Chapter 2: Chapter 001 (Prologue) Nightmare

A gust of yin wind brought a sudden chill, and Lin Cenxue felt as if she had fallen into an endless darkness. A bone-chilling cold surged from all sides, forcing her heavy eyes open, yet it felt as if she were still in a dream. As far as the eye could see, there was only endless darkness, emitting a damp, rotting smell that stimulated her groggy brain... Is this... hell...?

When she finally saw her surroundings clearly, she realized with shock that this place seemed to be some kind of stone chamber. The chamber exuded an eerie and terrifying aura, making Lin Cenxue feel as if a wave of yin energy was pressing toward her.

She struggled to stand up, but her foot accidentally slipped, scraping against the ground with a "creak—" that sent a spine-chilling sound straight to her heart. The hair-raising sensation felt like a maggot clinging to her bones, making her limbs feel even colder.

Where on earth was this? Wasn't she supposed to have died in that natural disaster? Even if she hadn't died, there was no way she could appear in such a sinister and terrifying place!

Still shaken, Cenxue touched her chest. Her violent heartbeat made her fear everything here even more, but she still slowly moved her feet, walking toward the depths of the stone chamber...

This place seemed to be more than just a simple stone chamber; it looked more like an underground palace. Every short distance she walked, the light from a night pearl guided her way. Using night pearls for illumination suggested that this place was certainly extraordinary.

Cenxue continued walking forward. It was eerily quiet here; she could even clearly hear the sound of her own breathing. An old cloth curtain appeared before her eyes, looking as though it had aged significantly. The originally vibrant colors on the curtain had faded into a mottled white due to the passage of time.

Gathering her courage, she lifted the curtain and walked a few more steps, where a stone door resolutely appeared. Cenxue stopped in her tracks, and after much deliberation, decided to push the door open to see what was inside.

The weight of the stone door required her to use all her strength. When she finally pushed it open, panting for breath, what entered her field of vision was actually a coffin standing upright in the center of the stone chamber. The old coffin was covered in dust, but what made her skin crawl most was that there was actually a dried corpse standing inside the coffin?

"Oh heavens! Is... is... is she encountering a zombie?" A sound like the friction of broken bones seemed to drift past her ears. Her heart instantly leapt into her throat. Could this be some kind of underground tomb?

She stood quietly in place for a long time. It wasn't that she didn't want to leave, but rather that her feet seemed to refuse to obey her, preventing her from moving. However, after standing there for a while without noticing anything strange or hearing any peculiar sounds, her heart calmed down somewhat.

Looking at the dried corpse in the coffin not far away, although she was still very afraid, she seemed possessed as she stepped forward bit by bit. When she reached a certain distance from the coffin, she froze, carefully scrutinizing the body inside.

The body in the coffin was a man. His bluish-gray, shriveled skin exuded the scent of deathly decay, and his stiff expression seemed to carry a bone-deep hatred. Beneath his skeletal, emaciated frame, he wore a dragon robe. Such a magnificent robe did not seem out of place on this corpse at all; the exquisite embroidery shimmered faintly in the darkness, its splendor undiminished even though it was buried deep underground!

But why hadn't his body decayed? Since he was wearing a dragon robe, his identity must be incredibly noble. Just who could he be? It was truly a mystery!

Curiosity drove her to take another step forward, but even at this distance, she still couldn't see his true face clearly. Braving herself, she took another step closer. Looking at the pale-faced man before her, Cenxue reached out her hand as if possessed, wanting to touch that face filled with resentment and hatred...

Just as her hand touched his face, the man in the coffin, who was already dead, suddenly snapped his eyes open. His blood-red eyes glared at her, causing Cenxue to scream repeatedly in terror: "...Ah... Ah..."

The man reached out and grabbed the nearby Cenxue, pulling her violently into the coffin. The coffin, unable to bear the weight, toppled toward the ground with a massive crash: "BANG—!!!"