt was right beside him, but Ning Fei made sure to eat and drink his fill before setting off.

He carried a cup in his satchel, a reward he had earned from completing a task two days earlier.

"Little falcon, wait for me outside. Don't run around," Ning Fei instructed, resting the little falcon on his arm.

Falcons possessed the best eyesight among birds, but their night vision was notoriously poor.

The little falcon, however, was an exception. Having consumed a large amount of Avian Feed and a Bloodline Awakening Pill, its night vision was incredibly sharp, allowing it to see its surroundings perfectly in the dark.

Because of this, Ning Fei felt completely at ease leaving it outside on its own.

The Tropical Rainforest was teeming with fierce beasts, venomous snakes, toxic insects, and crocodiles, but it noticeably lacked any particularly aggressive birds.

Thus, the little falcon was an undisputed overlord in this patch of the rainforest.

And so, the man and the bird settled on their plan for the crypt exploration.

The viewers kept a close eye on Ning Fei's every move.

After all, he had discovered traces of human activity in the center of Doom Island, and there was a high chance these clues pointed to treasure left behind by notorious seventeenth-century pirates.

This was far more thrilling than any movie.

Countless people were dying to know what lay beneath the crypt.

If there truly was a treasure, what would it look like? And what would Ning Fei do with it?

Holding a flashlight, Ning Fei grasped the vines at the entrance of the Mountain Cave and peered down.

He climbed down the vines. The drop into the crypt was only about three meters, which was not very high at all.

Upon hitting the ground, he swept his flashlight around and saw that the surrounding stone walls were blanketed in a thick layer of green moss.

The deeper reaches of the crypt looked exactly the same.

The Tropical Rainforest was naturally hot and muggy, making a dark, damp place like this crypt the perfect breeding ground for algae and moss.

"This is a tunnel down here," Ning Fei explained, his eyes fixed on the depths of the passage.

"Judging from the craftsmanship, it's definitely medieval in style. The walls have metal brackets used to hold up frames, though they've corroded beyond recognition over the years."

It was looking more and more like a hidden treasure vault.

A perfectly good survival show had inexplicably turned into a treasure-hunting program.

They could only say that Ning Guan master's Treasure-Hunting Physique was no joke.

It made sense. The places he visited were incredibly difficult for normal people to reach, and those isolated areas just happened to hold the most hidden gems. It only created the illusion that Ning Guan master had a Treasure-Hunting Physique.

Just what was inside this cave?

The viewers grew tense as well.

They were equally full of anticipation.

Perhaps, deep within the crypt, lay a secret room stuffed with massive chests. Chests overflowing with gold, pearl necklaces, and other priceless artifacts. It would undoubtedly be a spectacular sight.

But Ning Fei didn't share that sentiment.

"This doesn't look like a treasure vault," he murmured.

"If they were hiding treasure, they wouldn't have built the entrance so conspicuously. It's sitting right there on the surface for anyone to see."

"It looks more like they were excavating something."

"Those stone structures above were their living quarters. They settled there and spent their days digging this tunnel, carving their way straight down."

"But what were they trying to dig up?" Ning Fei mused, stroking his chin.

Not a treasure vault?

The viewers' expressions shifted when they heard Ning Fei's deduction.

At that very moment, far away on the edge of the Island, members of the Production Crew and the Government military were also watching Ning Fei's live stream.

They all had their own ulterior motives.

The Government forces were only there to confirm whether Ning Fei had actually found pirate treasure.

If he had, the Government military would seize the hoard without a second thought.

"Can we cut this Huaxia man's broadcast? I'm sending a team over right now," an officer from the Government forces, a man named Weiss, barked out.

Weiss was cunning enough to know that barging into a live international broadcast wouldn't look good for them.

He intended to head over immediately and have his men explore the crypt themselves.

"Sir, that Huaxia man is running two streams simultaneously. Even if our drone cuts his feed, his personal camera is still broadcasting."

"It's a global broadcast, too. He has a massive audience watching him right now."

"Using force is completely out of the question," the director, Charles, shrugged as he spoke.

Charles remained perfectly calm. As someone from Mei Country, he held tremendous sway in South America; these smaller nations wouldn't dare offend or harm him.

"Do you have his coordinates?" Weiss demanded.

Charles nodded. "We do. Our tracking drone constantly updates every contestant's coordinates in real time to facilitate rescue efforts."

"Good. Give me the coordinates. We'll take a helicopter; I'm going there to see this for myself."

With that, Weiss ordered his squad to follow him and set off toward Ning Fei's location.

Meanwhile, Ning Fei was still delving deeper into the crypt.

The further he went, the colder the air became.

It was already night, so the outside climate was cool enough as it was.

The two drones trailed closely behind him. Ning Fei's personal drone had a built-in spotlight, which he had switched on to illuminate the path ahead.

The crypt had a surprisingly high ceiling; walking through it didn't feel cramped in the slightest.

"Pirates generally wouldn't dig a tunnel this deep just to bury their loot."

"In fact, very few pirates actually buried their treasure at all."

"Whenever they came into money, they'd squander every last coin in taverns and brothels."

"Therefore, there's only one reason they'd dig something this massive."

"They were searching for something."

Ning Fei continued his trek forward.

As he walked, he meticulously inspected the walls around him.

"These walls bear both artificial chisel marks and natural rock formations."

"This proves that a natural tunnel already existed here long before those men ever started digging, though it was likely too narrow for anyone to pass through."

"That's why they had to widen it."

"But what was their end goal?"

Ning Fei ventured deeper and deeper into the earth.

It looked like the pirates had spent an incredibly long time excavating this place.

At that very moment, an uncountable number of viewers around the globe were glued to their screens.

Everyone wanted to know the answer.

Just what was buried at the center of this island?!

What on earth were all those terrifying creatures guarding?

Finally, after walking a bit further, the ceiling ahead began to slope downward drastically.

Ning Fei followed the beam of his flashlight, only to be met with a vast, empty expanse.

"What's going on?" he muttered.

"There's nothing at the end of the tunnel?"

Ning Fei frowned in confusion.

He took a few steps forward and pointed the beam downward.

Instantly, a bone-chilling sight was illuminated before him.

Scattered across the floor of the passage were several human skeletons!

Decayed remnants of metal lay strewn around the bones.

A thick layer of moss had grown over the skeletal remains, and creeping vines wound through the ribcages, making the macabre scene look even more terrifying.

"My god!"

"What is that?!"

"There are literal skeletons down there!"

"I can't watch this, it's too scary!"

"Holy shit, that scared the crap out of me! I'm definitely having nightmares tonight."

"Aaah! I'm home alone right now and I'm so scared!"

The viewers in the chat were having a collective meltdown.

Ning Fei peered further ahead.

Just beyond the bones was a steep drop-off.

To be precise, it was an Underground Hidden River, flowing silently just below the ledge at the end of the tunnel.

"An Underground Hidden River?"

"The only things you can dig up this deep are subterranean rivers or natural springs."

"It all makes sense now."

"The animals and plants in this area are significantly larger than the ones on the outskirts of the forest, and even larger than those on the South American mainland."

"It has to be because of this groundwater."

"In other words, what these pirates were truly searching for was the legendary..."

"Fountain of Youth!"