Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao-Chapter 1284 - 28: Ask Me, and I’ll Help You
Upon hearing Zhou Yan’s words, the female cultivators in the team, who were already staring wide-eyed, immediately covered their mouths and chuckled. Even some male Heavenly Hearts looked at Zhou Yan speechlessly, clearly thinking that he was somewhat eccentric.
It seems, regardless of the environment, this person has no... crisis awareness!
Yes, crisis awareness.
It’s an indescribable conclusion, but upon reaching it, almost all the Heavenly Hearts on site felt something weird in their hearts.
Is Zhou Yan careless and inherently naive, or is he truly a bit foolish? Deliberately so?
Most people tend to believe the former, as this kind of inherent behavior appears to be nothing deliberate, everything Zhou Yan does seems so natural and spontaneous.
Considering these points, some leaders among the team, at the eleventh or even twelfth layer of the Sea of Suffering Realm, looked at Zhou Yan with a bit of helplessness.
Among them, Hua Ru Xi helplessly rubbed her forehead and said: "Zhou Yan, are you sure you’re not joking? Do you know the difficulty of Artifact Refining under the current rules?"
"He might actually be that amazing since he’s clearly interested in you, big sister. If he doesn’t show off a bit, how can he catch your attention?"
At this moment, a voice carrying a trace of mockery was heard, along with a hint of playfulness.
This was a direct jibe, originating from a member of the team, which immediately caused Hua Ru Xi and Yan Ruxin to look displeased.
"Zhao Ning, can members of our team speak this way?"
Hua Ru Xi’s words cooled down a bit, conveying a sense of questioning.
"Big sister, this brat speaks so audaciously that I just can’t stand it. Can he be so presumptuous, while I can’t mock him a little to vent my displeasure? Moreover, this brat had a team before, and judging by his pretty-boy looks, he must be trouble. You know, his entire team is dead, and only he survived. Isn’t that inherently abnormal?"
Zhao Ning said with a cold sneer.
Subsequently, he even stepped out directly and approached Zhou Yan, staring down with a warning look on his face, "Zhou Yan? I’m warning you, although your pretentious acts are disgusting, I hope you have some self-awareness. If you harbor any ill intentions in this team, there will surely be no good outcome! Of course, if you know your place, everyone will still treat you like a brother. However, you’d best not commit reckless, ignorant acts, or else you’ll just be laughed at!"
Zhao Ning stood in front of Zhou Yan, even exuding a unique power.
Others couldn’t sense this power, but Zhou Yan easily discerned that it was the power of Demonization and had already penetrated into the Bitter Sea. This indicates Zhao Ning likely hasn’t spared killing Heavenly Hearts.
Heavenly Hearts slaughtering Heavenly Hearts can lead to faster progress, provided the negative impacts of the Soul Sea are refined, gradually lowering or even eradicating the effects of Demonization.
However, the process of refining and elimination is not so easy.
Zhou Yan remains unaffected because he sees through the effects of the Bloodline Emperor Seal, so he feels no pressure from this situation. Even if he kills numerous Heavenly Hearts, unless he represses the Transformation within the Bloodline Emperor Seal, the effects of Demonization won’t diminish.
Moreover, once a Heavenly Heart kills a fellow with a demonized aura, it might even help refine the demonized aura within themselves. Many of the Heavenly Hearts Zhou Yan killed had a strong aura of demonized force in their Bitter Sea, which further results in no impact on Zhou Yan.
Coupled with Zhou Yan’s body full of Merit Power, acting as a barrier like Karma, Zhou Yan is nearly invulnerable, and his Soul Sea has transformed countless times, with a fundamental strength far exceeding average cultivators in the Sea of Suffering Realm. Zhou Yan’s Realm truly reached the height of the eighteenth layer, at which no life forms within the thirteenth layer of the Sea of Suffering Realm can provide him any benefits, and naturally, no harm either.
Under so many influencing factors, slaughtering Heavenly Hearts and Demon Hearts practically has no effect or impact on Zhou Yan.
In such circumstances, Zhou Yan then seeks deeper experimentation, derivation, and enlightenment of the Bloodline Emperor Seal.
Joining the team was precisely to further observe this circumstance.
However, Zhou Yan intended to keep a low profile or help the team, but not to help people like Zhao Ning.
Zhao Ning and the other sixteen were all demonized Heavenly Heart cultivators whose Soul Seas had been severely eroded and affected. These people were by no means kind-hearted; they harbored great evil within. Zhou Yan had long been prepared for this. Seeing Zhao Ning suddenly jump out, Zhou Yan naturally harbored a killing intent in his heart, but would not let anyone sense it.
Faced with Zhao Ning’s provocation, Zhou Yan merely showed confusion and bewilderment in his eyes and retorted, "Honest advice grates on the ears; good medicine tastes bitter. What this brother said is truly thought-provoking and very reasonable."
Zhou Yan nodded, displaying a very open-minded demeanor as he accepted the other party’s opinion.
Even though he said this, Zhou Yan was neither humble nor arrogant. While accepting the other’s opinion, Zhou Yan appeared courteous and exceptionally refined.
Seeing Zhou Yan respond like this, not only Hua Ru Xi but also Yan Ruxin, Zhou Neng, and the other dozens of Heavenly Heart cultivators at the Eleventh Layer of the Sea of Suffering Realm looked at Zhou Yan with surprise.
No matter how Zhou Yan behaved, his emotional changes, or even subtle expressions and actions, could fundamentally reflect Zhou Yan’s true nature. However, those who noticed, like Hua Ru Xi and Yan Ruxin, discovered that Zhou Yan’s change in expression was very simple. There was just a moment of astonishment and surprise, followed by modest acceptance and sincere reception. This expression was innocent, simple, yet genuine and unsophisticated.
This behavior made Hua Ru Xi, Yan Ruxin, and others feel more favorable towards Zhou Yan, while Zhou Yan’s response left Zhao Ning rather astounded.
Yes, astounded. He had contemplated any behavior and response from Zhou Yan. If Zhou Yan showed any inappropriate behavior, he would seize the opportunity to directly crush Zhou Yan and then alienate him by claiming ulterior motives, creating a situation where he would be ostracized.
After all, once danger arose...
The effect of devouring a Heavenly Heart cultivator is far more beneficial for personal growth than devouring a Demon Heart cultivator. Combined with that kind of furious strength, it naturally can hone oneself. Although there are drawbacks, the benefits are even more apparent.
This kind of advancement in pain and torment allows one to strengthen oneself at all times, which is a very powerful form of training.
This was Zhao Ning’s idea. He even knew that there were several people like this in the team, and everyone understood each other, so they kept a mutual silence without exposing one another.
Seeing Zhou Yan’s forthrightness, Zhao Ning was taken aback for a moment, unexpectedly left speechless.
However, his thoughts turned swiftly. He immediately understood how to adapt, nodding slightly with an air of superiority, casting a cold glance at Zhou Yan, and said, "In that case, you do have some courage, knowing that youthful recklessness is not a good thing, so in the future—"
"Hold on."
At this moment, Zhou Yan directly interrupted Zhao Ning, instead looking at him with a somewhat apologetic smile and said, "This friend Zhao Ning, I’m afraid you might be mistaken. For me, be it in terms of healing capabilities or artifact refining skills, I am deeply focused. This focus has garnered great respect from past team members, and they have even treated me kindly.
This is indeed the reason I have survived. But without my abilities, that team might have already perished."
"Of course, I’m not boasting. In my own view, I have a long, long way to go. My path might be more difficult in the future, but regarding the abilities and achievements I’ve obtained, I just feel they’re quite ordinary because there was one incident that led me to enlightenment, costing me four or five days without cultivation. During those four or five days, others had already advanced to a very high realm, yet I was still hovering at the Eleventh Layer of the Sea of Suffering Realm."
When Zhou Yan spoke these words, everyone was instantly shocked.
Afterward, even the cold and enchanting Hua Ru Xi and Yan Ruxin seemed somewhat unable to believe Zhou Yan’s words.
Zhao Ning sneered with disdain, saying, "So, are you saying that four or five days ago, you were already at the Eleventh Layer of the Sea of Suffering Realm?"
His tone carried a strong sense of sarcasm and mockery, as if he had heard the funniest joke.
"Indeed, at that time, when those fierce beasts encountered me, they immediately turned tail and fled. But I also know this is quite incredible, and you wouldn’t believe it. However, I offered to refine artifacts for you, which isn’t it a matter that can be verified on the spot? For me, this is indeed a trivial matter. But I’ve also realized that most of the friends among us are very sincere. With no reservations among ourselves, if you’re willing to trust me, leave your refining materials with me. As for those who don’t trust my ability, should I forge weapons for you that break during battle, wouldn’t that mean I bear the guilt of harming my companions?"
Zhou Yan waved his hand, seemingly uncomfortable with Zhao Ning’s sarcasm, but still acted casually and sincerely, saying, "So, don’t say I target you. In the future, if you genuinely seek my help, I will assist you. Otherwise, in your case, I must say I’m powerless."
