The instant the green, ghoulish light devoured the carriage, An Fei thought that she was going to die.
The bath of green, specter-like light flung her back into the carriage, her inner organs revolting against her will with ardent fervor as they sought to escape her body.
The young girl thrashed around in more discomfort than pain, attempting to quell the turmoil ravaging the inner intricacies of her physique.
The feeling was akin to the constant caress of a wartenberg wheel running across her entire body, only from the inside.
An Fei deeply regretted not retreating sooner, and she could see Zhang Yuewen nearby suffering the exact same fate.
However, neither of the two writhing girls or the worried Luo Xi could have expected the incoming turbulence.
Boom!
The carriage suddenly lurched forward, jostling the occupants except for the empress without any mercy. Before they could steady their body, a powerful force swallowed them from below.
Weightlessness and an exorbitant amount of nausea slammed into their bodies, making the three maidens feel as if they were being hurled high into the sky.
Though their body remained plastered against the floor of the carriage, the consciousness of the three were being tossed side to side, slammed against the floor then the ceiling, never given a moment’s respite.
An Fei could feel a cold hand constrict at her heart, threatening to smother the beating heat into a cold darkness.
The young girl struggled to maintain her eyes to remain open, but with each pressing pulse of an absolute chill, they couldn’t help but droop even lower.
The meagre amount of spiritual essence reserved within her physique following the suppression of the world fought to retain the host’s vitality, yet couldn’t thaw anything except for the heart.
What was previously a two-meter coiled thread in the Sanctum had been reduced to a length of thirty centimeters, a vicious suppression that caused great angst and helplessness.
As her eyelashes flickered, the young girl could hear distant patches of rustling sounds filtering through the closed window. Only after listening to the droning whistle of the wind did An Fei realize that the imperial carriage was hurtling downwards through the air at a frightening rate.
Falling.
They were falling.
Falling from a height of several kilometers without any protective or preventive measures, and the empress was… smiling…?
An Fei grit her teeth in soundless agony, her fingers curled against the fur rug as she clung for dear life.
Wracked by the endless nausea, the sensation of weightlessness, and the mind-numbing cold that threatened to eliminate her existence, the young girl prayed for the torment to end sooner…
Judging from the sound of the wind, it seemed that their rate of descent seemed to accelerate drastically each moment… was this the true path of descending from Jiang’an?
This, this isn’t a joke at –
Crash!
The carriage suddenly jolted to a halt, thudding onto the earth with a stupendous impact.
The gravitational force dispersed evenly amongst the occupants of the carriage, before expanding outwards in a massive shockwave that tore at the air.
Three delicate figures hurtled skyward to collide heavily against the ceiling, releasing heavy grunts as their bodies pressed against the wooden surface for several prolonged moments until the gravitational force had finally departed from their bodies.
Nonetheless, their fall back onto the floor was neither graceful nor pleasant.
A thunderous sonic boom erupted directly above their heads, causing the three maidens to temporarily become deaf on top of being tormented by the dispersed force.
Fortunately, though the nausea did not disappear and instead worsened as a harsh ringing blazed at her ears, An Fei heaved a sigh of relief that the abnormal, cold sensation had vanished the instant the carriage collided with the ground.
The next instant, her expression took a turn for the worse, a wave of nausea causing the young girl to cover her mouth.
“Well, how was it?” Feng Hong Yu airily clapped her hands in delight, a pleased expression displayed on her countenance.
“Isn’t it quite the amazing sensation, traveling several kilometers in a matter of seconds?”
That was a mere few breaths of time!?
“N-n… never… ag-again…” the three maidens groaned in utter agony, either clutching at their stomach, their mouths, or both.
Having been struck by the ghoulish light alongside of An Fei, Zhang Yuewen’s expression was severely dour as the belle continued to dry-heave, her throat desperately begging for air, yet cutting itself off with each pressing moment.
Luo Xi appeared to be faring much better, but the maiden could only listlessly gaze towards the window, her countenance a heavenly painting of what it meant to be utterly defeated.
Bang!
A fleeting figure burst open the door of the inner cabin, rushing outside with an astounding velocity. Before the carriage driver and the other occupants could question the cause of such phenomena, their answer quickly slapped their faces in the most direct way possible.
A young maiden’s miserable sounds of vomiting, though quiet as usual, pounded at their ears with the deafening impact of a war drum.
As if reminded of her own plight, Zhang Yuewen’s countenance paled, both hands shooting to cover her mouth.
Soon, two other figures had joined in emptying the contents of their stomach and the accumulated nausea within their bodies outside of the carriage.
…Feng Yu Xin’s lips couldn’t help but twitch at the sight, before raising her hand to thoroughly palm her face.
She had forgotten that for those below the Core Formation Realm in cultivation or plain mortals, this experience was nothing short of utter torture.
–
“Hah…”
Her eyes watering from the stinging pain coursing through her body and the remnants of the deafening ringing that had tortured her consciousness, An Fei released a mighty sigh of relief after noticing that she was standing on flat ground.
Soil ground, warm with the geothermic heat of the earth displacing massive pulses throughout the entire world.
Though the sensation was not that different compared to that of the ground in Jiang’an, the psychological comfort was all that mattered…
“Ahem!”
The sound of a voice being cleared grated at her ears, and An Fei couldn’t help and turn around to discover the source of trouble.
There, kicking over piles of dirt and grass to cover the bombastic mess she had made, Zhang Yuewen massaged her throat, a miserable expression on her countenance.
“This really isn’t exciting anymore, I want to go back,” the belle hissed in agony, her nose wrinkling in distaste at the soil-covered shoes.
“Forget Taiyi Sect, forget cultivating in a foreign sect or receiving a spectacular opportunity, this Young Miss was born to be a Young Miss, not a genius cultivator, ah!”
Glancing at the site of grievances with a bitter look, An Fei patted her stomach in relief that other than a few moments of absolute agony of continuous dry-heaving, she didn’t lose anything from her stomach…
“Alright, the three of you quickly collect yourselves, ah?” Feng Yu Xin cajoled from the entrance of the carriage, a dazzling smile radiating from her countenance as she inspected the wretched complexions of the three maidens.
“Quick, quick, let’s have a quick snack before we go to sleep!”
Hearing the mention of food, the three maidens simultaneously released a pitiful groan, reminded of their turmoil.
Nevertheless, they climbed into the carriage albeit with a little reluctance, electing to decisively go to sleep without a single bite.
…the empress could only nibble at a freshly stocked container of candied apple in solitude, before she too succumbed to a drowsy state of rest.
–
In the Sanctum, a young girl rolled her head whilst massaging her neck, easing any remaining tension from her muscles. Breathing in gusts of air and invigorating her spirit as much as possible, An Fei released a jubilant cry of exultation.
Her body felt considerable lighter than its miserable condition in the Shattered Star continent, the cluster of spiritual essence coiled around her heart restored to its maximum length and mass.
Her body sung with unrestrained vitality, having been freed from the outside world’s unreasonable weights and burdens.
The young girl rubbed at her bosom with an expression of rumination, a sinking feeling threatening to bog down her heart.
Driving the horrifying memories of the freefall incident with the carriage out of her mind, An Fei immediately stripped her clothes to the bare minimum, before beginning the day’s routine of exercise.
“One… two…”
Eighty push-ups, eighty sit-ups, then a sichen’s session practicing the <Steps of the Underlying Shadow>.
Once again, the seventeenth platform of the Archives of Time was filled with the slightly aromatic fragrance of a young maiden, accosted by muted grunts of exhaustion as she attempted to temper her physique via the brusque yet effective method…
After this, she promised to treat herself with the best meal she could currently conjure, before determining how exactly she was to counteract the horrifying suppression enacted by the world.
