After clearing the level, the fairies were reborn!

"She was prepared all along?"

Xu Ze originally thought that the Empress Dowager was angry because she saw that he had too many romantic relationships, which is why she did this.

That's not the case at all.

It seems that Mu Yan had been preparing for this for many years.

As he marveled at the sight, he took a step toward the rising clouds before him, his feet resting on soft clouds that felt like walking on cotton.

Beneath the clouds, mountains and rivers are faintly visible, but they are shrunk countless times, like a giant sand table. Above is a dazzling starry sky, the stars several times brighter than outside, as if you could reach out and pluck them.

A faint, ethereal fragrance filled the air, not the scent of flowers, but some kind of otherworldly aroma.

That was spiritual mist that naturally condensed after the spiritual energy became extremely concentrated.

"here it is……"

Xu Ze looked around, a hint of shock flashing in his eyes.

"You will ascend again sooner or later, and this is the 'training ground' I have prepared for you."

Mu Yan's voice came from ahead.

She stood not far away, her golden phoenix robe shimmering faintly in the starlight, her peerless face carrying an indescribable calm.

“A cultivator in the Mahayana stage can create a small world in the void. This is the one that I have built bit by bit over three hundred years.”

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Ding Wan, Bai Yuxi, Mu Qing, and the three women.

"Of course, this is also a place of test that I have prepared for you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the three women all changed color.

"A test?" Ding Wan frowned, gripping her Qingyun Sword tightly. "What kind of test?"

Mu Yan did not answer.

She simply raised her hand and waved it gently.

In an instant, the surrounding scenery changed drastically.

The clouds disappeared, the starry sky disappeared, the mountains and rivers disappeared.

Instead, there was only a vast, white void.

The five people stood in the void, with nothing around them.

No, that's not right.

Xu Ze discovered that he was all alone.

Ding Wan is gone, Bai Yuxi is gone, Mu Qinghe is gone, and even Mu Yan is gone.

He was left all alone.

"Mu Yan?" he called out.

no respond.

"Ding Wan? Xiao Bai? Qing He?"

There has still been no response.

Xu Ze frowned slightly.

He tried to circulate his spiritual energy, but found that it was as if it had solidified and could not be mobilized at all.

He tried to communicate with the Flame-Slaying Sword, but it didn't respond. He tried to contact the system, but the system panel was blank.

All the power, all the reliance, all vanished.

At this moment, he was just like an ordinary person.

"Is this the power of the laws...? Is she about to 'ascend'?"

Xu Ze muttered to himself, a flash of understanding appearing in his eyes.

Strip away all power and return people to their essence.

and then?

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in front of them.

It's Mu Yan.

She still looked the same, only her eyes had lost some of their usual charm and gained a more serious look.

"Xu Ze," she said calmly, "there are still some things I haven't explained to you clearly while I was in the Heavenly Book World."

Xu Ze looked at her without saying a word.

“You have too many women around you,” Mu Yan continued, “Ding Wan, Bai Yuxi, Qing He… and perhaps there will be more in the future.”

She paused, suppressing the hint of resentment in her words.

"I don't care how many women you have, but I do care whether they are worth staying by your side."

Xu Ze frowned slightly, not understanding the meaning behind Mu Yan's words.

What kind of test can you use to judge this kind of thing?

"What do you want to do?"

"It's very simple." Mu Yan smiled slightly. "Let them choose for themselves."

She raised her hand and waved it gently.

Four images appeared in the surrounding void.

In the first image, Ding Wan stands amidst a cluster of sword mounds.

Countless broken swords were stuck in the ground, some rusty, some broken in two, and some still retaining a faint sword aura.

She looked around, her eyes filled with wariness.

"here it is……"

Ding Wan murmured, her gaze falling on a complete longsword in the distance.

The sword was entirely blue, with a long, slender blade, and bore a resemblance to the Azure Cloud Sword in her hand.

She walked over and reached out to grasp the hilt of the sword.

The instant she touched the sword, an aged voice rang out:

"The sword is the blade of the heart. Are you willing to stay and inherit my way of the sword?"

Ding Wan stopped moving.

She looked up in the direction from which the sound came.

There, a phantom figure slowly emerged.

It was an old man with white hair, surrounded by a sharp sword intent.

The power of that sword intent far surpassed that of any sword cultivator she had ever seen.

"Who are you?" Ding Wan asked.

"I am an ancient sword master, leaving a remnant of my soul here, awaiting a destined person," the old man said slowly. "If you stay, I can pass on my life's swordsmanship to you."

"Within ten years, you can reach the fourth realm of swordsmanship; within a hundred years, you can reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship."

Ding Wan fell silent.

The fifth realm of swordsmanship?

That is the realm that countless sword cultivators dream of.

And right now, there is such a shortcut.

Just stay.

Just... stay?

Ding Wan glanced back.

Behind me was only a vast emptiness, nothing at all.

But she knew that direction was where Xu Ze was.

"Senior, if I stay, will I still be able to leave?"

The old man, who called himself the Ancient Sword Master, shook his head.

"This is the Sword Tomb Secret Realm. No one who enters can leave. If you stay, you will stay here forever."

Ding Wan remained silent for a long time.

Then, she released her grip on the sword blank.

The cyan longsword returned to its original position.

"Thank you for your kindness, senior," she said calmly, "but I have my own path to walk."

The old man looked at her, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes, as well as a hint of admiration.

"Are you sure?"

Faced with this unfathomable remnant soul before her, Ding Wan nodded.

"Is it because of that young man?"

The Sword Master smiled and continued:

Throughout history, those who have sought immortality through swordsmanship are few and far between.

"If you can reach the supreme realm of swordsmanship, the 'celestial immortal' realm, what kind of Daoist partner can't you find?"

It was clear that the other party had already revealed all their inner thoughts.

Ding Wan no longer concealed her intentions; a resolute glint appeared in her beautiful eyes as she spoke, word by word:

“When I was young, my family elders taught me to practice swordsmanship and reminded me not to forget the family mission. Although this kindness later became a shackle, I have never wasted it.”

"My swordsmanship was first taught to me by my parents... but my path was one I walked together with them."

"Without him, what's the point of reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship?"