Grasping the Evil-Chapter 780: Death Ancestor

From beneath the ground, a massive decayed hand suddenly broke through the soil, reaching directly for Ning Fan!

A stench of decayed gray gas emanated from the giant hand, making one gag.

With a gust of wind, the gray gas transformed into a massive gray dragon, opening its mouth to swallow Ning Fan.

Ning Fan’s body turned into green smoke, vanishing from the spot in an instant. In the next moment, he appeared above the sky, raising a hand to crush the gray dragon while overlooking the ground with a stony expression.

What he saw was the ground continuously cracking open, as one enormous corpse after another crawled out from beneath.

Each of these corpses had an empty black hole on their chests, all lacking hearts.

Every corpse exuded a thick aura of the Fiendgods, indicating they were the corpses of ancient gods.

Among these ancient corpses, there was one with horns of a dragon, encircled by dragon-shaped gray gas, imposing as a mountain, carrying an extraordinary oppressive atmosphere, distinctly different from ordinary ancient god corpses! 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Roar—

One by one, these giant corpses crawled out from the ground, roaring angrily at the sky, their voices filled with boundless resentment.

Some giant corpses began swinging their fist blasts toward the sky, instantly filling the world with countless ancient divine lights.

Without any hesitation, Ning Fan transformed into green smoke once more, evading fist blasts while keeping his gaze fixed on the dragon-horned ancient corpse, pondering silently.

Suddenly, the sky broke open once more with fissures, from which countless decayed giant hands emerged, unexpectedly grabbing mercilessly towards Ning Fan.

Amidst these countless giant hands, there were also innumerable gray gases that transformed into monstrous shapes of gray fire sparrows, swiftly attacking, fast as the wind.

Ning Fan’s gaze shifted subtly, and without another word, he summoned the Memory Severing Dao Sword, from which countless phantom sword beams were born, slaying the gray gas sparrows and severing countless decayed giant hands with ease.

In the midst of resonant explosions, countless giant hands were shattered by sword light, scattering into endless gray gas.

Afterward, one by one, the giant corpses with severed arms emerged from the spatial rifts, roaring skyward at Ning Fan as if resenting him for severing their arms.

Among these giant corpses, there was another ancient god corpse with gray fire wings, its aura tremendously vast, markedly distinct from ordinary ancient corpses.

All around the land, countless enormous decaying corpses approached Ning Fan step by step.

In just a few breaths, the distant ancient corpses had all closed in.

Among these ancient corpses, there were two with particularly vast auras: one with a tiger’s head and a humanoid body.

The other was a gigantic fat man with a massive turtle shell on his back.

Beneath the ground, above the sky, within the spatial fissures, ancient god corpses were everywhere.

Yet only four ancient corpses here could give Ning Fan a sense of crisis.

Dragon-Horned Ancient Corpse! Fire-Winged Ancient Corpse! Tiger-Headed Ancient Corpse! Turtle-Shell Ancient Corpse!

Among these ancient god corpses, most were the corpses of One Orifice Ancient Gods, a few were Two-Apertures Ancient God corpses, and there were few Three Apertures Ancient God corpses.

A One Orifice Ancient God corpse mostly wielded Void Fragmentation realm cultivation.

A Two-Apertures Ancient God corpse mostly wielded Life Immortal Realm cultivation.

A Three Apertures Ancient God corpse mostly wielded Truth-Transcending Cultivation Level.

Only those four ancient corpses were Three-Apertures Ancient God corpses!

Ning Fan’s form flickered continuously above the sky, sweeping his spirit sense, his gaze deepening.

He roughly counted: there were ten thousand One Orifice Ancient Gods, eighty-one Two-Apertures Ancient Gods, and four Three-Apertures Ancient Gods present.

A myriad of One Orifice Ancient God corpses simultaneously swung their fist blasts toward Ning Fan, divine light dazzling the world, fist blasts shocking the heavens.

Massive stretches of void continually collapsed, and the earth trembled incessantly.

The eighty-one Two-Apertures Ancient Gods and four Three-Apertures Ancient Gods, for some reason, did not immediately join in attacking Ning Fan.

With only the attacks of One Orifice Ancient Gods, no matter how many ancient gods there were, Ning Fan remained unafraid.

Ning Fan raised a hand, summoning the Memory Severing Dao Sword, his spirit sense shifting, causing it to conjure a hundred and eight thousand sword shadows, forming a Sword Array, where phantom sword lights began slaughtering.

Sheets of One Orifice Ancient Gods were slain by the sword light, bursting into streams of gray gas.

With each slaying of an ancient god, a stream of gray gas would fly out from the black hole in that ancient god’s chest and enter Ning Fan’s body.

The moment the gray gas entered the body, it would pierce into the heart, causing a tearing pain and gradually stripping the heart of life.

Ning Fan’s Phantom Sword Formation obliterated all One Orifice Ancient Gods, resulting in the presence of ten thousand streams of gray gas within him.

Boundless pain assaulted, Ning Fan’s breath caught, and his complexion immediately turned an unnatural red, his aura starting to waver slightly.

His heart was tainted by countless gray gases!

In the instant the gray gases emerged, Ning Fan’s heart spirit wavered, nearly breaking free from this Mind’s Illusory Realm.

This was one reason why countless people failed to open the Divine Aperture after ingesting the Death God Crystal.

A fragile heart simply could not withstand the erosion of these gray gases!

The strength of the heart bore no relation to cultivation, only connected to the realms of ancient gods in multifaceted ways.

Without an ancient god’s cultivation, once tainted by these gray gases, one would be immediately corroded, forcibly expelled from the mirage, leading to a failure in refining the Death God Crystal.

Even an ordinary One Orifice Ancient God could not resist the corrosion of ten thousand strands of gray gases simultaneously.

"A man without a heart... shall die!"

"A god without a heart... shall perish!"

"We are heartless... must perish... yet we... are unwilling!"

The remaining 81 Two-Apertures Ancient God corpses and 4 Three-Apertures Ancient God corpses roared in anger.

Ning Fan’s heart spirit gradually lost control, the mirage before his eyes splitting into two, then four, multiplying, becoming impossible to discern clearly.

The heavens seemed to start swaying, everything becoming indistinct.

At this moment, it was not the heavens that wavered, not the mirage that shifted, but Ning Fan’s heart!

At this moment, what stood to suffer backlash was also Ning Fan’s heart!

The roars of the ancient god corpses echoed in his ears, and Ning Fan suddenly realized the gray gases within him were somehow proliferating.

These gray gases multiplied endlessly, filled with infinite negative emotions.

Resentment, anger, unwillingness, jealousy, greed, fear, despair, sorrow...

Vaguely, Ning Fan gained insight, his gaze turning sharp, coldly shouting, his divine heart erupting with myriad divine lights, slightly dispersing the gray gases, his eyes regaining a tad of clarity.

"Indeed, these gray gases are the aggregated negative emotions of fallen ancient gods..." Ning Fan’s eyes glinted coldly as he muttered to himself.

To open the First Aperture of the Ancient Gods, he relied on the opportunity given by the Rain Ancestor, not through the correct path.

In opening the First Aperture, he endured the agony of a thousand years of heart-cutting and heart-damage. After that, he opened the first heart aperture, and his heart became more resilient, fearing no pain.

In opening the Second Aperture, although he laid a good foundation with the Ancient God Heart Lotus, he once faced a critical moment. Fortunately, at this dangerous juncture, he calmly and decisively abandoned the excess heart power of the ancient gods, ensuring the successful opening of the heart aperture.

In opening the Second Aperture, his heart became even calmer. The greater the event, the more he could calm his heart and mind, without losing his composure.

The Third Aperture is the Divine Aperture that Ning Fan is attempting to open, relying on swallowing the Death God Crystal to open it.

This process is filled with endless negative emotions, the residual feelings of ten thousand ancient gods after losing their divine hearts.

"I must completely sever these negative emotions!"

The divine light on Ning Fan’s body grew more intense, that divine light originating from his heart!

He is a Two-Apertures Ancient God, and his heart is strong enough to suppress all these negative emotions!

The gray aura in the Divine Heart gradually disappeared amidst crackling sounds.

These gray auras were not expelled from Ning Fan’s body but were forcibly refined by him.

What fear does he have of these negative emotions!

With each portion of gray aura refined, his Divine Heart became a fraction stronger.

After refining ten thousand strands of gray aura, a gray point of light slowly appeared above his Divine Heart.

The light point appeared right next to the Second Divine Aperture!

That position is exactly where the Third Divine Aperture is to be opened!

"Slaying the Ancient God Corpses in the Mirage yields gray aura. Refining this gray aura may enhance the heart power of the ancient gods, aiding in opening the heart aperture...all of this is possible, not definitive..."

Ning Fan’s gaze cleared completely, understanding the key to refining the Death God Crystal.

He has realized why this Death God Heart aids in opening the heart aperture.

Slaying ten thousand ancient gods and taking their hearts is not simply about taking their heart power, but to use extremely cruel methods to annihilate these ancient gods, filling their hearts with various negative emotions at their dying moment.

The stronger the Divine Heart of an ancient god, the less likely it is to produce negative emotions. However, once negative emotions arise, they become deeply rooted, difficult to eradicate, and leave one helpless, mired in despair!

Kill these ancient gods, take their hearts, and refine into crystals...

The Death God Crystal is an aggregate of countless negative emotions. Immortal cultivators consuming it must resist these negative emotions, sharpening their own hearts, enhancing the power of the Divine Heart.

If the level of the consumed Death God Crystal is too low, there is little sharpening effect.

If the level of the consumed Death God Crystal is too high, the negative emotions are too strong, making it beyond the capabilities of the consumer to resist, often leading to failure in refining the crystal.

Mu Tu and the Three Revolution Dan Masters failed in refining the crystal because they found it difficult to resist the negative emotions.

Senluo failed in refining the crystal because, though not an ancient god, he always harbored Zhimo in his heart. His mind was extremely tenacious, and the crystal he refined was merely a second-rate Death God Crystal, far from sufficient to open the heart aperture...

The piece of Death God Crystal Ning Fan obtained seemed neither too high nor too low in level, just suitable.

The power of the gray aura could momentarily cause Ning Fan to lose himself but was not enough to completely plunge him into despair, still within the range he could refine.

Standing atop the vast sky, Ning Fan’s spirit sense swept in all directions, eyes fixed decisively on the remaining ancient god corpses.

The negative emotions of ten thousand One Orifice Ancient Gods were insufficient to help him open the third heart aperture.

He needs more gray aura!

In the instant Ning Fan’s spirit sense swept forth, eighty-one Two-Apertures Ancient Gods moved!

These Ghost Profound Realm Two-Apertures Ancient Gods emitted earth-shattering roars, some soaring into the sky, while others, already airborne, advanced towards Ning Fan.

At a certain moment, the 81 ancient gods suddenly and uniformly extended their giant palms, and the countless gray auras exuding from them condensed into long bows, held in the hands of the ancient gods.

In the thunderous roars, the 81 ancient gods fully drew their bows, sending 81 whistling and fierce gray giant arrows shooting towards Ning Fan.

Every gray arrow had the power of a Ghost Profound Strike.

Among these 81 arrow attacks, six or seven even bore the power of a Ghost Profound Peak-Stage strike!

The arrows fell together, gray aura covering the sky, causing the already inverted earth to once again flip and overturn.

Before the arrows reached his body, Ning Fan immediately stomped the sky, and a colossal crackling of lead-colored light fissures spread open in the void. From within the fissures, a massive lead-colored giant lotus emerged!

In the next instant, a million lotus shadows appeared in the sky, divine light illuminating the world!

The arrows struck the defense of the Three Flowers, but did not break it.

Truth be told, the strength of Ning Fan’s Three Flowers Art was insufficient to simultaneously defend against the combined attack of 81 Fate Immortals.

But in this Mirage, Ning Fan’s Three Flowers Art seemed to have undergone some transformation.

The Original Life Lead Lotus he summoned—the Human Lotus—was born from innumerable fissures and was a colossus as large as a mountain.

His Art of Gathering Three Flowers at the Top, for some unknown reason, significantly enhanced his defense.

His First Flower was cultivated to the Perfect Realm, and under full defense, could withstand a strike from a normal Initial Stage of Crossing Truth cultivator.

But now, under full defense of this technique, even an Intermediate Stage Enlightenment cultivator might not necessarily shatter or break through the vast spread of lotus shadows!

"The power of Three Flowers Gathering at the Top has increased?!" Ning Fan’s eyes showed a hint of surprise, then he seemed to understand something.

The reason for the increase in this technique’s power might be related to swallowing the Ancient God Heart Lotus.

Three Flowers Gathering at the Top is a Divine Art of the Ancient Gods, a necessary technique for obtaining the Ancient God Heart Lotus. Swallowing the Ancient God Heart Lotus can enhance the power of the Three Flowers Gathering Art, which is not impossible...

While Ning Fan marveled at the enhancement of the Three Flowers Art’s power, all the ancient god corpses present displayed expressions of fear and panic upon seeing the lead lotus!

These ancient gods had fallen in an era too ancient, so ancient that during that time, the Three Flowers Art had not yet been created by some mighty ancient god.

In that era, an ancient god emerged, creating the Art of Gathering Three Flowers at the Top.

This ancient god was inherently cruel, loving to slaughter other gods, refining the Death God Crystal with the divine hearts of others.

His honorific title was ’Death Ancestor’...

Death Ancestor was the culprit who robbed the hearts of these ancient gods.

Even without any inkling of intelligence, these ancient god corpses instinctively harbored fear of the Death Ancestor!

That fear was triggered by Ning Fan’s Three Flowers Art!

"Run..."

In the instant they saw the overwhelming lotus shadows, all 81 Two-Apertures Ancient Gods and 6 Three-Apertures Ancient Gods, without exception, turned to flee...(To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

```