Chapter 104 (First published on Jinjiang Literature City): Do you know how to love someone? ...

It took Yao Sisi more than thirty days to forge a sword for Qi Mu. The sword was like autumn water, seemingly carrying a shimmering brilliance, but in an instant it returned to calm.

She rarely has time to hone a weapon, so it's unusual for her to be this meticulous.

Fortunately, the result was good, and she handed the sword to him with satisfaction, but unexpectedly, something went wrong in the middle.

Just as she was showing it to him, she accidentally cut her finger. As everyone knows, a natal magic weapon is different from other magic weapons; it cannot be made by simply using one's divine sense to create a mark.

It requires a blood transfusion!

Before she could even draw blood from the other party, she herself ended up with blood on her own. What was terrifying was that she faced the spirit sword every day, and because she possessed both sword intent and the intent of the blade, she was able to resonate with the intent of the sword.

Sword intent was something the spirit sword really liked, and the opponent absorbed all of that blood without hesitation.

Yao Sisi was stunned. At the same time, Qi Mu touched a sword blade, the spot where Yao Sisi had cut her finger, and released his sword intent.

Blood instantly stained the sword again. The spirit sword seemed to know that it had made a mistake, but it did not refuse the previous blood and accepted the next blood.

Thus, the contractually created magical artifact, which should have been full of ritual, was completed in a rushed and forced manner.

Yao Sisi let out a breath, "Sorry, I didn't hold it properly."

Qi Mu's gaze remained gentle. "It's not that you didn't hold it properly, but that the sword you forged is too good. It actually developed a weapon spirit. It was its own greed that caused this."

Yao Sisi: "..."

"What a clever little devil!"

Qi Mu: "Miss Sisi is actually able to forge a spirit sword that has sprouted a weapon spirit. This is a rare thing even within the sect!"

Yao Sisi smiled and said, "Young master, are you going to praise me? Can you say a few more words? I love to hear it."

Qi Mu was amused by her, "Miss Sisi is so amazing, it makes one yearn for her."

Yao Sisi was indeed happy to be praised, and they even exchanged some compliments: "It's nothing special. If the young master puts in more effort, his pill-refining skills will surely surpass those of ordinary people."

Qi Mu smiled: What he yearned for was not technique or talent, but the person.

...

With the spirit sword forged, Yao Sisi began preparing for her trip to the secret realm.

She had almost finished tidying up her surroundings and had also acquired a lot of elixirs and tools that she would need outside. This was probably because the secret realm was too dangerous. Not only was she preparing, but others were also helping her prepare. Before she left, she received a large number of things. These things were strange and varied, and it seemed that they were meant to cover all kinds of adverse situations she might encounter, so that she could use them to attack or save her life.

The journey to the secret realm took eighteen years.

This secret realm is notoriously dangerous; it's easy to enter but difficult to leave, and you even have to find your own exit.

She was quite unlucky. She was supposed to be able to leave in the tenth year, and the exit was over a large lake. But when she arrived, a tornado suddenly rose over the lake. It was so tall and powerful that it seemed to be connected to the sky. To make matters worse, the exit was covered by the tornado.

She intended to wait, but unexpectedly, the lake water was eventually swept away by a tornado, and then a strange palace appeared at the bottom of the lake.

Just like the Dragon Palace in fairy tales.

She came here for the secret treasure and cultivation, so naturally she couldn't leave after encountering this situation. As soon as she stepped into the Dragon Palace, her body was invisibly bound.

Moreover, others were also imprisoned.

They were enveloped by a semi-transparent cylindrical structure, and everyone could see each other. Yao Sisi counted that there were seven people trapped here.

She was the seventh unlucky one.

Not long after she was trapped, the people around her who were also trapped began to talk about her. Soon she joined the discussion herself, and what she found out was that there was also a junior uncle from her own sect among them.

Junior Uncle has a cold and aloof appearance, with outstanding looks, like the dazzling light reflected from the warm sun on a piece of ancient ice.

But he wasn't very talkative, which was completely different from her lively personality; he would hardly speak unless asked.

Yao Sisi was gradually drawn to him. She was curious about how many years this junior uncle had been trapped here, so she casually asked him.

"How long have you been here, Uncle-Master?"

The man glanced at her, his thin lips parting slightly: "Thirteen years."

Yao Sisi: "So long?"

The man stopped speaking.

Yao Sisi didn't want to stay here for so long, so she asked the others curiously, "Haven't you guys figured out how to get out of here all these years?"

Others "studied it, but couldn't answer the questions."

It turns out that every year, a red carp spirit would come to them and ask them three questions. If they answered correctly, the spirit would let them go.

The key issue is that no one has been able to answer this question over the years.

Yao Sisi: "None of them left? Could it be that after we answered correctly, it pretended we didn't?"

They had considered this idea, but in the end they said, "One person walked by, and that person cultivated the Amorous Sword."

Yao Sisi thought to herself: Could it be that answering the question is related to what kind of cultivation technique I practice?

She was a swordsmith, so she should have a chance to leave. She chatted with her junior uncle, saying, "Junior Uncle, I may have to go first. I am a swordsmith and have cultivated sword intent, which should be more relevant to the carp spirit's question."

Unexpectedly, this junior uncle glanced at her indifferently and said, "Don't even think about it, I'm a sword cultivator."

Yao Sisi: "Huh? When you ask questions, can you hear the answers? Are your questions the same?"

Junior Uncle: "The problems are all different."

At this point, someone chimed in, "If you count the days, they'll come to ask tomorrow, and then you'll know."

The next day, perhaps because she was the newest person there, the carp spirit was the first to ask her a question.

The carp spirit was just a palm-sized fish, not as powerful as she had imagined. Apart from being able to speak human language, it seemed no different from an ordinary carp.

Its eyes glanced at her, then it naturally swam up to her. "What do you think an excellent cultivator should be like?"

Yao Sisi paused. This was a huge question. How was she supposed to answer it?

"One should act in accordance with one's own moral principles."

The carp spirit then asked, "Do you think you know how to love someone?"

Yao Sisi thought for a moment. Since the carp had asked, she naturally wanted to hear her explanation, but she didn't know what to say and said dejectedly, "I don't understand..."

The carp spirit asked again, "If you were given the chance to transform into a lightning tribulation, who would you strike down?"

Yao Sisi: "No, the person I wanted to kill with lightning tribulation has already been killed by lightning tribulation."

The carp spirit glanced at her, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

"The answer to the question is not accepted."

Yao Sisi: "..."

Okay! Maybe I didn't answer the second question well.

After that, the carp spirit went around asking the people in turn, the last one being that junior uncle.

The carp spirit asked, "Do you think all the bad guys should die?"

Junior Uncle answered decisively: "Sure."

Little Carp: "What is the significance of a cultivator constantly observing their inner self?"

Junior Uncle: "In order to maintain the balance of the Dao heart."

Then the carp spirit answered even more bluntly: "The answer is not accepted."

Yao Sisi: "???"

You've only asked two questions so far, and haven't asked the others yet...

After the issue was resolved, without a doubt, no one left.

Someone said to Yao Sisi, "Your first question was practically a freebie. They probably gave you a break because you're a newcomer. Next year's questions might not be the same."

She spent several more years like this, and then realized that she had gotten the third question wrong, not the second one.