Chapter 511: I'll Leave It to You from Now On

A sense of familiarity surged into the depths of his heart, and Chen Yan's expression trembled.

"Zhou Lu, are you waiting for me here?"

Chen Yan looked ahead and behind him; in front of Zhou Lu were countless mummified corpses kneeling on the ground.

Behind Zhou Lu, however, there were only a sparse few mummified corpses.

These mummified corpses were arranged in chronological order.

The existence of Zhou Lu seemed to have set a silent coordinate for Chen Yan upon the blurred long river of time.

Chen Yan stepped past Zhou Lu's body and looked at the few mummified corpses behind him.

At the very back, which was also the location of the first mummified corpse Chen Yan had seen when he first faced them.

Those were two mummified corpses, one female corpse holding the other, burying the other's head tightly into her own bosom.

Chen Yan squatted down; he looked at the face of the woman with her head hanging low, though her features could no longer be made out.

But by observing carefully, one could still discern some contours.

And the one in her arms, whose face was held firmly by her, had a corner of a mask visible.

The current Chen Yan was, in fact, a Will Divine Body.

It had never been that the physical body could not sense the will.

It was that the will could not sense the physical body.

The reason it could not sense the will was that the malice of this place was suppressing the will of the Will Divine Body tightly within the body.

It even affected the consciousness of the Will Divine Body.

This was the terror of malice.

The moment he entered the dark clouds of malice, the malice took control of his physical body and caused it to decay.

This was the rule of malice.

It would directly obliterate.

Chen Yan's physical body had long since decayed, and the obliteration belonging to the rule of malice had also long since ended.

But Chen Yan's will still existed; it had not yet died and remained in this place.

Such overbearing malice, it was simply impossible to overcome.

"But why did you come?"

Chen Yan looked at the woman who had turned into a mummified corpse.

She was a princess of a province, with the world in her heart; why would she come for such a foolish matter?

Chen Yan looked around; on the walls, eyes containing evil were staring at him, mocking him.

"Malice reigns above all; the rabbit has never defeated the white bear, but the rabbit..."

Chen Yan murmured, raising his right hand and stabbing it into his own chest.

"... has never been exterminated."

Hum!

A blinding golden-red light emerged from within his chest.

The radiance of the Immortal Will burned like ten thousand flowing clouds, enveloping Lu Jianxia and Chen Yan's already withered physical bodies.

Immortal!

Immortal!

The will is forever immortal!

Whoosh!

Within this myriad of flowing light, the young man's shout resounded.

"I... don't want it to be like this anymore."

"Chen Yan, can you save me?"

"I am afraid to die, so I struggle desperately to live..."

…………

At this moment, he remembered the tears from back then once more.

That was when he first created the Origin Space of the Hardened Body path.

Looking at the brand-new Yunmeng City, feeling the other space devoid of malice.

Chen Yan, having ascended to the Origin Realm, felt tears well up in the corners of his eyes for the first time.

It seemed that within that Origin Space, he saw Zhou Lu and his own younger sister, Zhou Jiayi, living without restraint.

At that time, Chen Yan was thinking.

If only he lived in such a world.

How wonderful that would be.

Chen Yan's will began to dissipate, his form began to blur, and the surging Immortal Will poured into his own physical body.

The overflowing Immortal Radiance also enveloped Lu Jianxia, who had become a mummified corpse.

An indescribable madness mixed with soreness.

Slowly born within the deathly silence.

Lu Jianxia opened her mouth wide, wanting to scream, but she could not make a sound at all.

She had been thoroughly eroded by malice amidst endless despair and pain, reaching the end of her life.

But at this moment, the intense pain struck again.

Endless fear surged like a tide from Lu Jianxia's mind, yet she could not scream, nor could she even see.

All her physiological organs had long since been eroded away, but the emergence of intense pain and thought at this moment caused Lu Jianxia's body to tremble.

She shivered as if she were a rabbit about to freeze to death.

Warm liquid welled up from within her eye sockets, flowing out continuously.

The frequency of Lu Jianxia's trembling grew faster and faster.

Gradually, memories emerged.

At that time, amidst the incredulous cries of everyone, she had flown into the mist of malice like a moth to a flame.

In the endless pitch-black darkness, she had seen the corpse of Bing Yi.

Fear, despair, sorrow—everything, absolutely everything, swallowed Lu Jianxia whole.

"The world cannot lose you..."

She murmured, finally walking toward death under the weight of an act that everyone in the world deemed foolish.

If even Bing Yi could not resolve the malice, how could she, Lu Jianxia, possibly resolve it?

This was the most brain-dead plotline in any novel or movie.

She, Lu Jianxia, was a princess of a continent, incomparably noble, born with a mission.

She should not have done things inconsistent with her status for the sake of selfish desires.

Just as she absolutely should not have raised objections to Chen Continent when witnessing the tragic state of Ten Thousand Phases Island.

Lu Jianxia had always believed this to be true.

Yet there was one person who had denounced her actions as the filthiest and most base.

Bing Yi.

"Bing Yi..."

Lu Jianxia slowly opened her eyes, looked at the man before her, paused, looked at the bizarre and terrifying scene around her, and lowered her head.

After repeatedly sensing the condition of her own body, she spoke:

"I shouldn't have come in, it seems; I caused trouble."

Chen Yan reached out his hand:

"You saved me, Jianxia."

Lu Jianxia paused again, sensing her body once more, sensing the terrifying malice all around.

When the sharp pain in her body and the panic in her brain gradually dissipated, she took Chen Yan's hand and stood up:

"I..., I seem to have entered the Will Martial Dao."

She was somewhat uncertain.

"Mm." Chen Yan nodded; the Will Divine Body exuded Immortal Will, reviving his physical body and Lu Jianxia's physical body.

It was fortunate that Lu Jianxia had not turned into an Ancient Divine Beast before her death, and that she still possessed a final sliver of vitality.

Otherwise, Chen Yan would not have been able to resurrect her.

As for the Will Martial Dao, it was because Lu Jianxia's will had reached its peak during the process of revival, and with Chen Yan's help, she had entered it naturally.

Lu Jianxia lowered her head; she did not ask how Bing Yi had saved her.

Her complexion remained pale, and many things flickered within her pair of silver eyes.

Chen Yan's expression shifted slightly, and he led Lu Jianxia toward the depths of the corridor.

"Where are we going?" Lu Jianxia asked.

"To face the rules," Chen Yan said:

"To face the rules of malice."

Lu Jianxia's body stiffened slightly, feeling somewhat uneasy, but as she looked around, her eyes still revealed an innate elegance and nobility.

"You overestimate me."

"It's fine," Chen Yan murmured:

"I am here."

"Mm."

Lu Jianxia's skin was whiter than snow, as delicate as mutton-fat jade; her vermilion lips parted slightly, but in the end, she asked a different question:

"Did you save me with Immortal Will?"

"Mm."

The two fell into silence once more.

Lu Jianxia no longer looked at the eyeballs on the walls beside her, nor did she look at the twisted dried corpses kneeling on the floor; she gazed quietly at Chen Yan's back.

"Are you certain of success?"

"No."

Lu Jianxia was startled, somewhat amused to the point of anger:

"How can you take risks again and again like this? Things with not even a shred of certainty—how can you do them over and over? If you keep this up, one day..."

Chen Yan did not speak.

Lu Jianxia's lips trembled, and she, too, ceased speaking.

There was no historical precedent for what the person before her was doing.

The person holding her hand was a pioneer, an adventurer.

Continuously led by Chen Yan, the two walked to the deepest part of the corridor, where the fleshy growths on both sides of the corridor were almost touching.

Under the gaze of countless eyes hiding evil, Chen Yan let go of her hand.

After his physical body began to revive, the fleshy growths on the corridor walls constantly writhed, shrinking inward.

"Wait for me here," Chen Yan said, looking at Lu Jianxia.

"Me?" Lu Jianxia hugged her arms, appearing solitary and alone:

"Are you just going to abandon me here?"

She finally looked Chen Yan straight in the eye, her tone carrying a hint of reproach.

"I need to pass through what's ahead; it's even more dangerous there," Chen Yan replied.

Lu Jianxia's expression stiffened slightly:

"Is it possible not to go?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she shook her head again:

"I... I cannot help you."

"Just wait for me." Chen Yan waved one hand, and the Radiance of Will spilled forth, enveloping Lu Jianxia in a golden-red light.

This was the Power of Will that Chen Yan had extracted, capable of temporarily protecting Lu Jianxia from being corrupted by malice.

"I have already entered the Dao of Will, you don't need to do this..."

Lu Jianxia was still speaking, but Chen Yan's body had already squeezed into the crowded, fleshy mass, his body making close contact with those eyeballs of varying sizes.

Sss— sss— sss!

The Will of Immortality spilled out!

Golden rays of light surged upon Chen Yan's physical body.

Hiss!

A piercing shriek rang out, but these fleshy masses crowded even more tightly around Chen Yan.

Chen Yan kept squeezing forward, not knowing how much time had passed.

Finally.

Chen Yan pierced through the fleshy mass and arrived at an open space.

Boundless cold, mixed with evil, rushed toward him.

Darkness occupied everything; floating in the void were charred paper scraps, the shapes of which looked more like human limbs and lengths of intestines.

Directly ahead, a monster with a body so massive it was suffocating floated within the void.

It bore a deer head that was twisted to the point of deformity, its antlers growing wildly, almost occupying the pitch-black void.

On that deer head, a pair of ghostly green eyes emitted an eerie light, like two will-o'-the-wisps, locking onto Chen Yan.

The moment he met the gaze of this monster, a filthy chill completely surrounded Chen Yan.

Chen Yan's physical body began to crack, his skin drifting away like powder.

At the current rate of corrosion, Chen Yan could not last even ten minutes.

And beside the deer-headed monster.

A group of bizarre creatures with twisted forms were slowly writhing.

They had no fixed shape, like lumps of meat kneaded at random by malice; every time they moved, it was as if they were dragging the weight of the entire world.

Powerful!

Unimaginably powerful!

Just by glancing at them, Chen Yan's soul was trembling!

Chen Yan closed his eyes, and the next moment, with a 'crack'—

A long spear radiating ice-lightning appeared in his hand, the Will of Immortality erupted, and golden-red flames wrapped around Chen Yan.

The next moment.

With a boom.

Chen Yan transformed into a stream of light and soared, the spear tip blooming with blood as he lunged toward the deer-headed monster.

And at this very instant.

A rustling sound erupted completely, countless syllables plucking at Chen Yan's nerves.

Pitch-black tentacles grew from the deer-headed monster's body, instantly surrounding Chen Yan.

The world was pitch black.

Chen Yan's gaze flickered, and he was just about to sweep his spear down!

"Why do you think..."

A familiar voice suddenly rang out.

"That you are only one person?"

Appearing simultaneously with this voice was a deep blue orb of blood-Qi.

Within the blood-Qi orb, the phantoms of a White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, and True Dragon emerged.

The next instant, the orb exploded!

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!

A terrifying, explosive roar resounded.

Countless pitch-black tentacles were blasted into fragments.

Beside Chen Yan appeared a man wearing golden robes; the man's appearance was solemn and grave, yet he looked at Chen Yan with a smile.

At the same time.

Within the pitch-black world, golden pillars of light suddenly descended.

It was as if the long river of time and space had been opened.

Figures appeared—some imposing, some hunched, some handsome, some broken.

They wore golden robes and golden armor, revealed under the illumination of the light pillars.

One by one, a chilling, domineering aura surged around them.

This aura was that of emperors who had once looked down upon the world, supreme and alone.

They looked at Chen Yan with surprise, with smiles, or with gratification.

The Sovereigns of the ancient Xia Kingdom, all had arrived!

"Xue Qi." Chen Yan's eyes trembled, and then he bowed to the person who had come.

"You were lingering on the edge of life and death, that 'Undying' was sometimes awakened and sometimes no longer summoned.

We... are very annoying."

A female Sovereign pursed her lips.

"Master of Martial Dao!

I never expected you could create such a Martial Dao!" a man wearing golden armor said with a trembling voice.

"We have spent our whole lives seeking a path to resist the Malice; seeing the spark of fire born, how could we watch it be extinguished?"

"Malice is not invincible."

"I never expected to see a new Martial Dao; I have no regrets even in death."

One voice after another rang out.

The ancient Sovereigns, bathed in golden light, spoke incessantly.

An old man in golden robes, whose face was decayed and no longer resembled a human, stepped out and looked at Chen Yan:

"For me... for me, find Weimin."

His voice trembled, carrying a final request.

"Also, find my Imperial Brother for me." The female Sovereign who had complained earlier spoke up.

Chen Yan nodded.

Yet at this moment, all the Sovereigns suddenly fell silent.

Some respectful, some disgusted, some resentful, some fearful, they all looked in unison toward that person.

A figure in white slowly walked out.

The Xia Master swept a faint glance at Chen Yan, carrying indifference:

"Is courting death fun!?"

The next instant.

The Xia Master soared up, smashing toward that deer-headed monster.

Immediately following.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!!!

Streaks of golden light rose into the air, flying toward that deer-headed monster.

"That 'Undying' is not used like that.

Our remnant souls arriving were not meant to display combat power, and even if we did, we could not unleash one ten-thousandth of our respective strength.

However, it should be enough."

Xue Qi smiled and bowed slightly to Chen Yan.

"From now on... it is up to you."

Chen Yan also bowed, bowing deeply to Xue Qi and to all the Sovereigns.

"Chen Yan of Green Mountain, thanks you all!"

At the same time.

Rumble!

The dark clouds of Malice, which had long been silent and were about to dissipate, suddenly shook.

This tremor would change the world's perception, and the heavens and earth would be renewed!