When the yacht returned to the offshore platform, Song Zhao had already used the compass to determine the specific location for diving into the sea.

"We have about one more hour, otherwise the crust will close again," Song Zhao said. "With your abilities, returning to the surface is not difficult, but breaking through the crust would cause flooding, and innocent people on Earth would suffer."

Ye Fan nodded in agreement. Breaking through several kilometers of crust would inevitably create huge waves and tsunamis that would flood cities along the East China Sea coast, which was an outcome Ye Fan did not want to see.

"There's no time to delay, let's set off," Ye Fan said.

Riding on their swords, they soon arrived above the spot in the East China Sea. The sea was very clear, and one could see clearly a few dozen meters below the surface, but the transparency decreased significantly deeper down.

Ye Fan used his Spiritual Sense to scan the surroundings. This part of the sea was almost like a "dead sea," with no living creatures present, which showed how harsh the environment was beneath the sea.

"Once the crust opens, the seawater will pour in, but the impact won't be large. We just need to go in along the crevice..." Song Zhao gave the final instructions.

Ye Fan raised his hand and said, "Wait."

Song Zhao looked at him and asked, "Young Master Ye, is there still a problem?"

Ye Fan did not have many objections about going to the seabed or entering the crust, but his logical thinking made him realize a problem.

Song Zhao previously said that finding this treasure would cause too much commotion, so he had to cooperate with Tang Boheng, who had exploration rights in the East China Sea. But according to Song Zhao's current statement, they only need to dive at the right time to enter the crust, with little disturbance. So why did Song Zhao still need to cooperate with Tang Boheng?

It was evident that Song Zhao was lying about something, either about the matter of entering the crust or some details of his cooperation with Tang Boheng.

"Young Master Ye, the crevice in the crust on the seabed is already open. If we don't enter now, we'll waste time," Song Zhao urged, "You're not worried about not being able to return once inside the crust, are you?"

Wu Ding laughed, "Do you think we're incapable of breaking through the crust?"

Returning was not difficult; it was merely a matter of breaking the crust. With Ye Fan and the others' cultivation, they had the necessary strength, but the issue was that doing so would bring disaster to the ordinary people in coastal cities on Earth. Ye Fan had to guard against the possibility of Song Zhao's deceit.

Elder Wu asked cautiously, "Junior brother, is there a problem?"

"Let's leave a few people on the surface," Ye Fan said, "Senior Sister Wu Ding, you and Qing Xu should stay, as you have just recovered from a serious injury and could use this time to recuperate."

"Are you looking down on your senior sister?" Wu Ding frowned.

Ye Fan shook his head, "It's just a precaution. This is our first time working with them, so it's best to be cautious."

Wu Ding and Elder Wu exchanged a glance, and she nodded, "You all hurry back!"

...

...

Elder Wu took the lead, followed by Song Zhao and his nephew Song Xian, and finally Ye Fan, Li Zhaojun, and Min Shang. The six dove quickly, reaching the seabed of the East China Sea in less than a minute.

Here, the water depth was less than two hundred meters, with coral reefs being the main feature, and a three to four-meter-wide crevice had already appeared on the seabed. Seawater was cascading into the crevice, but since it was only a few kilometers long, the inflow was not much, and no vortex had formed on the seabed.

"Fishing boats should be passing around here, which might cause some trouble for them," Ye Fan remarked, as Elder Wu and the Song pair had already entered the crevice.

Ye Fan followed suit, diving along with the inflowing seawater. The temperature began to rise.

Beneath the crust was also the magma layer, but the magma wasn't erupting, and the temperature here was only sixty to seventy degrees. For average people, this was extremely high, but for those like Ye Fan, who had reached the Golden Core Stage or beyond, such temperatures had no impact on their vital signs.

After diving a few more kilometers, they arrived at a spot still covered by seawater, but the surrounding space became vaguely brighter.

It was like there was a second ocean beneath the crust.

Within the ocean, there were pavilions and towers, and even high walls like a submerged palace, but submerged in seawater, they had become ruins, reminiscent of the Atlantis-like underwater palaces Ye Fan had seen before.

There was a peculiar blue light here, perhaps emitted by seaweed or the rock walls. The entire subterranean ocean was vast, beyond the reach of Spiritual Sense.

"It's like an underwater dragon palace," Ye Fan commented.

As they spoke, they arrived at the palace, stopping on a stone staircase. Ye Fan reached out to touch the moss on the steps, which emitted a blue glow, but upon contact, the glow gradually faded.

Li Zhaojun asked, "How do these creatures like moss survive when the oxygen levels here are extremely low?"

Ye Fan shook his head; like deep-sea creatures, their survival couldn't be understood through regular life patterns.

This time, Ye Fan didn't need Song Zhao's reminder to feel a strong energy fluctuation in the distance, resonating with an artifact he carried, not the Tongling Mirror, but a gourd he had brought back from the Tianxuan Sect.

After a brief rest, they swam toward where the energy emanated. After covering a few more kilometers, they saw a gigantic blue crystal floating in the seawater.

The blue crystal was almost oval, over a hundred meters long and wide. A waterspout beneath connected directly with the deeper mantle layer as if it were a bottomless abyss.

Surrounding the blue crystal were many small creatures, including fish, shrimp, and crabs. The energy emitted by the blue crystal could be absorbed by ordinary creatures, allowing these small beings to survive even without feeding, by using the crystal's energy.

"Is this the treasure your Taiyuan Star seeks?" Ye Fan asked, frowning.

"Yes," Song Zhao replied with a hint of emotion. "Our Taiyuan Star is originally a giant blue crystal, where all people can live without needing food. But over two hundred years ago, the crystal's energy depleted, and since our planet is small, in these two hundred years, the population has plummeted as people fought over resources. Soon, all life on Taiyuan Star will vanish. We must find a crystal piece to reactivate our planet's life essence crystal, which is why we came to Earth."

The story sounded logical, but Ye Fan didn't believe Song Zhao's tale.

The supposed importance of Taiyuan Star and its reliance on such a crystal were not believable. The notion of not competing for food or resources and merely existing contradicted the survival of the fittest principle, suggesting such a planet might not exist.

"We cannot give you this thing," Ye Fan suddenly declared firmly.

"Young Master Ye... why are you going back on your word?" Song Zhao glared at Ye Fan.

Ye Fan shook his head, "You've seen it too. This crystal is tied to Earth's deeper layers. Removing it could trigger oceanic or crustal upheavals, which might overturn the entire Earth!"

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