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

The moment the light from "Shadow Observation" fell on Niu Lanshan, his body jerked violently.

It was as if an invisible wind had passed through his body; his shoulders stiffened, his back straightened, and he tensed up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

His eyes looked even more blank.

The kaleidoscopic light became more chaotic, faster, and more fragmented, like a shattered mirror being forcibly pieced back together. The cracks and fragments were still there, but the tighter you pieced it back together, the more completely it shattered.

In Qi Fei's eyes, a broken phantom appeared beside Niu Lanshan.

Only Qi Fei could see that phantom.

It was a monk and a cat.

No, it's not a monk and a cat, it's a monk and a cat twisted together.

The monk's upper body grew out of the cat's back, and the cat's tail hung down from the monk's sleeve. The outlines of the two intertwined and intertwined, making it impossible to distinguish where the boundary between man and beast lay.

Their bodies were like pieces haphazardly glued together, each piece out of place, yet they were connected, inextricably linked.

At the very bottom of their figures is Niu Lanshan, or rather, Niu Lanshan was also implicated by them.

The monk's face was expressionless, and the cat's eyes were lifeless.

They hung there beside Niu Lanshan, like another layer of skin attached to his body.

When the light of "Shadow Observation" shone on it, the afterimage moved.

The monk's head slowly turned, and the cat's eyes also slowly turned, both pairs of lifeless "eyes" locking onto Qi Fei at the same time.

That gaze wasn't filled with hatred or anger, but rather with the desperate clinging of a drowning person grasping at the last piece of driftwood.

They wanted to pounce.

Qi Fei remained silent.

He simply increased the light in his hand.

The light from "Shadow Observer" suddenly brightened, steadily advancing forward and forcing the afterimage back inch by inch.

Qi Fei quickly realized the problem.

The light of "Shadow Observation" is more than enough to deal with ordinary ghosts.

After a person dies, the remaining obsessions, through various circumstances, can be roughly considered as fragments of the "three selves" within the human body.

Without roots, without foundation, without the power to sustain their existence, once the "Shadow of the Diviner" shines upon them, it's like boiling water poured on snow—dust to dust, earth to earth, clean and tidy.

But the monk and the cat before them were no ordinary ghosts.

This is the remnant soul of a cultivator.

After a cultivator enters the "Observation of Truth" stage, they come to know themselves, draw spiritual energy into their body, and cultivate not only magical power, but also a change in their mindset and cognition.

The physical body will die, but the "self" that has been nourished by spiritual energy and honed through cultivation will have a much stronger attachment after death than ordinary people.

It both exists and does not exist.

It exists because it still has attachments, still has a form, and can still be seen.

It doesn't exist because it no longer has independent self-awareness; it's just a broken, incomplete thing driven by obsession.

What's even more troublesome is that the remnant souls of the monk and the cat have taken root in Niu Lanshan's body.

They penetrated deep into Niu Lanshan's consciousness, becoming intertwined with his cognition, memory, and perception.

No wonder the previous mages all returned empty-handed.

Qi Fei sensed that the consumption of "Shadow Detection" was increasing.

The light shone steadily in his palm, but the magical power required to maintain that brightness was constantly increasing, and fine beads of sweat even appeared on his forehead.

At this moment, Niu Lanshan also let out a sound of pain.

He clutched his head, his brows furrowed, and he let out muffled groans, as if something was churning, tearing, and refusing to let go in his mind.

"Master!" Hong's voice came from the side, carrying a hint of tension and a hidden suspicion.

Her gaze swept back and forth between Qi Fei and Niu Lanshan several times, as if she wanted another explanation.

Qi Fei didn't pay attention to her.

He knew he had overestimated himself. Niu Lanshan's situation was far more complicated than he had imagined; it wasn't a trivial matter that could be resolved with a simple "Shadow Observation."

Just as he was about to withdraw the light and think of another way, the "sword" suddenly spoke in his mind: "Slay it."

"How do I cut him?" Qi Fei asked in his mind.

"What is a sword?" "Sword" asked rhetorically.

Qi Fei was taken aback.

What is a sword?

When he was practicing the Dao Ming Sword, he knew that the sword was the blade of the heart.

With the understanding in one's heart, cut through the illusion between "appearance" and "reality".

With the will in my heart, I will sever the entanglement between name and reality.

The sword is not in your hand, but in your heart.

A sword is not a knife that cuts through flesh and blood, but a sharp blade that cuts through all obsessions, all entanglements, and all things that "should not be so."

If that's the case, why can't we sever those lingering souls and remnants?

Suddenly, a sword rang out in the courtyard.

The sword's cry came unexpectedly, not from Qi Fei's waist, not from his palm, not from any direction that could be indicated.

It seemed to have been born from the void, to have blossomed from nothingness, as if this sound had always existed in the world, but was only being heard now.

The sound of the sword ringing out was extremely short.

The sound was so brief that Hong and his servants only had time to be momentarily stunned before it disappeared.

They looked on in surprise, glancing left and right, wondering where that clear, melodious sound had come from and where it had gone.

But Blue Mountain is different.

He suddenly clutched his head, his body arching like a shrimp, letting out a distorted scream: "Ouch, it hurts so much!"

The voice was shrill and sharp, and his face instantly turned deathly pale, with large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

But Qi Fei saw it.

The sword light struck between the remnant souls of the monk and the cat and the consciousness of Niu Lanshan, cutting into the knot that had been entangled for two years and could not be untied.

Cut in two with a single sword.

The hybrid of monk and cat trembled violently, as if a string stretched for too long had suddenly snapped.

Their forms began to disintegrate, starting from the edges and gradually turning into nothingness.

First it was the cat's tail, then the monk's sleeves, and then those tangled, indistinguishable parts.

They did not struggle, nor did they scream; only at the moment of their dissipation did a faint trace of relief appear on the monk's face.

He slew demons and monsters, and after his death, he became entangled with them.

"Husband! Husband!" Upon hearing Niu Lanshan's scream, Madam Hong's expression changed, and she rushed forward to support his shoulder.

Her hands were trembling, but her grip on Niu Lanshan was steady, as if she was afraid he would slip off the chair if she let go.

It took a while for some color to return to Niu Lanshan's pale face.

He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze lingered on Hong's face for a moment, and then he revealed a blank, unfamiliar expression, as if he were seeing this person for the first time.

"Who are you?" he asked hesitantly. "Why do you look...somewhat familiar?"