Yao Yue gasped for air as she finally reached the surface. She wiped the water from her eyes before spotting a clearing of land. Ignoring the burning pain from both her stomach and back she swam towards it before finally collapsing onto the white sand. She panted, collecting herself together, before slowly sitting up. By now Yao Yue's whole back was drenched in blood from her wounds all ripping open and her abdomen was also beginning to bleed.
She glanced around the area, trying to figure out where she was. It was an underwater cave, with blue torches that lit up the area. Behind her was a stone altar which held two books and two swords, along with a door with two lined carvings. And in the water, laid an unconscious Tian Ying floating in the water.
Wait..
Yao Yue immediately got back into the water and swam towards him. She grabbed his body, making sure his head was above water before swimming back through the faintly pink waters towards the island. "Childe...Tian..." she said, glancing over at him.
When he didn't answer, Yao Yue frowned and sat up once more.
"Childe Tian?" she gently shook him. "Childe Tian, are you okay? Wake up!"
Tian Ying coughed out some water from his lungs before finally opening his eyes. Yao Yue let out a sigh of relief, backing up to give him some space. He sat up and glanced around.
"What is this place." he asked, getting up from the ground.
Yao Yue shrugged, "Some kind of underground cave, I guess." she then laughed. "Why would such a place exist in a lake that is used to heal? Could it be that the Tian Sect is trying to kill the people that they're trying to heal?"
"Shut up." he spat, glaring at her.
Realizing what she had just said, Yao Yue covered her mouth in embarrassment. "Sorry, it was a slip of the tongue. I promise I'll do my best to not do that again."
Tian Ying didn't answer, exploring the area. He walked up towards the altar and stared at it. Yao Yue followed suit as her eyes widened at the words that were carved on the plaque.
"Those who fall into the Leng Yue Tian Yi Cave must master the Tian Jian Mo Wu, Those who fail will become a part of the Leng Yue Tian Yi Cave."
She frowned. "What is the 'Tian Jian Mo Wu'?"
Tian Ying once again didn't answer, picking up one of the books. It read "Tian Jian Swordplay", and the blue sword with golden carvings next to it began to dimly glow. He flipped through the pages, reading through some of the stances. Yao Yue cautiously did the same with the other book "Mo Wu Swordplay", with the other black sword with silver carvings glowing dimly. Yao Yue's eyes widened as she began to recognize some of the stances. They were the moves of the ancient swordplay of the Mo Sect, having said to be lost to time. She had only seen some parts that were recovered but... this seemed to be the whole swordplay.
"This..!"
"So you two are the unfortunate souls that have fallen into the Leng Yue Tian Yi Cave?" came the voice of a young man.
Both Yao Yue and Tian Ying turned to see a man of the Tian Sect, but he wasn't wearing the typical outer coat of the Tian Sect. It seemed to be an older, more ancient version.
"Excuse me sir, but who are you?" Yao Yue asked.
The man laughed, "I am Tian WuLai, the first Sect Leader of the Tian Sect."
Tian Ying frowned. "Sect Leader WuLai died five hundred years ago."
"So it's already been twelve years since the last two people came down," he sighed. "It seemed just like yesterday that I saw those two pass away."
Yao Yue swallowed nervously. "Sect Leader WuLai, could it be that before you passed away, you sealed a part of your soul here?"
"Well, aren't you a knowledgeable girl? What's your name?"
She bowed her head. "I am Yao Yue of the Mo Sect, visiting to listen to the lessons of the Tian Sect."
"'Mo Sect'? Now that's a sect that I haven't heard about in a while." Tian WuLai smiled at her. "How is the Mo Sect doing these hundred years?"
Tian Ying cleared his throat, "Sect Leader WuLai, I'm sorry to interrupt but how do we get out of this cave?"
Tian WuLai turned to Tian Ying and sighed. "You want to get out?" he gestured to the plaque on the altar and then to the books in both Tian Ying and Yao Yue's hands. "Master both of these swordplays and then you can leave."
Both of them stared at him in confusion.
Tian WuLai sighed again, walking over to the stone door with the two carvings. "Do you see this? You both need to master your respective swordplay so you can activate the door to get out."
"But if we aren't able to..." Yao Yue started, wobbling a bit.
"If you fail to master them, you will both die here. There is no other way otherwise." He walked over to the altar and grabbed the two swords, handing the blue sword to Tian Ying and the black sword to Yao Yue. "In your hand is the 'Tian Jian Swordplay'." he gestured to Tian Ying, "and in your hand is the 'Mo Wu Swordplay'." he gestured to Yao Yue. "When used together, they become the 'Tian Jian Mo Wu', created by me and my good friend Mo QianGui."
Yao Yue looked at the black sword with a weak smile. "Turns out you and... Sect Leader QianGui were good friends..." she took a deep breath before turning to Tian Ying. "Childe Tian, let's work hard... to master these swordplays... and get out together..."
Tian Ying nodded, before noticing how much she was swaying. "You..."
Before he could finish Yao Yue collapsed onto the ground, the pain from her wounds finally taking over. Tian Ying immediately hurried over and felt her pulse, letting out a sigh of relief when he felt her faint heartbeat.
"That girl is really a silly girl." Tian WuLai knelt down next to Yao Yue and gently touched her blood soaked outer coat, revealing that her reopened wounds were not light. "She should've said something about her wounds. After feeling this much pain, I'm surprised that she, as someone of the Mo Sect, didn't collapse any time sooner."