Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 390 - 040: Retreat, Last Words

Chapter 390: Chapter 040: Retreat, Last Words

Within the Ancient Array.

There was yet another independent ancient array, an array within an array, which was the true Deceiving Heaven combination formation.

When Zhou Gucheng entered, and saw this scene, his eyes finally showed a look of shock.

But he did not hesitate, and still stepped forward into the ancient array.

Within the Ancient Array, a familiar and handsome young man suddenly appeared before Zhou Gucheng’s eyes.

Upon seeing him, Zhou Gucheng’s entire body shuddered.

But he bit his lip tightly, holding back his excitement.

Without speaking, he suddenly knelt down.

"Young Master..."

His voice was choked with emotion.

"Enough, I had you come here because during the venture into the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Tomb, I really felt the danger of extinction. Perhaps...somewhere, my true identity has been revealed. Or maybe that place is inherently too dangerous for me to handle..."

Zhou Yan sighed, extending his hand to help Zhou Gucheng up.

At this moment, Zhou Yan had returned to his original appearance and had also resumed his Blood Qi aura.

Although the Emperor Qi Sword Body was still under sealing, now, with just a thought, he could unlock that seal.

"Young Master, you have the fortune of heaven’s chosen, surely nothing will happen to you. This time, wasn’t Xiao Tianlun suppressed and killed by you!"

Zhou Gucheng’s eyes were fervent as he looked at Zhou Yan, reaching an unimaginably fanatical level, as if he were a true believer.

He had always suspected the Young Master was not dead, and now having his belief confirmed, he was ecstatic!

"No...this time it’s different. Don’t ask anything, don’t say anything, just listen to my arrangements," Zhou Yan said, gazing at Zhou Gucheng, the young member of the Zhou Family whom he personally raised, who had now grown into a Cold and Determined genius.

Unfortunately, he had too few fortunate encounters and still wasn’t considered outstanding.

"Yes...Young Master!"

Zhou Gucheng’s lips were bitten until they bled, trembling with much he wanted to say, yet ultimately he said nothing.

"The Heavenly Destiny plan, you should be the first one to know about it. You knew I couldn’t resist, you wanted me to give up hope, so you even thought about killing me with your own hands rather than let me suffer. I understand the pain you forced upon yourself to betray me."

"Afterward, when I weathered it, you were not afraid of Cai Ling, cooperating with her as part of the strategy to protect me...I also understand this in my heart."

"Even in your heart, you suspected that the Thunderflame Sword Body Zhou Yan was me, which is why you risked passing on your Cultivation Technique to me. I know all this."

"I know you have a way to shield yourself from the Heavenly Mechanism, which is your fortune and ability... But if you can guess all this, then those Saints... definitely won’t be far behind.

So, if I think that by changing my Constitution, I can rest easy, then I truly won’t know how I’ll die."

"This time, even if a Saint knows of my situation and has not made it public yet, you continue protecting this secret."

"Still use the method that you protect the secrets within your own heart to protect this secret."

"I, Zhou Yan, owe many people in this lifetime. Although I seem prominent in the world, there are few I can trust."

"You, Zhou Gucheng, are one of the few I can trust."

"The Holy Daughter’s recruitment for a suitor, I originally thought I understood it clearly. Now, I fear that there’s a bigger secret to the matter."

"But that business, you shall not partake."

"This time, I give you a chance to achieve an Invincible mutated Constitution."

"But I also give you a warning—the will of the Ancestor Thunder Sword Dao passed down within your body... Has that old ancestor’s will truly died? You must be cautious. An existence that seems dead but is as resilient as a centipede which doesn’t stiffen upon death might be far more complex than you believe."

"Now...force out a drop of your Essence Blood. I will refine a flesh body for you, and then combine it with your current body.

Later, I will Suppress and seal your bodily capacities, leaving you as before on arrival. But in reality, just by relying on your physical body, your combat strength can nearly reach a seven. What you need to do is not to participate in the trials of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Tomb, but to enter seclusion to understand the ’Xuan Restriction’.

Take Zhou Ying and Zhou Qianqian with you."

"Once you’ve understood the ’Xuan Restriction,’ remember to take care of Zhou Ying and Zhou Qianqian. And by the way, look after the Great Zhou Family as well, Zhou Yao, Zhou Momo, who set out with you, are still vulnerable..."

"Also, the former Family Head Zhou Cangmu, my cousin Zhou Xian, and others, take proper care of them too."

"Afterward, I will give you a drop of my Lifebound Essence Blood. If I still exist after three years, you must permanently seal this drop of blood within your body. If I die, then you should hide from the world and wait for an opportunity, for I will be reborn through our bloodline."

"In this drop of blood is the Thunder Flame Soul Liquid. If you do not follow my words and devour and refine this drop of blood, you will become incredibly powerful, but once you are powerful, carrying my scent, you will also inevitably be implicated and die."

"..."

"I don’t require you to surely do these, but... I believe you can do them all."

Zhou Yan had said all he needed to say in one go.

Zhou Gucheng was already standing still, with blood streaming from his eyes.

These were blood tears.

He felt that this time, the young master was truly leaving his ’last words.’

Suddenly, he had an immense longing for power.

"Condense your essence blood."

Zhou Yan sighed as he spoke.

Zhou Gucheng knelt on the ground again; he didn’t speak but listened intently to Zhou Yan, concentrating on condensing his essence blood.

...

"Undying Rebirth Technique!"

"Nirvana Rebirth!"

"Void Ancient Path!"

Similar to the method used before, Zhou Yan modified a cell within a drop of essence blood while preserving the original constitution and strength of Zhou Gucheng’s body. Afterward, he changed the cell’s compatibility and, with a substantial amount of Origin Energy, he formed an incredibly powerful physical body.

After this body appeared, nearly half of Zhou Yan’s energy inside was depleted, and almost ninety percent of the Essence Qi Spirit derived from Xiao Tianlun’s Origin Energy was used up.

"Now, this body is in complete sync with your soul. You have two choices. First, you make this physical body the sovereign and merge your original body into it; second, you keep your original body as the main and gradually merge this new body into it.

The key difference is, with the first option, if I am an impostor pretending to be Zhou Yan, you might fall into my trap and become a puppet, or my Void Body, which is not risk-free.

With the second option, you might trigger the will of the Thunder Ancestor, allowing him to resurrect and seize your body... or you might be luckier, and the Ancestor’s will is truly dead, giving you greater opportunity and achievements, and no chance of being ’controlled’ by me."

Zhou Yan spoke calmly.

At that moment, everything seemed very strange.

"Young Master, Gucheng will always trust the Young Master. Thus, there is no second choice, only the first!"

Zhou Gucheng’s tone was incredibly firm.

It seemed he could be absolutely certain that this was not a scheme.

"You are very good," Zhou Yan said, as Zhou Gucheng’s soul had already flown out and directly entered the body refined by Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan knew that Zhou Gucheng was showing him absolute trust.

In fact, Zhou Yan did not need to see but knew outright some of Zhou Gucheng’s thoughts.

Still, he said it anyway, simply trying to shake Zhou Gucheng’s resolve.

However, Zhou Gucheng’s will was extremely hard, not showing the slightest fluctuation.

All this proved that he had completely passed the test.

Zhou Yan breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that what he had done was not wrong.

Afterward, he began the follow-up work, and Zhou Gucheng did not disappoint him; his combat power had clearly undergone a terrifying enhancement.

But because Zhou Gucheng’s constitution itself was not strong enough, even with the transformation, the effect was not as powerful as Zhou Yan’s own, reaching only near level seven in combat power and not touching the threshold of ’Xuan Restriction.’

This required Zhou Gucheng’s own efforts.

Having completed all this and temporarily sealing away Zhou Gucheng’s anomalies, Zhou Yan did not help him resolve the hidden dangers of the ’Ancestral Thunder Inheritance’ he had absorbed, but left it to him to resolve.

Thereafter, Zhou Yan led Zhou Gucheng out of the double-layer Ancient Array and appeared in the outside world.

Following Zhou Yan’s side, Zhou Gucheng was very calm, just like when he entered, showing no signs and sensing no changes.