Grasping the Evil-Chapter 807: Silver-Haired Ghost Face, Vertical Golden Light
The Divine Weapon Lake is not a single lake, but a collective name for thousands of spiritual lakes.
Within the Tianmu Mountain Range, every few hundred miles, you can see such a spiritual lake amidst the mountains.
These spiritual lakes, since their formation, have a strange effect of repairing magical artifacts and puppets, renowned in the Eastern Heaven.
The Tianmu Star is often referred to as the Star of a Thousand Lakes due to the existence of the Divine Weapon Lake.
In the sky above Tianmu Mountain Range, cultivators frequently come and go, mostly to repair their magical artifacts here.
There are also some old freaks who practice here year after year, attempting to fathom the mystery of the Divine Weapon Lake’s repair of divine soldiers, hoping to comprehend the Grand Dao through it.
Cultivators who come to repair magical artifacts usually find a spiritual lake of their own, minding their own business without disturbing each other.
Amidst the beauty of the lakes and mountains, even Shedding Void and Fragmented Thought elders occasionally come here to repair artifacts.
Ning Fan sat on the back of the Winged Demon, flying all the way to the outer periphery of the Tianmu Mountain Range.
Here, Li Xiaoxiao took the initiative to part ways with Ning Fan.
Along the way, Ning Fan repeatedly tried to indirectly ask about the reason for the Fu Li aura on Li Xiaoxiao’s body.
Who would have thought that although this little girl was a bit muddleheaded, her lips were very tight.
No matter how Ning Fan probed indirectly, he could not find out what connection this little girl had with the Fu Li clan.
In the end, Li Xiaoxiao even vaguely sensed the probing intention in Ning Fan’s words and directly said,
"Love Sage Big Brother, what exactly do you want to ask me? Don’t beat around the bush, just ask directly, I will certainly tell you the truth!" The Winged Demon’s eyes were full of submissiveness, as if it would answer any question Ning Fan asked.
"Very well, then let me ask you, the purple-black light that knocked me back earlier, what exactly is that power? Do you know?" Ning Fan asked seriously.
"Wha... what purple-black light? Is there any? How could I not know, hehe, haha, Love Sage Brother, you must have seen it wrong..."
Upon hearing Ning Fan’s question, which vaguely involved the Fu Li power on her body, Li Xiaoxiao immediately became uneasy.
She seemed to become very nervous, and even Ning Fan sitting on her back could vaguely feel her emotions.
And just upon arriving at the outskirts of Tianmu Mountain, Li Xiaoxiao immediately transformed into human form, with a guilty face, and bid farewell to Ning Fan as if she were a thief.
"Uh... Love Sage Brother... the Divine Weapon Lake has arrived, go find a spiritual lake and repair your artifact yourself, I also need to find a spiritual lake to repair mine. Thank you for the Magma Heart you gave me, I will cherish it well, I am very touched and also guilty, today’s weather is also very nice, windy and sunny, just like my complex feelings at the moment... Oh, I am not guilty, nor am I nervous, nor am I afraid to answer your question due to the Empress’s gag order... In short... well... I really have an urgent need, I will take my leave first..."
Li Xiaoxiao, dejected, rubbed her head, trying to cover her nervousness, which only made her more nervous, speaking incoherently, still failing to express herself clearly.
Trying to conceal her identity, she ended up inadvertently revealing some information...
In the end, borrowing an excuse, she shamelessly made her escape...
Watching Li Xiaoxiao’s fleeing figure, Ning Fan smiled slightly and shook his head in amusement, saying,
"Little liar... didn’t you say you would answer whatever I asked? Why avoid the question and run away..."
"Though a liar, she is a foolish one, unable to even tell a lie... a dignified Enlightenment Realm cultivator, how could you have an urgent need... this excuse is far too far-fetched."
"However, I have confirmed one thing, that she has a significant connection with my Fu Li clan. She knows about this herself, and from her words, it can be inferred that her master, the Tribulation Wielding Immortal Emperor, is also aware of her connection to the Fu Li clan and has issued a gag order, forbidding her from revealing this matter to anyone..."
"The only thing I am unsure of is whether her and her master’s attitude towards the Fu Li clan is friend or foe, or if they treat it with indifference... this is also why I am unwilling to expose the Fu Li ancestor blood in front of Li Xiaoxiao."
"Fu Li... this demon blood once helped me dirty my own fortune and avoid a great scheme. Yet to this day, my understanding of the Fu Li clan remains limited."
Ning Fan looked up at the sky, his eyes reflecting a sense of reminiscence.
After a moment, he collected all his emotions, his figure flickering before transforming into an escape rainbow, flying into the inner region of the Tianmu Mountain.
It was a good thing that Li Xiaoxiao parted ways with him here.
Repairing the Ancient Demon Puppet was also a major secret for Ning Fan, and without Li Xiaoxiao present, it was all the better.
The thousands of Divine Weapon Lakes in Tianmu Mountain Range have slight differences in their repair capabilities, but the disparities are not significant.
Ning Fan searched for a while before landing at a relatively secluded spiritual lake.
He first conducted a thorough check around and at the bottom of the spiritual lake, and after confirming there was nothing unusual, he set up an isolation formation and took out the severely damaged Ancient Demon Puppet, flicking his finger to let the puppet float above the lake’s surface, before gradually immersing it into the water.
He himself sat cross-legged on the shore of the Divine Weapon Lake, his eyes occasionally flashing with azure gleams, carefully observing the water surface of the spiritual lake, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate straight to the lake’s bottom.
In his eyes, unspeakable mysterious rules intertwined above the Divine Weapon Lake, and it was these rules that caused any divine artifact submerged in the lake to repair itself.
Under the nurturing of the Divine Weapon Lake’s waters, the damage to the Ancient Demon Puppet was slowly being repaired.
"Such a marvelous spiritual lake... it’s a pity it cannot be taken away."
Ning Fan sighed slightly and reached out to scoop up a handful of lake water for close observation.
This lake water, once removed from the Spirit Lake, immediately lost all its restorative power.
Even if the Spirit Lake itself were taken away, it would only destroy this restorative power, and the taken Spirit Lake would be utterly useless...
The true restorative power does not come from the lake water but from the rules of Taoist methods here.
The lake water can be taken away, but the Taoist rules of this place cannot be taken away by anyone, not even an Immortal Emperor.
He no longer looked at the lake water but instead turned his hand to retrieve a pile of jade scrolls, casually picking one up for detailed study.
After reading the first one, he read the second one. When he finished reading the entire stack of jade scrolls, Ning Fan displayed an expression of contemplation.
These jade scrolls recorded various information about the Unity of Heaven and Man.
It wasn’t until he purchased this information that Ning Fan realized that one of the three gigantic doors he inadvertently opened that day was the First Gate of Tianren.
The Unity of Heaven and Man is a realm of human unity with Tao, and theoretically speaking, any cultivator has the chance to spontaneously enter this realm.
For example, Ning Fan in the past had inadvertently entered the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man several times.
The state of Unity of Heaven and Man under such circumstances cannot be maintained for long, providing only temporary benefits to the cultivator.
However, if the Three Gates of Tianren are opened, the state of Unity of Heaven and Man can persist indefinitely.
There is no specific method for opening the Three Gates of Tianren. Generally, cultivators who successfully open the Tianren Gates share one commonality: their innate comprehension of Taoist methods is extremely high, having continuously honed their Dao Enlightenment through their cultivation journey.
Therefore, the only way to open the Tianren Gates is to constantly enhance Dao Enlightenment, refine the spirit sense, and temper the Dao Thought. Once the time is ripe, the gates of Tianren would naturally open.
"The First Gate of Tianren is called the ’Gate of Dao Laws.’ By opening this gate, one can see Dao Laws and greatly enhance comprehension;"
"The Second Gate of Tianren is the ’Gate of the Dao Heart.’ Opening this gate clears the spirit sense, discerning all real and illusory, undisturbed by all illusionary arts, and casually deriving myriad laws of heaven, creating mystical divine skills;"
"The Third Gate of Tianren is the ’Gate of Dao Destiny.’ By opening this gate, one can break free from the shackles of destiny, seeing past and future..."
"Within the four heavens and nine worlds, few can open the First Gate; fewer are known to open the Second Gate; none... can open the Third Gate."
Ning Fan brushed his sleeve to store away all the information jade scrolls, his eyes flashing with azure spike.
At this moment, he was no longer completely ignorant of the Unity of Heaven and Man. He already knew that the gigantic door he pushed open that day was indeed the First Gate of Tianren—the Gate of Dao Laws!
He stood up, gazing at the vast ocean of clouds overhead, his sight seemingly piercing through all Taoist rules.
Unaware of how much time had passed, Ning Fan suddenly unleashed his Five-Colored Medicine Soul Power, causing the Medicine Soul Cauldron to refine pills beside the Spirit Lake.
The first pill he refined was the Illusory Life Pill, which took merely the time of a single incense stick.
The Illusory Life Pill is only a Four Revolutions Pill, naturally not difficult to refine.
At the moment the pill was formed, Ning Fan simply waved away the pill tribulation and anomalies, accomplishing this effortlessly with his cultivation.
Staring at the Illusory Life Pill in his palm, seemingly real and illusory, Ning Fan remained silent for a while, then suddenly swallowed the pill.
Though he swallowed the pill, he did not refine its power but stored the pill in the primordial spirit of his Dantian, letting the little hand of the Spirit hold the pill.
After doing all this, Ning Fan showed a satisfied smile.
With his current insight, naturally, he could discern the near-terrifying power of Dao Laws existing on the surface of the Illusory Life Pill.
That is the Dao of Illusions, the power source of all illusionary arts in the world.
True illusionary arts can encompass and deceive everything in this heaven and earth.
"Though the tier of the Illusory Life Pill is not high, it is refined from Illusory Demon Dust, nurturing the Dao of Illusions within, with vast divine power."
"Ancient texts record that in ancient times, there was once a Void Fragmentation youth pursued by eons of cultivators. In the moment of crisis, he took the Illusory Life Pill, producing three flames of illusion within him, preserving his life and escaping death..."
"At that time, all witnesses saw with their own eyes the youth being struck by the divine skills of the eternal old monster, his Spirit annihilated. Everyone deemed the youth dead; even the eternal old freak believed he had killed the youth. The Heavenly Dao also pronounced the youth had fallen, and the soul plates stored within the Sect spontaneously shattered, determining the youth had indeed perished... however, all of this was but illusion, an illusion able to deceive even the Heavenly Dao! Only the youth himself knew he still lived in the world!"
"Whether the pill’s efficacy is as strong as recorded in the ancient texts, I do not know. But should my life be in peril one day, perhaps I may use the power of this pill to preserve my life!"
After a brief rest, Ning Fan once again ignited the cauldron to refine pills, this time crafting the Yang-Nourishing Elixir.
This refining process lasted ten days.
This time, Ning Fan did not refine the pills within the Xuan Yin Treasure, yet still only took ten days to produce a batch of Low Grade Seventh Revolution Pills!
The Unity of Heaven and Man made Ning Fan’s pill refinement nearly flawless, naturally speeding up the process and ensuring high quality.
This batch of Yang-Nourishing Elixir contained ten pills; it was Ning Fan’s first time crafting this pill, yet he managed to undertake the refinement of all ten pills simultaneously!
After refining the Yang-Nourishing Elixir, Ning Fan stored away the Medicine Soul Cauldron and began to utilize the power of the Yang-Nourishing Elixir to refine the 25 Red Essence Stones in his hand.
These Red Essence Stones were obtained from the Flowing Sand Star Domain, each containing an enormous power of the True Sun.
Once all the Red Essence Stones were refined, Ning Fan took out the fragments of the Yin Fusion Tenth Orb to begin the process of refinement.
This refinement lasted for three years.
All the power of the True Sun poured into Ning Fan’s body, and under the influence of the Yin Yang Locket, the extremes of Yang turned to Yin and Yin to Yang, circulating endlessly, transforming into the power of time.
Three years passed, and the Ancient Demon Puppet in the Divine Weapon Lake was already 99% repaired. The final trace of damage was almost completely restored.
During these three years, Ning Fan remained seated by the Divine Weapon Lake, experiencing three cycles of autumn changes.
The spring breeze brought lush greenery to the mountains. When autumn arrived, leaves fluttered down into the lake.
Every deep autumn, the autumn atmosphere at the Divine Weapon Lake was a hundred times more intense than that of other Spiritual Lakes.
In the first year of autumn, leaves that fell on Ning Fan turned to ash and dissipated.
In the second year of autumn, all the leaves mysteriously avoided Ning Fan, not a leaf touched him. By the end of autumn, piles of leaves accumulated everywhere on the lakeside, except within three feet of Ning Fan where no leaf remained.
In the third year of autumn, leaves fell on Ning Fan without any change.
By the end of that autumn, Ning Fan opened his eyes.
He rose abruptly, and with a single thought, it seemed the autumn wind across the Tianmu Mountain Range obeyed his command, sweeping across instantly.
And by the lakeshores of thousands of Spiritual Lakes within the Tianmu Mountain Range, all fallen leaves turned to ash and disappeared in an instant!
"Dao Thought Technique! Which Fragmented Thought Senior is executing divine skills here!"
Within the Tianmu Mountain Range, three Shedding Void Realm old monsters were immediately surprised, spreading out their spirit sense to locate the source of the divine skills, but they could capture no trace of the person.
"Finally, no traces of ax or chisel remain... This West Wind Technique is truly completed only now. With it, even though I’m at the Ghost Profound Middle Stage, I can heavily injure Mid Stage Enlightenment with a single finger! However, the consumption of my mana by this West Wind Technique is immense, and unless absolutely necessary, I should not use it; it should remain a trump card."
Ning Fan withdrew his Dao Thought, gazing at the Spiritual Lake beneath his feet.
Seeing that the Ancient Demon Puppet was nearly fully restored, Ning Fan nodded with satisfaction.
After staying there for another seven days, Ning Fan took back the completely repaired Ancient Demon Puppet and left Tianmu Star.
Before he departed, Li Xiaoxiao had already left...
In the starry sky of the Dongming Star Domain, a fleeting figure of a white-clothed youth stood on a ripple of Black Flame.
After leaving Tianmu Star, Ning Fan headed directly to Tianhai Star where the Luo Family was located, continuously using the Black Demon Escape Technique, but he no longer felt the boiling of blood nor performed the Great Divine Power of Vertical Golden Light...
"The serendipity of that day cannot be reproduced..."
In his thoughts, Ning Fan temporarily set aside the cultivation of Vertical Golden Light, focusing entirely on his escape to Tianhai Star.
However, when he ceased to deliberately pursue Vertical Golden Light, that feeling of boiling blood reappeared.
In this world, the more one pursues something, the harder it is to achieve. Often, unintended efforts yield remarkable results.
When the Divine Blood, Demon Blood, and Ancestral Blood boiled once more, tendrils of golden flames emerged again on Ning Fan’s body surface.
Ning Fan had a sense that if the golden flames burned half a degree more fiercely, he could once more perform the Vertical Golden Light Technique, crossing an entire Upper Starfield in a single step!
He tried to make the golden flames on his body burn more intensely but found that with his current cultivation, he couldn’t control those golden flames at all.
Gradually, the boiling of the three bloods within him surpassed his tolerable limit.
His eyes grew increasingly blood-red, his consciousness blurred, almost indicating a sign of turning into a demon.
Without hesitation, Ning Fan swept his hand over his face, summoning the Silver Ghost Mask.
His head of dark hair instantly transformed into a cascade of silver strands!
At the moment of summoning the Ghost Mask, all chaotic emotions in his eyes dissipated, replaced by an icy, ruthless demeanor like the frigid ice of the Sha Jiuyou.
"Oh? After summoning the Ghost Mask, the golden flames on my body seem no longer uncontrollable..."
Ning Fan raised his hand, observing the unstable golden flame in his palm, deep in thought.
This golden flame seemed to have a remarkable intelligence, fearing the fierce aura of the Innate Ghost Mask, hence behaving a bit more obediently...
"Burn!"
Ning Fan suddenly shouted, and the golden flame on his skin flared intensely, shooting out ten thousand rays of golden light.
His mana was rapidly depleting, and beneath his feet, a golden ripple appeared, shimmered faintly, and disappeared in an instant.
In that moment, he once again performed the Vertical Earth Golden Light!
The first time was a fluke, but this second time, it was executed through his own skill!
This was the first time he performed the Vertical Earth Golden Light, relying on his own escape technique enlightenment, coupled with the suppression of the Ghost Mask, and the Vertical Earth Golden Light true words given by Li Xiaoxiao!
Whoosh——
A majestic golden rainbow suddenly streaked across the starry sky of the Dongming Star Domain, leaving great chasms in the void, from which millions of golden rays shot forth!
"What kind of escape technique is this!!!"
Along this path, countless Second Step old monsters from the Cultivation Stars flew up to the starry sky, gazing at the dazzling golden light.
No one could see clearly what was within the golden light.
Only one Shedding Void Realm old monster happened to brush past Ning Fan and vaguely glimpsed some silver hair and a ghastly ghost mask...
"This silver-haired ghost-masked master must be an Eternal Senior; otherwise, there’s no way to perform such a terrifying escape light!" This Shedding Void Realm old monster firmly believed so!
He then returned to his cave abode and recounted what he saw to his sect disciples.
Later, one spread to ten, ten to a hundred, gradually spreading across the Dongming Star Domain, that there was a silver-haired ghost-masked Eternal Old Monster who knew how to perform a majestic golden escape light.
This is a later story.
At this moment, Ning Fan, under the suppression of the ghost mask, once again performed the Vertical Earth Golden Light.
He was like a golden meteor, crashing fiercely towards Tianhai Star!
The entire Tianhai Star trembled slightly!
Currently, within the Tianhai Luo Family, all the strong ones were holding a family council in a secret hall.
Except for the Ninth Elder Luo Shix, who was busy repairing the Heaven Suppressing Bell and was not in the Luo Family, nearly all the Second Step powerhouses of the Luo Family were gathered in this secret hall.
"The War King’s physical vitality is weakening, nearly inaudible. If we cannot find a cultivator who has completed the Fourth Transformation to awaken the War King, I fear he will die within a century..."
Inside the secret hall, an old man at the Mid Stage of Shekong was speaking to everyone when suddenly his gaze trembled, and without another word, he stepped out of the secret hall.
The other strong ones also showed shock in their eyes and immediately flew outside the hall.
All the strong members of the Luo Family gathered in a desolate mountain within Tianhai Star, looking at a vast crater in the desolate mountain, their expressions varied.
"Could it be that an Eternal Old Monster has come to our Luo Family... Crashing into our Tianhai Star so brazenly, could this be a show of enmity? If it truly is enmity, then why is there only this crater but no sign of the person? Could this person be a threat to our Luo Family’s War King..." Many old monsters speculated.
Only the Young Master of the Luo Family, Luo Xuan, had her beautiful eyes flicker, as if remembering something.
"The day I went to the Tianmu Star, it seemed there was also an old monster whose escape light crashed into the Tianmu Star, leaving a vast crater..."
Vaguely, the crater still retained some residual mana aura, making Luo Xuan find it somewhat familiar, yet she couldn’t recall immediately.
Suddenly, Luo Xuan saw within the crater, a fragment of a white cloth scrap.
She withdrew her escape light and descended into the crater, picking up the scrap.
Looking at the white cloth and sensing the slightly familiar aura of the place, a figure of a white-clothed young man suddenly surfaced in her mind.
"No, it can’t be him. Though he is very powerful, he’s still only a Ghost Profound Cultivator... and the speed of this escape light surpasses even some Eternal Old Monsters... which old monster could have left this escape light..."
Luo Xuan pondered, but still put the white cloth into her storage pouch.
If this person is an enemy of the Luo Family, this white cloth might become a powerful weapon to find the enemy’s whereabouts...
...
Within Xuan Yin Treasure, Ning Fan changed out of his tattered clothes, donned clean garments, then immediately swallowed a pill for restoring mana and sat down cross-legged to regulate his breath.
This time, the Vertical Earth Golden Light went out of control again.
This time performing the technique, indeed his mana was completely drained again.
Yet Ning Fan’s expression showed more joy than shock, clearly extremely satisfied with having performed the Vertical Earth Golden Light once more.
"With my current cultivation, I am still unable to perform the Vertical Earth Golden Light. But if I summon the ghost mask, I can suppress the golden flame and perform this technique by exploiting a loophole!"
"The speed of this technique matches that of the Eternal!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
