Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1381: Chapter 1366: Submarine Volcano

The underwater visibility was quite good, and the scenery was beautiful. Huo Sining was actually considering whether to bring a few of these glowing fish back to keep as ornamental fish.

But this thought just crossed Huo Sining’s mind before she dismissed it.

These deep-sea fish require a much harsher living environment than ordinary sea fish. First of all, the high-pressure environment at the seabed is very difficult to replicate, not to mention that their food is different from ordinary fish bait. Keeping them alive would be quite challenging.

Since these fish are thriving here, let this beauty remain at the bottom of the sea.

Although things took an unexpected turn and no valuable treasures were found, Huo Sining didn’t feel disappointed. At least she and Qibao saw the beautiful glowing fish schools and admired the wondrous underwater scenery.

As she prepared to leave, Huo Sining pulled Qibao to swim upward. They had just ascended about ten meters when a bright and vivid red light appeared ahead. Before Huo Sining could react, a deafening noise sounded near her ear, and torrents of seawater surged toward them.

The seawater collided with Huo Sining and Qibao, and Huo Sining could feel a scorching sensation. The seawater was at least 50 degrees Celsius.

The heat made Huo Sining feel uncomfortable, and Qibao even more so. The little fellow was enveloped in the hot water, turning red all over.

Seeing this, Huo Sining hurriedly recited the Instant Freeze Spell, quickly solidifying the surrounding water into an ice shield to block the incoming hot current, while channeling the Spirit of Azure Pearl to cool down Qibao’s body.

This violent trembling lasted for a full half hour. When it finally calmed down, the entire seabed was in chaos, littered with debris and fragments. The fish had all fled, unable to withstand the heat of the seawater. As for the seaweed, some were directly cooked, shattered by the ocean currents, turning the seawater murky—like it had gone through an enormous cataclysm.

After the trembling, the hot flow also dissipated. The seawater gradually diluted, and the debris slowly sank, as the water temperature gradually decreased, returning to its previous state.

“Sister, what happened?”

Qibao looked puzzled, his eyes full of curiosity and relief at surviving the ordeal.

Huo Sining was equally puzzled, unsure of what had happened. However, with the Water-Repelling Pearl, she didn’t feel much fear, so she cautiously guided Qibao towards the direction from which the heat flow came.

After swimming for about a few nautical miles, they arrived at the place where the red light was emanating.

The water temperature in this area kept rising. Although Huo Sining estimated they were still several nautical miles away from the red light’s source, she dared not take Qibao any closer.

By this time, she could roughly guess what the red light was.

“It’s magma; it should be an underwater active volcano. We happened to encounter a volcanic eruption. Luckily, it was just a small volcano; otherwise, the magma could have roasted us to ashes!”

Huo Sining felt a bit fearful as well. It’s said that the seabed is a wonderful and mysterious world, but aren’t these mysteries and wonders also filled with endless unknowns and risks? As the saying goes, the best scenery is found on the perilous peaks. In fact, in these dangerous depths, there are plenty of beautiful scenes and miracles, but witnessing them might require a price beyond imagination.

The ocean is the most extensive body of water on Earth, covering about 360 million square kilometers, accounting for approximately 71% of Earth’s surface.

Hidden beneath this vast blue expanse are thousands of volcanoes, of which seventy known active volcanoes exist, accounting for about 1/8 of the world’s active volcanoes.

In the ocean, volcanic eruptions occur almost daily, though mostly from small volcanoes.

Volcanoes erupt, spewing magma, which cools and solidifies upon meeting seawater, forming islands and preventing subsequent magma from continuing to erupt. Therefore, large volcanic eruptions on the seabed are rare.

Huo Sining recalled a course she took that mentioned the International Maritime Convention stipulates that if a volcanic eruption on the high seas forms a major island, the discoverer can claim the island as their own.

However, even if one discovers an island, whether they have the means to possess it is another matter. Plus, the chances of a large underwater volcanic eruption forming an island that emerges above sea level are slim to none.

Moreover, even if a large volcano erupts, the resulting typhoons and tsunamis would sweep across tens of thousands of square nautical miles, likely leaving no survivors in their wake.

As such, it’s virtually impossible for that to happen, and any island formation would automatically belong to the nearest coastal nation.

Huo Sining hadn’t entertained thoughts of obtaining ownership of an island, but volcanic eruptions often bring many unexpected gains.

This volcanic eruption stopped after just half an hour, but it took over an hour for all the magma to cool.

Once the water cooled, the magma did indeed form a steep mountain peak and sandstone deposition area about one square kilometer in size on the seabed. The height of this island was only a few dozen meters, and on the seabed hundreds of meters deep, such an island would remain submerged underwater.

In fact, island formation from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions rarely persists after a few months.

As the cooled and solidified lava gets eroded by the seawater, the gases within the sediment layer are mostly released. When the pressure lifting the seabed disappears, the island gradually submerges.

Moreover, due to the fragile structure of these underwater islands, the daily scouring from ocean currents causes the sand and sandstone on these islands to erode.

Within seven or eight months at most, this island will disappear.

At this point, the volcano had quieted down, and Huo Sining estimated that it wouldn’t erupt again for quite some time.

She and Qibao did not approach the volcanic island completely, but stopped about half a mile away from the island’s center.

Volcanic eruptions release some mineral elements from the crustal rock layers along with the magma.

Huo Sining clearly remembered that aside from organic gemstones and jade, the formation of corundum, such as diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, is closely related to magma intrusion.

Volcanic eruptions not only bring fertile soil but also many important mineral resources!