Chapter 627

After some time, Xu Xing and Bie Xuening left the mountain peak and descended to the mid-slope.

A massive rock jutted outward—the very spot where the Moonshadow Secret Realm’s sole entrance had once been located nearby.

But the Moonshadow Secret Realm itself had long ago been given to Chi Jiuyu as a greeting gift; thus, this entrance had naturally become inert.

Yet…

Xu Xing raised his hand and lightly tapped the air; the space before him rippled like water.

Gradually, the expanding ripples grew hazy and chaotic, as if connecting to another world still in gestation, undifferentiated and formless.

And in truth, that was exactly what it was.

“After I extracted the Sword-Keeping Secret Realm and gave it to Jiuyu, I noticed signs of a new secret realm forming in the ‘void’ left behind by its sudden disappearance,” Xu Xing explained.

Though its scale and internal rule refinement fell far short of the Moonshadow Secret Realm.

But that didn’t mean the newborn realm was useless.

On the contrary, influenced by the original Moonshadow Secret Realm, once stabilized, it would generate abundant sword-affiliated spiritual iron, spiritual plants, and other cultivation resources.

“But such newborn realms are perilous inside, so I sealed it off.”

I originally intended to give it time to evolve naturally; years later, when my seal weakened, perhaps some young cultivators in need of resources might accidentally enter.

Beside him, Bie Xuening nodded slightly but said nothing.

After all, her younger brother had done far too many such things over the years—nothing surprising anymore.

Throughout history, at least three out of ten lucky cultivators in Taixuan Realm who gained “miraculous encounters” owed it to her brother.

When she first broke through the Immortal Gate and attained True Immortal status, she had even imitated her brother by setting up numerous legacy caves and spirit herb secret realms.

The first “lucky one” to find her spirit herb secret realm was hunted nearly twenty times in a month, teetering on death dozens of times, due to the ferocious nature of the Supreme Killing Sword Dao.

Only after Ning Ruo took him as a disciple and severed the influence with True Immortal authority did he finally escape the realm’s deadly traits.

After that, she quietly reclaimed all her “miraculous encounters” and never again considered such things.

Looking at the newborn secret realm still in gestation:

“What does your brother plan to do?”

“I intended to wait for it to evolve naturally, but since both you and I are here today, let’s accelerate the process.”

With that, Xu Xing stepped forward into it.

Bie Xuening hesitated not at all and followed.

Together, they crossed the boundary between the mortal world and the secret realm, entering its interior.

Before them stretched only chaotic emptiness—no up or down, no east or west; even the concept of “space” had yet to fully form.

Even the most skilled “Return to Void” secret realm creation teams in today’s Taixuan Realm would need over a month to stabilize this newborn realm.

But for Xu Xing, it was simple.

He raised his hand and slashed forward, level and calm.

BOOM!

With a deafening roar, a single line of light blazed forth within the chaotic, misty realm.

Pure, brilliant, yet bearing absolute, undeniable, unstoppable power.

RUMBLE!

The newborn realm, once misty and chaotic, split instantly into two distinct halves.

As the concept of “space” solidified,

the pure, light yang energy rose and became heaven.

The turbid, heavy yin energy sank and congealed into earth.

All of it occurred in an instant.

Xu Xing raised his hand again and tapped lightly, as casually as brushing ink on paper; a brilliant point of light suddenly appeared in the sky.

Soft, radiant light poured down, blanketing the entire world, illuminating this newborn realm.

Having finished, Xu Xing lowered his hand.

“Done.”

Bie Xuening glanced at the barren secret realm.

Having just stabilized, the earth was utterly barren, devoid of any vegetation.

“Won’t you continue?”

“This level of acceleration is enough,” Xu Xing smiled. “Let it evolve naturally from here.”

DING!

A message alert chimed suddenly.

Bie Xuening paused, pulled out her phone, and found full signal.

Her phone had undergone no special modifications—by all logic, a secret realm severed from the mortal world should have zero Spirit Net signal.

Thus, only one possibility remained—

In accelerating the realm’s gestation, her brother had inadvertently connected the Spirit Net as well…

She wondered what future “lucky ones” who entered this realm would think upon discovering that.

As this thought crossed her mind, she looked at the incoming message.

Rebellious Disciple: “Master, are you and Uncle taking Xiao Yunlu out? /ANGRY”

Rebellious Disciple: “If I hadn’t asked Xiao Yunlu, I wouldn’t have known!!! /RED-FURIOUS SHARK”

Two messages later, a melodious ringtone sounded.

“They are inviting you to a video call.”

Seeing this, Bie Xuening casually tapped decline, exited the chat, and put away her phone.

She turned to Xu Xing and found he had just lowered his gaze from his screen, meeting her eyes.

“Jiuyu seems to be rushing over too. What do you think, Sister?”

“I don’t think anything. If she wants to come, let her come.”

…

…

Evening, Third Middle School of Xuanjian City.

The distant sunset blazed brilliantly.

Zhang Yunlu sat alone on a bench beside the school playground, watching as groups of laughing, chatting figures exited through the school gate.

This familiar yet alien scene left her momentarily dazed.

Honestly, her time at Third Middle School of Xuanjian City—especially the two-plus years of high school—had not been pleasant.

Her personality was too “isolated”; she had few friends, and her homeroom teacher had been offended by her refusal to attend tutoring.

Yet after wandering the campus today, an unbidden wave of nostalgia rose within her.

Just then…

SHHHH—!

A blade of light crashed down with a sonic boom; the shockwave surged outward, lifting fallen leaves from the ground.

“Phew~! Finally made it!”

The familiar voice startled Zhang Yunlu.

When the air currents settled, Chi Jiuyu stood precisely where the blade had struck.

“Sister? You really came?!”

“Of course I did!” Chi Jiuyu’s expression brimmed with indignation. “Master and Uncle went out to play and took only you—without even telling me!”

This was the first time Master had ever left Sword Sect!

And he didn’t even take his most loyal senior disciple!

So unfair!

“I’m sorry, Sister. Master and Uncle said you’ve been busy lately, so they didn’t bring you…” Zhang Yunlu felt guilty.

“Busy? I—”

Chi Jiuyu opened her mouth to protest, then suddenly remembered—she herself had told Master she was busy.

That was right after the “Master-Disciple Bond” buff had worn off.