Red Moon Secret Realm

The grey mist obstructed divine sense to a certain extent, but after passing through the passage, clarity returned quickly.

Red!

As far as the eye could see, everything was a deep scarlet. On the boundless flat land grew dense clusters of red, sword-leafed Mystic Profound Grass.

In the sky hung a scarlet moon, desolate and chilling.

Thick chains emerged from unknown origins, extending all the way to coil around a mountain in the distance.

The entire mountain resembled a long sword thrust into the ground. Its overall dark red hue made it exceptionally striking amidst the plains of Mystic Profound Grass.

The grass across the ground swayed with the wind, looking from afar like a surging sea of blood, and even the air carried a faint, fishy scent.

"To think there would be so many Mystic Profound Grasses..." Jiang Jing's eyes were filled with shock.

Mystic Profound Grass is a type of spirit plant influenced by 'intent.' Sword cultivators who ingest pills refined primarily from sword-attribute Mystic Profound Grass can temper their mana and hone their souls.

A single stalk of sword-attribute Mystic Profound Grass could be exchanged for quite a few contribution points within the Sword Sect, and here lay an entire prairie of them!

However, both Jiang Jing and Li Fengping suppressed the urge to harvest them.

If an uninformed cultivator had entered this secret realm, they would likely have started looting long ago, but they were different.

The records mentioned that the team led by that elder previously had nearly been wiped out because they did exactly that.

This secret realm was extremely peculiar; for every stalk of Mystic Profound Grass plucked, one would be struck by a sword qi equivalent to a full-power blow from one's current cultivation realm.

That elder had been very cautious back then, daring only to pick a dozen stalks for observation.

But even with that action, a dozen sword qi strikes appeared simultaneously. He barely managed to block them, but the scattered sword qi severed a large patch of the grass. If he hadn't unleashed his trump card, he would have died in this secret realm.

The records didn't mention the latter half of the event, but they left a warning: those on the mission must never touch the Mystic Profound Grass.

The elder's goal was to subdue the sword within this Sword Nurturing Ground, so that could only mean...

Jiang Jing looked toward the sword-shaped mountain in the distance: "Is that the sword the elder wants?"

"Correct. Senior Brother Lin told me that once we deliver the mission, the elder will come in person."

To prevent news from leaking, the elder had only issued this mission once.

The reason he chose this specific time to release the mission was because of the Spirit Net.

He had learned that a senior from the Sword Sect had emerged from seclusion in Mystic Sword City, and combined with rumors within the sect, he deduced that the senior was at least at the Harmony Dao realm.

He himself was only at the Return to Void realm; it was truly difficult to subdue a sword that was at least at the Harmony Dao level.

But if a Sword Sect senior were present, would they really stand by and watch a junior suffer?

After reaching the Harmony Dao, a sword cultivator's spirit merges with their sword; they would not abandon their own sword even if they encountered a better one, so the possibility of them coveting it was much lower.

Was this not the best possible assistance!

There was no better opportunity than this.

Some factions within the sect also wanted to know which Sword Sect predecessor had emerged near Mystic Sword City to plan accordingly, so they arranged for disciples from their factions to participate in this mission.

Therefore, aside from Lin Qiuxian having a clear goal, the sword cultivator named Feng also had ulterior motives for coming to Mystic Sword City. As for Li Fengping, he truly knew nothing and was purely there to make up the numbers.

In the end, the two of them were detained, while he remained unscathed.

"Looking at the state of this secret realm, I fear it was created by a demonic titan." Jiang Jing shook her head slightly. "The elder might have been a bit short-sighted."

She did not hold high hopes for the elder's plan to subdue the sword.

Li Fengping shook his head slightly: "It isn't necessarily a demonic sword cultivator. Many righteous sword cultivators who walk the path of slaughter could also set up such a secret realm."

"Alright, let's not waste time. Let's go to the foot of that mountain and take a look." Xu Xing interrupted them.

Without waiting for their response, he strode forward.

Wherever he walked, many stalks of Mystic Profound Grass were knocked askew, their hard, sword-shaped leaves colliding and emitting crisp clinking sounds.

Li Fengping was stunned and hurriedly followed.

This Senior Brother Sandao... is far too calm. He isn't nervous at all.

This thought drifted through Jiang Jing's mind.

She then carefully made her way through the prairie of Mystic Profound Grass, following the two men.

The journey was silent. Jiang Jing and Li Fengping kept observing their surroundings, but apart from the endless prairie and those chains of unknown origin, there was nothing else.

They were also extremely careful with where they stepped.

In contrast, Xu Xing was much more casual. Where he walked, the leaves collided with a constant clinking sound. Li Fengping, following behind him, was terrified, fearing that a stray sword qi would strike his face at any moment.

"There is no need to be so cautious. The stems and leaves of the Mystic Profound Grass are tough; they aren't that easy to break."

Xu Xing's words were of no use; the two remained very careful.

Because of this, it took quite a while for the three of them to reach the foot of the sword-shaped mountain.

Hoo~

Finally out of the prairie, both Jiang Jing and Li Fengping breathed a sigh of relief.

Within dozens of meters of the sword mountain, let alone Mystic Profound Grass, there wasn't even a single weed. The dark red soil felt somewhat soft underfoot.

"The mission requirements are only for an investigation, so let's start recording."

Having said that, Xu Xing prepared to cast a Profound Light Spell to record the scene here.

Click!

A burst of white light flared, and it was Li Fengping holding a camera; that flash of light had just come from the strobe.

Jiang Jing hadn't brought a camera, so she was using her phone to snap pictures everywhere.

Silently abandoning the idea of using the Profound Light Spell, he also took out the phone he hadn't bought long ago and started taking pictures.

"..."

Xu Xing felt a wave of emotion; many of his subconscious actions were being influenced by this world.

Compared to the cultivators of today, he seemed a bit too inflexible.

Although he hadn't forgotten the memories of the past, he wouldn't have thought of them if not for being triggered.

For a moment, he couldn't help but recall the various incidents he had caused back then.

What a tangled mess it truly was...

"Senior Brother Sandao, how is it on your end? We're done taking pictures here, come over and verify them." Li Fengping's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Xu Xing gave a light smile: "I'm finished on my end as well."

"It's a pity that image-recording artifacts are too expensive, and I never learned the Profound Light Spell, otherwise I could have earned a few more contribution points."

Li Fengping grumbled while fiddling with his camera.

By comparison, the price of a camera was much more accessible; if it weren't for the fact that the photos produced couldn't record spiritual essence or 'intent', image-recording artifacts would have been phased out long ago.

But this mission offered so few contribution points that buying an image-recording artifact for it would be a complete loss.

Afterward, Xu Xing handed his phone to Li Fengping to let him verify the shots, and after confirming nothing was missed, they collected some soil samples.

Jiang Jing walked over to the side of the Sword Peak, preparing to cut off a small piece of rock as a sample to take back.

She raised her sword and swung it down fiercely, a cold light shimmering.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal rang out, sparks flew, and the rebounding force left her palm numb.

She hadn't cut it; the stone of this Sword Peak was unexpectedly hard.

"Move!" Xu Xing's warning suddenly rang in her ears.

An invisible Sword Qi burst forth, causing the air to hiss.

Jiang Jing's pupils constricted sharply; with no time to think, she instinctively dodged to the side just as the Sword Qi was about to strike her.

The Sword Qi, comparable to a full-strength blow from a Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator, whistled past, the resulting sword pressure bending a large patch of Mystic Profound Grass.

Damn!

Li Fengping's scalp tingled; if that Sword Qi had rushed out, there would have been hell to pay!

He gripped his sword, preparing to step forward and forcibly block it.

Yet a figure was faster than him; before he could even take a single step, Xu Xing had already appeared in the path of the Sword Qi, pointing with his fingers.

Without a sound, the Sword Qi—which could have severed rivers and parted seas in the outside world—was like a clay ox entering the sea; it was shattered and dissipated into nothingness without even raising a ripple.

Both of them were stunned at the sight, a single thought surfacing in their minds simultaneously.

How the hell could this be a Nascent Soul?

Begging for data and follows!!