The patriarch, Liu Xing, and the two elders descended the steps, their footsteps echoing within the secret tunnel, creating an eerie reverberation as if a vengeful spirit were haunting the passageway. The tunnel walls were made entirely of pressed earth, with no concrete or stone for reinforcement. Yet, the surface was incredibly smooth, as if carved by an impossibly sharp sword.

"Isn't it impressive, Senior Liu?" the patriarch said as he looked back. "This secret path looks simple, but it's an impressive engineering project. Moreover, we built it in secret. Even among my clan, only a select few know about this path."

"It's impressive," said Liu Xing, nodding. But his words were merely polite and held no real sincerity. After all, something like this was achievable even back on Earth. "How long do we need to walk? Is the Alchemy Hall right where we come out?"

The answer came from behind him. "We need to walk for several more minutes. And no, once we arrive at the seafloor, we will be greeted by open water." Liu Xing didn't turn around, but he knew it was the voice of the man with the long beard. "I hope you have a technique that enables you to breathe underwater, Senior Liu, else you will have trouble fighting spirit beasts in that condition."

Liu Xing pinched his chin. That was indeed a problem, and one he needed to be careful about. As a cultivator, he could hold his breath for a long time. Moreover, he was currently a Core Splitting cultivator with a body enhanced by Diamond Pills. He should be capable of holding his breath for an extended period. But would it be long enough to reach the Alchemy Hall and then fight spirit beasts on top of that?

"More importantly, tell me about those spirit beasts," Liu Xing said, looking over the patriarch's shoulders. He could already see the bottom of the stairs. "You've observed them, right? What do they look like? Do any of them have bizarre shapes or abilities?"

The patriarch nodded as he grabbed a light gem from the wall, holding it in front of him. "We didn't dare to provoke them. However, from our observation, the majority of the spirit beasts have shapes suited for moving in the water. Some are shaped like eels, with electricity coursing through their bodies. Some look like a cross between an octopus and a shark. One looks like a floating plate, and there's another in the shape of flowers with bandage-like tentacles. Aside from that, there's also a gigantic black horse with a dolphin's head and dozens of tentacles.."

"On one occasion, they were fighting each other," the elder with the short beard said, stroking his chin. "It was the electric eel against a spirit beast that resembled a red chair covered with hundreds of eyes. The eel shot a bolt of lightning at it, while the gigantic chair-shaped beast defended itself with some kind of barrier technique."

"Don't forget the chanting golden fish," the elder with the long beard interjected. "Seeing its golden scales would make anyone dizzy."

Liu Xing digested the information, trying to commit every detail to memory. Their descriptions were bizarre, but knowledge of their appearance alone would not be very useful. The chanting golden fish sounded especially dangerous. A spirit beast that could cause dizziness was potentially using a mind-attack ability.

As Liu Xing began to plan his approach, they finally arrived at the bottom of the stairs, which connected to a long, straight tunnel. This tunnel was wide enough for the four of them to walk side-by-side, but it looked less sophisticated than the stairs. The ground, walls, and ceiling were made from dirt that was not pressed tightly, making the ground feel bumpy under his feet. The reason the patriarch had grabbed a light gem also became clear. While there were some illumination gems on the walls, they were sparse, leaving sections of the tunnel in darkness.

"Let's get going," the patriarch said as he took a step forward. Liu Xing and the two elders followed.

When the two grand elders poured some of their qi into their rings, Liu Xing instantly tensed. His gun, which was busy absorbing the darkness inside his consciousness, was ready to materialize in his left hand, his index finger poised to pull the trigger. However, when he realized they were only channeling qi into the pearls on their rings, which began to shine softly, he relaxed his hand and controlled his reflex. Thankfully, it seemed no one had realized he had almost attacked the two grand elders.

Liu Xing decided to pour qi into his own ring, making it shine with a soft blue light. As it illuminated the area around him, he noticed that the light from the pearl was slightly different from a normal light source. Typically, such an object would emit a bright light that spread outward, growing dimmer with distance. But this pearl was different. Its blue shine was not intensely bright at its source, but it penetrated the darkness for a surprising distance.

Soon, they arrived at the end of the tunnel. Standing before them was a double gate made from black iron. No effort had been made to decorate the gates, but they shone and reflected the light, giving them a lustrous and dignified appearance. The patriarch placed his palm in the center of the double gate, and they swung outward, revealing the seafloor.

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Liu Xing had expected the seafloor to be pitch black, an assumption reinforced by the fact that they needed to bring treasures that could emit light. He was wrong. Just outside the door, a barrier separated them from the water. It fluctuated here and there, like a sturdy bubble being rapidly punched, but even though the surface rippled, it was strong enough to hold back the sea. Through this barrier, Liu Xing saw another world. Thousands of jellyfish glowed, some with tentacles shaped like ribbons, others with wide caps that made them look like mushrooms. They ranged from the size of marbles to the size of a school bus, shining in countless shapes and variations. A brilliant blue dominated the underwater world, but some jellyfish also shone with red or yellow light.

The seafloor itself teemed with life. There was seaweed shaped like giant green tentacles and clumps of colorful coral reefs decorating the sea. Pale anemones swayed their tentacles while clownfish swam and darted around them. Colorful fish, some normal-looking and others glowing with myriad colors, swam between the jellyfish, coral reefs, and seaweeds. Larger fish were scattered here and there, and far away, but close enough that he could see its silhouette, was a whale.

Upon seeing this, Liu Xing could not help but be impressed. His eyes shone, and his lips curved into a smile. The view was so beautiful it took his breath away.

"Let's go, Senior Liu," the patriarch said, pressing his hand into the barrier and moving forward. The barrier, which looked like an unstable bubble, pushed further and further out until it seemed it would break and allow water to rush into the tunnel. But then, with a soft "pop," the patriarch was suddenly on the other side, a small bubble encasing his head.

The two elders followed suit, and then it was Liu Xing's turn. When he pushed the barrier, it felt cold, like ice. When the barrier popped, he was no longer standing in a dry tunnel, but rather, he was submerged in water. The water pressed against him, and he felt the cold sensation on his skin, but his head remained dry, and he could breathe normally. He suspected the air in the bubble was limited and designed to last just long enough for them to reach the Alchemy Hall. With this thought in mind, he shot the man with the long beard a glance. Was he joking about the water-breathing technique? He thought for a moment and came to a conclusion. While there was enough air for them to travel, there wouldn't be enough if he needed to fight.

The patriarch gestured forward, and with a powerful kick that made the dust swirl, he shot forward like a missile, leaving a trail of bubbles behind him. The grand elders followed, and Liu Xing cycled his qi and did the same. When their speed slowed, he saw the patriarch checking a needle compass. Once he touched the ground, he jumped again with a corrected course. As they moved, Liu Xing felt it was a shame he could not walk slowly through this amazing seafloor garden. However, the Alchemy Hall was apparently at a considerable distance, forcing the patriarch to hurry.

They traveled for about ten more minutes. The flora and fauna along the way began to thin. At first, the number of fish and jellyfish reduced gradually, but then the patriarch began to move in strange patterns, and the amount of living creatures dropped sharply, making the seafloor feel dark and suffocating. Liu Xing frowned, but since they could not talk, he simply thought about it and instantly got an answer.

"An array formation," he muttered to himself. It had to be a formation that made finding the Alchemy Hall difficult or impossible without a compass or knowledge of the route. As he considered this, he wondered if the return journey would also require following a specific pattern. What if he were left alone? Could he get lost within the formation?

Soon, he saw a large silhouette in the distance. At first, he thought it looked like a sea monster, but as they got closer, its shape became more defined, until he could see that it was actually a shipwreck. It was broken in the middle as if a giant octopus had squeezed it, and the mast pointed diagonally upward. From the fact that it was entirely covered by corals, anemones, and sponges, he knew this ship had sunk a long time ago. The patriarch of the Jin clan landed at the base of the shipwreck, where a gaping hole in the sunken ship looked like a cave entrance.

"Is it here?" Liu Xing asked, forgetting he could not be heard by the patriarch.

The patriarch, as if he could understand him, shook his head. He then entered the shipwreck, crossing a hollow room where several eels and octopuses hid, and stood behind a small opening in the far wall. The patriarch gestured for him to look through the hole. Understanding his intent, Liu Xing peered through it and saw the Alchemy Hall. It resembled a red pagoda tower, standing atop a large mound of what looked to be a gigantic reef covered in sharp surfaces, giving it a menacing appearance. The Alchemy Hall should have been hidden in pitch-black water, but it was visible because of a gigantic electric eel. Its skin was pitch black, with several blue, circuit-like veins visible on its skin. Along its body, crackles of electricity arced and flared. It was coiling itself around the Alchemy Hall. Its gigantic eyes shone with a menacing blue light as if they were made of energy, announcing to the world that the eel owned the tower.

When he saw it, Liu Xing sensed a powerful presence emanating from the creature, as if this gigantic eel were king of the seafloor. His heart pounded in his chest, and he reflexively gave a ferocious smile. The eel was quite strong, perhaps at the peak of the Core Splitting realm. He had come to retrieve the Heaven Severing Pill, and the eel and the other spirit beasts around the Alchemy Hall were obstacles. However, they didn't have to be. After all, he had a magical gun that could turn these spirit beasts into resources for his cultivation. He was still far from being able to split his main core again. However, killing these spirit beasts, though dangerous, would benefit him. In fact, he was impatient to kill them all.

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