The sudden violent tremors startled the two men.
A tremor, growing stronger with each passing moment, rippled beneath their feet, making it feel as though they were standing on a wildly vibrating drum.
Seeing the mantis shrimp thrown headfirst to the ground by the jolting, Zhang Qiling and Hei Yanjing quickly grabbed onto the edges of nearby structures to steady themselves.
(An undersea earthquake?)
Zhang Qiling half-crouched, carefully sensing the direction of the ground's movement. Unlike the horizontal motion of typical undersea quakes, the ground here seemed to be exhibiting a subtle upward trend?!
Could it be geological uplift occurring between tectonic plate compressions?
Just then, Hei Yanjing suddenly looked up—
(Dumb one, look ahead!)
Zhang Qiling swiftly activated his searchlight. Following the direction Hei Yanjing pointed, he was shocked to discover that a pitch-black fissure had opened up at the edge of the palace complex!
This fissure gradually extended, cracking along the palace complex, and its momentum suggested it was slowly "excavating" the entire palace!
The palace complex within the fissure was ascending, but the outer coral reefs remained motionless. This was absolutely not an undersea earthquake.
...What was down there, trying to emerge?
In that instant, Zhang Qiling thought of the mysterious creature emitting a constant aura from the base of the tower. However, they had never imagined that the entire palace complex was actually built upon that creature.
During their earlier deep dive, they had caught a fleeting glimpse, perceiving the palace complex as boundless, spanning the entire seabed, making its exact area impossible to measure. It was as vast as an underwater Forbidden City.
If such an architectural complex was built relying on a creature, how awe-inspiring must that creature be? Could it be a deep-sea dragon?
At this moment, Zhang Qiling finally understood the true reason why this architectural complex, submerged for a thousand years, remained so pristine and unburied—the palace was constantly moving on the seabed, following the unknown creature.
And as they were contemplating, they heard a slightly delayed roar through the water!
Their bodies lightened as they were carried upwards by the structures beneath their feet, beginning a slow ascent!
With the crackling of breaking stones accompanied by a long, whistle-like sound, the tower spewed forth an unprecedentedly massive stream of bubbles, as if heralding the awakening of the overlord below!
As the palace complex ascended, a vast void appeared on the seabed. Endless seawater rushed in to fill it, creating countless wild and violent currents!
The two men held firmly onto the stone protrusions, pressing themselves against the sides of the palace. However, after years of submersion, even unique materials were bound to become loose. Under the combined pull of the strong currents and their own weight, the structure suddenly fractured!
Zhang Qiling was instantly flung into the violent current. If he went with that momentum, he might be swept into that bottomless, dark abyss!
With no time to hesitate, the Black Gold Ancient Blade instantly sliced through the waves, embedding itself deeply into the ground of the lower palace complex like a divine needle stabilizing the sea!
Zhang Qiling resisted the water pressure and immediately knelt on the ground, one hand gripping the hilt of the blade, the other reaching out lightning-fast in a determined direction—
In that flash of lightning, Hei Yanjing was already prepared and grabbed Zhang Qiling's hand.
Having caught him, Zhang Qiling used the momentum to slam Hei Yanjing flat onto the ground, while simultaneously shifting his own posture from kneeling to prone!
This position significantly reduced the water force acting upon them. Zhang Qiling endured the heavy impact of the water and slightly raised his head, only to see the tower not far ahead.
At this moment, the gluttonous mantis shrimp was so terrified that it clung to the top of the tower. The sea fireflies had also been swept away by the waves, wherever they might be.
The seabed, plunged back into darkness, was illuminated by Zhang Qiling's searchlight, creating a peculiar interplay of light and shadow with the darkness cast by the mantis shrimp.
And within this dimness, two ancient characters faintly appeared on the surface of the tower—
(Yingzhou)
...This is Yingzhou?!
The famous immortal island of Yingzhou, was it a moving palace complex supported by an unknown creature?
If that were the case, it would indeed explain why this legendary immortal island appeared and disappeared intermittently, its location random. Some people swore they had landed on the island, but most had never had the chance.
However, this was not good news for Zhang Qiling and Hei Yanjing at the moment.
Hei Yanjing's tortoise shell did indeed record a method for finding Yingzhou. Ancient tortoise shells were often used for divination, and this one was also used for the same purpose.
It was imbued with the secrets of the I Ching and Bagua, hinting at the general location of Yingzhou's appearance a thousand years later, and mentioning that by finding the stars in the sea, one could witness the immortal island of Yingzhou reappear.
The stars in the sea referred to the sea fireflies, which were likely attracted and illuminated by the aura emitted by this mysterious creature supporting the island.
But if that were the case—
It meant that after the island-supporting creature awakened, it would inevitably ascend again, revealing the island of Yingzhou to the world!
Now, Zhang Qiling and Hei Yanjing could faintly sense the creature's speed accelerating. If they continued to stay in this palace, they would very likely be carried by this creature to ascend at extreme speed and break the surface!
Although Song Shuning's diving suit was of excellent performance and fully equipped, it still adhered to basic diving principles.
That is—when ascending, one must surface slowly.
Having dived so deep, if they were to be brought up directly, the drastic pressure changes, even if not fatal, would be enough to cause embolisms, paralysis, or even severe injury.
At that point, if they encountered any unpredictable dangers, they would be like fish on a chopping block, at the mercy of their predators.
...They had to find an opportunity to jump off this creature!
The two men reached a consensus through an unspoken communication channel, but the raging currents made it an unsuitable time to escape. They could only wait patiently.
As the ascent distance grew larger, Zhang Qiling, though outwardly calm, felt a slight urgency in his heart.
Their expected psychological location was almost reached, and if the currents did not subside before then, they would have to take a gamble!
And at this moment, a great opportunity suddenly appeared!!!
The mantis shrimp finally lost its strength. Despite its numerous small, sharp legs digging into the tower, it could not resist the pull of the current. With a crackling sound, it was instantly swept away, flying directly towards the direction where the two men were!
The turbulent currents had not yet subsided, but the mantis shrimp's body was heavy. If used properly, it could serve as their shield!
Zhang Qiling stared intently at the direction the mantis shrimp was flying, but the vortex was filled with countless scattered debris, making it difficult to discern. Just then, Hei Yanjing, whom he was holding, suddenly squeezed his hand!
Understanding instantly, Zhang Qiling forcefully threw Hei Yanjing upwards!
At this moment, the mantis shrimp passed directly above them, but it was facing downwards, presenting a row of sharp legs towards the two men.
As he was thrown upwards, Hei Yanjing had already drawn his gun. The specially designed bullet broke through the water, hitting the side of the mantis shrimp's ventral carapace precisely. With the force of the current, the mantis shrimp was abruptly flipped over!
And at this moment, Zhang Qiling violently pulled out the Black Gold Ancient Blade, and the two men, using the water's force, slammed heavily onto the smooth, upturned back carapace of the mantis shrimp!
A wave of intense pain struck them, but they ignored it, instantly adjusting their positions to shield themselves with the mantis shrimp.
With the sound of cracking stones, the mantis shrimp smashed through the roofs of several palace structures and was flung out of the palace complex by the water, hurtling towards a giant reef!
"Buzz—!!!"
A ripple of water suddenly appeared—it was the call of the island-supporting creature!
Zhang Qiling and Hei Yanjing looked up abruptly, their eyes meeting a terrifying pupil!
The eye seemed to fill their entire field of vision, immensely vast. The bottom of the enormous black eyeball was adorned with a diamond-shaped, deep blue pupil, emitting a faint glow!
It was but a fleeting glance. Before they could look closer, they were both flung onto the reef along with the mantis shrimp!
The mantis shrimp's carapace was hard, but it still cracked under the force. Although the two men suffered impact injuries, they were not seriously harmed due to the cushioning effect.
When they looked up again, both Zhang Qiling and Hei Yanjing were stunned—
The creature, blocking out the sky and boundless, instantly felt as if it had occupied the entire ocean!
Its lower surface emitted faint blue glowing spots, flickering on and off, as if its ascent had awakened countless underwater spirits, bringing them to light together!
...Could this be an ancient giant whale?!!
Hei Yanjing was contemplating whether the creature would be tasty when he suddenly felt Zhang Qiling tug at him.
(Hurry up—)
(Wu Tianzhen and Fatty are still up there!)