They set out as a group this time, crossing the city together and leaving the roads behind. They were all cultivators after all, there was no need to remain on the ground. It was a moment’s work to leap from the street to the rooftops, taking a path that cut across the top of the city.

  It wasn’t long before they left the center of the city behind them, and the tightly packed buildings that had been clustered together close to the spire. They lost some of their size and grandeur, spreading apart from each other the further they traveled.

  Yu Chen spent the time in thought, turning over the conversation he’d had with Xue Lan, and the past he’d left behind. It seemed so distant. So much had happened since then, and though he thought of those times with fondness, they were only memories now.

  His mind filled with other worries; ones he’d have to have a conversation with Xiao Huang about soon.

  They soon had to return to the roads as the stone began to disappear, interspersed with plots of earth that were a deep, loamy brown, so dark they appeared almost black. The remains of what had once been fields, and with it came the first signs of life.

  Tall, reed-like plants Yu Chen had never seen had taken hold in the fine-grained mud, rich with decayed matter. They varied in color, rippling through shades of blue and green as they swayed back and forth in a nonexistent wind. A bioluminescent moss had spread as well, continuing to grow more common as they approached the outskirts of the city.

  Eventually, the stonework petered out completely, the city simply fading into a wide marshland.

  The ground became moist beneath his feet as he continued on. Wet puddles began to appear, a thick scum of algae covering their surface. Vines crept out of the pools of water, dense with small blue fruits. What looked like ferns, and… kelp? Yu Chen thought he recognized it from his time in the slums. He’d watched them harvest it from along the riverbed before they’d hang it out to dry.

  It was a popular base for many of the soups he’d seen as just a small piece was enough to form a rich stock, full of all the nutrients you’d need. It was particularly popular among the poor, who didn’t often enjoy the bone broths favored among the rich.

  He hoped it meant they were still near the river. Going through a portal was a harrowing experience, and he’d worried he might have well and truly been shunted off to another world this time.

  The ground grew muddier as they continued on, the small pools and ponds around them gradually growing into lakes that left less and less room for them to move freely. Even the space between the lakes began to shrink until, after a while, they pooled together into one large body of water that stretched out before them.

  Yu Chen looked around in consternation.

  They could go no further. The dark waters blocked their path forward, glittering in the soft light of the glowing moss that creeped across the dark mud at the banks.

  “What do we do now?” Sun Yuan asked, the first to speak up.

  His tone was brash, but Yu Chen noticed the waver in his voice.

  “You have a boat, don’t you?” Xiao Jian snorted, crossing his arms.

  “It’s called a ship!” Sun Yuan said, rounding on the man. “Fishermen sail around in boats.”

  The other boy rolled his eyes, but he didn’t reply.

  “Is the water even deep enough to sail through?” Yan Ziqi asked, filling the awkward silence that rose up.

  Sun Yuan creased his brows in thought as the rest of them looked around. No one wanted to step into the strange water and test it out.

  “We could follow it around,” Xue Lan suggested, “This entire city can’t be encircled by water, can it?”

  “It could if it was on an island,” Yu Chen frowned as he cast his gaze upwards, “but this sky isn’t normal. Let alone the sun or the moon, there’s no stars or clouds, or anything at all. We could be anywhere right now.”

  Serbo au Serbo grunted, leaning down and placing two fingers into the lake. He pulled them out, giving one a cautious lick before spitting it out.

  “Water from river.” He said, raising back up to face them.

  “So it is an island.” Xue Lan said with a sigh.

  “We don’t know that yet,” Yan Ziqi shook his head, negating her words. “We should still check the perimeter, there are stranger riverbanks than this out there.”

  “He’s right about that,” Sun Yuan agreed, “I’ve been to a place or two where the sun doesn’t shine, this wouldn’t be the first.”

  “Alright.” Yu Chen said. They set back out, racing in a circle around the outskirts of the city. It was a long run, but welcome. Ever since being cooped up on the boat, er, ship, he hadn’t found many opportunities to stretch his legs like this.

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  The dark, algae covered riverbanks weren’t perfectly even. They twisted in a serpentine pattern, occasionally receding away from or moving closer towards the city. Though its size might change, the water itself never left their vision once until they found their own footprints once more, barely visible against the top of the thick mud.

  “An island then,” Sun Yuan said with a gasp.

  “Looks that way,” The swordsman drawled, hooking his thumbs in his belt. He was in better shape than the other boy. Not only was he a realm higher, his body had even been tempered. Yu Chen could tell, but privately he thought whatever technique he’d used had been a little bit lacking.

  Or perhaps their techniques were simply better?

  Yu Chen’s came from a dragon after all, and Yan Ziqi had utilized a powerful pill to improve his physique. But then again, the barbarian’s body was incredibly powerful as well, he thought as his eyes drifted over to Serbo au Serbo. It was close to his own, and who knew what strange techniques they cultivated out there?

  “Should we see what’s out there?” Xue Lan asked, interrupting his thoughts as she cast a dubious glance towards the dark waters that lay beyond the muddy banks, far beyond what the light from the glowing moss could reach.

  The group fell silent as they considered it. Truthfully, none of them liked the look of that empty void. Anything could be lurking out there, and it was impossible to say how far the cover of darkness stretched.

  “We have lights.” Yu Chen said, breaking the silence. “Let’s see what’s out there.”

  Sun Yuan waved his hand, sending the Sleeping Lady flying through the air. It rapidly grew before landing in the water with a splash, disturbing the algae lining the banks.

  Yu Chen leapt aboard, and the rest followed, sailing the ship into the impenetrable darkness beyond. A lone lantern lit up at the prow, casting a blinding light that illuminated the waters around them. Another lit up in the rigging, and more in the stern, the spirit vessel becoming a shining beacon that cut through the pitch-black waters.

  The inscriptions on the hull lit up, rippling with a soft glow as they pushed the ship forward, the lights from the city in the distance slowly receding as the waters around them grew deeper and more mysterious.

  Eventually they disappeared completely, and the ship was left alone, a solitary source of light in the void. Yu Chen’s other senses stretched out in that void, the noise of the water lapping against the hull magnifying in his ears, every creak and groan of the ship sounding closer to a wail.

  Time passed at an indeterminate length, the word losing its meaning within that dense blackness. An uneasy feeling began to build in Yu Chen, as they continued to travel. He felt the sensation of movement, but there was nothing external to validate the feeling, no clouds in the sky or trees in the distance to show he’d actually moved.

  The strangeness grew, despite everything remaining the same. Until something changed, a new noise breaking through the darkness. He spun his head sharply, looking around, but there was nothing out of place in the darkness around him.

  What was that? He wondered, a splash?

  Yu Chen scratched his arm, anxiety welling up within him, but the mystery fled from his mind as a hint of light finally appeared in the darkness.

  It didn’t appear as a small light in the distance, gradually growing larger as they approached. No, this light arose like a storm on the river, from nowhere to everywhere all at once, stretching across the sky in its pervasiveness.

  The light didn’t grow larger as they approached, as it already covered everything. It simply grew clearer, what began as a faint haze turning into a glowing shimmer that covered the world like a wall in front of them. The ship jolted to a stop, sudden enough to jostle all aboard.

  None of them said anything to Sun Yuan, not even the swordsman, captivated by the sight before them.

  “Am I dreaming?” Xue Lan asked, her voice light with disbelief.

  “I hope so.” Xiao Jian said, stepping closer to her. Their hands fumbled against each other before grasping together, their unacknowledged feelings surfacing as they sought comfort in the moment.

  “No dream.” Serbo said, a quiver in his voice. It was the first time Yu Chen had heard the barbarian sound unsettled. Even when the Auction Ship had been under attack and False Domain cultivators had battled through the sky, the man hadn’t batted an eye.

  Yu Chen couldn’t blame him.

  A thin shell of shimmering energy was all that stood between them and the wall of water that rose up before them. A primal fear rose up in Yu Chen as he stared at the endless tons of water that lay on the other side, and though he knew it was irrational he couldn’t help but wonder if this would be the moment the shield broke, bringing all that water crashing down on top of his head.

  After all, the city was ancient, the buildings in ruins… How long had this shield been here, he wondered. How much longer would it be here?

  He banished the thought, shaking his head before the fear could take root. Then a new fear took root as something swam in front of them, and though Yu Chen could clearly see it, he couldn’t clearly see it. It resisted his cognition, and some small part of his mind screamed, refusing to acknowledge it. The creature paid no mind to them on the other side of the wall, darting off to disappear into the small forest of kelp that waved on the bottom of the river before them.

  That was where they were, Yu Chen realized in horror as he watched the plants dancing in front of him. What strange sect had thought to form a city on the riverbed itself?!

  Yan Ziqi let out a curse. “How do we get out of here?”

  “That’s the beauty,” Sun Yuan said with a hollow laugh. “We don’t.”

  “Quit it.” Yu Chen said, shoving the other boy. “Put that energy into something productive.”

  He turned, looking around at all of them. “Other people have been here before. Remember all the ransacked houses? There were no bodies lying around, or any dead explorers, there must be some way in and out.”

  Yan Ziqi was the first to nod. “We still have to check out the spire as well, perhaps it’s somehow related.”

  Yu Chen nodded. “It could be. Let’s not panic. We’ll head back to the city and look around for some more clues, see if we can’t figure out anything more about these runes Xue Lan found.”

  “Sorry.” Sun Yuan said, looking sheepish as he gazed at the ground. “Depression comes easily, you know.”

  Yu Chen regarded him with a serious gaze before clapping a hand on his shoulder.

  “I know.” he said, “But you’re stronger than that. You’re a smart guy; we’ll need your help to figure this all out.”

  Sun Yuan’s face brightened.

  He opened his mouth, but whatever he was about to say was lost as something struck the boat hard. Yu Chen stumbled, grabbing the railing before snapping his head around as a loud scream rang out.

  Xue Lan went overboard with a cry as he watched in horror.