She never expected that following it would take her hundreds of meters away from Youming Island.
The waters around this sea area were extremely clean and clear. After reaching the sea bottom, Huo Sining was pleasantly surprised to discover that the marine produce near Youming Island was more than twice as abundant as the resources they had previously encountered at sea.
In this region, not only were fish leisurely swimming about, but there was also an array of beautiful coral reefs spread across the ocean floor.
After the giant lobster disappeared into a coral reef, Huo Sining followed closely behind and soon arrived within the reef.
Surrounded by a vast array of interspersed red and white coral clusters, her eyes were met with bunches of brightly colored red coral algae that were not just beautifully shaped but also very pretty in color.
Huo Sining had never seen corals before, so she was utterly dazzled upon seeing these, but she was merely entranced for a moment before quickly remembering that she was there to catch a lobster. She searched around and, before long, spotted the giant lobster among the corals.
The lobster was feasting on a sea clam, completely unaware of any disturbance. Huo Sining had to tiptoe stealthily closer, approaching the lobster from behind to avoid startling it.
She moved step by step behind the lobster and, seizing the moment when it was off-guard, Huo Sining swiftly reached out and scooped the giant crustacean into her storage ring.
The lobster hadn’t even realized what had happened before it was stuffed into the space. It was captured without a chance to struggle.
Although Huo Sining had eaten giant lobsters at seafood restaurants in S City before, those were all imported from Australia or other countries. This was her first encounter with an indigenous giant lobster one.
Having finally captured the creature, Huo Sining felt a burst of joy and turned to leave. However, as she moved her foot, she felt something unusual beneath it.
The sea floor where she stepped was uneven, as if she had stepped on something hard, completely lacking the cool, soft sensation of sinking into the seabed’s mud and sand.
"Huh, what’s this?" Huo Sining quickly lowered her head to look down and was immediately taken aback by what she had stepped on—it appeared to be something like a ram’s horn.
Curious, she couldn’t help but squat down to dig around, and the more she cleared the sediment, the more amazed she became.
Above her forehead, the Water-Repelling Pearl flickered with a faint glow. Before long, a highly irregularly shaped coral with several branches emerged to her sight.
The entire piece of coral was about one and a half meters tall. Even though it had been buried underground for a thousand years, it still radiated vibrant and beautiful colors. Its branches shone with a glossy, glassy luster, made it a naturally perfect piece of art without the need for any adornment.
After fully excavating the coral from the ocean’s muddy floor, Huo Sining could sense the rich Spiritual Energy emitting from this piece of coral stone.
Most shallow seas domestically are severely polluted, and corals have become rare sightings. Such vivid red coral, even in ancient times, would definitely be a rare royal tribute.
In recent years, due to excessive marine exploitation, red coral has become increasingly scarce, and the market prices for coral fossils are calculated by the gram.
Huo Sining had only seen coral once before, when Su Qingqing had a red coral bracelet, a birthday gift from Su Jinyuan one year.
Su Qingqing’s bracelet was made up of dozens of round beads strung together, each bead crafted from pure red coral fossil. The surface of these beads was smooth, and the color was incredibly vibrant, but they varied in shade from light to deep, and upon close inspection, one could see evenly distributed patterns.
At that time, Huo Sining had taken a close look. The bracelet had an overall bright luster, was warm and delightful to the touch, and translucent. The material was a high-quality red coral, but amidst the red, there were faint black spots and some small black holes like tiny bubbles.
Huo Sining remembered quite clearly, Su Qingqing had told her that pure red coral normally has fine slanting patterns and naturally formed flaws. Wearing coral close to the body can promote blood circulation and has beauty and health benefits. That’s why Su Qingqing would often wear it.
Besides that, Huo Sining had never encountered a real piece of coral fossil, but the reaction of the Water-Repelling Pearl made her realize that this coral was quite valuable.
Not only that, but after using her Heavenly Eye Skill, Huo Sining discovered that this coral fossil was a pure blood-red color from the inside out, without a single imperfection or black spot—this revelation shocked and surprised her.
This meant that the piece of coral in front of her was of even higher quality than the coral beads Su Qingqing had in her bracelet.
A coral fossil of this size was absolutely priceless.
If the coral fossil had remained buried at the bottom of the sea undiscovered, it would be one thing, but now that Huo Sining had unearthed it, there was no reason to leave it there.
Without saying a word, Huo Sining took out a sharp dagger from her storage ring and started to pry the coral fossil out.
It would soon be Master Gu’s birthday, and Huo Sining had been worrying about not having a suitable gift for the old master—this coral came at just the right moment.
There was a world of difference between the value of a complete coral and one with damage. Because she intended to give it to Master Gu, Huo Sining pried very carefully.
Since the coral’s base was integrated with the reef, making it extremely difficult to dislodge, it took tremendous effort before Huo Sining could separate it from the coral reef.
After securing the coral fossil, Huo Sining turned and hurried back to shore.
This delay meant that the half-hour competition time she had agreed upon with Luo Jinzhi and Qin Shui had long passed, and the two of them had successively returned to shore.
Both were familiar with swimming, but after being in the sea for more than twenty minutes, they felt cold and couldn’t help but climb ashore. However, after waiting on the shore for about ten minutes, there was still no sign of Huo Sining.
From initial confusion to gradually becoming troubled and uneasy, Luo Jinzhi’s expression grew increasingly stern, and her gaze towards the sea turned anxious.
"What’s happening? Why hasn’t Ningning come up yet? Could something have happened?" Luo Jinzhi murmured on the shore, concern and worry evident in Qin Shui’s eyes as well.
Just as the two debated whether to go back into the water to search for her, a head suddenly popped up on the nearby water surface. Huo Sining stretched out her hand and swam strenuously towards the shore, waving at Luo Jinzhi and Qin Shui who were standing there as she swam.