Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 430 - 079: The Cruel Derivation

Chapter 430: Chapter 079: The Cruel Derivation

Cold wind swept over the desolate graves, carrying a mournful sound.

The bleak, lonely black land was scattered with abandoned solitary tombs.

Each tomb, to varying degrees, buried a peerless genius.

For only a peerless genius could have a solitary tomb in the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Tomb.

But the peerless geniuses had died too, as the solitary tombs stretched endlessly, like a vast mountain range.

Yet a solitary tomb was not truly alone.

Once Zhou Yan and Jiang Yuning emerged from the Killing Array, they felt such an intense aura assaulting their spirits. Although Zhou Yan’s mood was not bad, he felt a somewhat inexplicable melancholy.

Perhaps, those who survive are ultimately few, and a multitude of geniuses will be buried in various secret realms and desolate lands.

It was as though there was also a solitary tomb belonging to him, Zhou Yan.

Thinking of that tomb, his calculation ability immediately conceived a possibility, a very strange possibility.

First, all of this existed within a derivation, and the ultimate deriver aimed to cultivate him, Zhou Yan. Thus, figures like Xiong Ba, Master, even the Holy Daughter, and Thunder Origin Sword God were his guardians, and he might very well be the legendary "Lei Yan King."

This possibility held a one in ten thousand probability.

Second, all of this was a false world, inherently a world created for proliferation, all paving the way for Divine Tao after Nine Origin Reincarnation.

This possibility held a one in a million probability.

Third... there was no third, as the remaining possibilities had no basis for derivation, merely speculations.

These thoughts were based on others’ inexplicable familiarity with Zhou Yan and their calculations.

The deep secrets in his heart, even the Saint couldn’t probe—how could the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Ghosts understand the fundamental basis of Zhou Yan’s enlightenment? Although the Ancestor provided explanations, explanations that anyone would surely believe,

Zhou Yan possessed the memory of his Master, knew that such a possibility was nearly impossible, and thus doubted.

That is to say, the Gloomy Sword Intent and such Primordial Sword Intents imparted by the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Ghosts were completely Zhou Yan’s own. Likely, the Ancestor knew Zhou Yan’s future.

Similarly, Xiong Ba knew, Holy Daughter Ning’er knew, even the owner of that giant eye in Thunder Flame Breaking Path Mountain clearly knew some things.

So, did they know all this based on the "Lee Sha’s" inheritance, or did they know his future in this life? If it was the power from the past life, it clearly couldn’t be comprehended this life again!

Furthermore, the Lonely Sword Intent known by Ni Chang Fairy was also understood as the prototype of the armless woman initially in his heart.

So what did the sword intent contained in the statues that had always been there represent?

It was as if tempting him to comprehend this Sword Dao, proceeding orderly as if following a preset program, each step was guided.

...

Unthinking was not scary, but once Zhou Yan thought it through, he suddenly felt a chill all over, even continued thinking might lead him not to know whether the people around him were false or real.

This was indefinable.

In the memory of his Master, there was such a profound memory. Before, Zhou Yan had never thought this way, but now, he suddenly put himself in that position.

Once, an evil power trapped an enemy, thus created a terrifying array called "True World."

Outside the array, the enemy was chained in the Soul Killing Chains, suffering day and night from soul-tearing torment.

But that person’s Soul Consciousness didn’t feel so, instead believing he had luckily lived through to the next life, still unlost and born with memories of his previous life, terrifying top-level methods, and so on, thus bitterly cultivating, vainly seeking revenge.

He devoured Fierce Beast Essence Blood, believing that the Essence Blood transformed his body and Soul, thinking that the Blood of Fierce Beasts was delicious, embodying a violent aura yet insighting a powerful sensation—but in reality, outside the array, it was merely the subtle vibrations emitted from the Soul Killing Chains, a simulated effect.

These, the Master also learned from Ancient Books, thus was quite shocked.

There was a torment, not of the body or Soul, but upon Soul Consciousness and even Divine Sense.

Common people have Spirit as their consciousness. From the Sword Soul Realm, with the Three Souls starting, one has Soul Consciousness.

And when one transforms Realm into Sword God, they possess Divine Sense.

A person who reaches the peak and walks an unobstructed path to the highest peak, the more all hope is lost when they fail.

When that enemy, who thought he lived out the next life, stood at that world’s peak, suddenly broke through again, then broke free, only to return to the Soul Killing Chains. He woke up and realized that all his vigor and pride were mere Huangliang’s Dream of an ant.

The real him was extremely lowly, filthy, with rotting bones, not resembling a human at all, all his strength utterly wasted not to mention being soaked continuously in filth.

The array of soul killing rays still emitted pulsing with the vigor he felt at his peak, but the harsh reality pierced through his body and soul.

This was a terrifying impact, an Emperor suddenly realizing himself as someone forced to kneel on the ground, sustaining life on filth, devoid of any dignity, extremely lowly—this contrast was truly terrifying.

At that moment, that enemy’s Soul Consciousness shattered completely, emitting a torrential wrath, unwillingness, and despair.

Soul Consciousness shattered, an existence nearly immortal simply vanished into smoke.

The powerful being who arranged all this let out an evil, extremely pleased laugh, the laughter shocking the entire desolate Ancient Star.

...

This was an example recorded in an Ancient Book.

In the Ancient Book, the words were like blood, as if carved extremely deep, the memory of his Master here also appeared extremely profound.

Zhou Yan sighed. The step he took suddenly paused mid-air, not stepping down, his whole being as if frozen.

In his memory appeared Thunder Flame Breaking Path Mountain, that giant eye giving a series of answers.

...

"Am I dead?"

"Yes, you died. When the thunder gathered, your other world’s Space Power couldn’t block the thunder, so you were obliterated by the Heavenly Tribulation.

What you see and hear are all just dreams in a ’Returning Soul’ state."

The voice continued to deliver information.

Zhou Yan remained frozen in place.

"White Fox is dead too."

The voice continued.

Zhou Yan suddenly felt as if he truly was dead. So, that sensation of the soul being detached was actually him... dead...

"The Emperor Qi Sword Body, along with your inheritance, allowed your residual soul to continue living. Under the energy and effects of the Power of Time, everything proceeded as if undergoing a normal Heavenly Tribulation.

You set a future for yourself, but constantly doubted yourself and eventually thought of the method to ’Create’, trying to find a way to return to life."

"If you had a Life Soul Token, others would find it shattered, but with a trace of your residual soul still existing... It wasn’t I who drew you here, rather all cultivators who died in Thunder Flame Breaking Path Mountain ultimately appear here as residual souls. What you see, that Soul Sea, is the congregation of their residual souls.

To wait for a chance, for Reincarnation to come anew, this trace of a residual soul must not vanish.

A drop of water, a grain of dust, if it does not vanish, it has to merge into the ocean, into the earth.

This is the primal Secret Technique of life."

...

This was the scene after Zhou Yan, unable to bear the grand catastrophe at Thunder Flame Breaking Path Mountain, was drawn into the Thunderflame Soul Sea.

It was the scene where he communicated with the Thunder Origin Sword God.

In that scene, Zhou Yan learned the Life and Death Sword Intent and obtained the Thunder Flame Soul Liquid.

Zhou Yan recalled that scene, and then his extraordinarily powerful mind forcefully derived another memory.

Like forcibly tearing open a memory to reassemble it.

The subsequent memory appeared when he was at Tianji Mountain facing Zhuge Wuwei.

...

"If so, what’s the point of being powerful? You gain power, but then you lose everything."

"Lost it? If you never had it, you can’t really talk about losing."

Zhuge Wuwei said calmly, then with his hands clasped behind his back, he showed a desolate silhouette and said, "This is a Void World, what you see may not be true; what you hear may also not be true. Even what you feel might not be real.

This statement, including what I’m telling you now, are the same.

You think it’s real, then it is real. You think it’s fake, then it’s fake...

The Nine Origin Reincarnation... To coalesce the Sword Soul, to grow, that is what is real. Other things, aren’t as critical as you think."

Zhuge Wuwei hinted.

...

Two streams of memory, combined by the immense soul power at work within derivation.

Zhou Yan trembled all over, feeling like he had plunged into an icy abyss, he felt he had torn a vague veil.

He now deeply doubted whether such a world, the Sword Burial Ancestor Star, was a terrible world or a grand setup.

Perhaps, like the fearsome examples recorded in the ancient book in his master’s memories.

But Zhou Yan dared not think about it because if viewed from this angle, then the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Ghosts and Ning’er not telling him the truth might really be out of a kind of protection, a protection fearing he might collapse.

Zhou Yan did not continue to derive further. The outcome, if not the real answer, would be supremely cruel.

Such calculations, if even one step was wrong, the result would be worlds apart. Even calculating the one in ten thousand chance, that chance, was just a slim possibility, not necessarily such.

But such an outcome, was absolutely shocking!

...

All this seemed lengthy, yet it all happened in that instant.

Zhou Yan’s footsteps fell, stepping onto the hard pitch-black desolate land, a moment ago he was spirited and buoyant, and the next, he became much deeper and steady.

"Husband... what’s wrong?"

Jiang Yuning asked in concern.

"It’s nothing, I just remembered some of ’Lee Sha’s past memories, I’m not very comfortable, but it doesn’t matter, the past is the past, we have to look forward."

Zhou Yan said thoughtfully, his gaze suddenly became concentrated, looking towards the desolate space.

At this moment, Jiang Yuning also showed a shocked expression in her gaze towards there.

"Sizzling—"

That part of heaven and earth seemed to crack open, Fairy Die, Saint Yao, and Yaochi Saint jointly initiated a heaven-shocking battle against the Double Saints of Boyang.

This was a cruel holy war, at this moment, the Holy Blood of the Double Saints sprayed down, floating in the sky like rain.

In the sky, it was golden Holy Blood, but by the time it fell over the space above the desolate tomb, it had dried and turned dark, purplish black, emitting a stench similar to what they first smelled from Xiong Ba.

The stench gradually intensified, and from afar, several figures flew towards this place.

Each one of them was a genius who had grasped Xuan Restriction.

Among them, Ji Wu was engaged in a fearsome chase against Qing Guardian and her two guards.

Great powers burst forth between heaven and earth, instantly spreading to where Zhou Yan was.

(Note: This Chapter is a very important foreshadowing, please review "South Desolate First" and "Life and Death Sword Intent and Thunderflame Sword Soul" to organize your thoughts.

Also, there will be only one update today, had guests at home and they just left. The New Year is approaching, being the head of the family, I am busy with all sorts of things and do not have much time to write. I will catch up when possible.)