Chapter 532: Fang Xiaoyan

Yuan saw an exceptionally beautiful woman standing a few meters away from him, her bright golden eyes filled with curiosity as they stared at him, trying to figure out how he had ended up in this place.

'Woah! She is beautiful! But who is she? When did she get here? I didn't even sense her presence...' Yuan wondered inwardly, feeling curious about the identity of the woman before him.

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before asking others for their names? Everyone knows that," Yuan said with a smile, causing her cheeks to turn slightly red, embarrassed by his words.

'She looks like a goddess descended from heaven, so beautiful!' Yuan thought.

A moment later, the woman cleared her throat and looked at Yuan with a serious expression. "It was rude of me not to introduce myself first. I apologize. I'm Fang Xiaoyan, the caretaker of the 'Sacred Stone Tablet' left behind by our Lord."

"It's your turn now. Tell me who you are and what you're doing here. If I sense any lies from you, I won't hesitate to cut you down!" Fang Xiaoyan said with a stern expression, releasing her Spirit Lord cultivation.

'Is she really going to kill me just because I entered this place? This is crazy!' Yuan thought, feeling his soul almost leave his body from the shock.

"I'm Yuan. It's nice to meet you. And I didn't come here intentionally; I was brought here by a mysterious phantom wearing a white mask." Yuan decided to be honest with Fang Xiaoyan, who had introduced herself as the caretaker of this place.

He continued, "However, upon arriving, I was greatly disappointed, as there seems to be nothing valuable here aside from this damaged Stone Tablet in the middle of this place. I'm completely clueless as to why that phantom brought me here—there's nothing here for me."

"A phantom wearing a white mask? That sounds like you're talking about our Lord, the owner of this place—no, the entire Secret Realm..." Fang Xiaoyan mumbled in a low voice, surprise evident on her face despite her attempts to appear calm.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. *Could it be possible that our Lord guided this young man here? Does it have something to do with the Sacred Stone Tablet that our Lord left behind?* she wondered inwardly.

"Do you know anything about this stone tablet? Why is it here, and what are those strange marks on it?" Yuan asked. Since she was a resident of this Secret Realm and the caretaker of this place, she must know the secret behind the stone tablet.

"The markings on the Sacred Stone Tablet are not what you think. Those sword marks were left by the Lord, fused with his sword aura," Fang Xiaoyan replied with a smile. Yuan could see great dedication in her eyes toward this 'Lord' she spoke of.

"Sword Aura, huh?" Yuan muttered, surprised. He fixed his gaze on the stone tablet, sensing an opportunity to learn more about sword aura.

"Do you know anything about sword aura and how one could learn it?" he asked.

"Well, I'm not a sword master, so I don't know much about it..." Fang Xiaoyan shook her head, but then she remembered her grandfather's words. "But my grandfather once told me that to learn sword aura, one must become one with the sword. That's all I know."

"I see..." Yuan replied, a bit disappointed to learn that Fang Xiaoyan didn't know much more about sword aura.

"This place is quite special. If you want to stay and practice your swordsmanship here, you can achieve twice the results. This was the Lord's training ground. I have to leave now; I need to prepare food for my family," Fang Xiaoyan said before turning to leave.

"That would be wonderful, Mom Anna!" Xi Meili's eyes sparkled with excitement at the suggestion.

Without further ado, Anna quickly retrieved her tools and began preparing some delicious dishes for them to enjoy while waiting for Mireya to complete her enlightenment process and reach the Spirit Master realm.

—

"Damn it! I've been swinging my sword for more than three hours now, and I'm getting a little tired. Even so, I still don't feel the slightest improvement!" Yuan muttered to himself in frustration.

Yuan was becoming increasingly irritated. Despite training for over three hours, he felt no improvement in his understanding of the sword. Frustration began to cloud his thoughts, and he struggled to maintain his composure.

He suddenly stopped swinging his sword, sat down on the ground, and stared at the sword marks left behind by the Lord that Fang Xiaoyan had mentioned.

"Damn! I forgot to ask her if the Lord is still alive. If he is, maybe he could have helped me learn Sword Aura," Yuan muttered, glancing at the Sacred Stone Tablet.

"Those markings seem so profound, emitting a sharp aura... It feels like I'm being targeted by thousands of extremely sharp swords... What a strange feeling," Yuan thought, unable to take his eyes off the sword marks on the stone tablet. It was as if he were gazing at the most extraordinary artwork in the world.

The more he stared at the stone tablet, the more peculiar it seemed. It wasn't just an ordinary tablet with sword marks infused with Sword Aura; it was far more profound and mysterious.

'I've been staring at this stone tablet for almost an hour now, and I don't feel any different... Do I need to do something to access its hidden features?' Yuan wondered inwardly.

After pondering for a moment, Yuan decided to use his divine sense to examine the stone tablet, hoping to uncover something hidden from his physical sight.

"Nothing... Still nothing... Why did the masked phantom bring me here if there's nothing here?" Yuan grumbled, feeling frustrated and considering his time wasted. Yet, he also felt that he shouldn't give up just yet, or he might miss something valuable.

Yuan looked at the stone tablet once more, took a deep breath, and sat in a lotus position. He closed his eyes and expanded his divine sense, covering the entire area.

By doing this, he could notice every detail, including even the tiniest sword marks on the stone tablet. He began to focus, trying to comprehend the sword marks left by the Lord.

"This is useless... What am I supposed to do here? What does that masked phantom want from me?" Yuan mumbled, feeling increasingly frustrated with his situation.

After a few more minutes, Yuan took a deep breath and continued to stare at the sword marks for hours, remaining completely still.

Suddenly, he closed his eyes, feeling a familiar sensation spread throughout his body, overwhelming him.

"T-This feeling... A-Am I experiencing enlightenment...?" Yuan mumbled in a low voice. His words trailed off as his mind seemed to enter a specific state, like a trance.