The dense reef encircling the Coral Spiral acted as a natural barrier, half-exposed at the lowest ebb tide and completely submerged at high tide, blocking the treasure hunters' path. Large vessels could not pass, and small boats were inadequate. Thus, the sea region beyond the reef remained mysterious and unknown to the world. Ming Shu and Ruan Hei, recognizing the subtle signs of wind and water, could maneuver the Trident to leap over layer after layer of the reef on the crest of the tide. However, navigating the confusing currents and erratic winds within this reef cluster without a clear sense of direction for several nautical miles was akin to ascending to heaven. It was like forcing an excellent sprinter to run a hundred-meter dash blindfolded; even if they avoided a face-plant, they would merely circle the starting point, never reaching the finish line.

Thus, everyone's hope rested entirely upon the Banshan Fen Jia Shu left behind by the Mountain Movers. Once they had a reference for direction, they could ride the rising tide across the sea to harvest the eggs. Under everyone's gaze, Shirley Yang calmly took out several objects. First, she opened a wooden casket. Inside, wrapped in red satin, was a glass vial—its body bulbous and translucent, thin as a cicada's wing. The vial contained a pill submerged in water, glowing with a pure, dazzling clarity. It was no larger than a pinky nail, and Ming Shu and the others stared, utterly perplexed as to what it was.

Shirley Yang then produced another lacquer-black earthenware jar, in which several small fish were kept alive in clear water. These fish were only as long as a finger, with disproportionately large heads and bodies startlingly red, looking quite strange as they swam merrily in the jar. She carefully scooped out one small fish and placed it inside the vial. Then, she set the vial back into the box, securing it with soft satin. The little fish swam around the pill a few times before beginning to nudge it toward one side. No matter how the clear water in the vial sloshed, the fish would exert itself to push the pill toward a fixed orientation.

Everyone watched, eyes fixed, eager to ask what manner of trick this was. I explained for them: "This is the Mountain Movers' Celestial Guiding Fish. Whichever direction this fish points the Taiyin San toward, that direction is due east. It has been tested time and again. Though we cannot see the Big Dipper above, looking down, we can see the Celestial Guiding Fish. With it marking our bearing, what more is there to worry about, sirs?"

The Mountain Movers had long resided along the coastal regions of Jiangzhe, constantly searching ancient tombs across various locales for the Muchen Pearl. They also harbored the desire to cross the sea to escape the calamity of the Bottomless Ghost Cave and sought immortal herbs upon the ocean. Over long years, they innovated a set of esoteric arts, later termed the Banshan Fen Jia. Within the art of Moving Mountains and Filling Seas, there were not only methods for locating and excavating tombs but also arcane formulas concerning the mutual generation and restraint among the stars, earth, clouds, and objects.

A sense of direction is essential for all human action. Within Feng Shui alone, the most crucial elements—the Dragon, the Sand, the Acupoint, and the Water—all depend on 'Orientation' (Xiang). Without directional guidance, one cannot proceed to divide the gold and fix the site. In the earliest days, people confirmed direction using the sun, moon, and stars. Later, learning of the great magnetic mountains underground, they invented the South-Pointing Spoon (Si Nan). Subsequently, this gradually evolved into the more precise South-Pointing Chariot. After the Xingshi school of Feng Shui achieved perfection in the Ming Dynasty, the geomantic compass used for surveying mountains and seeking dragons also evolved to its zenith. The compass would be marked with Yin and Yang Taiji, the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, the River Chart and Luo Chart, Naja, the Nine Stars, the Twenty-Eight Mansions, the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, the Twelve Palaces, the Twenty-Four Mountains, the Sixty Dragons, and so forth. The simplest compasses had three layers, while some boasted over forty. The most crucial elements on the disk were the three needles: "Zheng," "Feng," and "Zhong."

The principle behind ancient compass orientation relied on geomagnetism, holding that the magnet and the needle were akin to mother and child. However, in certain unique situations where the compass lost its efficacy, only the Celestial Guiding Fish could be used. The method for using the Celestial Guiding Fish was originally preserved in the Tomb of King Yu, the Celestial Regulator, and had been lost to the world until the Mountain Movers chanced upon it. The so-called Taiyin San was actually the anti-decay pill held in the mouth of that tomb’s occupant, containing the essence of the Yin Moon (Taiyin). With this substance in their mouths, the corpses would not decompose or putrefy even when exposed to direct sunlight for months, until the Yin essence within the pill was completely dispersed. Alchemy flourished during the Qin and Han dynasties but began to decline in the late Song Dynasty, meaning the formula for such pills was lost.

The Mountain Movers soaked the pill in specially prepared medicated water, allowing the Yin essence within to be gathered anew. The Moon belongs to the Yin. When placed in the glass vessel, it resembled a bright moon in a dish. The Celestial Guiding Fish naturally responds to the Moon; upon seeing the clear, bright radiance, it would inevitably swim out from the west side, its head pointing east to absorb the essence of the Taiyin. This is dictated by inherent natural properties, undisturbed by external factors; the fish's head would always naturally orient itself eastward.

If it were a large, boat-shaped Celestial Guiding Fish, under a brilliantly clear moon, it would even expel pearls to compete with the light. However, this is merely a legend from King Yu's tomb. Today, the largest Celestial Guiding Fish found is barely the length of an adult's index finger. When the compass fails and the stars and moon are invisible, using the head of the small Celestial Guiding Fish as a reference, while perhaps not perfectly precise, absolutely prevents the ship from circling aimlessly and getting lost at sea.

Furthermore, Shirley Yang had the "Kui Star Disc" as a supplement. Legend holds that the Kui Star is the "First Dragon among the Nine-Nine Stars." In ancient astronomy, Kui is the first star of the Big Dipper, considered the chief of the Nine Palaces. In the heavens, this star is the master of myriad spirits; on earth, it is the arbiter of a hundred vital currents. The Kui Star is also the God of the Greedy Wolf. Legend claims the Lord of the Greedy Wolf Star is hideous, with a protruding face and tusks. The Kui Star Disc, also a secret artifact unearthed by the Mountain Movers from the ancient Celestial Regulator's tomb, functions as a miniature astral observation platform, impervious to disruptions from weather, geomagnetism, or electromagnetic interference. The ancients believed Heaven, Earth, and Man were an integrated whole, and one could observe the celestial stars and balance the hundred currents by perceiving the subtle fluctuations in the energies between mountains and seas. Although the Mountain Movers were not experts in astral observation via Feng Shui, my text, The Sixteen Characters Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret Arts, thoroughly details its profound mysteries. Possessing both the Celestial Guiding Fish and the Kui Star Disc was practically equivalent to possessing the Heavenly Eye, allowing them to navigate the Trident in and out of this mysterious, spiraling labyrinth as if traversing an open thoroughfare.

Upon understanding the functions of the Celestial Guiding Fish and the Kui Star Disc, the group was so excited they could barely speak. They never imagined that this insurmountable barrier had already been circumvented by the ancients thousands of years ago. Despite the accelerating advancement of modern technology, one had to admit that over-reliance on tech and equipment had caused a certain regression in some aspects of human ability. However, these trivialities were better left to the philosophers to ponder. The greatest treasure in the South China Sea was now almost within their grasp, beckoning with immense wealth. Who had the leisure to worry about the conflict between societal progress and human regression?

Not long after, the sound of raging waves from the distant sea rolled in. The surging motion of the water resembled a massive bell, and in an instant, the tide surged upward. With the celestial secret art of Moving Mountains and Filling Seas, the Trident rode the waves, slicing through the reef cluster. Ahead, on the sea surface, a mass of strange, colorful clouds and mist appeared. Seafarers call this phenomenon the "Immortal Mountain." An Immortal Mountain does not specifically refer to an island of rock exposed above the water; rather, the term describes that peculiar sight where clouds and mist seem to descend and settle upon the sea surface—a phenomenon that sailors seeing it consider an excellent omen.

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