The so-called 'soul searching' is not as legendary as it sounds, as it is not possible to simply open someone's mind and look around.

After all, in stressful situations, the human brain is more likely to be blank and reveal nothing.

It is simply a curse specifically designed to target a puppet made of the Heart-Piercing Grass. If the puppet and the the Heart-Piercing Grass curse are intact, and the curse master can be controlled in time, then one can follow the the Heart-Piercing Grass curse to "search" for the owner of the the Heart-Piercing Grass.

If Sheng Lingyuan were to be a villain, he would definitely not die from talking too much.

Zhang Zhao still had half of a text message stuck in his throat, and even Gu Yuexi had not seen what he had caught before he had already finished searching for the puppet's soul.

With a groan, the wooden doll's body lit up like a miniature projector, emitting a beam of light. Then, a life-sized hologram of himself emerged from his back.

"Screech!"

Yan Qiushan slammed on the brakes, finally bringing the car to a halt on the roadside.

He had almost crashed into the convenience store.

The field agents, who were not accustomed to wearing seat belts, were nearly thrown out of the car like popcorn.

But they were too busy picking themselves up to complain.

"Zhi Chun?"

"Zhi Chun!"

"Oh my god!"

Zhang Zhao's reaction was the most extreme.

He grabbed his stopwatch and exclaimed in terror, "Captain Yan, save me! Check if my shell is broken! I might be hallucinating!"

Before Zhang Zhao could freeze everyone in time, Sheng Lingyuan grabbed his wrist and released the restraints on the wooden doll's body.

The front of the field vehicle hanging on the side of the road was suspended in mid-air.

Yan Qiushan's hands seemed to be attached to the steering wheel, and his body was covered with a layer of metallic protective film, like a lifelike bronze statue.

He didn't dare to move, didn't dare to look back, and didn't even dare to glance at the rearview mirror.

At that moment, he, like Zhang Zhao, no longer believed in his own senses, suspecting that he was under some kind of illusion.

This illusion was so deadly, hitting him right in the chest, even piercing through his heart and soul. The heart demon outside the car window seemed to sense the intense emotions of the people in the car, eagerly trying to seep in through the cracks.

Sheng Lingyuan frowned and said, "How dare you."

Just now, the black mist that bound Zhi Chun transformed into an angry dragon, sweeping away the demonic miasma with a flick of its tail. The clear and melodious dragon's roar echoed in everyone's ears, jolting the field agents awake.

Gu Yuexi, with the sharpest hearing, was momentarily deafened and nearly suffered a concussion from the shock.

Sheng Lingyuan nodded at Gu Yuexi.

"Little girl, you drive. We don't have time to waste."

As he spoke, the effect of the soul searching faded, and Zhi Chun's phantom disappeared. The car was now occupied only by a silent doll.

Yan Qiushan, like a ghost, was replaced by Gu Yuexi, who stood as far away from the doll as possible.

All the awakened and half-conscious Wind God team members were at a loss, huddled together in confusion like they were collectively under attack by a barrage of "why's." They were more bewildered than those still trapped in the demonic miasma.

The emperor had only sensed something following him with his divine power and caught it without much thought. He never expected to catch such a big trouble.

This Zhi Chun was simply a demon sword. It was a wonder of the ages.

Even Sheng Lingyuan had never heard of such a thing.

The sword had broken twice, but the spirit of the sword remained unbroken.

Sheng Lingyuan pressed on his throbbing temple and glanced at the message on Zhang Zhao's phone.

He cleared his mind and asked the most important question, "Did you send the message?"

The wooden doll...Zhi Chun's expression flickered slightly as he lowered his head and nodded.

Sheng Lingyuan asked, "You said that Wei Yun reinforced the clamshell of the Shadow person. Is the information reliable?"

Zhi Chun didn't know how to face his old acquaintances.

When asked, he immediately answered as if trying to escape, "Yes, he loved that Shadow person his whole life and once racked his brain to protect him. He even turned the shell where the Shadow person lived into a divine tool, which is said to be able to withstand heavenly thunder. I estimate its protective strength to be three times higher than S-level."

Zhang Zhao interrupted, "No, wait, I have a question..."

"Priorities, my friend. Let's catch up later," Sheng Lingyuan interrupted him and turned to Zhi Chun, "You know so much about it, do you have a way to locate the specific position of the shell?"

Zhi Chun simply nodded, "Mm."

"How accurate is it?"

"I can't say for sure, but it's definitely within the range of Yue Xi's X-ray eyesight."

"Okay," the two of them quickly exchanged words as if no one else was around.

Sheng Lingyuan lifted the wooden doll with the black mist and placed it next to the driver's seat.

"Lead the way for her."

At this moment, all other issues were put aside. The top priority was to find the lair of the Shadow person before they escaped.

Zhi Chun didn't waste any time. The black mist lifted him into the air, and he took off a small pendant from the wooden doll's neck and whispered something.

Sheng Lingyuan narrowed his eyes slightly. This was the language of the Mountain forging technique.

The small pendant moved on its own without any wind, and a thin golden light shot out from the middle.

"Yue Xi, follow the light," Zhi Chun said.

Upon hearing the familiar voice and tone, Gu Yuexi's eyes suddenly became teary.

"Don't cry," Sheng Lingyuan's headache was getting worse, and he coldly reminded her, "Tears cloud your judgment, and if your eyes are filled with tears, how can you see where you're going?"

Zhi Chun silently glanced at her, and a hint of melancholy seemed to show in his doll-like eyes.

"Zhi...Zhi Chun," Zhang Zhao finally seized the opportunity and squeezed out two words from his throat, speaking as cautiously as if he were touching an electric switch, as if his spit had thorns, "Are you really Zhi Chun?"

Zhi Chun blinked and turned to look at him, forcing a smile, "You've grown up now, even your acne has cleared up."

Zhang Zhao's expression almost collapsed, and he quickly wiped his face, "Why...why did you become like this? Where are you really? Why didn't you come find us immediately, and instead sent an anonymous letter? How do you know so much? Why..."

Zhi Chun let out a sigh and said softly, "You're asking so many questions at once, which one should I answer?"

Zhang Zhao choked for a moment.

"Wei Yun is my father," Zhi Chun paused and chose the safest question to answer, "not a metaphor, but a real blood relationship. So I can sense all the divine artifacts he made during his lifetime, and now they can finally come in handy."

Zhang Zhao asked, "But aren't you a sword?"

How can a person and a sword have a blood relationship? What kind of cross-species relationship is this?

Even Sheng Lingyuan couldn't help but raise his eyelids and glance at him.

The doll pursed its lips in a highly humanized manner, obviously not wanting to answer, and awkwardly changed the subject, "That's not important. Let me take you to his dwelling place first."

Several Wind God in the car spoke in unison, "That's important!"

Zhi Chun remained silent.

Zhang Zhao quickly asked, "What's your situation now? What kind of body are you using? Can you restore your human form?"

Zhi Chun hesitated for a moment and shook his head, "I don't have a physical body anymore, but my human form... it's right here, you just can't see it."

Sheng Lingyuan felt a dangerous string in his mind, which was plucked by her words.

The emperor didn't know what it was, but every time he thought about it, his thoughts were interrupted by a severe headache.

His hand, hanging on his leg, involuntarily clenched into a fist, and his murderous intent was almost uncontrollable.

Gu Yuexi sensed it and calmly held the steering wheel with one hand, holding a protective device in the other, ready to throw it out at any time.

"What do you mean by 'right here'?"

"Just behind you... um, I waved my hand in front of your eyes just now, but you didn't see it," Zhi Chun said.

"Luckily, there's still this Heart-Piercing Grass."

"Why is that?" Zhang Zhao, the silly deer, didn't notice that Sheng Lingyuan's expression was off. "Sir, can my sister's eyes also not see invisible things? Can you make it bigger?"

Sheng Lingyuan didn't answer, probably because of the black mist surrounding him, his face was unusually ugly, almost like a dead person.

"It's useless. The sword spirit should have disappeared with the destruction of the sword body. I was trapped between life and death, not directly disappearing because I am a 'reborn sword spirit,' something that doesn't live or die, and even the X-ray eyes can't see it."

"What is a 'reborn sword spirit'?"

"My mother was one of the 108 corpses. She was beautiful in life and was bullied by the savage Mountain nobles. When she passed away, she was already carrying me in her belly. My mother had just died, but I hadn't yet. If the fetus had developed fully, I might have been a 'coffin baby,' but I didn't have the chance to grow that big.

"In those days, there was no technology for cultivating fetuses outside the womb, so I belonged to a state that was neither alive nor dead. Prince Wei Yun turned me into a sword spirit, which is equivalent to giving me life," Zhi Chun calmly explained the concept of "rebirth" to everyone.

"According to the rules, 'birth' is higher than 'refining a weapon,' so as a sword spirit, I can 'live' after the sword is broken. I can't tell if it's luck or a curse... Although I am conscious, I cannot interact with anything in the world."

As Zhi Chun spoke, the wooden doll moved its limbs as if trying to get used to its body.

"This is the sword-servant puppet made by Prince Wei Yun himself. It's almost a miniature version of a real person, and the people of Mountain are truly skilled craftsmen. Later, this wooden doll was used as a burial object and placed in his tomb. He left the secret of my birth and the drawing of the Heart-Piercing Grass curse on the doll.

"When I was searching for a new body, I stumbled upon it and didn't know what the curse was for. After obtaining the new body, I followed the instructions and drew the curse on this puppet. I never thought that this would be the last escape route left for me by Wei Yun.

"After being swallowed by the Yin Sacrifice ritual at sea and losing my own body, I thought I was done for. But when I opened my eyes, I found myself inhabiting this doll's body. His Highness left me a message saying that as the last Tian'er of the Mountain people, his swords and knives, whether successful or not, would be coveted by many. The 108 bodies may not be preserved for long, and if my own body is damaged beyond repair, I can still inhabit a piece of wood and talk to people."

The information in his words was too much to handle.

The field vehicle was still speeding along the earth veins, but the minds of the many elite field agents on board were already overwhelmed.

Suddenly, Sheng Lingyuan spoke up, "What's so special about your re-birth?"

Zhi Chun's expression flickered.

"There must be something special about your re-birthing process," said Sheng Lingyuan firmly.

The image of Wei Yun kneeling before the throne and telling him that the Sword Spirit had died appeared before his eyes.

The memories of his past life, burned to ashes in the abyss, unexpectedly resurrected in Sheng Lingyuan's mind.

His headache was like being hit by those "Mithril" bullets, causing him to see black spots.

Ignoring the migraine that usually kept him under control, Sheng Lingyuan persistently asked, "What makes you different from other weapon spirits?"

There must be a difference, otherwise Wei Yun would not have dared to deceive the emperor despite knowing the consequences of breaking the blood oath.

"I..." Zhi Chun began to speak, but suddenly a voice from the back of the carriage broke the silence, "Did Prince Wei Yun really commit suicide?"

Zhi Chun was startled, and the pendant that pointed the way almost fell off.

Yan Qiushan was like a stranger who didn't fit in, huddled alone at the back of the car. His cold gaze, like that of a bronze statue, shot out from his face and froze on Zhi Chun, who dared not meet his eyes.

"Who took the other fragments of the broken blade from the Bureau? Why are you hiding?" Captain Yan asked.

Zhang Zhao opened his mouth to speak, but Captain Yan's sharp eyes swept over him, causing him to relive the nightmare of failing his middle school exams.

His tongue tied itself in knots, and he reflexively tucked his tail between his legs.

"He...he didn't commit suicide. He died because of me," Zhi Chun remained silent for a long time before finally speaking these words.

"Rebirth...Rebirth required the exchange of his life for mine. When he was refining the tool, someone had to be sacrificed in the furnace."

The Echo Sound radio switched to the second round, and the calm and soothing music was replaced by a war song that pounded on people's eardrums like a drumbeat. The power of modern technology was clearly underestimated.

Even the severe migraines that would normally leave Sheng Lingyuan in a state of delirium and wanting to bang his head against a wall were now somewhat suppressed, allowing him to grit his teeth and ask, "What are the conditions for this sacrifice?"

Why did the Golden Crow Feather Wood assume that this Sword Spirit was Wei Yun's direct blood relative?

"Same origin," Zhi Chun whispered. "My original body was from the mountains, so Wei Yun sacrificed himself and exchanged his life for mine."

Suddenly, Yan Qiushan burst out laughing, backing away towards the back door of the field vehicle.

"But what does this have to do with why you didn't come find us?" Zhang Zhao asked, confused.

However, Gu Yuexi spoke softly, "That's why you took the broken blade pieces from the bureau with you."

"Ah? It's Zhi Chun himself... but why? Can the blade be repaired?" Zhang Zhao was even more puzzled, pointing to Yan Qiushan, "Then you should have come to us, Captain Yan, you still have a piece..."

As he spoke, he suddenly realized what he had said and his finger froze in mid-air, pointing at Yan Qiushan's hand.

Zhi Chun took the remaining pieces from the bureau not to repair the blade, but to prevent Yan Qiushan from finding a way to repair it.

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet came to life and began to surge.

As Zhi Chun held his pendant, it suddenly moved and broke one of the wooden doll's fingers before flying straight out.

Gu Yuexi tried to catch it but it was like a beam of light that easily pierced through the bulletproof glass of the security vehicle and disappeared into the ground.

The once flat ground seemed to turn into a large swamp that swallowed the pendant whole, with traces of mercury seeping out.

The voice of the Shadow person, sometimes male, sometimes female, sometimes old, and sometimes young, came from all directions in the darkness, as if countless people were whispering at the same time: "A trivial trick..."

"A trivial trick..."

"Your Majesty..."

"Your Majesty the Emperor..."

"The one who sealed Chiyuan is the Vermilion Bird bone..."

"Vermilion Bird bone... thirty-six pieces..."

"Thirty-six..."

"Why do you want to dismiss me with a broken feather?"

This time, not only did Gu Yuexi hear the title used by the Shadow person, but all the field agents were still in a daze from Zhi Chun's story and collectively turned to stare at Sheng Lingyuan in shock.

What a magical experience this was!

However, Sheng Lingyuan sat quietly in the passenger seat, his elbow resting on the car window, indifferent as he pressed against his temple.

He seemed like a virtual image thrown into the present after a time-space distortion.

Without even glancing at those shadowy figures, he reached out and picked up Zhi Chun's wooden doll, asking softly, "Since the Sword Spirit is intact, your broken knife can actually be repaired, right? You just need to collect all the fragments of the body, the blood and bones of the Mountain people... and a Mountain descendant willing to sacrifice their life to the altar."

"You..." Zhi Chun looked at him suspiciously, unsure of what to make of him. "You..."

Sheng Lingyuan raised his little hand and a wooden finger from the corner flew over, seamlessly repaired by the black mist.

He asked with a gentle tone, "Is it true?"

Zhi Chun hesitated and nodded, "In theory, yes..."

Then he saw Sheng Lingyuan smile.

Zhi Chun couldn't describe that smile, not happy nor bitter, as if he had seen all the absurd stories from the beginning of Pangu's creation until now, unable to hold back his laughter.

"So that's how it is," Sheng Lingyuan said, gently handing Zhi Chun's doll to the Wind God next to him.

It turned out that only blood of the same origin was worthy of sacrifice, and back then, there was only a little bit of Vermilion Bird blood left in his heart.

No wonder Wei Yun concealed this fact, openly deceiving the emperor, but the blood oath remained quiet like a chicken...

The blood oath regarded his deception as protection. His heart and Vermilion Bird bloodline steadied him, while the Vermilion Bird bones formed his battle formation.

As he jumped down, he happened to have the remains of the Heavenly Demon Sword with him.

The world was a melting pot, with sword, bones, blood, and sacrifice all coming together for a perfect reforging.

How could the bones of a dead bird have life?

How could the spirit of the Vermilion Bird communicate with metal?

What kind of fire-keeper...what kind of fire-keeper...after three thousand years, life and death were but a fleeting moment, and old friends met without recognition.

It turned out that in the memories of his heart demon, there really were a pair of transparent eyes.

It turned out that...everything followed his heart, buried deep in the abyss, and surged forth in his "past life," sweeping away the black smoke that had enveloped Sheng Lingyuan's chest, as if the cold wind of Jiangzhou could easily pass through it.

He was originally a void, a shadow floating in the world, watching all the joys and sorrows from afar.

Suddenly, he was unexpectedly banished to the mortal realm, feeling the long-lost coldness and pain.