The uninhabited island has coral sand and coral mud all around it, scattered rocks in the center, and vertical stone peaks further inward.
Shi Hao took out the booklet from Taoist Zhong.
"Let's go!" He closed the booklet, "We need to go to the center of this Flower Coral Island."
They travelled at night and encountered no danger along the way.
In the middle of Huahu Island, there is a lake surrounded by rugged peaks.
At this time, the moon had just moved to the middle of the sky and was reflected in the center of the lake. The surface of the lake was like a mirror, bright and clear.
There is a big rock at the foot of a mountain near the lake.
Shi Hao pushed the boulder away with all his strength, and a cave was revealed.
Shi Hao took out the booklet again, and Xiaoyan beside him took out the jade tube with Ye Xin grass inside. He opened the lid at one end, and the Ye Xin grass emitted light to help him illuminate.
Shi Hao said: "This road leads to the Crystal Palace, but the roads inside are complicated. Once you get separated, it's easy to get lost inside, and you might even get lost at the bottom of the sea. So after you go in, don't separate."
Yueyaotai said: "In fact, there are many areas in the Crystal Palace that no one has ever been to. After entering the Crystal Palace, you must be careful. Don't touch some animals and plants that you have never seen before.
Shi Hao and Xu Xiaoyan turned their heads to look at the mushrooms.
Xianggu lowered her head, with her messy hair draped in front of her, even covering her eyes.
Shi Hao suspected that she was pretending not to hear.
He began to regret that he should not have brought the mushrooms.
Should we leave the mushrooms on the island
But in this case, no one would be watching her, and she might run away on her own, which would be even more dangerous.
"Let's go!" he said helplessly.
"I'll go ahead!" Xu Xiaoyan went in first.
Yueyaotai looked at Huan Tingting, and Huan Tingting followed Xu Xiaoyan.
Following closely are Xiangu, Shi Hao, and Yueyaotai.
Entering inside, there is a tunnel winding downwards, with neat wall stones on the side and stones paved underfoot.
Some places are inclined landslides, and in places that are too steep, footholds can be created.
Yueyaotai reached out and touched the smooth wall, saying, "It's so smooth, it doesn't look like it was built by human hands, and it's even less likely to be natural. It must have been opened up by divine power. It looks like the divine effect bestowed by the divine crystal 'Di Tu He'."
Xu Xiaoyan said: "Ah, there was a Taoist priest with white veins in the past. The magical power in his body seemed to be the 'Di Tu He'. He was an old senior in the Taoist sect and also a master of geomancy."
Huan Tingting turned around and said, "White-striped Taoist? I've heard of this man's name... Isn't he a tomb robber?"
Xu Xiaoyan said: "Yes, which tomb robber is not a geomancer?"
Shi Hao and Huan Tingting: “…” It seems to be correct.
I don’t know how long I walked down this path until I came to a shaft leading downwards.
The shaft went straight down, and no steps were visible. Xu Xiaoyan shone the light into the well, and discovered that the walls of the well were inlaid with square iron handrails.
She held the small jade tube in her mouth, turned around, flipped down the well, and fell down.
The others followed and after a long time, they landed in an underground space.
The closed underground cave seemed to have no exit except above them. However, Shi Hao had expected this. According to the records in the booklet, he found a stone button and turned it. A large stone next to it was moved away.
They left the cave and went outside. Shi Hao closed the cave entrance again according to the instructions in the booklet.
The big rock was moved back, so even if someone came here, they would not be able to find the exit.
There were many cracks in the ground around, which were indeed complicated. Shi Hao led the way and did not dare to be careless.
He had a good memory, but he still took out the booklet from time to time and read it again with the help of the beam of light given by Xu Xiaoyan, just in case.
After walking for about another half an hour, we emerged from a mountain peak and saw a bright light shining from above.
They looked up and saw transparent ice crystals above them. Above the ice crystals was a colorful underwater world.
There were actually many sea fish swimming above them. Yueyaotai said: "We have come to the periphery of the Crystal Palace. The ice crystals above were also built by the ancients."
Shi Hao asked, "How could the ancients have such magical means?"
Yueyaotai said: "If I had not seen the existence of the Crystal Palace with my own eyes, I would have found it hard to imagine."
Shi Hao thought of Yuanshi Cave Heaven and Yaochi Fairyland. If there really was a world with immortals and gods in the past, then there would be all kinds of wonders.
After walking for a while deep in the seabed, I could see ice crystals blocking the top from time to time. In addition, there were some places that were not covered with ice crystals, but the sea water poured in like a waterfall, falling into a deep abyss, forming a cycle of its own, which was quite amazing.
"There is someone ahead!" Yue Yaotai suddenly said in a low voice.
They stopped quickly.
Figures appeared in front of them, and those people also saw them and immediately became alert.
"Who are you?" someone on the other side asked.
Shi Hao laughed and said, "They are just some wanderers passing by! Who are you?"
I saw more than ten people walking towards me cautiously. Among them were men and women, old and young.
The person who asked the question was a middle-aged man, who was obviously practicing a powerful external martial art. He was muscular and strong, holding a thick-backed broadsword in his hand, with bright eyes and a curled scar on his left cheek.
He looked at Shi Hao and the other five people with surprise and suspicion.
You know, these people were wet all over, and all of them were wearing leather water jackets. It was obvious that they had gone through a lot of trouble to get here by sea.
The so-called diving suit is actually a diving suit, which is made of fish skin and shark skin and is specially used for diving.
However, Shi Hao and the others did not wear water jackets, and their bodies were only slightly damp due to the influence of the moisture here, and it was obvious that they had not passed through the water.
This made these people quite surprised, wondering how these five people reached the deep seabed
The middle-aged man held a thick-backed broadsword in his hand. He lowered the broadsword and held it upside down, with the tip of the sword facing downward. He bowed and said, "I am Zhu Bo, the Tiger of the River. I have gathered these brothers and want to go to the Crystal Palace to look for some immortal materials or jewels to exchange for some silver to make a living."
"You are able to reach this deep seabed, so you must be extraordinary people. Could you please tell me where you came from?"
Yue Yaotai walked forward slowly. At this moment, she was disguised and wearing a pleated skirt, but she had a kind face and a gentle expression, like a beautiful lady from a wealthy family.
She said softly: "My name is Lin Yao, this is my brother Lin Hao, and this is my niece Lin Xiaoyan.
"Don't worry, everyone. We just heard that there are henggong fish in the Crystal Palace, which can ward off evil and cure diseases. Because a relative at home is seriously ill and difficult to recover, we came to the Crystal Palace to find a few henggong fish to take back."
Xu Xiaoyan thought to herself that she seemed to be a generation lower than someone.
Shi Hao looked over and saw that this "Flipping River Tiger" Zhu Bo seemed easy to talk to, but some people behind him were obviously bandits who lived on the edge of a knife, and they seemed quite ruthless.
Two of them were approximately forty years old, with foreheads higher than normal people, so they must be brothers.
The two men had sinister looks, and their eyes looked at Yueyaotai with a bit of greed, and they kept looking back and forth at Shi Hao and the others. Shi Hao's mind moved slightly, knowing that the two men were probably greedy.
The mere fact that there is a hidden passage that can reach here directly without going through the water is enough to make these people have ideas.
The eyes of some other people were also wandering. If they had not figured out the origins of these five people, they would have already started taking action.
Behind this group of people, there were three more people, who were obviously not in the same group as the others.
Among the three men, one was a white-haired old man with a hunched back, looking weak and powerless, and coughing rapidly from time to time.
There were two people supporting him, a man and a woman, both around twenty years old.
These three people followed behind "Flipping River Tiger" Zhu Bo and others. Although they looked at the five of them curiously, they didn't seem to have any ill intentions.
"That's perfect!" Zhu Bo looked back. "This Mr. Chen is also going to the Crystal Palace to look for the croaker. In that case, why don't we all go to the Crystal Palace together? Mr. Chen, what do you think?"
The white-haired old man coughed suddenly and said, "Good! Good!"
The young man next to him helped him to steady himself, and the woman massaged his back to help him catch his breath.
The white-haired old man said, "Alas, I am old and useless now. I can only trouble you."
Zhu Bo said: "Mr. Chen, there is no need to be so polite."
—The man laughed softly and said, “As long as you pay.”
Zhu Bo looked at Shi Hao and the other five people: "What do you think?"
Yueyao's face was full of compassion, and she spoke softly, "It's a good thing that we can take care of each other."
Shi Hao, Xu Xiaoyan and Xianggu looked at her together... Although they knew she was pretending, it really felt like she was a completely different person.
The white-haired old man said: "Then let's go together... cough cough... cough cough cough..."
Yueyaotai looked towards the white-haired old man.
Yue Yaotai and Zhu Bo walked in front, while Huan Tingting, who was dressed as a maid with a sword deliberately inserted at her waist, followed behind her.
Xianggu was carrying her sack on her back, with disheveled hair, looking around with a curious look on her face.
Shi Hao and Xu Xiaoyan were walking behind, when suddenly, the shadows on both sides turned out to be the two middle-aged men with high foreheads.
One of them pretended to laugh cheerfully and said, "It's not easy for you to get to a place like this. I wonder which road you took to get down here?"
Xu Xiaoyan laughed and said, "Of course..."
The two men pricked up their ears, and the others slowed down their pace.
Xu Xiaoyan blinked: "The same way we came!"
Chapter 235 Crystal Palace: Underwater World!
At this moment, the two men's faces relaxed and became gloomy and ugly, and the pace of the others quickened again.
Shi Hao smiled and said, "May I ask your names, uncles?"
One of them said, "I am He Jing, and this is my brother He Gang. We used to travel in Liaodong, and the heroes in the martial arts world didn't abandon us and gave us the nickname 'The Two Heroes of Hunshan'."
Shi Hao said, "Excuse me! Excuse me! Alas, luckily you are here. I heard that the Crystal Palace is quite dangerous. If you are not good at martial arts, you will inevitably encounter danger. Although the five of us were lucky enough to come down through a secret path, we are still very worried.
"Now that you are here, especially with the protection of the two uncles, I feel much more at ease."
Xu Xiaoyan nodded vigorously: "That's right! That's right!"
He Jing and He Gang puffed out their chests proudly.
The two heroes of Hunshan saw that the five people were not too old. The beautiful woman walking in front and the maid behind her were older, but obviously under 30 years old.
The woman carrying the sack was small and thin, and looked a little strange. She seemed out of place among the five people. She might be a specially invited person from the underworld with certain abilities.
As for the young men and girls, they are all under 20 years old. Generally speaking, at this age, even if they have practiced martial arts, most of them are around the eighth or ninth rank, so there is no need to worry too much.
The He brothers looked at each other quietly.
There was another woman in front of her who turned around and said with a smile: "My little brother, you are really good at talking."
There were more than ten people in this group, and there were only two women among them. One of them was the young woman next to the white-haired old man, and the other was the person who turned back now.
The woman was wearing a sky blue leather jacket. Although it was a leather jacket, no one knew what kind of leather it was made of. It fit her body tightly yet was quite soft.
The tight water jacket that clearly outlines her figure can be said to be quite bold. Her hair is tied up in a bun to make it easier for her to swim in the water.
The soft, close-fitting cushions were sky blue with some white silk patterns, which made the curves of her chest exposed and rise and fall with her steps.
The woman took two steps back in an instant, separating Shi Hao and He Jing. She half stuck to Shi Hao and said with a smile:
"My dear, please do not be careless. The Crystal Palace is dangerous, but it is only a relic left over from the past. There are also some creatures that are powerful but have no intelligence. The human heart is much more dangerous than this."
Shi Hao turned his head and smiled: "I wonder what is this sister's name?"
The woman in the sky-blue tights smiled and said, "My name is Shui Xiuyan, and I have a little reputation in the martial arts world, called 'Jiuxiang Jiao'."
Shi Hao said: "Disrespect, disrespect!"
The He brothers each snorted inwardly, knowing that this vicious woman was also planning on these people.
It turns out that Shui Xiuyan's nickname is not "Jiuxiang Jiao'e" but "Jiudu Jiao'e". She is a famous poisonous woman among the nine lower classes, with a poisonous body and a poisonous heart.
Anyone who offends her will fall into her clutches if they are not careful, and will be unable to live or die.
Even if you haven't offended her, if she takes a fancy to something, you have to be on guard day and night. Every bowl of noodles you eat outside and every sip of water you drink may be poisoned by her, and you won't even know how you died.
The moisture around me was getting heavier and heavier, and breathing was a little difficult, as if I had reached a plateau. Fortunately, I was not completely unable to breathe.
Gradually, bubbles began to float up around them, and their footsteps also began to float up.
—The stone peaks are covered with fluorescent mosses and coral trees of various colors.
—The interlaced light gives this mysterious underwater world a strange color.