Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 454 - 103 Do you want to know?

Chapter 454: Chapter 103 Do you want to know?

"I didn’t expect it to be like this. Only now do I understand that we might have really been manipulated by the Saint, becoming mere cannon fodder in the struggle over the Yuan Ci Secret Realm. It’s a pity, the realization came a bit late."

Zhou Yan sighed with a bitter smile.

"Since you’ve brought the map with you, there’s nothing I can do. I can only help you avoid some calamities by letting you directly enter the Yuan Magnetic Channel. As for the rest... you’ll have to fend for yourselves."

The Netherworld Queen let out a sigh, and then she slapped her hand towards the Void, and a bridge of lightning appeared. This bridge of lightning directly transported Zhou Yan and his group into an unknown space.

This was a place similar to a valley, surrounded by very tall mountains, yet the mountains were barren, without trees.

The entire mountain was just a lonely peak of rock, towering into the clouds.

Everywhere around, there were such rocky peaks.

Not a single edge in sight.

Between the stone peaks lay long, winding valleys. These paths were littered with decayed skeletons and broken sword hilts.

It seemed that many geniuses among the Cultivators had already perished here. Clearly, this must be the real Secret Realm that led to the Yuan Ci Secret Realm.

"You have the map, and you meet the criteria, so enter the ’Netherworld Heavenly Road’ and seek your fortune. As for life and death, that is beyond my control."

"Everyone, I hope you have good luck. Of all of you, only one will survive; the others will perish. Just be mentally prepared."

With these simple words, the Netherworld Queen’s figure disappeared immediately.

With the disappearance of the Netherworld Queen, the landscape around them also became indistinguishable. The once clear stone peaks seemed to have fallen into a fog and could not be seen clearly anymore.

Moreover, even if two Cultivators were face-to-face, they couldn’t see each other; it was obvious that their sensing and perception abilities were being blocked.

Suddenly, the surroundings became eerily quiet. Zhou Yan too could see nothing, only the path beneath his feet seemed to stretch forward.

Zhou Yan did not move forward. He wasn’t worried about a probability of nine deaths and one survival, but was carefully contemplating the events that had just taken place.

Obviously, the Netherworld Queen, also known as Sword Spirit Xiao Shuang, sister of Sword Spirit Xiao Xue, was a sword spirit, but an extremely powerful one, even having condensed her own body and existing in the Frost Tears as the ruler of the Netherworld Beasts.

And the Netherworld Queen clearly had a story, even having some past connection with Zhou Yan’s previous life.

That phrase "Brother Li," full of excitement, could convey different meanings to anyone listening.

But after looking at him for a moment, the Netherworld Queen immediately corrected herself. What was the reason for that?

Qingyao was called ’Fairy Qingyao,’ Jiang Yuning was called ’Fairy Ning,’ and the Netherworld Queen was known as ’Frost Immortal.’ It seemed Sword Spirit Xiao Xue was ’Fairy Snow.’

Then, what had happened in the past?

All of it was a mystery. It seemed to involve past events that everyone intentionally concealed or avoided talking about.

No one wished to speak of the past.

Zhou Yan did not move forward.

Everyone who entered the so-called Netherworld Heavenly Road meant that only one could live, and that the rest had to die.

Zhou Yan did not wish to die, but neither did he wish for the Holy Daughter to perish. Therefore, this situation must have a solution.

While Zhou Yan was pondering, a sudden and unbearably miserable scream echoed through heaven and earth.

Only someone suffering endless pain could emit such a heart-wrenching sound.

The owner of the voice was Qingyao.

It seemed that Qingyao was the first to encounter danger.

Zhou Yan tried to use his Purp Flame Void Power to perceive with his Soul, but this time, the Soul Power failed to manifest. It was clearly being completely suppressed.

Even with the technique of Deceiving Heaven, he still couldn’t deploy his Soul Perception here.

...

"Ah—" Another scream came through, this time belonging to Jia Yongheng, the Body of Destiny.

"Did Jia Yongheng also encounter trouble?" Zhou Yan furrowed his brow.

If even Jia Yongheng, who was most skilled at seeking fortune and avoiding disaster, ran into trouble, then the fate of the others was unlikely to be any better.

"No—Ah—" Suddenly, a desperate scream from Yan Ran echoed, filled with extreme indignation, as if she was undergoing unimaginable torment before death.

Zhou Yan’s heart clenched tightly. He summoned the power of Fist Intent, but it was not enough to disperse the murky fog between heaven and earth; he still couldn’t see anything.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself once again.

"Xiao Shuang, come out, I need to talk to you," Zhou Yan suddenly called out.

The world remained silent, with Cultivators’ screams intermittently breaking the quiet, each more piercing than the last. Mixed with these were unexplained sobs from the Holy Daughter, as if something very saddening had befallen her.

At that moment, Zhou Yan suddenly felt his body’s cells crushed by a powerful electric voltage in an instant, a pain worse than when he had used proliferation methods to condense his body. The terrible agony shot through his Soul like lightning and, unable to control himself, Zhou Yan unleashed a roar of pain.

This inexplicable crisis appeared suddenly, unforeseen and indeed extremely dangerous and frightening.

The pain emerged in an instant and then disappeared.

But that pain, like a torment, lasted only a moment; yet it felt as unbearably long as years.

Despite Zhou Yan’s terrifying willpower, his body was in so much pain that blood seeped out from him.

This attack was illogical, without form or trace, suddenly emerging and causing one to wish for death.

"Xiao Shuang, I’m your Brother Li. Are you so cruel that you won’t speak a word to me? I’m here on behalf of Little Xue, who’s looking for you! Little Xue is on the verge of annihilation but is still holding on to her last breath just to find you. You’ve become the Netherworld Queen here, living in delight. Have you ever thought about Little Xue’s suffering?"

Zhou Yan endured the pain of his body being inexplicably destroyed and coldly reproached.

The fog dispersed somewhat, and then a purple-robed, purple-haired woman descended, a thinfilm-like sphere of light enveloping both Zhou Yan and the Netherworld Queen.

Everything outside became visible within the light membrane.

Zhou Yan saw not far away Jiang Yuning’s body was already soaked in blood, repeatedly stabbed by an unknown energy, as if she was engaged in a life-and-death battle.

Further away, Qingyao, drenched in blood, lost pieces of her flesh occasionally; a terrifying Netherworld Beast was attacking in front of her.

On the side, Yan Ran was lying on the ground, limp as if clinging on to her last breath, her body battered and bruised, with ants the size of fists gnawing at her flesh.

With each bite of the fist-sized ants, she unconsciously let out pained moans.

Elsewhere, Jia Yongheng was bound to a rock peak, and the endless Power of thunder and lightning struck him back and forth in a process similar to the Soul Devouring torture that Ancestor of Ten Thousand Ghosts had experienced, strikingly alike.

At this moment, Jia Yongheng was like skin and bones, his body nearly decaying under the relentless Power of thunder and lightning.

The only one who was not attacked was Si Yuan, standing in place with a look of confusion in his eyes. He looked perplexed and occasionally laughed or cried, as if lost in a tragic story, unable to extricate himself.

And Zhuge Jiayue was nowhere to be found; this woman had vanished without a trace.

Everything was extremely strange and abnormal, but Zhou Yan could not pinpoint what was wrong.

"Brother Li, you say you’re Brother Li, then do you remember the Frost Sisters of Lei Yan Continent?"

The Netherworld Queen looked indifferently and mockingly at Zhou Yan, speaking words that bewildered him.

Zhou Yan fell silent.

"Brother Li, you say you’re Brother Li, do you remember Sister Bai Ying who endured the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, the Quintuple Woes of Heaven and Man, for you?"

"White Fox Bai Ying?"

Zhou Yan exclaimed in shock.

"White Fox? Heartless creature, no wonder your daughter hates you."

The Netherworld Queen’s eyes were filled with fierce hatred, bone-chilling to the core.

"I’m sorry, regardless of what I did, or if I’ve wronged you, I believe that I, Zhou Yan, am deeply loyal and righteous, I would rather die than—"

"Stop with your hypocritical words. If you were truly loyal and righteous, how would you have lived this life? What should have been given up, you did not, and what should have been protected, you failed to."

The Netherworld Queen suddenly laughed, her laugh laden with endless sorrow and desolation.

Zhou Yan fell silent again.

From the tone of the Netherworld Queen, he heard a terrible past.

Could it be that his past self was less than a beast?

Otherwise, how could he have aroused such hatred from the Netherworld Queen?

"Can you tell me what happened? I really don’t know anything."

After a long silence, Zhou Yan asked earnestly.

"Do you want to know?"

The Netherworld Queen’s sneer was through clenched teeth.

"Yes."

"But I don’t want to mention it. You said Little Xue is about to dissipate, right? Call her out. I want to see her."

The Netherworld Queen avoided discussing the past and instead brought up Little Xue directly.

"Okay."

Zhou Yan nodded, sighing with a hint of indifference.

He finally understood that some memories of the past that didn’t exist might not be anything good. Not knowing, perhaps, was indeed a kind of bliss.

Zhou Yan consolidated his Soul Consciousness into the Purple Flame Void, brought out the shattered sword body along with the broken aura of Sword Spirit Xiao Xue from the Purple Flame Void, and then held it in his palms.

He gazed quietly at the shattered sword, as if holding the most precious treasure in the world.

"Little Xue... it’s Little Xue, just a Residual Soul, yet still remembers her sister... Little Xue, I’m sorry for you—your sister will heal you."

Once the Netherworld Queen saw the sword, she waved her hand slightly, and the sword immediately flew into her grasp.

Her hand gently caressed the sword, and the cracks on the sword hilt began to visibly mend, and the fractured soul of Sword Spirit Xiao Xue was also soothingly smoothed out at this moment.

The Little Xue whom Zhou Yan could not heal was effortlessly restored by the Netherworld Queen to perfection, within moments, as if she had never been injured.

Zhou Yan could not discern the slightest clue about this technique, but he knew that this method was undoubtedly astounding.