One day later, at dusk.

The silver train hovered in the high-altitude clouds about fifty nautical miles from the Abyssal Trench, its stealth runes operating at full capacity to blend the entire train into the darkening sky and flowing clouds.

Looking down through the porthole, the sea was no longer a pure azure, but a deep blue bordering on ink-black, as if a bottomless abyss lay dormant beneath the waters.

In the distance, a massive rift, as if split open by a god's giant axe, stretched across the sea surface. The water on both sides appeared eerily still, while the center of the rift constantly churned with grayish-white foam and undercurrents.

That was the entrance to the Abyssal Trench—even from dozens of nautical miles away, one could still feel a faint gravitational pull attempting to drag everything toward that rift.

"The eastern and western reefs have been marked," Leng Ningxue's voice rang out through the communication array, calm and clear.

Bai Cheng and Qingniao stood by the western side hatch, both having changed into form-fitting dark combat suits covered with lightweight runic armor plates.

Bai Cheng's silver hair was tied up, and a short-blade-shaped spatial warp device hung at her waist. Qingniao kept her power of thunder restrained, with only a few sparks of electricity occasionally flickering from her fingertips.

"Rune stone energy fluctuations confirmed. Approximately three hundred meters below the western reef cluster, there is a strong spatial distortion reaction."

Lu Duo's voice came from the cockpit, gentle yet solemn,

"At least twelve life signatures detected in the vicinity, with energy levels between King-level First and Second Stage. They should be guardian puppets or familiars."

"The situation on the east side is similar," Yu Nian chimed in, her voice slightly distorted through the array, clearly focusing all her effort on controlling the reconnaissance vines. "The reef structure is complex; the puppets are hidden in rock crevices and seaweed, making them difficult to clear."

Bai Cheng looked at Qingniao: "Make it quick. Our primary goal is to destroy the rune stones; avoid getting bogged down in combat."

Qingniao nodded, a flash of lightning in her eyes: "Understood."

On the other side, Zi Yuan and Leng Ningxue had arrived at the eastern side hatch.

Zi Yuan's long blade was drawn three inches, surrounded by purple electricity; Leng Ningxue's body held an internal chill, causing a thin layer of frost to form on the deck beneath her feet.

"Synchronized action in thirty seconds," Bai Cheng's voice reached both groups through the array.

The countdown began.

The hatch slid open silently, and the sea breeze rushed in, carrying the saltiness and the unique cold aura of the abyss.

Below, the ink-blue sea shimmered with dark phosphorescence in the twilight, and the massive reef cluster looked like a black beast crouching on the sea surface, with the faint glimmer of flowing runes visible among the jagged rocks.

"Action."

Bai Cheng and Qingniao leapt out, silver and lightning flashing simultaneously. Their figures warped several times in the air, plummeting toward the western reef like two meteors.

At almost the same instant, purple lightning and ice crystals intertwined at the eastern hatch as Zi Yuan and Leng Ningxue's figures also vanished into the twilight.

The seawater was bone-chillingly cold.

As Bai Cheng and Qingniao broke through the surface, they were already enveloped in a layer of energy shielding.

Descending three hundred meters, the light faded rapidly, with only the bioluminescent moss embedded in the rock walls and drifting deep-sea fluorescent creatures providing some illumination.

The water pressure was immense, but manageable for King-level powerhouses.

The two darted like fish through the jagged rocks, following the energy markers sent by Lu Duo as they rapidly approached the target.

Soon, a relatively open underwater rocky platform appeared ahead.

In the center of the platform, a diamond-shaped crystal about half a person's height hovered three feet off the ground, rotating slowly.

The crystal was translucent, its interior seemingly filled with countless mirrors constantly refracting and reorganizing, emitting strong spatial distortion waves—it was the Mirror Rune Stone.

Around the platform, twelve puppets clad in dark blue shells, resembling deep-sea giant crabs, stood silently.

They had no eyes; their heads only featured a constantly scanning red beam, and their shells were carved with runes of the same origin as the rune stone.

The moment Bai Cheng and Qingniao stepped onto the platform, the twelve puppets simultaneously "sprang to life."

The red beams locked onto the two, and high-pressure water jets erupted from the gaps in their shells, propelling them forward at an astonishing speed!

"Qingniao, clear the minions." Bai Cheng's silver eyes narrowed, and she charged toward the rune stone instead of retreating.

"Leave it to me!" Qingniao laughed loudly, her power of thunder erupting violently.

In the deep sea, the lightning was not entirely weakened by the water; instead, due to the conductivity of the liquid, it turned into a violent electrical net, instantly enveloping eight of the puppets.

Arcs of electricity crackled and exploded, the runes on the shells flickering, causing the puppets' movements to suddenly stiffen.

Bai Cheng was within three feet of the rune stone.

She pressed her hands forward, and the Power of Space surged out like a tide. She didn't attack the rune stone directly but began to analyze and dismantle the layered spatial structures surrounding it.

The rune stone seemed to sense the threat, its rotation speed suddenly accelerating. The internal mirrors refracted countless distorted light beams, attempting to drag Bai Cheng into a constantly looping mirror maze.

But Bai Cheng's mastery over space was far beyond what it once was.

In her silver eyes, countless spatial ley lines emerged clearly.

With a flick of her fingertips, she precisely severed several key mirror nodes as if cutting silk.

The light of the rune stone suddenly dimmed.

At that moment, the remaining four puppets abandoned Qingniao, spraying a thick, ink-black liquid from the gaps in their shells. Wherever it passed, the seawater hissed with white smoke from corrosion as it headed straight for Bai Cheng's back!

"Don't even think about it!" Qingniao roared, throwing a Thunder Spear that struck first, piercing through one of the puppets.

At the same time, her figure moved like lightning, her fists wreathed in thunder as she slammed into the other three.

Bai Cheng didn't look back, focusing all her concentration on the rune stone.

In the interval while Qingniao held off the puppets, she finally found the rune stone's core spatial anchor point.

"Break."

Silver light, like a needle, pierced the anchor point.

"Crack—"

The crisp sound of shattering spread through the water; it ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) wasn't loud, but it carried a tremor of collapsing laws.

The Mirror Rune Stone suddenly stopped rotating, spiderweb-like cracks appearing on its surface, and the countless mirrors inside went dark simultaneously.

Western rune stone, destruction complete.

Almost at the same moment, a muffled explosion echoed from the eastern seabed.

Zi Yuan's calm voice rang out through the communication array: "The eastern rune stone has been destroyed."

Chapter 342: The Twins Appear

The moment both rune stones were destroyed, the seawater surrounding the Abyssal Trench shook violently.

The seawater on both sides, previously still as a mirror, began to pour back in frantically, while a low rumble, like a giant beast awakening, came from the rift in the center of the trench.

The mirror maze collapsed, and the gravitational field weakened.

The seawater formed countless chaotic whirlpools, turning the reef cluster into a complete mess.

Bai Cheng and Qingniao quickly surfaced, escaping the turbulent area.

Just as they were about to break the surface, two nearly identical figures quietly emerged from the abyssal rift below.

They were a pair of men with identical looks, clothing, and auras.

They wore silver-and-blue form-fitting battle suits with gossamer-like Flowing Wave Cloaks. Their faces were handsome to the point of being eerie, their eyes one blue and one silver, with a faint, enigmatic smile playing on their lips.