Shen Ying's eyes opened as she woke up from her deep slumber. The last thing she remembered was her being pushed down by Si Xiu onto the ground beyond. She had forgotten everything after that.
Shen Ying tried to shift her body and try and make out her surroundings. Her body moved perfectly, but there were some cracking sounds in a few areas. She was shocked that she had minimal injuries. From the height she got pushed from, she should be dead or at least heavily injured.
Could it be because of the artifact that she had? Shen Ying looked at the artifact she had in her hands, which did not have any abnormalities at all. Perhaps Si Xiu had saved her at the last moment?
That did not explain why the location she was in had become pitch-black. She could not see anything in the darkness that she was in! Why was there no sunlight at all?
Shen Ying drew in a sharp breath as she slowly tried to walk around in the darkness. She tried to find the walls in the place that she was in, since she needed to maintain a grip on her sanity. Total darkness made fear grip her heart like a vise. Her heart started to pump at a faster rate as cold sweat started dripping from her face.
She flailed her hands around and reached out for everything. Since this method was ineffective, she decided to feel the floor instead, in order to maximise her chance of finding a wall to clasp onto.
Wait a minute. Shen Ying suddenly remembered that she could always use Li Tang as her guide. She smiled deviously as she pulled Li Tang out of his confinement.
"Why did you drag me out again? You already used me to cushion your fall! You know how heavy you are?" Li Tang immediately criticised her upon coming out of the slave storage.
When he had been pulled out earlier, he had felt excitement at being released, then he got crushed by Shen Ying's body weight instead. He did not even get the chance to wander around afterwards, since he came back to that cramped space immediately afterwards.
"Even if I did so, I was justified. It is the right of a slave to do what their master bids. So, help me find out where I am!" Shen Ying ordered Li Tang to do her bidding. She still haven't forgotten what he tried to do to her, so she did not possess any goodwill towards him at all.
Under Shen Ying's orders, Li Tang was forced by the powers of the Underworld to find out the location of the area. Since the Underworld was naturally dark and gloomy, he could detect light easily as part of his physique. Not to mention that his true body had thousands of feelers he could use to detect the surroundings.
Li Tang shifted into his true form, which Shen Ying could see since she was bonded to him. She quickly turned her eyes away, as his true visage was truly too hideous to endure. How could she have fallen for his charms earlier on?
After feeling around for a bit, Li Tang reported to Shen Ying by turning back to his mortal form. It turned out that they were actually in a cavern, not only that, but an extensive one, as even Li Tang could not touch the end of the cavern. However, he had detected some light nearby.
"What? I must have fallen into a hole right? Then why was there no light at all when I woke up?" Shen Ying was puzzled by this occurrence. She had thought she was in some sort of abyss. How did she even get to the cavern in the first place?
"How would I know? Maybe it's because of the weird artifact you're holding?" Li Tang suggested. Shen Ying agreed with him, as it was the only viable idea. It seemed that the artifact could control earth, to be able to allow her to enter this cavern with almost no light at all.
"Since you said there was light, let's move towards that for now. Let me grab your hand as walking support." Shen Ying made Li Tang reach his chilly hand out, and she gripped the hand tightly. She still had a natural fear towards the unknown, and used Li Tang to reassure herself.
As Li Tang guided her into the endless darkness, Shen Ying could hear some rocks tumbling down a slope, and there were some whispers that emerged from the darkness.
"Watch out, there will be stairs soon." Li Tang warned her, which broke her away from the whispers which were distracting her. However, as she got closer and closer to the light, the whispers grew louder and louder. Shen Ying's heart grew apprehensive of the light. What if it was a trap set up by monsters?
It did not matter anyway, since she was protected by Li Tang, and she was already quite close to the light. It was her only option to find a way to get out of this cavern.
When she finally saw the light, she saw a gaping hole, from which came the light source. When she tried to get a better look of what was inside the hole, she could only see blurred images. It was as if someone had deliberately blocked their vision.
"Li Tang, go into the hole and explore what's inside!" Even though Li Tang mumbled his displeasure, he still followed her instructions and dived into the hole.
The moment Li Tang dived into the hole, she could not hear any sounds or see him anymore. However, they were still connected by the contract, so they could communicate with each other through the bond.
She only needed to wait for him to send some messages to her. After waiting for a minute, she received a message from him that made her afraid.
"There's a huge gathering of people inside that captured me and put me in a dungeon. Rescue me, quick!" I'm only a Body Building cultivator. How do you expect me to beat someone that can overpower a Rotating Core cultivator? Shen Ying wanted to complain about Li Tang, but she was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and did not have time to do so.
If the people described by Li Tang was as dangerous as he said, her life would be in danger. That would still be better than staying at this dark area full of unknown dangers. She lied down on the ground near the hole, sighing. One day she was complaining about her life being too boring, then life hits her like a truck.
Now that she was in this cold and dangerous place, she finally understood why her father excluded her from the cultivation world. Shaking her head, she knew that it was already too late to turn back. She then dived into the hole, going into the unknown.