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Divine Sword:

The Divine Sword was speechless.

"I understand." Qiaoqiao sighed deeply. "I will come to find you. Just wait patiently! You're so old, why can't you give me peace of mind?"

It's just a treasure hunt without a map, right? That's no challenge for her!

Divine Sword:?

no.

It hadn't even said anything yet, so how did she start lecturing it?

No, it finally appeared in Qiaoqiao's dream because it had something important to say, "Qiaoqiao, listen carefully... it's... the... Demon... Pillar..."

The ball of light seemed to have run out of power; it spoke intermittently, uttering a few words before going completely out.

Qiaoqiao:...

It's clear that no matter the problem, either its intelligence or its memory is always off.

Divine Sword:!

Let me finish!

I haven't finished speaking yet!

The Divine Sword, pulled from the dream, was extremely frustrated. After it left, only complete darkness remained, shrouded in loneliness and coldness. The surrounding space continued to shrink, trapping Qiaoqiao within it.

She felt a sudden tightness in her chest, as if she were trapped in a well, her chest filled with intense resentment.

The resentment enveloped her completely, almost threatening to burst out of the well.

Why such deep resentment?

Why did her heart resonate with it as well?

Qiaoqiao struggled to lift her head, but all she could see was a despairing darkness. Intense resentment and hatred tightened around her like venomous snakes, and she was suffocating.

Light...

I long to see a glimmer of light...

Tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks. The moment they fell into the void, an extremely powerful force suddenly erupted from within her. A vast expanse of silver light engulfed the darkness. In the midst of the dazzling silver light, the resentment that clung to her like a maggot began to fade, dissipating bit by bit, like peeling away layers of a cocoon, carrying a hint of unwillingness.

The silver light gradually subsided, no longer as dazzling as before, but still providing illumination.

In this space, countless silver longswords floated around her, their hilts touching the ground and their tips pointing straight to the sky. These swords formed a huge circular sword array, protecting her within it.

The sky above was a glittering Milky Way, and the ground was like a mirror reflecting her image. Countless silver swords, like her guardians, held up the space and blocked the boundless darkness outside.

Standing within the circular sword formation, she spotted the white-robed figure seated in the center and her eyes lit up. "Master!"

The white-robed immortal sat cross-legged, his cloud-like sleeves flowing like a clear stream, his long hair held up by a green hairpin, half of it cascading over his shoulder. This master looked somewhat different from usual, less aloof and unapproachable, and more approachable and gentle.

Qiaoqiao asked uncertainly, "Are you really my master?"

Bai Fu raised his eyes, a hint of frost in them, and asked in a cold voice, "Why do you ask that?"

Qiaoqiao walked up to him and sat down in the same position as him, but she seemed relaxed and at ease. "Because it's different from my usual master... Where is this? Why is Master here?"

This is State of Mind.

"State of Mind?"

He raised his hand, his slender fingers seemingly plucking a musical instrument. The silver swords floated with his fingertips, and their reflections on the ground moved accordingly. The sky above and below was ablaze with light, like a dream.

"When you were young, your qi was weak and your pulse was feeble, making it impossible for you to cultivate. I planted a Guardian Sword Intent within you. When you encounter danger, this sword intent will unfold into a sword array to protect its master. This is the Protective Sword Formation."

This sword formation looked so familiar. A thought flashed through Qiaoqiao's mind—wasn't the sword formation that had automatically deployed during her previous attack by the witch and during their duel actually a sword intent left behind by her master?

She thought it was because of her special talent, but it turns out it was her master protecting her?

"Although I left behind the sword intent, it was you who truly mastered it." Seeing through her thoughts, Bai Fu said, "As your swordsmanship improves, it will eventually become yours."

Qiaoqiao couldn't help but smile slightly.

[Not everyone can harness Master's sword intent; I truly am a sword genius!]

My master is so good to me.

Bai Fu smiled slightly and explained, "When you encounter danger within your own State of Mind, the sword formation materializes, creating a boundary within your State of Mind to keep the danger out."

Qiaoqiao clicked her tongue in amazement, "So, you mean everything here is formed from sword intent, including you, Master?"

Bai Fu nodded, "To be precise, it's my sword intent condensing into my image to speak with you..."

His words were abruptly cut short as Qiaoqiao touched his sleeve. "But Master feels just like the real thing."

Following the flowing sleeves downwards, the white-clad man touched those slender, jade-like fingers. His body stiffened slightly, and his fingertips froze.

Qiaoqiao was completely unaware that since this was sword intent manifesting in her master's form, there was nothing wrong with touching it, right?

However, this sword intent was too realistic. The skin on her fingertips felt cool like chess pieces, yet had the tactile sensation of flesh and blood. She touched it, and couldn't help but squeeze it, feeling the other person's hand freeze instantly.

With a slight sway of her sleeves, Bai Fu moved her hand away.

"Qiaoqiao." He sighed softly, with a hint of indulgence in his voice.

Qiaoqiao blinked, then withdrew her hand somewhat guiltily.

She didn't mean it, but how could she resist? Her curiosity has always been so strong.

What did you encounter in your State of Mind just now?

"I don't know." Qiaoqiao shook her head.

She didn't know what it was, haunting her dreams and almost suffocating her. It was an emotion, dark, desperate, and cold. Where did that deep resentment come from, and why was it in her dream?