Then Chen Yan found a secluded pool.
It lay in a shady mountain hollow, surrounded by ancient trees. The water was deep and clear, its soft murmur making it seem like another world from the blood-soaked battlefield.
"Splash..."
He stepped into the cool water.
The current gently enfolded him, washing away the invisible killing intent clinging to his skin.
Chen Yan drew a deep breath and slowly sank beneath the surface.
He made no effort to keep the water out, letting himself sink naturally and feeling the pressure gently press in from every direction.
He stretched his limbs underwater. His movements looked casual, almost as light and graceful as a young man's, but every shift of muscle was controlled with astonishing precision.
He had to carefully restrain the strength of a body capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, lest one careless movement destroy the peaceful pool.
Chen Yan's black hair drifted like waterweed, and beneath the rippling surface, his face looked calm, even somewhat innocent...
Anyone seeing him would have thought he was a handsome young man playing in a mountain stream.
Who could have guessed that this seemingly youthful body had just single-handedly turned Red Ridge Canyon upside down, decapitating several demon kings who had dominated their territories?
He sank farther, all the way to the bottom, more than ten zhang beneath the surface.
The light had almost entirely vanished. Here, there was only pure, all-encompassing darkness and silence.
The sound of the water grew steady and distant, as if coming from another world.
Such absolute stillness was the perfect setting for sorting out his thoughts and focusing inward.
Chen Yan sat cross-legged on the flat rock at the bottom of the pool, his palms facing upward.
He emptied his mind and sank his awareness into his body,