Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 418 - 068 Can I call you ’husband’?

Chapter 418: Chapter 068 Can I call you ’husband’?

Emerging from the Purple Flame Void, Zhou Yan immediately felt an extreme sense of weakness.

Beside Zhou Yan, Xiong Ba’s physical body was in tatters, equally miserable. Initially, it had triggered the Twelve Magnetic Light Columns in the Saint Transformation Array as a Divine Array, prepared to fight to the death and destroy all Saints.

At that time, it had already been severely injured.

Now, its situation was not optimistic either.

Further away, in the ceased Killing Array, the Twelve Magnetic Light Columns were still immensely powerful, and the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Ghosts was still suppressed. Now this suppression had become even stronger. However, due to the change in the array, the Yuan Magnetic Light Columns no longer tormented the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Ghosts with Thunder, thus giving him a chance to breathe at last.

Zhou Yan opened his eyes, and Xiong Ba immediately sensed it.

There was a look of doubt and concern in its eyes.

"All the Evil Kings and others are dead."

Zhou Yan gave the answer, then provided a scene from the Sword Illusion Realm.

The scene was not detailed, just a snippet, but the death of the Evil King was a fact, as even the Evil King’s sinister curved sword appeared beside Zhou Yan.

Once a Saint’s weapon was taken, the Saint was bound to die.

"It’s good that they’re dead, good that they’re dead. Brother Zhou Yan, you have grown."

Xiong Ba sighed, then coughed up a large mouthful of blood, clearly heavily injured.

Zhou Yan also sighed, saying, "Are you following Lee Ran?"

He directly addressed his master as ’Lee Ran,’ wanting to know the answer.

"Yes."

Xiong Ba admitted.

"I thought so. Then am I... Lee Ran’s brother?"

Zhou Yan asked again.

Xiong Ba fell silent.

Zhou Yan did not ask further. He successively applied three cycles of the Undying Rebirth Technique, followed by three cycles of the Nirvana Rebirth Technique on himself, but he only managed to restore his basic physical appearance.

His Soul Armor was in tatters, not to mention barely covering himself, and he looked as wretched as a beggar.

But he didn’t care about that much.

After this, Zhou Yan again applied nearly a hundred cycles of the Undying Rebirth Technique and Nirvana Rebirth Technique to Xiong Ba, exhausting his own strength, just managing to temporarily stabilize Xiong Ba’s injuries.

"You should look after the Holy Daughter, you two... I won’t stop you anymore."

Xiong Ba sighed, his voice extremely aged.

At this moment, Xiong Ba had a sense of desolate resignation.

"Is there any hope for Lee Ran?"

Zhou Yan suddenly asked.

Xiong Ba’s downcast head suddenly lifted, a look of surprise in its eyes, as if unexpectedly reasonable, yet fitting.

"No need, if there’s a chance, reach the Void Nine Realm, visit Earth, you’ll understand everything that needs to be understood. You shouldn’t dwell too much on these matters. Focus on your cultivation."

Xiong Ba looked deeply at Zhou Yan and then said, "Now, your physical condition is considered ruined. The Emperor Qi Sword Body has completely destroyed its foundation, and it’s difficult to gather it again. Relying solely on the Thunderflame Sword Body, it is even more impossible for you to contend with cultivators like Ji Wu.

Ji Wu, I have heard of him long ago, his parents were Saints. He was nurtured within his mother’s body for three thousand years, enjoying endless nourishment from bloodlines, started devouring the essence blood of ancient Demon Beasts and Fierce Beasts since birth, making his constitution strong.

Although he has no specific constitution, think of him as having every constitution.

Having nothing is equivalent to omnipotence.

Since he was sensible, he has constantly battled with Saints of his youth, and you should know, those who become Saints are those who have crossed Life Tribulations, who have broken through Ancestor Dao, the real geniuses, each one remarkably incredible.

He started fighting from childhood, and now, he has clearly grasped the Original Dao. Even if you reached the Sword Void Realm variant, even if you achieved Great Perfection in the combination of Thunderflame and Emperor Qi Sword Bodies, it is unsure if you could defeat him."

"He is the absolute number one for a reason."

"You may walk your own path, I won’t stop you, but I won’t help you either, of course, I can’t. My current realm, even if it recovered to its limit, is just at the Sword Void Peak, and I’m no match for him either. So I can’t assist you."

Xiong Ba explained carefully.

It spoke very seriously.

It had never been this serious, and once it was, it was surely a matter of great importance.

Zhou Yan nodded deeply and said, "Don’t worry, if I can choose my own path, I certainly won’t fall so easily. Even the Evil King couldn’t kill me, a mere Ji Wu amounts to nothing."

Zhou Yan said calmly, speaking, he applied several more cycles of the Undying Rebirth Technique and the Nirvana Rebirth Technique on himself, then he walked toward Ning’er.

He resolved everything in his heart before facing Holy Daughter Jiang Yuning, not wanting any other factors to disturb the peaceful atmosphere he could have with Ning’er.

Now, having dealt temporarily with all trivial matters, Zhou Yan walked toward Holy Daughter Jiang Yuning.

...

At this moment, Zhou Yan had already stepped out from the light column, the Twelve Magnetic Light Columns and the Netherworld Demon Cave’s Killing Array had completely merged, forming a terrifying Divine Array.

And the control over this Divine Array had fallen into Xiong Ba’s hands.

With this bear’s ruthless tactics, Zhou Yan didn’t have to think to know, certainly Saints would start having continuous bad luck.

But that was no longer Zhou Yan’s concern.

This time, the Evil Spirit from the Netherworld Demon Cave perished, and Zhou Yan’s Purple Flame Lotus Enlightenment Space already contained a vast amount of liquid Origin Energy.

Later, Qian Saint was slain by Zhou Yan. The Essence Qi of Qian Saint was terrifyingly powerful, and after killing Qian Saint, Zhou Yan obtained one of Qian Saint’s Qiankun Rings.

At this moment, while walking towards Ning’er, Zhou Yan was also sensing the Qiankun Ring of Qian Saint.

This Qiankun Ring was a Holy Artifact.

Even though it was of a lower quality, it had the ability to resist powerful Soul Shocks, and it contained a large amount of Refining Materials, refining materials, and some incredibly effective Elixirs.

Perhaps to a Saint these Elixirs would be nothing special, but for Zhou Yan, who had just advanced to the Sword Void Realm, they were absolutely revitalizing.

Not only that, with the Essence Qi of Qian Saint, Zhou Yan was fully capable of using these items to remake his own body.

Zhou Yan’s body was shattered, but his bloodline and bones remained, and as long as a single cell existed, Zhou Yan could revive himself using the Undying Rebirth Technique, and now the task was not difficult.

The only pity was that the Twelve Sword Souls had shattered, truly annihilated by the Yuan Magnetic Light Column, not something that could simply be reformed through repair since even the Soul Consciousness derived from the Emperor Qi Sword Body had been extinguished—it was like cutting off the roots.

It was as if all the natural talents associated with the Emperor Qi Sword Body were forcibly erased from this body, the grave cost of his desperate battle.

To recover, he needed a stroke of luck or a miraculous encounter.

Or perhaps, there might never be a chance to condense the Twelve Sword Souls again.

Xiong Ba’s disappointment and even despair were largely due to this too.

But Zhou Yan was not worried about this.

From Qian Saint’s Qiankun Ring, Zhou Yan found a scripture, an extended secret technique of the "Taiyin Talisman Scripture," containing the insights of a Saint.

Normally, Zhou Yan would not have been able to comprehend its extended secret techniques, but he had the battle and cultivation memories of his master, Lee Ran, who was a Saint, which enabled him to understand and comprehend them.

However, he did not look at it now and instead gathered all his focus as he sat down next to Ning’er.

Holy Daughter Jiang Yuning’s hair turned white, covering her beautiful face.

A terrifying sword wound was on her chest, piercing through her heart, and it looked horrifying.

But when Zhou Yan looked over, he could clearly see that Ning’er no longer had a heart.

Because her heart, fused with the Life Soul, had been taken to the Netherworld Life and Death Illusion Realm by Ping’er.

Without a heart, what should be done with this body?

Zhou Yan gazed tenderly at Ning’er, softly saying, "Ning’er..."

Jiang Yuning silently raised her head, her gaze deeply locking onto Zhou Yan. She gently pursed her lips, tenderly saying, "You... why bother?"

"It’s just that, people ought to strive for some things. I missed Feng Lingqing, missed Gu Xi, and now should I miss you too? Ning’er, no matter what you become, no matter what hardships you face, or even if you don’t want me, my feelings for you will not change."

Zhou Yan gazed tenderly at Jiang Yuning, his eyes seemingly melting everything about her: "No one can stop my heart. Even if the world were to end, the universe collapse, this sentiment will remain unwavering and steadfast."

Zhou Yan spoke all the words in his heart without hesitation.

As he said, some things, once missed, should not be missed again, because there aren’t that many things in life to regret over.

Once missed, it might never be possible to make amends.

"Zhou Yan... you are really foolish."

Ning’er’s eyes showed endless tenderness. At this moment, she also released all the shackles in her heart, gently leaning her head against Zhou Yan’s shoulder.

Zhou Yan slightly moved closer, gently embracing Ning’er, treating it as if he were holding the entire world.

At this moment, his heart finally calmed down, peaceful as if a wanderer wandering outside had suddenly found a peaceful harbor, found his own home.

That lonely heart suddenly found a place to dock.

In this instant, neither of them spoke, yet the atmosphere was utterly serene.

Ning’er leaned against Zhou Yan’s embrace, her gaze clear.

Zhou Yan, from above, could smell the faint fragrance from her body and a slight scent of a bloody wound. He could also feel the gloss on her now nearly dry, whitened long hair, nearly devoid of vitality.

He could also see her long eyelashes quietly standing out, appearing exceptionally serene and transcendent.

"Ning’er, I will heal all your wounds."

"Mm."

Ning’er softly replied.

All the words Zhou Yan said, she listened as if, from this moment on in this lifetime, everything was entrusted to Zhou Yan.

"I will help you retrieve the Life Soul," Zhou Yan added.

"Those... those aren’t important, are they?"

Ning’er tenderly asked, before her lips moved again, saying, "I know of a secret place. Let’s go there, leave this world... I wish to retire there with you."

After a moment of thought, Ning’er made such a suggestion.

Zhou Yan was slightly startled.

He was very willing to do so, even about to agree instantly.

But suddenly, Ning’er added, "I thought too naïvely, without strength, there is no paradise. No matter where we go, we could not truly retire. Zhou Yan... may I call you ’husband’?"

"Ning’er..."

Zhou Yan trembled all over, but Ning’er continued by herself: "Husband, if only the universe could pause at this moment, time cease to flow, how wonderful that would be."