Chapter 189: Could It Be, Sister-in-Law?

By the Wine Lake, Meng Xuan gazed at the arena.

The speed at which Chen Yuanlin and the body cultivator giant clashed had surpassed the limit of what her current realm could perceive.

She could only occasionally catch fleeting flashes of golden light and bursts of crimson blood qi.

The blood qi steamed into rolling heat waves, which, after being dampened by the formation, were no longer scorching, instead ruffling her hair.

"Friend Meng Xuan."

Meng Xuan paused, turned back, and saw Xu Xing and Xiang Yuanjun—who should have been on the Cloud Terrace—standing behind her without her noticing.

"Master Master Jianzu, Xiang Yuanjun?"

"My brother and I are preparing to leave," Xiang Yuanjun explained. "Before we go, we wanted to ask your opinion: do you wish to stay here, or venture out?"

Given Meng Xuan's outstanding performance in the trial, she would surely attract the attention of the Righteous Alliance.

Perhaps even be taken under special cultivation?

Meng Xuan did not hesitate long: "Then I entrust myself to Master Master Jianzu and Xiang Yuanjun."

Though this underwater city is not small, it still cannot compare to the vastness of the Central Continent.

The Righteous Alliance's cultivation? She needed none of it.

After just battling numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators and that one Core Formation cultivator, refining her understanding through their principles, she had gained new insights into her own comprehension of the "Purity Principle."

Some of the methods' underlying ideas even surprised her.

Even a single trial by the Righteous Alliance was this intense—how much more so would the outside world be?

Moreover, if she stayed, though she could still slip away later, she would very likely expose certain things.

Xu Xing nodded slightly: "Before we leave, my brother and I plan to meet with Brother Gu Mo one last time. Friend Meng Xuan, will you come with us?"

"..."

Meet Gu Mo...?

After a brief hesitation, Meng Xuan ultimately agreed.

"Alright. I really should... explain things to him."

………

Beneath the Speaker's Gao Ta, in a hidden chamber, upon a stone platform.

The pale golden crystalline Secret Realm belonging to Meng Xuan had reignited its glow, signaling that someone had entered.

And within the Secret Realm at this moment.

Stretching as far as the eye could see, endless yellow sands, not a single trace of green, only boundless desolation and solitude.

Occasional gusts of hot wind swept across, whipping up dust into brief sandstorms that blotted out sky and sun, suffocating all.

This was the Secret Realm's most primal state.

A towering figure emerged from the wind and sand, walking slowly from afar, posture straight, spine unbent in the slightest.

In hand, he carried a long blade; each step radiated an aura of solemn, unyielding dominance.

It was Gu Mo.

Shhh~ shhh~ His footsteps on the yellow sand made an extremely faint sound.

He walked in silence, his eyes filled with sorrow.

Before ascending to the Starry Sky, he had intended to see his sister-in-law one final time—only to find the crystal dimmed.

Upon entering, the purple mist, the grotesque fleshy mounds, and other eerie sights were gone; only this barren desert, devoid of even a trace of life, remained.

"Was it... still a failure?"

The Immortal Gate is hard to cross—how many have ever passed through?

Falling due to backlash from a failed breakthrough is only natural.

But... even though he understood this, actually seeing it still stirred sorrow in his heart.

Ji Yue's aged, hunched form flashed through his mind, followed by the image of Meng Xuan seated calmly in the waterside pavilion, gazing at him coldly.

In the end, all vanished, leaving only the memory of a heroic young man teaching him swordplay hand over hand, replaying endlessly in his mind.

"Big Brother..."

When his big brother died, he hadn't even been able to see him one last time—only the Master Master Jianzu had returned his shattered blade, broken in two.

But now, his sister-in-law had also...

Aah~ The guilt surging in his chest made him sigh deeply.

As he walked to the spot where his original will had formed its small space, Gu Mo suddenly halted. Huh?!

Though the space before him was empty, indistinguishable from elsewhere, a sharp, piercing aura made his long blade hum faintly, its blade intent trembling.

What is this? He scrutinized it closely, tracing the source of the sensation.

Yet in the next instant!

Zzzz~!

In a daze, heaven and earth fell into eternal silence—a terrifying sword light surged upward, severing all things, cutting through every connection.

Instantly, Gu Mo felt his years of cultivated Dao of the blade being severed, as if about to be completely sliced away!

He instinctively tried to resist—but found his mind utterly blank, even forgetting how to draw his blade.

This was the Sword of Severing the Dao!

Just as the sword light neared his body—

"Brother Gu Mo."

The voice was neither loud nor soft, yet everything before him—including that terrifying sword light—melted away like snow.

The sudden disappearance left Gu Mo dazed; his Dao of the blade returned, yet that hollow, blank feeling in his heart kept him frozen for a long while.

He turned around—and saw three figures standing behind him, appearing without warning.

"The Master Jianzu? Xiang Yuanjun…" Gu Mo turned to the unfamiliar figure beside them, "And who is this?"

A Foundation Establishment cultivator appearing beside the Master Jianzu and Xiang Yuanjun—could this be an outstanding young disciple of the Sword Sect or the Supreme Dao Sect?

Even as a Void Truth cultivator, Gu Mo could not pierce through the disguise of the system Xiang Yuanjun had given.

A single realm's gap was like a heavenly chasm.

"It's me, Gu Mo."

A flash of light enveloped Meng Xuan; the disguise vanished, revealing her true form.

"Sister-in-law?!" Gu Mo froze, then immediately corrected himself, "No! Who are you really?!"

Though this person looked exactly like his sister-in-law, only her appearance matched—her cultivation was truly Foundation Establishment peak, and the truths she comprehended differed entirely from those his sister-in-law once held.

Could it be… his sister-in-law…

A wildly absurd suspicion arose in his mind.

Then again, given how many years had passed since his elder brother's death, perhaps it was understandable…

"Your father…"

"She is indeed Friend Meng Xuan," Xu Xing suddenly explained, cutting off Gu Mo's words.

"But due to certain events, I severed her cultivation and her insights with a single sword strike."

Severed her cultivation and insights with a single sword strike?

Gu Mo could not help but recall what had just happened.

"So that sword strike just now… was truly yours, Master Jianzu…"

"Correct," Xu Xing nodded.

The sensation Gu Mo had felt moments ago was indeed the same sword strike he had witnessed that day.

To ordinary cultivators, a True Immortal's strike was inscrutable, beyond any glimpse.

But Void Truth cultivators were different—especially one like Gu Mo, on the verge of knocking at the Immortal Gate—those who had penetrated the world's true nature could glimpse the traces left by a True Immortal's strike.

Of course, for mortals, that sword strike posed no danger—it would halt itself at the final moment.

"Let me explain Friend Meng Xuan's story from the beginning."

Since it involved Heaven, Xuan, and the Ancients, a narrative approach was better.

Xu Xing briefly explained what had happened to Meng Xuan, the Ancients' scheme, Heaven's plan to return through her as a vessel, and Xuan's true support.

"That is the whole story."

After all was explained, the atmosphere grew suddenly awkward.

Especially Gu Mo, who recalled his earlier misunderstanding and wished he could sink into a crack in the earth.

"By the way," Meng Xuan looked at Gu Mo, "what were you about to say?"

Gu Mo: "..."

First chapter update.

(End of chapter)