I was a mineral prospector in Chengdu, who transmigrated into the body of a mortal sword immortal.

The darkness, like thick ink, swallowed up all the light.

Li Bai lay submerged, the icy, foul-smelling water enveloping his body, the stench filling his nostrils. He dared not move, suppressing even his breathing to a minimum. Above him, the deep voice continued: "The stone slab has been pried open… the marks are fresh."

Then came the loud crash of the stone slab being completely overturned, with debris and dust falling into the water and creating tiny ripples.

Li Bai's heart pounded wildly in his chest, almost shattering his ribs. He took a deep breath, submerged himself completely, and used both hands and feet to swim desperately forward with the current.

All I could hear was the gurgling sound of flowing water.

And there was the faint sound of someone jumping into the water behind me.

The pursuers are coming down.

**one**

The water was flowing faster than I had imagined.

Li Bai dared not surface for air, and could only hold his breath as he groped his way forward in the darkness. His hands touched only slippery stone walls covered in thick moss, a sticky and nauseating sensation. Occasionally, sharp stone edges would graz his arm, causing a stinging pain, but he dared not stop, nor even dared to feel how deep the wounds were.

The air in my lungs is being consumed rapidly.

Black spots began to appear before his eyes, and his ears were ringing. Just when he was about to give up, the current in front of him suddenly slowed down, and a gap appeared above his head—he suddenly poked his head out and gasped for air.

The air was thick with a suffocating smell of mildew and rotten mud, even stronger than the smell of the water. This must have been a relatively spacious confluence of channels, where the water flowed, forming a small whirlpool.

Li Bai wiped the dirty water off his face and tried to open his eyes wide.

It was still pitch black.

Absolute darkness, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. There wasn't a ray of light, not a sound, only the sound of flowing water and his own breathing. He reached out and groped around, touching the cold, damp stone walls covered with slippery moss and some kind of slimy fungus.

Behind me, the faint sound of splashing water could be heard in the distance.

The pursuers are getting closer.

Li Bai gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and submerged himself again, continuing forward with the main current. This time, he didn't swim completely underwater, but rather floated and sank, barely keeping his mouth and nose above the water, moving forward in the most energy-efficient way.

The passage was narrow, sometimes only wide enough for one person to pass at a time. The jagged edges of the stone walls constantly scraped against his body; his clothes were already tattered, and his skin was covered with numerous fine cuts. The sewage soaked his wounds, causing a burning, stinging pain, but he could only endure it.

crawl.

Crawling using both hands and feet.

In the darkness, barely enough to fit one in, on the slippery, sticky stone walls, amidst the nauseating stench of decay, he moved forward with difficulty, like a wounded beast.

**two**

I don't know how long I climbed.

Time lost its meaning in the absolute darkness. Li Bai could only judge by the extent of his physical exhaustion—his arms were so sore and numb he could barely lift them, his knees were chafed and every movement was excruciating. The shackles swayed on his wrists, the chains rubbing against his wounds, each friction bringing new pain.

But he dared not stop.

The sound of splashing water behind them was faint, but persistent. The pursuers hadn't given up; they were searching and tracking.

They climbed another several dozen feet.

Suddenly, a faint sound of flowing water came from ahead—not the gentle murmur of the water behind, but a louder, more rapid sound, as if the water was accelerating and converging somewhere.

Li Bai was invigorated.

Change means there may be an exit.

He quickened his pace, crawling forward on both hands and feet. The passage began to slope downwards, and the moss on the stone walls grew thicker and more slippery. He had to press his body tightly against the stone wall, using his fingers to dig into the crevices beneath the moss, inching his way down.

Silt appeared.

First came a thin layer of mud, just above his ankles. Then came a thicker layer, reaching his calves and then his knees. When the mud reached his elbows, Li Bai's heart sank.

If this continues, he will be trapped here and die.

We must speed things up.

He gritted his teeth and forcibly mobilized the barely perceptible true essence in his dantian. The shackles immediately exerted a strong suppressive force, like countless needles piercing his meridians, causing him to feel dizzy with pain. But he did not stop, continuing to urge his true essence, using that tiny bit of spiritual power to protect his mouth and nose, blocking out some of the putrid smell, while simultaneously injecting a trace of strength into his limbs.

climb.

Keep climbing.

The mud was almost up to his shoulders, and every movement required immense effort. The stench was so strong it was almost tangible, seeping into his nostrils and lungs, making him gag. But he couldn't vomit, he couldn't stop; he could only move forward.

**three**

Suddenly, his hand was empty.

Before Li Bai could react, he lost his support and slid down a steep slope.

"ah--"

He instinctively cried out in alarm, but his voice was drowned out by the rush of wind and water as he slid down the slippery rock face. His body tumbled and crashed against the wet, slick rock, each impact sending sharp pains through his arms, shoulders, and back. He tried to grab onto something, but the rock face was covered in slippery moss, making it impossible to hold on.

The rate of decline is accelerating.

A thunderous sound of water came from ahead, growing louder and closer.

Then--

"Thump!"

He was instantly engulfed by the icy, bone-chilling sewage.

This time, the water was colder than before, as cold as ice, like needles piercing his skin and bones. Caught off guard, Li Bai choked on a mouthful of water, bitter and astringent, with a strong metallic rusty taste and a rotten, fishy smell. He struggled in the water, kicking and thrashing his arms and legs, and finally managed to surface.

"Cough cough... cough cough cough..."

He coughed violently, spitting out the water he had swallowed, and his lungs burned with pain.

It was still pitch black, but I could sense that I was in a much larger space—an underground river. The water became rapid here, roaring and echoing in the enclosed space, making my eardrums ache. The air was filled with moisture and a strange, sulfurous smell.

Li Bai steadied himself, allowing himself to float on the water's surface, and gasped for breath.

Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation from the shackles on my wrists.

He looked down—though he couldn't see anything, he could feel that the shackles, soaked in the cold river water, impacted by the violent descent, and under the continuous impact of his own weak spiritual power, seemed to... loosen.

It wasn't the loosening of chains breaking, but rather the appearance of minute cracks in the structure of the shackles themselves. The power suppressing spiritual energy seemed to have weakened slightly.

really?

A glimmer of hope rose in Li Bai's heart. He tried to mobilize his true energy again, and this time, the oppressive feeling from the shackles was indeed weaker than before. Although it was still very strong, it was at least no longer the feeling of being completely unshakeable.

There is a chance.

If we make a few more attempts, maybe we can...

**Four**

Just then, a light appeared in the darkness ahead.

It was not natural light, nor firelight, but rather eerie, cold, greenish-yellow specks of light.

a pair.

Two pairs.

Three pairs.

The points of light moved slowly in the darkness, bobbing up and down like the eyes of some creature. They gazed greedily in Li Bai's direction, with a primal, hungry desire.

Li Bai froze.

He held his breath and slowly backed away, trying not to make a sound.

But it was too late.

The points of light suddenly accelerated, rushing towards him. A splashing sound arose, not the sound of human swimming, but the sound of some creature paddling rapidly—rapid, dense, with a chilling rhythm.

Li Bai's heart almost stopped beating.

He whirled around and swam to the other side of the dark river. The current was swift, and he had to exert all his strength to maintain his direction. The splashing sounds behind him grew closer and louder; he could even hear a deep, guttural gurgling sound, like that of a wild animal.

What is it?

Rats? Snakes? Or something even more terrifying?

He didn't know, and dared not think about it, so he could only swim desperately.

A rock protruding from the water appeared ahead. Li Bai's eyes lit up, and he swam over with all his might, climbing up on all fours. The rock surface was slippery, and he almost slipped, but at the last moment he managed to steady himself by digging his fingers into a crevice.

He lay on the rock, panting heavily, and looked back at the water.

Those eerie green lights had already reached the bottom of the rock.

By the faint light, Li Bai finally saw what it was—

It's neither a rat nor a snake.

It's fish.

But it's not an ordinary fish.

Each of these fish was as long as an arm, with a flat body covered in dark gray scales that gleamed metallically in the glow of the eerie green light. Their heads were large, almost a third of their bodies, and their mouths were wide open, revealing two rows of fine, sharp teeth. Most eerie of all were their eyes—they had no pupils, only two eerie green spots that flickered like will-o'-the-wisps in the darkness.

Three.

There were three such strange fish swimming beneath the rocks, their eerie green eyes fixed on Li Bai, their mouths opening and closing to reveal their gleaming white teeth.

They are waiting.

Wait for him to fall.

Li Bai felt a chill rise up his spine. He gripped the rock tightly, not daring to relax for a moment. The shackles on his wrists swayed with his movements, making a slight metallic clanging sound.

The sound was very soft, but it was exceptionally clear in the silent, dark river.

The three strange fish raised their heads at the same time, their eerie green eyes fixed on Li Bai's wrist.

They react to the sound of metal.

Li Bai's heart stirred. He carefully raised his hand, letting the shackles clink together again, making a soft "clinking" sound.

The three strange fish immediately became agitated, swimming rapidly beneath the surface and leaving trails in their wake. Their mouths opened wider, their teeth gleaming coldly in the eerie green light.

They are excited.

Excited by the sound of metal.

Li Bai recalled some information he had read during geological surveys in his previous life—in certain underground river systems, due to long-term lack of light and food, some organisms evolve special senses, such as sensitivity to sounds of specific frequencies or a craving for metal ions. These strange fish were very likely such creatures.

They mistook him for food.

Or perhaps they mistook the shackles on his wrists for something...that they needed.

**five**

We can't stay here.

Li Bai looked around. The rock was small, barely big enough to fit his body, and slippery; he could slide down at any moment. The current in the underground river was swift; if he fell in, he would be swept away instantly, and those three strange fish would surely catch up.

We must find a way to leave.

He looked towards the opposite bank of the underground river. It was about three zhang away, and the current was swift. Swimming across would be dangerous, but staying on the rocks would be even more dangerous.

We'll give it our all.

Li Bai took a deep breath and loosened his wrists. The loosening of the shackles gave him a glimmer of hope—if he could unleash a burst of spiritual power at a crucial moment, perhaps he could increase his swimming speed, or…

Without further hesitation, he leaped into the water.

The icy river water enveloped his entire body once more. Li Bai gritted his teeth and swam with all his might towards the opposite bank. His arms paddled, his legs kicked, and every movement aggravated his wounds, causing him excruciating pain that made his vision blur.

The sound of splashing water immediately came from behind.

Three strange fish chased after them.

They moved incredibly fast, like three gray arrows, drawing three white lines beneath the water's surface. The eerie green lights trailed long paths in the water, like will-o'-the-wisps chasing each other.

Li Bai dared not look back, and could only swim desperately.

There was still a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) to the other side.

Half a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters).

Just as he was about to touch the rock face on the opposite bank, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his calf—

A strange fish bit his leg.

Sharp teeth pierced the skin and penetrated the muscle, causing blood to gush out instantly, spreading a dark red stain in the river water. Li Bai groaned in pain and swung his fist underwater. His fist struck the fish's body, feeling a hard, unyielding sensation, like hitting a metal plate.

The strange fish, in pain, opened its mouth, but two other fish had already surrounded it.

One lunged at his arm, the other lunged at his throat.

At the critical moment of life and death, the true energy within Li Bai's body suddenly began to circulate wildly. The restraint of the shackles was still there, but the loosening sensation allowed the true energy to break free. He no longer suppressed it, no longer held back, and concentrated all his true energy in his right hand, throwing a punch at the strange fish that was lunging at his throat.

There was no light, no sound.

Only an invisible burst of energy exploded in the water.

"Bang!"

Water splashed everywhere.

The strange fish was struck by the force of the energy; its body shuddered violently, its eerie green eyes flickered a few times, and then quickly dimmed. It rolled over, belly up, and floated on the surface of the water, motionless.

The other two strange fish were stunned by this scene and slowed their attack.

Li Bai seized the opportunity and, using his last bit of strength, climbed onto the stone platform on the opposite bank.

He collapsed onto the stone platform, panting heavily, soaked to the bone, bleeding from his wounds. The wound on his calf was so deep that the bone was visible, and blood gushed out, staining the stone beneath him red.

But at least for now, we're safe.

He looked at the water.

The remaining two strange fish swam below the stone platform, their eerie green eyes still fixed on him, but they dared not approach. They circled their companion's corpse a few times, then slowly sank into the water and disappeared.

Li Bai breathed a sigh of relief, leaned against the stone wall, and closed his eyes.

The shackles on his wrists cracked with a faint, almost inaudible sound after the full force of his true energy was unleashed.