Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 305 - 176: Ancient Blood

Chapter 305: Chapter 176: Ancient Blood

Spiritual Lotus Secret Realm.

The infinite emerald of the Jie Tian Lotus Leaf, the Sun Reflected Lotus blooms with a different red.

A light and ethereal woman’s lonely silhouette cast a long, long shadow.

She appeared to be lost in contemplation, and perhaps in remembrance.

A single blood tear, inexplicably, streamed from her eyes.

The blood tear, like a blood-red gem, dropped and only then did she abruptly awaken.

With a gentle flick of her sleeve, which was devoid of arms, she attempted to catch that blood tear, but unexpectedly, in a mere moment, it vanished.

Her pristine white sleeve penetrated through the light of blood, as though it were insubstantial, unable to obstruct it at all.

"All of this... was it ’your’ deliberate arrangement?"

She murmured to herself, her hollow eyes filled with indistinct sorrow.

Though she had no eyes, the depth of her gaze was immeasurable.

Momentarily, a white streak of light suddenly descended here, and afterward, a woman in white with a severed arm appeared.

She knelt down respectfully and said, "Lord, about the matter..."

"I already know. You have also suffered hardship this time. Hereafter, the Spiritual Lotus Secret Realm shall remain uninterfered. The King has already been severely wounded, and this descent has failed, requiring time for recovery. The Spiritual Lotus Secret Realm, effective immediately, truly seals off the channels to the outside world."

"Yes, Lord."

The woman in white with a severed arm respectfully bowed her head in ritual.

"Furthermore, since the plan has failed and cannot be halted, let the storm rage fiercer. Let the ’Envoy’ open the Heavenly Gate, lift the guard on the Ancient Array Map at the Southern Wilderness and let those from foreign lands desire to descend."

The ethereal woman issued the command while still facing away from the woman in white with a severed arm.

"Lord, in doing so, countless lives will suffer..."

The woman in white with a severed arm trembled slightly, speaking with disbelief and fear.

"We cannot stop it now. The Heavenly Destiny plan has failed, and the forces of the Heavenly Dao and Fate are unstoppable. The Nine Origin Reincarnation did not arrive beforehand, those powerful beings cannot progress further, and foreigners will undoubtedly descend.

By opening it ourselves, we can at least preserve the Ancient Array Map, retaining some hope. If the Ancient Array Map is shattered, in this era without ancestors or saints emerging, everyone will ultimately be at the mercy of others."

The ethereal woman spoke faintly.

Her voice was soft, yet her words, like a gentle breeze and fine rain from the Nine Heavens Milky Way, moistened every corner of this space.

The woman in white with a severed arm shuddered again, her complexion slightly pale, responded, "Understood, subordinate."

"You, go now. I will open the door of the Secret Realm for you again in the Tribulation Realm. Moreover, previously I extracted part of your memory, now along with your eyes and arms, I will return them to you."

The ethereal woman sighed, her expression growing more pained.

As she spoke, two immensely spiritual, dark as ink lotus seeds suddenly flew towards the woman’s eyes in white with a severed arm.

In that instant, the woman’s body shook, and her eyes suddenly brightened.

Then, two lotus leaf branches flew out, falling towards the woman’s arms, and at that moment, a pair of arms as lovely as white lotus roots also appeared.

Accompanied by this was her lost memory.

"’He’ saved you three times, and you deeply fell in love with ’him’, thus in your heart, you once resisted the King’s command. I cut off your arms, took out your eyes, not as punishment, but out of pity for you.

After all, you and I have faced the same. Although you have always hated me, you even consequently despised everyone associated with the Emperor Qi Sword Body.

But that person... and that Zhou Yan, you should know his origins now."

"Lord... I’m sorry, I, ’Lingling,’ have always..."

The woman in white like a fairy, now overwhelmed with immense pain and guilt.

"No worries, I know all that you thought. However, after the failure of the Heavenly Destiny plan, when you modified the contents of the Heavenly Destiny plan, you smeared Zhou Yan all over. He probably has no foothold now."

"I... I didn’t know, I will do everything in my power to make amends," the fairy-like woman in white said with profound regret.

"Let it be, this might also be what he needs to face. Emperor Qi Sword Body, standing against the world, is very normal. He was able to gather the Sword Soul, and even if the Sword Soul is destroyed now, he is no longer rejected by the Heavenly Dao, regathering the Sword Soul poses no difficulty.

Moreover, as an ancient bloodline has appeared, he must... let’s leave this matter here. If you feel guilt toward him, then... help him more.

Moreover, the King has settled, you need not worry too much in the future."

The ethereal woman said gently.

The fairy-like woman in white again showed a shocked, stunned look.

She, somewhat numbly nodded vigorously.

"Moreover, you are no longer suitable to appear as you once were, that ’Lingling’ with the severed arm is already dead. From now on, you will be called ’Ling He,’ as the Spiritual Lotus Immortal Body, akin to the Broken Five Genius like Zhou Yan. You are a completely new ’you,’ the past is no longer yours."

"Subordinate... understands, I know what to do."

"Kill everyone from the Ji Family, leave no trouble behind. Zhuge Guyan’s Avatar has awakened, it’s a significant influence, kill him too, consider it a help to Zhou Yan. The others, no need to stir up strife."

"Yes! Subordinate understands!"

"Go." The ethereal woman sighed, waved her sleeve, and the world shattered, revealing a pitch-dark void.

The void swallowed the fairy-like woman in white, directly taking her away.

"Chang’e should regret stealing the spiritual medicine, her heart troubled like the deep blue sea under the endless sky every night."

A female voice murmured softly, followed by a bittersweet smile.

After a long time, she sighed, "I only wanted you to feel less lonely and helpless, yet I added so much pain to your life, a pain worse than death."

"If I could go back to the beginning, I would definitely not, not be so willful again."

"I know you are still here, still watching all of this."

"Actually, I haven’t lost my memory, I just... don’t know how to face you anymore."

"Lingling is not really my subordinate; she is your daughter. Did you know that? I was afraid something might happen to her, and I was also afraid I couldn’t restrain myself, would sever her eyes and memories, break her arms, preventing her from being too involved with the Heavenly Destiny plan."

"I don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong..."

"Now, it looks like I was wrong again... Otherwise, why would the ancient tears of blood flow again?"

The woman murmured for a long time, then sighed sadly again, condensing a Sword Intent.

This Sword Intent wasn’t the solitary Sword Intent, it was the Life and Death Sword Intent, the one Zhou Yan had been comprehending and had begun to learn!

In the Life and Death Sword Intent, the woman bathed in the realm of life and death, silently sat down, and pulled out an ancient flute decorated with ancient runes, gently playing it.

The wailing sound was heart-wrenching.

In the Spiritual Lotus Secret Realm, it suddenly started to rain.

This place that never rained was now almost like a heavy downpour.

...

In the Despair Abyss.

With thirty percent strength restored, Zhou Yan stood up. He looked up at the sky with an inexplicable expression.

The sky was extremely gloomy, yet strangely, he felt a suffocating, heartbreaking pain.

He suppressed this feeling, and his brow deeply furrowed.

After Yanyan had acted and vanished, a drop of blood that had fallen from the Void into his head had caught his attention, but he hadn’t dwelled on it at the time.

Now, he had to start questioning it.

Perhaps, his recovery wasn’t as simple as he had imagined. That drop of blood...

Zhou Yan entered the Purple Flame Void again, where he didn’t form any Split Body anymore. To cut with his own sword again was too painful. With his threshold for pain, he didn’t want to cut himself again.

Especially not when he hadn’t recovered yet, he preferred not to.

Now back in the Purple Flame Void, Zhou Yan immediately looked towards the place where the Purple Flame Lotus Seeds had been.

But there, the Purple Flame Lotus Seeds were no longer there. It all seemed like a dream, becoming distant.

Time can dilute many things, including pain. But not long afterwards, Zhou Yan felt himself slowly forgetting many things.

This kind of forgetting was the most cruel, and also the most terrifying!

He felt unsure and somewhat worried, afraid that the amnesia happening in the Despair Abyss might happen to him.

Even though the Heaven and Earth Rules here were shattered, making such an occurrence impossible, Zhou Yan knew well that he was completely different from others.

He thought about it, yet his gaze still fixed on the place where the Purple Flame Lotus Seeds once were.

Gradually, he vaguely saw something remaining there.

...

In the Purple Flame Void, the embodiment of Zhou Yan’s Spiritual Sense instantly appeared at the location of the Purple Flame Lotus Seeds, carefully observing it.

There, in a twisted space rift, lay a giant Blood Crystal, the crystallization of a drop of blood.

This drop of blood was incredibly powerful, yet also terrifying.

But this drop of blood also evoked a very familiar feeling in Zhou Yan.

His heart stirred slightly, then after a moment’s hesitation, he tried to take that drop of blood in his hand.

But the blood wasn’t taken out; instead, a Blood Light flew out from it, entering his brain.

Shortly after, the Blood Light suddenly exploded, darting into Zhou Yan’s Spiritual Sense, and at that moment, his whole body violently convulsed, his eyes becoming extremely bloodshot, his heart filled with rage, evil, madness, and ruthlessness, bursting forth like madness.

At this moment, even though he understood it in his heart, Zhou Yan felt incredibly agitated, with an overwhelming desire to kill.

Zhou Yan finally understood, finally understood why Yanyan had such a crazy behavior after being tainted by that drop of blood, because just a thread of Blood Light had almost driven him to collapse!

But he had no time to think further, as suddenly a piece of information flew out from this Blood Light, a message that greatly moved Zhou Yan.

"Accepting this Blood Light means, Yan’er, that you have completed the condensation of your Sword Soul. Master arranged everything for you, and it seems to have worked. But that is not enough."

"This drop of blood is not from Master, nor is it the Essence Blood of those Demon Beasts, but rather from when you died at the Cold Pond... the Life Blood."

"Yes, in the Cold Pond, you were already dead, but not completely, Master saved you, activated your Bloodline Power, and brought you back to life. Of course, that also activated the ancient Bloodline inside you."

"Master chose you, naturally for deeper reasons, but you need not worry about anything, Master won’t harm you, you can be completely at ease."

"Master has fallen a long time ago, these are just marks meant to guide your path ahead, you need not worry about anything."

"The reason for many arrangements is because you are actually incomplete, Master had to ensure that you could at least survive until Void Nine, so he had to make many arrangements."