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

Since the illusion has two layers, could there be a third layer?

For example, right now, is the world he and the "sword" in another illusion?

"Of course," Qi Fei said, as if he were asking a very ordinary question, "I have certainly considered it."

"Sword" seemed somewhat surprised: "Then you..."

"Someone once said, 'I think, therefore I am,'" Qi Fei interrupted. "But that's wrong."

"Thinking can only prove that the brain is working, but it cannot prove whether 'I' am in a false world."

"Those trapped in the illusion are all 'thinking,' calculating, weighing, and plotting, yet they remain immersed in the illusory world, trapped by their own behavioral patterns."

"Their 'thoughts' did not save them."

The sword remained silent for a moment, then asked, "Human, how can you be sure you're not in an illusion?"

Qi Fei's palm lit up slightly, a faint light shining through it—that was "Shadow Detection".

But instead of looking down, he put his hands into his sleeves.

“That’s not what I rely on,” he said. “I rely on 'doubt'.”

"Suspect?"

"Yes. I have my doubts," Qi Fei said. "Even without 'Shadow Detection,' I would still have my doubts."

"Because human cognition cannot be omniscient and omnipotent, this is the most basic objective fact."

"Since it is impossible to be omniscient and omnipotent, there must be wrong things in our cognition, things that are ignored, and things that are taken for granted."

He paused.

"So, isn't it normal to have doubts?"

Because humans are not omniscient or omnipotent, they must be skeptical.

Doubt the nature of the world, doubt how the world works, doubt those things that seem self-evident and natural!

"Find the answer in the doubt." "Sword" repeated.

"right."

"Then what is the answer?" Jian pressed. "Is the world an illusion?"

Qi Fei shook his head: "It doesn't seem so at the moment. But I'm not sure."

"Sword" paused for a moment, then said, "What if... the world is an illusion? What if you and I are both like phantoms within an illusion, a dream within someone else's consciousness? What then?"

Qi Fei replied without hesitation, "Then I will face it calmly."

The sword said, "Even if the world is fake? Even if all the knowledge you've learned, the principles you've believed in, and the morals you've upheld are all fake?"

"Of course," Qi Fei said. "A clear understanding of the world doesn't bring joy; instead, it brings the pain of a distorted understanding."

"Especially recognizing the truth of the world with a clear mind, which can bring immense suffering."

He glanced at the people still reincarnating in the illusion.

"It can even make people realize that they are in an endless nightmare."

"They are immersed in a fantasy, experiencing nothing more than a specific nightmare. But the waking reality... may be an endless nightmare from which they cannot wake up."

The sword fell silent.

After a long while, it finally spoke, saying, "Human, you are amazing."

It has seen too many people. Some are lost in illusions, some struggle on the edge of clarity, some collapse the moment they realize the truth, but few can be like Qi Fei, laying everything out on the table, without avoiding, dodging, or hiding, facing it all with composure.

Few people can calmly face an endless nightmare.

Qi Fei smiled.

"What's so great about that?" he said. "It's just a deduction based on objective facts."

The basis of his calculations is actually very simple.

Humans are not omniscient or omnipotent; they will always encounter things that overturn their understanding, so people should be skeptical.

Exploring and questioning the world requires not only great wisdom, but also great courage and perseverance.

Qi Fei left the illusion created by the Jujube Daoist and turned to practice his swordsmanship.

Even if you have great wisdom, courage, and perseverance, what then?

Swordsmanship still needs to be practiced move by move. No matter how much you understand it, you still need a method to prove your path in order to soar straight up to the heavens.

A few days later, Qi Fei had almost finished his dry rations, and he had memorized the sword techniques perfectly, having already grasped some basics.

He was considering leaving Nanshan.

"Man," Jian said as he saw Qi Fei about to leave, "you should keep your promise. You're very capable, I'm going to follow you."

Qi Fei glanced at the light suspended in mid-air: "How am I supposed to carry you around like this? Flying beside me? Having a beam of light floating around wherever I go doesn't seem right, does it?"

"I am a conscious sword, and I need a 'scabbard' to house me," the sword said.

"But I don't have a sword sheath on me." Qi Fei opened his baggage.

His luggage contained only a few changes of clothes, a token engraved with the character "Shadow", and a black gourd.

"This gourd will do too," Jian suddenly said, his tone implying that he had his eye on it for a while.

Qi Fei weighed the black gourd in his hand, then looked at the ball of light with suspicion: "Will it work? I don't even understand this thing myself."

He knew nothing about weapon crafting. He had obtained this gourd from Zhu Yixin and had only studied its ability to absorb shadow fire over the past few months.

"Sure. Listen to me..." Jian Xu rattled off a method for refining the "Sword-Nourishing Gourd," explaining everything from materials and steps to temperature control and techniques in great detail.

After listening, Qi Fei felt that this guy was a bit dishonest.

Why did this fellow only bring it up now that he saw the gourd? It turns out he's taken a liking to this gourd and is eager to come with me.

However, the method for "nurturing the sword gourd" is not difficult.

After a moment's thought, Qi Fei understood.

Covering the gourd with the "law" in one's heart, matching the "sword in one's heart," in a sense, is an extension of "I."

"I" is a complex concept.

In society, "I" is the sum total of social relations; in a biological sense, "I" is a collection of organs and consciousness.

When a piece of skin is on my body, it is part of "me"; once it falls off, it is nothing.

The same applies to ritual implements.

What may appear to be a gourd, a fan, a flying sword, or something else, is part of "me," an outward extension of "me" and "my laws."

Having figured this out, Qi Fei no longer hesitated.

He placed the black gourd in the middle of the earthen slope, right in the center of the seven mountain peaks.

The seven-colored beams of light—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple—shone brightly, making the gourd appear less dark.

Qi Fei sat down cross-legged and began to circulate his magical power.

The "sword" also activated the Seven Illusion Sword Formation to coordinate with it.

In an instant, seven-colored light shone brightly on the earthen slope, like ribbons of color drawn from the mountain peak, swirling and intertwining, all surging into the black gourd.

The originally dark and unremarkable gourd was filled with light, becoming translucent with seven colors flowing inside, shimmering like a frozen rainbow.