When the sword aura filled this entire space,
all the phantoms shattered instantly, along with the square platform beneath Ye Yu’s feet.
At first, Ye Yu thought it was over.
But unexpectedly, snowflakes suddenly began falling from the sky.
Soon, a slender swordsman appeared not far ahead, standing with his back turned.
He wore a long sword at his waist and asked slowly and deliberately, “What is a sword?”
Ye Yu looked forward and said gravely, “A sword is a sword!”
The swordsman did not turn around and asked again, “What is a sword?”
This time, Ye Yu said nothing,
instead, he walked straight ahead.
Having gone through so many dreamlike trials,
Ye Yu had developed his own quick-clear theory for secret realms and illusions:
Kill anyone showing off!
Whether phantom, lingering soul, golden-armored deity — once they start posturing or showing fury, just strike directly!
Talking more would be a waste of time.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Like those treasure-bearing residual souls — they never wasted words, just went straight to the point.
So listening to their nonsense didn’t matter; just consider it a quest.
But this swordsman kept repeating “What is a sword?”
Clearly, he was just forcefully showing off.
Ye Yu couldn’t tolerate that even a little!
With a thought,
the Feathered Butterfly Sword appeared before him.
Grasping it tightly, Ye Yu suddenly unleashed the True Blue Lotus Thunder Sword Technique.
At the moment the heavenly thunder struck down, the swordsman instantly vanished without a trace.
Immediately after, a strong radiance appeared.
When Ye Yu opened his eyes again,
he found himself standing before a vast palace.
Around him stood hundreds of sword immortals.
Their brows were furrowed tightly, and sword scars appeared on their bodies from time to time.
They must still be trapped in the illusions of the secret realm.
Looking at the unfamiliar faces, Ye Yu guessed Lin Miaoxue might also be here.
He quickly began searching.
Sure enough,
he found Lin Miaoxue about a hundred meters east.
At this moment, she too had not awakened from the illusions.
Fortunately, she bore no wounds.
That was good news.
However, Ye Yu really did not know how to dispel illusions!
He heard that carelessness could cause great danger to those affected.
So he gently grasped Lin Miaoxue’s delicate hand and transmitted by mind voice: “Kill all who see!”
Unfortunately, no response came despite waiting a long time.
It seemed useless.
Helpless, Ye Yu turned back toward the palace.
Every secret realm contained unique treasures that provided power.
Their existence maintained the realm’s operation.
When these objects ran out of energy or were taken, the secret realm would collapse.
He believed that if he found {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} that object, perhaps it could awaken them from the illusions!
With this in mind,
Ye Yu flashed forward and quickly entered the palace.
Inside was spacious yet filled with a violent sword intent.
At the very center, a small figure seemed to be fiddling with something.
Ye Yu cautiously approached,
and found the tiny figure was a little girl with horn-shaped braids.
She appeared about four or five years old.
She was piecing together a broken sword.
But no matter how she tried, she couldn’t restore it properly.
This frustrated her greatly.
Yet Ye Yu’s attention was drawn not by her hands, but by dozens of thumb-sized phantoms near the broken sword.
These were the sword immortals he had seen outside,
all gathered into this small space.
Every sword scar on their phantoms emitted a blue stream of light that flew directly to the girl’s hand.
She observed carefully.
If it was suitable, she added it to the broken sword.
If not, she couldn’t help but scoff,
“Sword intent not pure enough, rubbish!”
After saying this, she waved the fresh blood drop away.
This miraculous scene greatly interested Ye Yu.
He walked directly up and softly asked, “What are you doing?”
“I’m repairing my master’s broken sword!
My master told me she’d come back and take me out once the broken sword was reforged.
I’m trying to use these sword immortals’ useless power to replenish the lost sword intent of the immortal sword.”
The little girl glanced at Ye Yu with some grievance and continued, “You’re the first immortal in three hundred thousand years to break through the illusion and come here.
And you only spent a single incense stick’s time.
Do you know? The second-level trial I designed had so many dialogues and beautiful scenes.
But you just drew your sword and slashed without a word — you really are unexpected!”
Hearing this, Ye Yu couldn’t help but smile.
Then he felt surprised.
“You say you designed these trials? Why did you do that?”
“I used sword aura to open this space for sword immortals to refine their sword intent.
If they get hurt, I take a small portion of their sword intent and fuse it into the broken sword, so the immortal sword’s intent won’t disperse.
It’s a win-win result.”
The little girl did not stop her work,
continuing to handle the broken sword carefully.
Her earnest and diligent manner somehow evoked sympathy.
But Ye Yu clearly saw
a piece was missing from the broken sword’s cracked area.
Because of this, no matter how hard the girl tried, she could not fully restore the sword.
After thinking deeply,
Ye Yu stepped forward slowly and softly said, “Don’t waste your effort. You alone can’t piece this sword back together.
How about I take you to a swordsmith to have it reforged? Then you can use it again?”
The little girl finally stopped moving.
She looked up at Ye Yu and asked seriously, “Why do you say I can’t fix it?”
“Because the broken sword has a missing piece!”
Ye Yu pointed to the gap.
The girl’s expression changed suddenly.
She whispered softly, “The broken sword has a missing piece... that’s why I can’t restore it!”
Did she really fail to notice the missing piece?
In fact, she had been trying to restore the sword for three hundred thousand years.
She should have noticed long ago.
Her surprise meant only one thing:
she didn’t want to face this reality.
The little girl finally put down the broken sword.
A bitter smile appeared.
In her mind, her master’s beautiful face appeared uncontrollably.
The gentle words from that day still seemed to linger in her ears.
“Master, it wasn’t that you lied to me — it was that I didn’t want to move on.
He’s right, the broken sword has a missing piece; it can never be reforged.”
As the girl finished speaking,
the broken sword instantly became more shattered, cracks spreading across the entire blade.
She then turned to Ye Yu and softly said, “My name is Xiang Sizi.”
