Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 298 - 172: Lifting the Curse

Chapter 298: Chapter 172: Lifting the Curse

This is an unspeakable sorrow.

"Zhou Lingzhe, this was all my own choice, truly, it has nothing to do with the Heart of Nature! I had already been able to resist the lure of the Heart of Nature long ago.

Zhou Lingzhe, believe me, we must have had a beautiful past, we must have! Otherwise, why would I feel so unforgettable, so heartbroken the moment I first saw you?"

"Zhou Lingzhe, I’ve always wanted to help you, to save you, but I don’t have the capability. This time, either I die, or we leave together!"

Huangfu Jing seemed to suddenly go mad.

Zhou Yan looked at her with a hint of pity in his eyes, until she could no longer speak.

"You are really foolish, can’t you see reality? Everyone here is a chess piece, the constantly changing situation makes us think we control the game, but it’s merely others letting us feel this way.

From the beginning to the end, we have never escaped being mere chess pieces. Especially me, Zhou Yan, here perhaps everyone else could survive, but definitely not Ji Tianxu, Zhou Yuntian, Yang Qingtan, and I."

Zhou Yan’s words named everything.

Even Zhou Yuntian, at this point, could only sigh disheartedly and chose to accept silently.

Thinking he was fortunate, but unexpectedly, just like Zhou Yan, merely a pawn in the hands of the powerful.

This, Zhou Yuntian could tell ever since the Ancient Evil Spirit died.

"It seems, you really have understood a lot."

From Qian Xi’s previous faction, at this time, a strange black-clothed Cultivator stepped forward.

Then, everything about him changed, and finally, he turned into someone Zhou Yan knew well—Ji Wudao.

"Ji Wudao, is it you who is playing tricks, scheming against me?" Ji Tianxu had been silent until Ji Wudao appeared, then he suddenly became enraged.

"You’re no longer qualified, yet your ambition is too great, ungrateful."

He smiled and said no more.

However, his behavior wasn’t considered important by Zhou Yan, because at the moment, almost nothing could be considered important by Zhou Yan.

"I am willing, at worst I die, with the torture from the Time Curse, I can’t even experience one true moment of youthful bloom, my previous girlhood was actually all an illusion. Living in such anguish, better off pursuing my heart in death."

Huangfu Jing whispered softly, expressing her resolve to die.

"Little Princess, no!"

Elder Ling became anxious.

"Sister, please do not! There is hope only if you’re alive!"

Huangfu Zhan was moved as well.

He hadn’t expected that Huangfu Jing’s feelings for Zhou Yan could run so deep.

His heart trembled, yet he was powerless!

He was the number one genius of the War God Family’s Huangfu Family, but here, he deeply felt the sensation of defeat.

In the eyes of a true genius, he was nothing but an ant; in the same realm, Ji Tianxu could kill him a hundred times with one move!

And even though Zhou Yan’s realm was even six Realms below him, he could still kill him a hundred times with a single sword stroke!

He suddenly realized how foolish, naive, and hilariously immature he had been before, truly thinking that below the Void Realm he was invincible, now recalling it, he feels disgraced.

But these are nothing compared to his worries and guilt towards his sister, for she had long ago mentioned Zhou Yan was not simple, yet arrogantly he hadn’t listened.

If it hadn’t been for this trip to the City of No Tears, he wouldn’t have even taken Zhou Yan seriously!

But now, he knew he was too far off.

"Huangfu Jing, you may not care about your own life, but Elder Ling came here bringing the hopes of the War God lineage with him, can you really bear that? If you believe me, then wait until the day we meet again.

I, Zhou Yan, will die, but no one can annihilate me! Even the mighty Nine Origin Sword Saint can’t do that!"

Zhou Yan suddenly said this.

The statement triggered inexplicable alarm in many Cultivators’ hearts.

They were unsure if Zhou Yan was comforting Huangfu Jing, or Li Yunjin, Zhou Wangchen, and others, but they couldn’t fully discern the meaning.

Perhaps it was true, perhaps it was just a kind lie told by Zhou Yan for self-comfort and comforting others.

"You..."

Huangfu Jing was somewhat dazed, staring blankly at Zhou Yan.

"Come to my side, I’ll help you undo the Time Curse; I’ve already thought of a way, though I’ve had no chance to act before."

Zhou Yan smiled gently, in this moment, he was very tender.

This tenderness, he had never shown before even to the women he admired.

However, the more so, the more some Cultivators felt bittersweet.

In the distance, Li Yunjin lowered her head, unable to watch the scene.

For she feared she could not stop her tears.

Beside Yunjin, Zhou Wangchen did not watch this scene, for he feared he would not be able to resist intervening.

Acting now, with no possibility of rescue, would only make things worse.

Huangfu Jing did not hesitate and approached Zhou Yan.

At that moment, she was only five or six years old, just like how Yanyan once was, equally fragile and helpless.

"I will never let you suffer again, I know this pain, it’s very bitter."

Zhou Yan’s gaze seemed somewhat confused as he murmured to himself.

Then, he crouched down and placed his hand on Huangfu Jing’s forehead.

In that instant, a strand of Fist Intent, suddenly accompanied by a strand of Purple Flame, entered Huangfu Jing’s brow.

That strand of light, fleeting in a flash, then returned to calm, no one knew what had happened, they all assumed that Zhou Yan was healing Huangfu Jing.

And indeed, it seemed to be the reality, because in that instant, the color of pain on Huangfu Jing’s face had evidently lessened a lot.

Huangfu Jing was slightly startled, her face somewhat puzzled, because she couldn’t sense anything, the curse within her soul seemed to have significantly lessened.

"Don’t resist my Soul Shock, let go of your guard, and I will disperse this curse force in one fell swoop."

Zhou Yan said solemnly.

Seeing Zhou Yan serious, Huangfu Jing did not think twice and immediately did as Zhou Yan had instructed.

But the group of Time Curse did not suddenly disperse; instead, Zhou Yan’s soul surged out and swept it away in one go.

Zhou Yan replaced Huangfu Jing’s pain with his own soul, transferring the curse’s power onto himself.

At that moment, Zhou Yan did not become a little boy but turned into an old man, his skin rapidly withered, his hair as white as long strands of snow.

"Zhou Lingzhe... you..."

Huangfu Jing suddenly appeared seventeen or eighteen years old, ethereal, but her beautiful eyes carried immense shock, emotion, pain, and regret.

It seemed only at this moment did she realize that Zhou Yan’s promise to save her meant transferring the curse’s power to himself.

Her body started to tremble violently, her heart doing the same.

"Understanding souls is rare, being able to wield them is even rarer, yet I am proficient in both. Not only that but our hearts resonate and our constitutions naturally attract each other, so only I can perform this method.

And I am a man destined to die anyway, debts do not overwhelm me, what does another curse matter?"

Zhou Yan smiled faintly and said, "If you want to show gratitude or repay me, then live on for me. I have no right to love you, but I hope you continue living the life I’ve given you, even if just for me, persevere."

Zhou Yan gently caressed Huangfu Jing’s face, at that moment, Huangfu Jing was not herself but seemed like Yanyan relieved from pain, because at that moment, when Huangfu Jing was still a little girl with a face showing immense pain, Zhou Yan subconsciously treated her as Yanyan.

Perhaps, in Zhou Yan’s eyes, all five or six-year-old lovely girls enduring immense pain could be Yanyan.

He could not save Yanyan, but he could use all his strength to save Huangfu Jing.

Saving her, and himself, for at that moment, that strand of Purple Flame that left was actually the Purple Flame Void, entrusted in Huangfu Jing’s brow.

The Purple Flame Void, wrapped by Fist Intent, seemed like a void, perfectly hid by Huangfu Jing who almost shared a physique that could merge with his.

The Time Curse’s power was absorbed, and the Purple Flame Void was hidden there.

"Zhou Lingzhe... Zhou Yan..."

Huangfu Jing’s eyes brimmed with tears that lingered long.

Eventually, under Zhou Yan’s watchful, hopeful gaze, she bowed her head and silently retreated.

"Little Princess, let’s go."

Elder Ling’s voice was somewhat hoarse, yet he respectfully bowed to Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan silently endured, then watched Elder Ling leading Huangfu Jing and Huang FuZhan away, turning into a stream of light and departing.

The next moment, another blue light disappeared.

But this time, Zhou Yan discovered that the departing individuals had not left the City of No Tears nor the Despair Abyss; they had merely left the Sacrificial Heaven Ancient City and stood outside the city in the Void of the Despair Abyss, silently observing the developments here.

Because the Purple Flame Void contained his essence, Zhou Yan felt connected to both the inside and outside of the Sacrificial Heaven Ancient City, sensing everything.

Qian Xi was still enveloped by a breath of Yao, remaining outside the Sacrificial Heaven Ancient City in the Void, witnessing everything below.

Eternal Spirit Jia Yongheng was also on the other side, watching the developments inside.

Holy Daughter’s Ping’er, leading a group of dozens of women in white, quietly watched the changes in the Sacrificial Heaven Ancient City below.

"What’s going on?"

Zhou Yan wondered in his heart, feeling that his body, having left with Huangfu Jing this time, had truly stepped out of the chess game.

This, of course, was also an idea within the Purple Flame Void; even ’Yao’ could not see through the secret inside the Purple Flame Void, let alone the others?

Yao and the Master had been in contact, and there were still many things incomprehensible to them. Yet this time, only a faint trace of Yao’s presence had come, perhaps a ten-thousandth of what Zhou Yan had experienced when he encountered Yao.

However, this faint presence made the woman in white with a severed arm extremely wary, not daring to harm Qian Xi at all.

This revealed that Yao was stronger than them all.

This also indirectly showed that no one could yet decipher the secrets inside the fused Void developed by the Master.