Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 474 - 120: A Huge Change

Chapter 474: Chapter 120: A Huge Change

Netherworld Lake was serene, and the laughter of the Netherworld Queen was crisp, like the tinkling of silver bells.

However, her laughter soon ceased, she furrowed her brow, and continued, "Previously, it has always been me seeking your help, yet you’ve never shown yourself, even when it could have been easy for you. Now, I believe you understand more than I do how Lei Yan King would act if he desired the Yuan Ci Secret Realm. Haven’t you thought of any price you might have to pay?"

The face of the Netherworld Nine Souls Envoy turned somewhat unsightly, but faced with the Netherworld Queen’s sardonic tone, he fell silent.

Once silence fell, except for the cold chills brought by the gusts of wind between Heaven and Earth, there was just a deathly still quiet.

Moments later, the Netherworld Nine Souls Envoy suddenly said, "Previously, you always thought that I had taken the Primordial Magnetic Pole Light of Frost Tears, but in reality, what I took was fake. The real Primordial Magnetic Pole Light has disappeared. Don’t you find that odd?"

The Netherworld Queen said, "I don’t find it odd."

The Netherworld Nine Souls Envoy nodded and then said, "Not odd? So... it seems that you have intentionally harbored animosity towards me over these years?"

The Netherworld Queen said, "You’re right. But except for you, I despise everyone here, especially this heartless dead man—"

She had just begun to speak when she suddenly closed her mouth and did not finish her sentence.

Because she suddenly sensed a different energy weaving through Heaven and Earth, and a considerable number of cultivators had already started to reveal their presence, heading this way.

The Netherworld Queen sensitively perceived the disturbance, her beautiful yet menacing eyebrows furrowing. Now was certainly not a good time for cultivators to be arriving at this place.

"Truly a bunch of ignoramuses."

The Netherworld Queen’s expression turned slightly grim, then she cast a stern look toward the distant void where a young man was the first to appear.

After his arrival, many geniuses appeared behind him, each remarkable in their own right. Among them, Zhou Yan even recognized a few.

At this moment, upon seeing the young man, Zhou Yan’s expression suddenly turned rather grim, but he controlled his emotions well, not letting them be sensed by others to avoid jeopardizing the major plan.

Before this, Zhou Yan had been strategizing confidently that he could fully control everything, but now, a person had appeared, who was previously nearly destroyed by Zhou Yan himself—the Ji Wu Xuan!

This person had originally entered here as a Void Body, but was slain here by Zhou Yan, yet now he appeared here again. This meant clearly that Ji Wu had gained the backing of a Saint behind him, possessing grand means to enter here, and possibly even carrying exceedingly dreadful methods!

Whichever it was, the outcome would certainly be very grim.

Because Ji Wu had already died once, yet he still dared to come here, signifying he now possessed extremely terrifying strength and confidence.

Similarly, having arrived here, he must have come for revenge and to seize the Yuan Ci Secret Realm.

The saint’s sensing of crisis was terrifyingly accurate, perhaps due to this heaven-defying plan, leading the saint to feel a crisis here, and thus making arrangements in advance to eliminate the instability here.

This possibility was completely plausible. Therefore, whether Zhou Yan was dead or whether his current identity was real or fake, he would encounter Ji Wu.

Once encountering Ji Wu, it was certain that Ji Wu would aim to kill Zhou Yan. And now, with Zhou Yan being protected by the Netherworld Nine Souls Envoy and guarded by the Netherworld Queen, it would be difficult for Ji Wu to kill him. This would inevitably force a confrontation with the saint by revealing the Netherworld Nine Souls Envoy as a trump card.

If the saint came to know of the Netherworld Nine Souls Envoy’s enmity prematurely, the outcome would merit contemplation.

This situation was the worst-case scenario, and in Zhou Yan’s calculations, he had never considered this possibility, for at that time, he had killed Ji Wu. Even if only a Void Body of Ji Wu had died, there should be no chance for him to come here now. But now, Ji Wu had arrived here, becoming the biggest unstable factor.

This unstable factor would directly lead to a terrible flaw in the entire plan.

Upon seeing Ji Wu’s conspicuous arrival, Zhou Yan immediately knew the urgency of the situation, but he did not panic. Instead, he began to calculate meticulously, expending a great deal of mental effort to work out how to handle this outcome.

While thinking, Zhou Yan ran through countless plans, but each plan inevitably led to one outcome—to face Ji Wu in battle again.

Once he battled with Ji Wu, the Saint behind Ji Wu would definitely pinpoint the unstable factor in the Netherworld Nine Souls Envoys.

Previously, because the Netherworld Nine Souls Envoys hadn’t received orders from the Hall Master and hadn’t had the chance to join hands with the Netherworld Queen to open the Netherworld Heavenly Road, neither of them qualified to compete for the Yuan Ci Secret Realm. Now, however, the situation was somewhat special.

Once the alliance of the two was known to Ji Wu, the outcome would directly inform the Saint where the instability lay.

Zhou Yan felt some urgency in his heart but had no better solution to this issue. Even with his unparalleled intelligence, he had to admit when facing the Saint, the intelligence of the Saint was even more astonishing. If he hadn’t seen Ji Wu in this treacherous and eerie place, he never would have expected Ji Wu could appear at Frost Tears. The result being, not knowing where Ji Wu would appear was akin to having such a formidable enemy lurking in the shadows.

Such an enemy hidden in the dark could easily scheme against Zhou Yan, making it simple to snatch the final victory, stealing it away.

Zhou Yan’s face shifted uncertainly, but at that moment, when he sensed that scene, Ji Wu had already looked over, his gaze landing here.

At that moment, time seemed to freeze. Zhou Yan had no way to stop what was happening; nor would he hide or transform his appearance, as doing so might expose himself even faster.

He initially felt uneasy, a mysterious sense of imminent danger, but suddenly, he no longer cared because at that moment, Ji Wu’s eyes suddenly brightened, his eyes filled with killing intent and Battle Intent already furiously erupted.

Behind Ji Wu, Zhou Yan also saw past acquaintances, witnessing many geniuses who had grasped the Xuan Restriction, among these acquaintances, the most familiar to Zhou Yan were Emperor Yao’s Direct Disciple, Qian Xi Xuan, and the duo of Feng Jiu Xian and Hou Ling’er.

Besides these people, others like the Holy Daughter, who had previously endured painful torments under Zhou Yan, also appeared one after another. They emerged from different places but all converged above the Netherworld Lake.

Moreover, at this time, it seemed every individual had grasped the Tao of this place, having mastery over everything here, and could even exert a certain level of combat power. Despite the harsh environment, they managed to negate a significant portion of its effects, showcasing terrifying combat strengths.

Not only that, Zhou Yan sensed an aura of Destruction emanating from many of the geniuses, akin to the Power of Destruction within his own soul; he could clearly feel it. This suggested these genius Cultivators had terrifying trump cards left, likely to desperately erupt in a life-or-death situation and drag one or two others down with them.

Zhou Yan inhaled sharply, his originally flawless plan now faced an unexpected complication, casting a few more shadows over his mood. However, he didn’t lose any fighting spirit over this. He knew that in such a situation, no approach was useful now; he could only rely on his methods and abilities to cope.

And in handling this, he had to consider many aspects, ensuring that the Netherworld Nine Souls Envoys couldn’t detect anything amiss; otherwise, all his plans would be ruined instantly.

Zhou Yan pondered with a look of cruelty and malevolence towards the Void, his expression unchanging.

Although he looked like Lei Yan with the Thunderflame Sword Body, his aura was that of Netherworld Power, identical to that of the Netherworld Queen and Netherworld Nine Souls Envoys. If not for this, Ji Wu would have recognized Zhou Yan at first sight. It was because of this aura that Ji Wu initially overlooked Zhou Yan. Now seeing him again, his eyes flickered with an unusual luster of immense hatred and venom, a sight horribly chilling to the bone.

Faced with such a gaze, Zhou Yan’s lips curled into a mocking and cruel smile, cold and evil without a trace of fear.

Ji Wu, clad in black armor-like robes, rustled in the cold wind, his eyes fierce, staring at Zhou Yan with a similarly ferocious smile, "Zhou Yan? Didn’t expect this, truly Heaven aids me! Previously, you were so arrogant, and now you’ve even become a lackey to the Netherworld Nine Souls Envoys. But even so, this time, you must die!"

Ji Wu’s voice was chillingly cold, making the air around him turn colder.

As he spoke, he stepped forward in the Void, each step pressing down with a terrifying force.

Compared to his previous combat power, his current strength had increased more than tenfold.

Once Zhou Yan sensed this, his heart was somewhat unsettled. How could Ji Wu suddenly become so strong?

His face remained calm, seemingly unaware of Ji Wu’s actions or the oppressive aura, utterly indifferent.

He continued watching Ji Wu coldly and evilly, his body exuding a bizarrely eerie Netherworld Power.

"Heavenly Dao!"

"Divine Punishment!"

Ji Wu suddenly made his move, and as he did, the space between Heaven and Earth manifested terrifying lightning-like brightness. That apocalyptic lightning, now seemingly under his control, turned into two giant Desolate thunder-lightning dragons, charging towards Zhou Yan.