“According to the legends of the Demon Realm, all living beings originated from a place called the Primordial Void Sea.”
Li Zhi Ran’s cool, detached voice drifted over.
“Afterward, each species reproduced—some outside the womb, some within—repeating the process by which life was first formed in the Primordial Void Sea.
“Therefore, to link two minds, we must first return both persons to that Primordial Void Sea.
“Sharing the same pool of potion is the necessary ritual to accomplish this.”
…This explanation is so mystical and chuuni, yet why does it sound exactly like biology class explaining that life originated in the oceans?
Fine. After hearing so many magical terms, he should have realized long ago that everything was just ordinary stuff wrapped in fantasy packaging.
What truly threw him off was how deadly serious and utterly shameless she was, sitting there calmly as if nothing were strange at all.
It made Xu Lin—who was currently sharing a bathtub with her, legs tangled, facing her directly—feel as though his racing heart was nothing but his own wishful thinking.
Does she really not care at all?
He looked at her face, searching for an answer.
Her expression was perfectly normal.
Yet her skin carried a faint pink flush different from before.
Probably just the warm potion improving blood circulation.
Xu Lin also felt his own body growing hotter.
“Young Hero, please close your eyes…”
Li Zhi Ran’s voice came again.
“…and feel the power of the potion.”
Having spoken, she closed her eyes first, straightened her back, and became completely still.
In this moment, watching her serene posture, an entirely different aura emanated from her entire body; like an exquisite marble statue.
Is this really magic? Or is it cultivation?
This is literally dual cultivation!
“Young Hero, time is pressing.”
Her pale lips parted slightly as she urged him.
She hasn’t even opened her eyes—how does she know I haven’t closed mine yet?
Regardless, he hurriedly shut his eyes.
If he kept staring at her like this, certain parts of his body would inevitably react.
He closed his eyes and tried to clear away stray thoughts.
Splash.
The water rippled.
Xu Lin felt the liquid shift toward him.
Something was drawing closer.
The next instant, both his hands were seized.
It was Li Zhi Ran!
Her hands were now interlaced with his, fingers tightly clasped.
The impure thoughts he had just suppressed surged back with renewed force.
His body stiffened; he instinctively wanted to open his eyes.
“Young Hero, do not open your eyes!”
Li Zhi Ran’s voice came from the opposite side, and at the same time her grip on his hands tightened.
Reminded like this, he kept his eyes shut—even squeezed them tighter.
“Young Hero, do you feel anything?”
“F-feel anything?”
Her question threw his already chaotic heart into further disarray.
Right now his heart was thump-thump-thumping wildly. His lower body soaked in the warm potion, his temperature rising rapidly.
What could he possibly feel?
All he could feel was every tiny point of contact where her palms pressed against his.
The softness of her palms, the distinct joints of her fingers, the silky smoothness of her skin.
And the tingling, electric sensation that spread whenever their overlapping legs accidentally rubbed together.
He felt himself slowly swelling.
“Describe every sensation to me.”
“Everything?”
“Physical sensations are enough. This is very important; please do not hide anything, Young Hero.”
She tightened her grip on his hands again.
This is basically Truth or Dare on extreme mode!
After a long silence, Xu Lin finally described the feelings coursing through his body.
“Yes, exactly like that.”
Li Zhi Ran’s voice answered.
And this time, her voice didn’t only reach him through the air; he also felt the faint tremor of her body.
“Young Hero, now follow my count. On three, follow my rhythm and slowly lower your upper body into the potion, leaving only your head above the surface. Tell me when you’re ready.”
W-what exactly are we doing now?
But things had already reached this point; hesitation wouldn’t help.
Besides, nothing he had feared had actually happened so far.
“I’m ready.”
“Good. Young Hero, on my count. Three, two, one…”
The moment her “one” fell, her hands gently pulled his downward.
Guided by her, Xu Lin slowly lowered his upper body as well.
He suddenly felt like a child being taught how to swim.
As his torso descended, their legs became even more tightly entwined.
He could feel her foot pressing against his waist.
Her delicate toes—each a different size—brushed across his skin with her movements.
His body stiffened again; all sorts of messy thoughts flooded his mind.
After all, the bathtub was only so big; lowering the upper body inevitably meant the lower body had to make room.
“Young Hero, please relax.”
Noticing his tension, Li Zhi Ran’s voice soothed him.
Xu Lin could only force himself to loosen up.
Thump-thump-thump.
When the potion reached his heart, Xu Lin distinctly felt two hearts beating beneath the water.
Soon, the two racing heartbeats began to synchronize.
In the end, the resonance of their heartbeats completely drowned out every other sensation.
Under her guidance, Xu Lin submerged himself until only his head remained above the liquid.
Strangely, his chest felt no water pressure; breathing was perfectly smooth.
“Young Hero, how do you feel now?”
Li Zhi Ran’s voice came again.
This time, it was as if she were speaking directly into his ear.
The skin beneath the potion tightened slightly from the vibration of her voice.
Xu Lin described what he felt.
“Very good. We’re almost there.”
“Again, follow my count. On three, follow my lead and fully submerge your head. No matter what happens, do not panic.”
Her voice echoed inside his mind.
He really wanted to open his eyes and see if she was leaning in to whisper right against his ear.
But he felt the pressure from her palms.
She said nothing, yet he instantly understood: if he opened his eyes now, everything would be ruined.
In the end, he resisted the urge.
“I’m ready.”
“Good. Young Hero, on my count. Three, two, one…”
?!
The instant her “one” sounded, the force in her hands suddenly increased, as if she intended to drag him completely underwater in one pull.
Before he could react, his head was already fully submerged.
His body sank downward with it.
?
He had assumed he would stop once he touched the bottom of the tub.
The bottom of the tub had vanished!
He continued falling.
Beneath him stretched an endless abyss.
If he let himself keep sinking, he would fall forever—deeper, deeper, with no end.
In that sudden panic, he forgot to hold his breath and instinctively gasped.
The potion rushed into his nose and mouth.
At the same time, his limbs flailed wildly like a drowning man.
Have I been tricked?
Panic seized him. He completely forgot her earlier warning and snapped his eyes open.
“Young Hero, tricked by what?”
Li Zhi Ran’s voice rang out.
It reverberated inside his mind and across every inch of his skin.
His eyes were open, yet the first thing he saw was not Li Zhi Ran.
What met his gaze was not pitch black, but a profound, ethereal blue.
All around him, as far as he could see, there was nothing but faint, rippling light.
Like a scene from a deep-sea documentary.
Yet here, he felt no crushing pressure from the depths.
Even the stinging he should have felt from potion entering his nose and throat was absent.
In this place that resembled the deep ocean, his breathing was perfectly smooth.
Just where… is this place?