Evil Venerable of the Sword Dao Chapter 1541 - 65: Eternal Nine Rules Seventh Layer

Everything in existence holds an Origin. Combat, as a form of being, is no different.

Before encountering Combat Origin, Zhou Yan had never conceived that warfare itself could possess an Origin. It was only after this fateful encounter that he truly grasped that not just combat, but anything in existence between Heaven and Earth, could harbor an Origin.

A singular Origin could coalesce into a Holy Spirit, thus achieving the status of a King. But what astonishing feat could be achieved if countless Origins converged into one?

Would it still be merely a King?

Or perhaps, it would transcend the very definition of a King.

Many such profound questions occupied Zhou Yan's mind before he embarked on his arduous journey of cultivation.

However, once the trials of bitter cultivation commenced, all those contemplations were completely banished from Zhou Yan's consciousness.

Immersed within the fundamental Rules of combat, Zhou Yan experienced, for the very first time, a dynamic form of Origin, starkly different from the myriad Elemental Origins.

Indeed, Combat Origin is a dynamic Origin, its essence akin to ceaseless, irregular motion, never finding a moment of stillness.

Precisely because of its restless nature, Combat Origin bestowed upon Zhou Yan a unique form of enlightenment. Within the tranquility of those foundational Original Rules, he perceived an entirely novel pattern of rule evolution.

"Elemental Origins like Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Light, Darkness, and Lightning are all static. Conversely, Origins such as combat and Merit are inherently dynamic, perpetually in flux. Could their nature be analogous to extranuclear electrons orbiting an atomic nucleus? If the very structures formed from basic elements embody the Dao of Heaven and Earth, then the world is sculpted from such infinite combinations. The so-called rules are merely derivatives born from the interplay of fundamental Origins."

Amidst his rigorous cultivation, after imprinting the mark of combat, Zhou Yan's comprehension of this dynamic Origin deepened considerably.

Within this newfound understanding, the King's Mark that Zhou Yan was meticulously condensing also began to exhibit a combat-oriented form; layers upon layers of Battle Intent naturally emerged upon the King's Mark.

Zhou Yan sensed that this time, his combat prowess had ascended in the most palpable and direct manner.

The very act of Condensing Combat Origin signified a direct augmentation of Combat Power.

Combat Power had consistently been Zhou Yan's forte, leading him to believe his talent in this area was divinely favored. Yet, within this specific Space, despite fitting in exceptionally well, the path ahead remained veiled and fraught with difficulty.

On this occasion, when Zhou Yan followed the Origin Elements of Combat Power permeating Heaven and Earth into the Seventh Level of the Combat Power Space, he found himself unable to progress further.

It was only then that Zhou Yan offered a wry smile; the combat power he had held in such high esteem had, within the hallowed Combat Power Origin Space of the Holy Spirit Land, only managed to ascend seven levels!

Seven levels—a feat merely equivalent to the seven-layered Space he had previously breached utilizing his most potent talent.

By this juncture, Zhou Yan clearly understood the shortcomings within his combat power.

On this Seventh Level of Space, Zhou Yan summoned his Soul Body, manifesting as an Eternal Holy Spirit. He then recommenced the Condensation of the rules for the Combat King’s Mark in this realm, while simultaneously striving to elevate his own Cultivation Realm.

This time, Zhou Yan was diligently cultivating his sixth distinct King’s Mark. Among the prior King's Marks—Flames, Cold Ice, Thick Earth, Sword Dao, Bloodline, and Enlightenment—he already possessed the Flames mark; it had merely been amplified within that Holy Spirit Land.

Now, following the manifestation and condensation of this mark of combat, Zhou Yan's transformation in his Realm began to proceed with newfound smoothness and unimpeded progress.

This period of intense, bitter cultivation persisted without any respite.

After a full two days had elapsed, Zhou Yan once again experienced a wave of powerful dizziness coupled with an intense, nauseating urge to vomit. The ferocity within his heart seemed poised to shatter all restraints and erupt into unbridled Fury.

At that critical juncture, Zhou Yan could no longer endure; only then did he extricate himself from that profoundly arduous and agonizing state.

Subsequently, his Realm had merely nudged into the Great Success stage of the Sixth Layer of the Eternal Nine Rules, still a vast chasm away from the Great Perfection State.

Such advancement was already remarkably heaven-defying. After all, the farther one progresses in cultivation, the more insurmountable the challenges become. Yet, in comparison to Zhou Yan's strenuous efforts, this progress could still be deemed somewhat lacking.

At the very least, this improvement paled in comparison to the swiftness of his previous Realm advancements.

Zhou Yan felt a profound sense of helplessness; he had anticipated this scenario, but he had not expected that at the mere Sixth Layer of the Eternal Nine Rules, the difficulty would already be so immense.

Currently, Zhou Yan started employing the combat mark he had Condensed to establish a distinct Space Holy Spirit Land, subsequently achieving a perfect harmonization between it and himself.

In this condition, that restless sensation immediately dissipated, and Zhou Yan’s own Realm commenced its advance once more without any impediments.

This was a rather unvaried procedure; despite the exceptionally rapid cultivation pace, the perception of time wasn't truly limited to a few days or hours. This was because with every interval of a hundred-millionth of a breath, a profound Transformation would occur. Over the course of this continuous flow, these Transformations interlinked like a singular thread, as if time itself had been woven into one, bestowing upon the Cultivator an immensely potent impact.

Zhou Yan recognized that this experience was utterly unique.

For if his Soul lacked a hundred-million-fold Soul Strength, it would be completely inconceivable to withstand such strenuous tempering within this place.

Furthermore, even with a Soul Strength magnified a hundred million times, within this Space, Zhou Yan would still experience a sensation bordering on collapse, on the brink of madness, following each arduous cultivation session. This fact alone indicated that even for a True Holy Spirit here, the opportunity and qualification for Enlightenment within a single Holy Spirit Land would likely be their only chance.

In contrast, Zhou Yan, having perceived the essence of one Holy Spirit Land after another, possessed the ability to enter successive Holy Spirit Lands for repeated Enlightenment.

As he cultivated intensely, under this complete integration, Zhou Yan gradually delved into the profound depths of the Ninth Layer of the Combat Origin Space.

Within that expanse of space, the intensity of the battle was unparalleled, and therein, Zhou Yan perceived a cataclysmic, world-altering conflict unfolding ceaselessly.

The two contending factions in this grand struggle were, in fact, a pair of brothers.

And these brothers, Zhou Yan recognized them.

They were none other than Jiang Tianxin and Jiang Tianling from the Jiang family.

However, the battle unfolding before him depicted a confrontation between Supreme Monarch Holy Spirits. In this fray, afterimages saturated the sky, boundless King’s Holy Spirit Blood rained through the heavens, and the scene upon the ground was one of utter, apocalyptic Destruction.

Unending fierce gales, along with the boundless, rampant Fury of Battle Intent, raged and thrashed, wreaking havoc between Heaven and Earth.

Zhou Yan ventured into such a space.

Subsequently, Zhou Yan’s personal inner world coalesced into an independent domain, and the battle manifested within this domain was a conflict between himself and his own self.

Only by making oneself the adversary can one endlessly, eternally surpass oneself.

One day, upon reflection, you will realize that in surpassing yourself, you had already outdistanced the majority of your enemies.

In the battle space that Zhou Yan conjured, the adversary within that inner world was his own self, thus he was locked in combat against himself.

Through this form of resonance, Zhou Yan’s Realm underwent a further Transformation, becoming more potent.

The Sixth Realm of the Eternal Nine Rules rapidly progressed towards a Great Perfection state, and the battle space within Zhou Yan’s True Void Heavenly Prohibition Holy Spirit Land also began to experience a qualitative leap, seemingly influenced by Zhou Yan’s True Void Sky Forbidden King Rule having advanced into a profound stage.

Under these circumstances, Zhou Yan’s capabilities were unleashed on a deeper level.

Zhou Yan expelled a breath of stale air; in one decisive move, his Realm finally shattered the bottleneck of the Sixth Realm of the Eternal Nine Rules, entering the coveted Realm of the Seventh Level of the Eternal Nine Rules.

Having attained such a Realm, Zhou Yan also understood that the potential inherent in this world of battle had been exploited by him to its absolute limit; it was virtually impossible to extract any more from it.

Yet, Zhou Yan did not hasten to depart and instead remained there.

Deep in contemplation, Zhou Yan fixed his gaze upon the ongoing duel between Jiang Tianxin and Jiang Tianling, meticulously scrutinizing every one of their battle techniques before sealing them within his being.

Whether he would be able to comprehend these techniques, Zhou Yan was uncertain, but he knew for a fact that he would not decipher them at this immediate juncture.

However, that posed no issue. Back when he was unable to attain Enlightenment during the process of debating the Dao beneath the Bodhi Tree, Zhou Yan had already made a mental note.

Now encountering a similar situation once more, Zhou Yan’s method was to first absorb everything, then to revisit it repeatedly as if viewing a recording from a Soul Crystal. Through this process, he would undoubtedly achieve Enlightenment from it.

Zhou Yan surmised that even if he could never master these techniques, simply becoming acquainted with them would still prove immensely beneficial to him in the future.

Having arrived at this resolve, Zhou Yan immediately commenced his endeavor.

Leveraging a chip-like capacity for scanning and storage, Zhou Yan ingeniously fused the True Void Sky Forbidden King Rule with the transformative might of Form-Intent. This amalgamation allowed him to forge an exact replica of the Holy Spirit Land, meticulously simulating every alteration and sealing it within a fabricated Chip.

Fundamentally, this process was a method of information storage. Zhou Yan's objective was not to comprehend the data's meaning or its source; he merely needed to replicate and preserve it.

Upon completing this task, Zhou Yan perceived that Jiang Tianling and Jiang Tianxin had detected his actions. Consequently, a torrent of formidable killing intent and savage baleful power surged towards him.

However, Zhou Yan had been anticipating such a reaction, bracing himself against any unforeseen events. The very instant the onslaught commenced, he executed a swift withdrawal from the area.

Having achieved complete mastery over the Combat Origin, Zhou Yan possessed the ability to depart from the Original Holy Spirit Land with a mere thought.

Thus, with a singular focus of his will, Zhou Yan completely extricated himself from that location, reappearing within the Primordial Magnetic Pole Light Holy Spirit Land.

A lengthy, deep exhalation escaped Zhou Yan's lips, accompanied by a potent, unidentifiable sense of impending danger that, fortunately, soon dissipated.

It was evident that had he remained in that expanse of Heaven and Earth any longer, peril would surely have befallen him.

If Jiang Tianxin or Jiang Tianling had chosen to attack, Zhou Yan harbored no conviction that he could muster even the slightest resistance amidst the unknown dimensional battle.

In the face of those Holy Spirits from an unfathomable time-space, Zhou Yan felt no certainty or confidence. Despite his current Combat Power beginning to rival that of a King, he still lacked the assurance to contend with the enigmatic Holy Spirits residing within that Holy Spirit Land.

Zhou Yan collected himself and turned his attention to observing the illusory, unfolding battle scenes within the Void that he had copied.

As anticipated, viewing these recordings was akin to witnessing the Dao debate between the Immortal Phoenix Peacock and Shakyamuni; he grasped nothing.

Nevertheless, Zhou Yan remained unhurried. The moment comprehension eluded him, he simply ceased his observation.

Then, after a passage of time and as his memory of the incomprehensible details began to fade, Zhou Yan initiated the viewing process anew.

Indeed, the flawlessly replicated scene materialized once more before him.