Ever since the Flowing Light Dagger had been retrieved from the Qiankun Poison Pouch, it had remained in Meng Wanyue’s keeping.

Although it was meant to be a token of affection from Jun Beiyue to Ziqing, the dagger was, after all, an heirloom of the Meng Clan’s founding ancestor, carrying great significance for both the clan and Meng Wanyue herself—by rights, it ought to have been returned to her.

Though Ziqing felt some reluctance about it in her heart, she had never once considered asking for it back.

Seeing Meng Wanyue offer the Flowing Light Dagger of her own accord, a flicker of delight crossed Ziqing’s heart—she had to admit, she’d grown rather accustomed to this sharp blade.

She took the dagger and, with a single forceful thrust, plunged it directly into the stone wall, meeting hardly any resistance at all.

“It really is hollow!” Baili Weisheng crowded closer, drawing his own sword, about to strike, when Meng Wanyue stopped him. “We don’t know what’s inside. Let’s not touch anything else recklessly for now.”

That made sense, so Baili Weisheng held back, everyone watching Ziqing instead.

“It seems to be some kind of cave…” Ziqing murmured, and with a sudden forceful push, she actually broke open a small opening!

Sure enough, there was indeed something else beyond!

Ziqing glanced at Jun Beiyue, and seeing him nod, continued striking. The surroundings fell completely silent, and the sound of the Flowing Light Dagger striking stone rang out unusually loud, carrying a strange quality to it.

But Ziqing and the others failed to notice, because the wind around them was even louder, completely drowning out that resonant clanging sound!

Yet, unbeknownst to them—

That sound was traveling down along the cliff face, all the way down to the Boundless Deep waters beneath the ravine.

“Clang… clang… clang…”

Deep beneath the ravine, because someone had poisoned the waters, the Jiao Ren were busy clearing the poisoned water, channeling it into underground caverns within the cliff face, when that sound suddenly reached them.

Every single Jiao Ren at work froze instantly!

That sound!

No one knew who cried out first, “The Flowing Light Dagger!”

Instantly, the entire seabed beneath the ravine erupted into commotion.

“Our enemies have come!”

“Our enemies have returned!”

“They must be the ones who poisoned us!”

“Those wretched Meng Clan people, they’ve come again!”

…

The entire base of the ravine stirred with unrest, waves of vengeful fury rising higher and higher. Yet the depth was simply too vast—Ziqing and the others, hundreds of zhang above, buffeted by the howling wind, hadn’t noticed the slightest thing amiss!

By this point, Ziqing had already dug out a sizeable cave, large enough for several people to pass through together!

This cave’s entrance was concealed right within the cliff face, and it seemed to lead all the way down!

Ziqing pushed aside the last blocking stone, then handed the Flowing Light Dagger back to Meng Wanyue. “Auntie Meng, here, keep it safe.”

But Meng Wanyue declined. “Keep it with you, child!”

Ziqing froze for a moment, quite taken aback, holding the dagger without moving.

Seeing this, Meng Wanyue smiled. “This was originally meant for Beiyue anyway. Xiong Bao told me Beiyue gave it to you—so it’s yours now.”

“Auntie Meng, this belongs to the Meng Clan! I…” Ziqing got straight to the heart of the matter.

“The Qiankun Poison Pouch has already been opened. It doesn’t hold much meaning for me, or for the Meng Clan, anymore. Keep it with you—you’ll have use for it,” Meng Wanyue said with such an understanding smile.

“Mommy, keep it! If you don’t want it, I do!” Xiong Bao immediately tried to grab it.

Ziqing still hesitated to accept, but Jun Beiyue simply took the dagger and tucked it into place at her calf, quite overbearingly. “This belongs to you now.”

With Jun Beiyue’s word settled, how could Ziqing refuse?

“All right!” She accepted it graciously, tucking the Flowing Light Dagger neatly into place. Even though the abyss wasn’t particularly bright, the dagger still gleamed brilliantly, striking to the eye even tucked against her calf.

Though the cave could accommodate several people passing through at once, Ziqing sent the Ounce Great Beast ahead first to scout the way, just to be safe. Unexpectedly, once the beast went in, a long stretch of silence followed!

Anxious, Xiong Bao couldn’t help but rush toward the cave entrance and let out a loud “Roar!”

Unexpectedly, the Ounce Great Beast’s voice immediately came back, “Master, Young Master, this passage leads straight to the bottom of the ravine. No danger here—come on down, it’s still very, very deep below!”

Everyone exchanged glances upon hearing this.

Jun Beiyue glanced out toward the cliff face, genuinely puzzled. “Who could have dug this?”

“Whoever dug it, there must be people down there!” Ziqing said with certainty, privately marveling at the cleverness of whoever had managed this feat. After all, below the cliff, the crosswinds only grew fiercer, and the depth remained unfathomable—even with their poison beasts, they wouldn’t have dared descend so carelessly.

With the Ounce Great Beast’s assurance, everyone slid down through the passage within the cliff face one by one, and without the crosswinds, it truly felt far more comfortable and warm.

Yet this slide alone took a full half hour—truly, how deep was this place!

Ziqing mused to herself that even the ocean’s deepest point probably wasn’t as deep as this.

What lay below?

Everyone shared the same question, and after finally reaching solid ground, they all tumbled onto the Ounce Great Beast’s furry back!

“Is this the bottom, then!” Baili Weisheng poked his head out, asking wearily.

But what lay before them answered his question.

They hadn’t actually reached the very bottom—they’d landed on a small outcropping ledge instead. Yet from here, they could finally see the bottom!

Just below the ledge they stood on, a mere three men’s heights down, lay the actual floor—and it turned out to be a body of water!

On either side stretched fine sandy shallows like a beach, with a dark pool of water in the center, black as pitch, its depths utterly unfathomable.

Beyond that, the place remained just as desolate and uninhabited.

Ziqing and Baili Weisheng both stared fixedly at the dark water in the center, one with brows furrowed tight, the other with a sharp, piercing gaze. Yet before either could speak, Xiong Bao suddenly cried out, “Mommy, that water’s got deadly poison in it!”

“I know,” Ziqing said, still perfectly composed, turning to give Xiong Bao a silencing gesture.

Those caves had clearly been dug by human hands—how could there be no one down here?

Ziqing was about to jump down when Jun Beiyue stopped her. “There are footprints up ahead.”

Sure enough, following the direction Jun Beiyue pointed, rows of footprints could be seen trailing from the nearby sandy shore toward a cave beneath the cliff face. “There are more over there, and there too!” Baili Weisheng spotted them as well. “Quite a few people, it looks like—and they left recently, in a hurry.”

While everyone stood puzzling over this, Meng Wanyue’s lowered eyes were also filled with confusion, though she remained silent.

Ziqing found the spot with the densest concentration of footprints and jumped down. She and Jun Beiyue led the way, with Baili Weisheng bringing up the rear, and the group cautiously followed the footprints into the cave.

Unexpectedly, the cave proved quite deep. As Baili Weisheng walked further in, he gradually began catching a faint, elusive scent—something that felt strangely familiar, yet no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t place exactly what it was.

The whole way in, not a single sound stirred. When they finally reached the end of the cave, they discovered a deep pool, with the footprints vanishing right at its edge.

“Mommy, this water’s not poisoned. They wouldn’t have all jumped in…”

But before Xiong Bao could finish speaking, a sudden surge of rushing water erupted from behind them. In an instant, everyone’s faces went pale—this was a trap!