"Quick, protect yourself with True Qi," Chen Fan noticed something wrong with the cold current, and it was precisely because of this problem that the people from Sector Thirteen hesitated to venture further into the tomb.
Upon hearing Chen Fan's voice, Bai Zhannian and he swiftly unleashed a stream of orange-red True Qi to resist the fierce cold current.
However, it seemed there was something within the cold current, frantically restricting the movements of Bai Zhannian and Chen Fan.
"We're done for," a terrifying thought flashed through Chen Fan's mind at this moment.
"Brother Chen Fan, it seems we've been tricked by that woman, Bai Lin. The information didn't mention this, only that there was a river below..." He sputtered, seemingly being dragged by something, and Bai Zhannian sank straight into the water.
"Zhannian!!!!" Seeing this, Chen Fan erupted.
The normally orange-red True Qi rapidly dispersed and condensed, manifesting a golden circular shield that enveloped Chen Fan once more, while his body gradually became lighter.
"A breakthrough???" Chen Fan found himself navigating the cold current with ease, and the golden glow surrounding his body proved he had reached the quasi-divine level.
As the saying goes, each realm is a new world. To cultivate to higher standards, besides talent and time, one needs personal effort. But unexpectedly, the scouring of the cold current propelled Chen Fan directly to the demigod level.
Without overthinking, Chen Fan quickly swam towards where Bai Zhannian had sunk. Bai Zhannian seemed to sense Chen Fan's approaching presence, instinctively reaching out towards him.
"Damn it!" Chen Fan watched Bai Zhannian sink deeper, while he himself felt increasing pressure as he neared the bottom of the pool.
"Even if I die today, I will save this Bai Zhannian!!!" Chen Fan thought to himself, the golden light around his body growing ever brighter.
"Got him!" Chen Fan dived with all his might, finally managing to grab Bai Zhannian's arm.
Without a moment's hesitation, Chen Fan lifted him, pulling Bai Zhannian up a few meters. The rest of the way, Chen Fan had to swim himself, dragging a still unconscious Bai Zhannian.
Time flew by, and Chen Fan's strength dwindled. Bai Zhanyun on his back had also passed out from near drowning.
The surface of the lake was within sight, yet no matter how hard Chen Fan tried to swim upwards, he felt no progress.
"Am I going to die?" Chen Fan's consciousness began to blur.
"Bai Zhannian, you shouldn't have been with me..." These were Chen Fan's last coherent words before he drowned and lost consciousness.
-------
Who knew how long it had been, perhaps many days, perhaps just one. Time in the underground was unknown.
"Cough, cough, cough..." A platform at the bottom of the ancient tomb was piled high with all sorts of corpses. Amidst a heap of bodies, a figure suddenly sat up.
"Holy shit, I'm alive..." Chen Fan crawled out from a pile of corpses infested with maggots, looking at the scattered bodies around him.
"Zhannian!!! Zhannian!!!" Chen Fan roared.
But the empty pile of corpses yielded no response.
Chen Fan went mad, smashing away the corpses blocking his line of sight with a single palm. However, no matter how he searched, he couldn't find the figure in white from Kunlun Mountain.
Chen Fan knelt on the ground weakly, punching the ground repeatedly, still shouting.
"Why, why?" His fists were already covered in blood from striking the ground and scratches from the stones.
Chen Fan's already exhausted body was further burdened by his grief, and he passed out again.
-----
A moment later, Chen Fan woke up again, looking at his own destructive actions and the mangled corpses scattered across the platform. Who knew what he had done in his grief.
If he hadn't found him, it meant Bai Zhannian's body wasn't here, or perhaps Bai Zhannian wasn't dead and had left earlier. Chen Fan reasoned with himself: the strong always walked alone, and grief would pass. If Bai Zhannian had truly died, he would avenge him, kill everyone in Sector Thirteen, and make them pay.
"Bai Lin!!!! I will make you pay." Chen Fan suppressed his grief, his eyes growing colder as he began to search for an exit.
Chen Fan surveyed the surroundings; the walls were enclosed on all sides, with only a waterfall pouring down ceaselessly, its roar immense.
"Could the exit be behind this waterfall?" Chen Fan mused as he walked towards it.
As his fingers brushed against the falling water, a slight stinging sensation shot through his fingertips.
"It's that powerful?" Chen Fan was astonished to find this waterfall was extraordinary. Ordinary waterfalls consisted of clear, crisp water, but this falling water was pitch black. The stones at his feet, splashed by the waterfall, made only a faint, heavy sound.
"Heavy water??"
A passage from a book he had once read surfaced in Chen Fan's mind.
Heavy water, known as the water from heaven, was not to be touched lightly by ordinary people. At best, it would result in severe injury and death; at worst, direct demise. This water was black, devoid of luster, and fifty times denser than pure water.