Lingbo City

After bidding farewell to Xiao Yi, Lu Changsheng took the lead and plunged into the deep, shadowy water tunnel.

The seawater inside the tunnel was bone-chillingly cold. At first, it was so narrow that only one person could pass through sideways. The rock walls around them were slick yet rough, overgrown with dark-green seabed moss. Now and then, a few startled shrimp shot out from the cracks in the stone, streaking past in fleeting flashes of silver.

Lu Changsheng held his breath and focused his mind, urging the spiritual power within him to form a thin barrier around his body, blocking out the invading cold as he slowly advanced in the direction the tunnel's undercurrent was flowing.

"This place is so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face. Feels like we've crawled into a cuttlefish's belly," Shi Jingtian muttered in his muffled voice from behind Lu Changsheng.

No sooner had he spoken than a soft, moon-white halo suddenly lit up ahead. Murong Taxue spread her palm, and a fist-sized luminous stone hovered quietly above it. Clear radiance flowed outward like water, illuminating everything within several zhang so clearly that even the finest hairs could be seen. She quickly swam to Lu Changsheng's side, held the luminous stone a little farther forward, and said softly, "The path ahead is slippery. Be careful."

Lu Changsheng glanced back at her and gave a slight nod, a bit more warmth in his eyes.

As the group continued deeper, the water tunnel gradually grew wider. From the initial need to move sideways, to later walking shoulder to shoulder, and finally, with the cavern roof hanging high overhead and the walls receding to either side, it was as though they had entered an underwater karst cave. Even more astonishing was that the