Chapter 495: Entrance to Hell! Giant Scorpions!

Ning Fei opened his Parachute in midair, landing accurately right where the Tool Kit had dropped. He packed the Parachute away, shouldered the Tool Kit, and walked toward the cave entrance.

The entrance to Krubera Cave was not far ahead.

The pitch-black Mountain Cave looked like nothing more than a long crevice.

Yet this very crevice plummeted to a depth of over two thousand meters.

It was the deepest cave in the world, and the only one with a depth exceeding two thousand meters.

Just looking at the entrance was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.

Ning Fei secured his ropes at the cave entrance. This was the critical part of his expedition; he couldn't afford a single mistake.

Then, he took the rope from his Tool Kit and began lowering it.

The rope was extremely long. With a heavy weight tied to one end, it disappeared into the cave and just kept dropping.

"This rope is two thousand five hundred meters long," he explained. "It's made of a new material that is highly flexible, lightweight, and incredibly tough."

"Just manufacturing this rope took the factory a very long time."

Ning Fei said unhurriedly.

Hearing his words, the viewers marveled.

"Two thousand five hundred meters of rope? Good lord, I can't even imagine that length."

"Extreme exploration is definitely a money-burning sport!"

Once the rope was completely lowered, Ning Fei checked it again to ensure there were no issues.

He then clipped the carabiner at his waist to the rope, preparing to descend.

Rock climbing in Krubera Cave meant a continuous descent through complex terrain; free soloing it was absolutely impossible.

In truth, Ning Fei was capable of doing it, but he worried it would be too shocking to the world. Plus, the risk factor was genuinely too high.

Ning Fei slipped into the cave entrance, and the drone quickly followed.

From his angle, the sunlight slanted perfectly through the crevice, dusting the entire cave entrance in a layer of golden brilliance.

It was a beautiful scene.

The sunlight bathed his already handsome face, lending him an almost sacred aura.

He slowly controlled the rope to lower himself.

His speed was neither fast nor slow, maintaining a steady, even pace.

"Why do I feel like Temple Master Ning is so relaxed!"

"Yeah, it's like he's just on a swing!"

"This must be the Realm of a master!"

"I'm completely in awe."

"I've descended to about the four-hundred-meter mark," Ning Fei said.

"At this depth, the sunlight can still reach us."

"But once I pass the first turning point, the light will vanish completely."

"And the entrance to hell will officially open!"

Though his words sounded dramatic, Ning Fei's expression remained perfectly calm.

"Good lord. If I had the sound off, I'd think the Temple Master was heading to an amusement park."

The viewers couldn't help but joke.

"I'm currently at around seven hundred meters. This is the first turning point of Krubera Cave."

"In 2005, the Ukrainian explorer Alexander led a fifty-six-person team deep into the very bottom of Krubera Cave, drawing the attention of explorers worldwide."

"They brought five tons of equipment and set up camps at underground depths of 700 meters, 1,215 meters, 1,410 meters, and 1,640 meters. They even left dye markers to prove they had been here."

"To humanity, this is a true forbidden zone."

"Just like Mount Everest is the highest place a human can stand."

"This place is the closest humanity can get to hell."

Standing at the turning point, Ning Fei secured his ropes once again before continuing his descent.

What came next was the crucial part.

Krubera Cave was slightly damp, and the surrounding rock walls formed a complex, jagged terrain.

Through the livestream camera, only a single rope dangled in the vast subterranean cavern. Compared to the sheer scale of the cave, Ning Fei's body looked incredibly tiny.

Below him, there was no light.

The rope trailed down into pitch blackness where nothing could be seen.

Ning Fei shone his flashlight downward, but the darkness below seemed endless, capable of swallowing all light.

"Going further down, the terrain will become much more complicated,"

"Sometimes, there isn't just one path down."

"The other branches might be dead ends, making the descent exceedingly dangerous."

Ning Fei explained.

The viewers grew increasingly tense.

A group of explorers gathered in a bar watched Ning Fei's stream without blinking.

"He's already reached Alexander's first campsite," one exploration enthusiast marveled.

"Do you guys think he can break the world record this time?"

"It's highly possible. Krubera Cave continuously extends downward, following the cascading waterfalls along the rock faces."

"But can he actually reach that point? Alexander spent a fortune and relied on a fifty-plus person team supporting each other to successfully make it down."

"Going alone to a place like this has always been a massive taboo!"

"I believe in him. He's a truly godlike figure."

At this very moment, Ning Fei stood atop the first campsite.

He looked up, a hint of delight gradually appearing on his face.

"The view above looks pretty good from down here," he murmured softly.

The drone immediately angled its camera upward.

The viewers saw a massive, rocky ceiling towering directly above Ning Fei. Myriad crystalline substances hung from the stone, trailing downward like stalactites in a karst cave.

Sunlight spilled in and struck the crystals, causing them to emit a faint, ethereal glow.

It actually looked like a unique, subterranean starry sky.

"So beautiful!"

"Is it really this stunning looking up from inside the cave?"

"The view is too gorgeous. It's like a fairytale world."

"Look at the entrance—doesn't it look like the gateway to heaven? And that rope is the path leading straight to it."

"Temple Master Ning's stream is always full of surprises!"

"A starry sky visible even in broad daylight,"

"Only here can you witness such a miraculous sight."

Ning Fei muttered to himself.

After organizing his ropes once more, he continued his descent.

The drone hovered right above him, flicking on its lights to illuminate his surroundings.

Now, he had truly descended into hell.

"The environment here is stunning, but the more beautiful a place is, the more danger it hides."

"According to the logs of past explorers, this place is home to incredible species—scorpions, parasites, and transparent fish."

"Beyond that, the further down we go, the more we'll have to face extreme cold and a lack of oxygen."

Flipping on his headlamp in the pitch-black cave, Ning Fei spoke softly.

His voice reverberated through the cavern, carrying a faint echo.

The broadcast framed an incredibly atmospheric scene.

Illuminated by the beams of light, a Taoist priest in flowing robes slowly rappelled down the rope into the Stygian depths, looking like a beacon of light sent to save the world.

Ning Fei rappelled downwards for a short while before a massive hollow in the rock face appeared ahead of him.

He caught a strange scent wafting from the opening.

"With a hole this big, there wouldn't happen to be scorpions inside, would there?"

Ning Fei muttered.

Hearing this, the hearts of the viewers in Huaxia skipped a beat.

"Oh no!"

Sure enough, the moment he finished speaking, two scorpions the size of human faces crawled out from the hollow.

Spotting the arachnids, some of the more timid viewers couldn't help but shriek in the chat:

"Holy shit! I thought they were Facehuggers from Alien vs. Predator!"

Meanwhile, a few viewers from Guangdong quipped:

"Scorpions this big would definitely taste amazing roasted over a grill."

At that moment, Ning Fei was extremely close to the rock face.

Startled by the bright light, the scorpions swiftly scurried away.

Yet Ning Fei's expression didn't look quite right.

"What's wrong with the Temple Master? Is it because the scorpions were too big? They were seriously terrifying!"

A viewer remarked after noticing Ning Fei's face.

Just then, Ning Fei shook his head and seamlessly slipped a Mountaineering Pick out of his bag.

At the same time, he said slowly:

"Those two scorpions just now... were only larvae."

"Which means there's an even bigger scorpion lurking around here!"

Hearing Ning Fei's conclusion, the viewers were completely dumbfounded.

"Scorpions the size of a human face are just larvae?!"

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Then how massive is a full-grown adult!"

But the very next moment, exactly what terrified the viewers the most came to pass!