The Great Shark struck, its massive body slamming directly into a stone pillar. The cluster of underwater pillars where we hid was already a precarious ruin, battered day and night by the undertow; this impact caused an outer pillar to topple, crashing onto the hull of the Mary Sinner wreck and churning up a heavy cloud of silt from the seabed.

A hazy gray smog rose from the pitch-black depths, startling the schools of fish in the sunken graveyard into a frantic flight. Their escape was a chaotic, aimless circling; many aquatic creatures relied on hiding within the complex terrain formed by the wrecks and ruins. Startled by the underwater tremor, they bolted out, and nearby sharks immediately gave chase. The water seemed to boil, wave after wave of fish flashed past us like lightning, a dizzying spectacle.

The largest of the gray-backed, white-bellied Megalodon circled once, then swam back toward the pillars. Seeing the immense shark rushing with lethal intent, its gaping maw full of countless teeth now perilously close, I knew our peripheral defense was gone with the fallen pillars. I shoved Gu Chai forward, urging the group deeper into the labyrinth of stone columns, while simultaneously firing a fish arrow at the giant shark. The shot struck the shark square in the face; it thrashed twice in the water, leaving a faint trail of blood as it charged again.

We used the moment to swim into the center of the ruined pillar forest, weaving through the gaps between massive stones that propped up the wreckage, trying to circle back toward the surface. Realizing the fish arrow’s poison wasn't enough to instantly subdue the shark, we retreated to find cover in a crevice between the stones. The ruins, piled mountain-high and forest-like, grew denser the deeper we went, intermingled with shards of shipwreck debris and old conch shells. This underwater thicket of lifeless matter formed a crisscrossing natural obstacle, temporarily neutralizing the giant shark.

However, some smaller Blue Sharks, able to slip through the smallest openings, began infiltrating the underwater ruins. Irley Yang and I were overwhelmed; we shot the distant ones with fish arrows, and when they got close, Gu Chai engaged them with his sharp clam-shaving blade in close combat. Soon, the surrounding seawater was stained with blood. We were entirely encircled by large schools of sharks within the pillar forest, making escape to the surface nearly impossible.

We were slowly forced by the sharks into a dead end where several pillars stood together. I helped Irley Yang reload her fish gun, and she took turns firing her dual hydraulic spears, dispatching the sharks squeezing in through the gaps between the boulders. In no time, twelve darts were spent. I tossed aside the empty gun, grabbed the snorkel Irley Yang handed me, and took a breath. Gu Chai was crouched beneath an overhang of a massive rock; the moment a shark swam overhead, he seized the chance, thrusting his curved blade into its belly. Blue Sharks moved with terrifying speed and aggression; even after being struck, their momentum didn't slow. One after another, they were eviscerated by Long Hu Gu Chai.

The curved short sword in Gu Chai’s hand was a true underwater weapon. Forged from handle to tip as a single piece, it was etched with ancient dragon scale patterns, shaped like a cold hook or a crescent moon, its tip exceptionally broad and sharp. Tempered with three parts fine steel and one part melted gold, it was the signature dagger used by the Dan people for scraping mussels and slaying dragons underwater. This anomalous blade traced its history back a thousand years, traditionally reserved for the leaders of the Dan lineage. Now in Long Hu Gu Chai’s grip, it had slain several fierce sharks without its edge showing any damage, nor did any blood cling to the blade. The water near Gu Chai was churned into a muddy mess by shark entrails and blood, yet the Dragon Arc blade shone with an intense, cold light even in the gloom, the foul mixture unable to obscure its gleam.

Fatty stayed close to Gu Chai, moving in to deliver the killing blow with his diving knife to any shark that wasn't completely dead. But some Blue Sharks were savagely tenacious; even with long gashes across their bellies, they thrashed and bit everywhere. The underwater chaos became so thick that it was impossible to distinguish shark blood from human blood.

I sucked a large gulp of oxygen from Irley Yang’s scuba tank and drew my diving knife simultaneously, joining the frenzied melee of man versus shark. Using a knife against sharks underwater is an act of absolute madness, tantamount to suicide; under normal circumstances, one wouldn't last a moment. We were only holding our ground by exploiting the terrain, managing to kill several vicious Blue Sharks.

Yet, in this desperate battle, while we could hold them off temporarily, the high concentration of blood in the water was drawing in even more sharks. The other sea creatures that had been fleeing the initial rush were granted amnesty and scrambled back to their hiding places in the sunken graveyard. Our diving team, however, had become the sole target, fighting for our lives in water dyed red, where any moment of relaxation meant falling prey to the "Shark’s Kiss."

Attempting to surface now meant abandoning the protection of the pillars and facing enemies attacking from front and back in the open water. But fighting desperately underwater was merely drinking poison to quench thirst—it was a desperate measure. Our scuba tanks were nearly empty, and human endurance had its limits; within minutes, we were all destined to be eaten alive.

The water in the Ghost Abyss was restless. The toppled pillars continually stirred up underwater currents, washing away patches of blood only for fresh crimson to cloud the water again. Sharks disemboweled but not immediately killed thrashed about, their intestines trailing. If they drifted out of the ruin’s corner, they were instantly attacked and devoured by other vicious sharks, while streams of blood continuously rose from the deeper parts. Although we were close to the surface, the thickening blood began to obscure the light filtering down. In that moment, we were submerged in a sea of gore, confronted by filth and swarms of approaching sharks, the ruins acting as an impenetrable iron cage.

Seeing everyone gradually losing strength, I inwardly cursed; if we didn't break out immediately, we would surely be trapped here. Just then, a surge of water washed away the nearby gore, and I chanced to see Gu Chai's movements in the water beginning to slow. A shark sliced through the pillar gaps like an electric shuttle, flashing past him. Gu Chai's arms and hands were coated in the viscous slime of shark entrails; as soon as one layer was washed away, another was smeared on, causing his grip to slip. He tried to raise his blade to strike the passing predator, but exhausted, even his hand holding the Dragon Arc short blade lost its strength, nearly dropping the weapon, rendering him unable to fight. His hesitation proved fatal; the shark, maddened by the blood, swiftly circled halfway and lunged for Gu Chai’s exposed torso.

I cried out internally in alarm, nearly swallowing gulps of salty, foul water—Gu Chai was finished this time. Although Irley Yang and I were not far from him, in that split second, trying to reach him was virtually impossible. Worse, Fatty, who was closest, was struggling to pull his diving knife out of the belly of a half-dead Blue Shark. Trapped in the twisting shark’s struggles, he couldn't possibly help.

But perhaps Long Hu Gu Chai was simply not fated to die today. Just as the vicious shark's "Kiss" was about to graze Gu Chai, it suddenly whipped its tail and shot away into the distance, fleeing as if escaping some unseen catastrophe. The three of us, along with Irley Yang, were momentarily stunned, unsure what anomalous event had occurred in the water. But sea life, attuned to the depths, perceives underwater dangers far better than humans. We saw that many dead fish, belly-up, had surfaced from nowhere, brought up by a deep undertow. The previously black depths suddenly emitted a dim light. Where the pillars had collapsed, the water churned and boiled, and we could feel strong, scorching currents reaching us.

It seemed the weight of the pillars and the wreck had crushed the vent of an underwater hot spring. Captain Ruan Hei had mentioned seeing hot springs deep beneath the sea before he died; most were intermittent, found near deep chasms and abysses, their heat a hundred times fiercer than any earthly hot spring. That "hundred times" might be an exaggeration, but the sight of schools of dead fish rising from the deep confirmed the sheer power of the seafloor vents. Anyone too close would be boiled alive instantly, even inside heavy diving suits made of metal and rubber.

Though the Dragon Fire-like heat was formidable, it was confined to a few deep fissures within the sunken graveyard. As the boiling water rushed upward, its searing heat naturally diminished, but it simultaneously generated several extremely powerful rising currents. The hordes of sharks that had been tightly pursuing us instantly scattered or, in their panic, darted into the scalding undertow, where they were scalded to death.

We were now close to the surface, and the rising water swept us upward in a dizzying rush. Above the collapsed and overlapping pillars was the hull of the Trident, a Sea Willow ship that had lodged there after breaching the hull. Most of the copper plating on the bottom, which hadn't filled with water, had been smashed away, and the hull was punctured by several large holes from the pillars. Struck by the scalding surge, we fought the current desperately, squeezing through several holes in the watertight compartment and entering the main hold, which was already half-submerged.

My head broke the surface, and in the pitch-black cabin, I gasped deeply. The dizziness from the heat and oxygen deprivation began to subside. I felt around for cargo crates and, with immense effort, managed to pull myself onto one. In the dark hold, several beams of diving flashlight beams danced. Following the lights, I located Fatty and Irley Yang in succession. All three of us were steaming, as if pulled from a hot pot. Thankfully, we were far enough from the deep chasm’s heat source, and our diving suits protected us from severe burns, but the near-death experience left us gasping for air atop the crates.

I immediately noticed Gu Chai was missing from the diving team. Forcing myself to rally, I tore the headlamp from my chest harness and swept its beam wildly across the surface of the water in the hold. Fatty, Irley Yang, and I were frantic, terrified he had been swept into a dead end and cooked into a 'hot egg.' Suddenly, a bare shoulder broke the surface of the water. On the shoulder was the familiar tattoo of the dragon, sea, and fish—it was Gu Chai. I shouted instantly, and Fatty and I reached out, dragging him from the water like a dead weight. He was completely limp, eyes shut tight, with only a shallow breath left.

Seeing Gu Chai deathly pale and unresponsive, I urgently shook his shoulder, trying to rouse him from unconsciousness. Fatty wiped the water from his own face and sat heavily on the floor, panting. He hadn't been able to speak underwater for a long time and was clearly struggling for breath. He joined my calls to Gu Chai: "Gu Chai, if you die, your Long Hu line ends! Of the three major filial failures, having no heir is the worst. If you must die, wait until you go to France, marry, have a child, then die!"

Irley Yang was also nearly exhausted. After regulating her breathing, she quickly moved to check Gu Chai. She felt for his pulse and breath, then sighed in relief, telling Fatty and me, "Don't worry, his breathing is steady; he didn't inhale water. He's just completely depleted from severe muscle and nerve tension. He’ll be fine after a short rest."

Hearing that Gu Chai was alright, the weight lifted from my chest. I had been needlessly frantic. I sat down beside Fatty. This was no time to rest. The fluctuating sea vapors and currents of the Southern Dragon were the most complex and obscure arts within Feng Shui theory—both "Form and Principle" and "Vitality and Qi" were hidden within chaos and void. Only now, trapped at the 'Sea Eye,' did I begin to understand the unprecedented danger and strangeness of our situation. This 'Ghost Abyss' deep underwater relied entirely on the condensation of sea energy within the dragon veins. There was no guarantee that the water suspended above us wouldn't collapse the cavernous, whale-belly-like space at any moment, triggering another catastrophic subsidence. Since we already possessed the Qin King's Bone-Mirror, we shouldn't linger another second. Even if the water didn't immediately rush in, the collapse of the giant stone ruins beneath the ship meant even the hold of the Trident was unsafe.

With this realization, I gritted my teeth and stood up. I told Irley Yang and Fatty, "The others pulled out early, and the provisions are moved. I think we should retreat quickly too." As I motioned for Fatty to help me lift Gu Chai, we saw the water churning beneath the cargo crates. That same great shark that had been stalking us in the wreck had been forced by the heat surge to circle wildly, only to follow us into the hold moments later, suddenly flaring its fins and swimming toward us.

The hold of the Sea Willow ship was much smaller and shallower than the previous cruise liner. When the massive shark swam in, the water level surged significantly. I stood bent over on top of a crate, immediately feeling the water rise past my ankles. The crate wobbled, threatening to tip over. We had barely escaped the deadly underwater ruins after a desperate flight, earning no respite, only to face another life-or-death trial.

A pale gray shadow flickered in the dark water below. A row of cargo crates was smashed by the shark’s head and crashed into the water with a boom. Fatty lost his footing first and tumbled in, and as the crate beneath me emptied, I fell in after him. In the moment before hitting the water, I snatched Gu Chai’s clam-scraping Dragon Arc blade. Just then, I saw Irley Yang pulling Gu Chai backward in the water, straining to drag him away. The great shark agitated its fins, half-submerged, its gaping mouth full of terrifying teeth aimed directly at her.

I saw that Irley Yang and Gu Chai were directly in the shark’s path, half-submerged, standing on the toppled crates. They had nowhere to evade the charging shark; one leap forward from the water, and it could easily bite them both. At that moment, I couldn't worry about dodging myself. I raised my blade and thrust hard at the gray-backed, white-bellied killer. The legendary blade of the Dan leader, used for scraping mussels and slaying whales, proved its worth. With a swift shhhhk, the sharp, broad head of the Dragon Arc short blade plunged into the shark’s spine, slicing a meter-long gash as easily as cutting tofu, splashing blood all over my face.

The shark bled profusely from the Dragon Arc’s cut, but the wound, though deep, wasn't fatal, and it still tried to violently attack. Seeing the first strike failed to kill it, I took advantage of my position and stabbed the shark several more times. Fatty, too, was slashing wildly at the shark's soft underbelly with his knife. This great shark was truly unlucky to be trapped in the confined space of the cargo hold—like a grounded fast boat. Before it could fully deploy its power, it received a hundred cuts in the flurry of blades and was clearly finished.

Though a large creature is slow to die, the colossal shark thrashed its tail and shook its head violently, smashing several crates in the hold into splinters. It made one final lunge toward Gu Chai and Irley Yang but missed, its head crashing through the hold's deck plating with a loud thud. The blood-soaked shark slid back into the water, belly up, unable to move.

Irley Yang had just managed to pull Gu Chai clear of the shark’s leaping strike. Seeing the monster finally dead, the relief caused her exhaustion to catch up; she staggered back a step, leaning against the wall breached by the shark’s head, gasping for breath. Concerned she might have been injured during the chaos, I aimed my flashlight at her. Blood was everywhere; it was impossible to tell if it was shark blood or human.

Irley Yang could only shake her head, signaling she was unharmed. Relieved, I sighed and was about to retract the flashlight and climb out of the water when a thought struck me: there was a false partition in this hold—it seemed to conceal some secret that could not be revealed. Captain Ruan Hei had fiercely forbidden me from looking at it when we were at sea. Wouldn't the location of that hidden compartment be precisely where the shark’s head had punched through?

A chill ran down my spine. I started to warn Irley Yang not to stay near the breached wall, but before I could speak, she seemed to sense something strange behind her. She turned just as a black, withered-looking arm, appearing rotten and dried, reached out of the hole and suddenly rested on her shoulder. Simultaneously, muffled murmuring voices drifted out from the hidden compartment.