At the foot of Shizhou Mountain, when Yan Zhengming's inner essence first backfired, he really didn't want to live anymore.

If a person is in extreme physical pain, he can at least faint. Although Yan Zhengming himself can faint easily, his soul has to stay awake, trapped in the crumbling inner palace along with the violent sword energy. He can neither resist nor escape - not only is his true energy in chaos in his inner palace, there is also a crack filled with evil spirits caused by the Dragon Lock, which is blocked by his sword energy that hurts others and himself.

He could only think complacently, "I never knew I was quite capable."

Then the next moment, he was hit hard by his own powerful sword.

The sword cultivator's soul and sword energy can become one, so they naturally come from the same origin. In his own inner palace, which is being attacked by the backlash, he cannot die even if he is pierced like a sieve.

What’s even more terrible is that in his chaotic inner palace there is not only sword energy, but also black smoke that rises and falls from time to time, which is exactly the demon in his heart that plagues him.

This thing is invulnerable to swords and guns, and can penetrate any hole. It sometimes pops up from unexpected places. Once it catches his soul, it will rush forward and ravage it severely.

First, he was dragged into the illusion, and then he was persuaded earnestly, so that his wish came true for a while, and he was teased to the point of being tickled. When he was about to indulge in it cautiously, the illusion suddenly changed, sometimes it was the master, sometimes it was Cheng Qian with a frosty face, and sometimes it was just himself, with the same expression and movements, pointing at his nose and scolding: "Beast, shameless!"

As his concentration was distracted, he would inevitably be hit by his own sword again, causing him to suffer both physically and mentally. This process repeated itself endlessly.

Yan Zhengming was painfully pierced by his own sword energy, and the phantom of Cheng Qian in front of him was looking at him coldly. How did that feel?

At first, Yan Zhengming thought, "What's the point of living? I might as well blow up my own palace and put an end to it. I'm a shameless beast anyway."

Then, he would wake up with difficulty every time, remembering that with his level of cultivation, if his inner palace exploded, everyone within twenty feet of him would be either dead or injured, so he had to endure it.

He smiled bitterly at the phantom of Cheng Qian in front of him and said, "You...even if you want to kill me one day, I will probably just lie down by myself."

After hearing this, the inner demon felt that the image did not seem to achieve its intended purpose, so it cleverly transformed itself into Yan Zhengming's own face.

Yan Zhengming's expression changed immediately, and he turned his face away in disgust: "Forget it, just go and die on your own."

Over time, he got used to being abused, and instead developed a will to survive. He thought, "If I really die, what will happen to the sect? What will happen to my fellow apprentices? Should I let Xiao Qian also experience the pain I've been going through for the past 100 years?"

As soon as the last thought came to his mind, Yan Zhengming couldn't help but fantasize eagerly - if he died here, would Cheng Qian remember him forever because of his heartbreak? Although it was indeed painful, Yan Zhengming was actually a little excited when he thought that Cheng Qian would not be able to get rid of his shadow no matter whether he practiced or ascended to heaven in the future.

But his excitement would not last long, because his inner demons would occasionally jump out to remind him that he was a shameless beast.

After a while, Yan Zhengming discovered that his soul could hear the sounds outside.

He knew that this was not a good sign. The weaker the soul was, the more it would be assimilated by the body, and thus would take over part of the body's six senses. Hearing the voice meant that his soul could not hold on any longer. However, despite this, when he heard the real Cheng Qian's voice for the first time, he was so excited that he was almost pierced through the top of his head by the sword energy.

Although it was a pity that Cheng Qian didn't speak much for a long time - even though he was always there.

The most talkative one was Shuikeng. It was the first time that Yan Zhengming realized that the little junior sister had a habit of talking to herself to something - every time she started with "Big Brother, although I know you can't hear me", she would then chatter on for at least an incense stick of time.

From her, Yan Zhengming knew that he had returned to Fuyao Villa, and that Cheng Qian had actually brought him to the small bamboo forest and had been taking care of him without sleep. He even knew the details of the situation and turmoil outside through her detailed description... In comparison, Li Yun was much more boring, and would only sigh and complain to him occasionally.

Only when Tang Zhen came to see him occasionally could Yan Zhengming eagerly hear a few words from the person he missed so much.

As a result, I heard a very crucial passage.

Yan Zhengming paid no attention to what the man surnamed Tang said about preparing his funeral. His head was buzzing and he felt dizzy. Finally, the only thing he could remember was "I will go to the ends of the earth and the sky and the underworld".

With just this one sentence, the inner demons that had been lingering around him faded away, as if they were scared away by his idiotic grin. The black energy that was swirling in the surroundings was suddenly hit hard by a mysterious blow, and became pathetically dim.

"What about my future?" he thought in fascination.

Unfortunately, the backlash of the sword energy was not affected, and the sword nailed his soul, which had forgotten everything else, to the spot. Yan Zhengming's soul lay weakly in the increasingly turbulent inner palace. He sighed softly, and thought to himself as he was struggling to survive: "It was not in vain that I loved him. Alas... I can rest in peace now."

Even he himself didn't notice that the cracks caused by the Dragon Lock in the inner palace were slowly healing.

Outside the small bamboo forest of Fuyao Villa.

Shuikeng was holding an ancient sword in his arms, which was Cheng Qian's Frost Blade.

When Cheng Qian was tied to the Locking Immortal Platform, the Frost Blade was taken away by Yang Decheng, and then in the chaos it fell into the hands of the White Tiger Villa. The White Tiger Villa sent people to show goodwill, and then returned this evil sword that would bring bad luck to whoever took it.

The puddle circled outside the small bamboo forest for who knows how many times, sometimes turning into a person, sometimes turning into a bird. The hair on its tail was almost pulled out by itself, and it still couldn't figure out how to get in and start this journey. The day before, Tang Zhen left here and sent someone to give Li Yun a message, asking him to persuade Cheng Qian to think more positively.

Li Yun might have had some bad feelings in his heart and didn't dare to come himself, so he pushed her to take the blame.

What if something really happened... Shuikeng jumped down from the treetop and stood there in a daze for a while. Suddenly, he felt a sense of inescapable depression in his chest.

The eldest senior brother would get angry at her at any time, and was more difficult to deal with than anything else, but she really couldn't imagine what would happen without the eldest senior brother. It was just a vague thought, and Shuikeng felt like the sky was about to fall.

She stood there in a daze for an unknown period of time. Suddenly, the gate to the courtyard in the bamboo forest was opened from the inside. Shuikeng was caught off guard and bumped into Cheng Qian who was going out.

"Little...Little Brother," Shuikeng said incoherently, "Second Brother asked me to return your Frost Blade."

"Oh, I almost forgot about it." Cheng Qian took the Frost Blade and glanced at her, his expression softened slightly. "It's just a sword, why are you crying?"

She wiped her face with the puddle and realized that she had been in tears without knowing when. The panic and grievance in her heart burst out all at once, and she choked with sobs and couldn't speak.

Cheng Qian looked up and saw Li Yun standing on the rockery of the villa from afar, looking at him with a worried look on his face. How could he not understand what they meant?

Cheng Qian paused, bent his fingers and tapped Shuikeng's forehead gently, and said calmly in a low voice: "Don't cry, I won't let anything happen to him, don't worry."

Puddle opened her eyes wide and looked at him through tears.

Cheng Qian opened the door and said to her, "Come in and take a look. I just happened to be looking for Tang Zhen for something."

Seeing him turning around to leave, Shuikeng's head suddenly blurted out a word as if helped by God. She blurted out: "Little Senior Brother, please don't do anything rash. Take care of yourself, which is to take care of the head senior brother!"

This extraordinary sentence pinned Cheng Qian to the spot. He did not know what to feel for a moment. After a long while, he responded in a low voice without looking back.

Wherever there are seven emotions and six desires, there will be dire straits and suffering.

This is what life feels like.

On the other side, Tang Zhen listened to his words carefully, and seemed to be shocked: "What? No... Are you mistaken? He is a swordsman who has entered the Sword God Realm, but he doesn't have his own sword?"

A sword, no matter how many incredible talismans are on the sword, no matter how many incredible magic weapons are melted into the forging process, no matter what kind of powerful soul is sealed inside, in the final analysis, it is just an ordinary iron dead object that can kill people or chop vegetables.

Only the blood of thousands of dead souls under the blade can give it ferocity, the skills and swordsmanship of the sword wielder can give it sword spirit, and the charm of the sword can be born from the human spirit. Only when the man and the sword are repeatedly honed and forged with each other can a sword be made that is truly in tune with the master's mind.

It's OK for other cultivators, but for a sword cultivator, his sword is too important. The attributes of the sword usually determine the type of his own skills, the five elements, etc. Generally, after a sword cultivator concentrates his mind, the first thing he does is to find his destined sword.

A swordsman without a sword is like a beast without claws - so how did Yan Zhengming make it to the Sword God Realm?

Tang Zhen was stunned for a long time: "What's that in his hand?"

"Ordinary swords." Cheng Qian said, "When he was a child, he collected a whole room of them and hung them on the wall as a mural. He would replace one whenever it broke. Maybe he made the blades himself on the spur of the moment."

When Yan Zhengming just focused his attention, he had no conditions to leave Qinglong Island with his family. Later, he traveled around the world with Li Yun and Shuikeng. He had to practice swordsmanship, support his family, take care of his fellow disciples, and fight against the leader's seal. You can imagine how busy he was. There was no reliable elder to take care of him and remind him, so the matter was put on hold.

"I thought of countless ways all night yesterday," Cheng Qian said, "For a sword cultivator, the sword is the only external force I can think of, and it is also the only medium that can communicate with his inner palace. It just so happens that my senior brother doesn't have a sword - Brother Tang, if I can find that sword, is there any hope that he can sheath it directly?"

Tang Zhen hesitated for a moment, then replied, "I really didn't expect this... Your senior brother is unprecedented. In this case, if we can find a suitable sword, although it may not allow him to advance further, it may be able to suppress his turbulent inner organs. As long as he wakes up and can regulate his breathing, the injuries and inner demons can be slowly healed."

Cheng Qian's palms suddenly broke out in a layer of sweat, which stuck to the hilt of the Frost Blade and froze into a layer of fine ice in an instant. He asked anxiously, "Where should I find this sword? I have no idea about this, so I have to ask Brother Tang for help. If you can... if you can..."

He almost couldn't continue speaking. After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice: "Brother Tang, please help me this time. Cheng Qian's life is yours."

“No, no, no,” Tang Zhen waved his hands quickly and said, “But it’s just some common sense. If you ask anyone who has lived long enough, they can tell you. Don’t get excited - this matter is generally not completely clueless, otherwise sword cultivators don’t have to do anything else but just look for swords every day. Usually sword cultivators don’t enter the Tao for no reason. When they enter the Tao, there must be some kind of sword energy around them to guide them. As far as I know, the sword of most sword cultivators is the one they held when they entered the Tao. Of course, there are exceptions…”

Cheng Qian frowned, "He is the exception. When I sent my disciples to learn swordsmanship, they all used bladeless swords made of wood."

Tang Zhen asked: "So where did he enter the Tao?"

Cheng Qian's eyes twitched slightly, and he said, "Fuyao Mountain, there's no way back."

Tang Zhen: "Who led him into Taoism?"

Cheng Qian's expression became more serious: "My master."

Tang Zhen also knew that Master Mu Chun had already died.

Cheng Qian: "Brother Tang..."

"When a sword cultivator enters the Dao, there are only three ways to guide him - a sharp weapon in his hand, a spiritual object of heaven and earth, or a powerful sword energy," Tang Zhen shook his head and said, "Forgive my lack of knowledge, but I have never heard of the fourth possibility. He entered the Dao with a wooden sword, which is obviously not the first one. So his sword should be based on some spiritual object on Fuyao Mountain... or your master himself."

When things got to this point, even Tang Zhen couldn't help but show disappointment. The opportunity and hope just mentioned suddenly became something impossible to achieve. It seemed as if this was Yan Zhengming's fate.

Tang Zhen paused, shook his head and said, "You...ah, you should just mourn for yourself."

Cheng Qian stood there in a daze for a while, then he picked up the Frost Blade, turned around and walked out. Tang Zhen hurriedly chased after him and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Let's go to Wangyou Valley, that's where my master's soul flew away." Cheng Qian said without looking back, "If all else fails, I will go find Wen Ya, go to Baihu Villa, the old site of Qinglong Island...even Xuanwu Hall, all the places where my master's remains may be, I will search one by one."

Tang Zhen said, "What's the difference between you and a headless fly? Let's not talk about whether your master left anything behind. Even if he did, what if his sword has nothing to do with your master and is only on Mount Fuyao? Even if you are lucky enough to find it, given his current condition, his body may not last more than a hundred days. How can you make it in time?"

Cheng Qian suddenly turned around. For a moment, Tang Zhen's breathing stagnated, and a vague fear arose in his heart. He even felt that Cheng Qian himself was a sword, exactly the same as the Frost Blade.

Cheng Qian, with his back to the light, spoke word by word, "I know, but... who told me not to cry until I see the coffin?"

Cheng Qian kept his word. He came out of the guest room and went straight to see Li Yun, saying, "I'm going out to do some work. I'll be back within a hundred days."

Then, without waiting for Li Yun to react, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Li Yun: “…”

It was not until this moment that he understood for the first time how his senior brother felt when he was clamoring to quit and go home on Qinglong Island.

Just then, Shuikeng ran in breathlessly: "Second Brother!"

Li Yun said unhappily: "What's wrong with you?"

"Big Brother, here..." Shuikeng stretched out his hand and gestured at his forehead. There was a narrow dark red mark between Yan Zhengming's eyebrows, which was a sign that he was trapped by the inner demon. Shuikeng stretched out two fingers and pinched it incoherently, "It suddenly became shorter!"

To put it simply, is the Demon Seal a piece of uncooked noodles?

This girl is simply out of her mind.

Li Yun rolled his eyes and was about to scold him, but he heard Shuikeng say, "I thought I saw it wrong, so I said, 'Hey, Senior Brother, your Heart Demon Seal seems to have become shorter.' As a result, just after I finished speaking, I watched the mark shorten even more, as if he could hear me!"

Cheng Qian was unaware of the chaos in the villa. On the morning of the next day, he had already traveled day and night to reach Wangyou Valley. The ups and downs, from finding hope to losing hope, were really exhausting. When he flew down on his sword, even though Cheng Qian had a high level of cultivation and a firm mind, his knees couldn't help but go weak.

Revisiting the old place, he took a deep breath, suppressed his fluctuating emotions, and strode into the valley - there seemed to be some kind of restriction in the valley. As soon as the Frost Blade approached, it began to emit a sharp buzzing sound. The sword body trembled so much that he almost couldn't control it. It refused to walk into the valley, as if it was extremely afraid of something. Cheng Qian had no choice but to come down and walk by himself.

This reminded him of the first time he came back. Island Master Gu sent a group of monks to look for him, but for some reason, those masters dared not enter the valley.

Cheng Qian looked up and saw that there seemed to be a large piece of natural jade in the Wangyou Valley. From afar, it seemed as if a layer of hazy and mysterious smoke was produced under the sunlight, which did not seem like the human world.

Not sure if it was because his original body, the Spirit Gathering Jade, was too sensitive at this moment, but Cheng Qian always felt that there was an unusual aura in this valley.