The female disciples who had bad intentions towards me started fighting among themselves

"Who is the senior?"

she asked.

"Haven't I introduced myself to you already? You can call me Sword Bearer!"

The sword-wielder's voice was somewhat displeased: "You didn't hear anything I said just now!"

Then he muttered quietly, "I spent so much time thinking about this!"

"No, Senior, what I mean is, where is this place? What is the illusion I just experienced? And the owner of the Qingming Sword you mentioned..."

Mu Yunning said somewhat helplessly, her mind was full of scriptures, her brain was in a mess, and her voice was trembling.

"I won't argue with a junior like you."

The shadow of the sword-wielding man sat down on a huge rock, staggering, looking down at Mu Yunning and began to answer her questions.

"As you can see, I am a swordsman who fell here ten thousand years ago. You can call me the Sword Bearer... although this name was given to me by the gods and demons."

"As for the environment you just experienced, it is a level I set up to select the successor. It is called the Level of Conscience."

"It will transform into what you want most in your heart: money, power, status. In that illusion, you can have everything."

As he spoke, the sword-wielding man looked at Mu Yunning with eyes full of gossip.

"I'm curious what you saw?"

"Is it to achieve enlightenment, or to become famous, or to become rich enough to rival a country?"

Mu Yunning: "......"

Compared with others, why does what she asks for seem so small?

Mu Yunning pursed her lips. She didn't dare to say that what she wanted most in her heart was to spend a plain and simple life with Jing Yan.

This kind of talk will kill you!

Mu Yunning turned her face away and did not directly respond to the sword-bearing man's gossipy question. Instead, she asked curiously.

"So, this illusion seems to be a blessed realm. Why do you say that I am the first person to pass this level in tens of thousands of years?"

Mu Yunning was puzzled.

This illusion allows one to experience a perfect and smooth life. Logically, this should be a blessed place that everyone can encounter but cannot seek for. But why has no one been able to overcome this hurdle of self-examination for so long?

“Haha, good question.”

The sword-wielding man smiled wantonly, his eyes gradually becoming cold: "Because those who are immersed in illusions and cannot distinguish between reality and illusion are all dead."

"They indulged themselves in their own vain and glorious lives, accepted that their wishes had come true, and then slowly grew old and died in splendor and prosperity, with their wishes fulfilled."

"If you accept your own death in the fantasy world, you will actually die in reality."

"As for you, I'm very curious. How did you realize that it was an illusion? Obviously, everything in it is the same as the real world, and everything goes smoothly. Logically, no one would be stupid enough to question whether it is a real world."

Mu Yunning was silent.

Indeed, apart from some doubts at the beginning, she was always immersed in that illusory world and was completely unable to distinguish it.

It was not until the end, when Jing Yan passed away before her, that she realized——

not like this!

The real world is not like this!

Those nights in the cave, the dangerous escape in the snowy night, and the competition that he never showed up for... were they all fake?

Are those promises, those tears, those hugs all fake?

No, it is not.

There are still many, many beautiful things that she has not yet done, seen, or performed with him.

Are you willing to let your life pass by like this?

This question kept pressing on her.

Thus, out of inexplicable greed, Mu Yunning drew his sword, shattered his dream, and returned to the real reality.

"Okay, I won't explore your secrets anymore."

The man with the sword looked at the silent Mu Yunning and simply stopped asking questions. Instead, he talked to her about business.

"Do you want to gain power?"

"Gain power?" Mu Yunning blinked, somewhat confused: "What power?"

"Of course it is the power that everyone in the world of immortal cultivation desires, enough to slay immortals and exorcise demons. It is the power of my inheritance."

The sword-wielder smiled and said, "You have passed the test of conscience that I set up, and you are qualified to inherit my power."

"So what can I gain?"

Mu Yunning's eyes trembled slightly and she continued to ask.

"What to gain?"

The sword holder stood up and said loudly: "Obtain the power that even Mahayana monks have to spend their entire lives pursuing, and obtain the qualifications to climb to the top of the Heavenly Dao... Do you still remember the Qingming Sword that caused you to fall to this point? Tens of thousands of years ago, it was just one of the many swords in my sword box!"

"This inheritance is at your fingertips!"

"really?"

Mu Yunning's eyes trembled slightly, and her heart was filled with joy.

She looked at the unconscious Jing Yan and said, "Then give him this power. He has better talent than me and will definitely be more powerful than me..."

Sword holder: “???”

It was hard for him to imagine that someone could actually refuse his inherited power. This was a great gift that many monks could only dream of but could never obtain!

He looked at the girl in front of him with doubt and asked, "Do you know how precious this gift is? Are you so willing to give it to others?"

"I know."

Mu Yunning certainly knew how powerful the phantom in front of him was. Even the Qingming Sword that forced them to flee everywhere was just a sword of his.

Therefore, one can imagine his level of cultivation, he must have extraordinary strength.

But......

But.......

She turned to look at Jing Yan and whispered:

"As long as he is safe, nothing else matters."

Sword holder: “…”

"The love brain is terrible."

He sighed slowly.

63. Sword Heart

The man holding the sword was also amused.

He stared at Mu Yunning, as if he wanted to see what was going on in her mind.

"Do you think my inheritance is like a cabbage that can be given away at will?"

The sword-bearer's voice suddenly rose: "You have passed my test, so naturally you are the only one who is qualified to receive my inheritance."

Mu Yunning was silent for a moment, but soon calmed down and realized that her request was a bit too much.

"I understand."

In any case, accepting the inheritance now is the only chance of survival. The Qingming Sword will surely not let them go easily and will definitely be waiting outside.

"What do I need to do?" Mu Yunning asked.

"It's very simple. Since you have passed my test of the heart, it means that your sword heart is sharp enough to accept my inheritance."

"Kenshin?"

Mu Yunning frowned and explained, "Senior, I no longer have the sword heart. Now I can't even lift a sword."

Her sword heart had been taken away by the Qingming Sword on that snowy night. Now, she was just an ordinary person, and she might not even be able to defeat an ordinary person.

His whole body felt as soft and weak as ever, and his dantian was also empty, without a trace of spiritual energy.

"Bullshit."

The swordsman sneered and said, "Do you know what a swordsman's ...

"But I do..."

Mu Yunning paused and whispered, "My sword heart was indeed taken away by the Qingming Sword."

"Are you questioning my look?"

The sword-wielder pointed at Mu Yunning and said, "Although I don't know what your sword heart was like before, your sword heart now is the sharpest I have ever seen - even though it's only half a sword."

"Half a pill?"

Mu Yunning blinked, looking surprised.

"What's wrong? You don't know this?" The sword-wielding man glanced at her, then glanced at the unconscious Jing Yan, and muttered:

"The half sword heart beating in your body also exists in his body. Otherwise, how could the two of you enter my secret cave at the same time and participate in the trial?"

"After all, you two share a sword heart."

"A... sword heart."

Mu Yunning's pupils shrank, and a huge surge of sadness suddenly surged from her heart.

She closed her eyes, and fragments of memory seemed to flash through her mind, hazy and fleeting.

Snow, endless snow.

Jing Yan carried her on his back as they walked through the snow-capped mountains. The snow left behind by the avalanche was so thick that it could swallow a person with every step.

"Jing Yan, I'm cold..."

The girl closed her eyes, her lips trembling slightly, and she murmured unconsciously.

"Hold on, did you hear me, Mu Yunning?"

Jingyan's body was also covered with wounds. He hugged the girl's gradually stiffening body tightly, trying to warm her with his body temperature.

But it doesn't help.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble..."

Mu Yunning seemed to be having a last moment of clarity. She tried hard to open her eyes a tiny bit, stretched out her frosted hand, and gently touched the boy's cheek.

"Don't worry about me, just go alone..."

“The snowy mountains are peaceful.”

Mu Yunning stared at the sky in a daze. White snowflakes fell little by little in the dark night, like the last revolving lantern of life.

She thought back on her life, from childhood to youth and now, it seemed that she had never stayed in someone's arms for so long.

A very warm hug.

"Mu Yunning, don't close your eyes, do you hear me?"

Jing Yan tried his best to move forward, but the snow in the snowy mountains not only prevented him from flying with the sword, it even isolated and blocked his spiritual power, and his original cultivation level was reduced to nothing.

He could only hold on with one breath, holding Mu Yunning and walking away, avoiding the pursuit of the Qingming Divine Sword.

Jing Yan desperately covered Mu Yunning's chest, where a big hole was stabbed. The blood solidified into ice blood due to the extremely cold temperature, and the sword heart that was originally beating at the heart position was empty.

Her sword heart was taken away by the Qingming Sword.

A swordsman who loses his swordsmanship is like a mortal who loses his heart.

Her vitality was draining away bit by bit, and it wouldn't be long before the girl in her arms would die.

Jing Yan gritted his teeth, his eyes were empty and lifeless, but the look he gave the girl was unusually gentle.

In his hand he holds a white jade pendant, which is the belief that has kept him going till now.