Why was it that this one stretch of water remained so utterly still, even while the surrounding sea raged with towering waves?

Madam Helian and Helian Shaoze had fled down below — what could possibly be down there?

Everyone exchanged knowing looks, the same unspoken understanding passing between them — whatever lay below was dangerous, and deciding whether to go down meant deciding whether to take that risk.

“I’ll go down. The rest of you wait here,” Jun Beiyue said decisively.

But Ziqing was even quicker — without a word, she thrust Xiong Xiaobao into Baili Weisheng’s arms and stepped forward at once.

“You two, stop right there!”

Baili Weisheng was furious. This couple really had some nerve, dumping both the old and the young on him — what did they think he was?

How could he be left out of the danger?

“Kid, be good and stay with your grandma. When we get back, I’ll have your mommy catch you a big crab to play with.”

With that, he handed Xiong Xiaobao off to Meng Wanyue, whistling as he strolled over to stand beside Ziqing, casually stretching in preparation to dive.

Ziqing couldn’t help but burst out laughing, and Jun Beiyue shrugged, indicating he didn’t mind one more joining them.

But just as the three of them were about to enter the water, Xiong Xiaobao, who’d been silently watching this whole time, finally spoke up, his tone imperious and cold. “Henggong fish, come out!”

The moment the words left his mouth, the Henggong fish appeared out of thin air, hovering before Xiong Xiaobao. He pouted, glanced at the three adults, then immediately climbed onto the Henggong fish’s back, arms crossed over his chest, looking utterly solemn.

He said nothing, but the meaning was unmistakable — he wanted to go too!

He wasn’t dead weight, and he wasn’t just a little kid — he was one of them!

Seeing this, Baili Weisheng felt no pressure at all — not his kid, after all. Jun Beiyue’s brow furrowed slightly, and he was about to speak when Ziqing laughed instead, crooking a finger to beckon Xiong Xiaobao over.

Xiong Xiaobao immediately brightened, his round little face breaking into a flower-bright smile, riding the Henggong fish like a horse, clip-clopping his way over to Ziqing.

“His pouch is already full, and his spiritual strength hasn’t recovered yet — are you sure you want to bring him down there?”

As a father, Jun Beiyue had to point this out to Ziqing — whatever lay below was certainly dangerous, though no one could say just how dangerous.

“Do you really think that if you refuse him, he won’t just cry until you give in?” Ziqing said quietly. No one knew a child better than his own mother.

At that, Jun Beiyue fell silent at once, unable even to imagine what would happen if Xiong Xiaobao actually started crying.

And so, Jun Beiyue, Ziqing, Xiong Xiaobao, and Baili Weisheng all gathered at the edge of the barrier, while only Meng Wanyue and Baili Xiaosheng remained behind.

It was only then that Baili Weisheng, such a negligent master, finally seemed to take notice of his disciple, looking at her with open disdain. “Baili Xiaosheng, well, isn’t this rare — since when did you get so timid?”

This girl was ruthless enough to make even the King of Hell step aside when she got serious — for her to be too scared to come along was simply not right.

Normally, if he didn’t chase her off, she’d stick to him like glue, following at his heels like a little shadow.

A flicker of panic crossed Baili Xiaosheng’s eyes, and she was about to speak, but the meddlesome Xiong Xiaobao beat her to it, patting the spot beside him with easy confidence. “Xiaosheng, come here! You promised to be my sidekick for life — wherever this young master goes, you have to follow!”

“Sweetheart? Where would Grandma sit, then?”

Meng Wanyue murmured, very quietly — so quietly that only Baili Xiaosheng could hear it.

Clearly it bothered her — bothered her down to every small detail — and yet she never once let it show.

“Who said I’d be your sidekick for life? This young master’s tired, I don’t want to go down there!” Baili Xiaosheng said irritably, then plopped herself down against the great stone pillar.

At that, Xiong Bao froze, and Baili Weisheng froze too, both of them turning their heads slowly at exactly the same moment, staring at each other.

What was wrong with this girl?

“Heh, go on then, you all go. I’m tired too — going down would just get in the way more than help. Xiaosheng and I will stay here and wait for you all to come back up,” Meng Wanyue said with a smile.

Hidden within the great stone pillar, Madam Jinjiao looked from Baili Xiaosheng to Meng Wanyue, seeming to sense something, her face filled with astonishment.

But Ziqing and Jun Beiyue, not knowing Baili Xiaosheng well, only thought that the two of them staying behind was the sensible choice.

“Auntie Meng, thank you for this — we’ll be back as quickly as we can!” Ziqing said earnestly, turning to leave. But just then, without warning, the entire Jinjiao Palace suddenly began shaking violently.

What was happening?

Before anyone could figure out what was going on, Madam Jinjiao’s face changed dramatically, and she began pounding frantically against the barrier in terror.

“Go! You all need to leave, now!”

“It’s the Death Vortex — they’ve activated the Death Vortex! Go, now!”

The Death Vortex — that was the secret hidden beneath that calm stretch of water in front of the palace gates!

If even the Jinjiao Palace itself was shaking, it meant Madam Helian had thrown everything she had into taking this group down with her!

“No… children, run! Run, now!”

“The vortex is coming! If you don’t leave now, it’ll be too late! No one can save you! Not even I can save you!”

Madam Jinjiao pounded against the barrier like a woman possessed, but it was useless — the barrier simply wouldn’t open, and no matter how loudly she screamed, even Baili Xiaosheng, standing closest to her, couldn’t hear a single word.

This stretch of water right at the gates of the Jinjiao Palace was, in truth, a miracle unto itself within the entire boundless deep sea.

No matter how violently the sea beasts thrashed, no matter how massive the waves that rose throughout the boundless deep sea, this one stretch of water always remained calm.

Only a jiaoren could stir up waves within it!

This stretch of water was the sole passage connecting the boundless deep sea to the outer ocean — and yet, to this day, no one had ever managed to pass through it, to leave the boundless deep sea and reach the outer sea.

Except once. A single, chance occurrence.

Madam Jinjiao had been the cherished, pampered daughter of the Jinjiao — as a girl, her temper had been spoiled and willful, utterly domineering, never once holding anyone else in regard.

And, of course, more than anything, she had simply loved to play.

She’d loved it so much that she’d once treated this very stretch of water as a plaything — secretly, behind her father’s back, summoning the waters of the outer sea from the depths below, nearly destroying the entire boundless deep sea in the process. And yet it was on that very occasion, as she summoned the outer sea’s waters, that she had inadvertently brought someone in along with them.

That someone was her husband, Baili Miye.

As for that man — even to this day, she truly knew very little about him.

All she knew was what he’d told her — that he was a wanderer, drifting across the sea, when he’d suddenly been caught in a great wave and swept down into the deep.

His temperament truly was that of a wanderer — free of any attachments, utterly unrestrained, following his own whims, and just as unrestrained in his ways.

When her father had tried to force him to stay, refusing to let him take the secrets of the boundless deep sea with him, he had insisted on leaving anyway.

Had it not been for that one entire night she’d spent in tears, perhaps there would never have been the son who came after, nor the annihilation of their clan that followed.

And yet, to this day, Madam Jinjiao held no regret, no blame.

That chance meeting had been so beautiful.

Only, after that incident, her father had issued an order — that neither Jinjiao nor Silver Jiao, no one at all, was ever again permitted to summon the waters of the outer sea.

But summoning the outer sea’s waters, and what the Helian mother and son were doing now, were not at all the same thing!

The Helian mother and son weren’t just summoning the outer sea’s waters — they were activating the Death Vortex beneath the deep sea itself!

And if they succeeded in activating it, the consequences would be…