Chapter 15: Identity Exposed?

High-level cultivators cannot be insulted.

“Brother, those look like Tongxuan grass, right?” the tall one pointed to the vast expanse of Tongxuan grass ahead.

The short one squinted closely.

It really was! His attention had been fixed on the red moon above, so he hadn’t noticed until now—this entire meadow was grown entirely with Tongxuan grass! Looking farther out, the sword-like peak stood tall, its coiled chains adding an air of grim menace.

“Could this be a swordmaster’s cultivation ground for nurturing swords?”

“When we were sucked in, we didn’t see any exit—so this must be an auxiliary secret realm.”

“Judging by the style of this realm, it’s likely the work of some dark sect titan.”

The short one calmly analyzed the situation: such dark sect titans were invariably cruel and ruthless; their secret realms were lethally dangerous, and they wouldn’t spare them just because they were also from the dark path.

“By the way, where’s our Secret Realm Age Detection Spirit Device? Quickly get it out and measure.”

“Uh… brother, didn’t you say we shouldn’t bother carrying unimportant, inconvenient items and just leave as soon as possible? That thing was so big, so I left it behind.”

“…”

Fuck! You wasteful bastard!

That Secret Realm Age Detection Spirit Device was worth over three million spirit coins—saved up painstakingly over decades by us! Was it unimportant?!

The short one wanted to cry. He longed to crack open his idiot brother’s skull and see what was inside.

The tall one, seeing his elder brother’s expression, felt a twinge of guilt.

The short one felt suffocated, but said nothing further—now wasn’t the time for arguments.

“Forget it. I’ll first check the spatial stability here to see if we can open an exit.” The short one pulled out a talisman. “Be careful—don’t break any of these Tongxuan grass.”

After giving this warning, he infused a thread of magic power into the talisman between his fingers.

In this era, cultivators had already established a complete protocol for developing secret realms.

First, use the Age Detection Spirit Device to determine the age—generally, the older the realm, the more dangerous it is. Then, use the Spatial Rupture Talisman to test spatial stability, ensuring a safe escape route in case things turn bad.

These two points must be confirmed before any further exploration.

As magic power flowed into the short one’s Spatial Rupture Talisman, faint golden-yellow flames rose, warping the air where they burned, as if ready to shatter at any moment.

As time passed, the golden flames gradually turned blue, and the previously warped space seemed to reach its limit.

Crack!

With a sharp snap, the warped area shattered, revealing the outside scenery through the opening.

But soon, a hazy gray mist obscured it again.

“Got it!” The short one flicked his right hand, extinguishing the flames on the talisman. “Class-C spatial stability—not strong.”

He was late-stage Soul Transformation; his brother was mid-stage Soul Transformation—they could exit at any time.

“Be careful, don’t be greedy. Even if we only harvest a few hundred Tongxuan grasses this time, we’ll still make a fortune.”

For safety, the short one had no intention of approaching the sword-like peak—now that they knew its coordinates, they could return anytime.

After selling these Tongxuan grasses, once the heat dies down, we’ll upgrade our magic treasures—and then we’ll make that Zhang family pair pay!

“Don’t worry, brother, I’ll be careful.” The tall one nodded and reached down to grab a stalk of Tongxuan grass at his feet.

Tongxuan grass with sword affinity had sharp blades; careless handling could cut the skin, but it wouldn’t seriously harm a Soul Transformation cultivator.

He grabbed the grass firmly, crushing the blades together.

“Don’t be so rough—the medicinal properties will leak… Move!” The short one suddenly roared.

The tall one didn’t sense anything amiss but instinctively obeyed his brother’s command—too late.

Plop! Blood sprayed, arcing through the air as an arm, severed at the shoulder, detached from the tall one’s body, its cut surface smooth.

It was sword qi! But why? The tall one’s expression was stunned—he hadn’t yet registered what had happened until the pain struck.

“AHHHHHH!” His magic power erupted violently, creating a gale that bent Tongxuan grass for miles around.

His furious spiritual sense exploded outward; his eyes turned blood-red, his mind consumed by one thought—find the hidden attacker and torture him to death! But his rage was abruptly cut short as dozens more invisible sword qi pierced through him; his barely activated magic power shattered like paper, effortlessly sliced apart.

Fine red lines appeared across his face; he opened his mouth, and chunks of flesh fell away.

The short one’s eyes bulged with rage. He no longer cared about caution—he charged forward, reaching out, but only grasped two bloody lumps.

Under the sword qi's suffocating pressure, not only had his physical life been extinguished, but even his soul and spiritual essence were completely obliterated.

Aside from the initial sword qi, the erupted magic power had also snapped some Tongxuan grass—no matter how resilient their stems and leaves, they were still insignificant against the pressure of a Soul Transformation cultivator’s aura.

Had it not been for that, the number of sword qi would have been far fewer—he might have had a sliver of chance to survive.

Piles of flesh lay scattered, blood staining the nearby Tongxuan grass; the short one was filled with profound grief.

“No—we must get out immediately!” He made the most rational decision.

He quickly scavenged the bloodied remains for the storage ring, then stood to open the exit—but the sight before him plunged him into utter despair.

The sword qi hadn’t vanished—it had merely adjusted its intensity, delaying its full eruption.

Hundreds? Thousands? He couldn’t count—the chain reaction unleashed a torrent of sword qi, comparable to late-stage Soul Transformation, sweeping across the sky like a tidal wave, crushing everything in its path.

Fuck you!

…………

Halfway up the mountain, a flash of red light appeared, and a blood-smeared jade box materialized out of thin air.

Soon after, a white monkey arrived nearby.

Driven by curiosity, it dropped the fruit in its hand, picked up the jade box, fiddled with it for a while, then bit into it a few times—realizing it wasn’t food, it quickly lost interest and tossed the box aside, sprinting toward the mountaintop.

Meanwhile, Xu Xing had already returned to Xuanjian City.

Inside the villa, a faint flicker of spiritual light on the wall brought a gentle, soothing breeze.

Xu Xing leaned back on a woven rattan lounger, holding a blue jade tablet.

The mission reward contribution points had been credited to his account shortly after his return—more precisely, to the account of his alias, “Xu Sandao.”

The amount was substantial, but Xu Xing wasn’t concerned with that. Along with the points came a single message.

【I sent my disciple to find you.】

The appearance of this message meant someone in the Sword Sect knew that Xu Xing was the one who had emerged from the Xuanjian City gate—but only one or two people knew about this alias.

That shouldn’t be possible.

When he previously sent word to the Sword Sect to clarify the situation and quell the unrest, he used a high-level alias unknown to anyone.

How could his identity suddenly be exposed? “Could it have been then?” He recalled something.

Earlier, in the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, he had once infused a thread of magic power to verify his identity—this was the only possible point of exposure.

To detect my disguise… that magic power identification terminal was truly extraordinary.

“I was careless.”

With a helpless smile, Xu Xing turned on the television.

The TV was broadcasting a traffic safety program—there had been many such programs lately, and the streets were also promoting them.

Too many people returned to Xuanjian City these past two days; major accidents like sword collisions had occurred several times.

The unluckiest were the sword cultivators Li Mou and Feng Mou—among the first arrested, and also Sword Sect disciples—they’d been held up as examples repeatedly.

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