In the pitch-black darkness where one couldn't see one's hand before one's face, Shi Yan slowly awoke.

He opened his eyes and instinctively released his Divine Sense, attempting to penetrate the surrounding situation. However, the moment his sense stirred, an incredibly sharp pain erupted within his Sea of Consciousness, nearly causing him to faint again.

His expression instantly changed. Gritting his teeth against the agony in his spiritual sea, he hurriedly held his breath and focused, drawing his Divine Sense back millimeter by millimeter.

As the Divine Sense retreated, the pain in his Sea of Consciousness vanished instantly.

His eyes shone brightly, yet even in the darkness, he still couldn't perceive his surroundings.

Reaching out to grope about, he found only cold, hard rock beneath his hands. The rock was incredibly solid and extremely rough; he couldn't tell what type of stone it was. It seemed a restriction had been placed upon his Sea of Consciousness; the moment he released his sense, the affliction would flare up, giving him an unbearable, splitting headache.

He focused his eyes, but the landscape remained invisible. He stood up and moved around a bit, trying to mobilize the power within his body, only to discover that his essence energy was also inexplicably sealed. He was unable to unleash any of his strength.

With both essence energy and the Sea of Consciousness restricted, for an ordinary martial artist, this was akin to having their lifeline severed, rendering them powerless.

However, for Shi Yan, even with both his essence and consciousness bound, he still retained usable power. The strength painstakingly tempered within his physical body, and the negative power residing in his acupuncture points—if activated, he was not entirely defenseless.

The only problem was how to escape from this place.

His Divine Sense was unusable, and even his mind felt constrained. This made communication with the Blood Patterned Ring difficult, and he could receive no message from the Profound Ice Chill Tide or the Earth Core Fire.

In the utterly dark stone chamber, Shi Yan sat cross-legged on the ground, silently awaiting something.

He knew the person who restrained him hadn't intended to kill him; they surely would appear. Unaware of the situation here, he cautiously refrained from activating his negative power to shatter the stone chamber, choosing instead to wait in silence.

"Where did Miss Cui Bi capture a human from? Humans haven't appeared here in a very long time. Where did that fellow come from?"

"Hmm, humans rarely make it to our domain. Commander Cui Bi brought that one back on her outing this time, and she hasn't killed him immediately; she just locked him up... I wonder what she intends to do."

"Who cares? We just need to deliver the fellow to Miss Cui Bi."

Two cold, sinister male voices drifted in from outside the stone chamber, which Shi Yan heard perfectly clearly.

Shortly after, a creaking sound suddenly echoed from the sealed stone chamber, followed by dim, faint light spilling in from outside. As the light appeared, two slender figures, young men imbued with an eerie, cold aura, suddenly manifested in the illuminated opening.

In the gloom of the faint light, Shi Yan focused his gaze and saw that both youths had pale faces and were extremely thin. A faint, cold, yin energy emanated from them; they seemed devoid of warmth, appearing deeply bizarre.

"Stand up and follow us. Our lady wishes to see you," one of the youths commanded coldly.

Shi Yan frowned slightly but asked no further questions, rising naturally.

"Behave yourself, or I won't mind teaching you the rules." The youth glanced at Shi Yan with chilling malice before leading the way. "Follow closely."

Shi Yan walked out of the stone chamber without another word, stealthily observing his surroundings.

It was a wide, long corridor lined with stone walls on both sides. The walls were adorned with countless images of monstrous beasts and illuminated by glowing stones.

These illuminating stones were not particularly bright—rather dim, in fact. In that faint glow, Shi Yan couldn't discern exactly what kind of beasts the carvings depicted.

The two youths, possessing that cold, ethereal quality, were rather handsome. As they led the way, they occasionally glanced back at Shi Yan with wary expressions.

Since his Sea of Consciousness was restricted, Shi Yan could not unleash his Divine Sense to probe their power. Thus, he didn't know the strength of these two young men. However, judging by the faint, gentle fluctuations emanating from their bodies, their cultivation wasn't particularly profound. If his strength were restored, Shi Yan was confident he could easily slaughter them both.

But without knowing his exact predicament, Shi Yan dared not act rashly.

The cold-voiced woman who captured him managed to evade his Divine Sense's scrutiny and restrain him with ease—her realm must be exceptionally high.

With such a master present, he knew that an impulsive move might lead to a tragically grim end.

Following the two youths obediently, Shi Yan passed through the long corridor and arrived at a spacious grand hall.

The hall was roughly circular, surrounded by thick, imposing stone pillars. Inside, numerous men and women exuding yin energy stood still, seemingly awaiting something.

These people all carried a rather delicate, yin-infused aura, with slender figures and very pale skin, suggesting they rarely encountered sunlight.

In the center of the hall sat an elder with a long, flowing white goatee and gray-white pupils. He sat alone in the middle, while the surrounding men and women stood to one side, presumably as guards or servants.

Beside the elder stood a strikingly beautiful maiden dressed in court attire—a layered gown—with brows like painted ink, exuding elegant charm.

At this moment, the maiden’s clear, deep eyes fixed on Shi Yan from a distance, and she spoke in a cool voice: "Father, this is the human I captured."

The elder stroked his beard and nodded lightly, his gray-white eyes calmly observing Shi Yan.

Shi Yan stood dutifully, distinctly feeling a surge of yin energy instantly seep into every pore of his body, quietly traversing his frame, seemingly scrutinizing him from head to toe.

"Human, where do you hail from?"

After watching for a while, the elder finally spoke without haste. His voice was surprisingly gentle and pleasant.

"Who are you?" Shi Yan countered, refusing to answer directly. "In the Abyssal Battlefield, it is rumored there are no martial artists. This place is merely a proving ground where martial artists of ancient times clashed; the spiritual energy of heaven and earth here is extremely thin. Why are you here? What exactly are you? Is this truly the Abyssal Battlefield?"

"Insolence!" The beautiful maiden frowned coldly. "You only need to answer my father's question; stop talking nonsense!"

A sharp soul fluctuation, like a keen sword, pierced into Shi Yan's mind.

The restriction in Shi Yan's Sea of Consciousness flared instantly, as if billions of insects were gnawing inside, causing his head to split almost immediately, nearly making him scream out loud.

Through gritted teeth, his face contorted in pain, Shi Yan remained silent, staring fixedly at the maiden.

"Enough, Cui Bi."

The elder waved his hand, stopping the maiden named Cui Bi from further tormenting Shi Yan's Sea of Consciousness. He looked at Shi Yan with slight curiosity. "This human of yours is quite resilient. Under our Yin Charm Clan's 'Thousand Soul Devour,' he hasn't uttered a single sound. If I'm not mistaken... you are only at the Status Realm, aren't you?"

"Ah? Father, impossible!" The beautiful maiden, Cui Bi, suddenly exclaimed in disbelief. "He clearly formed a Sea of Consciousness! Forming a Sea of Consciousness—that's something only a Nirvana Nest martial artist can achieve! How could he be in the Status Realm?"

"That's right, I am indeed only at the Status Realm," Shi Yan slowly nodded. "I came from the outside world. Well, I don't belong to the Abyssal Battlefield; I only stepped in here due to certain circumstances. Previously, I was in a scorching desert and arrived here via a teleportation array..."

"Truly the Status Realm?" A flash of astonishment crossed Cui Bi's clear, beautiful eyes. Looking at Shi Yan again, her curiosity deepened.

"It seems you must have encountered some incredible fortune, otherwise, you couldn't have cultivated a Sea of Consciousness while still in the Status Realm. Yes, you are no ordinary human martial artist," the elder stated, nodding slowly at Shi Yan. After pondering for a moment, he continued, "You say you are from the outside world; then... have you ever heard of our Yin Charm Clan?"

Shi Yan shook his head.

The elder's expression became desolate, his gaze tinged with loss. "We have been gone too long, so long that the humans in the outside world no longer remember the Yin Charm Clan. Ah, what a pity, a pity that we cannot leave this place. I truly wish to know what the outside world has become..."

"Father, aren't we living quite well here? Why do you always want to leave?" Cui Bi asked, puzzled.

"You wouldn't understand..." The elder sighed, falling silent for a long time.

Shi Yan was stunned. After being tampered with in his Sea of Consciousness by Cui Bi once, he became much more subdued. Despite his internal doubts, he dared not press further.

"I have a few questions I hope you will answer seriously. If your answers satisfy me, I can let you go wherever you wish to be. However, if your answers disappoint me, then consider yourself unlucky, and I will make you disappear without a trace..."

The elder sighed deeply, then suddenly looked up, addressing Shi Yan solemnly.

At that very moment, a strange fluctuation suddenly erupted from the elder.

The restrictions on Shi Yan's body vanished in an instant. His Sea of Consciousness returned to normal, and his essence energy began to flow robustly.

He released his Divine Sense, quietly studying the elder before him and his daughter, Cui Bi.

His Divine Sense reached the elder's vicinity but was immediately obstructed by an invisible force. However, near Cui Bi, his sense encountered almost no resistance.

Heavenly Position Realm!

After letting his Divine Sense circle Cui Bi once, Shi Yan was horrified, almost crying out in shock. This young maiden possessed the cultivation of the Heavenly Position Realm!

If she was already in the Heavenly Position Realm, what realm must the elder be?

"Don't think too much about it; you absolutely cannot escape from here," the elder said flatly, his expression indifferent. "First, tell me exactly how you entered this place step by step. Before reaching that desert area, what places did you pass through? Also, can you return the way you came? If you can retrace your path, I promise not to make things difficult for you and will even grant you a tremendous opportunity!"

"I can't find the way back, I'm sorry. Although I also wish to leave, I genuinely have no means," Shi Yan replied with a helpless shake of his head.

The elder frowned, seemingly pondering the next question.

Just then, someone rushed in hastily. After paying respects, the person reported: "My Lord, we have discovered more human martial artists. This time, there are many—nearly a hundred of them!"

Shi Yan's pupils constricted. Without a second thought, he knew it must be Cao Zhilan's group searching for him.

P.S. I had some family matters today, so I apologize; I can only manage one chapter. Uh, I will make up for it tomorrow.