Grasping the Evil-Chapter 805: Commercial Pavilion, Tomb Guardian
"Vertical Golden Light, an ancient lost divine skill. Those who practice this art set their bodies aflame with Samadhi Divine Fire, move like the Nine Passages Golden Rainbow, embed themselves in the universe, traverse the myriad realms, and remain untraceable."
"There is no method to cultivate this technique. Those who are aware of it are extremely few. According to the Empress Dao Monarch, this skill can only be comprehended and mastered individually, not taught by word of mouth. The key to mastering it lies in the eight-character mantra ’set aflame with Samadhi, move like the Nine Passages’. Within the Four Heavens, those who comprehend this skill are fewer than ten, and the Empress Dao Monarch is one of them!"
Ning Fan sat atop the Winged Demon, looking at the jade scroll in his hand, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
All the exclamations from the Wangyun City below failed to capture his attention in the slightest.
At this moment, his feelings could be said to be very complex.
He never imagined that the Vertical Golden Light he accidentally displayed was such a rarely seen, supreme divine skill.
Throughout the Four Heavens, fewer than ten people have acquired this technique, and the Tribulation Wielding Immortal Emperor is one of them.
Even those who know of this skill are extremely scarce; perhaps, as he travels all the way to Tianmu Star, no one will recognize that this is the Vertical Golden Light divine skill.
As for the cultivation of this skill, it surprisingly lacks a method, and can only be comprehended individually.
The key to mastering it lies in ’set aflame with Samadhi, move like the Nine Passages’...
"Could ’set aflame with Samadhi’ mean that the three bloodlines of god, demon, and monster within me boil, and golden flames burn on my body..."
"As for moving like the Nine Passages, what does it mean..."
Ning Fan shook his head and sighed lightly; he had only accidentally displayed the Vertical Golden Light due to a surge in comprehension while deeply studying the Black Demon Escape Technique...
It was a coincidence, perhaps also an inevitable result of understanding the Unity of Heaven and Man.
In terms of escape speed, this Vertical Golden Light is definitely faster than the Black Demon Escape Technique and Shrinking the Ground into an Inch, yet there is no clue as to how to master it.
To exhibit the Vertical Golden Light once again is extremely difficult. At this moment, Ning Fan does not know how to once more display that golden escape technique.
But this does not extinguish Ning Fan’s determination to master the Vertical Golden Light; from the moment he first experienced its astonishing speed, it became impossible for him to give up practicing this skill.
"I only displayed the Vertical Golden Light by accident, yet its escape speed is almost comparable to that of an Eternal Cultivator. If I can truly master this skill, for me, it would undoubtedly serve as a significant escape trump card."
"But the cultivation of this skill cannot be rushed; it relies heavily on comprehension, which diverges greatly from the Black Demon Escape Technique."
"Not only does the Vertical Golden Light require comprehension, the West Wind Technique also needs perfection..."
Ning Fan’s eyes sharpened. He came to Wangyun City intending to purchase some Spiritual Medicine to refine pills, merely to perfect the West Wind Technique.
Furthermore, he came here also to seek the recipe for the Illusory Life Pill and to purchase all jade slips related to Unity of Heaven and Man.
As for repairing the puppet, that would be after this journey.
There is no Slaughter Pavilion in the Dongming Star Domain or its surrounding areas; otherwise, Ning Fan could directly purchase intelligence from within the Slaughter Pavilion.
Every mid-level or higher Cultivation Star in the Dongming Star Domain has a pavilion established, selling various treasures of heaven and earth, called the ’Commercial Pavilion’.
The Divine Void Four Pavilions are divided into Ancestral Pavilion, Punishment Pavilion, War Pavilion, and Commercial Pavilion according to their duties.
Ancestral Pavilion disciples solely focus on cultivation, while also executing various secret tasks of the Godly Void Pavilion.
The Punishment Pavilion oversees rewards, punishments, appointments, and other matters, being the pavilion with the most elders among the four.
The War Pavilion is primarily for battle, responsible for intercepting the strong outsiders at the periphery of Dongming, with the majority coming from the War Pavilion, and a minority summoned by the Star Lords of major Cultivation Stars. Therefore, after this battle, the War Pavilion suffered the greatest loss in strength among the four pavilions.
The sole responsibility of the Commercial Pavilion is to earn Dao Crystals for the Divine Void Four Pavilions, acquiring various cultivation techniques and expensive pills to provide for the disciples of the four pavilions.
The transformed Winged Demon carried Ning Fan straight to the Commercial Pavilion in Wangyun City.
There are over ten thousand cultivation shops in Wangyun City, yet even if all the items in these shops were combined, they might not reach one percent of what the Commercial Pavilion offers.
This Commercial Pavilion is only open to the second step cultivators; first step cultivators can purchase what they need within Wangyun City.
Ning Fan had long been informed about the Divine Void Four Pavilions. As he sat on the Winged Demon, he gazed down through layers of clouds to see a grand pavilion built in the center of Wangyun City.
The pavilion had its own space within, and outside, it was shrouded in thin purple smoke. The moment Ning Fan saw this purple smoke, his gaze sharpened.
If he was not mistaken, this purple smoke should be an extraordinarily profound protective formation.
Upon arriving here, Li Xiaoxiao, retracting her wings, transformed back into human form, landing on the ground with Ning Fan and smiling sweetly at him.
"Ning Fan... no no no, Daoist Ning, the Commercial Pavilion is here, go in and buy what you need; I’ll wait for you outside."
"Wait for me? You won’t accompany me inside?"
Ning Fan asked, then glanced toward the entrance of the Commercial Pavilion.
There, arrogantly stood two guardian deities, each ten zhang tall.
Both guardian deities were puppets, made of bronze, possessing a cultivation of the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm. Whenever someone entered the Commercial Pavilion, the two guardians would collect a certain amount of Dao Crystals from the entrant, serving as the entrance fee to the pavilion.
The fee wasn’t high—only a million Dao Crystals per person—which for second step cultivators wasn’t considered a large sum.
However, for a penny-pincher like Li Xiaoxiao, a million Dao Crystals might not be a small amount, possibly causing someone a restless night...
"Is this little girl unwilling to part with the mere million Dao Crystal entrance fee, so she won’t accompany me in?" Ning Fan chuckled, shaking his head without exposing Li Xiaoxiao’s thoughts. He left her waiting outside, paid the fee, and entered the Commercial Pavilion on his own.
Just as he was about to step into the Commercial Pavilion, the little girl suddenly called out to him, with a bashful smile.
"Wait... Daoist Ning, no no, Brother Ning, since you’re going in anyway, would you mind buying something for me too?" The little girl batted her long lashes, suddenly making a request.
"Buy something? What is it?" Ning Fan asked with a smile.
"Magma Heart, need one or two... no, make it two liang. Hmm... a low-grade Magma Heart will do. Mid-grade is too expensive, and high-grade prices are practically criminal... wait, better make it a mid-grade Magma Heart... no no, better make it high grade, even though it could be repaired using the power of Divine Weapon Lake, but in case it’s not fixed properly..."
The little girl mumbled to herself while doing a mental struggle.
"Is this girl’s magical treasure spirit damaged? Needs a Magma Heart to repair? Could it be a very important magical treasure..."
Ning Fan’s gaze shifted slightly. From what he knew, Magma Heart is a powdery spiritual item, with an impeccable effect on repairing fire-based magical treasure spirits.
This item generally comes in high, mid, and low grades. Of course, there are finest-ranked, but those are exceedingly rare, perhaps seen only once in a century.
Magma Hearts are sold by liang, and are extremely expensive. Even a low-grade Magma Heart costs over a billion Dao Crystals for one liang.
As for a high-grade Magma Heart, one liang might sell for tens of billions of Dao Crystals.
As for the legendary finest-ranked Magma Heart... if it ever appeared, it would surely fetch a sky-high price.
If not for repairing an extremely important magical treasure, it’s unlikely that this little girl, who grumbles over a mere million, would be willing to grit her teeth and buy two liang of high-grade Magma Heart...
"Here, this is one hundred billion Dao Crystals, precisely one hundred billion. I’ve counted it thrice. Take it and help me buy two liang of high-grade Magma Heart, any extra can be refunded, understood?"
With an unexpected sense of trust, the little girl handed Ning Fan a storage pouch containing exactly one hundred billion Dao Crystals.
Her heart ached immensely at the sight of this storage pouch; these hundred billion Dao Crystals were nearly her entire fortune...
During her tedious years as the Heavenly Dao Spirit in the lower realms, she had spent over five hundred years counting two hundred thousand Dao Crystals daily, counting these hundred billion Dao Crystals three times...
Normal people could never comprehend how deep Li Xiaoxiao’s attachment to these Dao Crystals was.
No ordinary person could have the perseverance of Li Xiaoxiao, counting Dao Crystals day and night, for five hundred years straight...
"This Li Xiaoxiao is indeed an eccentric person... However, when it comes to perseverance, there are very few in this world who can match this woman... Repeating the same task for five hundred years without complaints, without losing sight of one’s original intention, is this not also a form of commitment?"
Ning Fan, thoughtful, took away Li Xiaoxiao’s storage pouch, and under her pained gaze, entered the Commercial Pavilion.
...
The interior of the Commercial Pavilion is a space unto itself, comprising three levels in total.
The first level itself is almost ten times the size of Wangyun City, filled entirely with various cultivation shops.
On the first level, there are no Commercial Pavilion masters receiving guests; all the shopkeepers and patrolling guards in the streets are puppets.
In the empty first level, only around a hundred Fate Immortals shop here, some are masters from Dongming Star Domain, others are from different star domains.
The Fate Immortals who come here to shop seldom engage in conversation unless they are acquaintances.
Ning Fan walked past countless shops, encountering many Fate Immortals.
He deliberately released a mid-stage Ghost Profound aura, not attracting too much attention.
It’s not unusual to encounter fellow Fate Immortals in this Commercial Pavilion.
Conversely, intentionally concealing his Ghost Profound cultivations would cause others fear, attention, and suspicion.
Ning Fan did not want to cause too much attention here, avoiding any trouble. Based on his rough senses, there are at least three Shedding Void powerhouses stationed on this Tianmu Star.
He came here merely to repair a puppet, stirring any trouble would be counterproductive.
On the first level, Ning Fan stayed for about two hours and purchased all the Spiritual Medicine he needed.
He bought these Spiritual Medicines to concoct a Seventh Revolution pill called ’Yang-Nourishing Elixir.’
The preparation of the Yang-Nourishing Elixir was meant to perfect the West Wind Technique.
In addition to the Yang-Nourishing Elixir ingredients, he also purchased all the intelligence on Unity of Heaven and Man and some jade slips concerning the Bell Sacrifice of Godly Void Pavilion on the first level.
After reading the intelligence, Ning Fan’s eyes flickered, pondering for a long while in place.
Subsequently, he left the first level, utilizing the teleportation formation of this level to reach the second level of the Commercial Pavilion.
The second level of the Commercial Pavilion only had around thirty scattered cultivation shops, not large. Every shop on this level had a receptionist who was a Void Fragmentation master from the Commercial Pavilion.
Only a few Fate Immortals came to shop on this level, generally those in the initial or intermediate stage of Enlightenment.
There were over twenty customers on this level, and when Ning Fan arrived, he similarly did not attract too much attention.
On the second level, he even successfully managed to purchase the refinement for the Illusory Life Pill!
With the refinement, he quietly returned to the first level, bought all the ingredients needed for the Illusory Life Pill.
Thus, he could then use that particle of Illusory Demon Dust to refine an Illusory Life Pill.
Having purchased all the Illusory Life Pill ingredients, one could say Ning Fan had achieved his purpose of coming to the Commercial Pavilion.
Yet, he did not leave because a certain greedy little girl also entrusted him to buy two ounces of Magma Heart.
With the Magma Heart’s value, it certainly wouldn’t be consigned to the first level.
Ning Fan then returned to the second level, but after exploring it, he still did not find any Magma Heart for sale.
Thus, Ning Fan proceeded to the teleportation formation on the second level, inquired of a knowledgeable Void Fragmentation receptionist.
"It seems the second level doesn’t sell Magma Heart. Is this item sold on the third level, or is it not available in this star’s Commercial Pavilion at all?"
Upon hearing Ning Fan’s inquiry, the knowledgeable Void Fragmentation receptionist immediately showed a shocked expression and said to Ning Fan,
"Senior, could it be you are also here to compete for that finest Magma Heart?"
After asking, the knowledgeable Void Fragmentation paused repeatedly scrutinizing Ning Fan, after a moment, bit his teeth, and kindly advised,
"Pardon me for speaking bluntly, but it would be wise for Senior not to partake in the contest for this item. On the third level, several Enlightenment seniors are currently embroiled in a dispute over this item... Moreover, all these Enlightenment seniors are the ’Tomb Guardians’ for this round of the tomb comparison..."
Although this knowledgeable Void Fragmentation did not have high cultivations, he had long worked in the Commercial Pavilion and had seen many mid-stage Ghost Profound old monsters. At this time, with Ning Fan intentionally exuding an aura, he could vaguely discern Ning Fan’s realm as mid-stage Ghost Profound.
As far as he knew, on the third level of the Commercial Pavilion, several Enlightenment seniors were currently contending for that finest Magma Heart.
The few Enlightenment seniors were all ’Tomb Guardians’ chosen by the various major forces of the Dongming Star Domain, possessing high cultivation and significant backgrounds.
This knowledgeable Void Fragmentation merely assumed Ning Fan was also here to vie for the finest Magma Heart, fearing Ning Fan might suffer, thus offering well-meaning advice.
After all, he did not believe it was wise for a Fate Immortal like Ning Fan to go up against many True Immortals competing for treasures.
"Finest Magma Heart? Tomb Guardians?"
Ning Fan’s eyes flickered with realization, aware of what the Tomb Guardians were, and that this knowledgeable Void Fragmentation might have misunderstood something.
He slightly shook his head, politely saying to that knowledgeable Void Fragmentation, "Thank you for the warning, but there’s no need to worry, I merely wish to purchase high-grade Magma Heart, not to compete for the finest one."
Just as Ning Fan finished speaking, a woman’s voice laced with sarcasm, rather sharp, suddenly resonated from the teleportation formation.
"Oh? Just a mid-stage Ghost Profound, yet you boast quite a bit. Listening to you, it seems you simply don’t want to compete for the finest Magma Heart, rather than being unable to compete for it? Even I have no assurance of getting this item."
The voice’s owner was a recently ascended purple-clad woman from the first level to the second, her physique enchanting, her appearance beautiful, yet her eyes carried too much arrogance, looking at Ning Fan as if she was accustomed to high status and looked down on everyone else.
This purple-clad woman possessed a peak-stage Ghost Profound cultivations.
Behind her were several Human Profound realm maidservants.
After she spoke, she left with a group of maidservants towards the third-level teleportation formation, paying little attention to Ning Fan.
Ning Fan frowned but did not concern himself with the woman’s harsh remarks.
However, several old monsters on the second level, upon seeing the purple-clad woman, all revealed contemplative expressions, with even someone whispering.
"Luo Family Young Master... Could she be here for the finest Magma Heart too? Her cultivation may not match the other Enlightenment practitioners, but behind her stands the Luo Family..."
The Luo Family mentioned by everyone could only be the War King Luo Family!
Ning Fan’s gaze slightly changed, glancing at the purple-clad woman’s receding figure with a contemplative expression.
He had heard of Luo Family Young Master’s name from Luo Xiao’s mouth; she was one of the eight Tomb Guardians appointed by the Luo Family for this tomb comparison, and the one with the highest cultivation among them...
"Luo Family Young Master, Luo Xuan... If I want to obtain the Luo Family Tomb Guardian status, not only do I require the family head’s approval, but also this woman’s consent..."
"Divine Tomb... Tomb Comparison... Tomb Guardians... This was another reason for me to become a guest elder of the Luo Family! War God Transformation is just one among them!"
Ning Fan’s spirit sense swept through his storage pouch, glanced at the Void Command within, revealing a subtle sigh.
If he only had the Void Command and not the Tomb Guardian status, entering the bottom layer of the Divine Tomb was utterly impossible...
This was the intelligence he had obtained after arriving on Spiritual Platform Star...
And the demand to become the Spiritual Platform Star Lord was all for preparing for this Tomb Guardian status slot. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)
