Grasping the Evil-Chapter 849: Fleeting Life, Illusion or Reality
In the instant Ning Fan’s voice echoed, the heavens and earth were suddenly drenched in torrential downpour!
Within this rain, Ning Fan’s surging killing intent was melded, with the sound of raindrops falling incessantly into An Wuya’s ears, and that voice kept reverberating endlessly.
Do you dare!
Do you dare!!!
Boom!
It was as if an invisible giant fist hammered upon An Wuya’s spirit sense, causing him to instantly lose control of his heart spirit. All defenses of his spirit sense collapsed in this rain sound.
Along with the loss of his heart spirit, darkness fell before An Wuya’s eyes, and he quickly fell into layer upon layer of illusions!
The realm of heart spirit, all dark, with seven Big Dipper Stars gradually emerging from that darkness.
"Young friend, spare him!"
From far away, a shout of alarm resounded, getting closer, intending to intervene.
Unfortunately, his voice was still a step too late...
"Collapse!"
With one word, Ning Fan’s gaze flashed with demonic glint, and An Wuya immediately groaned.
The realm of heart spirit at that moment was forcibly shattered by the power of Ning Fan’s Dao Image. That force then invaded the divine sense, directly evaporating An Wuya’s black ocean-like divine sense to a state of complete dryness.
Divine sense, collapse!
With the shattering of heart spirit and the collapse of divine sense, An Wuya’s eyes instantly became hollow, showing a foolish smile.
The dignified Mid Stage Enlightenment expert, and also the Dark Clan Young Emperor who could defeat Elder Luxx with one strike, had fallen to idiocy under Ning Fan’s Dao Image attack!
Hiss!
Countless gasps were immediately heard from disciples of the Main Pavilion all around.
In the shock of countless expressions, an eight-colored elder walking on nine layers of dark clouds, gradually appeared... It was none other than the Quasi-Saint of the Dark Clan who had been repelled by Ancient Chaos previously—An Tiandou!
At this moment, An Tiandou stood protectively before An Wuya, his face extremely gloomy yet utterly helpless.
He knew about An Wuya seeking out Ning Fan to provoke him and didn’t stop it, as in his view, a contest between juniors shouldn’t involve Ancient Chaos, who wouldn’t dabble in it.
Moreover, he didn’t believe An Wuya would lose to Ning Fan, harboring some intentions of having An Wuya teach Ning Fan a lesson.
An Wuya was the Ninth Young Emperor of the Dark Clan, possessing numerous protective treasures; if Ning Fan engaged in a normal battle against him, even with full exertion, it might not hurt An Wuya in the slightest.
Yet, Ning Fan employed no divine skills, only using his own baleful qi and devilish aura to disrupt An Wuya’s heart spirit and destroy his spirit awareness with the power of Dao Image...
This method was cunning and opportunistic, and this disposition was even more ruthless...
Now, An Wuya’s spirit awareness was destroyed... Every injury in the world can be healed, but once spirit awareness is damaged, it’s extremely difficult to reconstruct...
An Tiandou’s complexion sank, thinking how An Wuya’s spirit awareness destroyed, regardless of how good his physique is, he’s now nothing more than a waste.
An Wuya’s destiny now can only be reduced to an excellent physical body for other masters in the clan to occupy...
"Young friend Ning, irrespective of anything, An Wuya is my Dark Clan’s Ninth Young Emperor, you destroyed his spirit awareness, wasn’t your action a bit ruthless! Won’t you give this old man an explanation!" An Tiandou coldly said.
Facing the Great Emperor of Ancient Chaos, he was indeed in awe. But he was, after all, a Quasi-Saint, a peak expert of the Four Heavens, undeterred by the presence of a younger individual like Ning Fan.
"He insulted my master, so what if I destroyed his spirit awareness! As for you questioning me now, are you trying to intimidate me with your Quasi-Saint cultivation!"
Facing a Quasi-Saint, Ning Fan remained fearless, slapping a storage pouch, he took out an Emperor Thought Jade Pendant in hand.
Seeing this jade pendant, An Tiandou’s face instantly changed... He remembered how Ning Fan had crushed this jade pendant that day, summoning the Emperor Thought Avatar of Ancient Chaos!
Unexpectedly, he still possessed this Emperor Thought Jade Pendant bestowed by Ancient Chaos!
Thinking of the infamous name of Ancient Chaos, An Tiandou’s expression eased, bursting into laughter, "Young friend speaks reasonably, An Wuya spoke disrespectfully, insulted the Taoist tradition of Ancient Chaos, deserved to be killed! Young friend spared him by destroying his spirit awareness..."
"Today, I’ve come to the Godly Void Pavilion specifically to deliver the Dark Star Fruit for the Great Emperor of Ancient Chaos, carrying no ill intent. Young friend, it’s better not to be impulsive and crush the jade pendant, as that would be unfavorable for both of us."
"Farewell!"
An Tiandou’s words were half a warning, half a threat. After speaking, he rolled up his sleeve and left directly with the destroyed spirit awareness An Wuya.
Watching the direction An Tiandou left, Ning Fan frowned, then relaxed, carefully putting away the Emperor Thought Jade Pendant.
Indeed, he wouldn’t crush the jade pendant, merely intending to intimidate the Quasi-Saint of the Dark Clan slightly.
The phantom of the Great Emperor of Ancient Chaos is weakened, unable to withstand the consumption of an Emperor Thought Avatar. Unless necessary, Ning Fan hoped this jade pendant would be used for intimidation throughout his life, never needing to be crushed.
The arrival jade slip of the Slaughter Emperor, likewise... the Slaughter Emperor may also be unable to endure the consumption of an Emperor Avatar arriving...
"The Dark Clan fears the Great Emperor of Ancient Chaos, not me... They may hesitate to take action against me for the sake of Ancient Chaos, but given their high self-regard, they may not necessarily act courteously towards me..."
"To establish myself in the cultivation world, I must rely on myself..."
"I am already at the peak of Ghost Immortal Stage, just one step short of Crossing Truth Realm, but this step is not easy to take."
"Crossing Truth Realm masters not only affirm their own Dao and condense their own Dao Image but also necessarily find their own Dao True..."
"Dao True is an insight into the word ’true’ and the process of incorporating ’true’ into one’s own Dao, removing the impurities..."
"What is true..."
Ning Fan gathered his thoughts, and the torrential rain instantly ceased in the heavens and earth.
The word ’true’ is even harder to perceive than ’void.’ Years ago, when he observed rain in the Rain Immortal World to comprehend the void, he coincidentally met Wu Chen, who was then attempting to comprehend the true.
In his mind, he couldn’t help but recall the first encounter with Wu Chen, with Wu Chen’s words still echoing in his ears.
The first encounter was in the rain.
’The grand Dao of the world is in utmost simplicity and true, every flower and rain carries profound truth. Brother Ning, you must be comprehending the void through rain, but what I observe is not the void...’
On their second reunion, it was amidst the snowstorm in the Sword World; Wu Chen was still in pursuit of the true, at that time he had some gains.
’Haha, the Dao is in wine, the true is in the mortal world, the marketplace often hides great Dao. Living here is comfortable, allowing me to temporarily forget the endless slaughter. Cheers!’
On the third reunion, atop Eastern Heaven, Wu Chen had finished ’transforming’ and attained true practice, striving to breach the bottleneck of Crossing Truth...
In the heavens and earth, all the attention of Ancestral Pavilion disciples was disregarded by Ning Fan.
He suddenly looked up at the clear sky washed by the sudden rain, lost in thought.
"If I want to break through to Crossing Truth, do I also need to seek the true like Brother Wu..."
"Seeking true through transformation requires finding a pure land in the mortal world, and also sufficient time’s erosion... It seems, in a short time, I cannot break through to Crossing Truth Realm."
Ning Fan returned to the sleeping palace with the little demoness, regardless of the outside world’s opinions about him.
Days later, Xiang Mingzi sent an emissary, inviting Ning Fan to the Shenkong Star for a discussion, following the instructions of Ancient Chaos to hand over the Dark Star Fruit and one-third of Shenkong Emperor’s Primordial Spirit Essence Blood.
At Xiang Mingzi’s invitation, Ning Fan dared not neglect and promptly proceeded to Shenkong Star.
In the Godly Void Pavilion, only Xiang Mingzi was slightly respected by Ning Fan.
Three days later, he returned.
Ning Fan brought back ten Dark Star Fruits, one-third of Shenkong Emperor’s Primordial Spirit Essence Blood, and also a token from Xiang Mingzi.
With this token, he could freely enter and exit the Main Pavilion of the Commercial Pavilion, as well as freely take the cultivation materials needed in the pavilion.
This was Xiang Mingzi’s personal promise to Ancient Chaos’ request.
Dark Star Fruit, only the Dark Clan’s Dark Star Tree can produce such fruit, taking three million years to bear one.
Consuming one can raise forty thousand years of Taoist strength, greatly increasing a master’s mana, saving forty thousand years of cultivation for a master!
With Ning Fan’s identity as a Three Apertures Ancient God, consuming one can raise three hundred twenty thousand years of Taoist strength!
After consuming ten, it can increase three million two hundred thousand years of Taoist strength!
Three million two hundred thousand years of Taoist strength, what concept is that? If a mortal can absorb one hundred percent of the power of ten Dark Star Fruits, he could instantly leap to the Late Stage of Shedding Void Stage, even reaching the peak!
Of course, mortals couldn’t possibly endure the medicinal power of ten Dark Star Fruits.
Nor do mortals have Ning Fan’s eightfold refinement effect as an Ancient God.
Even for Shedding Void Realm old monsters, refining one Dark Star Fruit requires thousands or tens of thousands of years to devour.
The speed at which Ning Fan refines heavenly materials and earthly treasures is relatively fast among peers, but ultimately, with an inferior level of cultivation, thoroughly digesting one Dark Star Fruit would take at least a thousand years.
Naturally, as his cultivation improves, the speed of refining Dark Star Fruits will naturally accelerate.
Nowadays, wanting to refine the Dark Star Fruit, the speed of refining is as slow as a turtle’s crawl.
Within the little demoness’s bedroom, suppressed and unbearable low moans occasionally mix with Ning Fan’s heavy breathing.
The female disciples serving outside are used to it, yet still, their faces flush red listening to these sounds night after night.
When the moon reaches its zenith, the woman’s seductive moans gradually turn into sweet murmurs of dreams.
As the moonlight enters the room, Ning Fan gets up, drapes his clothes on, and covers the little demoness with a thin blanket, then with a sway of his body, disappears into the Xuan Yin Treasure.
Currently, the Xuan Yin Treasure is divided into two regions, east and west. The eastern region is where the women reside, while the western region is where Ning Fan cultivates.
He entered the Xuan Yin Treasure to swallow the first Dark Star Fruit, temporarily not seeking to refine it.
After the fusion of the dual locks, whether entering Xuan Yin Treasure or not does not affect Ning Fan’s speed in refining heavenly treasures.
But swallowing the Dark Star Fruit in the Xuan Yin Treasure can isolate fluctuations and avoid drawing the attention of certain old monsters.
Leaving nine Dark Star Fruits in the western region’s treasure cavern, Ning Fan only took one fruit, walked out of the cavern, and sat cross-legged among the bright mountains and clear waters outside to meditate.
This was a peculiar fruit the size of a walnut, black as ink, with the skin hiding almost vast fluctuations beneath it.
Waiting until his mana was filled to the peak, Ning Fan then took out the Dark Star Fruit, placed it on his knee, and with both hands, directed mana to continuously cast Immortal Secret Arts upon the fruit.
Swallowing the Dark Star Fruit requires a specific Immortal Secret Art to accompany it, otherwise consuming the fruit would be more harmful than beneficial.
With a flick of his hands like lightning, after an hour, Ning Fan had cast millions of Immortal Secret Arts into the Dark Star Fruit.
Only then did he show a serious expression, and after pondering for a long time, finally opened his mouth and swallowed the Dark Star Fruit in one gulp.
The Immortal Secret Arts sealed the medicinal power of the Dark Star Fruit, and after it entered his body, it did not dissolve but transformed into a black glow, traveling to the Dantian, where it was grasped by the Spirit within his Dantian.
At this moment, Ning Fan’s Spirit had a jade locket hanging around its neck, which was the Yin Yang Locket.
Surrounding his body was a sword light, which was the Memory Severing Dao Sword.
Contained within his body was a hallucinatory and enchanting expensive pill, which was the Illusory Life Pill.
Holding a walnut-sized fruit, absorbing the vast energy within the fruit little by little, it was indeed the Dark Star Fruit!
The absorption speed was as slow as a turtle’s crawl, yet every moment, the power of the Dark Star Fruit was merging into Ning Fan’s body.
His mana would gradually increase day by day as the Dark Star Fruit was slowly refined.
What surprised Ning Fan a little was that the Dark Blood within his body surprisingly increased slowly with the refining of the Dark Star Fruit...
The increase in speed was naturally slow, yet it made Ning Fan’s breath catch, and he immediately showed a grave expression.
This Dark Blood was acquired after sharing the room with the little demoness.
This Dark Blood allowed Ning Fan to display a trace of Palm Position Power.
As the Dark Blood increased, the Palm Position Power that Ning Fan could wield would also continually increase.
"Perhaps I can cultivate ’Dark Yin Yang’ with this Dark Blood, as one of my future Twenty-Seven Palm Position Path," Ning Fan pondered.
After a long time, Ning Fan seemed to have made a decision, and with a sway of his body, he flew up to the sky of the western region.
In the sky, a simple yet solemn ten-story stone tower hovered, it was the Immortal Storing Pagoda gifted to Ning Fan by the Ancient Chaos, containing countless ancient cultivation techniques.
Like a straightforward path, Ning Fan headed straight to the ninth floor, ignoring the one to eight-star techniques on the previous floors, only the nine-star techniques could catch his eye.
On the ninth floor, there were only thirty-four jade scrolls of nine-star techniques, and among these he found a dark-type technique.
Black Obsidian Scripture! A nine-star divine skill eligible for cultivation only by elite cultivators of the Dark Clan!
Ning Fan thought to himself that indeed, he knew the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor had possession of Dark Clan techniques.
That day, the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor had uttered the revered names of the ancestors of the Dark Clan and even performed a lost ultimate skill of the Dark Clan.
That there are supreme Dark Clan cultivation techniques in this Immortal Storing Pagoda seems unsurprising.
"With this technique, if I have the time, I can cultivate the Dark Fledgling Star, and bit by bit, with the power of the Dark Blood and Dark Star Fruit, cultivate Dark Yin Yang!"
"The Rain Yin Yang was helped to success by the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor; the Dark Yin Yang must rely on my own power to be completed step by step!"
Setting aside the Black Obsidian Scripture temporarily, Ning Fan went on to explore other nine-star techniques.
Among these techniques, he found a nine-star corpse path devil technique - the Transforming Tomb Scripture. This technique was stronger than the eight-star corpse path technique Celestial Corpse Transmutation.
Ning Fan had already cultivated the corpse devil physique, and among the future twenty-seven Yin Yangs he would cultivate, there could be a place for ’Corpse Yin Yang’!
Additionally, Ning Fan found a nine-star fire-type demon technique here - the Azure Phoenix Scripture.
For the path of fire, Ning Fan had cultivated it for many years and had gained considerable insights.
If time allows, he would also cultivate the Azure Phoenix Scripture to one day cultivate the first Yin Yang of the Nine-Demon Yin-Yang... Azure Phoenix Yin Yang, to control the fire of the heavens and earth!
Unfortunately, cultivating twenty-seven Yin-Yang is not something achieved overnight, and Ning Fan now can only make plans; to truly devote himself to cultivation, he still needs to raise his cultivation level further.
"Within the Eastern Ocean Bell, there are countless pure Void Dao Principles stored... These Void Dao Principles will be a strong guarantee for my future cultivation of ’Boundary Yin-Yang’!"
The void is the control over space, and those who cultivate the Void Force to the utmost are the Immortal Emperors who control realms with a wave of their hand.
"When the Immemorial Fu Li’s Demon Bloodline awakened in me, my memories included the demon technique of the Fu Li race... Shadow Swallowing! Although this technique does not mention how to remove the Sinful Mark, it can aid me in cultivating ’Fu Li Yin Yang’... The only troublesome thing is not knowing where to find enough Fu Li demonic power to cultivate this Yin Yang step by step..."
"The techniques I possess are enough for me to cultivate the twenty-seven Yin Yangs, but without the corresponding Power of Dao Laws, I cannot use the Fierce Origin Technique to condense the Fierce Origin Crystal or cultivate each Yin Yang..."
Ning Fan stood in the Immortal Storing Pagoda in silence for a long time, and finally decided to leave this pagoda.
Just before leaving, Ning Fan suddenly paused, turned around, and looked towards the sealed stone door leading to the tenth floor. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
As long as the seal was opened, he could enter through the stone door, ascend the stone steps, and reach the tenth floor.
The tenth floor, according to Ancient Chaos, is where the ’key’ is sealed.
What the key was, Ning Fan did not know,
At this moment, looking at the sealed gigantic door of the tenth floor, his expression was extremely serious.
Standing this close to the sealing giant door, he actually sensed a breath within that left him disoriented.
It was familiar, yet strange...
So familiar it made his blood almost boil, but strange... He couldn’t recall whose breath it was...
"You do not remember..."
A faint female voice came from within the sealed gigantic door.
This voice, Ning Fan was sure he had never heard before, it was absolutely the first time. But the moment he heard it, he felt a tearing pain somewhere in his heart.
Life is a grand meeting. If you understand it, please cherish it.
You understand all this, but you... do not remember...
"Who are you? Why are you sealed on the tenth floor!"
Ning Fan’s expression changed, and he immediately walked towards the sealed stone door, but before he got close, the imposing aura of the sealed stone door forced him back, unable to approach.
This sealed stone door required at least the power of a Saint to open.
"I am your key, yet you have forgotten me... My Lord does not recognize his concubine..."
The woman’s voice gradually faded, never to be heard again.
Ning Fan stared at the stone door for a long time, finally suppressing the urge to ask Ancient Chaos.
His initial impulse was gone, and when he looked at the stone door again, there was a trace of confusion in his eyes.
"I must have met her somewhere... But who is she..."
Ning Fan’s current feeling was like a mortal in a dream, clearly feeling that everything in the dream was familiar, clearly feeling that something should be remembered, yet he couldn’t recall.
When awakening, there would be an epiphany, but recalling it, he would forget what was encountered in the dream...
Life is like a dream, reincarnation is an intertwining of endless fragmented dreams.
There is nothing that cannot be passed, only something that can never be returned.
When the dream breaks, you are no longer you, and I am no longer me.
"I am leaving... This stone door, one day, I will open it with my own hands."
Ning Fan turned and left the Immortal Storing Pagoda, not hearing a relieved female voice from within the stone door.
"The little butterfly... has grown up..." (to be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
