Grasping the Evil-Chapter 818: Ghost Profound Peak-Stage

Luo Shix’s face was full of nostalgia, long kneeling and unable to stand.

While Luo Shix was kneeling, Ning Fan was secretly observing the slumbering Battle King.

In his eyes, a faint azure light flickered. With his Unity of Heaven and Man vision, he could vaguely see the chaotic intertwining War Law on the Battle King’s body.

It was precisely because of these chaotic War Laws that the Battle King could not awaken...

These War Laws were the power of the Fourth Transformation of the War Mantra within the Battle King, which had been forcibly dissipated by someone.

It was Senluo who severely injured the Battle King.

Senluo’s strike was restrained; otherwise, the Battle King would not just be in slumber, but... fallen!

"If these War Laws can be removed, the Battle King can awaken. But to remove these laws, it requires a cultivator who has also mastered the Fourth Transformation of the War Mantra to assist, otherwise it cannot be achieved... This is why the Luo Family needs a cultivator who has mastered the Fourth Transformation. And this is why they value me so much..."

Ning Fan averted his gaze, now fully convinced that there were no conspiracies behind reviving the Battle King.

As for Luo Shix, during his long kneel, his expression turned resolute as he stood up.

With a thought, he immediately took Ning Fan and appeared beside the first of the Nine Profound Black Cauldrons.

In this first cauldron, there were 26 drops of blood-red Dao Essence.

"This is lower-grade Dao Marrow. If you take a few drops, it’ll be enough to fully heal your physical injuries within a day. Although lower-grade Dao Marrow is adequate for healing, using it to improve your physical realm is only average..."

While explaining, Luo Shix took out a White Jade Purity Vase and collected all 26 drops of lower-grade Dao Marrow from the first cauldron.

Then he flew to the second cauldron and collected another 21 drops of lower-grade Dao Marrow.

Immediately afterward, he handed the White Jade Purity Vase to Ning Fan.

Feeling the vast energy emanating from the vase, Ning Fan’s eyes flashed with sharp light.

Don’t be misled by Luo Shix’s dismissive attitude towards lower-grade Dao Marrow; that’s because his realm and vision are high.

In reality, this lower-grade Dao Marrow is an absolute treasure for body cultivators at the Fate Immortal level.

In the Eastern Heaven Immortal World, the price of a drop of lower-grade Dao Marrow is about ten billion Dao Crystals, comparable to a Fate Immortal Dao Fruit, and it’s often a case of having a price but no market.

Ning Fan’s injuries were indeed severe, but if he consumed a few drops of lower-grade Dao Marrow, his injuries would fully heal in a very short time!

With a thought, Luo Shix and Ning Fan appeared before the third and fourth cauldrons.

Luo Shix took out a Green Jade Purity Vase and collected the Dao Marrow from the two cauldrons.

In these two cauldrons, there were a total of 19 drops of middle-grade Dao Marrow!

"The middle-grade Dao Marrow’s healing effect is weaker, but using it to improve one’s physical realm is not weak at all."

Handing the Green Jade Purity Vase to Ning Fan, Luo Shix again took Ning Fan with him and collected the Dao Marrow from the fifth and sixth cauldrons.

This was high-grade Dao Marrow, with only a total of 9 drops.

"For body cultivators, a drop of high-grade Dao Marrow is worth as much as ten Shekong Dao Fruit..."

Luo Shix gave a brief explanation and then handed over the Purple Jade Purity Vase containing 9 drops of high-grade Dao Marrow to Ning Fan.

In the seventh and eighth cauldrons, there were only 3 drops of supreme-grade Dao Marrow.

In the ninth cauldron, there was a blood-colored gemstone the size of a fingernail...

Luo Shix pointed to the last three cauldrons and said to Ning Fan,

"The supreme-grade Dao Marrow and the energy contained in that Marrow Crystal far exceed your realm, and right now, consuming them would be harmful instead of beneficial. Also, these things need to be reserved for healing the Battle King... Therefore, I cannot give these to you, and I hope you understand."

"Junior understands."

Ning Fan put away the three purity vases, feeling extremely satisfied, without any desire for those last spiritual objects.

Those last spiritual objects can only be refined by someone with cultivation above Shekong...

Today’s gains are enough for him to digest for a long time.

Dao Marrow, Dao Fruit, expensive pills, Dao Crystals... The Luo Family gave him so much!

With a thought, Luo Shix took Ning Fan out of the Dao Essence Secret Realm, directly appearing outside Ning Fan’s cave mansion.

"Haha, little friend, take some lower-grade Dao Marrow and go into seclusion to heal. This old man will be outside, protecting you. Once you’re fully healed, I’ll take you to another place..."

Halfway through his words, Luo Shix’s expression changed. He patted his storage pouch and took out a Purple Jade Sound Gui.

After casting a spell on the Sound Gui and listening to the message within, Luo Shix’s face turned serious. Apologetically, he said to Ning Fan,

"I’m sorry, the Godly Void Pavilion is urging me to return early again. Repairing the Heaven Suppressing Bell is of utmost importance, and I’m afraid I can’t take you to that place. Here’s your Tomb Guardian Token; possessing this will verify your identity. If you have the time, you can go to the Ghost Soldier Sect by yourself to find the Guibing Ancestral Master to make a Contrary Star Demon Armor... I’ve already informed the Guibing Ancestral Master, who owes me a favor, and is willing to make a custom demon armor for you."

Luo Shix handed over a token along with a storage pouch to Ning Fan.

He explained a few more things to Ning Fan before sending a divine sense message to the five Shekong members of the Luo Family, then vanished from the Broken Spear Peaks with a single step.

After Luo Shix left, Ning Fan scanned the storage pouch with his spirit sense. After pondering for a moment, he put it away.

The storage pouch contained all the fragments of the Reverse Star Giant Rock that he shattered that day.

Although the Reverse Star Giant Rock was shattered, it could still be melted and recast for crafting the Reverse Star Demon Armor.

Luo Shix told Ning Fan that in the Dongming Star Domain, only one person knows how to craft the Reverse Star Demon Armor, the Sect Master of the Guibing (Ghost Soldier) Sect, known as the Guibing Ancestral Master, who possesses the Initiate Realm of Shekong.

Guibing Sect is an artifact refining Sect, and the Guibing Ancestral Master is a veteran figure in the Refinement Realm.

This person’s artifact refining technique is extraordinary, and even some Fragmented Thought Elders from the Eastern Heaven Immortal World occasionally visit to request magical treasures from him.

Unfortunately, the Guibing Ancestral Master has an eccentric personality, and no matter how high the visitor’s cultivation is, if he doesn’t like them, he won’t refine a magical treasure for them.

Due to this personality, he has offended many Fragmented Thought Elders, but because he is backed by a powerful Immortal King, no matter how dissatisfied others are with him, they dare not act against him...

The Guibing Ancestral Master owed Luo Shix a favor. Three days ago, Luo Shix sent him a message-transmitting flying sword, hoping he would help craft a Reverse Star Demon Armor, and he agreed...

Luo Shix intended to personally take Ning Fan to the Guibing Sect, but due to unforeseen circumstances, he had to leave first.

"To craft the Reverse Star Demon Armor..." Ning Fan’s eyes moved.

If he could craft a Reverse Star Demon Armor, he wouldn’t mind going to the Guibing Sect alone.

However, before that, he had other matters to attend to.

Luo Xiao is in closed cultivation, using a diluted drop of Dao Essence to breakthrough the Ghost Profound Late Stage.

Wang Meng is also in closed cultivation, painstakingly healing his long-accumulated injuries.

Ning Fan also needs to enter closed cultivation, not only to heal but also to use countless heavenly treasures to improve his cultivation.

Magic Power Cultivation, as well as... Ancient Demon Cultivation!

Upon returning to the cave residence, Ning Fan immediately entered the Xuan Yin Treasure, took out a drop of lower-grade Dao Marrow, and consumed it.

It took Ning Fan half a day to refine a single drop of lower-grade Dao Marrow.

Half a day later, the severe injuries all over his body were nearly half healed!

"What an astounding healing effect!"

Ning Fan’s eyes were filled with awe as he consumed another drop and swiftly refined it. Half a day later, his injuries had completely healed.

The healing effect of the lower-grade Dao Marrow was extremely good, and after refining two drops of Dao Marrow, Ning Fan distinctly felt that his recently breakthrough Ancient Demon cultivation had improved once more...

After a moment of contemplation, he seemed to decide something. He placed the White Jade Purity Vase before him, continuously extracting drops of lower-grade Dao Marrow to begin refining.

One day, two days, three days...

On the twenty-fourth day, Ning Fan opened his eyes, having completely refined all 47 drops of lower-grade Dao Marrow!

With the power of 47 drops of lower-grade Dao Marrow, his Ancient Demon cultivation had advanced towards the Si Chen Sixth Layer Heaven by more than one-third...

"This is just lower-grade Dao Marrow. If it were middle-grade..."

Ning Fan’s gaze flickered slightly as he took out a Green Jade Clean Bottle.

Within this Green Jade Clean Bottle, there were a total of 19 drops of middle-grade Dao Marrow.

Ning Fan gestured with his palm, extracted a drop of middle-grade Dao Marrow, and swallowed it, gradually refining it.

Just one drop of middle-grade Dao Marrow took ten days to refine.

However, the energy contained within this single drop of middle-grade Dao Marrow was more than ten times that of lower-grade Dao Marrow.

Four months later, Ning Fan finished refining the twelfth drop of middle-grade Dao Marrow, his Ancient Demon cultivation breaking through to Si Chen Sixth Layer Heaven on that day!

Another two and a half months passed, and Ning Fan consumed the remaining seven drops of middle-grade Dao Marrow one by one.

His Ancient Demon cultivation was now advancing towards the Si Chen Seventh Layer Heaven by one-tenth...

At this moment, Ning Fan still had nine drops of high-grade Dao Marrow in the Violet Jade Clean Bottle in his hand.

After stabilizing his Ancient Demon cultivation, Ning Fan immediately began refining the high-grade Dao Marrow.

Refining the first drop of high-grade Dao Marrow directly consumed a month of Ning Fan’s time, which was only possible due to the amplification of the Xuan Yin Treasure...

Three months later, Ning Fan had refined the third drop of high-grade Dao Marrow, and his Ancient Demon cultivation naturally broke through to Si Chen Eighth Layer Heaven.

Another six months passed, and Ning Fan had refined all the high-grade Dao Marrow; his Ancient Demon cultivation had reached the peak of the Si Chen Realm!

On the land of the Xuan Yin Treasure, stood a gigantic demon god, a hundred thousand feet tall, exuding an extremely terrifying aura of essence and energy.

This Ancient Demon at the peak of Si Chen Realm, by its physical defense alone, could rival an old monster at the Initial Stage of Crossing Truth!

"After Si Chen, the next is Heavenly Demon! The Heavenly Demon is equivalent to the Enlightenment Realm! I am still some distance from becoming a Heavenly Demon..."

After speaking, the giant demon’s eyes moved, returning to a white-robed form, exactly as Ning Fan.

He had consumed all the Dao Marrow; his physical defense had been cultivated to the peak of the Si Chen Realm.

At this moment, his physical defense was strong enough to withstand any magical treasure or Divine Skills below Enlightenment.

With Dual Cultivation of the body and the art, Ning Fan unquestionably ranks as a strong presence within the Initial Stage of Crossing Truth!

"This is merely an enhancement of the Ancient Demon’s strength; what follows is mana!"

Ning Fan spent several days recuperating within the Xuan Yin Treasure, and then began refining pill after pill.

As a Three Apertures Ancient God, consuming one pill was akin to others consuming eight.

For six whole months, Ning Fan refined 122 Nine Transformations Lead Pills, yet his advancement towards the Late Stage of the Ghost Profound Realm was merely one fifth.

Three months later, Ning Fan had completely refined both silver and golden pills in hand, and was still a great distance from the Late Stage of the Ghost Profound Realm.

"These pill effects are quite lacking..."

Ning Fan felt a tad disappointed, and after a brief respite, proceeded to refine one Fate Immortal Dao Fruit after another.

Altogether, there were 74 Fate Immortal Dao Fruits, of which 62 were slightly inferior Human Profound Dao Fruits, and 12 superior Ghost Profound Dao Fruits.

After one year, having refined all the Dao Fruits, Ning Fan was still slightly short of breaking through the Late Stage of the Ghost Profound Realm.

Another year passed, and Ning Fan completely refined all Enlightenment Dao Fruits acquired, including those from before.

At this moment, he achieved a breakthrough from the Late Stage of the Ghost Profound Realm, advancing one sixth towards the Ghost Profound Peak-Stage.

Within his storage pouch, only four Shekong Dao Fruits remained.

"With my Three Apertures Ancient God body, refining these Dao Fruits merely yields such results; should others attempt it, the effect would be far inferior... the true difficulty of Second Step realms in cultivation unveils itself... but if I refine these four Shekong Dao Fruits, breaking through to the Ghost Profound Peak-Stage in one stroke won’t be a challenge!"

Determined, Ning Fan lifted the first Shekong Dao Fruit and began refining, a process that consumed a full year.

Once the first Fruit was refined, Ning Fan continued with the second, third, fourth...

At the instant all Shekong Dao Fruits were exhausted, a monumental mana force burst from Ning Fan, transforming into massive wind-like dragons that soared toward the heavens.

The bottleneck of the Ghost Profound Peak-Stage was shattered instantly!

"Finally reached the peak of Ghost Profound!"

Ning Fan stood exuberantly, his presence overwhelming, surpassing that of most in the Initial Stage of Crossing Truth!

Though the realm was at the Ghost Profound Peak-Stage, his mana total nearly reached the zenith of the Initial Stage of Crossing Truth!

At this moment, under Dual Cultivation of body and art, Ning Fan’s combat strength nearly matched that of masters in the Mid Stage Enlightenment—pre-empting the use of any hidden aces!

Once having solidified his realm completely, Ning Fan’s form blurred as he departed the Xuan Yin Treasure.

Eight whole years had passed since he entered the Xuan Yin Treasure!

To Second Step practitioners, eight years is brief—a mere short retreat.

Yet in those eight years, Ning Fan—favored by numerous opportunities from the Luo Family—saw his cultivation skyrocket!

Advancing through two levels of the mana realm, reaching the pinnacle of the Ghost Profound Realm!

And four levels in Ancient Demon cultivation, reaching the pinnacle of the Eighth Heaven of Si Chen!

"In two more years, the tomb comparison will commence... the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor has yet to be acquired, and the Contrary Star Demon Armor has not been forged; nor has the First Transformation of the War God Art been mastered..."

Expressions of remorse filled Ning Fan’s face, given how generously the Luo Family treated him, aiding his cultivation; if he did not wholeheartedly refine the War God Art, how could he deserve the benevolent gifts from the Luo Family...

Pulling out a mountain of War Crystals, Ning Fan sat cross-legged in his cave abode, his heart and spirit gradually assimilating with the battle intent of Broken Spear Peaks.

After three months, the quantity of Life-bound Battle Fire within his body reached nine.

Only at this moment was the first transformation of the War God Art truly mastered.

Yet to achieve the second transformation, the count of war fires would need to reach at least 99...

And this single cultivation saw him reach the limit of consuming crystals again, demanding a fight to break through.

Currently holding the Tomb Guardian identity, a battle could seek entrance into the fourth to sixth layers of the Divine Tomb, perhaps even entering the final three layers in search of the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor!

Along the way, one might take a slight detour to the Ghost Soldier Sect to deliver the fragments of the Primordial Star Reverser to the Guibing Ancestral Master, for the crafting of the Contrary Star Demon Armor...

With such plans, Ning Fan unsealed the formation and stepped out of the cave abode.

Right upon exiting the cave, he saw Wang Meng beaming brightly, standing outside.

"Wang Meng greets the master! Master remained secluded in the cave for eight years, and now surely reached the crystal consumption limit again; may I accompany the master in battle to help comprehend the bottleneck?"

As he spoke, Wang Meng wore a respectful smile, yet Ning Fan detected a trace of self-satisfied intent in Wang Meng’s eyes...

"Oh? Interesting, you suffered such severe injuries by my hand the last time, yet still possess the courage to battle me?" Ning Fan glanced at Wang Meng, laden with meaning, his eyes glistening faintly with azure.

With his Unity of Heaven and Man eyesight, Wang Meng nearly stood bare before him, devoid of secrets.

Not seen for eight years, Wang Meng had discreetly stepped into the Crossing Truth Realm! With 99 strands of battle fire within his body!

He had not only skyrocketed in cultivation, but also mastered the Second Transformation of the War God Art...

Yet currently, Wang Meng deliberately concealed the count of battle fires within, suppressing his cultivation aura, fearing Ning Fan might discern his true intentions.

He wore a smile on his face, but in his heart, he couldn’t wait to battle Ning Fan immediately.

Over these eight years, he had been incredibly happy.

No one expected that after Wang Meng had been severely beaten by Ning Fan that day, he would gain a profound understanding of being beaten, and have his own comprehension of the word ’battle’.

Battle, what is battle? A battle is a fight! And in a fight, you not only need to know how to hit, but you also need to know how to take hits.

Knowing how to take hits can mean fewer injuries! Knowing how to take hits can mean preserving your life!

This was all the enlightenment Wang Meng gained after being one-sidedly beaten by Ning Fan.

Such painful enlightenment...

But this realization found a new path, providing a new interpretation of the word ’battle’.

In battle, you not only need to attack but also need to know how to defend!

With this realization, Wang Meng broke through the bottleneck of the second transformation of the War God Art and completed it!

Riding this momentum, he once again stepped onto the True Bridge, and during his fourth step on the True Bridge in his life, he crossed it!

To cross the truth, crossing the word itself implies stepping onto the Bridge of True Dao to cross the long river of the great Dao.

Any Master in their lifetime has only nine chances to fail at crossing the True Bridge, known as the ’Nine Crossings to the True Bridge’.

If a Ghost Profound Peak-Stage fails at nine attempts to cross the realm, they will never have another opportunity to break through the Crossing Truth Realm in this lifetime.

Each time a Crossing Truth Realm True Immortal breaks through a minor realm, they must cross the True Bridge again.

If an Initial Stage of Crossing Truth Master has failed on the True Bridge eight times before achieving enlightenment, they will have only one failure left.

If successful, they break through to the Mid Stage Enlightenment; if they fail, they will be forever stuck at their current realm...

This is the cruelty of the Crossing Truth Realm; everyone has only nine chances to fail and must break through to the Shedding Void Realm before the nine failures.

However, the True Bridge is extremely difficult, and often only one in a hundred succeeds.

Therefore, the number of True Immortals who succeed in Crossing Truth is very few, with many Masters spending their lives halted at that realm.

Away from gossip, let’s talk about Wang Meng again.

Wang Meng’s aptitude was originally mediocre, relying on the Eight Extremes Battle Body to cultivate to this day.

His first fall was before Ning Fan, where his face was severely humiliated, and he received a painful beating.

It was this beating that enlightened Wang Meng.

Having failed to cross the True Bridge four times, during his fifth step onto the True Bridge, he surprisingly succeeded and took a step into the Crossing Truth Realm!

The War Art broke through the second transformation, and his cultivations broke through to the Crossing Truth Realm. Blessed by misfortune, he naturally felt incredibly fortunate. These eight years have almost been his most prideful years in his entire life.

The only thing that caused him slight displeasure was the Restrictive Spell in his divine sense.

He had finally become a True Immortal Old Monster, and finally mastered the second transformation of the War Mantra. He should have enjoyed infinite glory and made a name for himself, but he couldn’t shake off Ning Fan’s identity as a servant...

Since achieving success in the Crossing Truth Realm, Wang Meng kept a very low profile, tightly hiding his breakthrough, allowing no one to know.

Every day, he awaited outside Ning Fan’s cave mansion, hoping for a battle upon Ning Fan’s emergence...

"With my current Initial Stage of Crossing Truth Realm cultivation and the second transformation of the War God Art, I can be considered top-tier among the Initial Stage of Crossing Truth. As long as Ning Fan doesn’t use that punch from that day, he might not beat me! For these eight years, I’ve been reflecting deeply. That punch was probably a fluke, fearing he can’t do it a second time. With that being the case, battling him might not mean defeat for me!"

"In another battle, obviously I want to set a condition. If I win, he must remove the Restrictive Spell in my divine sense and restore my freedom..."

"He doesn’t know that I’ve already broken through to Crossing Truth and mastered the second transformation. With his arrogance, there could be a pretty good chance he’ll agree to my terms."

"If I beat him, I can remove the Restrictive Spell in one fell swoop, allowing me to roam the Eastern Heaven freely! If I lose to him... heh heh... maybe I’ll learn something from another beating; maybe my strength will increase greatly!"

Wang Meng’s thoughts turned rapidly, yet his face remained smiling.

Ning Fan, with his brilliant mind, although he didn’t know Wang Meng’s exact thoughts, vaguely guessed that with this person’s significant advancement in cultivation, he harbored different intentions...

"If the master needs a sparring partner, this humble one is willing to volunteer! However, I want to make a bet with the master. If I win, the master must remove the Restrictive Spell from this humble one... Of course, with this humble one’s meager cultivation, how could I be a match for the master? This bet is likely one this humble one will lose anyway..."

Every word from Wang Meng was spoken in a tone of utmost respect.

He even occasionally gazed at Ning Fan with intentionally feigned admiration. To those unaware, it might seem this person highly respected Ning Fan as a master.

"A bet battle, is it? I have no objections. But if you lose, what else can you lose to me?"

Ning Fan smiled slightly, looking at Wang Meng, that smile appearing somewhat sinister...

"Uh... what if I lose?" Wang Meng was stunned. This was a question he truly had not considered.

"If you lose, I want... your hand! Do you dare to battle?" Ning Fan’s expression suddenly turned stern.

This servant of his, although picked up, needed to be well-punished since he harbored separate intentions!

(2/2) (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)