"Time to go." He drew a deep breath. The Water-Magnetic Sword hummed softly at his waist, its Blood Magnetic Star Pattern resonating with the silver flowers on the Star-Illusion Flag to form a pale silver shield before him.
Han Li stepped into the Star Gate. White light flashed, but the wind and waves of the Chaotic Star Sea he had expected never appeared. In their place came bone-piercing cold and pressure that seeped into every crevice. His vision went black. Water roared in his ears, his body sank like a lump of lead, and an immense, invisible force crushed every limb and bone.
[System notification: Entered the "Eye of Returning Ruins" exit. Environment assessment-deep-sea floor (depth: 30,000 zhang). Water pressure: peak late-stage Core Formation ×5. Spiritual power protection consumes 10% per second!]
"The deep sea?!" Han Li's pupils contracted sharply. The water pressure threw the Spatial Awareness in his sea of consciousness into turmoil. He could barely sense the thick, ink-black seawater around him, where countless glowing plankton drifted past like ghost fires. He hurriedly activated Star Magnetic Body Protection. A silver barrier expanded before him, only to flicker under the pounding water pressure. The Blood Magnetic Star Pattern wailed within the sword's sheath.
"Pfft-" Before three breaths had passed, the shield shattered. Icy seawater flooded his lungs, and his spiritual power poured away like water through a breached dam. Han Li forced the Magnetic Essence Nascent Soul Art into action and slashed the Water-Magnetic Sword horizontally. Magnetic essence power exploded around him, wrenching a gap through the water, and he scrambled back through the Star Gate.
[System notification: First attempt to leave the secret realm failed. Minor internal injuries (spiritual power circulation efficiency -15%). Deep-sea environment adaptation: 0/100.]
"Cough, cough..." Han Li collapsed into a