Chapter 496: Huaxia Technique, Fire Breathing

"Holy shit!" the netizens couldn't help but shout.

Far away, the exploration enthusiasts gathered in the bar were just as horrified.

A massive black scorpion, nearly a meter long, had suddenly scurried out from the cave wall!

The creature lurked right at Ning Fei's feet. It was hideously ugly and looked slightly different from an ordinary scorpion, with a long, segmented body that resembled a centipede.

"An arthropod..."

Ning Fei's expression changed. It wasn't out of fear, but pure disgust.

The thing looked just like a centipede—an absolutely gigantic centipede!

Sensing the light source, the scorpion seemed agitated. Seeing this, Ning Fei immediately pulled a torch from his backpack and instantly lit it.

"Foul creatures of the dark are most afraid of light and heat!"

"Fire is the best way to deal with them!"

However, a single torch clearly wasn't enough to deter the scorpion. It had completely crawled out of its hole and was now clinging diagonally against the rock wall.

The pitch-black cave, the flickering firelight, the Daoist priest suspended on a rope, and the giant black scorpion.

This place was undoubtedly hell.

The netizens watching the live broadcast were at a total loss for words.

Ning Fei's fans knew he could definitely handle this crisis. After all, he was Ning Fei.

"Think about what Temple Master Ning will do!"

"He didn't bring his Longsword, otherwise he could just hack this scorpion apart with one strike!"

"Seeing this scorpion makes my scalp tingle. It's too terrifying!"

"This is way too scary. Where exactly did Temple Master Ning go?!"

"The deepest cave in the world, what do you think?!"

Right at that moment, Ning Fei swiftly locked his carabiner onto the rope, completely freeing up both of his hands.

Holding the torch in one hand, he retrieved something else from his sleeve with the other.

Seeing this object, the netizens were stunned.

Was that... a wine gourd?

It was freezing down in the cave. Ning Fei knew this, so he had made some preparations to keep warm.

Besides his thermal clothing, he had specifically brought along some special wine to warm his body.

This wine was called Jade Nectar. It was an item Ning Fei had obtained from the lottery draw, and he still had quite a bit left. The wine was incredibly strong, yet it didn't go to the head; instead, it felt extremely comforting to drink.

Even someone like Ning Fei, who had a terrible tolerance for alcohol, wouldn't get drunk from drinking the Jade Nectar.

Right now, however, he had brought the wine gourd out.

"What is Temple Master Ning taking out a wine gourd for at a time like this?"

"Could it be..."

While the viewers from Huaxia were confused, the foreign viewers were completely baffled.

Given the current situation, his first priority should be figuring out how to get rid of this giant scorpion.

But Ning Fei's next move absolutely floored everyone.

He lifted the wine gourd and took a massive gulp. The next second, controlling the exact amount of alcohol, he spat it violently right at the burning torch.

A traditional Huaxia acrobatic skill: Fire Breathing!

The alcohol passed through the flame and instantly transformed into a raging fire dragon!

The flames banished the surrounding darkness, bringing a fleeting burst of brilliant light to this pitch-black world.

Boom!

The roar of the combustion echoed through the live broadcast.

Watching this spectacle, everyone felt time grind to a halt. Their minds went entirely blank.

"What was that?!"

The foreign viewers had never seen anything like this before.

Fire Breathing was an old street trick from early Huaxia that had later evolved into a highly difficult acrobatic stunt. It looked simple, but it actually demanded extreme precision from the performer.

If a novice tried it, a single mistake could result in them setting themselves on fire.

Ning Fei's execution, however, was exceptionally professional.

The reflection of a fire dragon danced in the pupils of countless viewers.

"My God! How did he do that?!"

"Why do I feel like he's even more terrifying than hell?!"

"Looks like a real badass has entered the Krubera Hell today!"

"He breathes fire! Is he the reincarnation of Lucifer?!"

The foreign netizens were beside themselves with excitement.

The exploration enthusiasts back in the bar cheered wildly, roaring in sheer admiration as they paid their respects to Ning Fei.

The viewers back in Huaxia were just as hyped.

"This looks too cool."

"A Daoist priest fighting a giant scorpion in a pitch-black underground cave, directly breathing out a fire dragon!"

"The stream effect is absolutely mind-blowing!"

Scorched by the roaring flames, the scorpion let out a crackling sound before fleeing in absolute terror, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

It understood that the man in front of it was not someone it could afford to provoke.

"Smart enough,"

Ning Fei muttered softly, adjusting the grip on his Mountaineering Pick.

The live broadcast was a massive success.

Compared to the fiery atmosphere raging in the chat, Ning Fei appeared incredibly calm.

He unlatched the carabiner and resumed his descent.

"Scorpions found in underground caves like this are generally venomous."

"My mobility is restricted right now, so it's a good thing I scared it off. Otherwise, it would have been quite a hassle."

Ning Fei's voice remained perfectly steady, exuding an air of calm composure.

"During Alexander's previous expedition, he brought a team of over fifty people. Because of that, he had to stop to rest and reorganize at several different points, which took up a lot of time."

"But I am alone. I will likely keep going without stopping, heading straight to the bottom."

Ning Fei continued his descent. At times, the rock walls narrowed so much that only one person could squeeze through. At other times, the cavern opened up completely, forcing him to rely entirely on his rope to slide down.

"Further down, we should be able to see an underground water source."

"The topography here is incredibly strange. There will be a wide variety of underground water resources down below."

"We might even see an underground waterfall."

"An underground waterfall over a thousand meters deep is a true marvel."

"I don't know if there are any fish in the subterranean river. If there are, I can enjoy some piping hot grilled fish."

Ning Fei said with a chuckle.

Hearing his description, the anxious viewers swallowed hard.

"At a time like this, all Temple Master Ning is thinking about is whether he can eat grilled fish later."

"Isn't he worried another scorpion might pop out?!"

"Just looking at this place makes my legs weak."

"I have claustrophobia. I've been sweating non-stop this whole time, but I still can't stop watching."

"I just checked the stream time. He's been descending at this pace for three hours straight. Three solid hours of downward climbing—what kind of insane concept is that?!"

"What difference is there between a place this deep and actual hell?"

Ning Fei kept dropping deeper. Unlike everyone else, he actually found the experience of exploring such a profound underground cave to be quite unique.

'System, have you detected any traces of a divine beast yet?'

Ning Fei asked in his mind.

The System could detect divine beasts within a one-kilometer radius. He was currently about a thousand meters down the cave, which had a recorded maximum depth of 2,197 meters. If a divine beast truly existed down here, he should be in range to detect it soon.

"None."

The System replied.

Hearing this, Ning Fei's expression didn't change.

"I'm almost at the second landing point,"

Ning Fei announced to the viewers in the broadcast.

"Krubera Cave leads straight toward the core of the earth. It is a miracle of nature, and the scenery at the very bottom will be incredibly beautiful."

"I'm actually looking forward to it."

Holding his torch high, Ning Fei continued his endless descent.

The stream's feed remained exactly like this.

Within the pitch-black cave, the drone's floodlights and the fiery glow of the torch intertwined, illuminating Ning Fei as he lowered himself at a steady, unhurried pace.

The surrounding rock formations were bizarre. Occasionally, spiral-shaped striations appeared on the stone walls, making it look as though they had crossed over into another world.

"This area is covered in moss, which means the air quality is pretty good."

Ning Fei descended a little further, looking at the green moss clinging to the cavern walls as he spoke.

He could already feel the air below his feet turning humid.

Shining his light straight down, he spotted a massive rocky platform below. Right next to it sat a pool of water.

"The presence of a pool means I've finally reached the underground water zone."

"Looks like the difficulty is about to go up another notch,"

Ning Fei murmured softly.