173 Chapter 172: Drowning (1/2)

”Glub…!”

I desperately clawed through the water, kicking as forcefully as I could to propel myself toward the surface. Even back in both timelines, I was a terrible swimmer. I could float, and I wasn't afraid of the water, but my swimming instructors were pissed off at me always dog-paddling instead of doing proper breaststroke or freestyle.

Hey, if it worked, it worked. Why should I care if dog-paddlng was ugly and embarrassing? As long as I didn't drown, it achieved the purpose of keeping me alive and my head above the water.

To be clear, I wasn't panicking. I knew that panicking would cause me to drown. Forcing myself to stay calm, I kicked in a manner that replicated the movements my instructor taught me as best as I could remember, but I was never able to reach the surface. I calmly swept my arms across, like how I was taught, but no matter how high I went, I was never able to reach the surface.

Then I realized that I couldn't see any surface. It was water everywhere. And the water extended for what seemed like an infinite length above.

”Glub…!”

Damn it…my consciousness was rapidly fading. I was already unable to see much beyond five meters in front of me, the edges of my vision clouded by darkness.

This was an illusion, right? Then why did it feel so real? I knew it was an illusion, yet my body was insisting that this was a very real, physical phenomenon. That I was really drowning. Even when I closed my eyes, I could still feel the water pressing against me, the moisture that saturated everywhere around me.

Not good…at this rate, I'll really drown!

I couldn't believe I was unable to break out of the illusion. This was on a higher tier than the Sea of Fire in the Nascent Soul Stage practitioner's tomb. Even if I tried to extend my Heaven and Earth sense out, I was unable to detect anything. The qi was everywhere, a literal sea of qi that submerged and threatened to drown me.

Wait…didn't the qi mean this whole thing was real? Then when did I get underwater? I was pretty sure I was on the plaza before this. Did I get teleported here? Was this under the plaza? That couldn't be – I should be able to see the plaza above if that was the case, but there was no sign of the surface anywhere!

Yet, my senses were telling me this was no illusion. I was beginning to doubt if this was an illusion. If it was an illusion, then it was one that was on a completely different level from anything I had faced before.

”Ugh…”

The darkness at the edge of my vision had reached the center of my eyes now. And my movements were growing weaker. My legs were losing their strength. Even though I was holding my breath to prevent myself from swallowing water, I was sinking and not floating.

Wait…that meant the water was not real. If this was real water, then I would naturally float. Yet I was sinking even though I was doing the normal stuff to float, like holding my breath and staying calm. The human body was filled with air, so naturally it would float in water because it possessed a natural buoyancy. Usually people drowned because they panicked and thrashed about too much, which caused a displacement in water, which then rushed in to fill the spaces the drowning person opened up around him. Well, there were other factors too, such as an immense tidal wave sweeping you away and weighing you down with sheer pressure.

Or something. Obviously I was not an expert in drowning. I only knew the basics from my instructor.

There was something unnatural about this water. Perhaps it was a Spirit Formation, a trap to drown its victims. Then the question was…how did I fall into this trap? When did I end up in here? Was the Spirit Engraved Pillar booby-trapped? If so, then why did the trap only activate now and not when I was communing with the Spirit Engraved Pillar all those weeks ago?

Those questions were academic in any case. My consciousness was rapidly fading, my limbs had grown leaden and I was no longer able to move them. I felt a sensation of sinking, and water was gushing into my nose and water. I needed oxygen, and I needed it now…but my lungs were being filled with nothing but water despite my best efforts to keep them out.

I was going to drown.

But this isn't right!

If this was an illusion, then it shouldn't affect me. Illusions were classified as spiritual or qi attacks. My Snow Aegis should have protected me from the attack, should have stopped any illusion from reaching my mind and affecting me.

Then how was I affected by this illusionary attack? Was it real then? Was it really not an illusion but a physical phenomenon?

Even so, my Snow Aegis would protect me from physical and qi attacks from the material world as well. I would never have ended up in this situation if my Snow Aegis functioned properly and shielded me from this!

Then there was only one explanation. This wasn't an attack, or at least my Snow Aegis did not recognize it as one. Either way, it was of scant comfort to me. At the rate things were going, I was going to drown regardless of whether this was intended to hurt me or not.

Damn it!

”Pathetic.”

”?!”

My eyes flew open when I heard the voice. That sounded like Master. Yet, when I glanced around, I couldn't see anyone. Nothing but fish, algae and marine life around me. And of course the darkness that was encroaching upon my vision.

”Ugh…”

Bubbles billowed out of my mouth as I slowly sank toward the bottomless depths of the illusionary river.

Of course Master wouldn't be here…

”Have you not learned anything from what I taught you?”

Master's voice again. I wasn't sure what he was talking about, and it was pointless in any case. I wouldn't be able to…

Oh, wait. Now I remembered. Master did teach me martial arts. Not just any martial arts, but mystical ones with qi and stuff. And qi was basically magic.

If so…

My eyes opened wider and I unleashed the qi from inside my body. The water around me immediately froze.

But I was not merely encasing myself in ice. Wrapping myself in a qi bubble, I found that I was able to breathe once again. Gulpling large amounts of air into my lungs greedily, I almost fell – except that there wasn't any ground to fall on, only water 360 degree around me – while gasping and heaving. Steadying my breathing after a while, I glanced around, my vision clearing up, but as usual, I didn't see anyone. Just fish and plants.

There was no sign of Master, and I no longer heard his voice. Was that a hallucination as well? My subconscious taking the voice of my master to save me while I was in mortal danger? Or did his ghost leave, satisfied now that I was alive?

”What am I thinking, didn't he go and get reincarnated already? How can his ghost still be around?” I muttered to myself, shaking my head. More importantly, I should find out where I was, and how to get out of here.

There was no clue, no hint, nothing. Just fish, water and plants. Looking up, down, left and right, I couldn't find anything that would lead to a way out. Instead, I felt increasing despair when I realized there was no way out.

I was trapped in an eternal ocean, with no surface or bottom, a vast body of water that stretched for infinity. I might as well be in outer space.

Closing my eyes, I reached out with my Heaven and Earth senses, but felt nothing but water qi everywhere. As I suspected, I was trapped inside an infinite space that stretched on forever. I was enclosed in an ocean of qi, with no way of getting out.

”There has to be some sort of trick,” I muttered, feeling frustrated. Damn it. Not being a genius was so troublesome. If I was Qin Lie or Li Fu Chen or one of the usual xianxia protagonists, I bet I would have broken out of this formation without a sweat, but as a completely ordinary guy. Even if I did this the hard way, I might still find myself trapped within this ocean forever.

That was a scary thought.