As dawn broke, the market in the fishing village of the Eastern Sea came alive. Outside the Youth Camp tents, the shouts of fishermen could be heard, "Freshly caught pearl oysters, still covered in sea dew!" "Fresh seaweed knots, perfect for soup!" A Shi was the first to wake up. He squatted at the market entrance, clutching his crystal-patterned notebook, writing and drawing on a basket of glowing blue " Spirit-Speech Shell "—he had traded them for from the fishermen yesterday. The shells could record sounds from the sea and would softly hum sea songs at night.
" A Shi, stop staring at the seashells! Sister Loran wants us to help the fishermen dry their nets!" A Ya's voice came from behind. She had two clean coarse cloth shirts draped over her shoulders, given to her by the fisherwoman we stayed with yesterday. "The old lady said she'll make us 'seafood porridge' for lunch after we dry the nets, with freshly dried shrimp and scallops." A Shi quickly closed his notebook and ran to the beach with A Ya. As they passed a sugar figurine stall, he couldn't help but look back a few more times—the sugar figurine maker was sculpting a Silver-Scale Fish, exactly like the one Lei Lin had caught yesterday.
On the beach, Loran and Lei Lin were already helping the old fisherman spread out his fishing net. The net was woven from sea hemp and still had bits of coral clinging to it. Lei Lin was gently brushing away the seaweed from the mesh with his Golden Crystal Power, his movements as careful as if he were afraid of breaking the net's weave. "Grandpa, how many years has this fishing net been used?" Loran squatted down beside him, helping to tidy up the edges of the net, her fingertips occasionally touching the cool seawater, stirring up tiny splashes.
"Almost ten years!" The old man sat on the reef, smoking and smiling as he looked at the fishing boats in the distance. "This fishing net saved my life. Two years ago, during a typhoon, it was only because it caught on the reef that I wasn't swept away by the waves." Lei Lin looked up at the worn edges of the net and suddenly used his Golden Crystal Power to weave a few faint golden patterns into the mesh. "This will make the net stronger, and it won't easily break even if it encounters a reef." The old man leaned closer to look, his eyes lighting up. "Young man, you're very skilled! Tonight, I'll cook you fish soup with my treasured dried fish!"
By the time they finished drying the fishing nets, the sun was already high in the sky. A Mu ran from the other side of the beach, carrying his New Sprout Sword. A string of colorful seashells hung from the scabbard, which he had just picked up from a crevice in the rocks. "I just found a coral reef over there! The coral on it glows! And lots of colorful little fish, they're not afraid of people, they just circle around the scabbard." A Shi immediately perked up, pulled out his notebook, and ran towards the coral reef. "Maybe it's related to the next secret realm! The Star-Track Token lit up once this morning, and the light pointed in that direction!"
When everyone followed A Mu to the coral reef area, they indeed saw a coral cluster shimmering with a pale pink light. The coral was shaped like tree branches, and the coral polyps at the tips shimmered with tiny lights in the sunlight. The Star-Track Token suddenly lit up in Loran's hand, and a pale purple light flowed from her fingertips toward the coral cluster—the moment they made contact, the coral cluster suddenly emitted a soft "humming" sound, as if responding to the call of the Star-Track Token.
"It's the ' Coral Spirit Language Secret Realm '!" Loran's eyes widened in surprise. She could clearly feel the emotions conveyed by the coral at her fingertips—gentle and filled with curiosity. "Coral can record stories from thousands of years ago. The secret realm should be beneath the coral reefs. We need to communicate with it using Spirit Speech to open the entrance." A Ya quickly took out the Spirit Vein Protection Talisman she had prepared earlier and tied them to everyone's wrists. "These talismans will enhance your Spirit Speech perception. Don't get confused by the illusions like you did in the Mirror Sea Secret Realm last time."
Lei Lin, holding Loran's hand, led the way into the coral reef. As their feet touched a coral stone shimmering with a pale purple light, a layer of light suddenly enveloped them—the next second, the scene before them transformed. It was no longer a beach and coral reef, but a crystal-clear " Coral Secret Realm ": overhead was a pale blue "coral dome," and underfoot was a ground covered with colorful coral sand. Glowing " Spirit-Speech Vine " entwined the surrounding coral pillars, and semi-transparent " Memory Conch " hung from the vines, containing blurred images.