Meanwhile, the person in question—Mei Xueyin—was lying unconscious in some unknown location within the Secret Realm.

Although she didn't seem to be injured to the verge of death, she had lost a lot of blood.

After a few more minutes, her eyelids trembled slightly, and a groan escaped Mei Xueyin's lips as the pain her mind and body had ignored due to fainting finally began to register.

She weakly opened her eyes, but everything still looked blurry. Maybe it was because she had fallen underground and hit her head before passing out. The only source of light was the blood-red sky above. A huge hole overhead marked the place from where she had fallen into this unfamiliar domain. Currently, she was lying amidst the debris on the ground.

Mei Xueyin's long, silky black hair was now disheveled, and the light makeup she usually wore had been replaced by streaks of blood and dust, dropping her usual appearance score from 90 all the way down to 70, maybe even 60. Still, she looked above average—and anyone who saw her, whether man or woman, would likely feel the urge to protect her.

She instinctively tried to raise her arm to shield herself from the sudden transition from darkness to light. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, and the arm she tried to lift refused to obey. She had only ever felt this powerless once before in her life.

It was during the organization's training—when they were taught how to endure torture in case they were ever captured by the enemy.

Her elbow appeared to be dislocated, causing mind-numbing pain even when she tried to shake off the flies hovering over the bloodstains on her hand.

She lightly tapped her finger on the ground. The storage ring on her middle finger lit up, and a pill bottle appeared in her hand.

With great difficulty, she opened the bottle and used one hand to extract a pill, placing it between her bloodstained teeth before crushing it. The moment it cracked, an immense wave of spiritual energy burst forth, traveling from her throat all the way down to her dantian.

Mei Xueyin closed her eyes again as the pain that had been tormenting her began to lessen.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

[Don't take risks like you usually do.]

"Why? Master, did you discover something?" Long Chen asked anxiously.

[Laws—it's the laws within this Secret Realm that are troubling me. Just be careful.] Before Long Chen could ask anything further, the ring lost its luster and returned to its rusty appearance.

"..."

Did the master mean Dao? According to Long Chen's understanding, Dao was often used interchangeably with the word Law.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, he came across a massive hole in the ground. But that wasn't what surprised him.

What caught his attention was the female disciple lying at the bottom—she wore the robes of his sect and was someone he had seen before.

Mei... Mei Something.

Long Chen jumped down, his robes fluttering softly in the wind as he descended and landed beside Miss Mei.

"Ugh—"

Long Chen immediately averted his eyes; her injuries were far too severe. Several bones were visibly dislocated. Though her body was healing at a visible rate, it was still painfully slow. He noticed the pill bottle in her hand that was about to fall. The moment Long Chen reached out to secure it, Mei Xueyin suddenly shot open her eyes. A short dagger appeared in her still-functional hand, and she launched an attack at him.

But the dagger halted just inches from Long Chen's forehead as recognition dawned in her eyes.

"Y-You... are still... alive," Mei Xueyin weakly muttered. Her voice was faint, but loud enough for Long Chen to hear.

"What do you mean?" Long Chen asked, confused. Shouldn't she be relieved to be saved? Yet the first thing out of her mouth...

Mei Xueyin shook her head.

She grabbed a handful of pills and shoved them all into her mouth, crushing them. Although doing so compromised much of their potency, it was the only option—she wasn't in any condition to swallow them properly.

Seeing her struggle to sit up, Long Chen moved forward and placed his hand on her back, helping her rise.

Cough—Cough—

As soon as she sat up, she began to cough violently. It was clear she had internal injuries as well.

"How long has it been?" she asked hoarsely.

"I just got here. I'm not sure when you lost consciousness." Long Chen looked up at the sky and did a rough count on his fingers—but in reality, he was asking the Master in his ring. He couldn't distinguish the passage of time in this strange place.

"But Miss Mei, were you also swallowed by a portal into the Secret Realm?" Long Chen asked, finally glad to speak to another human after so long. He had been trapped here for over four months.

"Miss Mei, don't worry. I will protect you." Long Chen offered gently, seeing Mei Xueyin scanning her surroundings with wary eyes. She pressed her lips together. What Long Chen didn't realize was that she wasn't worried about the environment—she was afraid Long Chen might try something, taking advantage of her current vulnerability. After all, they were completely alone in this unfamiliar place.

"What do you mean, swallowed up by the Secret Realm? I came here with the sect members. All the sects in the region have entered. But Senior Long... were you truly swallowed by this Secret Realm? So that's why we couldn't find your body—or even your remains..."

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