Desert Island Infrastructure: Claiming the System Brings Many Blessings

The moment the water closed in overhead, all sound disappeared.

Qin Chuan was completely encased in the ancient sword demon's body, the dark purple metallic skin preventing direct contact with the seawater. Even so, he could still feel the water temperature dropping rapidly.

It took less than ten seconds for the temperature to drop from warm to icy cold.

The six golden rings of the Rinnegan slowly rotated deep within the pupils, transmitting information about the surrounding environment layer by layer into the mind.

Above, the circular entrance to the blue hole is rapidly receding, becoming a smaller and smaller spot of light. Sunlight can only penetrate a limited depth into the seawater; for every hundred meters it sinks, the light dims.

500 meters.

The light had dimmed to a mere glimmer. The color of the seawater had changed from deep blue to inky blue, and further down, it was pure black.

Qin Chuan controlled the ancient sword demon's body, maintaining a vertically descending posture. The four-meter-long giant sword stood upright beside him, its dark purple blade occasionally gleaming with a hint of golden light.

One kilometer.

The water temperature had dropped to near freezing. A thin layer of ice crystals had condensed on the surface of the ancient sword demon's body, which would be washed away by the water and then fall off, only to condense again and fall off again.

"It's alright, not too much pressure," Qin Chuan thought to himself.

The ancient sword demon's fully formed defensive capabilities are far superior to its mature form. The water pressure from a depth of one thousand meters is nothing more than a warm-up for it.

Three thousand meters.

It was completely dark all around. Qin Chuan had embedded the luminous pearl from the Spirit Cat Clan, which Vivian had given him, into a groove in the Ancient Sword Demon's breastplate. Green light emanated from the chest, illuminating the water within a twenty-meter radius.

Within the green light, one could occasionally see deep-sea plankton drifting by. Transparent, luminous jellyfish, and some small fish whose names I didn't know. They scattered and fled in terror at the ancient sword demon's enormous body.

Five thousand meters.

Qin Chuan began to feel the pressure.

The ancient sword demon's shoulder armor emitted a muffled thud, and a fine crack appeared on the metal surface. The crack was quickly repaired by purple energy, but this indicated that the water pressure had begun to affect the ancient sword demon's protective layer.

"It started cracking at 5,000 meters?" Qin Chuan frowned. "There are still 16,000 meters to go."

He accelerated his descent. The longer he stayed in the deep sea, the more energy he would consume. He had to reach the bottom as soon as possible.

8,000 meters.

The pressure increased significantly. The ancient sword demon's joints began to creak and groan, and cracks appeared more frequently on its metallic skin. Although each crack was promptly repaired by the purple energy, the repair process was slowing down.

Qin Chuan's mental energy was also being depleted at an accelerated pace. Controlling the ancient sword demon already required a large amount of mental energy, and maintaining its integrity under such extreme conditions increased the consumption several times over.

A fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Hold on," Qin Chuan told himself.

10,000 meters.

The ancient sword demon's body emitted a muffled metallic groan.

Qin Chuan clearly felt terrifying pressure coming from all directions within the Sword Demon's body. The feeling was hard to describe; it was like being gripped in the palm of an invisible giant hand, slowly tightening.

My chest feels tight. Breathing has become a little difficult.

A deep crack appeared on the sword demon's left shoulder armor. Purple energy rushed over to repair it, but the crack healed almost a second slower than before.

"Ten thousand meters, eleven thousand meters to go."

Qin Chuan gritted his teeth. It wasn't too late to turn back, but what good would it do? The Gu Soul's poison wouldn't stop eroding him just because he retreated. One month—if he didn't advance, he would die.

It continues to sink.

Twelve thousand meters.

The bones of the ancient sword demon began to creak. The sound was not the crisp clang of metal clashing, but a deep, muffled groan as the bones endured extreme pressure.

Qin Chuan's temples were throbbing. He had already depleted more than a third of his mental energy.

15,000 meters.

"Damn it." Qin Chuan couldn't help but curse.

A long crack appeared on the ancient sword demon's right arm, stretching from its shoulder to its elbow. Purple energy surged out wildly, but it only repaired half of the crack; the other half was still slowly widening.

The entire body of the Sword Demon was under extreme pressure. Countless fine lines spread across its metallic skin like a spiderweb, each emanating a purple light.

Qin Chuan could hear his own heartbeat. At this depth, inside the ancient sword demon's body cavity, the heartbeat was amplified several times over, thump, thump, thump, heavy and powerful.

He did not slow down.

18,000 meters.

The green light from the luminous pearl illuminated the water below. Qin Chuan saw something.

Those are metal fragments.

The steel structure, compressed and deformed by extreme water pressure, was twisted into various strange shapes. Some fragments still retain the basic outline of the hull, revealing remnants of the keel and ribs.

Further away, more wreckage lay scattered in the darkness.

Qin Chuan recognized the paint residue on one of the fragments: white with blue stripes.

That was the color scheme of the cruise ship he had traveled on.

"So that cruise ship eventually sank here." Qin Chuan glanced at the wreckage but didn't linger.

The steel was compressed beyond recognition by the water pressure at a depth of 20,000 meters. Some steel plates were folded several times, and their thickness was reduced to only a fraction of the original thickness.

20,000 meters.

The ancient sword demon's entire body was riddled with cracks, so many that Qin Chuan had lost count. Purple energy swirled frantically along each crack, but the repair speed couldn't keep up with the crack expansion kit's pace.

Fortunately, it can still hold on. The foundation of the ancient sword demon in its complete form is there; although it is scarred, its core structure remains intact.

Qin Chuan's mental energy was already more than half depleted. The sweat on his forehead condensed into cold sweat in the low temperature inside the Sword Demon's body cavity, dripping onto his feet.

21,000 meters.

The ground beneath our feet appeared.

With the Rinnegan's scanning range maximized, the entire ocean floor appeared in Qin Chuan's mind.

The bottom of the Blue Hole is a flat bed of rock. The rocks are very dark, almost pure black, and their surface is abnormally smooth. They don't look like natural rocks; they look more like they've been polished by some force.

More shipwrecks lay scattered on the rocky bed. Some had been compressed into flattened discs, while others were still barely recognizable as their original shapes.

Apart from the shipwreck, there were no living creatures.

At an altitude of 21,000 meters, the terrifying pressure makes it impossible for any living thing to survive. This is a true land of death.

Qin Chuan controlled the ancient sword demon, slowly descending onto the rocky seabed. The sword demon's heavy feet slammed into the black rocks, producing two muffled thuds.

The first thing Qin Chuan did upon landing was to check the condition of the Ancient Sword Demon.

His body was riddled with cracks, but his core energy circulation system was still functioning. His mental energy was more than half depleted, but still sufficient. His body hadn't suffered direct damage; the Gu Soul's toxins were still slowly wriggling at the back of his neck, but there were no signs of it worsening.

"We've reached the bottom." Qin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief.

A green luminous pearl emanated from his chest, illuminating an area twenty meters in radius beneath his feet. The black rock bed gleamed with a cold luster under the green light.

Qin Chuan raised his head and looked up.

A 21,000-meter-high column of water was overhead. Nothing could be seen, only endless darkness.

"Alright, I'm not looking anymore." Qin Chuan withdrew his gaze and began searching the seabed.

The Rinnegan's scanning capabilities remain effective at this depth, with a 60-kilometer exploration range covering the entire bottom of the Blue Hole. The bedrock is not large, about 500 meters in diameter, the same size as the entrance to the Blue Hole.

It has a circular base, surrounded by steep rock walls that extend vertically upwards.

Qin Chuan controlled the ancient sword demon, walking around the edge of the bedrock. Each step its enormous feet took left a deep footprint in the rock. The water pressure of 21,000 meters made every movement slow, as if walking in thick jelly.

Upon reaching the north side of the bedrock, the Rinnegan detected an unusual signal.

There is a crack in the rock face ahead.