Setting the Stage

"Okay, everyone, listen up!"

At the mouth of a gigantic ravine, the small expedition team led by Wang Mang stood at attention.

This was the Nine Revolutions Maze, its many twists and turns continuing far off into the distance, great canyons gouged into the blackened earth like a titanic ant's nest.

Eerie wisps of fog trailed up from its depths, and although Hu Long had gone over the layout multiple times during their descent from the overlooking mountains, he couldn't help but second-guess how well he'd memorized it, now that he was staring the maze in the face.

"For those of you who will be entering the Nine Revolutions Maze for the first time, know that the natural formation will heavily impair your perception and directional sense. Even if you have the map perfectly memorized, it will be all too easy to miss a branching path or accidentally run in circles, and there won't be any landmarks to guide you once we're inside."