Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 312 - 181: What Joy is there in Living, What Sorrow in Dying

Chapter 312: Chapter 181: What Joy is there in Living, What Sorrow in Dying

"Hmm?"

Zhou Yan’s gaze sharpened as he suddenly looked toward the five cultivators charging at him. Immediately, the Sword Soul inside him surged, and a light barrier like an eagle directly appeared.

This was a gigantic Eagle Sword Soul, covered in pitch black and exuding a terrifying aura.

Once the Sword Soul appeared, it suppressed everything with an unmatched, lonely strength.

"Buzz~"

Heaven and Earth trembled!

The five cultivators, all strong enough to be in the Second Layer Heaven or at the Sword Spirit Realm, saw all their attacks dissipate in the presence of this Sword Soul. Instead, they found themselves suppressed right where they stood, unable to move.

It was as if time had frozen, as if space had been locked, all five were fixed in place.

Then, like a lonely king, the Eagle Sword Soul looked down with a disdainful glance. After that chilly gaze, the light barrier suddenly shattered, and the five frozen cultivators were blasted away like cannonballs.

Such a powerful force fiercely sent them flying. Yet, none of the five died or even got injured.

Even when they hit the ground, they were not disheveled but were gently set down by some force, landing smoothly.

Such an immense Sword Soul aura, yet it didn’t disturb the snow-covered land at all, everything appeared utterly calm.

Zhou Yan stood amidst the snowflakes, his gaze icy as he observed the two men and three women, his figure as solitary as a lonely crane, deep and towering.

Just with his momentum alone, the faces of the five cultivators grew extremely solemn.

Though they still glared at Zhou Yan with immense hatred, they did not dare to make a move again.

Among these five, a young man with thick eyebrows stared coldly at Zhou Yan, his eyes glittering with deep-seated hatred, and he bitterly said, "Zhou Yan, what are you doing here? Are you here to mock Little Junior Sister? She is already worse than dead, what more do you want?"

"You vile creature, if I were not lacking in strength, I would certainly show Little Junior Sister what kind of person you really are, how you are not worthy of her!"

Another male cultivator also glared at Zhou Yan with a vicious look, as if eager to tear him apart, hatred stemming from deep within their souls.

"A bunch of trash! I, Zhou Yan, don’t need you to worry about my woman. Whatever trouble Xi’er is in, I will handle it. If you continue to prattle, I won’t mind making you wish for death!"

Zhou Yan coldly shouted, once again oppressing the five with his Sword Intent.

He did not intend to kill them, but was warmed by their frenzied defense of Gu Xi.

The deeper their hate, the more it showed how much they cared about Gu Xi.

Thus, for Gu Xi’s fellow disciples, Zhou Yan wouldn’t actually kill them.

"You—"

Among the three female cultivators, a woman with delicate eyebrows glared furiously at Zhou Yan, her eyes nearly shooting fire.

"Xi’er is not dead, I know this very well, but she must be in danger. I will go to Thunder Flame Breaking Path Mountain to save her. Whether you believe it or not, I must clarify something. Earlier, I acted against my will, not wanting to put her in jeopardy. I’m saying this not to make excuses to earn your belief, nor do I need to explain my actions. I just want you to understand, and I want Xi’er to understand, why I, Zhou Yan, absent myself because I care about her and hence felt compelled to explain why I pushed her away."

Zhou Yan spoke gently, word by word.

He seemed to descend into memories, his haughty nature softened with tenderness.

"If you truly cared, then why did you only come now? Do you know how much she has suffered for you?

She gave up all her rest and cultivated day and night to meet Grandmother’s conditions.

Every day she would say ’my Zhou Yan brother did this and that,’ but what about you? You only ever thought of your Holy Daughter! Did you ever spend a day missing her?

After all her hard efforts, she finally met Grandmother’s demands and desperately sought you out. Yet, those words you said ... are those words a human should speak, are they words a human should hear?"

The woman with delicate eyebrows questioned Zhou Yan coldly, her pale fingers pointing directly at him.

Even though she could barely move, using all her strength, she still needed to accuse Zhou Yan.

Beside her, a female cultivator in an apricot-yellow dress, small and cute in stature, snorted coldly, "You might think, these are the words Little Junior Sister told us, but you’re mistaken.

After returning, she still spoke of how good you are, how she didn’t want her to suffer, and that’s why she made you leave.

But she doesn’t know, how could her lies deceive us?

Worried she might be in danger, when she went out, I secretly placed the Sword Illusion Realm given by a Void Realm expert into her dress, so we actually could know what she encountered.

We weren’t spying or peeping on her, we just wanted to see how extraordinary was the great hero our Little Junior Sister admired. But what did we see?

We saw a selfish, incredibly sinister, despicable, lowly, shameless scoundrel!"

"We are very disappointed, but not in you, because you truly do not deserve our disappointment. We are just saddened that Little Junior Sister is too naive, deceived by such a bastard, and still constantly comforting herself."

"But seeing her look haggard day and night, our hearts ache immensely."

"Little Junior Sister is our Cold Ice Sword Sect’s top genius, with countless admirers and suitors, and yet, none of them compares to you, because even Ji TaiXu fell by your sword, we are no match for you.

But our feelings for Little Junior Sister are genuine, unlike your pragmatic, mercenary, and heartless approach!"

"Now, having become the enemy of the whole world and with your reputation in ruins, you come seeking Little Junior Sister, trying to use her pure and unblemished body to gain half of her ’Life Soul’ to repair your Tao injury?"

"Zhou Yan, you beast, stop dreaming!"

"If you have the guts, kill us first, otherwise, you will have to step over our corpses, and we will not let any of your wishes succeed!"

"You save Little Junior Sister? Even our grandmother can’t save her, what makes you think you can?"

"Even if you could save her, aren’t you just trying to take her Life Soul to heal your own Tao injury? You’d hurt her again, and she would rather die than live in such pain.

That way, she won’t suffer anymore!"

"Hopefully, in her next life, Little Junior Sister will find a good Daoist husband and never meet a heartless, beastly brute like you again!"

...

These five cultivators took turns speaking endlessly, their demeanor of profound grievances deeply furrowed Zhou Yan’s brows.

His expression gradually turned cold, but he no longer looked at those who kept insulting and mocking him, instead, he gazed into the distance at the ancient characters of the Cold Ice Sword Sect and suddenly shouted, "Junior Zhou Yan seeks an audience with Grandma Bing Rong."

Zhou Yan’s voice, like thunder, nearly triggered an avalanche on the distant mountains, resounding endlessly between heaven and earth.

In just an instant after his voice sounded, a piercing cold wind blew across the sky, followed by a ’swoosh’ sound, and an elderly lady suddenly appeared not far in front of Zhou Yan.

"Grandma—"

"Grandma, this thief Zhou Yan is here, you must deal with him properly—"

"Enough, you all may retreat now, Grandma will handle this, no need to worry."

"Grandma..."

"Won’t you retreat? Isn’t it enough to embarrass yourself here without proper cultivation?!"

The old woman, leaning on her cane, suddenly pointed with one hand, and the five were instantly sent flying away, landing far within the arrays of the Cold Ice Sword Sect.

Watching the old woman perform this act, Zhou Yan couldn’t help but touch his nose and chuckled bitterly, "Grandma, rest assured, Zhou Yan may be ruthless, but I will not lay a hand on them, no need for you to worry."

"Zhou Lingzhe, other spiritualists might be trusted here, but frankly, I’m not so sure about you. Wherever you go, bad luck follows, I must be cautious!

Moreover, our Cold Ice Sword Sect cannot compare to your great Zhou family with its abundant talents and geniuses. We hardly have geniuses to spare, and we must guard against your actions, so please forgive me."

The old woman gave Zhou Yan a very direct response, without any politeness.

Zhou Yan grinned sheepishly and said, "Actually, I am quite helpless too, I ask Grandma to guide me to a path of good fortune."

"Stop that, Zhou Lingzhe. To me, Bing Rong, such words are meaningless. I know your purpose here, but I advise you, do not enter Thunderflame Breaking Dao Mountain."

Bing Rong’s words and attitude were very cold.

"Grandma, I know that you understood me back then. If I didn’t love Xi’er, would I have said those words?"

"Old woman does not know these, Zhou Lingzhe, you might be sensing wrong."

"Grandma, you are Xi’er’s grandmother, which means you are also my, Zhou Yan’s, grandmother. Even if you disdain Zhou Yan, given that the Heavenly Destiny plan has already failed, no one is controlling destiny or within the game of chess, you really don’t need to worry anymore.

If Xi’er can enter Thunderflame Breaking Dao Mountain, then so can Zhou Yan!

Living holds no joy, and dying holds no sorrow.

At this moment, all I want is to see her and tell her I have always loved her deeply! Even if I die, it hardly matters.

Though I, Zhou Yan, carry too much, for Xi’er, I am willing to let go of everything."

Zhou Yan’s words were utterly sincere.

This time, he displayed no arrogance and no defiance—only a deep-rooted earnestness.

After speaking, he directly gazed into Bing Rong’s cloudy eyes.

Bing Rong did not avoid Zhou Yan’s gaze; her murky eyes staring intently back at him, she even subtly used that special ability of hers.

Moments later, her aged body slightly trembled, a look of astonishment flashing deep within her eyes.

"Are you truly willing to give up everything for her?"

Bing Rong’s hazy eyes suddenly brightened, shining brilliantly.

"Yes!" Zhou Yan affirmed.

"Then do not participate in the Holy Daughter’s martial competition. Devote yourself solely to Xi’er, accompany her residual soul for her last half a year. Would you be willing to do that?"

At this moment, Bing Rong’s gaze was filled with endless hope, extremely grave and utterly earnest as she looked at Zhou Yan.