Shen Luo and Zhu Mangqi then left Sunset Island and headed straight for Azure Whisker Island.
Azure Whisker Island was the second-largest of the Great Chasm Ten Isles, smaller only than Clam One Island, and was also where the pearl gatherers congregated.
There was no other reason for this than the island's unusual terrain. A passage through the earth led directly into the depths of the Great Chasm, not only reaching the deep-sea waters where the Water-Devouring Tribe lived and bred, but also bypassing attacks from the many water demons within the Great Chasm.
Shen Luo altered his appearance and accompanied Zhu Mangqi to the southern part of Azure Whisker Island, where it met Red Leaf Island. From afar, they heard the thunderous roar of rushing water and saw a waterfall some hundred zhang long between the two islands, its white waves churning as it plunged into the abyss of the Great Chasm below.
The Great Chasm was not simply a stretch of sea enclosed by a ring of islands. The ten surrounding islands stood at a great elevation, and the area they encircled was an immense sinkhole. Only in its deepest reaches did seawater pool.
Four waterfalls between the Ten Islands poured the waters of the South Sea into it without cease. Yet over millions of years, the water level in the Great Chasm had never changed in the slightest, and it would never fill.
The entrance to the underground passage was not far from the waterfall. When the two arrived, they saw a stone archway several zhang high set into a cliff face. Its exterior bore clear signs of human workmanship and was carved with numerous fish and dragon motifs.
Many Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals were stationed outside the entrance, however. One glance was enough to tell