For Shi Xuan, who was born with a sword-like talent and had exceptional comprehension, this was like being chased around and fed with a spoon. She understood immediately, and this time, the sword technique was successfully used, with form, intention, spirit, and energy all present. The sword energy struck the wall, making a crisp sound.

Once a set of sword techniques was completed, the opposite stone wall immediately cracked open, revealing a door leading to the next room, and a prize in a compartment on the door—a sword manual.

Shi Xuan picked it up and looked at it. The sword manual was a bit old, and there were three big characters on the title page: Puppet Sword.

What kind of powerful being is this, naming his sword technique "Puppet Sword"? No wonder all the sword instructors who come out to fight are puppets.

After quickly flipping through the sword manual, Shi Xuan was astonished to find that what he had just learned was only the first move of the Puppet Sword. Was the first move really that complicated?

Looking back, it turns out that the main reason it's called Puppet Sword is that the person who created this sword technique wanted sword cultivators to fight with the mindset of a puppet, emptying themselves, and not basing all their moves on physical instincts, so that their opponents couldn't predict the direction of their next move.

According to him, once he reaches the final stage of his cultivation, he will be able to both attack and defend effectively, and his power will be overwhelming.

The author also wrote on the last page of the sword manual: "I originally wanted to call it 'Unexpected Sword Technique,' but the name was too long and hard to remember, so I changed it to 'Puppet Sword.'"

What an interesting founder.

Shi Xuan put away the sword manual. Just as she was about to open the second door, she suddenly turned around and looked at the teaching puppet standing in place. She took two steps back to the puppet and tried to put it into her storage bracelet.

But it was unsuccessful.

Shi Xuan was not giving up. He circled around him twice and began to persuade him.

"Do you want to come out with me? Let's go out and eat and drink our fill, have some fun and enjoy ourselves?"

The puppet remained unmoved.

Shi Xuan thought for a moment, then changed his approach and said, "Look, I've only learned the first move of the moves you taught me. There are so many more to come. You can't handle everything at once, can you? I'll still need you to continue teaching me after I leave."

The puppet seemed to move slightly, but ultimately did not retract.

"That won't do either," Shi Xuan thought, rolling his eyes. He took out the Puppet Sword Manual and waved it in front of it, saying, "Now I am the successor of the Puppet Sword. Since I have inherited the Puppet Sword Technique, I will naturally inherit you, the puppet. From now on, you belong to me. You must be prepared for that."

The puppet seemed to accept this explanation and tilted its head at her.

Shi Xuan: "I'll put you into my storage space first, and then I'll release you after we leave the secret realm. What do you think?"

The puppet didn't say yes or no, so Shi Xuan took his silence as an agreement and directly put him into her space. Unexpectedly, this time she succeeded and the puppet was successfully put into her bracelet.

If Fan Mingzhu, who was still out there, knew that Shi Xuan was wasting so much breath trying to persuade a puppet, she would be so angry she would vomit blood.

Finally satisfied, Shi Xuan packed up the puppet and left. Only then did he push open the door and enter the next room.

Surprisingly, the next room also contained only one puppet, which looked very similar to the one she had taken away.

Upon seeing Shi Xuan enter, he drew his sword and charged forward, launching an attack without warning.

Shi Xuan immediately drew his sword to meet the attack, and the two, one human and one puppet, clashed without a word.

Once the fight started, the difference between this puppet and the previous one immediately became apparent. If the previous one was a benevolent guide, then the second one was utterly ferocious.

He didn't care whether his opponent could withstand it, and launched a fierce attack from the start, giving Shi Xuan no chance to breathe. He caught Shi Xuan off guard and forced him to retreat repeatedly. The Sacred Bone Technique even started to activate as Shi Xuan was defeated.

Shi Xuan immediately became serious, composed himself, and tried his best to fight back, but he still found it very difficult to cope.

Shi Xuan thought the first move of the Puppet Sword technique she had just learned in the first room might be useful here. She immediately put it to use, using the sword technique she had just learned to deal with the puppet. Sure enough, it was a little easier than before, but only a little easier. It didn't change the fact that she was being beaten without any power to fight back.

Perhaps this level can be solved using the sword technique obtained from the previous level.

Thinking of this, Shi Xuan retreated out of the puppet's attack range and took out the puppet sword manual to study it.

Inside the room, Shi Xuan was still leisurely studying the sword manual, while outside the formation, Fan Mingzhu was already struggling to keep up.

Even if she had a lot of elixirs and talismans, she couldn't withstand such rapid depletion.

Fan Mingzhu was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Retreating now would incur too high sunk costs, but if she continued, her reserves were running out. There were still over twenty days left in the secret realm; if she used up all her supplies now, how would she survive the next twenty days?

However, if she gives up searching for Shi Xuan now, everything she has done before will be a meaningless waste, using too many resources but getting no results.

She was extremely unwilling, but seeing that it was getting dark, she really couldn't hold on any longer. With no other choice, Fan Mingzhu had to use a teleportation talisman to disappear from the monster's sight and find a secluded place to settle down.

Looking back on the day's events, she just wanted to cry.

Shi Xuan has already clashed with the puppet for the third time. She has taken painkillers and will fight with all her might after learning one level of the puppet sword technique. If she fails, she will learn the next level.

This continued until the fifth battle with the puppet, when he finally managed to force it out of his range.

This puppet has endless stamina and seems to never get tired. It is also made of special materials, so Shi Xuan's combat power is no match for it. Only when it is forced out of the circle will it stop attacking.

When Xuan finally passed the test, the second day after entering the secret realm had already passed, and it was already dawn outside.

The stone wall opened, and this time the reward was a spirit sword.

The sword's material seemed to be the same as the puppet's; within its understated gray blade, one had to look closely to see the faint silver glints.

Shi Xuan took two steps forward and reached out to take the sword, but was unexpectedly blocked—the Lianfeng Sword was acting up, meaning that you already have me, and you still want another sword!

"Don't worry, you're the most special person in my heart! No other sword can shake your position as the leader!" Shi Xuan reassured him.

Upon hearing this, Lianfeng Sword Sect finally took a smug step back. It was just a reward they received halfway through the journey, nothing to fear, and it wouldn't be valued like he was!

When Shi Xuan touched the sword, it suddenly bounced, as if it had "come alive".

Could it be another sword with a spirit?

Shi Xuan reached out and picked it up. There was an instruction manual on the bottom of the sword. The manual said that this sword was called the Puppet Sword and that it needed to be bound to a master by blood and controlled by divine sense.

This sword has no sword spirit; it moves because it uses a puppet-making mechanism. If used in conjunction with puppet sword techniques, it can enhance the sword's power.