Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 182 - 079 Enlightenment Naturally

Chapter 182: Chapter 079 Enlightenment Naturally

This place was a thriving red maple forest, where ancient maple trees connected into a single expanse, covering heaven and earth in a blood-red hue.

The red maple leaves danced in the void from time to time, crystal-clear, as if one could see the vein-like stripes within the leaves.

A light fragrance lingered intermittently in this expanse of heaven and earth.

The forest was screened by trees, and in the light breeze swaying the ancient trees, a mottled ancient aura drifted.

With a gust of wind, endless fallen leaves rustled down, and pieces of red leaves fluttered densely, as if a swath of blood had dyed the heaven and earth in red, scattering all around.

Even though the battle had long passed, there was still a bleak, lonely atmosphere lingering here.

In the distance, one ancient tombstone after another, already riddled with holes and isolated, carried a mottled and heavy aura of the ages.

Zhou Yan woke up from his enlightenment and left the place.

This time, he hadn’t delved deeply into enlightenment, but merely organized the remaining true essence of the Xingyi Swordsmanship. He had come to truly understand this cultivation technique from its very roots.

His heart no longer resisted; he had completely adopted this cultivation technique as his own, treating himself as his own master.

This way, the cultivation technique was akin to a process of re-training.

The chance for enlightenment was not wasted and thus always existed.

When there were no chances for enlightenment or those moments of realization, Zhou Yan didn’t force himself to understand anything. He knew that would be wasting his precious life.

He walked step by step, actually directionless.

At this moment, he suddenly didn’t feel much like leaving, because the well-being of those he cared about seemed free from any danger.

His worries were superfluous.

It was conceivable that apart from himself, people like Zhou Ying and Zhou Wangchen, none of them lacked genius. Such talented individuals, even in danger, would always have certain opportunities ensuring they wouldn’t die easily.

There seemed to always be some latent rules in the universe, leaning towards the geniuses.

Much like himself, though he often faced danger, and might not withstand it, he mostly managed to make it through — that was the reality.

Thinking of these matters, Zhou Yan subconsciously sat down beside a mound of earth.

It was a near-decayed grave, no longer showing any raised hillocks, as if the bulging mound had been eroded by time, leaving only a solitary, pockmarked tombstone.

On the tombstone were a few lines of ancient text, barely discernible, encapsulating this cultivator’s life.

A lifetime compressed into a few lines of mottled text.

Even these lines were corroding in the passage of time.

Perhaps, the one who had laid in this grave was a famous genius just like him, who had met a tragic death and was buried in foreign land.

He was luckier than most because he had a cultivator laying down this grave for him.

But if he were to die by the Yellow Springs, would there be a cultivator to set up a stone for him, inscribe a few simple words?

He couldn’t help but think this way.

On the path of the Sword Dao, countless bones were left behind.

In this place, there always lingered a sympathetic sadness. Yet, Zhou Yan wasn’t disheartened, for every time he thought of his cherished concerns, he’d dispel these negative emotions, and his resolve for the path ahead grew even stronger.

He didn’t leave this place but stayed among these graves, leaning against them, living in this heaven and earth, taking the sky as his cover, using the earth as his residence.

...

A month had passed since his journey to the Yellow Springs.

During this month, Zhou Yan secluded himself on the edge of a group of graves in the wilderness of Ancient Tomb Mountain, stepping away from conflict, silently cultivating.

Without the clamor of the mundane world, without worldly disturbances, his life was simple and his aspirations clear, tranquil and profound.

In this tranquility, Zhou Yan’s eyes gradually lost their icy demeanor and gained a clear, worldly-detached aura.

He seemed to merge with the surrounding nature, walking among these mountain forests, dwelling in ancient, mottled graves, watching the flowers and grass thrive, seeing through the endless fluttering of blood-red maple leaves.

The maple leaves continued to rustle and flutter, showering the land like falling flowers moving from vibrant to fading gently.

Zhou Yan was like a passerby, living in the universe and gaining profound understandings.

He quietly reflected on the natural changes of the world, allowing his heart to fully merge with himself.

He felt a wordless tranquility, and the natural essence of Xingyi gradually emblazoned into his body and soul, like the branding of the Dao.

The Qi Column inside him, which had barely changed, now once again transformed. Emperor’s Arc steadily approached the state of Great Perfection at the Sixth Qi Festival, and the other two Qi Columns naturally displayed vigorous vitality, deriving into the Sixth Qi Festival.

His Sword Spirit, after undergoing transformation, became even more spiritual.

Above the Purple Flame Lotus, as if protected by a Divine Dragon guardian beast, it almost bore no difference from a real Divine Beast.

At this stage, Zhou Yan felt his comprehension was nearly perfect. Here, he had washed away all wordly dust, as if having been transcendent, about to re-enter the world once more.

After his body had transformed, Zhou Yan withdrew from the state of unity with the Heaven and Earth Dao and left the place.

...

Two days later, Zhou Yan arrived in Carefree Main City.

Upon entering the city, he heard many pieces of news.

Three months had passed since he entered the Ancient Tomb Mountain to the time he arrived in Carefree Main City.

What he didn’t know was that in these three months, too many things had happened.

The collapse of the Eternal Sword Formation and Sacrificial Heaven Ancient City was still causing endless discussions among numerous cultivators.

Following the decay of Sacrificial Heaven Ancient City, no restraints remained on entering the Ancient Tomb Mountain, thus numerous cultivators frequented the place and naturally, news constantly emerged from within.

These pieces of news had become topics of discussion for cultivators at teahouses and inns.

The fracturing of the Eternal Sword Formation and the decay of Sacrificial Heaven Ancient City, the near-fatal incident of the genius Ji TaiXu poked in the flesh by a finger that shattered his body and broke his Dao, was enough to shock the world.

In this context, news about Black Water, Huangquan, and Heavenly Mechanism Soul Stone also emerged progressively, pulling on the nerves of everyone. Whenever anyone spoke of Huangquan, their faces showed boundless fear.

"Huangquan’s waters roaring upwards, annihilating Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Tomb, instantly killing three thousand cultivators from Carefree Main City and even other Great Domains—this time, truly cruel!"

"Da Xia Family’s geniuses are almost completely wiped out."

"Great Zhou Family, too, all the newer disciples are dead."

"It’s said that Zhou Lingyi received the blessing of Huangquan’s waters on her soul and ascended to the Nine Heavens Void, with no one knowing her whereabouts!"

"She is an Immortal who descended to the mortal world to endure hardships, and finally awakened; we can only dream of such a fate!"

"With Qi Xia’s ascension, witnessed once across eternity, Great Zhou Family’s depth is incredibly terrifying."

"And what is this Emperor Qi Sword Body, devouring essence blood of ancient demon beasts, now astonishing those ancient families returned from outside the domain!"

"Emperor Qi Sword Body, rumored to withstand Huangquan’s waters, bathed in Thunderflame Qi enough to guard the body."

"Emperor Qi Sword Body, with a single sword annihilated the older Lie Family genius Array Sword Cultivator Lie Kongxi, truly terrifying!"

"But what does Emperor Qi Sword Body count for? It rose too quickly. Remember the truth of ’the early boomers perish alone’!"

"True, Emperor Qi Sword Body can’t form a Sword Soul, which is the way of Heaven and Earth, unless he defies heaven; then, he would surely face Nine Heavens Heavenly Tribulation, leading to total ruin."

...

Everyone was talking about these matters.

Zhou Yan, walking among the crowd, turned a blind eye to these discussions.

At this time, he still looked the same, but he now possessed a transcendent air that made it difficult to connect him with the harsh Zhou Yan of before.

His black hair danced with the wind, occasionally shielding his eyes and face, making it even harder for people to recognize him.

"How tragic, Ji Shuitian of Ji Family, this ancient genius Immortal perished in Huangquan, her body shattered and utterly piteous, her screams audible even in the outer void."

"Li Family’s great man of the generation, Li Cangsheng, almost perished, losing two Sword Souls, likely now crippled."

"Yet it is the Eternal Spirit, deserving of the title Body of Destiny, who once again gained great benefits."

"Regrettably, Wu Hen Spirit was submerged by Black Water, life or death unknown."

"Now, with Li Family facing crisis, their strong suffer hardships."

"As for Emperor Qi Sword Body, truly a pity, faced hardships all along the way, now seemingly supported by Li Family with Wu Hen Spirit having promised aid in forming a Sword Soul, yet Wu Hen Spirit is probably also gone."

"This Emperor Qi Sword Body, carrying a curse of heaven, naturally faces hardships, and those following him are doomed to no good end."

...

Various discussions continued to spread, making Zhou Yan pause in his steps, not anticipating the situation to develop into such chaos.

Yet faced with these, Zhou Yan still chose to disregard them.

Having grasped the Natural Dao and comprehending the true essence of Xingyi, Zhou Yan’s appearance, even unchanged, would now be unrecognizable even to those closest and most familiar to him, let alone strangers.

His gaze, personality, and aura had undergone a qualitative transformation, and with the transformation of his soul and Qi Column, he had become profoundly unfathomable.

He remained in the Realm of Sword Spirit First Layer Heaven but had reached the pinnacle of this realm, and his combat prowess was also at a peak.

Even if facing Ji TaiXu again, Zhou Yan was confident in battling without being utterly suppressed. The difference in realms could no longer restrain him since his soul had grown strong enough to rival those in the Sword Spirit Realm.

This was the result of a month of meditating and understanding nature.

A butcher, when truly enlightened, is bound to be fearsome.

Before this, Zhou Yan was more like a butcher, but now, through a series of experiences, he had truly become the genius among geniuses.