Stop pretending, the fake heiress is actually a master of metaphysics.

Secret realms are generally disconnected from the real world.

In other words, if they encounter misfortune in the secret realm, people outside will be unable to contact them or help them.

The Xuanmen Guild agreed with its superiors to meet within one month.

If they cannot evacuate the ordinary people within a month, they will launch the final plan—

In other words, it refers to the precision strikes of heavy weapons.

One month.

This is a death countdown hanging in everyone's heart.

Finally, after traveling for an unknown amount of time through the yellow sand, they arrived at the coordinates.

That area was also covered in yellow sand, seemingly no different from other places.

Shen Nian raised her hand and summoned the wordless heavenly book, holding the Heavenly Secret Pen in one hand, and began to revise something.

As Shen Nian raised and lowered the pen in her hand, the surrounding yellow sand began to change.

The yellow sand in the center began to sink, and an ancient stone tablet slowly rose up.

"Is this... the entrance to the secret realm?"

Shen Nian nodded.

She raised her hand and touched the stone tablet. In an instant, the stone tablet shone with golden light and its size increased several times over.

Dozens of high-definition cameras were intently recording this scene.

As the golden light grew brighter, the stone tablet suddenly shattered, the fragments flying in all directions and disappearing completely.

The place where the stone tablet once stood has turned into a pitch-black void.

The void grew larger and larger, eventually transforming into a black vortex.

Shen Nian put away the Heavenly Book and jumped into the vortex first.

-

When they regained consciousness and opened their eyes again, they were greeted by a beautiful landscape of mountains and rivers.

Grasslands, verdant mountains, boundless forests, and rushing streams.

They had just left a world of endless yellow sand and, seeing everything before them, almost thought they were hallucinating.

Is this... the secret realm?

It's a small world of its own.

Even though the outside world is filled with yellow sand, inside it is indeed a paradise-like scene.

In addition, everyone took a deep breath, feeling a clear mind and a clear heart.

The spiritual energy here is very strong.

It has a richness that is almost impossible to achieve anywhere else in the world.

Shen Nian said coldly, "Don't let your guard down."

She had barely finished speaking when, seemingly to confirm what she had said, she...

The world seemed to turn upside down in an instant, and they fell into an endless abyss.

"Zhaoxue, this is your junior sister, Shen Nian."

Shen Nian opened her eyes.

A Taoist priest dressed in a blue cloth robe took her hand and led her to a tall young man in white.

"Niannian, this is your senior brother."

Shen Nian heard herself call out "Hello, Senior Brother" in her still immature voice.

The young man in white was carrying a long sword. Upon hearing this, he put the sword down and reached out to pat Shen Nian's head.

A gentle, refined voice descended upon her head: "Greetings, Junior Sister."

Shen Nian glanced at the sword curiously.

That sword was very long, almost as tall as Xiao Shennian.

The Taoist priest chuckled and said, "Does Niannian also want to learn swordsmanship?"

"Will learning swordsmanship protect me from being bullied?"

Shen Nian looked up and asked.

She was rescued by the Taoist priest from a group of thugs and hooligans.

If it weren't for this Taoist priest, Shen Nian would probably be dead already.

The Taoist priest chuckled and patted her head, just like his senior brother: "Alright."

"But learning swordsmanship isn't just about avoiding being bullied."

"For example, if you learn swordsmanship, you can be like your master and senior brothers, upholding justice and rescuing the weak."

Xiao Shen gave an "oh" and seemed to have little enthusiasm for chivalry.

She had been a wanderer since childhood and had witnessed the hardships of life, so her emotions were not as detached as those of a child her age.

The Taoist priest simply chuckled and said nothing more.

Shen Nian then settled down at the Guili Sect.

After her injuries from her wanderings in the mortal world healed, she began to learn the five arts of metaphysics from a Taoist priest.

Her swordsmanship was taught to her by her senior brother.

Shen Nian has exceptional talent and learns everything very quickly, but she has never been able to determine her own Dao heart.

From an ordinary person who knew nothing, to being able to induce body entry, and then to Foundation Establishment, she only took less than a year.

Throughout the year, besides studying on the mountain, Shen Nian would occasionally go down the mountain to travel with her master and fellow disciples.

Her master would buy her many different kinds of candy, and her senior brother would occasionally tell her seriously that she couldn't eat so much candy.

Shen Nian thus spent several years at the Guili Sect.

She ultimately chose her own path—

The Path of Ruthlessness.

She considered herself heartless and emotionless, unwilling to be bound by anything external, and personally severed all her emotions and ties to cause and effect.

Shen Nian couldn't explain what changes had occurred after she cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness.

The junior disciples of the Guili Sect seemed to be afraid of her, saying that she was too cold, like the icy plains of the Northern Wilderness, making people afraid to approach her.

They said she looked like a statue made of ice and snow, and even somewhat unlike a living person.

But her senior brother and master still treated her as usual.

It seems that even though she cultivates the ruthless path of severing emotions and desires, she is still treated as the tiny child she was ten years ago.

Shen Nian thought this kind of life would continue indefinitely.

Her master will ascend to heaven, her senior brother will ascend to heaven, and then she will go to the upper realm to find them.

however.

however.

Happy birthday, Nian Nian.

The gentle, jade-like young man in white handed her a string of bright red candied hawthorns.

"My senior brother made it by hand."

Shen Nian took the candied hawthorn, took a bite, and said, "Today is my birthday, is this the only gift you gave me, Senior Brother?"

The sugar coating was very crisp, and the hawthorn inside was sweet and sour. Shen Nian made a crunching sound as she bit into it.

"Of course not."

The young man in white smiled helplessly, took out a long, rectangular object, and placed it on the stone table in front of Shen Nian.

"Open it and take a look."

After finishing the candied hawthorn, Shen Nian reached out and opened the lid of the brocade box, inside which was a long sword.

How should I describe that sword?

Beautiful, magnificent, sharp... none of these seem sufficient to describe it.

The sword resembled a crescent moon submerged in water, pure and mysterious.

The senior brother smiled and said, "Didn't you say you wanted your own sword? I searched for materials for more than half a year before I finally forged this one."

Do you like it?

Shen Nian raised the sword, gestured with it, and said happily, "I like it."

"What's its name?"

"This is your sword; you can name it yourself."

Her senior brother's sword was named Lone Star.

Shen Nian thought for a moment and said, "Then let's call it... Broken Moon."

Lone Star and Broken Moon—that way, anyone can tell they are senior and junior brothers and sisters.

My senior brother smiled and said, "Okay."

Strangely enough, her senior brother was clearly a sword cultivator, who should be decisive and ruthless with a cold personality.

But he was the gentlest person Shen Nian knew in the world.

"Why are you crying? Are you that moved?"

The young man raised his hand to wipe away the tears on Shen Nian's face.

"Senior brother."

Shen Nian heard herself slowly say, "...But my sword was broken long ago."