There are two options when you enter the abyss: (I go as far as you need to go if law crafting, without tinderbox.) 1. Blockage in front of you, both ways first is a rock, then the tendrils, then a boil, then the eyes. 2. Blockage in front of you, both ways is a tunnel. (squeeze through.) That's why the best thing to bring is a pick, not a hatchet, because the rock is always before the tendrils.