Sword's Cry Transmits News: Misty Secret Realm's Finale Meets Peril

The moment the pale golden light merged into the Sky-Rending Sword, the entire sword tomb suddenly lit up with a soft silver glow. The Sky-Rending Sword in Ling Yun's hand trembled violently, its dark green body's ancient patterns flowing like living things. Beside the originally single crimson fire pattern, a fine silver-white sword pattern actually appeared. The two patterns intertwined and wound around each other, finally forming a miniature "dome" character imprint at the hilt—this was the sign of the Sky-Rending Sword's preliminary awakening of its "artifact spirit consciousness."

"Such a powerful Sword Soul origin!" The Sword Elder's voice resonated in Ling Yun's dantian, filled with barely concealed excitement. "This Primordial Sword is forged from fragments of an ancient sword god's personal sword, containing the key to awakening a Sword Soul! The Sky-Rending Sword absorbing its origin will not only allow it to activate its artifact spirit early but also save you ten years of detours when you condense your Sword Soul in the future!"

Ling Yun gripped the Sky-Rending Sword, clearly feeling the sense of closeness emanating from the sword body, as if this ancient sword had completely merged with his Sword Intent. He looked up at the Primordial Sword inserted in the center of the sword tomb. At this moment, that ancient silver sword had become dim, the patterns on its body gradually fading, leaving only a sword sheath fragment inscribed with the words "Myriad Sword Cave" in its place—clearly, the core power of the Primordial Sword had been fully transferred to the Sky-Rending Sword, leaving only this clue pointing towards the sacred land of the Spirit Realm.

"The miasma in the secret realm... it seems to be getting thicker." Murong Shuang suddenly spoke. Her Wind Spirit Physique made her exceptionally sensitive to environmental changes. She raised her hand and swung out a wind blade, only to find that the wind blade's travel distance in the miasma had shortened by nearly 30% compared to before. "We've been in here for two and a half days already, and there's only half a day left before the three-day limit Elder Liu mentioned. If we don't leave soon, we might be forcibly teleported out by the secret realm, and we could be randomly sent to a dangerous area."

Steward Wang nodded immediately, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings of the sword tomb. "This place is not suitable for lingering. The secret of the Primordial Sword has been obtained; let's return to the entrance as quickly as possible." As he took a step, debris fell from the ceiling of the stone chamber, and faint sounds of fighting could be heard in the distance, mixed with the screams of disciples—that direction was the route the third group was scheduled to return.

"It's people from the third group!" A core disciple's face changed drastically. "They were responsible for scouting the left area; how did they get into trouble in this direction?"

Ling Yun frowned slightly, circulating his Clear Sword Heart. His spiritual sense barely penetrated the thick miasma, and he vaguely sensed a strong smell of blood about ten miles ahead, as well as a familiar demonic beast aura—it was the "Poisonous Miasma Twin-Headed Python," weaker than the Crimson Flame Flood Dragon but more troublesome. This demonic beast was skilled at spitting paralyzing miasma, and with its two heads, one attacking and one defending, it was extremely difficult to deal with.

"Let's go, let's go take a look." Before Ling Yun could finish speaking, his figure had already rushed out of the secret door first. The interwoven silver and red sword patterns on the Sky-Rending Sword emitted a faint glow, automatically dispersing the surrounding miasma within a three-foot radius. "The rules of the secret realm are 'instant teleportation upon serious injury,' but if you're trapped by a demonic beast, the teleportation array won't trigger, and you'll be directly devoured."

Murong Shuang and Steward Wang exchanged a glance and immediately followed. Although the two core disciples were fearful, seeing that Ling Yun and the steward had already set off, they gritted their teeth and followed closely with their swords.

After traveling only three miles, the miasma had become as thick as a solid substance. Pale purple poisonous miasma was mixed with the white fog. Taking a single breath caused dizziness and disorientation. Ling Yun circulated his Chaos Sword Body, and a six-colored halo surged around him, enveloping his companions, which finally alleviated the miasma's erosion. Suddenly, the miasma ahead exploded, and a green figure was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the volcanic rock—it was Li Yan, a core disciple from the third group. There was a wound on his chest that exposed bone, and black blood continuously seeped from the corner of his mouth, clearly indicating he had been poisoned by the Poisonous Miasma Twin-Headed Python.

"Save... save me!" Li Yan's eyes burst with the will to survive when he saw Ling Yun and the others. Just as he was about to reach out, he was struck by a thick snake tail, and his body was instantly sent flying. If Steward Wang hadn't quickly thrown out a vine to wrap around his waist, he would have likely fallen into the volcanic rock crevices.

"Hiss—" Two scarlet snake eyes emerged from the miasma, and the massive body of the Poisonous Miasma Twin-Headed Python slowly revealed itself. It was a full eight zhang long. The left head spewed pale purple poisonous miasma, while the right head condensed black venom. The snake scales were covered with a thick layer of keratin, clearly capable of resisting high-level sword techniques. Elder Zhang, the leader of the third group, was currently entangled by the snake's body. The barrier formed by his Wood Element Sword Intent was already covered in cracks, and the other two core disciples were trapped by the poisonous miasma, only able to barely swing their swords to defend themselves.

"Elder Zhang!" Steward Wang exclaimed, immediately activating his Wood Element Sword Intent. Two thick vines emerged from the ground, wrapping around the Poisonous Miasma Twin-Headed Python's vulnerable seven-inch point. "Ling Yun, this demonic beast's weakness is at the connection between its two heads; there are no scales protecting it there!"

Murong Shuang had already made her move, her Wind Element Sword Intent condensing into dozens of "wind blades" that stabbed directly at the eyes of the right head, attempting to distract it. However, the Poisonous Miasma Twin-Headed Python reacted extremely quickly. The poisonous miasma spewed from its left head instantly enveloped the wind blades, corroding them into wisps of black smoke. Simultaneously, its tail swept horizontally, forcing Murong Shuang to retreat repeatedly.

Ling Yun gripped the Sky-Rending Sword, the six-colored Sword Intent bead in his dantian spinning rapidly. His Fire and Metal Element Sword Intents flowed along the sword body, and the interwoven silver and red sword blade emitted a scorching glow. He did not attack rashly but instead circulated his Clear Sword Heart, his gaze locking onto the pale pink soft flesh at the connection between the two heads—there were indeed no scales there, but a thin layer of a membranous barrier, clearly the demonic beast's weak point of defense.

"Sword Elder, can I borrow the residual power of the Primordial Sword?" Ling Yun asked in his mind.

"Yes! But you can only use it once; that power needs time to digest!" As soon as the Sword Elder's voice fell, pale white light spots appeared on Ling Yun's forehead, which was the power of the Primordial Sword's residual soul imprint. "Integrate it into your Metal and Fire Sword Intents, and it can break through its membranous barrier!"

Ling Yun nodded, his figure suddenly accelerating. With the enhancement of his Wind Element Sword Intent, his speed was nearly twice as fast as before, and he instantly reached the front of the Poisonous Miasma Twin-Headed Python. The poisonous miasma from the left head spewed towards him. Ling Yun circulated his Chaos Sword Body, the six-colored halo absorbing all the poisonous miasma. At the same time, the Sky-Rending Sword condensed the power of Metal, Fire, and Primordial Sword, and the sword blade erupted with dazzling golden-red and silver light—this was his newly created composite sword technique, "Primordial Miasma-Breaking Slash."

"Clang!" The sword blade struck the membranous barrier at the connection of the two heads, emitting a crisp impact sound. The membranous barrier rippled instantly but did not shatter. The Poisonous Miasma Twin-Headed Python cried out in pain. The right head suddenly bit towards Ling Yun. The moment its mouth opened, black venom shot out like an arrow.

"Murong Shuang!" Ling Yun shouted. Murong Shuang immediately understood, her Wind Element Sword Intent condensing into a "wind shield" behind Ling Yun, while wind threads wrapped around the snake's tail, attempting to slow its movements. Steward Wang also seized the opportunity to activate his vines, pulling Elder Zhang out from the snake's entanglement and injecting Wood Element Sword Intent into Elder Zhang's body to alleviate his injuries.

Ling Yun seized this momentary gap, injecting all the Fire Element Sword Intent in his dantian into the Sky-Rending Sword. The crimson glow on the sword blade surged, and the residual power of the Primordial Sword also erupted completely—the power of the "Primordial Miasma-Breaking Slash" rose another level, finally cleaving through the membranous barrier, and the sword blade naturally pierced into the demonic beast's weak point.

"Hiss—" The Poisonous Miasma Twin-Headed Python let out a piercing shriek. Its two heads thrashed wildly, and its body rolled violently. Ling Yun took the opportunity to withdraw his sword and retreat, simultaneously converting the absorbed poisonous miasma into Chaos Sword Intent, condensing it into a black sword energy, and stabbing it into the demonic beast's wound again.

"Boom!" The moment the black sword energy pierced the wound, the body of the Poisonous Miasma Twin-Headed Python exploded with a bang, dissipating into wisps of poisonous miasma in the air. The surrounding miasma also thinned, clearly indicating that this demonic beast was one of the keys to maintaining the poisonous miasma in the secret realm.

"Thank you... thank you, young friend Ling Yun." Elder Zhang panted, his face as pale as paper. He looked at the Sky-Rending Sword in Ling Yun's hand, his eyes full of surprise. "This sword... actually possesses the aura of an ancient Sword Soul?"

Ling Yun said nothing more, merely sheathed the Sky-Rending Sword. "The time limit for the secret realm is almost up; we need to return to the entrance as soon as possible."

No one dared to delay. Elder Zhang and Li Yan were more seriously injured. Steward Wang and Murong Shuang took turns supporting them, while Ling Yun cleared the path ahead. After traveling only ten miles, the sky suddenly emitted a pale purple glow, a sign that the secret realm's teleportation array was activating, meaning only half an hour remained until the secret realm closed.

"The entrance is up ahead!" a core disciple shouted excitedly, pointing at the pale purple spatial rift in front of them. Just then, a black figure suddenly rushed out from the miasma beside the rift, his long sword aimed directly at Ling Yun's back—it was a cultivator in black, his sword emitting a faint demonic aura, clearly not someone from the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect.

"Be careful! It's a demonic cultivator!" The Sword Elder's voice suddenly became grave. "He has the aura of the Blood Fiend Hall; how did he appear in a secret realm in the mortal world?"

Ling Yun reacted extremely quickly, his figure instantly sidestepping. He swung the Sky-Rending Sword backward, and his Metal Element Sword Intent condensed into a sword energy that shot directly at the black-clothed cultivator's chest. The black-clothed cultivator sneered, his sword emitting black demonic energy, blocking the sword energy while simultaneously throwing a black chain with his other hand, aiming for Ling Yun's wrist.

Murong Shuang and Steward Wang immediately surrounded him, their Wind and Wood Element Sword Intents activating simultaneously, forcing the black-clothed cultivator to retreat repeatedly. Seeing that he could not succeed, a trace of ferocity flashed in the black-clothed cultivator's eyes. He suddenly threw out a black token. The moment the token landed, it emitted a dense demonic aura, temporarily sealing the spatial rift.

"Ling Yun, you have the aura of the Primordial Sword; you can't escape!" the black-clothed cultivator sneered, his figure gradually merging into the miasma. "The Blood Fiend Hall will find you; just wait!"

After the demonic aura dissipated, the seal on the spatial rift was also lifted, but the black-clothed cultivator had already vanished without a trace. Ling Yun gripped the Sky-Rending Sword, the residual soul imprint of the Primordial Sword on his forehead warming slightly—he knew that this trip to the secret realm had not only allowed him to break through his realm and awaken his Sword Intent but had also attracted the attention of the evil cultivator forces in the Spirit Realm. The road ahead would likely be even more difficult.

"Hurry, the teleportation array is about to close!" Steward Wang urged. Everyone immediately rushed towards the spatial rift and stepped into it one by one. The moment Ling Yun's figure disappeared into the rift, the miasma in the Misty Secret Realm suddenly dissipated completely, and the spatial rift between the ancient trees slowly closed, as if it had never existed.

And at the moment the rift closed, in the direction of Burial Sword Slope, a wisp of black mist quietly rose and flew towards the depths of the Qingyun Region—it was the Blood Fiend Hall's informant in the mortal world, transmitting Ling Yun's information to the distant demonic cultivator forces.