Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 191 - 088 Sword Spirit Second Layer Heaven

Chapter 191: Chapter 088 Sword Spirit Second Layer Heaven

"Little Chenchen, don’t worry, Master wouldn’t do things he isn’t certain about."

Zhou Yan reassuringly comforted Little Chenchen, but in the big, moist eyes of Little Chenchen, emotions were still abundantly clear.

Even without explicit expressions, one could sense the profound gratitude and emotion in Little Chenchen’s heart.

Such sincere and fervent expressions, in a cruel world like this, always seemed to profoundly move people’s hearts.

Zhou Yan patted Little Chenchen’s shoulder, communicating more than words ever could.

Upon entering the city, they found a tavern inn. In the room, Zhou Yan helped Little Chenchen forge a new set of Spirit Armor and had him thoroughly clean himself before dressing him in the Spirit Armor.

After the cleansing, the image of a boy, radiant with spiritual energy like a Spiritual Child, emerged, almost too intense to look directly at.

It was clear this child was an uncut jade, a precious gem of exceptional talent.

After Zhou Yan had carefully adjusted Little Chenchen’s body, seeing him now as radiant as a Spiritual Child filled him with joy, driving him to spare no effort in his guidance.

This boy possessed terrifying natural talents. Although he was only four years old, Zhou Yan could imagine that in time, his growth would stir the winds and clouds, shocking both heaven and earth.

Thus, in his guidance, Zhou Yan did not mention Xingyi Swordsmanship because it was his own path and not necessarily suitable for Little Chenchen.

After all, Zhou Yan knew that it had taken his master a long time to find both Yang Qingtan and him, Zhou Yan, as fitting candidates, and even Yang Qingtan had not fully met the standards.

Therefore, finding a Cultivator to inherit Xingyi Swordsmanship was almost impossible. Given his master’s capabilities, he could have scanned all Cultivators on the Sword Burial Ancestor Star.

With these considerations, the guidance Zhou Yan offered Little Chenchen was auxiliary in nature, emphasizing that following one’s own path was the ultimate way.

During Zhou Yan’s guidance, Little Chenchen worked hard and progressed rapidly, demonstrating astonishing comprehension skills.

In him, Zhou Yan seemed to see the grace of another peerless powerhouse of the future.

"Master, does Emperor’s Arc have anything to do with the Mutated Sword Spirit?" When discussing Sword Spirits, Little Chenchen asked such a question.

Zhou Yan thought it was a simple question, but just as he was about to answer, he suddenly pondered, is the presence of Emperor’s Arc definitely linked to the creation of a Mutated Sword Spirit?

What direct connection could there be between Emperor’s Arc and Mutated Sword Spirits? If he answered Little Chenchen in the same way others had answered him, then Little Chenchen wouldn’t contemplate the essence of the matter.

Not understanding the nature of things often meant taking many more detours later.

Zhou Yan fell into contemplation; Emperor’s Arc is the Third Qi Column, the hidden Third Qi Column, like a core pillar in a double-helix structure.

A Sword Spirit is the physical manifestation of condensed Sword Intent, evolving with its own capacity for thought, but this ability accumulates over time.

Mutation means the Sword Spirit’s essence is stronger than that of typical naïve Sword Spirits, strong enough to develop Spiritual Wisdom.

Thus, the Emperor’s Arc enables Sword Spirits to develop Spiritual Wisdom—this was inevitable. And if it was inevitable, then Emperor’s Arc was an inheritance, an imprint of essence.

In that moment, Zhou Yan seemed to grasp many critical points. Because he not only possessed the knowledge of this world but also his master’s memories, understanding genetics like DNA, he knew that segments of DNA with hereditary effects were genes.

And when it came to genes, the existence of Emperor’s Arc was clearly a gene, a mutated gene.

The Sword Spirits derived from this gene would inevitably possess intelligence, as this gene segment was adequate for inheritance.

Clearing away the fog, Zhou Yan felt as if a shadow in his heart had also been dispelled. His state hadn’t advanced further, and his soul hadn’t grown stronger, but with the veil of confusion lifted, Zhou Yan felt no longer passive when facing Mutated Sword Spirits.

By combining the condensation of Sword Intent with Emperor’s Arc, a Mutated Sword Spirit would inevitably be produced.

Zhou Yan had understood this in an instant, and then with a deep breath and a grave expression, he said, "Emperor’s Arc is indeed related to Mutated Sword Spirits.

You possess Emperor’s Arc, indicating that one of your ancestors was undoubtedly an Emperor Qi Sword Body, and Emperor’s Arc is his undying inheritance.

A Mutated Sword Spirit, being a Sword Spirit born with Spiritual Wisdom, naturally holds an inheritance. This inheritance is from Emperor’s Arc.

Therefore, when condensing a Sword Spirit, one must continually perceive Emperor’s Arc to grasp one’s own Dao and then condense one’s own Sword Spirit."

Zhou Yan explained with great confidence, but this time, even the exceptionally perceptive Little Chenchen seemed a bit perplexed.

However, his confusion did not last long and disappeared after a brief moment.

"Master, although Chenchen doesn’t quite understand, I will certainly keep your words in my heart. I believe one day I will understand! Then, Chenchen will help Master defeat those who bully you, making sure they never dare to bully Master again."

Little Chenchen spoke with firm resolve.

Throughout their journey, even here in the Snow Domain, one could still hear all sorts of legends about Emperor Qi Sword Body Zhou Yan, but these tales, for some reason, now seemed to continually tarnish Zhou Yan.

Some said Zhou Yan was useless, just a man who had seized a remarkable opportunity to inherit the ancient legacy of the Great Zhou Family’s ancestors, and now that the capability of the inheritance was exhausted, Zhou Yan was nothing but a useless person.

Some say that Zhou Yan had actually died in the Yellow Springs of Ancient Tomb Mountain, as someone had seen the Zhou Family’s combat armor floating on the water.

Others say that Zhou Yan knew he could not gather his Sword Soul, so now, having lost all hope, he hides in a secluded place, waiting for death.

...

And with these legends, Zhou Gucheng from the Great Zhou Family in Carefree Main City, Zhou Qianqian, Lee Zhe from the Da Li Family, Ji TaiXu, Ji Wudao from the Water Domain Ji Family, Jia Yongheng with the Body of Destiny, Chen Tianjian a once-in-a-generation genius, Mo Yuchou, and Feng Yunyan, among others, became increasingly sensational and famous.

Zhou Yan, in fact, did not take these to heart. What others said was of no concern to him.

However, Zhou Yan did not expect that little Chen had taken every word to heart and even harbored such thoughts at this time, which moved Zhou Yan and further solidified his resolve—no matter what, he must take little Chen back to Accumulated Feather Cold Ice Cave.

Perhaps, little Chen’s family was there.

Zhou Yan felt that within such an eternal desolate land, there must also be ancient families and powerful forces hidden.

Although Zhou Yan really wanted to teach little Chen himself, considering little Chen’s talent, Zhou Yan felt that he was not capable enough to teach him well.

Zhou Yan sighed and continued to explain some cultivation difficulties to little Chen and personally guided his cultivation.

Under Zhou Yan’s guidance, little Chen’s cultivation truly advanced by leaps and bounds.

...

Crossing Xiao Yue City, there was a sea of fog.

The sea of fog, known as the Purple Mist Sea, contained miasma, yin souls, chaotic Sword Intent, and unknown spatial rifts emitting Yuan Ci light, making progression difficult.

But Zhou Yan had the Purple Flame Void, which made him fearless of these. After his body acquired a hint of the Thunder Flame Aura, he did not act recklessly. The Purple Mist Sea posed no danger along the way.

The Purple Mist Sea took a month to cross.

In this month, Zhou Yan finally tapped into his potential, completing a series of gains and understandings, reaching the realm of the Sword Spirit Second Layer Heaven.

And his Qi Sea Pillar naturally became Three Qi Columns and Seven Qi Nodes.

These, Zhou Yan hardly paid attention to anymore. What he cared about was the Xingyi Swordsmanship, which finally made an essential breakthrough.

The Xingyi Dragon Form, on this journey, finally achieved great success—the Dragon-shaped Sword Spirit reached a terrifying strength.

In this process, True·Gray Dragon, True·Desolate Dragon, True·Yan Long, True·Killing Dragon, and True·Hidden Dragon Sword Skill were also fully understood, bringing the Xingyi Dragon Form sword skill to a state of perfection for the first time.

It was also Zhou Yan calming his heart, abandoning worldly strife, and embracing the Natural Dao, understanding nature’s essence, that allowed him to reach such a realm for the first time.

With such an epiphany, Zhou Yan naturally entered the realm of Sword Spirit Second Layer Heaven.

And because of such understanding, combined with a thorough realization of the Emperor’s Arc, Zhou Yan felt he had strong confidence to derive the Xingyi Twelve Sword Spirits.

With this confidence, Zhou Yan even harbored a special thought: Since this universe cannot accommodate the Sword Soul of the Emperor Qi Sword Body, why should he necessarily gather the Sword Soul? Cultivation itself is about defying the heavens, since daring to defy the heavens, why not forego gathering the Sword Soul?

The Twelve Sword Spirits, directly evolving into Twelve Sword Spirits, is it not feasible?

Since it’s predestined by heaven and earth that the Emperor Qi Sword Body cannot gather a Sword Soul, then why bother with the rules of this universe?

As long as one’s strength is immense, breaking the shackles of heaven and earth is not impossible!

In his realization, Zhou Yan also had such a thought, which further deepened his path to invincibility!

Two months later, Zhou Yan finally crossed the Purple Mist Sea and arrived at a place that snowed all year round.

Here was the outskirts of the Accumulated Feather Cold Ice Cave.

And here, little Chen also arrived at the place where he was destined to receive his inheritance.

The temperature here was very low; if not for the Purple Flame Aura surrounding his body, even Zhou Yan’s robust physique could not have withstood the cold assault.

...

As goose-feather-like snow continuously fell, heaven and earth seemed to be dressed in silver, a picture of loneliness.

The land appeared as white as a silver furnace.

"Yo—"

In the void, an inexplicable roar of a fierce beast resounded; then, obscuring the sun and the sky, a pair of wings covered the snowstorm, and a giant beast resembling a flying eagle swooped down from above the void. Its iron claw-like massive claws suddenly reached toward Zhou Yan.

However, just before the giant claws grasped Zhou Yan and little Chen, at the moment when Zhou Yan was ready to counterattack, the claws suddenly stopped, and the giant eagle’s body flashed with a streak of blood light, abruptly transforming into a black-clad young man.

He was about three meters tall, with a robust and colossal physique, his vigor rolling like a furnace.

Yet he left no prints in the snow, and the goose-feather-like snow could not come close to his body.

His pair of pitch-black gem-like eyes, the moment he transformed into a human, were firmly fixed on little Chen by Zhou Yan’s side.