Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao
Chapter 496 - 141 Evil King and Hou Chen

Chapter 496: Chapter 141 Evil King and Hou Chen

"Actually, it’s not complicated. For the truly strong, nothing counts as complicated.

Through their eyes, cultivation, understanding, and even playing games of conspiracy and deceit are all equally simple. What concerns me, beyond this, is that Divine Fist Li, who has been dead for quite a long time, may still have a hand in matters, which would make things more troublesome.

Father King, as you know, Divine Fist Li was a monstrous talent who went against the heavens and hailed from ancient realms beyond our own, and he absolutely cannot be measured by ordinary standards.

He had long been dead, yet he still managed, through calculation and strategy, to nearly suppress the Thunder Origin Sword God to death."

The Netherworld Goddess pondered aloud.

"This... now that you mention it, how can we ensure control over the Yuan Ci Secret Realm? In fact, Father King believes this matter to be quite simple—Father King will descend in an avatar with peerless strength, seize the final outcome in one fell swoop, and then immediately open the Netherworld Bridge with the avatar to bring back the Secret Realm Soul! Could they possibly enter the Netherworld Life and Death Illusion Realm?"

The Netherworld Palace Master furrowed his brow once more.

"What Father King said is correct; strength is indeed the key to everything. Of course, what I refer to is the worst of all possible scenarios. It is necessary to be prepared for danger in times of safety, and for any matter, even if there is not the slightest chance of failure, we must consider the worst possible outcome and how to deal with it if it occurs. Only by calculating without omission can one remain invincible."

The Netherworld Goddess explained.

The Netherworld Palace Master rubbed his head helplessly and sighed with feeling, "You consider these matters well enough. A matter, before it occurs, its result is like the Tao of the future. The future is unpredictable, and every twist of fate or inexplicable change is exceedingly normal. Any derivation represents over a million possibilities, every possibility considered, then a corresponding solution thought out, and after each solution, even more possibilities arise, prompting further solutions... This is simply derivations in the tens of billions... You should kill your father king; Father King does not possess your terrifying ability to calculate derivations."

"Well, since Father King is tired, there’s no need to make derivations. Just think of a response to the worst possible outcome, and all else is trivial."

The Netherworld Goddess nodded slightly, showing little emotional fluctuation.

...

Zhou Yan rose to his feet and activated his Primordial Magnetic Aurora Map. The map indeed displayed a curtain of light, revealing mysterious points of light, pinpointing several important locations.

These locations were constantly in flux and not fixed.

"This Secret Realm Soul of the Yuan Ci Secret Realm is in a free state? But evidently, it roams only around the core area."

Zhou Yan sensed briefly and immediately understood in his heart.

With the map, the gap between having and not having one immediately became apparent.

After comparing his current position and space locations, he began to choose a direction and pressed forward with all his strength.

He was unaware that within his Qiankun Ring, certain unpredictable changes were occurring.

Inside the extremely jade cold light ring, the dormant pitch-black Holy Artifact Scythe suddenly trembled slightly. Then, a soul shadow gradually condensed, deriving a pitch-black figure.

Dressed in a pitch-black robe, twelve scythe-like shadows emerged behind him, his entire being emanating not the slightest hint of weakness.

"That terrifying strength surpasses gods and rules; what exactly is it? What colossal secret does Zhou Yan harbor?"

The shadow murmured to itself, its face revealing a thoughtful expression.

Thereafter, he continued to calculate, showing shock on his face at times, and at other times, concern.

"This time, if not for the Artifact Spirit of the ’Heavenly Blade’ taking my place in death, I would have undoubtedly perished. My ’Death Foreknowledge’ indeed played a crucial role. But I have survived, and the ’Heavenly Blade’ has died because of me...

Zhou Yan is determined to seize the Yuan Ci Secret Realm’s core; that object must be extraordinary indeed. If I secure the Yuan Ci Secret Realm and merge it with the Linghe Secret Realm, I’m likely to receive a heaven-defying Heavenly Dao blessing, advancing my strength further into the God Realm!

By then, to slay Zhou Yan and seize control over that pitch-black terrifying power... I have a feeling, once I capture it, I will directly surpass divine beings to become the Supreme of the universe and heaven!"

"Most importantly, everyone believes that I, the Evil King, am dead. I have even intentionally severed my soul connection with the Linghe Secret Realm. But when everyone believes this, in the end, no one will suspect that I will take Zhou Yan’s place and assume his appearance to secure the Yuan Ci Secret Realm! By then, using Zhou Yan’s arrangements to kill him, impersonating Zhou Yan to refine the Yuan Ci Secret Realm, all of Zhou Yan’s allies will serve as live targets to lure the enemy, allowing everyone to slay one another while I take the opportunity to escape.

At that moment, if Zhou Yan himself were there, naturally he wouldn’t be able to escape smoothly, but with my peak Saint strength, I will have the ability to leave the scene. After my departure, I will immediately go into hiding, undergo diligent secluded cultivation, merge the two Secret Realms, and ascend to godhood. Whereas Zhou Yan would not only die, but even in death, he would have to bear the reputation of having taken the Yuan Ci Secret Realm, still being incessantly hunted and pursued. With such a diversion of calamity, using others to kill, and escaping by shedding my outer skin, this method is utterly perfect."

After careful calculation, the shadow muttered to itself.

Upon Zhou Yan’s immaculate plan, he enacted such a deployment, seizing the opportunity of heaven and earth at the right time and place, the harmony of all elements at his disposal.

As the Evil King continued his schemes, he was unaware that an equally terrifying calamitous trial was descending upon him at the same time.

...

The Linghe Secret Realm.

Suddenly, blood-red pillars of light, as if opening passages through the void, traversed from the far reaches of the heavens and arrived here.

This place still hosted the verdant Jie Tian Lotus Leaves, and lotus flowers glistened with the luster of the sun.

But the Ni Chang Fairy was no longer present, nor was the Evil King.

Blood Light gathered amongst the rippling clear waters, and within moments, a handsome young man clad in pitch-black combat armor appeared here.

His eyebrows were like ink paintings, and his eyes shone like stars, exceedingly charming.

But within that charm, an extremely formidable Blood Qi coursed through his body.

No one who saw this youth, who seemed to be only around ten years old, could ever imagine that such vigorous vitality, thick as that of an ancient fierce beast, originated from him.

He appeared clean and pure, yet paradoxically wore all black.

He looked like a porcelain doll—both handsome and adorable—but his face revealed an intense killing intent.

Such terrifying temperaments, unexpectedly blending together, truly left one shockingly bewildered.

"This place, is it the Spiritual Lotus Secret Realm? This, is it the territory of the Evil King?"

The young man pondered, then his somewhat chubby little hand fiercely slapped the void, and immediately, a phantom resembling the Sacrificial Heaven Ancient City appeared.

He jabbed fiercely at the phantom city with his finger, and instantly, an image unfurled upon it—a mysterious radiance.

In the image, ancient array runes flowed, unclear, each rune as eerie as writing from the ancient times. Yet the young man scrutinized them intently, savoring them as if studying an ancient scripture.

In just a moment, his hand swept up, the miniaturized phantom of the Sacrificial Heaven Ancient City immediately disappearing as he wore a fierce look and said, "What a pity, originally Hou Chen had prepared a tremendous killing move for you, not hesitating to consume Emperor Blood Essence to avenge Master, yet you severed your soul connection with the Yuan Ci Secret Realm, it seems you’ve calculated an inevitable doom and ran away!

Well, it’s just as well. You’ve hidden so many supreme treasures here, thinking nobody could see through this ancient demon rune array. I’ll just directly open the array, refine all your treasures, devour all the endless elixirs, merge them with Emperor Blood into my body, bolster my strength, and in one fell swoop break into the triple realms of the Sword Soul Realm or even the Sword Void Realm, and then help Master avenge the grievances by snatching away the Holy Daughter Master!"

The young man muttered to himself, quickly making a decision!

His Blood Qi roared within his body, surging to the heavens, immediately becoming a blood dragon, charging towards the distance.

In this heaven and earth, the endless lotus leaves and flowers seemed to be completely illusory, as the blood dragon directly penetrated to the essence of everything, crashing into one of the lotus flowers and then spitting out a large amount of blood-formed runes.

The runes circulated, and the world began to churn and invert.

The clear lake water appeared above, while the lotus flowers and leaves stood inverted in the sky, with the former sky becoming the ground below.

The runes spewed out by the blood dragon formed a curtain across the sky, concealing the endless Spiritual Lotuses, then burrowed into the ground.

The youth, like a ghost, followed the blood dragon and entered the depths below.

Below, space shifted, revealing a palace.

"Indeed, the Evil King’s palace is here. ’Emperor Qi Dragon Transformation Technique’ for treasure hunting and breaking arrays is truly formidable. This time, I’ll empty all his resources, making him die of rage!"

The youth arrived and still seethed at the thought of the Evil King dying of anger.

But as he walked into the palace, opening his eyes, his pupils immediately dilated.

"Holy Soul Pill! Enlightenment Lotus! Soul Cleansing Pond! Soul Capturing Sand! The Linglong Tower Holy Artifact..."

Endless elixirs, soul crystals, and precious materials nearly filled the whole place.

The youth gaped in astonishment, then like a bandit, he frantically gathered these vast treasures.

As he collected, he swallowed Holy Soul Pills like candy. Those that tasted bad, after one bite, he would even destroy them with a surge of Emperor’s Sword Intent.

"What kind of Holy Soul Pill is this? The taste is bad, too many impurities, and it takes time to refine after eating—what junk! It’s not worth it, trash it!"

Saying so, the young man once again destroyed an incredibly precious elixir with a wave of Emperor’s Sword Intent.

"This Creation Pill isn’t bad, but it’s a bit dry, lacks moisture, hard to swallow, wasting my saliva!"

He said, tossing aside the half-eaten pill and smashing it with a sword intent.

What he didn’t eat, he didn’t leave for the Evil King either.

"This is the Soul Cleansing Spirit Spring? It’s not all that great, can barely be used as bathing water to wash my little chicken."

The young man collected the Soul Cleansing Spirit Spring, indeed using it to wash the Blood Qi and dust from his body. After washing, a cultivation technique gathered a flame of Emperor’s Sword Intent, destroying the Spirit Spring.

...

The young man recorded this wasteful act with deliberate care in the Sword Illusion Realm, ready to let the Evil King have a good appreciation someday.

He believed it would truly thrill the Evil King from the depths of his heart.