Grasping Evil

This group of devil cultivators had been living one million zhang* (3.33 m per zhang) beneath the hidden ocean and had always been out to complete the missions assigned to them. Thus, they seldom stayed in their clan and were completely unaware of who Ning Fan was.

The leader of the group looked at Ning Fan with a grim expression.

As the young man blocking their path was not revealing a vigorous qi and was not even five hundred years old, he did not place him in his eyes at all.

He did not even ask why Ning Fan suddenly appeared. He just sneered coldly and said.

‘This young man’s appearance isn’t half bad. If we capture him and bring him back with us and sell him as a human cauldron, we might be able to make some money. Take him down!”

As the Divine Transformation Realm devil cultivator gave his command, a dozen Nascent Soul Realm cultivators immediately marched forward. They took out their rope-like magic treasures and tried to tie Ning Fan up.

Seeing a small group of Nascent Soul Realm cultivators trying to capture Ning Fan together, Qin Ziyu gulped in fear. In his view, Ning Fan was probably going to be taken down by them.

He was not in any way related to Ning Fan at all. He just saw him once and it was during an auction in Seven Apricot City. In that auction, Ning Fan acted as an appraiser and had sold a sword scabbard to him.

Qin Ziyu initially thought that Ning Fan was just a Fifth Level Vein Opening Realm junior.

After that day, Ning Fan fought and won against the invading devil armies and his name became famous throughout the entire Yue Country. Only then did Qin Ziyu know that Ning Fan’s combat power was already equivalent to a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator’s at that time.

As far as Qin Ziyu could remember, Ning Fan headed to the Endless Sea with strength rivaling a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator’s. Tens of years had passed by. Even if his cultivation level increased, he would at most be an Early Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

Facing tens of Mid and Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivators at the same time, what was about to happen to the Early Nascent Soul Realm Ning Fan was pretty obvious. How would he have the strength to resist?

“There’s no need to watch any longer. No matter how strong Fellow Daoist Ning is, there’s no way he can resist this group of devil cultivators. He probably is going to end up like me, being held captive by them and turned into a slave.”

Qin Ziyu shook his head and sighed. He felt sympathy for Ning Fan who was about to be in the same situation as him, just like the saying which goes, the fox grieves when the rabbit dies.

At the next moment, his eyes which were originally filled with sympathy suddenly widened with amazement.

Just as the Nascent Soul Realm devil cultivators who wanted to attack Ning Fan raised their magic treasures, Ning Fan gently lifted one of his fingers. With just a light touch of his finger, countless and endless black sword lights shot out from his finger.

The sword light swept over the area, slicing the small group of Nascent Soul Realm devil cultivators into pieces. All of them were killed instantly without even having the chance to escape with their nascent souls!

“W-What?! They were Nascent Soul Realm old monsters who could even dominate low grade cultivation countries easily. How can they be killed so easily?!”

Qin Ziyu was filled with disbelief. The other devil cultivators of the Ghost Eye Clan also began to realize Ning Fan’s true strength.

The Divine Transformation Realm leader of the group no longer underestimated Ning Fan. A massive amount of killing intent filled his eyes.

“I don’t care who you are. Since you have killed the members of my Ghost Eye Clan, you must die!”

As soon as his voice fell, the Divine Transformation Realm leader directly waved his hand downwards without giving Ning Fan a chance to explain. Then, a one thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) large palm imprint which emanated immense devil qi fell down on Ning Fan from above.

That black palm imprint was a wrathful attack of a Divine Transformation Realm devil cultivator which was powerful enough to kill any Nascent Soul Realm cultivator instantly. That vigorous fluctuations of magic power made Qin Ziyu shiver uncontrollably. It was his first time witnessing a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator delivering an attack. It was just too frightening.

“He can’t block it. There’s no way he can block it. That is a Divine Transformation Realm attack! Even in high grade cultivation countries, old monsters with that cultivation level are as rare as a phoenix’s feathers. I’m afraid Fellow Daoist Ning Fan is going to die from that powerful attack...”

Just as Qin Ziyu’s voice fell, amazement suddenly filled his old eyes.

He saw Ning Fan casually point a finger at the incoming palm imprint.

His movements were simple and gentle. However, when that finger emitted a ray of light, it immediately caused an ear-splitting bang.

That Divine Transformation Realm palm imprint which seemed powerful got literally disintegrated before Ning Fan’s finger.

The light ray from Ning Fan’s finger then divided itself into innumerable rays of sword light which rained down on the Divine Transformation Realm devil cultivator. In an instant, that cultivator’s body burst into a column of blood mist after shrieking in pain and misery.

Ning Fan flicked his sleeve and drew a fearful primordial spirit which had countless cuts on its body into his hand.

All of a sudden, dead silence fell over the place!

Everyone was shocked by Ning Fan who easily killed a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator in a matter of seconds.

At the next moment, all the surviving devil cultivators of the Ghost Eye Clan fled desperately out of instinct as if their lives depended on it, leaving behind the slaves they had captured.

*Shush*

Ning Fan swept over the area with his sword sense. Screams of pain then resounded across the area. One after another, those devil cultivators were cut to pieces. None of them was able to successfully escape from him.

After that, Ning Fan stretched his five fingers and performed the Soul Memory Searching Technique on the Divine Transformation Realm devil cultivator’s primordial spirit, reading every piece of memory he had.

After obtaining enough information about the Ghost Eye Clan, he sent out a force through his palm, mercilessly killing that primordial spirit.

All the slaves there including Qin Ziyu were in a daze as they watched Ning Fan kill the devil cultivators with ease and search the soul and memories of the Divine Transformation Realm cultivator. That terrifying scene frightened them so much that they did not even dare to emit a sound while breathing.

Even a fool would be able to tell that Ning Fan was a strong expert who greatly surpassed Divine Transformation Realm cultivators. His strength far exceeded their imagination!

Qin Ziyu, in particular, was overwhelmed with surprise. He was sure that he had not mistaken him for someone else. This young man in white robes standing before him was certainly Ning Fan.

In the past, Ning Fan had left a deep impression on Qin Ziyu. Thus, it was impossible for him to be mistaken!

Ning Fan who was only a Fifth Level Vein Opening Realm junior back then had now become a powerful being who could kill a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator with just a single finger tens of years later. Even though Qin Ziyu found it hard to believe, he could not help but accept the truth.

Qin Ziyu could already imagine that if the cultivators in Yue Country knew that their country had given birth to someone as outstanding as Ning Fan, it would surely shake the whole country.

He stared at Ning Fan in bewilderment. He wanted to strike up a conversation with him but he was worried that he might be ignored due to his lowly status.

Then, a sudden thought struck him. Since he was already a slave of the Ghost Eye Clan and he and the other slaves had witnessed Ning Fan killing the members of the clan just now, he wondered if he would murder all of them to destroy all evidences and witnesses.

As he was still worrying over whether he would die by Ning Fan’s hands, he suddenly saw Ning Fan slowly approaching him.

Ning Fan’s presence exuded a baleful qi which could never be erased. It was so immense and thick that all the slaves there including Qin Ziyu felt chills running down their spines as Ning Fan walked towards them. None of them had the slightest courage to resist him.

“Fellow Daoist Qin, how are you doing? What made you come to the Endless Sea instead of staying as a Gold Core Realm old ancestor in Yue Country? Did you not recognize me just now or were you too afraid to do so?”

A rare teasing smile was on Ning Fan’s face.

Qin Ziyu could be considered an old friend from Yue Country. In the past, even though he did not give Ning Fan a reasonable gift for appraising the item he bought during the auction, he still gave him a sword sheath. That exact sheath contained a trace of the female sword ancestor’s ancient sword qi which helped Ning Fan block an attack from Sovereign Moksha.

Although Ning Fan was a devil lord who killed people like scything flax, he would not kill an old friend.

Qin Ziyu’s eyes were filled with even more confusion. The Fifth Level Vein Opening Realm junior that he recognized in the past had already climbed to the top of his cultivation realm and he could only look up to him in admiration now.

Seeing Ning Fan take the initiative to have a talk with him, Qin Ziyu no longer hid his identity. He then said with an awkward smile.

“Senior Ning’s capability is too impressive. This junior is unworthy to seek a connection with you...”

Qin Ziyu could be considered tactful for addressing himself as a junior in his greeting.

“I have something to ask you. Once you answer my questions, you can leave with them.”

“What?!” Qin Ziyu had never thought that he and the other slaves would still be able to leave safely after witnessing Ning Fan kill the members of the clan.

He nearly lost control of his excitement all of a sudden. At the next moment, he recovered and respectfully said.

“If Senior has any questions, you can just ask this junior. I will surely tell you everything I know without reservation.”

“Tell me about Yue Country, specifically the Seven Apricot City, Ning City and the Sinister Sparrow Sect... Mm. And also the Fire Cloud Sect. Fellow Daoist Jing Zhuo has a Nascent Soul Realm cultivation base. He has already ruled over the entire Yue Country, hasn’t he?”

As soon as Qin Ziyu heard Ning Fan ask about Yue Country, he immediately told him every single detail he knew.

It had already been a few years since he had left the Yue Country. Even so, he clearly knew so much more about Yue Country than Ning Fan.

He also understood that what Ning Fan was really concerned about was not Yue Country but his women and friends in the country.

Hence, Qin Ziyu focused on telling him about the recent situations of Zhi He, Lan Mei, Bai Lu and the other women. Of course, he also briefly mentioned the recent developments of Jing Zhuo, Xue Qing, Gui Quezi[1] and the others.

Zhi He had already achieved the Peak Harmonious Spirit Realm a long time ago. She was the current lord of both the Seven Apricot City and Ning City at the same time.

Lan Mei had also attained the Peak Harmonious Spirit Realm. As for her father, Gui Quezi, he was in secluded cultivation to form his nascent soul. Thus, she took over the position of sect master of the Sinister Sparrow Sect for the meantime.

Bai Lu, on the other hand, had officially become one of the elders of the Sinister Sparrow Sect and was in secluded cultivation to form her gold core.

Meanwhile, Jing Zhuo returned to Yue Country with his Nascent Soul Realm cultivation base and took the helm of the country since no one in the country could rival him. However, he was well aware of his own place as he strictly refrained from touching Ning Fan’s forces. Moreover, he harbored the intention to protect them. In a way, he was helping Ning Fan look after them.

With regards to the other disciple Ning Fan accepted, Xue Qing, he had already achieved the Fourth Revolution pill refinement realm, becoming a significant person whose name could shake a country.

It was said that the only reason why the cultivation levels of Zhi He and the other women could improve so quickly was because they had requested many precious pills from Xue Qing using their identities as wives of his master.

With Jing Zhuo and Xue Qing around, Yue Country would soon be recognized as a mid grade cultivation country by the Rain Palace. When that time comes, there would be Divine Transformation Realm old monsters who would personally help the country fortify its isolation grand formation which would increase the country’s defenses while also enhancing the concentration of spiritual qi there.

All in all, Qin Ziyu’s information made Ning Fan feel at ease. Since Yue Country was doing fine and his women were living happy and peaceful lives, he did not have to worry much about them.

After receiving all of the information, Ning Fan activated the power of his memory intent, enveloping the hundreds of slaves there using his Memory Intent Realm.

Using the power of his memory intent, he erased the memories of the earlier incident from all the slaves, like eliminating writings on white paper. Right afterwards, he left quietly in a gust of wind.

No one there could recall who killed the cultivators of the Ghost Eye Clan and saved them.

Even Qin Ziyu also felt like he had just woken up from a dream. He patted his forehead, unable to comprehend why he was daydreaming there.

“This is strange. Why do I have a feeling that I just had a long conversation with an old friend of mine? Hmm... Could it all be a dream?”

He shook his head in confusion. He already could not remember a single thing about his meeting with Ning Fan just now.

When he saw the dead bodies of the cultivators of the Ghost Eye Clan all over the ground, it nearly scared the crap out of him.

For heaven’s sake, the cultivation levels of each and every one of the cultivators who died here was Nascent Soul Realm and above. There was even a Divine Transformation Realm old ancestor!

Holy crap! Who could be this scary to even be capable of killing a Divine Transformation Realm expert?

Since that person has already killed the Divine Transformation Realm expert, why did he let go of a bunch of slaves like us instead?

Qin Ziyu could not figure it out. He was also not in the mood to think about it.

He and the other slaves nearly did the same thing together at the same time. All of them quickly searched the remains of the dead cultivators for the keys to release their shackles and free themselves. Then, all of them escaped from that place individually.

...

In Guan Tian City of the Ghost Eye Clan.

Ning Fan made himself invisible and stood outside the city. Based on the information he obtained from the now deceased Divine Transformation Realm devil cultivator from earlier, Guan Tian City was the main city of the Ghost Eye Devil Country. You Guihou was hiding in this place to treat his wounds. As for the devil statue slate he was looking for, it was also being kept here.

Moreover, from the memories of the Divine Transformation Realm cultivator, Ning Fan also learned that the Ghost Eye Clan had a devil concubine...

However, this devil concubine had been placed under house arrest by her clan and she had no freedom at all. She was made to contribute all of her strength to the Ghost Eye Clan.

In addition to that, the Ghost Eye Clan had also raised tens of female devil cultivators and also put them under house arrest in order to confuse the world and conceal the fact that a devil concubine existed in the clan.

“The devil concubine of the Ghost Eye Clan...”

Ning Fan’s brows gently knitted together. In the Divine Transformation Realm cultivator’s memories, the devil statue slate of the Ghost Eye Clan was not in the hands of You Guihou who was their strongest expert. Instead, it had been passed to the clan’s devil concubine and let her unravel the secret of the slate.

You Guihou certainly had a clear understanding of his own capability. He knew that it was impossible for him to crack the secret behind the slate on his own. Thus, he wanted to borrow the mysterious power of the devil concubine to find out the great secret hidden in the slate.

“If that’s the case, I only need to get into Guan Tian City and find the devil concubine of the clan to abduct her and take the slate away. The third slate will then be in my hands...”

Apparently, it would be a lot easier than what Ning Fan had imagined.

As he was getting ready to sneak into the city, his eyes suddenly turned grim.

The shadow of a young king suddenly emerged above the city’s skies, drawing a lot of attention from the people within. His arrival was accompanied with falling orchids which filled the air with fragrance.

All the cultivators of the Ghost Eye Clan began to feel tense as soon as this young king arrived.

In a hidden heavenly dwelling in the city, a deep voice suddenly resounded.

Then, an old Daoist with a ghost-like appearance revealed himself, standing in front of the young king. His presence was giving off a massive ghost qi.

“King Lan Ling’s body that is as precious as gold has personally visited my Ghost Eye Clan. I wonder what brings you here!” The old Daoist uttered with a deep and stern voice. The aura force he exuded had actually reached the Void Pierce Stage.

“A straightforward person does not beat around the bush. You Guihou! The only reason why I am here today is for the devil statue slate!” King Lan Ling spoke frankly.

“The devil statue slate?! Humph! Lan Ling! I heard that you encountered some trouble in the Giant Devil Clan and had been severely injured by their Eight Ancestors. So what now? Are you trying to seize the devil statue slate of my Ghost Eye Clan with your broken body? Am I a weakling who can easily be bullied in your eyes?!”

The eyes of the old Daoist flashed with killing intent. If King Lan Ling really came to seize the slate, he would not mind teaching him a lesson!

King Lan Ling’s eyes became gloomy. He disliked the tone You Guihou used to talk to him. However, after his failed attempt in the Giant Devil Clan, King Lan Ling had already realized that the Four Clans of the Hidden Ocean were much stronger than he initially expected. Not every clan was as weak and easy as the Six-Winged Clan.

It would be difficult to suppress the four clans using only his second primordial spirit.

Hence, King Lan Ling came to the Ghost Eye Clan this time without the intention of snatching their slate by force. Instead, he had brought a supreme treasure with him to exchange it for the devil statue slate.

He did not continue the nonsensical conversation with You Guihou as he directly took out the treasure and showed it to the latter.

“I am willing to use this treasure to exchange for the devil statue slate!” King Lan Ling’s tone was flat but it was filled with confidence. He firmly believed that You Guihou would surely accept his offer when he saw that treasure.

Just as he expected, You Guihou who was initially filled with ferocious killing intent immediately wore an astonished face as soon as he saw the treasure that King Lan Ling offered in exchange for the devil slate.

“This is...”

You Guihou paused. He had never expected that King Lan Ling would be willing to use such an expensive treasure to exchange for the devil slate.

Without a doubt, the devil statue slate was precious. However, You Guihou could not crack the secret behind it even after racking his brain for so long. If he could exchange the slate for such an excellent treasure, it would benefit not only him but also the entire Ghost Eye Clan!

That treasure was a dark golden pagoda. It was standing still on King Lan Ling’s palm.

The shape of the pagoda resembled the Lost World Tower quite a bit. It seemed to be a heavenly dwelling treasure that had been built to imitate the Lost World Tower. The user is able to change the speed of time when they are inside the tower for cultivation purposes.

With You Guihou’s judgement, he could tell at first glance that this dark golden pagoda could slow down time by at least 16 times!

If You Guihou could get this pagoda, not only could he cultivate inside the tower without any limitation but also all the members of the Ghost Eye Clan.

With this pagoda, You Guihou could also open up another place for cultivation similar to the Lost World Tower in his clan.

His eyes were filled with desire. It was as if he had already agreed to exchange the slate that he failed to understand for this treasure.

However, after thinking about it carefully, You Guihou still felt that this matter was of great importance and he needed to discuss it with the elders in the clan.

“This matter is extremely significant to our clan. I will need to discuss with my subordinates. King Lan Ling, how about following me inside the city to have a rest while waiting for the results of our discussion. Once our discussion ends, I will certainly give you a satisfying answer.”

“Fine.” King Lan Ling frowned. His expression showed that he was displeased but he did not say anything much.

...

Ning Fan who was hiding in a dark corner had heard the deal between King Lan Ling and You Guihou.

His eyes sparkled as his mind formulated a plan.

“In the next several days, I suppose King Lan Ling and You Guihou won’t be able to accomplish the deal. If I steal the devil statue slate of the clan before they can make the exchange, You Guihou will probably suspect King Lan Ling for stealing it... I wonder if this so-called negotiation will turn into a dogfight among themselves...”

“As for the dark golden pagoda, if I am not mistaken, it should be a magic treasure a capable cultivator had created from imitating the mechanism behind the Lost World Tower. Besides, this pagoda is not mimicking a seven-floored silver tower but an eight-floored golden tower instead! However, this tower seems to have some flaws as well. It’s unable to have the same time distortion that an eight-floored golden tower should have...”

Ning Fan looked like he was moved by that treasure. Inwardly, he was contemplating whether to steal that pagoda as well.

Even though this pagoda could only slow down time up to 16 times, it was still a supreme treasure. Even You Guihou who was once a Void Fragmentation Realm old monster was moved by it...

Since King Lan Ling and the Ghost Eye Clan were both enemies to Ning Fan, why should he not steal the treasures of his enemies if he had the chance?

*Shush*

Ning Fan continued travelling in his invisible form and flew into the Guan Tian City. No one noticed him except for a single person.

In a closed boudoir, a beautiful mature woman who wore a black dress suddenly had a strange feeling within her body.

“Why does my body suddenly feel a soul connection... Who is that person at the other end of this...?”