As he passed through the warped membrane of space, Chen Yan felt as though he had been hurled into boiling magma, only to be forcibly yanked back out a moment later.
The instant his feet touched the ground, a cold, viscous torrent of psychic energy rushed toward him. Wrapped within it was a will of corruption and depravity, burrowing into the depths of his consciousness like a living thing. It tried to taint his mind and twist his perception.
Yet Chen Yan's mental world remained as calm as an ancient well.
He didn't even try to resist.
A barely audible tremor rippled through his sea of consciousness. An invisible wave of psychic energy spread outward, like a spring breeze brushing a spiderweb, and gently scattered the surging, filthy force into the Void.
A shield of psychic energy, thin as a cicada's wing, then appeared on its own, blocking all further infiltration. In an instant, his mind was clear again.
"So that's how it is."
Chen Yan understood.
"No wonder The Alliance has a hard rule that only grandmasters may enter high-risk Rifts."
For ordinary martial artists, this level of mental contamination was practically fatal.
Even a ninth-stage professional at the peak of their level probably wouldn't last long before being completely overwhelmed, unless they had specifically trained their mental strength.
As he pondered, he instinctively activated [Presence Erasure].
That was the greatest reason he dared to enter an unknown Rift alone.
He began surveying his surroundings.
It looked like an enormous storeroom, its space astonishingly vast. But there were no lights, and the darkness was so complete he couldn't see his hand in front of his face.
Chen Yan silently activated [True Pupil of Myriad Phenomena].
The world before him instantly came into focus.
Minerals of every size and shape