However, the moment I recalled that the funds for the boat came from ineey Yang, and that the Sky-Navigating Fish, the Kui Star Compass, and the method of 'Fishing by Drifting Gourd' for entering the Coral Spiral Sea were all passed down from her ancestor, the Mountain-Moving Daoist, my initial pronouncements felt somewhat lacking in conviction. I glanced covertly at ineey Yang and saw her nodding slightly to me. That instantly bolstered my confidence; I silenced Ruan Hei and the others, leaving them no choice but to follow my orders and abandon the thought of collecting eggs that night.

The sea's fury was merciless. I intended to call it a day upon achieving a reasonable success, but failing to locate the wreck of the Marry Sannu would leave matters unfinished. If the maritime conditions allowed that evening, I planned to deploy the diving bell again to scout the remaining trenches. I discussed this with the crew—even capturing a single photograph would suffice for now. Just then, Uncle Ming, in the cockpit, suddenly issued a message through the speaking tube: "Get up here quickly! Trouble is brewing—the Yin Fire is scorching the sea!"

The Yin Fire had finally appeared. After hearing Uncle Ming's voice through the 'speaking tube,' I bounded up the bow in just a few steps. The sea was covered by an ominous, heavy cloud cover, and a downpour was lashing down fiercely. Not far off, the murky seawater suddenly began to boil and churn violently. The seabed beneath glowed with a blinding white light, and curtain-like flames split into several streams beneath the water, sending terrifying plumes of black smoke upward toward the sky. Wherever the Yin Fire burned beneath the surface, the seawater was heated to a rolling boil, and countless aquatic carcasses, incinerated by the fire, floated upon the waves.

The black smoke from the underwater Dragon Fire further darkened the already dim sky. Beneath the surface, firelight undulated—great, scorching masses of Yin Fire—as if numerous round moons were simultaneously rising from the seabed, casting the ocean in a chilling, transparent gloom. Witnessing this apocalyptic scene from the deck, everyone felt their hair stand on end, a wave of cold dread washing over their hearts.

Since we needed to use the moonlight and the high tide to enter the 'Coral Spiral,' we had chosen a time around the fifteenth day of the lunar month, when the moon was nearly full. Unexpectedly, in a twist of fate, we were now witnessing the purgatorial Dragon Fire firsthand. The fireballs surging from the deep devoured all surrounding schools of fish. Those that escaped the Yin Fire's closest proximity, having narrowly survived, were mostly scalded and disfigured, thrashing and leaping out of the water. The entire sea surface was shrouded in the shadow of death.

The Dragon Fire only burns underwater; it extinguishes immediately upon contact with air. This sea Yin Fire, which the Qingwu Fengshui tradition calls the 'Dragon Lamp,' while astonishing in its intensity, is often fleeting, appearing and vanishing in an instant. I knew this phenomenon only occurred near the residual currents of the 'Southern Dragon,' condensed from the elusive Southern Dragon sea essence—it was nothing like the eruption of an underwater volcano or an oil and gas vent. Merely observing the subtle movement of the fire beneath the waves confirmed the accounts of the surviving crew of the Marry Sannu: the sunken ship carrying the 'Qin Emperor's Bone-Revealing Mirror' must be nearby.

Our understanding of the Yin Fire was superficial at best; this was the first time any of us had seen it, and we had no concept of its true power. Yet, despite the terrifying scene on the water, this was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. I quickly took out the Sky-Navigating Kui Star Compass to record the locations where the Yin Fire was flickering. Meanwhile, Uncle Ming was risking his life, maneuvering the ship as far away from the sea of fire as possible.

Most of the Yin Fire in the 'Coral Spiral' Sea was concentrated on the eastern side of 'Ghost Island.' Our ship, positioned to the west, was relatively safer. The South Pearl coral forests were clustered to the west. Preliminary scouting suggested the eastern seabed was far more complex, with depths at least double that of the underwater forest, featuring numerous underwater caves and trenches. We hadn't yet had a chance to use the 'diving bell' for detailed underwater reconnaissance there. It seemed highly probable that the wreck of the Marry Sannu lay submerged on the eastern side of Ghost Island.

The subsurface burning light proved to be a fleeting vision, fading to dimness and vanishing into nothingness within moments. The eerie light vanished from the horizon, plunging the sea and sky into absolute blackness, broken only by the relentless drumming of the rain. I asked Uncle Ming and Ruan Hei, based on their sailing experience, what they predicted the maritime conditions would be like tonight.

Both were seasoned sailors. They stated definitively that despite the 'Yin Fire scorching the sea,' the wind signs suggested there would be no high winds or rough seas for the next two days, making our continued presence in this area relatively safe. ineey Yang also agreed that the weather wouldn't turn stormy; no wind meant no huge waves. While the massive waves capable of shattering a hull were the navigator's bane, we still had to be wary of sudden swells or unusual tidal phenomena like the 'sea leakage.'

I consulted with the others, and we all agreed this was an excellent opportunity. The final decision was made to navigate the Trident Spear around 'Ghost Island' to search for the wreck on the eastern side of the 'Coral Spiral.' With all searchlights blazing, our vessel sailed across the pitch-black sea, slowly rounding the dark, reef-laden island. The island resembled an inverted bowl; the obtuse, conical black rock rose less than ten meters above the waterline, yet its slope was incredibly wide, like the back of a colossal black whale emerging from the depths. As the ship approached, the powerful light beams hitting its surface only amplified its imposing presence, casting a palpable feeling of oppressive darkness over everyone.

Just as I was preparing to take Gu Cai and the others to the stern to set up the 'diving bell,' the hull gave a sudden lurch side to side. There was no wind, and the surface was calm; this violent, unexpected shaking was highly irregular. Uncle Ming and the others pulled off their rain hoods and leaned over the gunwales, shining flashlights onto the water, most worried that the tide had dropped too low and we had struck a submerged reef.

Before anyone could discern the cause of the commotion, the view before us suddenly brightened, the horizon expanding instantly. The heavy rain abruptly ceased as the storm clouds were apparently dispersed by the rising vapor from the sea heated by the Dragon Fire. A full moon emerged from the parting clouds, hanging directly overhead. The moonlight was as bright as day, round and brilliant, illuminating the sea surface completely. In the underwater forest beneath the water behind the ship, countless mussels and clams opened their shells, releasing luminous pearls, absorbing the essence of the moonlight.

With the moon and the pearls reflecting each other above and below the water, the intensely bright surface, permeated by a ghastly glow, was littered with fish and sea creatures recently killed by the Dragon Fire. A strange atmosphere settled over the day-bright sea. Our ship continued to rock and sway unevenly, making everyone more tense, a premonition of impending disaster rising in their minds. It was then that ineey Yang first spotted the danger: "Retreat! The current in this patch of sea is abnormal!"

No sooner had ineey Yang spoken than I and the rest of the crew witnessed a terrifying sight. Countless whirlpools, large and small, were forming on the sea surface to the left of the 'Coral Spiral.' Though the moon was bright, it could not penetrate the darkness of these swirling vortices. The Trident Spear was sailing between two of these 'sea caves,' its hull being violently thrown back and forth by two undertows pulling from different directions.

These 'sea caves,' known among fishermen and islanders as 'sea leaks,' were like massive holes suddenly appearing in the seabed, causing the water to spiral downwards. Boats inadvertently caught in their vicinity often met terrible ends.