Grasping the Evil-Chapter 920: Candle Bow’s Failed Defection
Ning Fan had been cultivating for many years, and he was no longer the weak Master he once was. He had certainly heard of the Shienie Wilderness’s Three Energies.
These so-called Shienie Wilderness’s Three Energies were three types of primordial energies between heaven and earth. They could be refined to improve one’s cultivation and could also be used to enhance Divine Skills to a terrifying realm. Among them, Origin Qi was the lowest in quality, while the reckless devil giant was the highest.
However, even the lowest-quality Origin Qi was scarce in the world today. If an ancient ruin occasionally unearthed a trace of Origin Yuan Qi, even an Immortal Emperor-level monster would fight tooth and nail to obtain it.
"I didn’t expect there would be an Immortal Emperor using Origin Qi against me. Judging by the Divine Skill’s aura, the Immortal Emperor summoning this giant ghost must belong to the demon race without a doubt."
Ning Fan’s expression was extremely solemn. He had realized the giant ghost was transformed from Origin Qi, and he no longer believed he had the strength to confront the giant ghost head-on.
According to Ning Fan’s nature, upon knowing he was not a match for the giant ghost, he would immediately perform Divine Skills to escape. Yet who could have expected that the Candle Bow Spirit, already sealed by Ning Fan, would choose this moment to put on a show of betrayal.
As soon as the Candle Bow Spirit leaped from Ning Fan’s palm, it immediately transformed into a radiant seven-colored arc, recklessly charging toward the sound waves released by the giant ghost, its emotions stirring wildly. The sound waves were as black as ink, vast as an ocean, boundless and infinite, unleashed by the giant ghost relying on the power of the Origin Yuan Qi in one tremendous roar.
The giant ghost’s cultivation had only reached the Shedding Void Stage, yet his roar’s terror was such that even an Immortal Emperor would cautiously avoid confronting it.
However, the Candle Bow Spirit seemed utterly unfazed by the sound waves. As it flew to the forefront of the waves, it suddenly shook its form, turning into the sly appearance of a hunched old man, laughing heartily, as it raised its hand to press against the vast ocean-like sound waves!
With this single press, an immense burst of golden light emerged at the center of the sound waves, transforming into countless ancient demon characters, abruptly condensing into an exceedingly ancient crimson-gold mark. Shaped like a dragon, with its demonic energy reaching the heavens, upon the appearance of this mark, the ocean of sound waves vanished with a bang!
A Divine Skill formed from primordial energy, which even an Immortal Emperor dared not withstand directly, was unexpectedly disrupted with a single palm of the Candle Bow!
"Hehe, my former master was Ancestor Dragon Zhuli. For the many years we fought together, he granted me three Origin Qi. These three Origin Qi had been refined for ten thousand years by my previous master, secretly embedding countless marks. As long as these marks aren’t erased, these Origin Qi cannot harm me! That little Fan ran away at the sight of these sound waves, such a coward, yet I fear them not in the least," the Candle Bow proudly licked its lips, chuckling as it flew toward the giant ghost.
The giant ghost, transformed from Origin Qi, was indifferent in every move. Upon seeing the Candle Bow approach, it immediately opened its massive mouth to swallow the Candle Bow whole. This swallowing force directly created fractures in the Dao traces for ten thousand miles around.
"Mere wretch dares to use my Origin Qi, seeking death!"
The Candle Bow saw the giant ghost attempting to swallow it, its gaze filled with disdain, and with continuous changes of its hands, instantly formed countless demonic techniques. Immediately, on the giant ghost’s body, numerous crimson-gold dragon-shaped marks emerged one after another, covering its entire body beyond counting.
With each mark emerging, the Candle Bow shouted coldly, changing its spirit sense, and suddenly, the once arrogant giant ghost let out a miserable shriek, its body exploding directly, dispersing into countless fragments of drifting mist.
The Candle Bow raised its hand again, grasping at the drifting mist. The mist immediately coalesced, transforming into a nearly transparent cloud of mist, slowly falling into the Candle Bow’s hand.
"Haha, little Fan, did you see this? This is one of the three Origin Qi that my previous master granted me! As long as I swallow this Origin Qi..."
The Candle Bow, in high spirits, raised its hand, preparing to swallow this Origin Qi.
With his heart full of joy, once he successfully swallowed this Origin Qi, he could rely on its power to greatly enhance his strength, easily breaking Ning Fan’s seal planted in his body.
However, would Ning Fan allow the Candle Bow the opportunity to consume the Origin Qi...
"Seal!"
With a simple raise of his hand, Ning Fan pointed at the Candle Bow, whose entire body immediately lost all movement, still holding the pose of swallowing the Origin Qi, still wearing a cunning smile, yet this Origin Qi could no longer reach its mouth.
In the past, Ning Fan could only seal the Candle Bow by burning his ancestral blood to perform this technique. But now, with the Candle Bow’s strength sealed by Ning Fan’s prohibition, it was easily immobilized by him.
"Heaven Sealing Technique! Not this move again! Damn, this star of misfortune has sealed me! He wants to seize my Origin Qi!"
The Candle Bow felt ill at ease at heart, and at this moment, Ning Fan mysteriously appeared before him, retrieving the Origin Qi from his grasp.
The Candle Bow’s escape plan ended before it even started...
"This Origin Qi is mine now." Ning Fan glanced at the immobile Candle Bow and said indifferently.
Originally, he couldn’t overcome the giant ghost, but what he didn’t expect was that the Candle Bow had a way to restrain the giant ghost and seize the Origin Qi composing the giant ghost’s body.
Looking at the ethereal Origin Qi in his hand, Ning Fan smiled slightly. It seemed as if he had gotten this treasure for nothing. This tiny bit of Origin Qi was enough to make an Immortal Emperor envious!
On the other side, the Candle Bow, seeing Ning Fan take away its Origin Qi, immediately began to curse aloud.
"You little Fan, you ambush your uncle, you’re truly shameless! If you dare, undo the Heaven Sealing Technique and have a fair one-on-one duel with me! As long as you return the Origin Qi to me, with just three moves I can beat you down like a dog!" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"You little Fan, I warn you! Release the Heaven Sealing Technique now, and return the Origin Qi to me, and I may forgive and forget! Otherwise, you’ll incur my wrath!"
"Master! I’ll even call you master, how’s that? Master, have pity on me. This is the Origin Qi granted to me by my previous master, it’s mine! You’re a respectable person, a person of high status, you can’t steal from your servant, how disgraceful would that be! Return it to me..."
"Master, you’re like my own father, how about that! As long as you return the Origin Qi to me..."
Ning Fan’s gaze turned cold, unwilling to waste words with the Candle Bow. He would not give the Origin Qi back to the Candle Bow. Raising a finger towards the Candle Bow, he activated the seal within its body, and the Candle Bow began to howl as if being slaughtered.
"You seemed like you wanted to escape..." Ning Fan looked at the Candle Bow, his murderous intent flashing for a moment. The Candle Bow, previously screaming in agony, suddenly saw the killing intent in Ning Fan’s eyes, feeling a chill run down its spine.
"Not good! This star of misfortune wants to kill me!"
At this moment, the Candle Bow no longer cared about the ownership of the Origin Qi. It understood that its act of rebellion had incurred Ning Fan’s wrath.
If the Candle Bow successfully swallows the Origin Qi and defects, naturally it need not fear Ning Fan. The problem is, it seems he failed to defect, and his life is in the hands of Ning Fan...
"Back then, when I captured you without killing and destroying you, it was because you still had use. Your existence is closely related to the key in the hands of the True Dragon Clan, so I spared your life. But now, I don’t plan on sparing you anymore!"
The killing intent in Ning Fan’s eyes suddenly surged, as if he truly decided to destroy the Candle Bow at this moment.
The Candle Bow immediately shivered all over, if not for his body still bound by the Heaven Sealing Art, he would have wanted to prostrate himself and beg for mercy from Ning Fan, "Master... Master! You cannot kill me! I am your little bow, your loyal servant! I... I truly wasn’t trying to escape just now, I saw that giant ghost bullying the master, felt indignant and wanted to help the master by subduing the giant ghost! Yes, that’s it!"
"Master, the body of that giant ghost is composed of Origin Qi, that is good stuff! That Origin Qi was originally bestowed upon the little bow by the former master, but the little bow thinks only a master of such excellence as you deserves to possess that Origin Qi! Master, that Origin Qi is given to you, the little bow doesn’t want it! Please be kind and spare the little bow this time!"
Ning Fan still said nothing, coldly looking at the Candle Bow, with no reduction in the killing intent in his eyes. In reality, he just wanted to scare the Candle Bow and didn’t truly intend to destroy the Candle Bow. If the Candle Bow were dead, these six-colored and seven-colored incense fire arrows would be unusable, and these incense fire arrows were Ning Fan’s greatest reliance in the battle against the Seventh Generation Barbarian Ancestor, so naturally he wouldn’t kill the Candle Bow at this time.
But the Candle Bow did attempt to defect after all, and it wouldn’t do without a lesson. So Ning Fan deliberately released killing intent, as if he were going to kill the Candle Bow, which at its root was just to scare the Candle Bow and teach him a lesson.
"It’s over! This star of misfortune is completely unyielding, he truly wants to kill me! Last time, he obtained that Sub-Innate Bow Spirit and wanted to kill me, if not for my cleverness, I would have died last time. This time I’m afraid it’s truly unavoidable..."
Life’s great joys and sorrows come too swiftly, now the Candle Bow regrets extremely. How could he be so foolish as to think he could escape Ning Fan’s grasp by relying on a single Origin Qi? Ning Fan has so many methods, has he not seen them? Didn’t Ning Fan burn ancestral blood to capture him even when he didn’t have a seal...
"Yes, ancestral blood! That star of misfortune seems to have several drops of ancestral blood inside him, even if I really swallowed this Origin Qi and broke the seal, I wouldn’t be able to refine it completely for a short time. If he goes crazy and burns the ancestral blood, I’d still be captured by him again..."
"Can’t escape, it turns out from the beginning I couldn’t escape the demon’s grip of this star of misfortune..."
"This star of misfortune is a monster who can build a bridge over the Zhenhuan River, the first of all ages, who can compare to him? If he wants to imprison me, I’m afraid I’ll be unable to escape even if I run for a billion years..."
"If I don’t flee, I won’t be killed. If not killed, it means I’ll have to follow this star of misfortune for a lifetime. But what’s wrong with following the star of misfortune? With the star of misfortune’s talent, his achievements in the future certainly won’t be lower than the Ancestor Dragon Zhuli, following him would surely bring great benefits eventually. Alas, regret is now too late, this star of misfortune truly wants to kill me..."
The more the Candle Bow thinks, the more he regrets, the more disheartened he becomes. If granted the opportunity to start over by the heavens, he certainly wouldn’t choose to defect.
Seeing the Candle Bow’s expression of despair and regret, Ning Fan’s killing intent slightly diminished, satisfied nodding. He had never planned to thoroughly subdue the Bow Spirit, this Bow Spirit has a rebellious streak difficult to tame, and Ning Fan had seen this clearly early on. If not for the Candle Bow still having great use, Ning Fan would never keep such a Bow Spirit by his side, nor tolerate the Candle Bow’s fleeing.
"Your defection this time, I originally wouldn’t spare you, but you previously contributed by shooting the Barbarian Ancestor, thus counterbalancing your merits and demerits. I spare you death this time. But, there won’t be a next time!" Ning Fan said gravely.
Upon hearing he wasn’t to die, the Candle Bow was naturally overjoyed, "Thank you Master for sparing my life! The little bow promises not to flee anymore, to seriously reform and be a bow again, please rest assured! From now on, the Master’s enemy is the little bow’s enemy. Where the Master’s sword points, is the person shot by the little bow. The air the Master releases, is the little bow’s air. The Master’s saliva is..."
"Enough! I don’t like talkative people!" Ning Fan frowned.
"Yes! The little bow will shut up right away!" The Candle Bow shuddered inside, not daring to flatter more, thinking his flatter skills weren’t quite ripe yet, needing more practice. The current master Ning Fan was indeed more demanding than the former master.
Seeing the Candle Bow listening, Ning Fan flicked a finger, releasing the Candle Bow from the Heaven Sealing Technique, and instantly the Candle Bow transformed back into the Dragon-Horned Changgong shape, flying back into Ning Fan’s hand.
"Congratulations to the Master for acquiring an Origin Qi. By the way, the Master might not know this, the Origin Qi has the marks left by the little bow’s former master inside, totaling thirty million marks, if not refined..." the Candle Bow grinned, trying to flatter Ning Fan.
"I know, the matter of the Origin Qi will be discussed later, with my cultivation, unless all marks are refined, this Origin Qi can’t be used for the time being."
Ning Fan waved his hand, storing the Origin Qi in the Xuan Yin Treasure, sealing it in the Xuan Yin Treasure cave mansion. At such close distance, he could feel the violent energy within this cluster of Origin Qi, which was not something he could handle at present.
With the giant ghost dead, the probing of the second Immortal Emperor naturally fell through, and the surrounding ocean of clouds gradually returned to normal. Ning Fan didn’t linger there, rushing along the ancient blue stone path towards the next palace.
Ahead lay the Fifth Layer’s 21st Palace, with Ning Fan’s inherent strength, entering this palace would have been difficult. But he had summoned numerous incense fire arrows, causing the palace’s pressure to be almost 90% offset by these arrows. The remaining 10% pressure no longer hindered Ning Fan’s steps, within less than half a breath, Ning Fan rushed out of the 21st Palace, continuing to ascend rapidly.
At the same time, outside the Barbarian Wilderness Ancient Domain, within the Crimson Penetration Passage, Chief of the True Dragon Clan Ao Qiangu glared angrily at the Hua Yao who failed the technique.
Hua Yao hung her head low, her heart full of tension, not daring to look at the angry Chief of the True Dragon Clan. Internally she lamented the difficulty, her fully exerted Divine Skills not only failed to project the true appearance of Ning Fan, but also lost the Origin Qi entrusted to her by the Chief of the True Dragon Clan, leaving her in a predicament on how to conclude...
The present demon race Great Emperors watched Hua Yao, with some shocked, some surprised, some gloating, and some pondering deeply; none had expected the Origin Qi to be stolen.
In the eyes of the Great Emperors present, the mysterious person under probe was at most an Eternal Immortal Venerable, a mere Eternal Immortal Venerable supposedly had no ability to snatch treasure from an Immortal Emperor. Furthermore, this treasure was Origin Qi, which by logic the cultivation level of an Eternal Immortal Venerable could not manage, let alone grasp...
How did the mysterious person manage to steal the Origin Qi...
Who is this person? Could his cultivation be beyond the Eternal Immortal Venerable Realm, higher? Otherwise, why would the Origin Qi be taken?
Even the Chief of the True Dragon Clan himself did not understand why the Origin Qi was taken. This Origin Qi was extracted from within the Candle Bow yet kept preserved without use, thus unbeknownst to him, the Origin Qi hidden the marks planted by Ancestor Dragon Zhuli, easily retrievable by the Candle Bow.
"Hua Yao, continue performing your Divine Skills, projecting the Ninefold Celestial Towers. As for the mysterious person, you need not investigate! Leave it to Ao Xuan and Dulongzi to handle!"
The Chief of the True Dragon Clan’s expression darkened, taking out a red-gold jade scroll, suddenly crushing it.
Simultaneously, within the Ninefold Celestial Towers, Ao Xuan and Dulongzi suddenly felt something, both astonished.
At this moment, they received an order from the Chief of the True Dragon Clan. They were entrusted with the task to send one of them to the lower celestial realms to investigate everything, and if possible, retrieve the Origin Qi...
Origin Qi is crucial for an Immortal Emperor to step into the third stage, if possible the Chief of the True Dragon Clan doesn’t want to lose this Origin Qi!
"I’ll go." Ancestor Dulong’s gaze darkened, opting not to continue forward, but suddenly turning back, heading towards the lower realms on his route.
At his current position, he was not closer than Ao Xuan, thus they’d cooperate as a team, with Ao Xuan continuing to advance to the top layer and him fulfilling the Clan Leader’s task, heading downwards. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations or monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
