Chapter 493: Secret Realm

The Fang family.

A small family meeting was convened.

"So… my younger sister's problem has been resolved."

Fang Xing spoke casually, exuding an air of calm composure: "Fang Leng, are you still going to work? If not, I can arrange for you to join the Secret Sect, or start a company—becoming a billionaire isn't bad either…"

"I…"

Fang Leng shrank back, timid: "I'll just keep working…"

This younger brother of mine is becoming increasingly inscrutable—in a single gesture, the Blood Sisters were wiped out, and two Gao Jie Exalted Ones from the Worm Forest were lost.

'Could he… really have become a Secret Sect Dharma King?'

Fang Leng pulled his neck in—he was a straightforward man, disliked sudden changes in life, and still hoped everything would return to normal.

"Given the commotion we've caused, I doubt you can work peacefully anymore."

Fang Xing spoke plainly: "But fine, if you like it this way, then stay as you are…"

"Finally…" he turned to Fang Qiong: "Now we must address your problem…"

With the clear clues of 'The Desecrator' and 'Dai Wei', Shi Lei found the records astonishingly easy to locate.

Not long after, a thick stack of materials sat on Fang Xing's desk.

After all, Dai Wei was a major figure of the Gu Lan era, with abundant historical records.

"We have to go… to that tomb?"

Fang Qiong seemed to recall some terrifying memory, touching her shoulder.

There, a sinister eye motif was strikingly vivid, sealed within a ring of flame patterns.

"That's merely a tomb of the mortal world—likely no great anomaly, or else your original archaeological team wouldn't have had a single survivor."

Fang Xing shook his head: "What matters is the projection of that tomb in the Aether Realm—and perhaps, using it as a coordinate, we can open a Secret Realm."

Secret Realms within the Aether Realm are deep spaces even Immortals and Angels might never discover.

You must possess the 'coordinate' as a key to find and enter them.

According to Fang Xing's estimation, if Dai Wei truly was once a Fifth-Rank Angel, his tomb would not be this simple.

The most likely possibility is that its true secret lies hidden within the Aether Realm!

"The Aether Realm?"

Fang Qiong sighed, knowing this place itself represented danger.

"I'd actually like to see it."

Fang Xing smiled faintly, lost in thought.

He was quite curious about the Desecrator, Dai Wei.

According to the secret world's common knowledge, 'Immortals' are already humanity's limit.

To become an 'Angel,' one must be elevated by a deity.

But this Desecrator seemed to have broken the Immortal limit through other means.

'The six deities of this world are innate, embodiments of certain rules…'

'Angels have strict limitations, yet some Immortals can ascend—but for mortals to ascend to godhood? Unheard of…'

Fang Xing thought of himself.

His own situation could also be called innate—then… could mortals of this world walk the path to godhood?

'Whether by self-deification or slaying a deity and seizing their rank… both are quite interesting.'

'Regardless, I must stand atop this world, or I cannot stand unyielding in my 'Struggle of Fate' against the Creator.'

…

The Wilds.

Outside a protective excavation base.

Exalted Ones were patrolling.

They moved with efficiency, dressed in uniform attire, clearly belonging to the same faction.

Only when gazing at the central tent did their eyes carry a hint of reverence.

This was the burial zone of 'Dai Wei'; publicly, it was claimed an ancient virus had leaked here, and now they were all stationed under the guise of cleanup.

Inside the tent, at the highest point, hung a relic-grade emblem: a peculiar worm.

This worm emerged from shadows, flitting across different pages, as if traversing layer upon layer of hidden history!

This was precisely the object worshipped by the Worm Forest—the 'Secret History Worm'!

An elderly man in uniform stood beneath the worm emblem, forming a strange hand seal.

A circle of light appeared, allowing him to see the excavation scene within the tomb.

"How is the progress?"

The elder asked calmly.

"We've gone deeper than the previous archaeological team, but we've yet to find the corresponding Aether coordinate…"

On the other side of the mirror-light, a man in a hard hat wiped dirt from his face and replied.

"Eavis and Lina's tarot cards are damaged… I have reason to believe they've met their end…"

The elder sighed: "This tomb will cease to be a secret soon—we must accelerate our pace."

"Understood, Your Holiness Olivis."

The man spoke with deep respect, for this 'Olivis' was an Immortal who had lived over three hundred years—a true great figure of the secret world and one of the Worm Forest's few leaders.

After ending the communication, Olivis's face twisted with suspicion: "Lina… are you truly dead? You drank from the Fountain of Fortune—even an Immortal couldn't easily kill you. If you're truly gone, doesn't that signal—greater disaster is coming?"

…Evening.

Fang Xing and Fang Qiong arrived at the camp's perimeter, observing the established base.

"They… they're really doing this recklessly?"

Fang Qiong saw priceless ancient relics, unearthed and carelessly discarded without any Aether protection—her eyes reddened with anger.

Though archaeologists were little better than tomb raiders, she considered herself primarily protective in intent.

Such reckless, short-sighted plundering as the Worm Forest's was truly infuriating.

"They're searching for an Aether Realm entrance—ordinary relics are useless to them."

"Besides, they're Path-of-History Exalted Ones—maybe even their toilets are ancient relics…"

Fang Xing remarked dryly.

"Aether Realm entrance?"

Fang Qiong froze: "Don't Exalted Ones just enter the Aether Realm through dreams?"

"Normally, yes—but some Secret Realms require physical entry… and that's troublesome."

Fang Xing's expression was unreadable: "Generally, only Immortals can transform into Aether beings and enter the Aether Realm physically—I have no issue, but you don't. So we must use special Aether entrances."

Immortals endure for centuries precisely because their life-form has changed—they are no longer flesh and blood, but Aether beings!

Any transcendent path, to reach its ultimate goal, must ultimately abandon humanity.

As Fang Qiong pondered this, she suddenly gripped her shoulder, pain flickering across her face: "I can feel it… it's appearing."

"Mm."

Fang Xing's gaze was cold as he watched the Worm Forest Exalted Ones in the excavation site fall like cut wheat.

After their bodies hit the ground, they rapidly decayed, as if being corroded by something.

Then…

BOOM!

Brilliant light erupted from within the camp; faintly, the phantom of a great battle could be seen.

Clearly, these Path-of-History Exalted Ones had prepared a ritual, summoning the power of an ancient battlefield.

The uniformed Exalted Ones no longer fell—they entered the tomb.

Soon after, their auras vanished entirely.

Fang Xing also sensed that deep within the tomb, a 'door' had been opened.

It was a gateway connecting the depths of the Aether Realm to the mortal world; the moment it opened, vast quantities of Aether spilled out.

Multicolored Aether currents surged through, rapidly fading.

This was the pressure of the mortal world—without external force or ritual support, this gateway would close soon.

"Let's go!"

Fang Xing spoke calmly, leading Fang Qiong straight into the tomb.

The Worm Forest Exalted Ones had already cleared it—the tomb didn't feel eerie; even gas lamps had been installed.

SWISH! SWISH!

Fang Xing moved at incredible speed; Fang Qiong could barely catch fleeting glimpses, relying on her Secret Sect martial eyesight, feeling the scenery blur past.

Soon, they reached the tomb's deepest chamber, before a stone sarcophagus.

Inside the coffin was no corpse—only profound darkness, resembling a portal.

Two Exalted Ones guarded the coffin; upon seeing Fang Xing and Fang Qiong, their expressions changed instantly: "Who are you?"

One pulled out a mechanical revolver—clearly some kind of relic.

The other drew a talisman and hurled it without hesitation.

"Steam Press Palm!"

Fang Xing raised both palms; under immense steam pressure, the two men flew backward, slamming into the tomb walls, utterly incapacitated.

"They..."

Fang Qiong swallowed hard, sensing that these two gatekeepers were stronger than she was!

Before she could fully recover from her shock, Fang Xing cast her into the coffin.

The Aether Realm.

"This..."

Fang Qiong stood on a street, gazing at the bustling buildings on either side, unable to suppress her amazement: "This is the Aether Realm? Why do these buildings feel like they're from the Gu Lan era?"

"The Aether Realm is themed around chaos and disorder. Though this place is part of the Aether Realm, it is a hidden realm."

Beside her, Fang Xing's form materialized, arms crossed behind his back, surveying everything around him with deep awe: "It seems the 'Blasphemer' Dai Wei truly is a being of Angelic rank... perhaps even a 'pseudo-god'?"

"Pseudo-god?"

"The Aether Realm has only six true gods. An angel who ascends without being elevated by the Six Gods—what else could he be but a pseudo-god?"

Fang Xing replied casually.

The street was empty—clearly, Dai Wei could only manifest a fragment of his own memories, but living beings could not be simulated.

At this moment, faint sounds emerged from the lifeless city—likely the Exalted Ones of the Worm Forest.

Amid explosions, a voice, wild yet thunderous, rang out:

"I, the 'Blasphemer' Dai Wei! With mortal wisdom, I stole the glory of the Six Gods..."

Second chapter update later

(End of Chapter)