Out in a big lake, peace and serenity were disturbed. A woman could be seen drowning. Her body was paralyzed, and only her arms could move. No matter what she did, she couldn't propel herself upward.
"If only I knew it way earlier, I wouldn't be dying like this. My only wish is that karma will make those involved perish in a more painful way than death." The woman thought.
The woman finally stopped struggling and slowly sank to the bottom of the lake. Just then, a powerful lightning bolt struck the lake.
*BOOOOMM!*
It was so loud and massive that it could be seen and heard from a thousand li away. The lightning came out of nowhere, and there weren't even any clouds in the sky. It was a perfect sunny day.
A hand shot back up from the depths of the lake. Trying to stay afloat, she kicked her feet, and her arms started to swim. When she finally reached the surface of the lake, she coughed a lot of water out of her lungs.
"uh ugh ughh", she almost drowned, Yi Ling thought. Why was she in the water? Wasn't she supposed to be inside her chamber in the Blue Rose Palace? She looked at her left hand and saw that the Ring was missing. It wasn't on her finger.
"Yu'er! Tefei! Mu Xin!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. Nobody responded. She was alone in a big lake.
Worried that she might lose her strength, she started to swim toward the bank. When she finally got there, it was almost sunset. She only had a couple of hours left. It took all of her energy to swim. Her strength was almost depleted. She leaned on a tree to gather her energy. She noticed that there was a dense amount of spiritual energy in her surroundings. She knew that she wasn't inside the ring. So she must have been in one of the spiritual beast's territories or the high-ranked kingdoms, she guessed.
She noticed that she was wearing different clothing than what she remembered. She was soaked, but she could still see that the clothes she was wearing were very beautiful. She had a white inner robe and a yellow outer robe. She decided to think about it later.
She circulated her Qi inside her body to regenerate a little bit of energy. She needed to find some shelter before it got dark.
After gaining enough energy back, she stood up and walked through the forest. She didn't want to encounter any beasts right now; she didn't have the strength to fight one.
After an hour of walking, she finally found a small cave. She wouldn't have noticed it if it was dark; it was covered with thick vines. She went inside and leaned on the wall. Her strength was really low, and she fell asleep almost instantly. Her body fell to the floor.
She was soaked and extremely weak. She was trembling, cold, and alone. She started to have a fever.
Back on the big lake, it was already dark. A man was standing by the bank. He had dark purple eyes and wore a black robe with gold hues. His long and beautiful hair was being blown by the breeze. His brows were furrowed.
He felt an omen in this area when that lightning struck the lake. Good thing that he was passing by when it happened.
Sensing his surroundings, he noticed a particular aura. He dashed to the tree, where a person's aura could be felt. Normal cultivators could only perceive an aura that was left behind for a couple of hours. But for him, he could do it for a day.
As he studied the aura, he figured out that it came from a woman. The aura was weak and was heading towards the forest. He didn't hesitate and followed it. He was the King of this Kingdom; it was his duty to take care of an omen.
He arrived in front of a small cave, and he could hear someone's harsh breathing. His ears were sharper than anyone's. He pushed the vines aside and went inside the cave.
It was dark. He conjured a small flame in his right hand and noticed a woman lying on the floor.