In the Space Ring, the first Stone Slab and the second Stone Slab are placed side by side.

The two Stone Slabs are exactly the same in height and size, but the content is entirely different.

Herag is now even more curious about these two Stone Slabs, wondering where they came from and who made them.

From the mural, it's impossible to discern this information; not a hint of who the so-called Divine Messenger is.

Herag even wonders, since there is a second Stone Slab, could there be more Stone Slabs? It's all an unknown.

Before he had time to ponder these questions further, some changes occurred in the plaza where Herag was.

The moment Herag put away the second Stone Slab, the bonfires around the plaza extinguished instantly.

The temperature in this space suddenly dropped, and Herag actually felt a slight chill.

It was then that Herag realized the temperature in this space was actually a bit higher and warmer than in the tunnel.

He just hadn't noticed the temperature difference because his attention was on the Stone Slabs.

Now that the temperature had dropped suddenly, he realized the peculiarity.

After the temperature dropped, Herag looked around, feeling that perhaps some changes had occurred here.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Herag, and he quickly ran toward the passageway behind him.

When he reached the section of the tunnel with the mural, he discovered that the mural on the passage wall was indeed gone.

Herag was very sure he hadn't remembered wrong; the mural he just saw was indeed in this spot, but now it's completely gone, without a trace.

The disappearance of the mural was sudden, but Herag had already anticipated it in his mind.

Because previously in Valley Town, he experienced a similar phenomenon; after coming out of the cave, not only did the cave disappear, but a series of bizarre events occurred.

At that time, Herag couldn't understand what had happened and prudently left Storm City immediately.

Now, it seems, it's most likely due to the Stone Slab that these abnormal phenomena are occurring.

Herag could only surmise that the real reason would likely become clear once he fully understood these Stone Slabs.

Besides the mural's disappearance, nothing else had changed in the passage; it remained the same as before.

Herag returned to the plaza once again where, apart from being a bit colder, nothing major had changed.

"How to get out of here?"

Herag began to ponder this question.

He carefully inspected and searched every corner around the plaza but found no hidden roads.

Currently, it seems as if there's only the one path behind.

Is it possible that he'll have to return the same way?

Herag thought for a moment and realized that seemed to be the only option.

However, on the way back, he needed to think about how to avoid the attack of the giant spider outside the cave entrance.

Herag glanced at the passage wall and even considered digging out from another place if worst came to worst, not exiting through that cave entrance.

The giant spider outside that cave entrance is too terrifyingly powerful, far beyond what he can handle at the moment.

Even though digging out from another place would take time, it would be safer.

Herag had already prepared to dig his way out and began retracing his steps.

This trip wasn't entirely in vain; although he didn't know yet what use the Stone Slab would serve, it certainly wouldn't disappoint him.

It took more than two days to reach the passage, and it seemed like it would take even longer to get back.

Because the way there was generally downhill, returning would involve climbing many slopes.

Herag retraced the tunnel and instructed Shenlan to start mapping the return route.

He planned to compare the two paths once he returned to the starting point.

The monotonous routine of traveling began again, and Herag sighed as he continued on his way.

...

A day later.

After traveling along the tunnel for a day, Herag began to sense a foreboding feeling.

On his way back, he noticed that water was starting to seep through many parts of the tunnel's walls.

This didn't mean there might be a lake above the rock layers; it's normal to have water seepage deep underground.

What concerned Herag was that he hadn't seen these water traces on his way in.

On the way there, the tunnel was very dry, without these water traces.

Moreover, Herag frequently sensed the presence of small creatures moving in the surrounding soil layers.

Earthworms, beetles, and various other bugs were burrowing through the soil layers, and occasionally he could sense some snakes.

There were none of these creatures on his way here.

Herag initially thought that perhaps the polluted areas' soil layers simply lacked these small creatures, but it now seemed otherwise.

Having already experienced a similar phenomenon in Valley Town, Herag found himself less surprised, with a degree of psychological preparation.

These weren't significant issues; Herag's concern was the tunnel's safety.

Previously, the tunnel was very intact, maintained in excellent condition, with no signs of collapse or damage.

But now, after things returned to normal, Herag noticed that many areas showed signs of impending collapse.

This tunnel had no supporting measures, and it could collapse at any moment.

Currently, being at least hundreds of kilometers underground, Herag didn't believe he could escape alive if buried here.

Although his physical abilities were indeed strong, they weren't strong enough to break through from hundreds of kilometers underground.

Just imagining the mass of earth, rock, and minerals above made Herag's scalp tingle.

He silently quickened his pace upward, needing to leave this underground space as soon as possible, as being buried here would be highly dangerous.

Four hours into his upward journey, Herag faintly heard some sounds behind him in the tunnel.

Listening carefully for a while, he discerned that the tunnel behind him was beginning to collapse.

He lifted his head to check the current section of the tunnel he was in, also showing signs of likely collapse.

Herag realized that this tunnel seemed to have been protected by some Power before, which kept it intact.

Now that this Power had disappeared, the force maintaining the tunnel was gone, making it now just like any regular underground tunnel.

Located in the deep underground, under the immense pressure of countless layers of rock and soil above, this tunnel wouldn't hold out for long before being slowly compressed and collapsing.

"No, there's not enough time."

Herag immediately realized that the tunnel's collapse was happening faster than he had expected.

He wouldn't make it back to the surface in time; the tunnel would completely collapse before then.

Herag thought for a moment and then took out the second Stone Slab from the Space Ring, placing it firmly in the tunnel.

The only thing he'd done below was taking this Stone Slab; the Power maintaining the tunnel most likely originated from this Stone Slab.

Therefore, Herag took out this Stone Slab, intending to see if he could restore the tunnel to its previous state.

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