Grasping Evil

Chapter 272 (2): Early Divine Transformation Realm, Wind Mist Finger!

As for Wu Dongnan, he completely ignored the hateful stares from Coach Hong and Immortal Master Zhuhe. He only stared at Ning Fan in disbelief. Deep inside, he felt that he had seen that face before. However, prior to this event, he had never expected that Ning Fan was that person!

The owner of that appearance emerged within his dreams every single night!

In that dream, Wu Dongnan was an immortal who could fly in the sky or travel underground. However, he would always be killed by that person with ease every single time!

No…I can’t…I can’t mess with this man!

If I’ve known that he is the person who took Zhihe, I would never have displeased him even if I have a million guts!

So what if he had a mountain of wealth… So what if he was a high-status person who came from a scholarly background…

Wu Dongnan believed that even if Zhihe has fallen into the hands of the king of the Yue Country, Ning Fan would certainly be bold enough to kill his path into the king’s palace and bring his beloved woman away.

“I beg you, Revered Ning! Please spare my life!”

Wu Dongnan knelt on the ground and desperately kowtowed to Ning Fan. Using the method of how he addressed Ning Fan in his dreams, he called out “Revered Ning”.

“I don’t want to see your faces in my whole life again… Get out of my sight!”

In the old cottage, the purple-robed young man who was in the middle of teaching had a pleased look on his face.

“This kid is ferocious in nature and he has a liking to killing. That isn’t a bad thing. But if one only knows about killing and slaughtering, it would be difficult for him or her to go far in the path of immortals… To have more time to spend with his mother, this kid chose not to kill so that the atmosphere within this illusory realm will not be destroyed… This Sovereign likes a dutiful son the most… It has been 97 days. It’s about time to pass him some insights about the Dao…”

With a face full of dirt, Wu Dongnan turned around and left hastily, followed by the rest of his men. The matter in the Ning Village gradually calmed down.

Ning Fan rode his ox and returned. The smell of cooked dishes spread from within his house.

Mum, Zhihe and me…

It was the tender feelings that Ning Fan yearned for even when he was dreaming…

He slowly closed his eyes and his lips curved into a contented smile, despite knowing that everything before his eyes was just an illusion.

When it was late at night and the two women had gone to bed, Ning Fan rode his ox and went out from the village, heading north.

There was a mountain in the northern direction but it was just five hundred zhang* tall. On the peak of the mountain stood a purple-robed young man, gazing upon the earth. It was as if he could turn heaven and earth into nothingness with just a look!

Ning Fan leaped down from the black ox, patted its head and bid farewell to it.

The black ox turned around and walked. However, it seemed to be unwilling to leave Ning Fan as it would turn back and look at him every few steps it made. But it knew it could not stay there because Ning Fan had ordered it to return.

With a leap, Ning Fan’s body transformed into a cloud of purple smoke and appeared at the mountain peak. Standing a step behind the purple-robed young man, he cupped his fists and greeted, “Junior Ning Fan has come to see Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign!”

“En!”

At this moment, the eyes of the purple-robed young man were filled with loftiness. He was on the mountain top, therefore, he was no longer the Mister Purple who taught in the school of the mortal world. Instead, his current identity was the Immortal Sovereign!

“I suppose there is a special affinity between the two of us, child! You’ve passed the test designed by me and you will receive a Dao enlightenment… But before that, I have some questions to ask you… You chose to scare off the evil thieves with just your valiance. You restrained the intention to kill so that you can stay longer in this illusory realm. Why don’t you spend more time with your mother and wife but come looking for me in such a hurry?!”

“I need to improve my cultivation level so that I can reunite with them in the real world!”

“Hmm. Your answer is barely satisfactory… Well, I can’t blame you for not being able to see through the truth and falsity at your current realm… The external realm might be real but this illusory realm isn’t necessarily fake… Perhaps, one day, you will have a clearer understanding about samsara and you will know…”

The purple-robed young man did not utter any more words. His body gradually became ethereal and eventually turned into purple mist, scattering all around.

Just as the purple mist encircled the whole area, the hill which was supposed to be five hundred zhang* tall grew taller suddenly, soaring high up into the sky until it reached a height of seven million zhang* tall.

Ning Fan was greatly shocked. At the current moment, be it his physical body in the outside world or his consciousness in the illusory realm, both of them were at the peak of a mountain of the same height!

“From the Endless Sea, you entered the Broken World. Your consciousness entered the Sea of Clouds from the Broken World and your Dao Heart entered the illusions of heart from the Sea of Clouds. Among them, are you able to tell which one is true and which one is fake?”

“The diligent and industrious you may not necessarily be fake. The merciless and ruthless you in the Rain World may not necessarily be true… Reality and fantasy is just the difference of a single thought!”

“This Sovereign will conjure the purple mist using my power of Samsara. Within the purple mist, try to comprehend it with caution. As for how much understanding you can get, it depends on your luck!”

As Purple Dou’s voice fell, traces of purple qi flowed into Ning Fan’s body like endless streams.

Ning Fan closed his eyes, while standing firmly despite the strong northern wind blowing at the peak of the seven million zhang* tall mountain, carefully feeling the flow of the mist.

There was no way he could see through samsara with his weak cultivation level. Currently, he was just at the First Step of cultivation whereas the Immortal Sovereign claimed that he had attained the Fourth Step!

The True Immortals in the Four Heavens were just at the Second Step. That is to say, the reason why the True Immortals could not even look up to the Immortal Sovereign was because they were far from reaching the Third Step. Before attaining the Third Step, how should one even think about the Fourth Step…

This is the opportunity granted by the strongest being of the ancient times.

I must never let it go to waste!

With the endless flow of purple qi, one might seem to be able to grasp the true meaning of samsara in just an instance and display the technique of samsara that could cause even Meng Xuanzi to feel dreadful.

However, too much purple qi was drifting away from the tips of his fingers, just like imperishable fine sand that could not be held, the never-ending time that could not be stopped.

“I have yet to fully complete my Divine Transformation. My current level is not enough to comprehend the power of Samsara… But it may not necessarily be impossible for me to just imitate the purple qi and create a new technique… Even if I could just partially model the power of Samsara, this technique will be imbued with a trace of the power of Samsara. When my cultivation realm attains the suitable level, I will definitely be able to master the meaning of samsara based on this technique!”

His eyes flashed with determination. His hands began to move to design a certain pattern of hand seals, inventing his own technique.

98th day, 99th day… In a flash, Ning Fan had been standing there for 247 days!

On 248th day, he opened his eyes. Condensing his latest hand seals, the purple mist surrounding his body broke away like crystals, turning into sparkling dust.

Each particle of dust was golden purple. The particles were so fine that they looked just like a cloud of smoke or a pile of sand that was blown by the wind.

Ning Fan failed to comprehend the true meaning of samsara but he managed to invent a brand new technique.

In the Sea of Clouds, he reopened his eyes and turned around, staring blankly at Meng Xuanzi’s direction. He then performed his hand seals.

At this moment, Meng Xuanzi’s face was filled with surprise.

248 days! This kid has actually stayed 248 days within the illusory realm of Dao Asking!

Besides, from the look on his face and his hand seals, he seemed to have learnt a new technique.

It was not a big deal if he just created a new technique. However, I can’t identify the grade of that technique!

“Without a grade?! There is only one possible reason why this technique does not have a grade… It’s because the power of this technique is extremely great to the point where it could not be gauged by any grade… His current cultivation level has not completely reached the Divine Transformation Realm. Therefore, he could only unleash the Mid Divine Transformation Realm power of the technique when he displays it. If he breaks through to the Void Refinement Realm, the technique will then become a Void Technique! If he becomes an immortal, this technique will then improve and evolve, becoming an immortal technique! The truth of why it does not have a grade is its level is too high and he can’t comprehend all of it in one go!”

Meng Xuanzi’s eyes became stern. The technique that was newly invented by Ning Fan was not complete at all. In fact, it had quite a lot of flaws. With his current cultivation level, he could only bring out the power equivalent to a Mid Divine Transformation Realm technique. However, the potential residing within that technique was able to cause Meng Xuanzi, an Immortal Emperor to feel troubled…

As Ning Fan’s hands were moving, his eyes gradually filled with golden purple color.

At the same time, traces of power of samsara transformed into golden purple sand that blew towards heaven and earth like a cloud of smoke. However, everything including the mountain rocks, grasses and trees that were caught by the golden purple smoke withered and disintegrate at an unimaginable speed!

“I might not know much about samsara… but I do understand the feeling of rush and haste due to time constraints. Aiming to attain the Void Fragmentation Realm within a hundred years is like placing giant boulders on my shoulders. That stress, that pressure almost makes me unable to move… That is the bit of understanding that I know about time…”

He took in a deep breath, completely forgetting himself as he was trying to perfect this technique that he had just comprehended.

Nine Steps: Sky Treader. Black Tempest Rupture Art. Each of them was his ultimate trump cards.

As for this technique which would be his third ultimate technique, it had to be much stronger than the previous two! Because it was comprehended from the opportunity given by the Immortal Sovereign!

“What is time? What defines time… Time is just like flowing sand and old age is just a period of time which has passed. This technique can erode time and cause all things to age and decay. I will name it as - Purple Technique, Wind Mist!”

“I will make all of my enemies decay into soil and disintegrate into ashes under my Wind Mist Finger!”

When Ning Fan completed the hand seals and made a touch in the air, the cloud of golden purple smoke moved at Meng Xuanzi’s direction.

His expression was filled with shock. Lifting his finger, he conjured a ray of golden light which transformed into a gust of whistling breeze, intending to offset the incoming golden purple smoke.

Although it’s just a gentle breeze, it’s more than enough to cancel a High Grade Mid Divine Transformation technique.

But when that breeze collided with the golden purple smoke, it could not hinder its movement at all. In stark contrast, the power of his breeze was weakened and slowly dispersed into nothingness!

There was not a single thing that could escape aging, including wind!

The golden purple smoke went past Meng Xuanzi. With the strength of his immortal body, he of course came out unscathed.

However, even though he had no injuries, he could clearly feel that his physical body had slightly aged, as if his life force had been taken away…

With just a brief moment of contact, a mere Mid Divine Transformation Realm technique could actually hurt me? Although it only took away a trace of my life force, it’s just too ridiculous!

If Meng Xuanzi was not wrong, the power that seized his life force was imbued with the power of Samsara… The modified version of the power of Samsara…

“This kid has really learnt a trace of the power of Samsara! If this kid is at the same cultivation level as me, that technique he displayed would be enough to defeat me on the spot!”

The Third Step of Mortal Severance ended!

Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel