Gong Xuance sat kneeling on the ground, his body already covered in scars and terrifying wounds.
He gave a self-deprecating chuckle as another Gong Xuance stabbed him in the abdomen with a blade.
Unable to struggle, he was kicked away by his double, crashing violently against a stone wall.
However, he did not die. He stubbornly crawled back up from the ground.
As if nothing were wrong, he remarked, “As expected of a Secret Realm belonging to a Dual Tribulation expert, even the corridors have such bizarre phenomena. Moreover, the entire Secret Realm is filled with such thick resentment from sentient beings. How did they manage it?”
Xiu Jiming walked over slowly.
In his eyes, there was no second Gong Xuance.
Instead, he saw a second Xiu Jiming standing before him—one who was younger and possessed a sharper edge.
Xiu Jiming remained silent, forcing back his younger self with one sword strike.
In Gong Xuance’s eyes, Xiu Jiming was simply swinging his longsword at empty air.
Yet, from Xiu Jiming’s perspective earlier, had he not looked the same?
Xiu Jiming stared at the unkillable illusion and sighed.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t have chosen the most difficult path right from the start.”
Gong Xuance replied helplessly, “If we didn’t choose the most difficult path, how could we reach the true bottom of the Secret Realm? Besides, even if we didn’t choose it, those sect bastards definitely would. By then, would there even be any soup left for us to drink?”
“This senior was truly heartless to leave such a Secret Realm behind. There aren’t any rewards at all. So far, aside from various trials and death traps, there’s nothing,” Gong Xuance grumbled.
His wounds began to heal at that moment, leaving him as if he had never been injured at all.
Gong Xuance hesitated, unsure if the injuries were just an illusion or if they had been healed by his Heavenly Cloud Ending Rain Mysterious Art.
Since he hadn’t seen any information left by the owner of the tomb, Gong Xuance had no idea why the place was like this.
Xiu Jiming, once again, felt the urge to strike his senior brother with his sword.
Why did this man enter every situation without any preparation?
If he ever trusted him again, he would stand on his head while eating porridge.
However, he had no other choice now.
He could only hope that his other colleagues and the people from the major sects wouldn’t be completely wiped out because of this.
A red-haired woman stood in the space behind the two men, yet she seemed unable to see Xiu Jiming and Gong Xuance ahead of her.
She looked around and said with a touch of helplessness, “It seems to me that this might just be a Secret Realm left behind by some demonic cultist.”
A companion beside her shook his head upon hearing this.
“I don’t think so. This feels more like a graveyard for a Xiemo. Otherwise, how could such a thick resentment of sentient beings exist? I think we should proceed with caution.”
The red-haired woman smiled at his words.
“Master of the Yinzhen Path, what you say makes sense. However, I wish to know, since you are already at the Dual Tribulation Realm, do you really need to wade into these muddy waters?”
The middle-aged man shook his head and laughed.
“My Yinzhen Path is merely responding to the call of the Imperial Court to investigate the abnormalities here. If a Secret Realm belonging to a Dual Tribulation expert contains some unknown monster, it would be a calamity for the entire region.”
He looked at the red-haired woman with righteous indignation.
“How about this? I ask the Elder of the Tianluo Temple to lead your disciples away from this Secret Realm first. Once my Yinzhen Path has investigated everything thoroughly, I will certainly invite our fellow practitioners to come and search for treasures. What do you say?”
The woman in red smiled.
“Let’s forget that, Master of the Yinzhen Path. Everyone knows what you’re plotting. Besides, this Secret Realm was found by those two young men. They are from the Imperial Court. Do you really intend to snatch resources from the hands of the Imperial Court?”
The Master of the Yinzhen Path smiled slightly but did not say much else.
“I wonder how our other fellow practitioners are doing,” the woman from the Tianluo Temple sighed softly, sitting down in a meditative posture.
***
In the Hu Xian Miao of Yueshan County, Lin Ling was stuffing braised pork into her mouth.
She had to admit, the Miao Zhu’s cooking skills were getting better and better.
Lin Kejing rested her chin on her hand as she watched her eat.
She was about to force her to act more like a lady when she suddenly sensed something and looked into the distance.
Lin Ling quickly finished her lunch and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her small belly.
“Delicious!”
Lin Kejing thought for a moment, stepped forward, and unfurled a spiritual scroll.
“Silly girl, isn’t this person that Young Xiu?”
Lin Ling let out a burp and looked down.
Seeing the portrait of Xiu Jiming, she asked in confusion, “What’s wrong, sister?”
‘Why do you have a portrait of Xiao Ming?’
Seeing this, Lin Kejing narrowed her fox-like eyes and smiled.
“That might be bad news then. Your Young Xiu is likely about to perish.”
“Huh?”
Lin Ling’s eyes widened as she looked at Lin Kejing in confusion.
Seeing that she seemed to know nothing, Lin Kejing asked, “Did he tell you where he is right now?”
Lin Ling shook her head blankly.
“No, he never mentioned it.”
“It’s the place where I attained meditation unto death years ago,” Lin Kejing said with a somber expression.
“Huh?”
Lin Ling still didn’t quite understand.
Lin Kejing had no choice but to poke Lin Ling’s forehead with her index finger.
“You! All you know how to do is eat!”
“I do not!”
‘That’s a lie! I’m very studious!’
Lin Ling argued back.
“Back then, in order to pull you back, I exhausted the resentment of sentient beings. After it offset the Karma Fire, it turned into lingering malice,” Lin Kejing explained.
“My cultivation in the Dual Tribulation Realm was enough to change the world itself. Therefore, when I died, that area was transformed into a special Secret Realm by my Primordial Spirit. Previously, to dissolve that resentment, the Miao Zhu sealed the area and set a Great Wangsheng Cycle of Rebirth Curse to purify the resentment of the people.”
“Uh… ah… and so?”
Lin Ling tilted her head.
“I haven’t finished yet, don’t interrupt!”
Lin Kejing glared at her and gave Lin Ling a flick on the forehead.
“Ouch… just say it then.”
‘Stinky woman!’
Lin Ling muttered while clutching her forehead.
“Your Xiu Jiming seems to have discovered my Secret Realm. Thinking it was some treasure hoard, he led a large group of people inside to explore. They triggered the Wangsheng Cycle of Rebirth Curse left there. I’m afraid they won’t be able to get out,” Lin Kejing said, nodding with a look of pity.
“…”
Lin Ling fell silent, finally understanding.
“Aren’t you going to save him?”
Lin Kejing leaned in closer, looking at Lin Ling’s lowered face from below.
Lin Ling said, “Why should I save him? I’m not that close to him.”
“Tsk.”
Lin Kejing gave her a disdainful look, then tossed a token onto the table.
“This is the pass for the Great Wangsheng Cycle of Rebirth Curse. With this, the formation might not target you. If he gets his hands on this, Xiu Jiming might find a way to escape.”
Hearing this, Lin Ling instinctively asked, “Is it authentic?”
“Believe it or not.”
Lin Kejing was speechless.
She whistled and added, “Of course, I can’t guarantee anything. After all, I had already kicked the bucket back then. It’s hard to say what the state of the formation I left behind is like now.”
Lin Ling frowned and picked up the passage token.
She acted as if it were nothing and said, “There’s no other way. I’ll just go and see if your seal is still secure.”