Chapter 318: Kindling

Chen Yan sat on the small boat, yet there was not a trace of joy on his face.

Inside the wooden hut, when he heard the story of the White Bear and the Rabbit for the second time, he already had a guess.

When Xue Qi said that 【Youlan】 was not important, and that what was important was "Honey," he became certain that his guess was true.

The entire Slaughter Village was a scaled-down version of Great Xia.

The first generation of rabbits discovered Thought Power; in reality, this was the birth of the Martial Dao Master of the Thought Power path.

The second generation of rabbits, which was Xue Qi, discovered Honey; in the story of Slaughter Village, Honey was 【Youlan】, but in the story of Great Xia, Honey was the path of Qi and Blood.

"Zu Xue Qi" (Ancestor Xue Qi), when read backwards, is "Qi Xue Zu" (Ancestor of Qi and Blood).

The third generation of rabbits, the Village Chief, invented armor that would harm the flesh but could defend against the White Bear.

This story had not yet happened in Slaughter Village, and it was even impossible for it to happen, because the Village Chief was already dead.

But the Village Chief's name was Zu Lianhen, which when read backwards is "Heng Lian Zu" (Ancestor of Hardened Body).

In the history of Great Xia, this represented the birth of the Hardened Body path.

This is "hiding a leaf in the forest."

All the stories had long ago explained everything within that one poem.

What is important is not the poem itself.

It is the name Zu Xue Qi.

Then, the soul of Xue Qi that had entered Chen Yan's body at this moment was the Ancestor of Qi and Blood of this primordial world.

Chen Yan's eyes were clear, but his heart felt as if it had been struck by a giant boulder.

It was very uncomfortable.

Xue Qi was able to tell him the two words that were important: "Honey."

That indicated that Xue Qi was not as simple as she appeared on the surface.

From the perspective of Slaughter Village, the Rabbit and the White Bear were metaphors for them.

But from the perspective of Great Xia, the development of Slaughter Village was a metaphor for the history of the entire human race.

And the true trajectory of Slaughter Village would only be destruction, because the Village Chief who would have discovered the armor was already dead.

For Xue Qi, taking revenge and wiping out grievances was a matter of course.

But for Slaughter Village, the death of the Village Chief led them toward despair.

However, this dark future depended on whether Xue Qi could kill the Fei Yi.

If Xue Qi could kill the Fei Yi, then all the darkness would dissipate.

Was Slaughter Village, after all, a primordial world?

Or was it a desperate race, created by the powerhouses of Great Xia, destined to honestly walk toward suffering?

Chen Yan was no saint.

But did the birth of a college entrance examination secret realm really need to be built upon countless flesh and blood?

What truly made Chen Yan unwilling to believe it was that the Ancestor of Qi and Blood had actually died at the hands of the Master of Hardened Body.

But now, Chen Yan still chose to believe.

The fifth realm of the Qi and Blood path is the Dharma Truth Realm.

And the fifth realm of the Hardened Body path is the Dharma Extinction Realm.

Originally, Chen Yan thought there was a problem with the realms of the two martial daos themselves, but now it seemed...

The story between the Master of Hardened Body and the Ancestor of Qi and Blood had been placed before all martial artists from the very beginning.

Moreover, according to the story.

The founding master of Great Xia was the Master of Hardened Body!

At the founding of Great Xia, the Xia Master and the five clans bathed together in the blood of the Ancient Gods.

Did the Xia Master go insane in the end?

Did his insanity have any connection to the illness currently inside the body of the State Controller?

Chen Yan pondered.

The three types of physical martial daos—Thought Power, Qi and Blood, and Hardened Body—were all unable to resist the gnawing of the White Bear.

But compared to Thought Power and Qi and Blood, the Hardened Body path managed to truly injure the White Bear.

Hardened Body is bitter, it is tiring, but it can save one's life.

Whether it was Luo Puxin or Shen Yiwei, from the very beginning they wanted Chen Yan to completely abandon the Qi and Blood path and cultivate only Hardened Body.

It seems, it was not wrong.

After knowing the true side of Great Xia's history, his mood was extremely heavy.

Because humanity, from beginning to end, had never truly defeated the Ancient Gods.

Now that the number of Ancient God Beasts was exploding and Great Xia was in turmoil, did that mean the Ancient Gods were about to appear?

Chen Yan took a deep breath.

Effort after effort, creation after creation, humanity was like rabbit after rabbit, wailing and angry.

Every counterattack would turn into a joke in the eyes of the White Bear, which carried contempt and indifference.

But.

Humanity had never given up.

Whether it was Xue Qi or the Village Chief, they were either burdened with sin or corroded by evil.

But their purpose was all for the human race to survive.

On the land of endless darkness, there would always be sparks of torchlight emerging, burning themselves to create a prairie fire for the world.

This is a hymn belonging to humanity.

The village head's behavior is not worth advocating, nor is it even worth saving.

This is a sin!

To ignore sin is to lose one's conscience!

But the sin is in the present, while the merit is for a thousand autumns.

Chen Yan does not like it, but he cannot judge it, because he is also a beneficiary.

Even for Xue Qi, now that only the final remnant of his soul remains, he still must go to exterminate the Fei Yi.

This is his long-cherished wish: to exterminate the evil of the world.

"I once thought I myself was the initial torch, but I did not expect..."

Chen Yan looked at the endless river of blood, wide and surging, bottomless.

The old man pushed the oars, steering a small skiff amidst this boundless river of blood.

"But I did not expect that long before me, there were endless flames burning, using billions of flesh and blood as fuel, ceaseless and unending."

He clenched his fists tight, whispering in a voice only one person could hear:

"But I can achieve the most brilliant, to single-handedly sever the evil of the Avici."

Only at this moment did he completely understand the words of Lu Xunyang.

Body and mind were clear, incomparably comfortable.

He was not suffering; he loved the Martial Dao, and he was proud to have a supreme, grand ambition.

This journey, which seemed incomparably lonely and bitter to outsiders, was, in the eyes of Chen Yan, incomparably happy!

He saw things he did not like, and he was going to exterminate these things he did not like.

Nothing more than that!

Glowing flames emerged around his body, incomparably bright, as if he were burning.

Looking from afar, above the boundless river of blood, there was a radiance crossing the river.

It was not magnificent, but it carried power.

At this moment, Chen Yan's heart was incomparably firm, his Speech Realm was vibrating, and his will was transparent.

Boom—!

In the place of endless darkness, a place only Chen Yan could reach.

The Martial Dao meridians, which spread out like a spiderweb, flashed with white light, burning with extreme intensity.

Chen Yan's thinking became much faster.

His entire person seemed to be wrapped in a ball of warm, melting flame.

Comfortable, too comfortable.

Even more comfortable than when he used the Morning Star-grade healing spirit medicine back then.

This was a sublimation of the soul, a revolution of thought.

"You seem to have changed?"

Deep in Chen Yan's mind, Xue Qi's voice sounded.

His voice was calm, but his tone carried a trace of excitement.

He let out a long sigh.

"If only you had been born in our Slaughter-Severing Village..."

He whispered; he did not know what Chen Yan's change was, but he felt envious, gratified, melancholy, and sad.

He was about to perish completely.

He still had one final mission.

The old man who was still sliding the oars also looked over, carrying a look of surprise.

He also felt Chen Yan's change, but he could not put it into words.

Was it an enlightenment of the Dao?

Was it the comprehension of some profound martial art?

Chen Yan's eyes were brilliant, and a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

On one Martial Dao meridian after another, familiar and unfamiliar figures appeared.

Inside the ancient cave, Chen Yu erupted with a golden formation plate, as beautiful as a fairy from the nine heavens, but she was covered in blood, her eyes filled with desperate courage.

Caw!

Before her, an ancient divine beast, five meters in size with a body formed by bundles of human hands, erupted with malice, eroding Chen Yu's heart.

Chen Yu gritted her teeth, refusing to give up.

Her older brother's words before entering the college entrance examination were hard for her to forget.

Within the world of consciousness, the woman in the red dress had an ugly expression.

This stubborn girl.

Why must you insist on chasing after your brother?

The life your brother leads, is that even a life for a person?

She spoke:

"Go back, Little Yu, your body has a tendency to collapse."

She complained:

"Your brother is really something, forcing his own sister like this."

The woman in the red dress was dissatisfied; Chen Yan was too absolute and confident.

The path that suits him does not necessarily suit his sister.

Of course, this is a common failing for many people; they believe that because a path works for them, it must work for others as well.

Chen Yan also has his arbitrary moments.

She finally discovered that Chen Yan could also make mistakes.

While this made her dissatisfied, it also made her feel quite comfortable.

You also have faults; you are not omnipotent either.

Ji Yannan revealed a smile and continued to persuade:

"You can now manifest Morning Star-level array disks; I do not believe your brother can surpass you in the way of array disks. You must walk your own path."

Chen Yu nodded, but the fifteen-year-old girl's eyes were still filled with stubbornness.

Her brother had protected her for so many years, and she also wanted to protect her brother.

However, the malice was truly so terrifying...

Blood and tears appeared in Chen Yu's eyes, looking very miserable.

Yet, it was also at this moment.

Hum!

A white light emerged from Chen Yu's body, incomparably powerful.

The radiance of the array disk on Chen Yu's body surged continuously, divine light erupting and unleashing power that did not originally belong to the array disk itself.

Screech!

A shrill roar resounded, and that ancient divine beast was terrified.

The malice surging toward Chen Yu was being obliterated, was disappearing.

How is this possible?!

How could malice disappear?

This change formed abruptly!

Chen Yu was stunned in place, feeling the power erupting from within her own body, incomparably shocked.

Within the world of consciousness, the red-skirted woman's vermilion lips parted; even in a soul state, she was still trembling continuously.

Obliterating malice!

She had once again seen the obliteration of malice.

This was the terrifying feat Chen Yan had once performed!

Now, it appeared on Chen Yu.

The fifteen-year-old girl's eyes flickered; she clearly felt a great thing descending upon her.

She did not know what this was, but it was so warm.

Others could not feel it, but she could.

"Brother..."

At this moment.

Above the world, the fourth Will-Bearer...

Appeared!

…………