Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 346 - 001: I Want to Marry the Holy Daughter

Chapter 346: Chapter 001: I Want to Marry the Holy Daughter

Deep autumn, there was wind.

The autumn of this world had grown profound.

Amidst the Wilderness, blood-colored mists wafted, filling the forest with a pungent, bloody stench.

In the hollows overgrown with weeds and brambles, rare medicinal herbs exuded strands of an unusual sweet fragrance.

Here, lay broken and tattered corpses. Some bodies were missing large sections, others left with merely exposed skeletal remains, and some were pierced through by sharp weapons or torn apart and riddled with holes by wild beasts.

None of these corpses’ eyes were closed in death.

"Dead... all dead..."

A middle-aged woman gazed blankly at the scene before her, and after a long while, she let out a pitiful smile. Then her body transformed into a streak of white light and violently exploded with a "boom," choosing self-destruction.

The fierce blast of energy shattered countless decaying corpses, revealing a relatively intact body with numerous wounds.

This relatively intact body, after being blown away by the blast, skidded across the ground for a distance, bringing into view a concealed, spiritually imbued plant.

"Yoohoo—"

In the sky, scavenging vultures flew over, emitting desolate and hungry cries.

In the distance, two women dressed in purple and green flew towards the area, chatting and laughing about something.

...

"Lan Ruo, it must have been a cultivator from the Sword Soul Realm who self-destructed, causing such a huge commotion!" the woman in purple said.

"Hmm, I had the same thought. If it hadn’t been for aunt’s imminent breakthrough, I’d rather not have left home myself," the woman in green said somewhat helplessly.

"I know, I’m not concerned about the strife. After all, the medicinal herbs we need to gather just happen to be there. I saw them last time; they still lacked a bit in potency and I was in a hurry to attend to other matters, so I didn’t gather them. I just hope they haven’t been destroyed this time."

"Ah... now that you mention it, it’s a bit troublesome. Let’s go have a look—ugh, such a strong smell of blood!"

Lan Ruo covered her nose as she spoke and then flew ahead towards the hollow.

The woman in purple, Xian Yue, immediately followed. Shortly after, both women saw a particular medicinal herb that was very potent.

However, as their eyes fell upon the plant, both women felt a sense of relief, for despite the massive destruction energy that had swept through the area, there was no devastating damage.

Not only that, but a body had blocked a wave of the destructive energy, ensuring that the Heavenly Star Begonia remained unharmed, with its medicinal properties excellently preserved.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness, if it weren’t for this dead person’s body blocking it, we would have been in a bad situation."

Lan Ruo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Right, let’s quickly gather the medicine and go back, Master is still waiting with severe injuries."

"Yes, I hope we can treat Master’s wounds soon; otherwise, if the cultivators from the Three-Eyed Clan and Moon Water Clan arrive, I fear we won’t be able to hold them off."

With that, the two women immediately flew towards the Heavenly Star Begonia.

Then, Lan Ruo waved her green sleeve and with a burst of strength, flipped over the body next to the spirit grass, ready to harvest the plant.

But at that moment, after the body was turned over, it coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, and then there was a twitch in the eyelids, and the eyes opened.

The very moment his eyes opened, there was a flash of Sword Light within them, and then the bloodstained eyelids closed heavily once more.

This scene, however, went unnoticed by anyone.

His body still had a noticeable sign of life flowing through it.

"Lan Ruo, this person... isn’t dead!" Xian Yue suddenly said beside Lan Ruo.

"I sensed it too. With such severe injuries, if it were an ordinary person, they would have died ten times over. This person... might have an extraordinary background," Lan Ruo pondered.

"Maybe. Perhaps it’s just a minor injury that didn’t affect the vital organs, and he was fortunate enough to survive. But he does look quite handsome, even in such a dire state," Xian Yue said, somewhat wistfully.

"What are we going to do about it? If he were dead, we wouldn’t bother, but since he’s not, having encountered him seems like fate. Let’s help him out; his fate is up to creation now."

Although Lan Ruo initially intended to ignore the situation, she took another glance at the young man. His face was cold and determined, and yet handsome as if carved by a knife, emanating a peculiar charm that made her feel an unexpected pang of compassion.

Cultivators naturally followed their hearts, and the moment Lan Ruo felt this compassion, she was moved to offer assistance.

Moreover, having her Master similarly injured, she reasoned that if others encountered her Master in such a state and offered help, she would surely feel immense gratitude.

With this in mind, she directly enveloped the grievously injured young man in an energy field, taking him alongside her.

"Xian Yue, go ahead and harvest the Heavenly Star Begonia; let’s head back. This person... is also a native cultivator, not from a Foreign Race. With the Foreign Races rampaging nowadays, we should help out as much as we can," Lan Ruo suggested after a moment’s thought.

"Hmm, I have no objections. Actually, if you weren’t going to save him, I would have. Just look at how handsome he is. I’ve never seen a man in such a terrible state still manage to be so charming," Xian Yue said, unable to take her eyes off the severely injured young man, her tone a mix of amazement and melancholy.

"Are you losing your mind? Or are you just smitten?"

Lan Ruo chided with a hint of annoyance.

"Hehe, alright, we’ve got the Heavenly Star Begonia. Let’s go back."

Xian Yue dug out the medicinal herb with a medicine hoe and then sealed it within a rune. She placed it into the Qiankun Ring before turning to Lan Ruo with a giggling smile.

Then, the two turned into beams of light, taking the seriously injured young man with them as they left.

...

Pain.

Bone-deep pain.

Pain that originated from the soul and penetrated the bone marrow.

This was Zhou Yan’s instinctual feeling.

It was as if he was struggling through thousands of harsh tortures, in excruciating pain.

Moreover, this pain was continuous, never ceasing.

Until at a certain moment, the pain gradually receded, the floating sensation vanished, and his body felt as if it had returned to his control; only then did Zhou Yan manage to open his eyes with difficulty.

The intense light caused his vision to blur momentarily, but he faintly saw the delicate and beautiful curtains, and the exquisitely crafted crystal beams.

His mind had a brief moment of bewilderment, and then, many memories arose, yet they were incredibly chaotic, unable to be sorted through.

"You’re awake? Take the elixir. Although it’s painful, the refinement of this Soul-Refining Elixir is not easy. If it weren’t for the young lady’s master... nevermind, just take the medicine and you’ll recover."

A very clear and beautiful female voice drifted over, followed by a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl in a white brocade dress, only fairly pretty, ’thump thump thump’ walking towards him. She then took out a lush and dazzling small gourd-like green jade bottle, carefully pouring out a dark, unremarkable pill and placing it in Zhou Yan’s hand.

Zhou Yan stared blankly at the elixir for a moment and did not swallow it but instead frowned and said, "This elixir has been over-fired by seven points, turning into a poison pill. While it won’t kill, it’s not useful for recovery."

Zhou Yan instinctively came to this conclusion.

He finally understood why he was in such pain during his unconsciousness—it seems this woman must have fed him a large quantity of this malicious elixir.

It was because of his good constitution that he had managed to endure; if it had been an ordinary Cultivator, they might have not died but would have been tormented to death by this elixir!

Thinking this, he subconsciously said such words. But after he spoke, he himself was stunned.

It seemed he was... very familiar with elixirs?

He tried to remember, but he could not recall who he was, nor any memories related to elixirs.

"Hm? Do you understand elixirs well? Daring to question the young lady’s alchemy skills, you truly don’t know what’s good for you! Hmph, if the young lady hadn’t saved you, you’d have been eaten by the vultures in the mountain hollow already!"

The woman spoke unkindly, snatching the elixir from Zhou Yan’s hand and carefully placing it back into the jade bottle, then treasuring it away in the Qiankun Ring.

Then, she coldly said, "Now that you’re awake, just stay put and don’t wander off. The two young ladies will return from gathering medicine soon. You’ve been unconscious for five days and nights; it’s been the young ladies who have been laboriously going out to gather medicine to treat you. When they come back, don’t talk nonsense. Say something pleasant to make them happy.

The Moon Water Clan has been growing more and more presumptuous lately, and the two young ladies have been quite unhappy. You should be careful not to anger them again!"

The woman spoke with a warning tone, coldly.

"Oh... okay..."

Zhou Yan nodded his head, only now realizing that this woman was just a servant with the nature of a maid and that she cared greatly for those two so-called ’young ladies’.

"This... lady, may I ask your name?"

Zhou Yan inquired.

"You can call me ’Little Bell’. The young ladies call me that too. My strength isn’t high, but it’s certainly much stronger than your wasted body, so you don’t need to admire me.

As for you, who don’t even have a hint of a realm and end up running to the wilderness mountainside, you really are oblivious to danger. When the young lady saved you, seeing your injuries nearly made me faint; I thought you were powerful! But after examination, it turns out you have not an ounce of cultivation."

Little Bell spoke very quickly, with her tone gradually softening until it was somewhat indistinct.

This girl, with bright eyes and white teeth, wasn’t very beautiful, but there was a strong sense of brightness and childlike innocence about her.

Zhou Yan was slightly stunned.

From the words ’wasted body’, ’no cultivation’, and others, he felt as though he was beginning to grasp something.

"I have to participate in the Holy Daughter’s suitor selection! I will marry the Holy Daughter! I am..."

Zhou Yan murmured to himself, suddenly unable to remember anything, feeling a dizzy and intense headache.

He involuntarily began tearing at his own hair, lost in inexplicable memories.

But no matter how frenzied he got, he could not recall his memories.

"What are you doing?"

Suddenly, a pleasing and cold scolding voice came through, followed by an inexplicable energy surge attempting to suppress him.

Zhou Yan instinctively reached out and grabbed it, crushing the suppressing energy in his hand.

"Pfft—"

The ball of energy exploded in the palm of Zhou Yan’s hand, not even breaking his skin!

The owner of the pleasing cold voice grunted as if staggered for a moment.

Then, a fragrance wafted towards him, and a green-clothed woman alongside a purple-clothed woman appeared before Zhou Yan.