Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 145 - 042 Principles

Chapter 145: Chapter 042 Principles

Zhou Yan watched the man fall, and as the man’s body showed signs of rupturing wounds, his expression remained indifferent, as if the whole affair had nothing to do with him from beginning to end.

Not only that, but he also casually reached out into the air and collected the Qiankun Ring and the Spirit Armor Fragments with spiritual essence left by the old man after his death, before putting them all into his own Extreme Jade Cold Light Ring.

The space inside his Extreme Jade Cold Light Ring had long been penetrated by the Purple Flame Void at his brow, and it had been invisibly tempered and refined, allowing for direct connection.

Now, having gathered these resources into the Extreme Jade Cold Light Ring, he could easily send them into the Purple Flame Void at his brow, to facilitate the flames of the Purple Flame Lotus Seeds in providing energy.

The short old man was very powerful, and the items he carried were certainly not abundant, but they were definitely not lacking. Zhou Yan, in his current cultivation, had certain requirements for such resources, so after killing someone, he would collect their possessions without blushing or skipping a heartbeat.

However, his bandit-like behavior seemed too much in the eyes of others, leading some cultivators to frown in displeasure.

Nonetheless, faced with Zhou Yan’s strength, they might be uncomfortable, but they would not foolishly step forward to accuse him, because in this world, strength came first, followed by rules.

Among these people, there was only one person who still looked at Zhou Yan with eyes filled with hatred, and that was Lie Wanqing.

This woman, who had always been somewhat dissatisfied with Zhou Yan, whether it was the former Elder Lie or the current one-legged old man, they were all from the Lie Family, and she naturally felt resentment.

Especially after seeing Zhou Yan’s actions, she felt as if she had been stripped naked in public, as though all the cultivators were looking at her with mocking and playful eyes.

Her face suddenly turned red, and a silent anger made her head spin. Therefore, she gripped her sword and stepped forward.

...

A cold light, somewhat dazzling.

As Zhou Yan turned around, it was already pointing at him.

It was the Sword Light of a sword, shining brightly in such a place, glittering, its tip like a venomous snake about to spit out a deadly letter.

Such a sword, such a presence, was now undulating and unstable.

Because when his gaze landed on her, the white-clad woman with anger in her eyes suddenly had a look of horror, and her pale hands involuntarily trembled slightly, causing her grip on the sword to falter.

Lie Wanqing was a talented woman, or else she wouldn’t be part of such a team, but no matter the Sword Cultivator, they would be inherently restrained in front of the Emperor Qi Sword Body’s Emperor Qi.

Even if Lie Wanqing’s Sword Intent were at its peak, it would still be the same.

Zhou Yan’s gaze landed on Lie Wanqing’s face, and only then did he notice that the pale-faced woman already looked very haggard. The earlier combat with demon beasts had taken much of her strength, leaving her less ethereal and more vividly alive.

There was a touch of weariness in her eyes, and deep within, a palpable wariness of him lurked. The surge of impulsive anger had vanished as soon as she had stepped forward and faced the imposing Emperor Qi.

"You... You have killed another important member of my Lie Family, are you... doing this deliberately against the Lie Family?"

Lie Wanqing was irrationally scared of Zhou Yan, so she tried to raise her voice as much as possible, but the voice that came out was not only soft but also trembling.

No one knew the kind of pressure one felt when facing Zhou Yan, with an aura like a primordial Fierce Beast and the Emperor’s Sword Intent.

Lie Wanqing had not known before, but now she deeply understood.

And so she felt that even facing Ji TaiXu, the Spiritualist, would be far better than confronting someone like Zhou Yan.

But it was too late for regrets; she had no way out.

As Zhou Yan looked at the woman with fear in her face, he suddenly showed a faint indifferent smile and said, "I do not deliberately target anyone; you can rest assured of that."

Zhou Yan said this, but his words made Lie Wanqing even more wary; she instinctively stepped back a few more steps, clearly understanding that Zhou Yan’s smile was sometimes more terrifying than his seriousness.

So she did not respond but continued to watch Zhou Yan with even more wariness in her eyes.

"I am who I am, and I think you must have heard about me. Or perhaps others may exaggerate, but most of the rumors about me are actually true.

Furthermore, during the process of slaying the demon beasts, besides you, Jia Yongheng the Eternal Spirit, Chen Tianjian the Sword Spirit, and Feng Yunyan and others have also made great efforts.

Therefore, not only will I not target you, I actually owe you my thanks. Hence, I will ensure that you safely exit the Nine Lives Gate; rest assured."

Zhou Yan dispelled the last trace of killing intent from his body, speaking in a calm and gentle tone.

This change not only left Lie Wanqing somewhat stunned but also surprised Chen Tianjian, Jia Yongheng, Feng Yunyan, and the others.

It seemed to be the first time Zhou Yan had spoken so agreeably.

But upon closer consideration, wasn’t it the case? In fact, Zhou Yan had always been someone who clearly distinguished between right and wrong, gratitude and grudges.

Lie Wanqing’s heart felt as though it had been mysteriously crushed; a fleeting look of confusion appeared in her eyes before she recovered.

She then looked at Zhou Yan’s bright, star-like black pupils, and her heart involuntarily relaxed a lot of its guard.

Despite still tightly gripping the sword, as sharp and deadly as a venomous snake, the killing intent blooming from her blade had clearly retracted.

"Alright... then I’ll take your word as truth... I hope, from now on, you will refrain from killing the geniuses of our Lie Family."

She spoke softly, her voice unavoidably tinged with sorrow.

Because of her somber emotions, her grip on the sword relaxed, and she naturally released the hilt.

That venomous snake-like Spirit Sword transformed into a streak of silver light and merged into her body.

It was at this moment that Zhou Yan finally noticed that she possessed a pair of quite extraordinary pride.

Zhou Yan’s gaze paused for a moment, and he couldn’t help but recall past events.

Those times when he was with Feng Lingqing...

With such thoughts flashing through his mind, he did not hide it, looking directly at Lie Wanqing.

This behavior naturally evoked contempt from many Cultivators and even elicited Feng Yunyan, a woman like her, to spit dismissively, expressing her disdain for his actions.

But Zhou Yan was fully indifferent, as if the opinions of others were mere air to him.

"If that’s the case... then, then let’s put this matter to rest for now. In the future, I will also advise my family not to provoke Zhou Lingzhe and hope that Zhou Lingzhe will be lenient when encountering disciples from my Lie Family."

Confronted with Zhou Yan’s gaze, Lie Wanqing felt afraid and dared not say more. She quickly left after repeating herself and immediately retreated.

Zhou Yan nodded slightly, and seeing that the matter with Lie Wanqing was resolved, he felt quite relieved.

Beside Zhou Yan, Feng Lingzhu had been watching the entire scene unfold from beginning to end; the strength and status that Zhou Yan now possessed made her feel a sense of admiration.

From once seeing Zhou Yan as an ant to now feeling like an ant herself, this drastic change had deeply impacted her.

Up to this point, she even felt like she had become distant from Zhou Yan, both in strength and realm.

But plainly, she was of the Sword Soul Realm, while Zhou Yan was just a bit shy of reaching the Sword Spirit Realm, so why did she feel this way?

This feeling was abrupt and unreal, but she, who was always precise in her feelings, was certain that Young Master Zhou Yan had completely transformed.

He had stood up like those geniuses, no longer a weakling that anyone could overlook!

...

"The Demon Beast is dead, its bloodline dried up.

The Nine Lives Gate, no matter which path, actually has an end. We can arbitrarily enter—this way is also safe.

But along the way, many seemingly impressive things will appear, remember they are all illusions, not real. Various temptations, all the traps set lead to death.

You may as well believe, those who don’t and die have nothing to do with me; after all, it’s not me who dies.

With that said, now everyone begins to choose."

After waiting for a while and confirming that the Nine Lives Gate was fully open, Zhou Yan spoke like this.

He said so this time, naturally confident that everything was safe.

This point, Zhou Yan played no tricks; his purpose of using these powerful beings to capture the Demon Beasts and refine their bloodlines had been achieved, and he was naturally to fulfill his promise.

It was a promise, once made, would surely be kept.

"The words of Zhou Lingzhe are naturally trustworthy!"

The unfathomable Jia Yongheng was the first one to laugh and stand up to choose a gate, entering ahead of the others.

"I also believe in the words of Zhou Lingzhe."

Seeing Jia Yongheng’s action, Lie Wanqing did not hesitate, and as the second one, she picked a door with her two elder companions and several disciples and went in.

Afterward, Chen Tianjian, Feng Yunyan, and others also entered one after another.

Bright light quickly obscured their bodies, and they soon vanished from sight.

"Young Master, which way shall we go?"

Next to Zhou Yan, Feng Lingzhu hesitated slightly, asking Zhou Yan.

"You know that Qi Meng came here with me, and she has gone missing; I need to go back to look for her. Furthermore, I must look after those talented individuals from the Great Zhou family, which is why I haven’t furthered my own path. So, you better leave first. I will find you later at the City of No Tears."

Zhou Yan pondered for a moment and then said.