I really don't know if it's luck or what's to lure that thing down there? But you can imagine how difficult that thing is to deal with.

Time passed slowly in the question and answer between me and Li Tong.

By the time the cannon and Brother Li came back, their physical strength had already recovered. I was a little curious and asked, "How was it, did you fall down?" ”

The cannon used its hands to open a layer of slush, revealing bare rocks on the ground. Regardless of thirty-seven twenty-one, he simply sat down. Cannon smiled and said, "Finally got that plague god down." ”

"But......." the cannon stopped talking. Don't grind and chirp, if you have something to say, let it go. "I'm a little impatient. Li Tong next to him also seemed to look at the cannon and Brother Li with some expectations in his eyes.

The cannon deliberately made a serious look and said, "I have an important news for you, just now Brother Li and I discovered a big secret. ”

"What?" Li Tong and I asked in unison. The cannon said in a serious way: "There is a huge crater under the cliff we passed before. And, if you guess right, there's a huge hot spring below. ”

For Li Tong and me, this news was as joyful as Christopher Columbus's discovery of the American continent. I feel that my body has improved a lot, and I am eager to go down and have a look.

For the unknown world beneath the cliff, all four of us wanted to see the real thing.

From time to time, the four of us stood on the edge of a cliff. Having passed through here before, perhaps the problem of light in the morning ignored the world below the cliffs. Maybe it's also because they have experienced an avalanche before, and they are busy running for their lives, who is still in the mood to look at the scenery on the side of the road. At this moment, it seems that the land we are in may open up a different worldview for us.

The cannon stood on top of the boulder at the edge of the valley and said with some eagerness, "I really can't wait to go down and have a look." ”

Take out the map from your backpack and double-check the places you have marked. Between the mountains on the map, it is like a giant dragon leaping on the paper, combined with what I have seen and heard before, I am even more convinced of the theory of finding the dragon's hole. What is even more admirable is that the ancient ancestors, without the assistance of modern technology, can achieve accurate acupoints only by relying on the compass in their hands, which is really breathtaking.

Unconsciously, standing on the edge of the cliff sighed. "What's wrong?" Li Tong stepped forward and asked. I forced a smile and said, "It's nothing." ”

I carefully examined the topography of the cliff in front of me, and except for the valley mouth, which became an opening in the cliff, the rest was similar to the terrain of the sinkhole (1). Except for the slightly higher valley in front of you, the terrain is relatively low, so I think the valley is the best choice.

At the same time, a huge ice waterfall has formed at the mouth of the valley due to the perennial avalanche, like a white ice curtain descending from the trend.

At this time, the cannon and Brother Li had already prepared everything for everyone, and Li Tong and I also fixed the hiking rope in the backpack nearby.

After a few minutes, everything was ready. While stepping down the cliff step by step along the safety rope, he secretly prayed: "Don't meet that plague god again." ”

In this way, the four of us climbed down the icefall at almost the same pace. After more than ten minutes, I gradually felt that I was on top of a steamer, and when I looked down, the yellow water below was constantly tumbling, like a cauldron about to boil.

After another ten minutes, our group reached the bottom of the cliff. Compared to the snowy world above, this place seems to be another world.

The bottom is mainly covered by a yellow hot body of water, which is supposed to be a dormant volcano (2), and the water has a large amount of sulfide dissolved, so that a pungent smell can be smelled from a distance. Not far from the edge of the yellow water, there are small bushes, unknown wildflowers on the ground, and the occasional butterfly can be seen circling and dancing among the stamens. Due to the geothermal emissions, it creates a different microclimate and a different ecosystem.

The cannon couldn't hide the excitement in his heart and wanted to dance with the butterfly, but fortunately he was pulled by Brother Li in time.

At this point, we are facing the big hole that the cannon said earlier. And this big hole is like the mouth of a lion, and it can swallow us at any time. The thought that this was an unknown world, and the monster before didn't know if it was still alive, made it a little difficult to stand on my feet.

The cannon was about to shout, but I stopped him: "This place, we are outsiders, we must be careful, otherwise we are very dangerous, do you know?" The cannon was stopped by the nest and did not come again. In order not to disturb the guy, we carefully put the equipment in our hands on the ground. The backpack just contained a few essentials.

Suddenly, Li Tong pulled me and pointed to the middle of the pool, and said in a low voice, "Look, what is that?" "When you look at it, it looks like a baby lying in the middle of a pool, and the baby is curled up in it as if it is flesh and blood, as if enjoying the state of being in front of it.

Everyone looked at the baby in the middle of the pool in confusion, and I visually measured that the water temperature was close to 100 degrees Celsius, but it is absolutely impossible for a real baby to be in such a high temperature of water.

"What is this?" Cannon asked with some curiosity. Brother Li and Li Tong also frowned, and they couldn't find an answer for a while.

"This, perhaps, is the heart of the Tianshan Mountains." I said slowly. The other three all looked at me in disbelief. I continued: "The Records of Mountains and Seas says: The essence of mountains and rivers is gathered in one place, either like a dragon or like the beginning of a man. And this person may be like Pangu when he opened the world. ”

Brother Li also exclaimed: "It's really strange, today is the first time I have seen the so-called mountain heart." ”

And this baby-like object in front of us may be the essence of the mountains we are in. Looking at the yellow water that is about to boil, I really want to be able to flow through. Maybe this thing can be sold for a good price. Take 10,000 steps back and say, not selling it for money is also a very spiritual object, and it is definitely not small.

Tie the remaining rope in the backpack into a knot, tie the loop on it, and throw it nearby. From time to time, the thing was put on a rope. As soon as the thing broke away from the body of water, it immediately lost its vitality and became a piece of jade. Slightly surprised, I handed this thing to Li Tong and asked her to keep it.

"Boom...... only felt that the ground was violently shaken a few times, like an earthquake. At this point, the water in the pool boils even more, as if something is going to erupt from the ground at any moment. Fatally, more yellow gas spilled out of the water.

The cave in front of him seemed to be about to collapse after shaking. "What should I do?" Li Tong subconsciously asked me. Probably because I had experienced too many dangers before, I was a little calm at the moment, and I judged that although there was a tremor in front of me, it was not enough to cause a serious earthquake. Even in the event of an earthquake, the danger of climbing upwards is too great, and there may be a landslide.

I saw that the cave in front of me was on high ground, and it may have been a temporary shelter.

Note: (1) A type of karst landform, also known as a shaft.

(2) A type of volcano.