Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 285 - 160: If They Die, They Die.

Chapter 285: Chapter 160: If They Die, They Die.

"And besides, the deeper your feelings for Zhou Yan are here, the more you will forget when you go out. The so-called extremity leads to reversal, that’s the principle. You all might not believe it, but this is actually the reason why I’m telling you all these truths.

I’m here to figure out everyone’s motivations clearly, and then, it will be easier to make my move."

The Ancient Evil Spirit uttered even more cruel words.

Yet, Zhou Han, who seemed to be aware of everything, did not object.

In the realm of the Heavenly Spirit Sword Body, Zhou Han was now stronger than Zhou Ying, but he seemed to have implicitly accepted it.

Zhou Ying looked at Zhou Han with bleak eyes, yet still carrying a poignant hope.

Zhou Yan’s face turned slightly pale, yet he sighed and nodded.

At that moment, all the cultivators could feel as if the greatest hope had suddenly shattered in the hearts of Zhou Ying, Zhou Gucheng, and others.

It was a cruelty, a naked, unspeakable cruelty, ruthlessly shattering the firm will of three geniuses, almost causing their souls to fall.

"Is that enough?"

The Ancient Evil Spirit scoffed disdainfully, saying, "Now, Zhou Yan is not dead yet. I’ll lift the restriction and let him speak. Perhaps then you can all give up hope."

As the Ancient Evil Spirit spoke, he wasn’t worried that Zhou Yan would use his trump card to kill everyone present after waking up, nor was he worried that Zhou Yan would escape. Instead, he freed Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan’s body, now liberated from its shackles, had a trace of Essence Blood, and slowly began to restore his Vitality Energy.

At this moment, almost every cultivator instinctively stepped back, wary of Zhou Yan, whose reputation was fierce enough to stand undiminished even against the might of the Ancient Evil Spirit. Many cultivators were afraid that Zhou Yan, upon awakening, would strike them down in seconds, so they watched him warily, as if facing a great enemy.

Seeing this scene, Qian Xi, not far away, thought deeply. She looked intensely at Zhou Yan, and for the first time, she thought that her master might be right. Perhaps Zhou Yan would not be controlled so easily.

Perhaps... Zhou Yan had an unexpected trump card, maybe even capable of escaping like a cicada sheds its shell.

But if so... if she could think of this, how could the person who set this trap not foresee it? Then what was really happening in this scenario? True or false?

No matter what actions they took, the trap seemed to be autonomously adjusting to ensnare perfectly. In terms of intelligence, she was no match for the Ancestor-level figures.

They would calculate the probability of every possibility, laying out their strategies step by step, forcing one to move within the confines of their game...

Thinking this, Qian Xi dared not delve deeper, for fear that further contemplation would inadvertently drag her into this horrifying trap.

At this moment, whether the reactions of Zhou Ying or others were genuine, Qian Xi did not understand, she could not comprehend.

Real? Fake? No one knew, not even their thoughts might be genuine but only perceived by others as such.

Qian Xi withdrew her gaze, no longer focusing on Zhou Ying and others, but instead continued to watch Zhou Yan.

Since it was all part of a scheme, and she was not yet within it, then she might as well ’observe in silence’.

Near Qian Xi, Huang FuZhan also finally breathed a sigh of relief, seemingly having made a decision. He did not take a step nor speak, but subtly shifted his body to block his sister’s view of Zhou Yan.

At this moment, Zhou Yan’s body had turned dark, and the Spiritual Energy in his Spirit Armor had long since dried up, leaving it damaged beyond repair.

With no Vitality Energy left, his flesh had withered nearly to the point of decay, ageing him like a withered tree.

But his features still existed, his long, snow-white hair blindingly so.

At that moment, he regained consciousness and stood up, stepping across the dark, parched land covered with White Bones.

He opened his eyes, his pitch-black, star-like eyes brimming with abundant Vitality Energy. Those eyes were incredibly youthful. Unlike his face, rough as tree bark and lined with dry wrinkles.

Yet, his eyes were also aged, for they contained the air of ancient times.

Just those eyes alone were enough to mesmerize endless beautiful women, even though he appeared extremely ’aged’! But those eyes could still attract countless women, for they possessed a charm no other man could match, filled with endless Intelligence and spiritual depth.

Especially, when all other signs of life had vanished, withered, decayed, and turned ugly, the allure of such eyes became even more terrifying.

At that moment, even Cai Ling, Cai Xuan, Gongcheng Diewu, and others couldn’t help but sigh in lament.

Among the crowd, those strange, genius female cultivators also felt an inexplicable sadness, similar to a male cultivator sighing over the fall of a supreme Fairy.

Zhou Yan’s appearance also caused many female cultivators to look somber.

At that moment, Zhou Yan’s forehead emitted a faint purple halo, signifying his undying Vitality Energy.

The spiritual brilliance in his eyes was vivid only for the moment he opened them, then dimmed slightly, reverting to the slightly muddy look of an ordinary old man.

He watched everything calmly, with no excitement, no change in emotion.

He simply swept his calm gaze over Gongcheng Diewu, Qian Xi, Huang FuZhan, Zhou Taiting, and others, before finally settling on Zhou Ying and her group.

"Brother Zhou Yan, I’m sorry, I was too cowardly before, afraid to stand up, not wanting to drag others into this..."

Zhou Ying cried as she spoke, her delicate body trembling uncontrollably.

"Master..." Zhou Gucheng’s eyes reddened as he trembled and called out.

Zhou Qianqian just silently looked at Zhou Yan, her gaze intense with endless guilt.

"It doesn’t matter, ever since we entered the City of No Tears together, I had already let go. Having days without attachments, actually feels good."

Zhou Yan’s words were calm, without sadness or anger, just serene.

So serene that it turned into indifference.

But it was this kind of calmness that chilled Zhou Ying and the others like adding frost to snow. They were instantly stunned, unable to speak for a long while.

Their eyes, too, were filled with utter despair.

If Zhou Yan had hit or scolded them, it would mean he cared. Because he cared, there would be love and hate, there would be anger. But if he no longer cared, there would be no love or hate; he would choose indifference.

If they could choose, perhaps they would rather have Zhou Yan hate them, which might make them feel a little better.

This was probably the true depiction of Zhou Ying and the others’ current feelings.

But no one could understand them anymore.

"Actually, I am not entirely unaware of what has happened here. I haven’t resigned to fate, because I have already come to understand the method of condensing the Sword Soul. Now, I am actually considering two paths.

The first one is to fake my own death during someone else’s attempt at seizing my body, thus taking the risk of the injuries from condensing the Sword Soul or the danger of extinction. I’d make it seem as though I am dead to let the other occupy my body, but I’d unexpectedly destroy their soul, helping myself and healing my own soul’s injuries.

The Purple Flame I control can burn someone else’s soul, supplementing energy for my own soul."

Zhou Yan spoke very calmly, having no thoughts in his heart, yet he voiced such an answer.

This statement shocked everyone present.

Especially the Ancient Evil Spirit, which was always very calm, couldn’t help but change its expression drastically.

If that was the case, wouldn’t their perfect plan possibly end up benefiting Zhou Yan?

At this moment, it couldn’t help but feel somewhat doubtful, but suddenly, it revealed a cold smile and scoffed, "If that’s the case, why would you reveal it? You would probably have kept acting till the end and directly turned the tables later, wouldn’t that be better?! Telling us now means you definitely are not confident and are just saying this to make us hesitate!"

The Ancient Evil Spirit spoke with a hint of probing and a harsh tone.

"Is that so? I no longer disdain playing schemes with you, so I’m straightforwardly telling you what I want to do. Because I can’t outplay you in conspiracy, so it’s better to be clear. You don’t believe it, which is actually right. Because this is not my first choice, just the first option."

Zhou Yan laughed, his smile making his dry face look ugly, but at that moment, the smile appeared particularly desolate and terrifying.

"Is that so? Do you have a better way forward? Your Essence Blood has been drained, what can you still do?"

The Ancient Evil Spirit said gravely.

It was the first time it discovered that Zhou Yan was definitely not as easy to deal with as it thought.

Previously, it always had guidance from above, but now, it seemed to get no hint whatsoever, as if the existence above also couldn’t perceive what Zhou Yan intended to do.

The Ancient Evil Spirit couldn’t help but think: could it be that his inheritance has progressed, or there is some protection? But that shouldn’t be, they had judged that the Heir had already been utterly obliterated, hadn’t they?

"What else can I do? I still can do a lot. Not to mention just one-tenth left of my Bloodline, even if there’s only one ten-thousandth, as long as my Soul doesn’t extinguish, I can achieve things you can’t imagine."

Zhou Yan said dismissively.

"Fine! I believe you! But how does that matter? Do you think you can still escape? The reason I dared to let you go doesn’t mean I have no means to bind you again!"

The Ancient Evil Spirit spoke with a somewhat grave voice, it wanted to know what Zhou Yan intended to do.

Only by understanding the enemy’s goal can one better counter it.

"I originally thought I had many things to do while alive, obligations, and aspirations, but now I have found all these to be hollow.

Why should I take on these? If I am not able, I shouldn’t have taken on such a heavy burden. In fact, I was confident that I could protect my beloved woman, but I watched helplessly as my beloved was forced to marry another.

I thought I could protect my family, but my family members are dead, injured, and some are missing, their fate still unknown."

"Taking on responsibilities and obligations I shouldn’t have doesn’t benefit them but kills them. So, I will not continue to do so."

"Being alive is not necessarily happy, being dead is not necessarily painful. So, if they are dead, let them be dead, it’s better than living in suffering."

Zhou Yan said each word deliberately.

These words, originally melancholic, made every cultivator listening feel terribly horrified.

What kind of dreadfully ruthless Heartless Sword Dao this was, to understand it so profoundly to such a frightful extent.