You've only been cultivating for a few years, and you're already talking about cultivating

There is a huge chasm between the real thing and its "name" and "reflection".

This swordsman's sword is made with "me" and "heart" as his sword, cutting towards this chasm!

Therefore, a swordsman can break through all laws with a single sword strike!

Because all laws in the world cannot escape this chasm.

Therefore, a swordsman can generate all kinds of techniques with a single sword strike!

Because all the laws in the world arise from this chasm.

This is the essence of a sword cultivator!

A swordsman who can cut down anything!

Qi Fei was overjoyed after reading it and couldn't help but burst into laughter:

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"

This was an angle he had never considered.

That's the kind of swordsman that's truly respectable!

Upon hearing Qi Fei's words, the light said, "Since you can understand 'The Dao Name Sword,' it means you are truly intelligent."

Qi Fei studied the sword techniques inscribed on the stone wall several more times, pondered for a moment, and said, "They're not too difficult to understand. Can you tell me what's going on here?"

He had a lot of questions on his mind.

What exactly is this light?

Why does Nanshan look like this?

What stories are hidden in this sword immortal's mansion?

"I am a sword," the light said, "a sword with its own consciousness. As for why I have consciousness... come with me."

After saying that, it "whooshed" to the other side.

Qi Fei had no choice but to follow.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the stone wall was also covered with characters, densely packed, as if someone had painstakingly carved them with a needle.

It's very dark here.

Qi Fei took out a tinderbox from his bag, blew on it, and looked closely.

Upon seeing this, they were stunned.

The inscription on the stone wall was actually an experiment conducted by some sword cultivators thousands of years ago...

Yes, it was an experiment.

They were arguing about two things: which came first, matter or consciousness?

Or, to put it another way, did matter generate consciousness, or did consciousness produce matter?

Qi Fei leaned closer to the stone wall and read it word by word.

It turns out that the two factions of sword cultivators had debated this issue for hundreds of years.

They each held their own version of events, and neither could convince the other.

One school of thought believes that material things come first.

They say that heaven and earth, and all things in them, were originally there. A mountain is a mountain, water is water, and a sword is a sword!

Even when no one is around, they still exist!

Consciousness is merely a product that arises by chance after matter has developed to a certain stage.

Just as a person only develops thought and the concept of "I" after having flesh and blood, ears, eyes, hands, and feet.

First comes the tangible sword, and only then can the swordsman's intent arise in his heart.

Without things, there is no mind.

The other side countered: consciousness comes first.

They ask, "Is the mountain you see really a mountain?"

Is the sword you're talking about really a sword?

Without the awareness to perceive, name, and define, all things are merely a chaotic void, devoid of mountains, water, or swords.

It is the "heart" that gives form to all things, and it is the "intention" that brings order to the world. Without the sword intent in a sword cultivator's heart, even the sharpest piece of iron is nothing more than a dead object.

Without intention, there is nothing.

The two factions have been arguing for a century, and then for another century.

The materialistic swordsman said: "You keep saying that consciousness comes first, then close your eyes and try to cut me with your sword. Can the sword in your heart hurt me even a little bit?"

The swordsman of the consciousness school said: "If I hadn't recognized this sword you speak of as a sword, how would it be different from a piece of stubborn iron? If I didn't have any killing intent, how would this piece of iron be different from a withered branch?"

The materialists say: You're making excuses!

The ideological faction says: You're the one making excuses!

So they started fighting, and the fighting lasted for hundreds of years, with endless hatred but no resolution.

Later, they decided to conduct an experiment.

If one day a sword were to develop its own consciousness, would that mean consciousness was born from matter, or matter gave rise to consciousness?

The experimental site they chose was Nanshan, which later became the Sword Immortal's Residence.

The "Seven Illusion Sword Formation" is used to collect the seven emotions and six desires of other cultivators, catalyze a sword, and make it develop sentience and its own consciousness.

"So, you are the answer?" Qi Fei finally understood and looked at the light.

No wonder this thing always claims to be a conscious sword.

"Yes and no," the light said. "When I was born, many, many years had already passed. In my hazy state, I could no longer sense them."

"They then disappeared. Until a thousand years ago, a person came here."

"I don't know his name, I only know that his dissipated magic and remaining consciousness catalyzed me."

"Then, a hundred years ago, another person came here, allowing me to manifest further. I remember that person's name: Yu Xing."

"I don't know whether I am a sword or someone else's dissipated consciousness."

It paused, then looked at Qi Fei.

"Hey, you're so amazing, answer my question."

Qi Fei smiled and said, "What's so difficult about that? Who do you think you are?"

"A conscious sword."

Where does consciousness come from?

"From my own body, and from those two vanished cultivators."

"Those two cultivators are dead, and their remaining consciousness is also dissipating and merging with you," Qi Fei said. "Doesn't this just prove that a physical vessel must exist before consciousness can arise?"

"But I no longer have a physical form!" the light said.

"Huh?" Qi Fei was taken aback.

The light led him to a place where swords were hidden.

On a stone platform, there lies a sword.

The sword was covered with cracks, which spread out like a spider web.

Thousands of years, nearly ten thousand years, or even longer, have brought its body to its limit.

Even the sharpest sword will eventually be damaged in the face of time.

"My physical form is so damaged, yet I still exist," the light asked. "Is it still matter that has generated consciousness?"

Qi Fei thought for a moment and said, "Matter generates consciousness, but in this world of cultivation, consciousness can exist independently of its original matter, relying on 'spiritual energy'."

"You are not pure consciousness; you also have a vessel."

"Really?" The light seemed to believe him. "Human, you are indeed powerful."

Qi Fei smiled and said, "I'm not that I'm great, I just think a lot more."

After saying that, he turned his head and continued to look at the stone wall.

The stone wall contains detailed records of a mustard seed illusion array called the "Seven Illusion Sword Array," which uses the Daoming Cave as its core and seven mountain peaks as its base.

The wonder of this formation lies in its ability to create different illusions based on each person's temperament, constantly generating emotions and imbuing the sword with spirit.

That white beam of light is the key to selecting the successor.

Only those who see the white pillar of light are qualified to inherit this Sword Immortal's Mansion.

Because white represents the color of "spiritual energy" in people's eyes.

"Spiritual energy" exists in every corner of this world, but only cultivators who can distinguish between "reality" and "reflection" can see it.