73: Chapter 072 Sword Origin First Layer Heaven 73: Chapter 072 Sword Origin First Layer Heaven The night was deep, and the autumn stars filled the sky.

Gazing up at this vast and lonely expanse of the heavens, Zhou Yan felt somewhat dazed.

This was not the first time he had looked up at the night sky, nor was it the first time he had felt this way.

In the endless edges of this dark void, there once was a mighty figure who, with a single punch, broke through the heavens and traversed the Star Universe, only to encounter an unstoppable and terrifying Void Thunder Tribulation, and thus perished.

This scene, like a deeply etched painting in his memory, lingered and could not be dispelled.

This powerful person was not him, yet it felt as though he was there, experiencing that helplessness.

It was a feeling of powerlessness in the face of the Heaven and Earth Rules, the same powerlessness he had experienced today in the elegant attic of the Treasure Pavilion when he faced Lee Yan Yun.

She was an extraordinary woman, also a fearsome one; from beginning to end, Zhou Yan’s soul power sensed everything, yet he never knew what she intended to do.

How she left, Zhou Yan’s soul power could not detect.

Such a woman, this powerful, could kill him as easily as turning over her hand—even if he revealed all his trump cards, it would not change the outcome.

Zhou Yan took out a flask of wine, tilted his head back to drink, then quietly sensed his own realm, and used his sensing power to touch the Soul Giant Sword, allowing it to continuously emit vast amounts of soul energy, which he constantly refined to enhance his physique, soul, and Qi Column.

This transformation in various aspects was a very comfortable feeling, which he liked.

But he disliked this solitary bitter cultivation and yearned for the freedom to roam the world.

Yet life was often like this, on survival and freedom; he cherished freedom, but for the sake of survival, he had to lose it.

“The path of cultivation is incredibly long, am I already weary of it now?”

Zhou Yan murmured as if asking himself.

There was no one around him at the moment because, after purchasing a large amount of resources, he had sent Zhou Yi to distribute them and help the Zhou Family members refine some elixirs to enhance their strength.

“Xiao Xue, my soul has adjusted almost completely, please let your master come out.”

Zhou Yan drank a lot of liquor, refined a lot of soul energy, bringing his realm of Sword Energy Three Realms close to its peak, then finally let out a relieved sigh and sent a message to the Sword Spirit Xiao Xue of the Silver Snow Sword.

“Brother Zhou Yan, I’ve already sent the message, but Brother Zhou Yan, there’s still more than a day left, is there enough time?

Will it affect the stability of your own realm?

If so, both Xiao Xue and her master will probably feel guilty for a lifetime.”

Xiao Xue spoke very seriously.

Her illusory figure, in Zhou Yan’s mind, also displayed a very adorable expression and eyes full of worry.

It was a sincere, naïve look.

Seeing such eyes, Zhou Yan felt his mood improve greatly.

Perhaps the insights from the Affectionate Sword Dao ultimately made him more emotional—although this was not his true nature, on the path of the Sword Dao, many unforeseen situations always arise that could influence a person’s character.

That was probably why his master had told him to always follow his heart.

Because only by doing so, could he truly return to his true self.

“I can handle it, there won’t be any issues.

I wouldn’t do something if I wasn’t sure.”

Zhou Yan sent his friendly message; then, he continued to gently caress Xiao Xue’s head with his thoughts, and Xiao Xue still, very adorably and enjoyably, closed her eyes, her lashes trembling, leaning against the illusory figure formed by Zhou Yan’s sensing power.

Subconsciously, Zhou Yan’s illusion kissed Xiao Xue’s forehead.

In that moment, suddenly, the body of the Silver Snow Sword burst out with a dazzling brilliance, as if the still sword spirit had awakened all at once!

At that time, Zhou Yan himself also felt a violent tremor in his soul; he suddenly woke up from the special state of kissing Xiao Xue’s forehead.

Time seemed to have jumped, that scene suddenly disappeared, Xiao Xue’s illusion was gone, instead appearing inside the space of the Silver Snow Sword’s blade.

“What happened?”

Zhou Yan asked with some astonishment.

“Brother Zhou Yan, I don’t know what happened either, suddenly, as if time reversed, everything changed, and I was back inside my own blade.

But, Brother Zhou Yan, the master is awake now, you talk to her, Xiao Xue will step back.”

Xiao Xue, seemingly reluctant to leave Zhou Yan, yet suddenly appearing more sensible, quietly retreated into the silver-white blade of the Silver Snow Sword.

Beneath the starlight, the snow-white Silver Snow Sword, as if flickering with a cold and forbidding light, emitted a cold and lonely Sword Intent.

It was an intent like that of a lonely, cold woman sitting alone staring at the moon—an air that made Zhou Yan feel he was perceiving the heart of a solitary, watchful woman, an undefinable sensation.

This was the Sword Intent of the Silver Snow Sword, but this was not Xiao Xue’s true nature…

Could it be that Silver Snow Sword itself comprised more than just Xiao Xue?

Or could it be that the Silver Snow Sword itself contained deeper secrets?

In an instant, Zhou Yan seemed to see many secrets.

He initially wanted to contact Xiao Xue, but just as his thought emerged, within the aura of the Silver Snow Sword, Feng Lingqing suddenly appeared.

Her figure was emaciated and dry, the entire person seemed as if she was about to die of old age, that incomparably beautiful face now resembled a rosy skull, fundamentally changed.

Her life energy…

was about to dissipate.

This was not the recovery after a hundred years of sleep she spoke of, but rather…

waiting for death!

In fact, she had never recovered, or rather, she had recovered before, but every time Zhou Yan used the Silver Snow Sword, she was secretly exerting her power…

Zhou Yan looked at her, his heart suddenly struck hard, at this moment, he seemed to understand something.

“You…

you are really foolish.”

Zhou Yan’s words choked off, his heart of great resolve and will, at this moment, his eyes were a bit sour.

“Young Master, this is what I should do.

The world is perilous…

once I leave, the Silver Snow Sword can fully integrate with Xiao Xue.

I myself will become the Sword Spirit, opening up true Spiritual Wisdom for Xiao Xue.”

Feng Lingqing’s voice was somewhat hoarse, yet she spoke softly.

She didn’t look at Zhou Yan, but turned her back to him.

It seemed she feared her appearance would be too much of a shock to Zhou Yan.

“What nonsense are you spouting?

I won’t let you die, you haven’t even become my woman yet.

How can you die!”

Zhou Yan uttered a cold snort, seemingly a bit angry.

“There’s no way out, and no more time…

Young Master, there are some secrets I need to tell you now, listen carefully, otherwise once I’m gone, there will never be another chance to tell these things.”

Feng Lingqing still didn’t glance at Zhou Yan, her back facing him, as if in mourning.

“You call me Young Master, you must be from my mother’s side, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.

I was previously chased for a thousand miles because of your affairs.

Your mother—”

“I don’t want to hear about her matter for now, there’s no need to tell me, my father is coming out soon.

The head of the Great Zhou Family is already helping him to recondense his physical body and soul, their integration isn’t a problem, reaching the Sword Heart Clarity realm also isn’t a problem with his talent, the path ahead will naturally be walked by him.”

Zhou Yan cut off Feng Lingqing’s words, then approached her, dominantly grabbing her shoulders, and hugged her body from behind.

Her skeletal body rigidly stiffened at that moment.

She struggled hard, but now lacked the strength.

“Young Master, I actually just—”

“Stop talking, just calm down, and then, I’ll heal you right here.

Your soul has shattered…

and you are a powerful figure in the Sword Heart Realm, but I have a Soul-controlling Sword Body constitution.

I understand the characteristics of this kind of constitution, I can save you.”

Zhou Yan now also knew the benefits of the Soul-controlling Sword Body; it was extremely strong in soul power, moreover, it possessed a powerful sensing ability and healing ability—this was something he had realized only after carefully reviewing the books in his memory when he returned.

So it turned out, with his soul power, calling himself a Soul-controlling Sword Body was by no means exaggerating.

“But this way, you’ll still have to pay a great price, it really…

isn’t worth it, I may appear strong, but my position is just that of the—”

“Don’t talk about these things.”

Zhou Yan cut her off, and immediately activated his Soul Power, initiating the immense illusion of the Soul Giant Sword deep in his brow.

During this activation process, Zhou Yan channeled all the massive energy from his own body into Feng Lingqing’s body, meanwhile, the excess of that great soul energy was controlled by Zhou Yan to enter Feng Lingqing’s twelve main channels and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, constantly circulating back and forth.

Feng Lingqing’s injuries were extremely severe, however, for the enormous Soul Giant Sword, they were still trivial, under such immense and pure soul energy assistance, within less than three hours, her pure and beautiful aura and appearance were restored, the old and haggard look completely left her.

Five hours later, the day was already bright.

At this moment, Feng Lingqing seemed reborn, not only were all her injuries healed, but her entire being had an indescribable transformation and improvement.

During this process of healing Feng Lingqing, Zhou Yan also tempered himself, this process also made him gradually satisfied with his own realm.

Not only that, his Qi Jie expanded by nearly two-fifths, growing by a large margin, and soon, he was about to produce new Qi Jie.