Chen Ping and Liu Xue gradually came round. Their heads throbbed as though they had been smashed by a heavy hammer, the pain almost splitting their skulls.
What met their eyes was a boundless desert. Howling winds whipped up sand and grit that stung their faces like needles.
The scorching sun blazed down like countless blades, roasting the earth without mercy. The whole world felt as if it had been tossed into a gigantic furnace.
“Young Master Chen, where are we?”
Liu Xue asked weakly, her voice tinged with confusion and fear.
Chen Ping shook his head, brows tightly knitted as he struggled to recall what had happened.
They had been inside the great hall of the Tianmen Mountain ruins, about to take the ancient book that glowed with golden light.
The instant his fingers touched it, blinding radiance had swallowed them. Then everything went blank, and they awoke in this unfamiliar place.
“I do not know either. This does not look like the Ninth Heaven, nor anywhere we have ever been before.”
Chen Ping said helplessly.
They looked at each other and saw the same worry and unease mirrored in their eyes.
To figure out where they were, they decided to fly up and survey the area.
Yet when they tried to circulate their spiritual power and rise into the air, their bodies felt bound by some invisible force. They could not fly at all.
Worse still, their divine sense could now only extend a few li, a severe suppression compared to before.
“How can this be? Why has our strength been suppressed so drastically?”
Liu Xue asked anxiously, worry written all over her face.
Chen Ping took a deep breath and forced himself to stay calm. “Do not panic. Since we cannot fly, we will walk and look around. We might find people and ask where we are.”
With that, the two dragged their weary bodies across the burning sand.
Every step left deep footprints. The searing grains worked through their shoes and scalded their soles, but to uncover the secret of this place they gritted their teeth and pressed on.
They walked for an unknown time until a rustling sound suddenly came from ahead, as though something was moving rapidly beneath the sand.
Chen Ping and Liu Xue instantly grew wary. Standing back to back, they stared intently forward.
Soon, a swarm of snakes burst from the ground. They varied in size and colour: some pitch-black as ink, others brightly multicoloured.
Hissing and flicking their tongues, they surrounded the pair completely, greedy glints in their eyes.
“Oh no, a snake swarm!”
Liu Xue cried out. She gripped her long sword tightly, ready to meet the attack at any moment.
Chen Ping clenched his fists, determination shining in his eyes. “Stay calm. We will deal with them carefully.”
The snakes struck. One after another they shot forward like released arrows.
Chen Ping and Liu Xue swung their weapons and fought fiercely against the horde.
Because their strength was suppressed, their movements were much slower. Repelling even a single snake now cost considerable effort.
As the battle dragged on, more and more snakes appeared, seemingly without end. Gradually, Chen Ping and Liu Xue began to falter. Several bites left bloody wounds on their bodies, staining their clothes red.
“This cannot go on. We have to find a way to break free!”
Chen Ping shouted.
At that moment, an enormous snake emerged from the swarm. As thick as a water barrel, its scales gleamed like metal. This was the snake king.
It flicked its tongue and let out a deafening roar, as if proclaiming its dominance over Chen Ping and Liu Xue.
