Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 494 - 139: Sense of Crisis

Chapter 494: Chapter 139: Sense of Crisis

Unlike the frenzy of the other Cultivators, Zhou Yan did not have a relaxing heart. When he saw the phantom of the Sacrificial Heaven Ancient City, his mood had already become solemn.

Relaxing in a Secret Realm filled with dangers was tantamount to handing one’s life over to the Secret Realm. It was just like previously stepping onto the Light Path of the Netherworld Heavenly Road; it might not be the start of something wonderful but the beginning of a nightmare.

A Secret Realm that hasn’t been explored will never reveal how treacherous it truly is.

As the three from Tianji Mountain announced the current situation, and a group of geniuses were preparing to embark on their journeys, Zhou Yan also prepared to choose a path to explore on his own.

At such a moment, even friends are not good to explore with because once they obtain the Soul of the Secret Realm of the Yuan Ci Secret Realm, disputes and betrayals might arise over interests, which is hard to say.

Moreover, Zhou Yan also wanted to change the circumstances of the Secret Realm as soon as he seized it, to lower its power and ability, so as not to attract the attention of others due to the Secret Realm’s strength.

Because of these reasons, he did not leave first; instead, he just stayed put.

He didn’t leave, so there were also some genius Cultivators who did not leave.

But many more Cultivators left in groups of threes and fives. The three from Tianji Mountain, after glancing at Zhou Yan, chose to form a group with the Eternal Xuanzhe, Jia Yongheng, and did not directly invite him.

Now, the only ones who could understand Zhou Yan’s intentions were probably Zhuge Guyan and the Body of Destiny, Jia Yongheng.

Elsewhere, Feng Jiu Xian, Hou Ling’er, and Yan Ran Xuanzhe, as if by tacit agreement, chose to walk with the Holy Daughter, Jiang Yuning, and also left Zhou Yan’s side.

They may not know much, but they were not foolish. After analyzing the current situation and Zhou Yan’s personality and style, they directly allowed Zhou Yan to go forth alone.

By this step, the Cultivators amongst themselves had become somewhat familiar, and another group moved on in threes and fives.

In the field, there were now fewer than eight Cultivators remaining.

Of these eight, Zhou Yan did not know anyone, but this did not prevent him from sensing the inexplicable murderous intent flashing on their soul bodies.

Zhou Yan’s heart stirred but he did not immediately resort to killing; instead, he turned around, alone, choosing a direction as if pretending to leave.

"Zhou Yanxuan, please hold."

Among the eight Cultivators, a female cultivator spoke very calmly.

Speaking, she took the lead toward Zhou Yan.

Her soul body was very graceful; if her true body was also of this form, she would undoubtedly be a top-level beauty.

However, Zhou Yan had enough immunity even to beauties with physical bodies, let alone a beauty in the form of a soul.

Such a beauty did not catch his eye, but he still stopped in his tracks, because those with murderous intent would become hidden dangers afterward.

He never leaves potential risks unattended, allowing himself to regret in the future.

His policy has always been one of thorough eradication.

"Oh? I wonder why you geniuses have stopped me, Zhou Yan?"

Zhou Yan looked back calmly, his eyes indifferent. Staring at the woman whose soul body exhibited a dark purple halo, his mind pondered.

This dark purple halo, under the skill of Qi Observation, could not be hidden. Zhou Yan saw it at a glance and immediately felt a sense of familiarity.

This aura originated from Ji Wu Xuanzhe.

That is to say, this woman seemed to be entirely loyal to Ji Wu Xuanzhe.

"Really clingy like a bad spirit; might as well kill all at once."

Zhou Yan then glanced at the other seven genius Cultivators, five men and two women, whom he also did not know. But the Qi Fortune within them clearly contained the same dark purple halo, indicating that they were also people of Ji Wu’s power.

These people, previously mixed among the five thousand Cultivators, Zhou Yan could not observe their Qi or identify their power one by one, and they were very low-key and did not show off before.

Now, however, they stayed at this moment, waiting for him.

If he were the first to leave, Zhou Yan believed that they would follow him immediately, and the final outcome would probably not be different from the present.

Their bodies faintly flowed with a unique murderous intent derived from the Runes’ Derivation. The murderous intent was not strong, but its explosive force was extreme, and once these eight people worked together, their methods would likely be astonishing.

In Zhou Yan’s mind, as quick as lightning, he considered all outcomes, but his face bore a look of arrogance and disdain as he replied to the eight people.

"Zhou Yanxuan, we know you possess a top-grade map and have a special control over the Yuan Ci Secret Realm. However, you must not know the hidden secrets of the Yuan Ci Secret Realm, but we do."

The female cultivator spoke again.

It seemed that she was very confident in controlling the overall situation.

"Is that so?"

Zhou Yan pondered, then hesitated slightly before walking towards the female cultivator.

The female cultivator wore a confident smile, showing no fear, but the killing intent in the depths of the eyes of the seven cultivators around her had quietly intensified a few notches.

"Yes, of course, there is," they said. "We know of a special location in the Secret Realm, where the Soul of the Secret Realm is likely to be. However, without a map, it is impossible for us to seize or refine the Soul of the Secret Realm. Zhou Yanxuan, your strength is extraordinary, and we do not wish to be your enemy, nor do we want to make a bad impression on you. Therefore, after considering it, we are willing to lead you to that hidden place. After you have seized and refined the Soul of the Secret Realm, please allow us to enter the deeper parts of the Secret Realm for cultivation."

The female cultivator seriously laid out her conditions.

However, the conditions were false, the ripple-free combination of rune energies was real, which appeared to be a powerful Killing Array, intentionally luring Zhou Yan over.

If it were anyone else, even the most powerful might have been tricked, but Zhou Yan understood both the Netherworld Rune and Ancient Array Rune. The combination of these two runes was also clear to him, so much so that when these people used such an ancient and terrifying killing move, he had already detected it in advance.

Without any change in expression, he walked slowly in front of the female cultivator, his hand suddenly moved, and the sword at his waist had already been drawn.

In a flash of Thunderflame and lightning, the female cultivator’s head suddenly flew up and rolled onto the ground.

At the same moment, the combined runes shattered, immediately erupting in a series of explosions, the shock reverberating through the other seven.

At the same time, Purple Flame swept over, immediately incinerating the female cultivator’s body and head. The remaining seven, affected by the recoil of the Netherworld Runes, were shaking in soul-shattering fear and pain, their faces etched with extreme anguish and fear as they looked at Zhou Yan. It seemed they had never expected this foolproof attack to fail by such a narrow margin and meet such a pitiful defeat.

Zhou Yan did not even glance at these people; to him, the cultivators of the Void Realm were nothing but ants. No one could match his Soul’s strength, unless they had reached the Sword Tribulation Realm.

His gaze was only fixed on the sword in his hand. This blade was a weapon spirit sword formed by the concentration of the Sword Spirit of the Broken Worry Sword.

Because of Little Xue, Zhou Yan had never paid attention to the Sword Spirit of the Broken Worry Sword. He did not like that the Sword Spirit was sentient, nor did he want to have too deep a spiritual communication with it. To him, that was more like a shackle.

Therefore, his sword never had emotions, nor did it need them.

But at that moment, the weapon spirit of the Broken Worry Sword, dressed in pitch black, not only slaughtered the female cultivator’s Soul but also attracted the Purple Flame in its wake, cold and murderous, solitary like a king, truly a rare top-grade Sword Spirit.

The sword, dark as purple, did not stain with any trace of soul aura while slicing through the Soul of the female cultivator. It was as peculiar as killing without a drop of blood.

He stared at the weapon spirit of the Broken Worry Sword for a long time, and couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh, saying, "What a fine sword, truly a fine sword."

As he spoke, seven sword lights bloomed from his sword, like seven Evil Spirits suddenly breaking free. The Ten Thousand Ghost Sword Dao, under such a mindset, was unleashed freely by Zhou Yan, immediately bursting forth with a terrifying killing intent.

The seven cultivators, already severely injured by the backlash of the Netherworld Ancient Array, had no strength to retaliate and were instantly cut in two by this one sword.

Zhou Yan did not stop there. Instead, he slashed another sword wielding seven Sword Intents, killing the already dead cultivators once more, ensuring their complete demise.

Such methods were indeed chilling; the killing continued even after death. Zhou Yan’s temperament had imperceptibly undergone a change.

Still, he was acutely aware of this shift.

In such a perilous place, he had to ensure that nothing would go wrong. If the opponents were only feigning death, it could lead to a misjudgment with severe consequences.

Zhou Yan retracted the Artifact Spirit Broken Worry and once more hung the Broken Worry Sword at his waist as it originally appeared. He unleashed the Purple Flame Void, devouring and refining all the Soul Energy of the eight cultivators, and then his own Soul Consciousness entered the Purple Flame Void to absorb the inherited memories that had been refined.

Among the refined Soul Energies, Zhou Yan found no information or memory fragments related to the Yuan Ci Secret Realm, nor any mention of a hidden location; there was only a vague memory fragment that showed Ji Wu speaking about something, and then several cultivators nodded in agreement before Ji Wu’s pallid face revealed a sinister and malevolent sneer.

It was the only memory fragment obtained, and it wasn’t even complete.

Zhou Yan had not acquired any Cultivation Techniques or anything similar. After all, these cultivators were only wandering in their soul forms without their physical bodies, and the refining capabilities of the Purple Flame Void, being solely focused on the Soul, were greatly diminished.

"Does Ji Wu have other schemes?"

Zhou Yan sank into thought, his brows furrowing, the sense of danger and gravity in his heart not diminishing with the death of the eight cultivators but growing even stronger.

Zhou Yan gathered his Qi Observation Skill, vaguely sensing something. It felt as though Disaster Qi was enveloping him.

While he could observe the changes in Qi Fortune of others, he couldn’t apply such techniques to himself, making him all the more concerned about the arrangements in the Yuan Ci Secret Realm.

It was because of these concerns that he refrained from forming alliances with Hou Ling, Feng Jiu Xian, or even the Holy Daughter and Jia Yongheng.

Zhou Yan was not worried about their betrayal; rather, he feared the risks that would arise after the struggle for the Secret Realm began, which could drag them in and cost them their lives.