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

The sword knows its origins, so when it experiences inexplicable memories...

It is wondering if someone from the past is interfering with it.

Qi Fei looked at it, smiled slightly, and said, "Do you know what a snake is? If you remove its head, its body will still wriggle for a long time."

"It's not because the snake is still alive, it's because its body has nerves and instincts. The snake doesn't know it's writhing; it's already dead. It's its body that's moving."

"Those memories you just experienced weren't yours, nor were they his; they were just fragments of your past self's memories. He wasn't the complete person he once was, so don't worry."

"Sword" seemed comforted by Qi Fei's words, and his tone became more relieved: "Human, what you said makes... sense."

"You're really amazing!"

"Thank you for the compliment," Qi Fei said. "I've never heard more compliments in my entire life than I have today."

The sword said, "Because I am a sword that speaks the truth."

Qi Fei didn't care whether it was the truth or not, and he began to practice swordsmanship in the Daoming Cave.

Qi Fei's package contained some dry food and water, enough for him to live in Daoming Cave for seven or eight days.

Qi Fei understood the Dao Fa Jian (a Daoist martial arts manual), but practicing it was very difficult. It's like everyone understands the principle of an atomic bomb, but the difficulty of actually making one by hand... well, those who know, know.

There is a significant gap between understanding and actually doing something.

This is also the significance of the Dharma of Enlightenment.

During his spare time from practicing swordsmanship, Qi Fei would slip away to the earthen slope to look at the people trapped in the "Seven Illusion Sword Formation".

In the past two days, he has gradually figured out the principles of the sword formation, and with the assistance of the "sword", he has finally been able to project his consciousness into the illusion.

Right now, he placed his hand on the glowing mountain peak, and it felt as if he had fallen into another world.

He drifted into the Taoist's illusion like a ghost. The "sword" transformed into a wisp of wind, silently following beside him.

The Taoist in the illusion also looked like a child, with a round face and big eyes, but he had a mature appearance.

He had an axe tucked into his waistband, and he walked with a limp, the axe swaying back and forth.

As he passed a pond, the axe somehow slipped from his waist and fell into the water with a "plop".

The Taoist priest was stunned. He stood by the pool, craning his neck to look inside.

Only ripples remained on the water's surface; the axe had long since sunk to the bottom. For a child from an ordinary family, the axe was a valuable possession, and he was somewhat anxious.

Just then, bubbles suddenly began to rise from the center of the pond.

A crack appeared in the water, and a fairy slowly emerged from it. Her robes fluttered, and she was shrouded in a light mist. In her hand, she held a gleaming golden axe, and her smile was gentle.

"Little friend," her voice tinkled like a spring, "did you lose this golden axe?"

The Taoist priest shook his head.

The fairy wasn't annoyed. She then magically produced a gleaming silver axe from behind her back and asked, "Was it this silver axe that you lost?"

Tong Daoren shook his head again and honestly said, "What I lost was an iron axe."

The fairy's expression suddenly changed, and her smile vanished completely.

"I know," she said coldly.

Before he finished speaking, he swung the golden axe in his hand.

With a "crack," the axe struck the Taoist priest squarely on the forehead. The Taoist priest didn't even have time to cry out before he fell straight down.

Qi Fei: "..."

He turned to the "sword" beside him and said, "Isn't this illusion... a bit too abstract?"

"Sword" said, "So this is what you call abstraction? I simply took the part of the illusion you experienced and incorporated it into the 'Seven Illusion Sword Formation'."

"Then is it my fault?" Qi Fei said.

"It should be," "Sword" answered honestly.

Qi Fei knew that the "Seven Illusion Sword Formation" was inherently different for each person, and everyone who entered would see a different illusion.

Now that "Sword" has merged its own illusion fragments into it, the illusions of others have naturally become... strange as well.

He continued reading.

The young Taoist priest seemed to daze for a moment, then miraculously came back to life. It was the same pond, the same child, and the same axe hanging at his waist.

Everything seemed to be on repeat.

This time, Tong Daoren was smarter. When he passed the pond, he gripped the axe at his waist tightly, stared intently at the water, and walked extremely slowly, as if he were stepping on a landmine.

But fate had other plans. Suddenly, his foot slipped, the axe slipped from his hand, and with a "plop," it fell back into the pond.

Tong Daoren's expression changed, but before he could react, bubbles began to rise again from the center of the pond.

The fairy resurfaced, still holding the golden axe, her smile as gentle as ever: "Was this the golden axe you lost?"

The Taoist priest swallowed hard and said, "I...I didn't drop the axe."

The fairy's smile froze.

"You're lying!" she shouted angrily.

The golden axe flew out with a whoosh and a "crack".

The Taoist priest has fallen again.

Soon, the fallen Taoist priest regained consciousness and came back to life.

He had roughly figured out the strangeness of the pond; as long as one got close to the water, the madwoman would appear.

This time, he learned his lesson.

He walked carefully around the pond, tiptoeing, barely daring to breathe. The water in the pond remained completely still; the fairy did not appear.

Tong Daoren was secretly delighted and quickened his pace, running all the way home.

He finally let out a long sigh of relief as he pushed open the wooden gate, plopped down on the threshold, untied the axe from his waist, and threw it on the ground with a clatter.

With the axe on the ground, he finally felt safe.

Just then, the old well in the yard suddenly started gurgling.

The hairs on Tong Daoren's body stood on end.

He stiffly turned his head, watching as the water fairy slowly emerged from the well, water droplets still clinging to her clothes, her face bearing that ever-present gentle smile.

"Little boy," her voice echoed in the yard, "is this the golden axe you lost?"

Tong Daoren stared at that smiling face, and the anger he had been holding back all the way finally broke.

"You filthy bitch!" he cursed, "Are you ever going to shut up?!"

The fairy's smile vanished instantly.

"Swearing! Damn it!"

The golden axe whistled as it flew out of the well, spinning as it cleaved toward the Taoist's face.

"Click."

The Taoist priest died again.

After yet another moment of disorientation, the Taoist priest came back to life.

The axe was still tucked at his waist, the road ahead was still the only way, and the pond still lay quietly by the roadside, its surface as calm as a mirror, reflecting the sky and clouds.

Tong Daoren stood at the crossroads, staring intently at the pond, his teeth grinding together.

run!

Instead of going home or taking a detour, he took off running in the opposite direction.

He wanted to escape far away, to a place without water, to a place where that madwoman couldn't find him.