In endless darkness.
Oppressive, icy, suffocating, as though at the bottom of an abyssal sea.
In his haze, a twisting, roiling streak of purple light rapidly approached from afar.
Then it vanished abruptly! When it appeared again, it was already right before him.
A gaping maw, its boundless abyssal vortex darker than the surrounding darkness. Once swallowed by that mouth, he was thrown into another dizzying whirl. Then came another oppressive, icy, suffocating place, followed by another streak of purple light, another gaping maw, another black abyssal vortex—and he was swallowed again...
Until...
"Ah!" With a startled cry, Yin Kuang suddenly bolted upright. Cold sweat drenched his entire body, as if he had just been pulled from the water.
His breathing was heavy and rapid. His entire body was weak, his limbs trembling. His lips were cracked, his throat burning, and an unprecedented thirst nearly swallowed him whole.
Just then, a cup of water was brought before Yin Kuang.
If he did not drink soon, he really would die of thirst!
Driven by fierce instinct, Yin Kuang paid no attention to anything else. He practically snatched the cup and gulped the water down. The loud sounds of his swallowing filled the room.
The cool, smooth water flowed over his tongue and down his throat, as refreshing as diving into an ice-cold pool on a sweltering day. Yin Kuang even felt as though he had finally come back to life.
The cup was not large, yet the water inside seemed inexhaustible. Yin Kuang drank for several whole minutes.
"Where is this..." With his thirst somewhat eased, Yin Kuang finally turned his attention to his surroundings.
It was a simply furnished room, utterly ordinary and unremarkable. But the moment Yin Kuang saw the back of someone dressed in earthen-yellow robes, he immediately