Into The Sea

A moment later, four figures emerged from the water to sit on the cold, damp stone slabs, looking at each other in silence.

Clutching the fruit in his hand, Chu Ji wore a bitter expression and asked hoarsely, “Why did you all come down here?”

“I should be asking you that,” Yu Shanye retorted irritably while casting a cleansing spell on herself. “You said you’d be back up in a moment!”

“Well…” Chu Ji stammered, “Who could’ve known there were such strong currents underwater.”

Ji Lingyue, kneeling beside Lan Wu, finally relaxed when she saw her shake her head, indicating she was unharmed. “These currents are far stronger than usual,” she confirmed, turning back to the others. “I’m at the early stage of Golden Core, yet even I could barely control my movements in the water. I managed to swim a bit before being swept back.”

“If you couldn’t swim out, then I definitely wouldn’t have stood a chance,” Yu Shanye grumbled. She glanced back and suddenly froze. “Wait, what… what is this place?”

They found themselves in an incredibly vast space. Several night pearls scattered about provided light, revealing a few white jade pillars carved with dragons and phoenixes amidst the ruins of dilapidated palaces.

The areas beyond the light’s reach were swallowed by darkness, exuding a chilling, silent aura.

Chu Ji couldn’t help but shiver and murmured, “I… I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Yu Shanye frowned. “This is your island!”

“It is,” Chu Ji replied, “but this is the first time I’ve seen this place.”

“Stop arguing,” Lan Wu interrupted, glancing uneasily at the ruins behind her. “Maybe we should just go back the way we came?”

“I’ll try swimming up again,” Ji Lingyue agreed.

“I’ll go with you,” Chu Ji quickly stood up.

Yu Shanye opened her mouth, seemingly about to volunteer as well, but a glance at Lan Wu’s pale face made her sigh. “I’ll stay here then.”

Ji Lingyue nodded, then thought for a moment and placed a protective talisman on Lan Wu. Feeling a bit annoyed, Yu Shanye muttered, “Alright, alright, I’m here with her. What could possibly happen?”

Ji Lingyue remained unconvinced. “Just in case.”

After they went back into the water, the surroundings fell silent again. Lan Wu anxiously glanced around and slowly moved closer to Yu Shanye. Raising an eyebrow, Yu Shanye also scanned their surroundings but saw nothing out of the ordinary, she scoffed. “You’re really that scared?”

“You don’t understand,” Lan Wu whispered, “I have a bad feeling about this place.”

“What could you possibly sense? You haven’t even passed Elder Bai’s divination tests,” Yu Shanye replied, realizing she too had lowered her voice. She cleared her throat, trying to look serious. “Anyway, don’t scare yourself. There’s no one here.”

“I didn’t say there was anyone here,” Lan Wu mumbled, her gaze darting around the chamber. “What if there’s something else?”

“Don’t even joke about that!” Yu Shanye exclaimed, though her voice held a slight tremor. “Stop trying to scare me!”

“Who’s trying to scare you?” Lan Wu craned her neck to look behind them. After a moment, she couldn’t help but say, “I wanted to ask earlier.”

“What?” Yu Shanye snapped.

Lan Wu pointed towards the darkness behind them. “That black stain over there… doesn’t it look like dried blood?”

Goosebumps rose on Yu Shanye’s skin. She widened her eyes and stammered. “Lan Wu, are you crazy?” she sputtered, her voice a shaky whisper. “Seriously, are you messed up in the head? Here I am, keeping you company, and if you scare me again, I’ll leave you behind and go down into the water to find them.'”

Lan Wu blinked, then chuckled. “You tease me about being scared, but you’re not much better.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be so jumpy if you weren’t acting so suspicious!” Yu Shanye face turned red with irritation. She was about to argue more when Lan Wu’s expression changed, and she froze in place.

“You’re doing it again!” Yu Shanye cried, exasperated. She jumped to her feet. “That’s it! I’m going back into the water. You just stay here alone!”

Lan Wu grabbed her arm, her face pale. “Didn’t you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Yu Shanye snapped, trying to pull away.

Lan Wu hesitated. “A creaking sound… like ‘creak, creak…'”

She mimicked the noise with a blank expression, her voice soft and eerie as it drifted by Yu Shanye’s ear.

“Creak, creak…”

Yu Shanye shuddered and panicked. “Enough, enough, I’m done. Stop making those creepy noises.”

Lan Wu’s eyes widened in confusion. “That wasn’t me.”

Yu Shanye froze.

They stared at each for a long moment. Slowly, their gazes shifted upwards, towards the source of the sound.

A ghastly pale face was staring right back at them.

***

The two figures struggling through the water suddenly stopped. Chu Ji, confused, looked at Ji Lingyue questioningly, only to see her frantically pulling a talisman from her robe.

The talisman floated in the water, emitting a faint golden light before disintegrating into dust, swallowed by the razor-sharp currents.

Ji Lingyue’s expression changed. She pushed off the stone wall and swam back without hesitation. Chu Ji hesitated, glanced at the faint light above, then at her rapidly disappearing figure. Gritting his teeth, he continued swimming upward.

“Lan Wu!” Ji Lingyue shouted anxiously as soon as she surfaced. Her call was met with a thunderous crash. Startled, she looked toward the sound and was shocked by what she saw.

A massive red serpent was chasing the two girls. But upon closer inspection, Ji Lingyue realized it wasn’t a snake at all, but a rare blood vine. Even more eerie, atop its raised head was a human face.

Vines, thick as a man’s arm, protruded from the vine’s body, lashing out and smashing against the stone floor, sending shards of rock flying through the air.

Lan Wu, her right arm slick with blood, dodged another attack, shielding her head as she scrambled for cover. “Fire!” she screamed, “Use your fire to burn it!”

“It’s useless!” Yu Shanye replied in desperation.

Against such a monstrous creature, a mere Qi Refining cultivator was like an ant shaking a tree. Even if she managed to conjure a small flame, it would have no effect.

Ji Lingyue, snapping out of her momentary shock, scrambled onto the shore. As another thorny vine lashed out towards Lan Wu, she leaped forward, grabbing her waist and rolling them both to safety.

Lan Wu coughed from the dust and smoke, her face dirty. Seeing Ji Lingyue, she exclaimed with relief and joy. “Ah Yue!”