Chapter 320 - It’s Actually a Sword Spirit! (Two in One Chapter)
Xu Ming led Shi Xin into the Samadhi Cave.
The moment they stepped inside, Xu Ming immediately sensed that something was off.
“What’s wrong?” Shi Xin turned to look at Xu Ming, puzzled.
“Nothing, just that something about this place doesn’t feel right,” Xu Ming shook his head.
“Why?” Shi Xin had long noticed Xu Ming’s keen perception of his surroundings—he could always sense when something was amiss.
“This cave’s direction is off. There are formations inside, and they seem to be naturally occurring. That means the map we have might be useless now.”
As he spoke, Xu Ming turned back to look at the entrance. Then, he picked up a stone from the cave floor and threw it toward the exit.
With Xu Ming’s strength, the stone should have easily traveled five li (about 2.5 km), yet they had only walked about 500 meters into the cave. However, instead of flying out, the stone hit a wall, producing an echoing sound from not far away.
This meant one thing—their path back had completely changed.
“Let’s go check it out,” Xu Ming said to Shi Xin.
“Alright.” Shi Xin nodded.
For Shi Xin, no matter what decision Xu Ming made, she would always follow.
Xu Ming led Shi Xin back toward the entrance, but as they walked, they soon realized—they had returned to their starting point.
That was a problem. In other words, this cave only allowed entry but not exit. It had essentially become a sealed-off pocket dimension.
“Interesting… Looks like as the Rootless Secret Realm is collapsing, a lot of things inside are changing,” Xu Ming mused.
Back at Blood Bodhi Mountain, there was originally only one Blood Bodhi tree. Yet, when they returned, there were dozens, as if the energy that had been suppressed for years had suddenly erupted all at once.
Now, the same thing seemed to be happening here in the Samadhi Cave.
All the rare and precious treasures hidden within the cave were likely about to emerge at once.
For years, there had been rumors that the Samadhi Cave held the most valuable treasure in the entire Rootless Secret Realm—something far more precious than even the main Blood Bodhi fruit.
Yet, despite many adventurers searching over the years, no one had ever found it.
Now, with the Rootless Secret Realm on the brink of collapse, these treasures were bound to reveal themselves.
The higher the grade of a heavenly treasure, the more likely it was to develop sentience.
Just like the plants in the Wanhua Valley, which had already shown signs of intelligence—there was no need to even mention something of immortal grade.
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A true immortal-grade treasure wouldn’t simply sit and wait for destruction. It would try to find a way to survive.
Xu Ming was certain—if his guess was right, then the Samadhi Cave had now turned into a trial ground.
That treasure was definitely going to appear.
There was no need to overthink it.
“The only choice is to keep moving forward and see what we can find.”
Xu Ming’s tone was light, completely unfazed.
To him, there was no reason to panic.
After all, there weren’t many things in this place that could actually threaten him.
And most importantly—
If he was the sharpest spear, then Shi Xin was the most indestructible shield.
Shi Xin was no burden.
Although she had no ranking on the Qingyun List, that was simply because she rarely participated in battles. But if she ever had to fight seriously, truth be told, defeating her would not be easy.
As Xu Ming and Shi Xin continued forward, they suddenly encountered an ambush.
These people had also entered the cave, but they likely hadn’t yet realized the situation they were in. They were still focused on robbery.
That was rather amusing.
Unfortunately for them, they had chosen the wrong target—Xu Ming.
At this point, Xu Ming had fully recovered from his injuries and returned to peak condition. And with Shi Xin by his side, the outcome was inevitable.
In less than two exchanges, all of them were dead. Xu Ming did not hold back in the slightest.
Shi Xin didn’t try to dissuade him either—she had long grown used to this and knew that even if she spoke up, it would be pointless.
Instead, after Xu Ming killed them, Shi Xin chanted sutras to release their souls.
Xu Ming and Shi Xin made for a rather unusual duo—
One was responsible for killing, the other for offering salvation.
Honestly, no one knew how these two had ended up traveling together.
As they continued forward, they encountered numerous other would-be robbers. Yet, without exception, every single one of them was slaughtered instead. Xu Ming’s storage bag was soon overflowing with the spoils of battle—there was simply too much to carry.
Xu Ming suggested that Shi Xin take some of the loot and store it in her own bag to avoid waste.
But Shi Xin refused. She had no interest in sharing stolen goods with Xu Ming.
Xu Ming didn’t insist.
If she didn’t want it, so be it.
After nearly an hour of walking, they suddenly heard strange laughter.
As they pressed forward, the laughter became clearer and clearer.
By now, they could tell—the voice belonged to a woman.
Yet, there was something hollow about her tone, something unnatural, as if it didn’t come from a living person.
The laughter carried a seductive quality, but beneath it was an unsettling chill.
“Oh my, oh my, where did this little nun come from? Such a beauty,” the voice cooed.
Barely half an hour had passed, and they were once again targeted for robbery.
“Hand over everything valuable on you, and leave this nun behind. Then, you can walk away alive,” one of the men sneered at Xu Ming.
Shi Xin turned to glance at Xu Ming.
Xu Ming merely let out a cold chuckle and stepped forward.
But before he could take more than a few steps, Shi Xin tugged at his sleeve.
Xu Ming stopped and looked down at her.
Shi Xin blinked up at Xu Ming. “Can you… leave their souls intact?”
Xu Ming: “…”
“Fine, just this once. I’ll spare their souls.”
Xu Ming sighed in resignation.
He had originally wanted to influence Shi Xin.
But somehow, it felt like Shi Xin was the one influencing him instead.
It was as if he was growing… softer.
Oh well. No big deal. Consider it a bit of merit for her.
“Alright, this time, I’ll do as you ask. I’ll spare their souls. They should consider themselves lucky,” Xu Ming said.
“Mmm.” Shi Xin nodded, finally letting go of his sleeve.
Meanwhile, the group of bandits had clearly overheard their conversation.
They simply thought these two were being ridiculously arrogant.
After all, their group was large, and every single one of them was at the Golden Core Realm. Meanwhile, judging from the spiritual energy fluctuations earlier, these two—one was merely at the Dragon Gate Realm, and the other had just stepped into the Golden Core Realm.
And yet, these two actually thought they could decide their fate?
“You refuse to drink the toast, so now you’ll have to drink the forfeit! Kill them!”
The leader of the group gave Xu Ming a cold, murderous glare.
Xu Ming raised his sword and swung twice.
These men had wanted to take their time tormenting him to death.
But to their horror, they realized—they couldn’t even withstand a single strike.
“Spare us! We were blind and didn’t recognize who we were dealing with! Please, have mercy—we’ll give you everything we have!”
As Xu Ming stepped forward, sword in hand, the men collapsed to the ground, scrambling backward in terror.
On the other side, Shi Xin had already closed her eyes and begun reciting the sutras for the dead.
She knew exactly what was about to happen.
“Heh…”
Just as Xu Ming was about to cut them down, that seductive laughter echoed through the cave once more.
Xu Ming’s brows furrowed. Without hesitation, he turned and slashed his sword—straight toward Shi Xin.
The sheer force of his sword aura nearly made the robbers piss themselves in fear.
It was at that moment that they finally realized—
The strikes Xu Ming had aimed at them earlier? He hadn’t even used half of his full strength.
He had gone easy on them.
Had he truly attacked at full power, they wouldn’t have even had the chance to beg for mercy. They would have been annihilated, body and soul.
Shi Xin remained completely still, not even flinching as the sword aura passed right by her.
Instead, it shot toward the red-dressed woman standing behind her.
The woman’s lips curled into a faint smile as Xu Ming’s sword aura slashed through thin air, hitting nothing.
Xu Ming turned sharply—just in time to see the red-dressed woman reaching out and ripping a man’s heart straight from his chest.
Blood dripped from her delicate fingers.
Then, with a casual squeeze, the crimson heart burst into a fine mist.
But she hadn’t just destroyed his body.
When she tore out his heart, she had wrenched out his soul as well—trapping it within.
So when she crushed his heart, she crushed his very soul along with it.
Xu Ming’s expression darkened as he raised his sword again, slashing toward the woman.
But just as before, she transformed into a red shadow and vanished.
The moment she disappeared, Xu Ming’s sword aura struck another man instead, obliterating him completely—body and soul.
And then—
Like a ghostly breeze, the red-dressed woman drifted past the remaining men.
One by one, their hearts were plucked from their chests, crushed into blood mist.
Every single one of them died—without a shred of life left.
“What the hell is this thing?!”
Xu Ming’s brows knitted tightly together.
He didn’t care about these men’s deaths.
What annoyed him was that he had promised Shi Xin he would spare their souls.
And now, because of her, he had failed to keep his word.
It was embarrassing.
Xu Ming swung his sword once more.
This time, lightning crackled along the blade.
He had already determined—this woman was most likely a ghost cultivator.
And his Tenfold Lightning Heart Technique was the perfect counter to such beings.
But to his surprise, she didn’t even attempt to dodge.
Instead, she simply raised a hand—
A crimson aura wrapped around Xu Ming’s sword, stopping it in its tracks.
He couldn’t press forward even an inch.
“Boom!”
Xu Ming’s sword aura and the red-dressed woman’s crimson mist clashed, scattering into a thick fog.
In the very next instant, a pale, delicate hand shot toward Xu Ming’s heart.
Xu Ming flicked his sword upward.
A metallic clang rang out as his blade met the woman’s outstretched hand—like steel striking steel.
Without hesitation, he slashed again, cutting through the red mist surrounding her.
In the blink of an eye, Xu Ming stepped in front of Shi Xin, shielding her from harm—though, in truth, he was probably overthinking things.
Xu Ming worried about Shi Xin’s safety.
But what he didn’t expect was that Shi Xin was just as worried about him.
The moment Xu Ming moved closer, Shi Xin finally let out a breath of relief. Without wasting time, she formed a hand seal, summoning a golden Bell Barrier that enveloped them both.
The red-dressed woman reached out again, aiming for their hearts—but her hand struck the golden barrier and was instantly repelled, sent flying backward.
“Just take care of yourself—I’ll handle her.”
Xu Ming spoke to Shi Xin before charging out of the barrier, sword in hand, lunging toward the red-dressed woman.
She hadn’t expected him to be so decisive—so bold.
Even more surprising was that he actually dared to attack her.
A smirk curled her lips, as if she had just found something amusing.
Xu Ming’s sword struck again and again, each blow landing heavily against her body.
But each time his blade connected, the same metallic clang echoed through the air.
It was only then that Xu Ming truly realized—
This woman wasn’t a ghost cultivator at all.
Everything she had used so far—was sword aura.
And not just any sword aura—it was pure, refined, and powerful.
How strange…
She wasn’t a ghost.
She was a sword spirit!