Elder Hou Yao’s eyes were bloodshot, and her whole appearance seemed more aged and rundown; her body began to tremble, followed by a shiver, as she knelt on the ground.
"Young Master, I beg the Young Master to decide for me, to slay that Zhou Yan."
As Elder Hou Yao knelt and kowtowed, her voice was filled with sorrow.
She wanted to curse Zhou Yan, yet in the end, words such as ’little beast,’ ’little bastard,’ never left her lips.
The lady in white nodded indifferently and said, "Even though we don’t acknowledge the legitimacy of the Infinity Lineage, your Affectionate Sword Dao has still reached this realm.
Aren’t you still unbreakable?"
"Your subordinate..." Elder Hou Yao’s voice was still miserable, her expression already somewhat abnormal.
"Those who abandon me, their yesterday can no longer be retained; those who disturb my heart, their today brings many worries. Our Qiankun Lineage cultivates a kind of ’opposition.’ The Qian governs all things in heaven; the Kun bears the weight of everything under the sky. Since you entered the Void Realm, your mental state has instead gradually regressed. Now, you can’t even tolerate a mutated Sword Body, a junior cultivator whom you have already crippled the Sword Spirit; how can you then contain the overwhelming divine might of the Nine Changes Sword Void?"
The lady spoke softly, yet each word was like thunder, exploding within Elder Hou Yao’s heart.
Elder Hou Yao’s body instantly began to shake; a look of regret finally appeared on her pale, aged face.
"The past is gone, the present is uncertain, and the future will surely disperse. Therefore, the essence is to grasp the present. The physical body is merely a burden.
We need Transcendence, to break free from fetters, and that requires true mastery over our own Bloodline Power.
This should have been done in the Void Realm, but the Emperor Sword Lineage is different; you need to grasp the Bloodline Power at the inception of the Sword Soul, your initial failure to grasp the Bloodline Power, led to all the constraints you face today."
The lady in white continued to speak.
Upon hearing this, Elder Hou Yao pressed her head to the ground even more respectfully.
The slight sense of loss and disappointment because the Young Master would not help her kill her enemy now also vanished.
"You should thank the person who insults you, for he has awakened your dignity.
The indifferent ones also deserve your gratitude, for they have saved your will.
The one who cuts down your Void Body deserves your thanks too, for he has severed your past confusion and emptiness.
Now, your innate fervor has been stimulated, your innate arrogance has been sanded down, and your arrogance and pretentiousness have greatly diminished, which is an excellent opportunity for you to comprehend the Sword Void Second Transformation!
Go to the Forbidden Moon Cliff for Enlightenment, I hope next time, you won’t disappoint me."
The lady still spoke gently, but every sentence, every word, brought deep shame and profound impact to Elder Hou Yao.
Finally, after the lady in white finished her words, Elder Hou Yao had a new revelation, and her body began to transform from dry and decayed to gradually changing, eventually becoming like Hou Cai Xuan, possessed of a spiritual and beautiful emptiness, like a fairy.
Her clothing neat and graceful, with willows swaying in the wind, she was full of grace and charm. Her eyes regained their bright luster, making her eyelashes seem very long, spiritual, and beautiful. Her already very white skin now appeared like glowing jade, full of rhythm.
Her legs became long and straight, and overall she possessed a Transcendent aura.
At this moment, under the influence of the words of the lady in white, Elder Hou Yao experienced a moment of Sudden Enlightenment.
Seeing this scene, the lady in white nodded slightly and said, "Good, go on."
"Young Master, your subordinate will surely not disappoint you!"
Elder Hou Yao said nothing more, leaving behind only this vehement statement, then transformed into a streak of light and truly vanished.
In the air, there still lingered the essence of the Enlightenment of a Void Realm expert, bearing witness to the authenticity of the moment before.
The lady in white looked around at Heaven and Earth, her gaze as serene as water.
She lowered her eyelids, her lively eyes softly gazing at the spot where Elder Hou Yao had stood, where there appeared to be a damaged Ancient Array, its foundation revealing a thread of Bloodline Essence Qi.
"The Sword Spirit is already damaged, and even after grasping the might of the Bloodline, the Emperor’s Arc is ultimately broken.
A shattered mirror pieced together is still cracked; there is no longer any hope.
If previously you had a one in a billion chance of success, now, your defeat is certain. Zhou Yan, will you still persevere?"
She muttered quietly in her heart, though the words were never spoken aloud.
"I cannot stop Elder Hou Yao, for every time I wield the Soul Sword, I lose a great deal of my Origin. The most I can do for you ends here.
Zhou Yan... If there is a next life, I will no longer fail you. This lifetime, let us... forget each other amidst Heaven and Earth. Next time, I will have to... make my move against you."
She stood quietly in the Void.
At this time, she no longer bore the appearance of Hou Ling’er, but only that of Zhou Lingyi, in white robes, exactly like the Zhou Lingyi from the Zhou Family all those years ago.
After standing silently for a moment, she sighed once more, her body slowly merging into the giant sword, then completely disappeared.