Deep within Immortal-Sojourn Valley.
Miasma black as ink lingered all year round.
Inside a hidden cave dwelling, a massive stone door radiated an icy, sinister aura.
Two gray-furred wolf demons carried the elderly human inside with expressionless faces and long strides.
After passing through a dark, winding stone passage, the two demons stopped before a cell covered in restrictive wards.
The Jackal Demon casually tossed him aside.
Thud!
Like a length of rotten timber, the old man was hurled into the depths of the cell.
The stone door slammed shut.
The two Great Demons of the eight-piece chessmaster realm turned and left, their footsteps receding down the dark stone passage until they vanished entirely.
The old man lay on the cold stone slabs, gasping for breath.
A long time passed.
Only after confirming that everything around him had fallen still did he dare brace himself on trembling arms and struggle to his feet.
He surveyed his surroundings with uncertainty and alarm. The cell was small, its four walls built from some kind of black stone.
A few clumps of unfamiliar moss in the corners gave off a faint glow, barely illuminating this cramped space.
Only then.
Did the old man finally see.
He was not the only person in this cell.
In the shadows of a corner.
Another figure lay motionless.
The man was dressed in rags, his hair disheveled and his body covered in dried blood. He did not move, and it was impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.
Hmm?
The old man frowned slightly.
Instinctively, he shuffled two steps closer, trying to make out the man's face.
By the faint glow.
The old man discerned the face half-hidden beneath that tangled hair.
He froze, then rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Even though he had already