Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 316 - 184: Nine Changes of Sword Void, Nine Refinements of Sword Tribulation!

Chapter 316: Chapter 184: Nine Changes of Sword Void, Nine Refinements of Sword Tribulation!

The thunder raged across the heavens, utterly furious!

Layers upon layers of that furious thunder light began to pile up, as if the sky had become lower and the earth had risen.

Within the endless thunder, the previously wild pillars of light of every hue now resembled five immense giants gradually blending into one.

This tendency, which at first showed only a hint, soon became real and obvious.

The thunder light between heaven and earth was merged by such pillars of light, forming indescribable afterimages. These afterimages appeared like a tremendous Demon God on the brink of awakening.

In the Despair Abyss, Zhou Yan had such a feeling, as if some slumbering Divine being was trending towards Awakening. At that time, the sensation was already quite intense; however, it gradually faded away.

Now, this feeling once again surged with overwhelming intensity. Zhou Yan’s heart chilled, feeling his eyelids madly twitching.

He didn’t know what was happening, nor did he have any means to resist.

Almost instinctively, Zhou Yan felt toward his Purple Flame Void, but to his horror, he discovered that the previously tranquil Purple Flame Void within was now exhibiting strange, multicolored pillars of light, as if it was synchronizing with the outside world, undergoing a very peculiar transformation!

Within the Purple Flame Void, mysterious vortex-like afterimages appeared between the multicolored pillars, from which emerged a terrifying devouring force.

This devouring force seemed capable of absorbing everything from the outside world, synchronizing itself with the Purple Flame Void!

After this devouring force appeared, the terrifying outer-world thunder and the Demon-God-like afterimages also rushed toward this place, bringing the power capable of destroying heaven and earth to the brink of ignition!

Suddenly, the surging Thunder Power throughout heaven and earth, along with the multicolored pillars of the Purple Flame Void, seemed to mysteriously find a vent, frantically emerging and converging from various places. Inside and outside were connected into a Void channel, which then opened an enigmatic spatial rift.

This spatial rift was precisely the space within the Purple Flame that had been revealed earlier in the Purple Flame Void.

That space entrance led to Yanyan’s world.

Zhou Yan hadn’t expected the spatial rift to open at this moment, but as he sensed it, it felt as if his Spirit was shattered!

Because he saw what he could hardly have imagined.

In that world, there was a Void similar to the Thunder Flame Breaking Path Mountain.

It was as if the inside and the outside had been shifted.

In the Void, there was a whiff of Purple Flame energy shrouding a little girl.

The little girl begged confusedly on the streets, but having been identified for her Constitution, she was bound and imprisoned, then laid upon a sea of thunderous flames, set ablaze.

Even as the intense fire burned her, the little girl showed no fear. It was as if... she had no more attachments in her heart, as if she believed death to be better than life.

"Father King, Yanyan... Void Thunderflame... Emperor Sword Dao Body, is this my Fate? Father King... Yanyan is leaving, never to return. Father King, through the memories across time, after the Nine Origin, let there be no memory of Yanyan..."

"Yanyan is not a good daughter, Yanyan is sorry, Father King..."

The little girl murmured to herself, but she didn’t realize that this scene had all been revealed during the Sky-breaking moment.

"Yanyan!"

Zhou Yan roared, his blood exploding from his body, almost without thinking, he tried to rush into that Void.

But at that moment, the White Fox’s paw snatched Zhou Yan, freezing him in the Void.

"Get lost!"

Zhou Yan shouted angrily, wanting to punch without thinking.

"Hold!"

White Fox spat out a mouthful of blood and suddenly immobilized Zhou Yan, making him unable to move. Then, with a swipe of its white paw in front of Zhou Yan, it said, "Reincarnation of Time, Power of Time, this isn’t real, forget it."

Zhou Yan’s heart chilled, and once he looked again, he saw nothing. The thunder in heaven and earth was still raging, the Purple Flame Void still opened, but in reality, there was no fierce Thunder striking.

That previous scene was like a dream.

Real?

Fake?

Nobody knew.

Zhou Yan didn’t know.

Perhaps, even the White Fox didn’t.

But that was only a perhaps.

Zhou Yan felt an inexplicable pain, having reverted to his True Self, a more authentic whole person, which also meant a pain so intense it penetrated his marrow.

"I’m sorry."

Zhou Yan fell silent for a moment, looked at the White Fox, and seeing its almost death-like gaze, a twinge of guilt emerged in his heart.

"The power of time, whether it is the past or the future, I do not know. But in lower planes, time is a circle where everything might have been predetermined to happen. Learning to accept it is all that’s needed."

White Fox said softly, sounding somewhat weak and listless.

Zhou Yan hesitated slightly, then suddenly applied the Undying Rebirth Technique to White Fox.

In that instant, before the secret technique was fully executed, six out of the nine portions of energy that Zhou Yan had left was depleted!

Zhou Yan was somewhat astonished by this, and even though six portions had been consumed, White Fox’s injuries weren’t significantly healed. However, its previously confused gaze suddenly became clear once again.

In that moment, White Fox looked at Zhou Yan with an unusual gleam in its eyes, and deep within that gaze, there was a touch of emotion—gratitude, concern, and sorrow.

Yet, despite Zhou Yan’s soul being extremely powerful, he was unable to sense this fleeting shift in emotions.

"How can I accept... Can any of it be changed?"

Zhou Yan felt reluctant, the more powerful he became, the more he felt like an ant, constantly toyed with by fate.

"What can be changed is not fate anymore."

White Fox sighed again and continued, "The Thunder Power’s Fury is about to begin again. Although you’ve helped me recover a bit, it’s only ten percent. I dare not accept your treatment fully; otherwise, I would drain you dry and you would die of old age in an instant. So I interrupted your secret technique.

But still, I can feel that you’ve lost sixty percent of your Origin Power. I’m sorry."

There was a clear sense of deep remorse in White Fox’s words.

"There is no need for that. If it weren’t for you, I might already be dead. And in a place like this, only if you are alive do I have more hope of surviving."

Zhou Yan gave White Fox another look. He hadn’t expected an animal could display such loyalty and affection.

It was an inexplicable feeling, very direct, and not so full of machinations.

"Actually, I no longer have any hope of living, my soul is shattered, and I have only six months to live. A Residual Soul can only live for six months; after that, I will die. So I will stay with you for this half year, trying my best to keep you safe during this time, which should reduce the dangers you’ll face.

Do not reject it, just consider it my way of repaying you. Originally, I owed ’him’ too much, and now I have involved ’his’ descendant as well... I truly cannot rest in peace with that."

White Fox’s speech was imbued with an intense sense of sorrow.

Perhaps, when any life is about to end, their words are always sad.

How could Zhou Yan not understand this sorrow?

But the path of cultivation knows no cruelty, only greater cruelty.

"I have a Heavenly Dao Soul Stone, but I can’t give it to you, because I have a beloved woman... She entered here because of me. Now her soul is also damaged, and I must find her, save her."

Zhou Yan also sighed, then took out the Heavenly Dao Soul Stone, placed it on his palm, and presented it before White Fox.

White Fox stared blankly at the Heavenly Dao Soul Stone, its eyes turning complex for a moment. But after a while, it did not snatch it, nor did it show any hint of greed, only looking at Zhou Yan with a trace of surprise, and said, "Are you not afraid that I will take it, placing it right before me like this?"

"I really am not afraid. I don’t know why, but from the first glance, I knew you were worthy of my trust. It’s an indescribable feeling. But the longer I interact with people, the more I feel I prefer the company of Demon Beasts."

Zhou Yan’s words were calm and composed.

White Fox showed a gentle smile, desolate as she appeared, yet that smile remained pure.

"You are like ’him’, different from the usual cunning, tricky, and cruel humans. Actually, when I saw you, I sensed your Heavenly Dao Soul Stone; it belonged to ’him’, and that’s why I saved you.

But it’s also true that because of my tribulation, you were nearly killed by the Heavenly Tribulation. I saved you, and you first shielded me within your arms when the terrifying Thunder Tribulation approached, and then used a supreme Secret Technique, sacrificing your own Origin Power to save me...

Thus, there are indeed quite a few connections between us."

"Besides, let alone the multitude of reasons involved, even if we were complete strangers, seeing you in danger, I would have tried my best to save you. I cannot pass the Life Tribulation Dao; but if I can save several geniuses in the twilight of my life, it’s also a consolation to my own spirit.

Life Tribulation Dao tests the True Self; if the heart is tainted, a dismal end consumed by regret is all that awaits. Of course, for those with immense backgrounds, different standards apply.

For Demon Beasts, to be without guilt, we cannot stand idly while good Cultivators face desperate straits; otherwise, during the Life Tribulation Dao, these Cultivator’s projections from the Heavenly Dao would appear.

Encountering Cultivators in dire situations means they are carrying the Qi Fortune of the Heavenly Dao, and most are quite extraordinary.

Once the Heavenly Dao projects them, that’s the descent of the Heavenly Dao’s tribulation-evolved Constitutions, slaying all in their paths. If we Demon Beasts face our tribulations then, our deaths are certain.

..."

Unexpectedly, White Fox shared a great deal of information about Life Tribulation with Zhou Yan, which he was hearing for the first time, due to his Master’s and his own paths of cultivation being different. This left Zhou Yan somewhat astonished.

"I also know that in the path of cultivation, after Sword Spirit, there are the Nine Changes of Sword Void and the Nine Refinements of Sword Tribulation, two profound and unfathomable great realms.

Void Realm, that is the Condensation of the Void Body, to condense the Three Souls and Seven Spirits into corresponding Void Bodies. So what about the realm of Nine Refinements of Sword Tribulation? Is it just about constantly facing tribulations?"

Zhou Yan solemnly asked.

Yao had previously spoken to Zhou Yan about this.

But Yao didn’t go into much depth, only giving an introductory explanation. Since Zhou Yan’s Master had cultivated through a different system, focused on Refining Essence into Qi and Qi into Spirit, he had no basis for comparison.

Therefore, Zhou Yan listened very seriously to all this new knowledge.