Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao

Chapter 1485 - 9: The Evil Spirit’s Heart Knot

Qin Ruyu’s Eternal Spirit is similarly a cute girl around seven or eight years old. Unlike Zhao Xiaoxiao’s, she already has quite voluptuous breasts, as if early-matured.

She also wore a beautiful red fiery princess dress, then used the same method to spray blood on the sacrificial altar and leave.

Afterward, Yun Shiyin’s Eternal Spirit was a serene girl of about nine years old. She gently played an Ancient Zither with her Eternal Spirit, from which specks of blood light flew out, enveloping her and taking her away.

The last one, was Hong Yuqiao.

Hong Yuqiao said to Zhou Yan, "You go first."

"Hm? Why?"

Zhou Yan hesitated.

"You are not the true Evil Spirit Origin, so leaving last means this Heavenly Stele cannot be sealed, posing danger and having a huge impact on us."

"Is that so?"

Zhou Yan was somewhat doubtful, but he didn’t understand any of this, and the other four seemed extremely knowledgeable about this place, so Zhou Yan had to comply.

Thankfully, Zhou Yan’s Eternal Spirit was equally unparalleled in its transformation, and naturally, his Concealing Ability was extraordinary, so he wasn’t worried about being suspected.

Zhou Yan summoned his Eternal Spirit, using Evil Spirit Power to activate the Original Blood for the blood sacrifice on the altar.

Then a force wrapped around Zhou Yan, sweeping him away. Zhou Yan felt that in the next instant, he was transferred to a fiery red magma space.

The ground was all magma, like iron heated until it hadn’t yet melted into molten iron, with extremely terrifying temperatures all around. This temperature could even burn living beings of Eternal Life to death.

This space seemed boundless, with no end in sight.

"Walk on this flame for ten thousand years?"

Zhou Yan frowned. Not only the four women but even himself, with Nirvana Power, likely couldn’t endure it.

There is no source replenishment here, and the origin of the Eternal Spirit and energy in the body decreases with each use; the only thing to be done here is Enlightenment, thinking through inner doubts.

Once it continues for a long time, the Eternal Spirit will inevitably run short, will completely dry up, and eventually turn into a corpse.

Faced with such an environment, Zhou Yan was also somewhat at a loss, and compared to the initial dark inverted sky, the current environment was challenging beyond description by millions of times.

Based on Zhou Yan’s analysis and calculation, it wasn’t difficult to understand that this place is not just a test but a true danger zone.

Considering this place as a training ground, it’s almost certainly a dead-end.

As Zhou Yan was deep in thought, the space around him lightly fluctuated, and then a fresh and elegant figure appeared not far ahead.

The fluctuation rippled like water waves, and then another figure appeared from the rippling waves.

In front, behind, left, and right, four women appeared around Zhou Yan.

The first to appear was instead Hong Yuqiao, who was the last to step onto the altar.

And Zhao Xiaoxiao, who was the first to step onto the altar, appeared last, right in front of Zhou Yan.

After Zhao Xiaoxiao appeared, she showed no sign of doubt, instead directly walking forward, seemingly unfazed by the harsh environment.

Seeing this, Zhou Yan sensed something strange, but before he could ask, Hong Yuqiao had already approached him.

"An Rufeng, what’s the matter? Feeling strange?"

Hong Yuqiao’s inquiry prevented Zhou Yan from openly voicing his suspicion.

For some reason, he felt Hong Yuqiao was deliberately prompting him to speak, perhaps to confirm something.

Thus, Zhou Yan chose not to speak carelessly to avoid unnecessary chaos.

Zhou Yan did not answer but followed Zhao Xiaoxiao’s steps forward. However, during his advance, he was seemingly obstructed by an inexplicable force, and fierce flame auras assaulted him, making resistance impossible.

Suddenly, Zhou Yan’s body felt as if it were burning in fire, experiencing the sensation of being enveloped by the Nine-layered Heavenly Fire, though in just a breath, Zhou Yan found himself struggling to withstand it.

But just then, Hong Yuqiao casually released bursts of scorching energy, enveloping Zhou Yan, instantly dispelling his discomfort.

Moreover, waves of warmth transmitted from the scorching aura, making Zhou Yan feel as comfortable as soaking in a hot spring.

While pondering, Zhou Yan looked at Hong Yuqiao and asked, "How do you know the situation here so well?"

Zhou Yan knew that with Hong Yuqiao’s actions, avoidance was no longer possible.

And there are some things that, once avoided to a certain extent, can no longer be avoided.

Zhou Yan also understood that Hong Yuqiao, essentially Ling He’s true nature, was of a stubborn character. If some matters cannot be avoided despite trying, then there’s no need to try avoiding them anymore.

After considering these thoughts, Zhou Yan saw Hong Yuqiao take action again to help him out of a predicament, so he spoke up and asked.

"Hmm, of course it’s familiar, because this is practically the headquarters of our Purple-Blue Evil Spirit. These places are the best places developed for our Evil Spirit’s training, and it’s not like we have only been here once. However, every time we appear here, it’s in a form similar to an avatar, so even if we die here, it’s not much of a loss. And if we don’t die, we can become stronger."

"The power of the Evil Spirit can be released to the extreme here. That kind of potential is unmatched, becoming incredibly defiant and furious. This is of great benefit to us."

"So, do you understand?"

Hong Yuqiao said with a smile that seemed half mocking and half sincere.

It seemed that Zhou Yan’s initiative to speak instead confirmed some things for her, and thus her pair of beautiful eyes revealed a different aura indicative of humanity.

Such a Hong Yuqiao was actually something Zhou Yan did not wish to see, because with the power of the Evil Spirit within, it was truly hard to say whether Hong Yuqiao was still Hong Yuqiao.

Zhou Yan took a deep breath and sighed, "I understand, so did you start suspecting me from the very moment you first saw me, right?"

"Yes, I was indeed suspicious, because for some reasons, few can understand An Rufeng’s situation better than us, and you, aren’t you An Rufeng, right?"

Hong Yuqiao chuckled, becoming a bit closer to Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan did not shy away, so his body was almost touching Hong Yuqiao’s, feeling the slight soft elasticity of skin after contact and the faint fragrance that came with it.

However, Zhou Yan’s heart was not disturbed; he did not look at Hong Yuqiao’s exquisite face but rather directed his gaze in another direction with no particular focus.

"I am truly An Rufeng, but some memories have been lost."

"You may choose not to believe, but it doesn’t matter, because I don’t need you to believe any of this."

"I am who I am; why seek your approval?"

Zhou Yan said flatly.

The words were rather self-centered and quite domineering, yet they were spoken with an inexplicable sense of regret, making the emotions of the sentence seem rather complex.

Even Hong Yuqiao could easily sense this regret, seemingly a regret beyond words, like a feeling of being unresolved at death.

And under such feelings, Hong Yuqiao seemed to have many words hidden that suddenly became stuck, and she couldn’t bring herself to say a word.

Her gaze changed slightly, displaying complex and vivid emotions before gradually shifting to coldness and indifference.

In the end, Hong Yuqiao said nothing, as she suddenly felt that speaking held no value anymore.

Does it matter if it’s that person? What is there to prove? What needs to be changed?

If some matters could be changed in the past, would they lead to today?

If the past could alter things, would today still exist?

So whether or not it is that person seems really unimportant now.

And if it is true, then what identity, what qualification should one use to take any action?

Hong Yuqiao’s mood was complex, and thus her emotional changes became complicated, so she finally nodded and said, "Indeed, An Rufeng doesn’t need to prove he is An Rufeng to anyone. Just as the Lord of Thunder Punishment never needs to prove he was once a Law Enforcer."

Hong Yuqiao spoke to herself, with a tone of self-deprecation.

Zhou Yan’s expression didn’t change, his demeanor unchanged, seemingly indifferent to everything.

At this moment, he was An Rufeng, so everything else was unimportant.

If this couldn’t be done, then what else had the qualifications to be pursued?

If pretending to be An Rufeng couldn’t deceive Hong Yuqiao and others, then it would be the greatest failure, and any attempt to deceive the King would be as laughable as showing off one’s amateur skills.

This was something rather ridiculous, yet Zhou Yan’s expression remained calm, his mindset stable, revealing no hint of suspicion.

Therefore, after observing Zhou Yan’s demeanor, Hong Yuqiao felt a bit fortunate, yet also somewhat disappointed.

Such complicated emotions appearing in such a woman were abnormal, but considering past situations, it was indeed quite understandable.

Hong Yuqiao’s changes were noticed by Zhou Yan, who understood that Hong Yuqiao must now remember all of her past experiences; otherwise, she wouldn’t behave like this.

On the other hand, Zhao Xiaoxiao and others probably lacked such clarity.

Zhou Yan contemplated, and then Zhao Xiaoxiao spoke up.

"Hong Yuqiao, your guarding him is actually harming him. This path, you cannot guard it for long. Moreover, you should know, we Evil Spirits are not meant to harbor emotions. You’ve experienced these emotional changes several times, don’t blame me for not reminding you. If you continue, I will certainly kill him directly to destroy the knot in your heart."