The power of the Lan Jing is very strong; she can even open up the Earth's crust of the East Sea and enter the ocean beneath the crust.

Without the previous large blue crystal, the underwater ocean was nearly dead silent, with dim surroundings. Even though there were still some blue luminous objects in the seawater, they were much fewer than before, and the marine life had significantly decreased.

Lan Jing sobbed, "It's all your fault, you made the sacred object disappear, and now it's like this."

Ye Fan said apologetically, "Miss Lan Jing, it's our fault; we shouldn't have disturbed the peace underground."

Lan Jing looked at Ye Fan with a slightly complex expression. She was indeed resentful towards Ye Fan for disrupting the tranquility of the underground and even causing the large blue crystal to decompose. Yet, she didn't hate Ye Fan because, apart from the small blue crystal, Ye Fan was her second friend, and she trusted him as much as she trusted her own mother.

"Miss Lan, where is the entrance to the underground world?" Wu Ding, seeing Lan Jing looking at Ye Fan with an emotional gaze, felt uncomfortable and asked.

"Follow me, I'll help you open it!"

Lan Jing moved ahead like a mermaid, with Ye Fan and the others following behind. They traveled for dozens of kilometers, reaching the deep layer of the underground ocean, about twenty thousand meters below sea level, twice as deep as the deepest trench.

"You enter from here, but I've never been down there, so I don't know the situation inside." Lan Jing pointed to a dark hole in the distance that looked like a gaping maw.

Only then did Ye Fan notice that the sea water from the underground ocean gradually flowed into this dark hole. Since the underground ocean was sealed, Lan Jing had to open the crust periodically to let the East Sea water seep into the underground ocean to replenish the sea water.

"Can't we just block this hole?" Ye Fan asked.

Lan Jing rested her head on her hand and asked, "Why block it?"

Ye Fan smiled, perhaps thinking that in Lan Jing's view, opening the crust to replenish the sea water wasn't a complicated matter. Having lived underground for so many years, she was accustomed to this plain and tasteless life, and perhaps seeing the ocean water and marine life entering was a supplement to her monotonous life.

"Miss Lan, wait here for us. We will be back soon. If you're worried about us, use the Jade Talisman to send us a message; we'll receive it." Ye Fan handed the Jade Talisman to Lan Jing, which emitted a special spiritual energy that could be sensed from a long distance.

"Alright." Lan Jing took the Jade Talisman in her hand and looked at Ye Fan as if to say, "You better come back."

Leading the group, Ye Fan swam down into the dark hole, where there was no light, relying only on spiritual sense to perceive the way ahead.

Wu Ding said, "Junior Brother, you truly have a way with women. Even that little girl Lan Jing is starting to have feelings for you."

"Senior Sister, don't you think it's boring to talk about this now? Let's hurry and see the underground world!"

Ye Fan and the others continued to dive down, and after about ten minutes, they had submerged to tens of thousands of meters deep. The underground passage seemed like a bottomless pit. Ye Fan used his spiritual sense to explore before saying, "The three-way junction below, could it be the passage to the underground world?"

"We'll know once we get over there."

Wu Ding led the way through the entrance, which unexpectedly sloped upward. After surfacing, they entered a wide ocean area where the water gradually changed from saltwater to freshwater, indicating one of the water sources of the underground world.

The higher they floated, the more light there was, and eventually, they emerged from the water's surface into an area still dark, but surrounded by the presence of living creatures, including fish, shrimp, crabs, and ordinary humans who had no cultivation, just mortals living underground.

"Who are you?" a young man's voice came from not far away.

Although there was no light, the other party could clearly see the situation on the water's surface.

Ye Fan knew that these underground inhabitants had excellent sight, or rather, they relied more on perception than vision, traits that evolution had preserved for their survival.

The group moved ashore, and Ye Fan sensed that they were on an island in a freshwater underground lake. The small island wasn't large, with a low mountain peak, and the ceiling above was made of a solid wall, seemingly metallic. A mortal's strength couldn't open it, and doing so would cause an earth-shattering quake, leading to the downfall of the underground kingdom and even toppling Hua Hai City directly above.

"We're visitors to the underground!" Ye Fan declared.

"Visitors? More like thieves?" the young man shouted, "We haven't had thieves here for decades; see how I deal with you!"

The young man wielded a magic sword, charging at the group, but his cultivation was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage, not a match for Ye Fan and the others.

Qing Xu, the young violent girl, was ready to step in, but Ye Fan stopped her, and with a strike of spiritual energy, sent the young man flying. The young man lay unconscious on the ground, soon surrounded by small bugs that seemed part of an underground ecosystem, where any dead person became food for these bugs. However, realizing the man wasn't dead, the bugs scattered, burrowing into the soil.

Wu Ding sneered, "Overestimating himself, doesn't even see the level of cultivation, a mere finger could crush him! Junior Brother, we've reached the underground, what's next?"

Ye Fan closed his eyes, feeling the changes in the bronze mirror within his body. Upon entering the underground world, the mirror's response intensified, vaguely pointing in a direction for them to proceed.

"This way."

Ye Fan moved without the magic sword, flying directly by controlling spiritual energy, with Li Zhaojun and Wu Ding following. Only Qing Xu, still at the Golden Core Stage, couldn't yet fly swiftly by controlling spiritual energy, but Wu Ding would pull her along.

After traveling for dozens of kilometers, they finally saw a hint of brightness ahead.

It seemed to be a large town, with signs of life everywhere, and even fire. In the distance, they saw some people pushing what looked like small carts toward the massive town.

"Let's go down and walk," Ye Fan suggested. The underground humans looked quite similar to them, and flying might alarm the underground residents.

However, the underground people covered their faces with cloth, much like Arabs, seemingly afraid of others seeing their faces.

As for their clothes, most wore blanket-like cloths draped over them. No matter the age or gender, everyone appeared in the same attire.

Ye Fan and the others found similar sheets in the continuous residential areas outside the town to drape over themselves, thus blending in with local attire.

As they reached the edge of the town, they saw the residents suddenly rise and madly rush toward the palace direction.

"What's happening?" Wu Ding wondered.

"Not sure, but there seems to be a strange music emanating from the palace direction," Ye Fan listened closely. "Could this be some form of religious practice in the underground kingdom?"

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