Chapter 71

Tang Zhendong was now unable to find any foothold, with nowhere to borrow strength from. The pressure of the seawater caused by the closing of the clamshell was immense, and Tang Zhendong could hardly resist it. Fortunately, he had a steel rail in his hand. Although his body was leaning backward, he did not stop pushing the steel rail forward. Finally, before the giant clam's shell was completely closed, he managed to push it between the two shells.

With a "crack," the sound of the clamshell colliding with the steel rail was transmitted through the seawater to Tang Zhendong's ears, almost deafening him.

The clamshell, combined with the giant clam's powerful bite and the weight of the various parasites on the shell, was extremely heavy, almost causing the sturdy steel rail to crack.

Tang Zhendong, pushed back by the water, immediately stabilized his body and moved toward the giant clam again.

The giant clam seemed to have understood Tang Zhendong's plan. After slightly opening its shell, it suddenly closed it again, trying to crush the foreign object that had suddenly appeared inside.

Tang Zhendong was about to dive in, but the sudden "click" of the clamshell closing around the steel rail made him realize that although the giant clam was large enough to accommodate three or four people, the gap in the shell was too small for him to enter.

Perhaps a baby could have squeezed in, but there was no way for Tang Zhendong's large body to fit. As he retreated, he suddenly noticed the giant clam sucking in water. Tang Zhendong immediately understood the clam's plan: it intended to use the powerful water flow inside its body to flush out the steel rail.

Although the steel rail was not too long, it was solid and weighed about 70 to 80 kilograms, nearly 200 pounds. Tang Zhendong had struggled to carry it here, but he was certain that the water jet from the giant clam could flush it away, as he had felt the immense force from a distance.

Tang Zhendong was suddenly alarmed. If the giant clam flushed out the steel rail, it would be much harder to get it to open its mouth again. Instead of retreating, he moved forward, diving toward the giant clam, waiting for the moment it would spray water.

To flush out the steel rail, the giant clam had to open its shell at the moment of the water jet. Tang Zhendong had to seize this moment. He quietly picked up a basketball-sized rock from the bottom of the sea.

Suddenly, the giant clam opened its huge shell like a banana leaf, and a high-speed water jet shot out from its body, quickly flushing the steel rail far away.

Seizing this rare opportunity, Tang Zhendong threw the large rock into the soft flesh of the giant clam.

Clams have shells to protect their soft flesh. Pearls form because clams are extremely sensitive to sand and stones that enter their bodies. To alleviate the discomfort, they secrete a sticky fluid to envelop the sand particles, which over time form pearls.

Thus, the soft flesh inside clams is highly sensitive to foreign objects. After Tang Zhendong threw the rock, the giant clam violently sucked and sprayed water, causing a tumultuous upheaval in the surrounding seabed.

Tang Zhendong took the opportunity to move away from the area and picked up the steel rail that had been flushed far away by the giant clam.

Tang Zhendong dragged the steel rail back. By now, he had not surfaced to breathe, but he could feel the sun rising, as the morning sunlight illuminated the sea.

The water at the giant clam's location was not deep. Tang Zhendong had dived at around 5 a.m., when the sun was just beginning to rise, but now it was fully bright.

Time was running out. Tang Zhendong had just promised Yu Qingying that he would not engage in such dangerous activities again. If Yu Qingying found out that he had dived again, who knew what she would think of him.

After dragging the steel rail back, the giant clam was still struggling with the sharp rock inside its body, its huge shell constantly moving, stirring the water into a murky mess.

Tang Zhendong originally planned to throw the steel rail into the giant clam's soft flesh, but he suddenly realized that if he threw it in the same way as the rock, it would not be visible from the outside, and its effect would be similar to throwing a rock.

Could he throw the steel rail to the bottom of the giant clam's shell, preventing it from closing and rendering its water jet ineffective? Moreover, the opening would be large enough for him to enter, leaving the giant clam helpless.

Finding the other end of the giant clam's water jet, he waited for the moment the clam opened its shell. Tang Zhendong quickly inserted the steel rail into the gap between the clamshells.

The gap in the clamshell was directly connected to the giant clam's soft flesh, and its strong muscles extended from the gap to the shell, forming a structure similar to a hinge.

Tang Zhendong's steel rail was precisely wedged at the base of the two shells, preventing the giant clam from closing its shell, leaving a gap of about 1.5 meters in the middle.

Seeing the opportunity, Tang Zhendong immediately swam into the giant clam.

The flesh of the giant clam was smooth and soft, and Tang Zhendong felt as if he had entered a mass of flesh, which was extremely slippery. He immediately saw the large black pearl glowing with a dark light. Although the pearl was not exposed, the flesh inside the giant clam was dyed black by it.

Tang Zhendong reached out to touch the black pearl.

Suddenly, a powerful suction force tightly held him.

Tang Zhendong struck the soft flesh of the giant clam with a powerful palm. By the time the giant clam's suction cups had grabbed him, he had already struck three times, but none of them had any effect.

The flesh of the giant clam was extremely soft, and Tang Zhendong's internal palm strength was ineffective against it.

The suction cups of the giant clam tightly held Tang Zhendong's chest, exerting a tremendous force that made his chest feel like it was about to explode.

No matter how he punched or kicked, Tang Zhendong could not damage the soft flesh of the giant clam. However, the suction force of the giant clam's suction cups grew stronger, as if it were trying to suck him in completely.

Tang Zhendong felt helpless, his mind beginning to wander. He had not expected to be on the brink of death just as he was about to succeed.

Fortunately, Tang Zhendong had reached the innate realm of the Ghost Valley internal martial arts. Otherwise, just being held by the giant clam's suction cups, unable to breathe, would have cost him his life in moments.

However, the innate realm of the Ghost Valley internal martial arts allowed him to overcome the need to breathe air from the outside, instead using internal breathing. His body exchanged air with the ocean through his pores, and internal breathing was essentially body breathing.

Although Tang Zhendong could breathe internally, the giant clam's suction force was no less powerful than that of a top expert, and he was struggling to hold on, flailing his arms and legs.