The darkness was absolute, a heavy, suffocating blanket that pressed against his eardrums.
Under the crushing weight of the murky water, time seemed to distort. Two minutes felt like two centuries. Lin Kai's lungs were screaming, his chest heaving against the primal instinct to inhale, but he knew that opening his mouth meant death. The water here wasn't just fluid; it was a soup of discarded alchemical mercury, failed talismans, and corrupted blood from the Clan's laboratories.
He kicked his legs furiously, his muscles burning as he navigated the narrow stone pipe by touch alone. The walls were slimy, coated in centuries of magical residue that felt like rotting skin.
'Forward. Just keep moving forward.'
He could feel Xiao Bai trembling against his chest. The small fox was pressing her face into his neck, her claws digging into his skin through the cloth. He could feel the faint hum of the Turtle Breath Talisman against his collarbone, the only reassurance that she was still alive.
Just as black spots began to dance in his vision, threatening to pull him into unconsciousness, the oppressive stone ceiling above him vanished.
Lin Kai kicked upward with the last of his strength.
SPLASH.
He broke the surface, gasping violently.
"Hah... Haa..."
He didn't inhale pure air. The atmosphere in this underground cavern was thick, humid, and smelled of rotten eggs and sulfur. It was toxic, heavy with the "Grey Qi" Master Feng had warned him about—the waste energy of the dimension. But compared to the sludge water, it was sweet nectar.
Lin Kai coughed, spitting out the vile metallic taste of the water. He wiped his eyes, blinking through the stinging pain.
"Xiao Bai?" he rasped, his voice echoing in the hollow tunnel.
He looked down. The bubble around the fox's head was still intact, though flickering ominously. She looked up at him with wide, terrified golden eyes, her fur matted and wet, but she was breathing.
"We made it... through the first part," Lin Kai whispered, heaving a sigh of relief that rattled in his chest.
He treaded water, scanning his surroundings. The cavern was dimly lit by patches of bio-luminescent moss clinging to the damp walls. The tunnel stretched out in two directions. To his left, the current was rushing in, carrying debris and sludge. To his right, the water flowed away into the darkness, picking up speed as the channel narrowed.
"Follow the flow," Lin Kai muttered, gritting his teeth. "The waste has to leave the realm. We go right."
He adjusted the cloth binding Xiao Bai to his chest and began to swim.
It was easier now. The current was strong, acting like a conveyor belt pushing him toward his destination. But as he swam, the adrenaline began to fade, replaced by a searing pain.
The Grey Qi in the water was aggressive.
Lin Kai noticed a stinging sensation on his hands and neck, like thousands of tiny needles pricking his pores. He lifted his hand out of the water. Even in the dim light, he could see his skin turning a sickly shade of greyish-purple. The toxins were seeping in, trying to rot his meridians.
'The poison... it's stronger than I thought.'
He gritted his teeth, preparing to circulate his blood to fight it off.
But then, something strange happened.
Deep within his soul, the Dark Affinity stirred. It wasn't a conscious command from Lin Kai; it was an instinctive reaction, like a starving beast smelling blood.
The stinging pain didn't increase. Instead, it changed.
Lin Kai frowned. He felt a cool, soothing sensation under his skin. The greyish-purple hue on his hand didn't spread; it started to fade, retreating as if it were being sucked inward.
'What is this?' Lin Kai thought, confused. 'Is my body adapting this fast? Or... is something eating the poison?'
He didn't realize it yet, but his Dark Affinity wasn't just a combat element. It was a Void. It didn't discriminate between "Good Qi" and "Waste Qi." To the Darkness, energy was energy. The toxic Grey Qi invading his body wasn't destroying him; it was being silently devoured, broken down into raw fuel by the voracious hunger of his bloodline.
He felt a tiny, almost imperceptible trickle of stamina return to his limbs.
"Whatever it is, I'll take it," Lin Kai whispered, dismissing the thought for now. Survival came first.
Ten minutes passed. The tunnel began to widen. The oppressive, claustrophobic ceiling rose higher, and the air grew slightly fresher, the sulfur smell mixing with the scent of damp earth and ozone.
"There," Lin Kai breathed.
Ahead, the water ended.
It didn't hit a wall. It hit a shimmering, translucent barrier—a spatial portal. It looked like a ripple in the air, vibrating with a low hum. The waste water flowed right through it, disappearing into the void.
This was the exit. The sphincter of the Lin Clan.
Lin Kai paddled to the side, grabbing a jutting rock to steady himself against the current. He looked at the portal, his heart pounding against his ribs like a war drum.
"This is it, Xiao Bai. Beyond this gate is the Azure Heaven Wilderness. No rules. No protection. Just us."
He stroked the fox's wet head. "There might be turbulence. Hold on tight."
Xiao Bai gave a weak yip, burying her nose back into his neck, trusting him completely.
Lin Kai took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the semi-toxic air one last time. He pushed off the rock.