# 564
**Chapter 565: Zhou Ping’s Path to Dao**
This gift was far too precious.
Soil capable of nurturing laws—there might not be much of it in the entire world. If the other pantheons were to learn of its existence, they would likely wage war over it. Yet Nyx had kept it hidden all this time, even going so far as to pluck Merlin bald just to leave it for Lin Qiye…
It was the most precious thing she could give him.
“Thank you, Mother.”
Lin Qiye stood in silence for a long time, burying all his gratitude deep in his heart. In the end, he simply spoke those few words from the bottom of his heart.
To him, Nyx was no longer just a patient—she had truly become his mother. Even though everything had started with that simple word, “Mother,” that kind and innocent lie had now become reality.
Between mother and son, Lin Qiye didn’t want to say too many thanks. All of Nyx’s kindness was etched deeply into his heart.
Nyx smiled, her eyes full of affection.
“Zhou Ping, have you made up your mind?” She turned to Zhou Ping and asked.
Zhou Ping looked quietly at Lin Qiye. After a moment, he nodded.
“I’ve decided. I can lend you my sword.”
The reason Zhou Ping had hesitated was ultimately because he couldn’t fully trust Nyx. But when Lin Qiye emerged from the cocoon and heard their conversation, he chose to help Nyx.
From the value of the soil she had given Lin Qiye, Zhou Ping could tell that Nyx truly saw Lin Qiye as her own child.
A pure and great mother like her deserved his sword.
Lin Qiye looked at the two of them in confusion. He didn’t know what they had discussed while he was gone, but it seemed they had reached some kind of agreement…
He didn’t know the details, but he believed Nyx would never harm Zhou Ping.
A Greek primordial goddess and a human sword immortal—they had never met before, never even heard of each other. Yet they had formed an alliance, bound by their trust in Lin Qiye.
Trust truly was a wondrous thing.
Nyx nodded, lifted her black skirt slightly, and bowed gently to Zhou Ping. “Thank you.”
Zhou Ping took a deep breath and thrust the long sword in his left hand, *Prayer Abyss*, into the earth beneath him. He gripped the hilt tightly, and the clear sword intent in his eyes surged skyward once again.
*Clink—!!*
A crisp, resonant sword cry echoed between heaven and earth. Rolling sword energy mixed with sword laws surged out from the void!
The sword energy swirled around Zhou Ping like a tide, forming a terrifying vortex that poured into the *Prayer Abyss* sword in his hand. The sweeping gale sent his black robes fluttering wildly.
Sword intent, sword energy, sword laws—all of them were pouring frantically into the blade.
Lin Qiye, bracing against the wind, shouted, “Sword Saint Senior, what are you doing?”
From within the storm of sword energy, Zhou Ping’s gradually fading figure spoke calmly:
“My body is nearing its limit.
But I can still deliver one more strike.
This strike…
I will use it to hold Olympus accountable on behalf of Great Xia.
I will make them know—this strike… comes from humanity.”
*Boom—!!*
The sword energy around him surged once more, forming a raging sea. Blood mist burst from Zhou Ping’s body, turning into white threads that dissipated in the air.
His body, within the sword energy, faded like an old photograph losing its color.
His chest gradually turned transparent. His left hand holding the sword had already vanished. His head was beginning to blur…
He was disappearing.
“Lin Qiye, I won’t say goodbye. If fate allows, perhaps we’ll meet again…
At that time, you don’t have to become powerful, but I hope you’ll always stay by each other’s side, just like now.
I… am leaving.”
Zhou Ping’s voice grew fainter. His body had almost completely vanished. Finally, he turned to the woman in the black dress, his eyes shining with brilliant sword light.
“Nyx, take this sword… and carve through Olympus for me.”
*Bang—!*
His last remaining piece turned into white threads of law and vanished into the air.
The world fell into silence.
Today,
Great Xia’s Sword Immortal, Zhou Ping…
Dissolved into Dao within the mist.
The last trace of sword intent in the world poured into the *Prayer Abyss* sword stabbed into the ground. The blade radiated a terrifying sword light, trembling violently as endless killing intent surged from within.
At that moment, Nyx, standing in the pool of blood, stepped forward and grabbed the last few white threads of law. Her eyes erupted with divine might!
A deep darkness instantly shrouded her palm.
The white threads twisted frantically in her grasp, unable to escape. She whispered something, her black starry dress fluttering as she yanked her hand back!
The final strand of white silk condensed once more in her palm, forming a crystal-clear heart that hovered in the air.
This was Zhou Ping’s heart.
Though it had stopped beating, pure light still flowed across its surface, radiating a mesmerizing glow.
Nyx grabbed her skirt with her other hand and tore off a piece of the night.
The fragment of night gently wrapped around the crystal heart like a cloth with no thickness, sealing it completely from the outside world. The flowing light was hidden within the darkness, not leaking out in the slightest.
The law of night had sealed the heart completely.
After doing this, Nyx’s face turned pale. The torn piece of her skirt did not regenerate.
For someone still in a soul state, interfering to hide Zhou Ping from the perception of sword laws had taken a heavy toll. This kind of soul damage wouldn’t heal in just a few years or decades…
But in the end, she had kept her promise.
She held the heart with a solemn expression and slowly walked to Lin Qiye.
“Mother, this…”
“Your teacher and I made a deal. But don’t worry—his soul and consciousness are preserved within this heart. It won’t dissipate. Take it back to Great Xia. Perhaps… someone can save him,” Nyx said gravely.
Lin Qiye extended his hands and carefully took the heart, cradling it in his arms.
“Mother, are you leaving too?”
Nyx turned, her eyes gazing quietly in a certain direction. She nodded.
“Yes. It’s time to settle old grudges.”
Lin Qiye looked into her eyes, took a deep breath, and let all his unspoken thoughts dissolve into a few simple words:
“Mother, safe travels.”
“Take care of yourself. Once everything is done, Mother will come back for you.” Nyx smiled at him, then turned and pulled the sword, still radiating fierce intent, from the ground. She stepped forward.
Her black skirt unfurled like a curtain of night, covering the sky. Nyx held the god-slaying sword, her eyes burning with the fire of vengeance…
As she moved, the eastern corner of the night sky was dyed a deep crimson.