At that very moment.
The last faint aura that had been hiding in the shadows seized the instant when Fang Xuan’s mind relaxed slightly and Ning Xian’s attention was diverted.
He erupted from the shadow of a collapsed pillar.
His target was Ning Xian, who was closer to him and seemingly easier to handle!
A poison-tipped dark blue dagger struck like a bolt of lightning, aimed directly at Ning Xian’s back.
Fang Xuan was prepared to deal with it casually, as it was only a practitioner in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
However, Ning Xian simply glanced over, and the person was instantly shredded by sword intent......
She looked back at Fang Xuan, her tone calm: "It is settled."
She did not want to reveal too much of her murderous side in front of Fang Xuan; after all, her junior brother was still young and should not be frightened.
But everything that had happened here, especially his involvement in this brutal trial deep within the secret realm following Lu Mingxuan, absolutely could not be known by the outside world.
Lu Qingsong had lost his son and would not let the matter rest; he would certainly conduct a thorough investigation.
Fang Xuan’s identity might also be exposed because of this, inviting unnecessary trouble.
Loose ends had to be tied up.
"This place is not suitable for a long stay, and the secret realm is nearing its end. I will head out first and wait for you," she said.
She did not explain much, simply looking up at the fluctuating barrier light above the Main Hall, then pointed her fingers like a sword and made a gentle horizontal slash at the void in front of her.
"Squelch—"
A pitch-black spatial rift appeared abruptly before them.
Behind the rift, the familiar mountain scenery of the Qingyun Sect was faintly visible.
No matter how many times he saw it, Fang Xuan was left dumbfounded.
Cutting through space with sword intent at will—Senior Sister, and you claim to be in the Body Tempering Realm......
Ning Xian said one more thing, "I will wait for you at home," before stepping into the rift.
It was not convenient for her to appear at the Main Hall; with so many disciples dead, the sect would definitely investigate.
.......
Fang Xuan examined the trial rewards that had just been settled.
Piles of spirit stones, a good amount of materials, several spirit artifacts of decent quality, and a few jade slips......
His gaze suddenly froze on one particular jade slip with an ancient luster.
"Xuan-Yuan Mixed Qi Scripture", fourth to ninth layers... leading straight to the path of the Transformation Realm......
It was the latter half of his nameless fragmented cultivation method, the complete follow-up manual.
Fang Xuan: "???"
Wait, isn't this too much of a coincidence?
He remained silent for two seconds, then looked up at the sky of this secret realm.
"Senior Sister’s luck......" he muttered, "could it be that the heavenly dao is truly issuing rewards behind the scenes according to a script?"
This was too coincidental; he had just obtained the fragments, and now the second half drops in a dungeon?
With these odds, he wouldn't believe it wasn't the protagonist halo.
........
After stuffing the jade slip and other gains into his storage ring, Fang Xuan took one last look at the messy courtyard.
He turned around, circulated his spiritual power, and his figure pierced through the water, returning to the surface of the sea.
This trip to the secret realm had indeed yielded an absurdly large harvest.
A complete top-tier cultivation method, his cultivation soaring to the peak of the late-stage Void Core, being only one step away from the Golden Core Realm, along with a mountain of spirit stones and materials—it could be said he had made a killing.
But the trouble was also at a nightmare level.
First was Shen Chen.
He had destroyed one of the man’s three souls, killed Shen Qingqing earlier, and reclaimed the spirit bone.
That old geezer was likely beyond just being anxious now; he was probably on the verge of madness.
He had originally hoped that Lu Qingsong, in order to suppress Shen Chen, would invisibly serve as his shield.
But now......
Lu Qingsong’s only son had also been personally slain by him, with not even ashes remaining.
The sect leader of the Qingyun Sect was likely immersed in the grief of losing his son right now.
Once any clues were found, or even just due to suspicion, he would become the primary target of investigation.
A peak Golden Core and a Transformation Realm expert, both being high-ranking officials with real power in the sect.
Fang Xuan rubbed the space between his eyebrows.
It would be best if he could bluff his way through......
But if he couldn't, even if his identity was exposed... it seemed acceptable?
At worst, he would just show his token as a direct descendant of the Fang family.
But if he did that, all his subsequent plans would be thrown into chaos.
He would take it one step at a time; he had always been broad-minded and preferred... since things had come to this, he would sleep first.
If things really went south, he would just have his senior sister tuck him under her arm and flee the mountain.
Thinking of the scene where Ning Xian casually tore through space, Fang Xuan suddenly felt that this escape route seemed quite reliable.
Though the posture might not be very handsome.
However, his understanding of this world mostly came from that unfinished female-lead web novel, and he only knew some major plot points and character relationships.
He wasn't sure if letting his senior sister leave the Qingyun Sect would have any impact on her or what the consequences would be.
......
He loitered around the edges of the secret realm for two more days, mainly to avoid other people who might be teleported out at the same time, and to digest his surging cultivation.
The dozen or so spirit buns rewarded by the system were all consumed, and with the circulation of the newly acquired complete "Xuan-Yuan Mixed Qi Scripture", his realm rose steadily, stopping firmly at the peak of the Void Core.
He was truly only one opportunity away from forming a Golden Core.
During these two days, he also deeply realized how... dull and flavorless days were without his senior sister’s cooking and without the progress of the training project.
"Such is life..." He lay on a cliff somewhere in the secret realm, staring at the unchanging sky as his thoughts began to wander. "One really needs to have some pursuits after all."
For example... finding a... warm little home for Little Xuan or something......
Ahem... just a place to rely on, it was only human nature, right?
.......
After several days, he had scoured the land clean.
The secret realm finally began to oscillate.
The scenery around him started to blur and spin.
His vision flickered, and when it cleared, a slightly cold mountain breeze brushed his face, and his feet were on a hard bluestone plaza.
He was back.
The plaza at the entrance of the secret realm in the Qingyun Sect.
Fang Xuan steadied himself and quickly scanned the area.
Less than ten people were standing sporadically on the plaza, everyone wounded and looking terrified......
On the high platform, the faces of the several elders who had stayed behind were ashen, especially Lu Qingsong in the main seat.
Even though he tried his best to maintain his dignity as the sect leader, his slightly trembling beard and the deep-seated rage in his eyes were almost overflowing.
His gaze was like a bone-scraping steel knife, sweeping across the face of every surviving disciple.
Especially when he saw Fang Xuan, it noticeably paused for a moment.
Shen Chen was not there, likely guarding Sword Peak.
Fang Xuan lowered his eyelids, keeping a low profile as he blended into the group of survivors.
In his mind, however, he was rapidly calculating; the interrogation was about to begin, and for the first hurdle, it would be best to bluff his way through.
What Lu Mingxuan? Never saw him, don't know him.
He only wanted to go back and train his senior sister right now... no... be trained by his senior sister......
Rate on N.U.
