Chapter 682: And I Only Strive for the Morning and Evening

They had been betrayed.

This was merely a sudden incident, but what if it were a premeditated plan?

Everyone had their own plans and arrangements.

All these plans converged into the final destination of the plan.

But at this moment, what if the people at certain links fled?

What would happen then?

In the current critical situation, it might get everyone killed.

These Creation Realm cultivators who had fled earlier were now silent.

They wore expressions of extreme guilt, but they did not speak, fearing they might provoke hostility from others.

Yet, they were not worried about anything.

Currently, the Pure True Yang Realm combined with the outside Creation Realm cultivators totaled only a little over one hundred and ten people.

This was the entire combat strength available to the resistance forces now.

Moreover, two or three of these Creation Realm cultivators were at the peak of the Creation Realm and had the potential to ascend.

They felt that perhaps they would be punished or scolded, but there would be no other issues.

Creation Realm cultivators were precious treasures, no matter where they were placed.

Someone secretly raised their head, raising it with extreme awe.

Yet they saw that the Heavenly God General was simply standing calmly, looking toward the distant sky.

That person felt a weight lift from their heart.

It seemed now that they would be fine.

That Heavenly God General was extremely powerful and monstrously talented, but he was not yet twenty years old; it was impossible for him to be too harsh.

The other party was also approachable, appearing to have no airs at all; upon meeting Xia Long and the others, he even addressed them directly as seniors.

Furthermore, in the face of everyone's suggestions, he did not force Lu Jianxia and the other Five Clans' Creation Realm cultivators to sign Life Seals.

Chen Yan should be extremely easy to talk to.

Perhaps he wouldn't even be punished.

The heart of that one Creation Realm cultivator, which had been hanging in suspense, quietly settled at this moment.

Lu Jianxia looked coldly at the person beside him; that was a Lu Prefecture Creation Realm cultivator, yet the other party had actually fled at the very beginning.

Lu Jianxia felt disappointed and wanted to punish that person, but he did not speak at this moment.

Xia Long's gaze also swept over several Great Xia Creation Realm cultivators.

It was no wonder that Xia Long, Shen Yiwei, and the others were biased toward the Military Martial Guards.

In today's battle, not a single Great Xia Military Martial Guard fled; even when facing that invincible Eighth-Rank Ancient God Beast, they still roared and fought desperately.

As for the other Great Xia Creation Realm cultivators, one high-ranking official from the Martial Suppression Division fled, and two rogue cultivators fled.

This was the infuriating and disappointing part.

Cowardly and stupid!

Even if they fled, if Chen Yan, Xia Long, and the others all died, would the Eighth-Rank Ancient God Beast let them go?

It was merely the difference between dying a day later or a day earlier.

It would be better to use everything one has to fight for a glimmer of light in the darkness of a desperate situation.

Xia Long's eyes grew colder and colder, but he did not speak at this moment; everything was waiting for Chen Yan.

It was also at this time.

A calm voice rang out.

"What do you all think malice is?"

Someone frowned, not understanding what Chen Yan meant by these words.

What is malice?

This was like someone asking you what water is.

Are you supposed to answer that it is something drinkable and something that can extinguish fire?

Chen Yan did not wait for others to ponder and continued:

"In my view, there are two types of malice, or to be precise, three.

Let's talk about the two types first: internal malice and external malice.

External malice, in my view, can be divided into the malice of the world and the malice of others."

Lu Jianxia raised his eyebrows slightly:

"Does the malice of the world represent the malice of the Ancient Gods?"

Chen Yan nodded slightly:

"Yes and no. A person's life is full of various tragedies and helplessness; landslides, earthquakes, raging winds, and tsunamis—these, like the malice of the Ancient Gods, are existences that can destroy us.

These are all the malice of the world!"

Xia Long stroked his chin and nodded:

"That is indeed true. The malice of the Ancient Gods may be terrifying, but at times, natural disasters are even more frightening."

It was his first time hearing such an interpretation, and he felt that Chen Yan took the malice of the Ancient Gods too lightly.

It was actually just a small part of the three types of malice.

But he could not find a reason to refute it.

"Hmm." Chen Yan nodded:

"There is also the trend of the era. If there were no malice, the technological civilization of Yu Prefecture would be an absolute suppression for Great Xia and the other four clans."

"This is also the malice of the world."

Yu Ming raised his eyebrows slightly; he had not expected Yuzhou Technology to be so important in Chen Yan's heart.

"The malice of others should be the evil and hostility that others generate toward us, which is often difficult to prevent."

Shen Yiwei said indifferently:

"As for the malice within one's heart, I heard my master say when I was young that the reason he was able to rise up with a broken body was because he severed the evil in his heart.

All fear, hesitation, and worry are the evil in the heart.

Master severed these, which is why he could become a Sun-Patrolling Divine General."

Shen Yiwei looked at Chen Yan with a complex expression.

He believed that Chen Yan was also someone who had severed the evil in his heart.

This was, after all, a heaven-gifted talent who had emerged from under his own tutelage.

Shen Yiwei felt a surge of emotion; the moment he severed his own Dripping Water Sword Realm and transformed it into the Blood Sword Realm was, in fact, also the moment he severed the evil in his heart.

At that moment, his Dao heart, which had originally been shattered by Chen Changyuan, revived once more and became even stronger.

But he still had evil in his heart.

Sometimes, he would also worry, also feel fear, and also feel despair.

He could not imagine how Chen Yan had tempered a heart without malice.

Chen Yan nodded with a smile:

"Old Shen is absolutely right; the malice of the Ancient Gods is not the most terrifying. The malice of others and the malice of the self are even stronger than the malice of the Ancient Gods.

Just like today, Li Li's arrival can be seen as the malice of others, or it can be seen as the malice of the world; this is external evil.

Despair, hesitation, and panic during battle—this is internal evil.

If not for me, you all could have killed Li Li today, but the hesitation and fear of many led to the deaths of more people.

Everything is preventing us from succeeding, preventing us from continuing to walk forward."

Chen Yan's voice fell, and a rumble echoed in the depths of everyone's hearts.

It was the first time they had seen words that could so belittle the malice of the Ancient Gods.

Chen Yan continued:

"When fighting, if comrades shrink back and affect others, this is also the malice of others; it is external malice."

As Chen Yan spoke, those few Creation Realm experts who had originally chosen to flee felt their bodies tremble for an instant.

It was coming.

The final point of Chen Yan's words was here.

They had thought Chen Yan had forgotten, but they had not expected Chen Yan to be waiting for them here.

Someone hung their head, sweat beading on their forehead.

What was Chen Yan going to do?

How would he punish them?

The other party was easygoing by nature, so he shouldn't do anything to them.

Right?

Chen Yan usually treated people gently and was clearly afraid of ruining relations between the parties, so he definitely wouldn't do anything to them.

Right?

Right?

A thunderous roar echoed in the hearts of those few.

Chen Yan continued:

"What is terrifying is not malice; what is terrifying is not knowing how to sever malice."

Shen Yiwei looked at Chen Yan:

"How does one sever it?"

Chen Yan's gaze turned cold:

"Abandon all illusions and cowardice, and sever it immediately."

The next instant.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The sounds of Qi, blood, and strength exploding rang out.

Figure after figure exploded into motion, turning into streams of light and fleeing toward the distance.

Xia Long's expression turned cold; in an instant, he erupted, appeared in front of a Great Xia Creation Realm expert who had already fled, and threw a punch.

"No!!!"

A scream rang out.

That person's head was directly blown apart.

"Heavenly Divine General, give me a chance to correct myself, I was wrong!"

Someone roared in despair, fleeing desperately.

Chen Yan said indifferently:

"Has malice ever given me any chance?

They never let me go!"

Golden radiance swirled in Chen Yan's eyes, and waves of pressure radiated outward:

"And I, too, only seize the day!"

Cold, overbearing, and heartless!

Chen Yan at this moment was completely different from his usual self.

Lu Jianxia watched that fleeing Creation Realm expert from the Lu Continent, her teeth clenched:

"Chen Yan, you..."

She could not bear to see her own kin die just like that.

Chen Yan glanced at Lu Jianxia:

"The Patrol Sun Divine General is still holding off the Shi Meng Mo with his own strength, the human race in the outside world is still at war, and the ascenders of this world are yet to awaken and arrive.

Just how much do you want to die that you are willing to wait for a time that will betray others and change?"

Wu Song and Hong Mi looked at Chen Yan, struggling, and were speechless for a moment.

There were not many Creation Realm experts in the Pure True Yang Realm, and these were all their comrades-in-arms; how could they bear to slaughter their former comrades?

"I will go."

Shen Yiwei spoke up:

"You two do not need to go."

Having said that, Shen Yiwei turned into a streak of blood-red light and flew toward those few fleeing Creation Realm experts.

"Princess Jianxia, save me!"

Screams rang out.

Lu Jianxia wanted to intervene several times, but in the end, she closed her eyes.

As Chen Yan said, she was indeed a bit indecisive.

She also knew that what Chen Yan did was right, but she could not bring herself to do it.

She stared blankly at that Lu Continent Creation Realm expert as they were finally beheaded by Xia Long, her expression turning cold.

She bit her red lips, looked deeply at Chen Yan, and then walked toward the Black Tower without saying a word.

In her mind, that voice sounded once again.

She did not know who had said it to her.

But she had once been influenced by this sentence, and even after her memories were lost, it remained the same.

It had caused her to change.

"Proclaim my fate to the heavens and earth, establish my heart with the Ten Thousand Dao Tree, break the shackles of the Ancient Gods, and slash away the injustices of the world!"

A simple sentence, yet it possessed an indescribable power.

"If one can break the shackles of the Ancient Gods, if one can slash away the injustices of the world, then even death is an honor."

Lu Jianxia murmured, then suddenly paused, looked back at Chen Yan, wanting to speak, but was ultimately unable to say what she wanted to say.

This Great Xia Heavenly General had an unchanging principle behind everything he said and did.

He did not look like a teenager at all, but rather like an ancient and powerful existence.

Too powerful, and also too cold.

Whether it is good or bad to cooperate with such a person, she did not know.

Lu Jianxia sighed in her heart.

Chen Yan watched these scenes unfold in silence.

He could feel that an ever-growing crisis was approaching.

Lu Xunyang was very strong, but the Shi Meng Mo and the Underworld Nightmare Beast were two of the five great Ancient God Beasts.

They were too powerful.

The moment Lu Xunyang could no longer hold on would be the moment Chen Yan and the others were completely wiped out.

Moreover, Chen Changyuan was also a problem.

This person had secrets unknown to others.

He was rapidly becoming more powerful.

Feeling the gazes of awe, Chen Yan stepped through the void, and Li Li, who was completely suppressed behind him, followed Chen Yan's movements under the control of his intent.

The terrifying Ancient God Beast was like a prisoner before Chen Yan, unable to resist.

Everyone's awe of Chen Yan deepened.

Chen Yan's expression was calm.

Originally, the three forces of Great Xia, the Five Clans, and the Pure True Yang Realm each had their own suspicions; now, after this battle, it was clear who could be trusted and who would betray.

After Chen Yan's strength returned, he could naturally perceive the emotions of others as well.

He had long known who would become a problem.

But now, letting those who would become a problem reveal themselves was the only way to convince everyone.

Time waits for no one.

At a time like this, if one harbored wishful thinking or was hesitant, what could be accomplished?

In the past, Chen Yan might have forgiven these people, but at this moment, it was absolutely impossible.

The human race had no time for trial and error.

An incomparably powerful and incomparably cold Heavenly General was more awe-inspiring and convincing.

This was Chen Yan's goal.

He had walked all the way from Green Mountain, and through the martial Dao veins, he had seen too much of the purity and filth of the human world.

His limit-breaking thinking also allowed him to think far more than others.

Since there was no length, he would increase the width.

Chen Yan stepped through the void, still pondering his subsequent plans.

It was precisely at this moment that a sudden change took him by surprise.

Chen Changyuan had ascended to the path of Will.