Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 481 - 127: Crisis of the Holy Daughter

Chapter 481: Chapter 127: Crisis of the Holy Daughter

In comparison to those geniuses who had comprehended the Xuan Restriction, those who hadn’t seemed to be more favored here.

At least, in Zhou Yan’s eyes, the majority of those geniuses without the Xuan Restriction had, paradoxically, survived in such a murderous illusionary realm.

Zhou Yan’s gaze continuously swept over the geniuses on the Light Path, witnessing one after another who had grasped the Xuan Restriction fall, a sense of sympathetic sorrow emerged within him.

And he was not alone in his sentiments; there were many geniuses who shared this feeling.

Among the top twenty talents, besides the missing Eternal Xuanzhe, Si Yuan, Yun Li, Guang Qi, Lu Qiu, Mo Ri, Tai He, Yu Xing, Jun Zhe, Shao Yuan, Da Ri, Guang Mai, Xiao Tian, Bo Ci, Yao Yin, and the troupe led by the Hook Whorl Xuanzhe, all fifteen had perished.

Out of these twenty prodigious talents, now only Zhou Yan, Jia Yongheng, Spring and Autumn Annals Xuanzhe, and Wulan Xuanzhe remained. Among them, Wulan Xuanzhe couldn’t strictly be counted as one of the talents because she was more like a tomboy.

Among the top twenty extraordinary women, Zhou Yan now only saw nine people – the Holy Daughter Jiang Yuning, Qingyao Xuanzhe, Yan Ran Xuanzhe, Shi Qin Xuanzhe, Jiayue Xuanzhe, Hong Yi Xuanzhe, Qian Xi Xuanzhe, Hou Ling’er, and Feng Jiu Xian. The remaining eleven, such as Qing Ning Xuanzhe, Miao Han Xuanzhe, Yun Lu Xuanzhe, An Yi Xuanzhe, Pei Rou Xuanzhe, Ru Xue Xuanzhe, Zhi Lan Xuanzhe, Xin Yan Xuanzhe, Ling Ying Xuanzhe, Manling Xuanzhe, and Bai Yu Xuanzhe, had all tragically fallen.

Each of the fallen Fairies had possessed an unsurpassed grace and beauty, any of whom would be a breathtaking, nation-toppling beauty upon emerging from Frost Tears. Although several had fallen before the trial of Frost Tears, the majority met their fate upon the Light Path.

Many talents among the male and female cultivators not ranked would find their eyes moistening at their fall.

Even without any personal connection, they could resonate with the sadness – a tragedy common to all geniuses.

Cultivation is ruthless, and many bones litter the path.

No one knew who would be the next to fall.

What was the use of fame and acclaim? Once fallen, one would be but dust and bones, without a trace, annihilated in this desolate and cold world, forever erased.

"Hiss—"

Suddenly, the dazzling lights on the Light Path began to recede, and it seemed the crisis had passed.

Zhou Yan, like all the cultivators, finally let out a sigh of relief.

It was at this moment that the tomboy-like Wulan Xuanzhe, as if struck by lightning, suddenly knelt to the ground.

The pair of horns on her head abruptly burst into flames, and the bulging muscles on her body, seemingly forged from steel, also ignited.

Yet as she knelt there, as though insensate to it all, she became frozen in place.

Her body was quickly consumed by invisible flames until only a wisp of whitened bone remained – as if she had knelt there for eons, her flesh decaying naturally over time.

It was as though the Power of Time had incinerated her flesh and Soul, leaving behind only the powerful bones of the Void Realm and faint vestiges of her life’s profound meaning.

However, the withered skeleton that remained, upon being brushed by a cold wind blowing along the Light Path, instantly crumbled.

Her hollow skull fell from her neck, rolling along the Light Path. It was kicked around like a football, rolling incessantly forward as if there were an unseen end ahead.

As everyone’s attention was fixed on the rolling skull, a Netherworld spirit suddenly flew out from it. The spirit resembled Wulan, but her deathly pale face bore a wicked and eerie smile, and she let loose a chilling laugh towards the surviving cultivators.

All the cultivators who had survived thus far inhaled sharply, feeling a bone-chilling coldness and tingling scalps.

At such a Realm, no cultivator feared Evil Souls or malevolence; however, the current situation was bizarre and ominous.

"What is this nonsense? Do I look like someone who’s easily frightened?"

A burly young man with a rough face and a full beard bellowed in anger. Despite his unkempt appearance, he looked quite young.

He was closest to the skull and almost peed himself from the fright, quickly turning his fear to anger as he struck out at the skull with his sword.

That sword seemed to steal Creation itself from Heaven and Earth, catching even Zhou Yan’s eye and earning his admiration.

However, as the sword lashed out, contrary to everyone’s hopes, it did not hit the skull. Instead, all its attacking might suddenly vanished.

The skull flew up, its wicked laugh intensifying. Then, defying time and Space, it appeared beside the bearded youth’s neck in the next instant, biting ferociously.

The young man wore an extraordinarily powerful treasure, which now emitted a blinding, sun-like radiance. Yet, this beam of light was swallowed whole by the skull,

"Pfft—"

The young man’s body convulsed, his carotid artery bitten through. All his energy disappeared in an instant, and from being vigorous moments before, he was now reduced to human skin draped over dry bones.

Prior to this, such a terrifying illusion had been unable to destroy his flesh or harm his Soul, but now, he had died so abruptly.

All of it happened in the blink of an eye.

"Hiss—"

The familiar sound arose again, similar to the colorful lights of the Heavenly Road retracting. However, at this time, no one felt the slightest bit of relief.

All the strong here were like lambs to the slaughter, powerless to fight back.

"Huff, huff—"

The cold wind blew through the heavens and earth once again, and as a gust picked up, the head of a youth, already skeletal, was suddenly kicked into motion, flying through the air and tumbling to the ground, rolling forward.

The scene was strikingly similar to what had happened to Wulan Xuanzhe before.

"Sss, sss—"

Not far from Zhou Yan, a bewitchingly beautiful and absolutely enchanting woman by the name of Xia Fengxian, who he vaguely remembered as ranked three hundred and thirty-first among the Secondary Main Peaks, suddenly collapsed to the ground as if struck by lightning.

At the same time, many cultivators also knelt to the ground in unison.

Zhou Yan felt a violent jolt in his heart, for at that moment, he saw Jia Yongheng, the cultivator with the Body of Destiny, now with a deadly pale complexion, kneeling on the Light Path.

Startled, Zhou Yan looked around and noticed that none of the cultivators he was on good terms with had knelt down, which deepened the furrow in his brow.

No matter how many geniuses there are, in such a brutal world, Zhou Yan feared that no one would ultimately make it out alive. This place was too cruel, too terrifying.

The chilly wind picked up, skull after skull flew out, transformed into skeletons, and rolled forward.

Atop each skull loomed a terrifying variant of the netherworld, emitting sorrowful, sinister, and malevolent laughter. Each eyed the cultivators on the Light Path with a figure of death—pale faces and grim, evil, and resentful stares.

Anyone who caught the gaze of these skulls felt a chill through their body, shivering in terror.

Many cultivators were terrified out of their wits, and even though the pinnacle geniuses were just ordinary people, the psychological pressure would sometimes be too much to bear, causing madness and frenzy.

"Ah—"

Someone screamed in despair, choosing to give up and leapt into the unfathomable depths beneath the Light Path.

Below the Light Path was darkness, the unknown, but everyone knew that it was a point of no return. Once one jumped, there was no possibility of survival.

"Netherworld Heavenly Road..."

Zhou Yan whispered to himself with a heavy heart.

After facing the illusions, those whose flesh was still intact, were now to encounter an unknown, terrifying attack that turned them into skulls.

Yet, the cultivators left with only souls that had gone unharmed.

Many cultivators realized this and almost simultaneously discarded their physical forms, either storing their flesh in special treasures or outright abandoning them.

Some went as far as to destroy their flesh and escape as a soul, seeking a chance to live.

There were hardly any exceptions.

The exceptions were just five individuals.

The first was the Holy Daughter, Jiang Yuning. She had withstood the illusions, and her body was merely injured, not destroyed, and she had not suffered from the peculiar attack this time.

The second, third, and fourth individuals all hailed from Tianji Mountain: Zhuge Guyan, Zhuge Chunqiu, and Zhuge Jiayue respectively.

Since entering the Netherworld Heavenly Road, the three had remained unharmed, all quiet, as if all dangers were unrelated to them.

The fifth person was Jia Yongheng, the cultivator with the Natural Destiny Body. He had faced the illusions and come out unscathed.

At that moment, he knelt on the Light Path, and around him emerged numerous pale flashes of lightning, but no matter what, the energy couldn’t infiltrate his body. His flesh didn’t rot, nor did he turn into a skull. He didn’t lose consciousness; instead, his body struggled fiercely to stand up.

These few individuals immediately drew everyone’s attention, especially the Body of Destiny, who captured the gaze of all the surviving cultivators.

"Ah—"

Suddenly, the Body of Destiny roared furiously, a burst of colorful light erupting from his body like he was breaking free from heavy shackles, and against endless pressure, he staggered to his feet.

Even his legs, suffering from broken bones, still managed to support him as he stood.

After he stood, the heavens and earth shook, and the Light Path became unstable as if it were on the verge of collapse.

Countless skulls racing forward let out a harmonious, sinister, and shrill scream, madly rushing towards the cultivators nearby.

Now, nearly all the cultivators had wisely discarded their flesh so that the skulls passed through their forms without being able to bite off their heads.

Still, nearly all the cultivators were frightened to death because there was no way to defend against or prepare for the attack of the skulls—it was truly in the blink of an eye that a skull could be upon them.

Had it not been for their lack of flesh, they would have perished most miserably.

After the peril passed, the skulls, having failed to get their prey, emitted hysterical mad cries. In the next moment, they madly rushed towards the Holy Daughter, Jiang Yuning, as they were deeply fearful of the three from Tianji Mountain and therefore the Holy Daughter became the exquisite target in all their eyes.

"Puff, puff, puff—"

The Holy Daughter Jiang Yuning faced the savage attack by the horde of evil skulls, her face instantly turning pale as she spat out three mouthfuls of blood, her body swaying unsteadily like a candle in the wind.