Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 241 - 122 Heavenly Dao, Fate

Chapter 241: Chapter 122 Heavenly Dao, Fate

The earth was soaked in blood.

Under the blood light, the sky appeared a dark red.

The sky had just recovered from shattering, and although it was dark red, it seemed very bright.

Yet around Carefree Main City, the Blood Qi rose to the sky, creating chaos like a graveyard in ruins. The pungent smell of blood was nauseating and made people unwilling to stay for even a moment.

But Zhou Yan still quietly stood there, for a long time, without changing his posture.

His eyes, reddened by blood in the sockets of white bones, were filled with sorrow and pain. That beautiful voice, filled with agony and self-blame, was like needles deeply piercing his heart.

Gu Xi came, the childhood friend, the little sister, the empathetic beloved one, arrived carrying a load of guilt and self-blame, seemingly unable to assist Zhou Yan in any way in such a scene, causing her immense heartache.

Yet her being so made Zhou Yan’s heart ache even more.

Her late arrival was a good thing.

For if she had come earlier, with her current strength, there would only have been demise and no other possibility.

Zhou Yan originally thought that with his Fist Intent inheritance, he could be invincible; hence, he took on many responsibilities.

He thought he could protect Chen, but in reality, Chen didn’t need his protection at all; others were just scheming against him the whole way.

He thought he could trust the people of the Qiankun Lineage; in reality, it was a joke.

He thought his cousins would fight tooth and nail for him and not give up.

But those who had abandoned him once, how could he hope they wouldn’t abandon him a second time? In the face of great disasters, everyone flies for themselves. This is the true portrayal of the world.

He also thought that once he had re-formed the Sword Spirit, with the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, he would undoubtedly be able to save Feng Lingqing.

But in the end, Feng Lingqing too was swept into the void chaos, her life and death unknown.

Power, the lack of power, but too much confidence led him to take on too much, all of which were suffering.

And Heavenly Dao, if it no longer favors him, he would be the man condemned by heaven, and those following him would likely not meet good ends. Heavenly Dao might gradually transfer his punishment to those around him.

Heavenly Dao, fate.

What exactly was it? Zhou Yan actually couldn’t quite understand; he only knew that it was the will of Sword Burial Ancestor Star, governed by the unseen controlling hands according to the rules of the Ancestor Star’s Star Domain.

...

Thinking of this, Zhou Yan indifferently lifted his head, gazing at the girl who was once naive but now stunningly beautiful, and rarely found a moment of peace in his heart.

Memories were so beautiful, so lovely, but they remained just memories.

For him, Zhou Yan, having such beautiful memories was already enough.

Could he hope for more? What he longed for, in the end, would leave him.

"Brother Zhou Yan, Brother Zhou Yan."

Gu Xi approached Zhou Yan, her body trembling as she embraced Zhou Yan, skeletal as a corpse, in her arms.

She was careful, afraid of hurting Zhou Yan, yet unwilling to let go, wanting to embrace him a little tighter.

Following this conflicted feeling, she finally released her embrace, taking out a handful of gleaming elixirs from the refined Qiankun Ring and feeding them to Zhou Yan.

"Brother Zhou Yan, eat quickly, you’ll feel better once you eat."

Tears continuously slid down Gu Xi’s pear-flower-like tear-stained face as she gently wiped the blood from Zhou Yan’s face with the soft sleeve of her robe. With each wipe, the bloodstains dispersed, revealing stark white bones, with no flesh to be seen.

"Xi’er, make way, let your grandmother have a look. At the very least, he has used energy that exceeds his body’s tolerance by a million times over, shattering his body."

The old woman, leaning on a cane, slowly walked over. Her steps seemed unhurried, but in just a few steps, she had already traversed an unimaginable distance.

"A million times! Such powerful energy, how can the body endure it. Brother Zhou Yan, why are you so foolish..."

Gu Xi’s breath was somewhat stifled; her face now filled with worry, tears in her eyes welling up uncontrollably.

Xiao Zhan stood by Zhou Yan, his eyes also turning red once again, his gaze full of concern as he looked at the old woman.

That look contained too many expectations.

"No need, I don’t want you all to worry about me!"

Zhou Yan’s words were icy, rejecting Gu Xi’s kindness and showing disdain for the old woman’s help.

Zhou Yan felt a warmth in his heart, but he knew his condition; no elixir would be very effective. Only when the Fist Intent gradually dissipated from his body, stopping his bones from almost completely disintegrating, could he perform the Undying Rebirth Technique. Depending on his Origin and the residual energy of Fist Intent, he could re-form his flesh.

This process was indeed painful, but it was nothing too much.

It may seem tragic, but Zhou Yan’s condition was not that bad.

At the moment, even though the old woman’s power was immense, it wasn’t invincible. Getting involved with him, they would not end well, so at this point, Zhou Yan already displayed his ruthless resolve.

"At this moment, heartless is actually having a heart.

And at this moment, having a heart is in fact disregarding their life and death, which is truly heartless.

Indeed, Zhou Yan’s actions at this moment caused the old woman to be slightly taken aback, and Gu Xi looked at Zhou Yan with some astonishment. Tears filled her eyes, which seemed to hold confusion and incomprehension as to why, suddenly, the distance between her and Brother Zhou Yan had grown so vast.

"Zhou Yan, your situation was already grim; now your body is collapsing, and your bones are shattered. If you don’t receive immediate help, you... will not live long."

The old woman did not put forth any imposing aura but spoke with a hint of persuasion.

"So what? Just go, I don’t want to see you!

Zhou Yan sneered coldly, his words chilling and heartless.

"Brother Zhou Yan—" Gu Xi cried out.

"Get out!" Zhou Yan bellowed angrily, causing Gu Xi’s delicate body to shudder, her face turning ashen as she stumbled back several steps.

"Zhou Yan! How dare you! To bully my disciple!" The old woman’s face suddenly turned unpleasant, and then a terrible oppressive aura descended, pinning Zhou Yan down with a force that made him feel immovable.

It seemed that one move from him would lead to an irreversible disaster.

"Grandma, don’t! Please don’t do anything; it’s my fault, it has nothing to do with Brother Zhou Yan. Brother Zhou Yan is right to scold me."

Gu Xi quickly positioned herself between Zhou Yan and the old woman.

The old woman let out a bitter smile and said, "Xi’er, although Grandma has never experienced love, this is certainly not how one who likes you should act. Look at his eyes, so cold and heartless. Perhaps, he simply looks down on you, so why bother for someone who isn’t worth it..."

"Grandma, please don’t involve yourself in this anymore, I know Brother Zhou Yan cares about me."

Gu Xi’s complexion was extremely pale, yet she spoke as if in self-delusion.

"Your grandmother is right; I initially sent you to Cold Ice Sword Sect because I didn’t want to see you, for seeing you makes me nauseous! Do you understand? The person I truly care about is Holy Daughter Jiang Yuning; you must know that too.

As long as I acquire the Holy Daughter’s Life Soul, I can become invincible! Don’t believe me? In two months, I will head to Water Domain Guang Han Hall to participate in the martial contest for a spouse, and I will claim the first place.

And you? How can you compare to the Holy Daughter? I told you to get lost; why haven’t you yet? How can you be so cheap?!

Initially, it was just me playing with you, just like I played with other women. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to take advantage of your body.

Now, I have no interest in women anymore, so you are of no use to me!"

"You are just cheap, know that? I’ve never loved you, not even liked you! Now, do you understand?"

Zhou Yan sneered, his words extremely cold and filled with sarcasm.

Gu Xi was stunned, Xiao Zhan was dumbfounded, and only Zhou Wangchen silently watched Zhou Yan, saying nothing.

The old woman, upon hearing these words, trembled with rage, but seeing Gu Xi’s pale face and her eyes fixated on Zhou Yan, her overwhelming murderous intent slowly subdued.

Gu Xi did not speak but just stared directly into Zhou Yan’s eyes with those large eyes of hers.

Zhou Yan did not avert his gaze.

He imagined Gu Xi as Hou Yao, pictured her as Cai Ling, yet he still couldn’t suppress the surge of affection.

He forcefully suppressed and concealed it because after discovering Cai Ling’s identity, he felt he was trapped in a terrifying situation.

Now, he wanted no entanglements with anyone, wanted no emotional ties.

At this point, he could only be heartless, but only by being heartless could Gu Xi survive.

Surviving, then his own pain, even her pain, did not matter. As long as she could survive.

Zhou Yan’s icy gaze remained unchanged, chilling and filled with derision and mockery.

Gradually, the lively sparkle in Gu Xi’s eyes dimmed, fading slowly. Finally, she turned around, her back facing Zhou Yan, and began to walk away.

After three steps, she did not look back but said in a trembling voice, "Brother Zhou Yan, whether you dislike, even hate Xi’er, or think Xi’er is worthless... Xi’er has never regretted loving you. This lifetime, the next, even if I reincarnate millions of times, Xi’er will always love Brother Zhou Yan.

Brother Zhou Yan does not want to see the repellent Xi’er, so Xi’er will no longer appear before Brother Zhou Yan, never letting Brother see me and feel disgusted.

But Xi’er will become stronger and protect Brother Zhou Yan.

Brother Zhou Yan, take care."

Gu Xi spoke tearfully, her voice full of sorrow as she approached Zhou Wangchen and Xiao Zhan, saying, "Uncle Zhou, Uncle Xiao, Xi’er is leaving. Please take care of yourselves."

"Hmm, Xi’er, you are a good girl," Xiao Zhan choked up, wanting to say if only his daughter could speak like this, but he found it too painful to speak as if something was blocking his throat.

For the first time, he wanted to severely slap Zhou Yan, thinking how could anyone be so cruel as to hurt such a good girl?

"Forget Yan’er, Xi’er, the way of his Heartless Sword Dao has succeeded," Zhou Wangchen sighed softly.

"Yes... I’ve understood now, it’s all my fault; if only I had tried harder, cultivated the Sword Spirit, or even condensed a Void Body, it wouldn’t have come to this! It’s me, I’ve hurt Brother Zhou Yan and myself; I deserved this."

Gu Xi wept continuously, her voice filled with misery.