CHAPTER 769: CHAPTER 190: STILL WATERS RUN DEEP

Black Mountain, Black Water.

If Black Mountain is the evolved black hair of the head, then what is Black Water?

Could it be the transformation of tears?

Zhou Yan could be sure that within Wuji Black Mountain, there were only small lakes, no rivers.

Yet here appeared a river. A similarly pitch-black river.

The pitch-black Black Water quietly flowed in the river.

At first glance, the water flowed from top to bottom, quite normally.

Upon a second look, the water flowed from bottom to top, quite peculiarly.

Concentrating and observing carefully, the water was actually still, it was just one’s own heart that flowed like the water.

This was the scene that Zhou Yan and the group of seven encountered after emerging from the mysterious Transmission Array.

Zhou Yan raised his head to look across the river—as he had thought, this place was completely identical to the Tongtian River within the Ancient Tomb Mountain on the Sword Burial Ancestor Star.

If other places were merely somewhat similar, then this place and the Tongtian River bore a similarity of one hundred percent. Zhou Yan even began to wonder if this place was that very Tongtian River.

Across the river lay a graveyard. Densely packed graves with rusted and mottled broken swords thrust into them.

There, a scene of desolation and solitude.

Whiffs of destructive auras constantly entwined around the void in all directions.

In the sky, mutant vultures, each with vital energy as powerful and invincible as the Ghost Fox Blood Soul, flew in search of prey.

...

"This place, is it familiar to you?"

Zhou Yan stopped after leading Evil King and the others here, looking at the river afar, the solitary graves on the other side, and muttered to himself.

"Is this the Yellow Springs? And the other side, is it the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Tomb?"

Evil King’s voice wavered with a hint of shock and uncertainly.

"That is indeed the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Tomb. However, it seems like it’s been transformed into a vastly more powerful version, a myriad of times stronger than before. The original Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Tomb was already very dangerous, but over there..."

Qian Yao’s voice took on a grave tone as he stared into the distance, instinctive fear coloring his gaze.

He was a very steady person, but even he showed signs of fear, which communicated just how terrifying that place must be.

"The Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Tomb, once had the Twelve Magnetic Light Columns Array, where Wan Jian Tian was bound, and Xiong Ba was suppressed. Could it be, the same, even more formidable beings are imprisoned here?"

Fairy Die suddenly spoke, greatly shocked by the thought.

This notion made everyone present take a cold breath.

If, if the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sword Tomb’s difficulty had been increased infinitely, and it imprisoned life within, how powerful would those beings be should they break free?

"All is but conjecture, and even this river, we may not safely cross."

Yaochi Saint spoke softly with a sigh.

He was not one to be idle or despair, it was just that this place was too much of a blow to the spirit.

Fang Hong and Liu Jin did not speak; this was their first time experiencing such a scene, feeling only chill in their hearts and their bodies cold.

This was the most dangerous encounter they had ever faced in their lives.

"Hm? How is there someone in that river?"

Fang Hong suddenly exclaimed, alarmed.

As those words were spoken, everyone felt chills run down their spine, goosebumps forming as they immediately turned their gaze to that Yellow Springs Tongtian River.

But the river was still dead silent; nothing could be seen.

Everyone felt extremely uneasy.

But Fang Hong felt even more unsettled, his face turned pale, "He’s wearing a bamboo hat, draped in a straw cape, making his way here on a small boat. It seems he is talking, smiling towards me..."

Fang Hong shivered.

Zhou Yan was alarmed, and immediately concentrating and holding his breath, he activated the Eye of Destruction and looked sharply over.

At once, he saw the scene described by Fang Hong, an old man wearing a bamboo hat, draped in a straw cape, standing alone in the Black Water River, hunched over like a skeleton.

As Zhou Yan looked over, the old man suddenly raised his head to look towards Zhou Yan.

In that instant, Zhou Yan felt he couldn’t see the old man’s face clearly.

"This river, is the Tongtian River. If you cross it, you can achieve the Supreme Realm of Sword Ancestor."

The voice of the old man steering the boat suddenly spoke out, with a great pull that made Zhou Yan lose his ability to judge in a flash.

It was as if a heavenly curtain appeared, covering Zhou Yan’s spirit, forbidding Zhou Yan’s ability to think.

An event that had occurred once before had now overlapped.

Different times, the same place, the same encounters!

"Young man, embark towards the realm of the Sword Ancestor, step onto the Tongtian River and you will discover the origin of the path of Sword Dao."

The aged voice echoed in Zhou Yan’s heart.

In that moment, Zhou Yan saw that Lee Ran had become old and gaunt, yet he was endeavoring to push a boat through brambles to reach his side, wanting to ferry him across the river.

"Master, brother? You..."

Zhou Yan was somewhat stunned. In that instant, the energy of the world changed abruptly, and he felt as though he had returned to the lakeside of the Zhou Family in Tumultuous City.

The river disappeared, and the small boat no longer existed.

Lee Ran, who was pushing the boat, seemed to dissolve into a fragment of memory, drifting through the world.

And Zhou Yan, suddenly, found himself back on that night when he was tirelessly cultivating in the waters of the Great Zhou family’s lake, back at the moment when he was exhausted from practicing his sword skills in the water.

At that moment, he had depleted his potential and fallen into the lake, with his consciousness blurring.

...

Cold Pond, crane shadow. Cold Moon, Qing Qiu.

"Cultivation has no end, only white bones piling up into ashes."

"Upper Nine, the hidden dragon should not be used, the change of Yi Zi."

"I want the skies to no longer block the eyes of the Ten Thousand Dao. Brother, you must set foot on the path of Ancestor Worship."

"Ten Thousand Buddhas’ Extinction, all Immortals Suffering. The bloodline of those before now continues in the world."

"All I can do is to use their own methods against them."

"Hou Yi’s Blood shall determine the universe, Chang’e’s Soul restricts the Void. Emperor Qi Pangu transforms the Heavenly Dao, the Sword Soul of Xuanyuan Sword reverses the fate of the multitude."

"Brother, cultivate in peace, and may you embark on the path of Ancestor Worship. Do not fault your brother; I am at my wits’ end with some matters."

A fog of light floated above Cold Pond, and the Twelve Forms of Xingyi Fist Intent shone like the sun, yet the world around became utterly serene, as if time had stopped.

Yet, there remained a girl in white who had walked over on foot. She stared dumbfounded at the scene and exclaimed, "Zhou Yan...wake up!"

"You...have transcended your Life Chart? Who are you?"

Suddenly, from within the Twelve Form Intent Light Group, Lee Ran’s voice emerged. His voice stirred, the Void shattered, and the girl in white was struck, her bloodlines abruptly shattered, her Soul no more.

The next moment, the endlessly shattered Souls recombined into a different young girl’s Soul, as if some divinity had been extracted from her.

The girl in white now bore bright, glaring bloodstains, her immaculate white dress soaked in blood, such a glaring sight.

The Twelve Form Intent Light Group suddenly entered the young man submerged in the lake, who was on the verge of Awakening, while the bloodstains on the blood-soaked girl in white began to dry and vanish, her concerned gaze suddenly turned utterly indifferent.

...

"Zhou Yan...wake up!"

Zhou Yan jolted, sharply roused from the unknown changes, only to find Fang Hong controlling Black Chess that emitted a glaring light, relentlessly cleansing his body. Nearby, the Evil King and others looked on with worried and shocked expressions, as if an unknown misfortune had occurred.

"What, what’s happened?"

Zhou Yan was also startled. He had inexplicably traveled back in time, seeing what took place after he fell into the water while practicing sword.

All of this was exceedingly strange.

"Just now, that old man smiled at you. He bled from seven orifices, but turned into a woman in white and fell into the river, and you, as if mad, behaved like Wu Ji, not shouting anything, but frantically trying to rush into Black Water."

"Fairy Die, with her own Soul Power, triggered Black Chess to break through the True Void, and I desperately called out to you with my Soul Power, and only then did you come to."

Fang Hong and Liu Jin explained.

"What did you just see? With Black Chess breaking the True Void, you should have seen the ultimate truth. Does it have anything to do with this place? I predict that this time you truly became the key to breaking this Desolation," said the plump Liu Jin solemnly.

Zhou Yan’s gaze was calm, yet tinged with a hint of desolation and sorrow—he spoke, "I saw Zhou Lingyi, also known as Hou Ling’er, had actually died a long time ago."

"Um?" Liu Jin and Fang Hong were somewhat astonished, not understanding what Zhou Yan was talking about.

Fairy Die gently wiped the bloodstain from her mouth. She looked towards the solitary bloodstained white dress floating on the River of Heaven and said nothing.

"That clothing floating in the river, Zhou Lingyi’s favorite spiritual garment, now drifts there alone. Taking into account the previous situation, this is the sign of Transformation for Zhou Yan’s childhood sweetheart and first love... the sign of Transformation."

The Evil King sighed.

"If Zhou Lingyi had been gone for a long time, then who is that Hou Ling’er? Could it be that I can’t even understand a little affair within the Breeding Ground? As the Yaochi Saint, it seems I am truly worthless."

The Yaochi Saint felt quite helpless.

"In the Nine Origin Universe, though the Sword Burial Ancestor Star is a Breeding Ground, it’s not to be underestimated by any Upper Plane. In the future Nine Origin Reincarnation, the Sword Burial Ancestor Star will still be the starting point, the Sword Burial Ancestor Star, the Land of Sword Burial, the Land of God Burial."

Fang Hong sighed.

Everyone felt a heavy mood.

"Zhou Lingyi’s Soul was merely shattered for some reason and then reassembled. I just want to know, what ability does it take to shatter a Soul, then recombine it to let a person continue living as they were before? What sort of Realm is required?" Zhou Yan said solemnly.

"This...it’s hard to say. If it happened in an Upper Plane, such power would be indefinable, but in a Prison Plane, even Time Rules can change, let alone others? The Time Rules are part of the Immortality Dao, but generally in Upper Planes, one year is equivalent to one hundred to a thousand years in the Breeding Ground, and so it is. If Lei Yan King were to live another thirty years in the next life, it should be nearly thirty thousand years on the Sword Burial Ancestor Star," Fang Hong explained with a thoughtful look.

"If one is proficient in Soul Control Profound Meaning and refines the Demon Heart into Heavenly Heart, then one would possess the ability to let a Soul enter Demon, break and thereafter stand, recombining the Heavenly Heart Soul. If so, one would just need the Soul Control Profound Meaning to reach Great Success."

"Soul Control Profound Meaning is the Secret Technique of the Supreme Dao of the Soul-controlling Sword Body," Liu Jin explained.

Listening to Fang Hong and Liu Jin explain all this was like deciphering an enigma for Evil King, Qian Yao, Fairy Die, and Yaochi, who couldn’t understand it at all.

But Zhou Yan understood it well, very clearly.

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