Grasping the Evil-Chapter 923: Ancient Corpse
Liuhe Immortal Sovereign, always calm and composed, rarely showed surprise, but at this moment, he revealed astonishment due to Ning Fan’s killing of Ancestor Dulong.
He never expected Ning Fan to have the strength to slay Ancestor Dulong and questioned his own ability to achieve such a feat...
Scenes of offending Ning Fan flashed quickly through his mind, making Liuhe Immortal Sovereign’s expression somewhat gloomy. On that day, he had made things difficult for Ning Fan, tested him, and competed with him for the Seven Treasures Marvelous Tree. Thankfully, they hadn’t fallen out completely, so their relationship seemed to still have a chance for repair.
Liuhe Immortal Sovereign was naturally proud and confident with the backing of the Four Oceans Sect. He wasn’t afraid to offend Ning Fan, but he also didn’t want to overly antagonize him, simply because the opponent had a strength he must take seriously. In the cultivation world, everything still ultimately depended on strength.
"I didn’t expect this Zhao Jian to be so powerful; he might be useful for my sect. Currently, within the Ninefold Celestial Towers, it’s only Wonderful Speech and I, the Human Clan Immortal Honorifics. If we can rope Zhao Jian in, it could help our sect seize the Ancient Passage..." Liuhe Immortal Sovereign’s eyes shifted, seemingly in contemplation.
At the same time, Miaoyan Immortal Honorific moved with a lotus step, shrouded in a faint purple starlight, as she slowly walked out from the 84th Palace on the seventh layer.
The entire seventh layer of Tianque was filled with a chilling aura. As the Yin energy surged, Miaoyan Immortal Honorific couldn’t help but cough slightly, her face growing paler. In this Barbaric Wilderness Calamity, she had accumulated too many injuries, and her body still felt weak.
She ought to be in seclusion to heal her wounds, yet she pressed against her injuries to arrive at the Ninefold Celestial Towers. It was all because she was an Immortal Honorific of the Four Oceans Sect, carrying responsibilities that required her to contribute to seizing the Ancient Passage for the sect.
Her expression was originally calm as she moved forward slowly, but suddenly her beautiful eyes widened, lifting her head to gaze at the tornado-like, skyward surge of blood-red Evil Qi.
"This Evil Qi, it’s Ancestor Dulong’s aura... Who could be so formidable to actually kill Ancestor Dulong within the Ninefold Celestial Towers!"
The fall of the Eternal Immortal Venerable was no small matter, and Miaoyan couldn’t help but be shocked.
But soon, she sensed a hint of Ning Fan’s aura within the Evil Qi and, after a slight pause, it was clear to her who the killer was.
"So it’s Daoist Zhao... Didn’t he say he wouldn’t come to the Ninefold Celestial Towers? Yet he still came; what a contradictory man." Miaoyan Immortal Honorific pursed her lips in a slight smile, then pondered something, her elegant brows slightly furrowing.
"I wonder if Daoist Zhao was hurt in the battle with Ancestor Dulong. Slaying an Eternal Immortal Venerable surely can’t have left him unscathed..." she seemed somewhat worried as she glanced towards the lower layers of the Celestial Towers.
Miaoyan wasn’t surprised by the strength Ning Fan displayed in slaying Ancestor Dulong. After all, she had already seen Ning Fan kill the three ancestors and five ancestors, knowing his divine skills.
Ning Fan might not be an Eternal Immortal Venerable, but his strength couldn’t be underestimated by anyone... Miaoyan deeply agreed with this.
The overwhelming Evil Qi roared and spread, rushing towards the skies of the seventh layer, then suddenly into the eighth layer.
In the eighth layer of Tianque, the Yin energy was heavier, chilling to the bone. The entire layer had only one ancient blue stone path, on which a few meters thick of Xuan Ice had congealed.
Four Barbarian Ancestors and Ao Xuan walked on this single path, with no intention of fighting, each carefully concealing their aura.
Above the sky, there was no sound of wind, but tens of thousands of ice coffins floated quietly. The surroundings were utterly silent, with no sound, and no one dared to make any noise.
Until the moment the Evil Qi rushed into the eighth layer, the originally silent world suddenly changed. The ice coffins started to tremble, the lids shaking as if they were about to open.
In an instant, as the four Barbarian Ancestors and Ao Xuan were silently advancing to the palace, they all suddenly lifted their heads. Apart from Seventh Ancestor who remained expressionless, everyone else’s expressions drastically changed.
Seventh Ancestor was positioned furthest ahead, having reached the 97th Palace on the eighth layer, likely soon to enter the ninth layer. His expression was wooden, his demeanor zombie-like; he glanced at the overwhelming Evil Qi before withdrawing his gaze, as if he hadn’t seen it, immersed in his world, continuing forward.
First Generation, Second Ancestor, and Fourth Ancestor followed closely behind, with Ao Xuan trailing last. Unlike Seventh Ancestor’s calm, the four couldn’t remain calm, unable to ignore the skyward Evil Qi.
Evil Qi! Damn, why is there so much Evil Qi! The eighth layer is supposed to be devoid of any aura!
"Not good! Why is there such intense Evil Qi rushing into the eighth layer!" Fourth Ancestor roared internally, yet dared not utter a sound, scrutinizing the floating ice coffins.
"Those things will be awakened by the Evil Qi, terrible!" Second Ancestor’s heart was extremely tense; he himself cultivated Yin Death Divine Skills, proficient in dealing with dead spirits and fierce Qi, yet his skills were futile against the fierceness within.
"Such strong Evil Qi, did some Eternal Immortal Venerable fall! I don’t know who... We must remove this Evil Qi, it cannot awaken those ominous creatures!" Ao Xuan dared not make a sound, nor release his spirit sense to probe the Evil Qi, thus unaware that the deceased was Ancestor Dulong and the killer was Ning Fan.
No one dared to freely spread their spirit sense in the eighth layer, fearing they’d attract the attention of those ominous creatures in the ice coffins.
Just as the ice coffins seemed about to open, First Generation Barbarian Ancestor decisively acted. His gaze was extremely tense, pointing his blood-colored bone sword skyward, and countless blood lights flashed in the sky, disappearing without a trace. The next moment, the Evil Qi between heaven and earth gradually vanished in the blood light, mysterious and hidden.
With the disappearance of the Evil Qi, the rattling ice coffins also quieted down, showing no signs of opening.
Seeing this, First Generation Barbarian Ancestor sighed in relief, and the others also relaxed their tense expressions at the same time.
"So close, we almost woke those ominous creatures..." First Generation glanced at the tens of thousands of ice coffins, feeling his scalp go numb.
His left sleeve seemed to have been torn off by something, exposing half an arm. On the arm, a chunk of flesh seemed to have been gouged out by something, the wound oozing putrid black blood, his cultivation unable to heal this wound...
This wound was left by the ominous creatures within the ice coffins. Heaven knows, the stone-like body of First Generation Barbarian Ancestor was incredibly powerful, yet it couldn’t withstand their casual attacks...
Those ominous creatures, any one of them pulled out casually, would be terrifying.
Gently touching the wound on his arm and looking at the rows of ice coffins in the sky, the First-Generation Barbarian Ancestor felt even more fearful and cautious.
Due to the killing intent that rushed to the eighth layer being instantly taken away by the First-Generation and because no one dared to spread their spirit sense on the eighth layer to probe that killing intent, no one, including Ao Xuan, knew that these killing intents appeared because the Poison Dragon Ancestor had died, and no one knew that the murderer was Ning Fan. Everyone only vaguely sensed that an Eternal Immortal Venerable had fallen, but as to who it was, they remained in the dark.
The killing intent was transmitted from the lower layers, so it seemed that the deceased was either Union, Wonderful Speech, or Poison Dragon Ancestor, who went to the lower layers.
The Barbarian Ancestors didn’t care who the deceased was, but Ao Xuan was quite worried.
The Immortal Venerable who fell, could it possibly be Poison Dragon Ancestor?
Poison Dragon Ancestor had two Twelve Nirvana Magical Treasures for protection, as well as a Jade Talisman bestowed by the Chief, allowing him a certain degree of self-preservation even if simultaneously besieged by multiple Immortal Venerables. The deceased should not be Poison Dragon Ancestor.
Perhaps the mysterious cultivator who snatched the Origin Qi from the Chief was an Eternal Immortal Venerable and was slain by Poison Dragon Ancestor, hence leaving behind this overwhelming killing intent.
Or maybe one of Union or Wonderful Speech was casually killed by Poison Dragon Ancestor, leaving this overwhelming killing intent behind.
Ao Xuan had considerable confidence in Poison Dragon Ancestor’s survival skills. His gaze steadied, and relying on the Innate Treasure Brahmic Demon Mace for protection, he cautiously advanced.
Outside, the Chief of the True Dragon Clan looked gloomy, holding a small azure tower. Inside the tower, a space was formed to enshrine the life tablets of cultivators above Immortal Venerable status of the True Dragon Race.
The Chief of the True Dragon Clan’s eyes were widened in anger. He had just ordered Poison Dragon and Ao Xuan to send someone to retrieve the Origin Qi when Poison Dragon Ancestor’s life tablet shattered.
What does this mean? It means it was Poison Dragon Ancestor who went to retrieve the Origin Qi, yet Poison Dragon Ancestor failed.
"Useless, truly useless! Not only did he fail to retrieve the Origin Qi, but he also lost his life! Is that mysterious cultivator really so formidable that Poison Dragon couldn’t even escape? What a useless being!" The Chief of the True Dragon Clan laughed in extreme anger.
If it were under normal circumstances, Poison Dragon Ancestor’s death would merely be a death, but now was a special period of struggle over the ancient passage, Poison Dragon Ancestor’s death was extremely disadvantageous to the demon tribe.
Among the demon tribe’s Immortal Venerables entering the Ninefold Celestial Towers, there were only two people. With Poison Dragon Ancestor dead, only Ao Xuan remained. The Barbarian Clan had four Barbarian Ancestors, the Human tribe had two Immortal Venerables, plus the mysterious cultivator who snatched his Origin Qi stirring things up, under such circumstances, only Ao Xuan remained for the demon tribe...
This time, the demon tribe’s attempt to seize the ancient passage just became much harder!
For the Chief of the True Dragon Clan, although the Origin Qi was important, the matter of seizing the ancient passage was even more critical and could not be lost!
If he had known earlier that retrieving the Origin Qi would cost Poison Dragon Ancestor’s life, the Chief of the True Dragon Clan would never have ordered to retrieve the Origin Qi.
He miscalculated, the mysterious cultivator who snatched the Origin Qi was far more formidable than expected, managing to prevent Poison Dragon Ancestor’s escape and ultimately cost him his life. Well, very well indeed!
The Chief of the True Dragon Clan angrily flicked his sleeve, took out a gilded ancient token from his sleeve, and firmly gripped it in his hand.
Some Great Emperors of the demon tribe saw this scene and gasped, exclaiming, "One Billion Demon Sealing Command!"
The Chief of the True Dragon Clan remained silent but firmly held the token, his heart filled with boundless killing intent, wishing he could immediately tear Ning Fan to shreds.
The Origin Qi matter was minor, but the ancient passage was major, he could no longer send Ao Xuan to search for Origin Qi. This matter could only be put aside temporarily...
"That person has reached the 22nd Palace of the sixth layer... moving swiftly..." Huax Yao, who was activating her sensing Divine Skills, cautiously reported.
Her stretched painting skin happened to project a blurry image of Ning Fan walking out of the 22nd Palace of the sixth layer and immediately reported to the Chief of the True Dragon Clan.
Looking at Ning Fan’s blurry silhouette, the Chief of the True Dragon Clan’s killing intent became colder, yet he laughed coldly.
"The sixth layer, is it? Good, very good! My Origin Qi is not so easily taken. Once the ancient passage matter is concluded, I will surely make you spit it out exactly as it is!"
While the Chief of the True Dragon Clan was in a rage, the Sky Covering Ancient Emperor had a deep gaze, showing no sign of joy or anger.
On the stele in front of him, Poison Dragon Ancestor’s name was erased, indicating that among the demon tribe’s two Immortal Venerables sent into the Ninefold Celestial Towers, one was lost.
Thus, the demon tribe had only one Immortal Venerable left, whereas the Human tribe had three, including Ning Fan...
This seemed like extremely advantageous news for the Human tribe, yet the Sky Covering Ancient Emperor’s expression showed no joy, instead revealing a hint of solemnity.
The Sky Covering Ancient Emperor’s eyes locked onto the eighth position on the stele; the eighth was Ning Fan’s current position rank.
Earlier when Poison Dragon Ancestor headed to the sixth layer, his position was naturally also displayed on the stele.
And when Ning Fan reached the sixth layer, their positions were the same, followed immediately by Poison Dragon Ancestor’s death...
"From this, it would seem the one who killed Poison Dragon is likely this mysterious cultivator. This person is formidable and, as a human, wouldn’t belong to the demon or barbarian tribes. If this person assists, my Four Seas Sect’s chances of seizing the ancient passage would greatly increase. The concern is that this person might originate from one of the secret clans..."
The Sky Covering Ancient Emperor’s gaze deepened; above the Four Heavens, countless sects were interested in the ancient passage, hoping to find the key, open the passage, and enter the legendary Heavenly Desolate Ancient Realm.
Legend has it, that only by entering the Heavenly Desolate Ancient Realm can enough Shienie Wilderness’s Three Energies be found to step into the Third Step Saint Realm.
It is said that the Sky Desolate Ancient Realm is the only passage through the Dreamland Realm to enter the Zi Dou Immortal Domain.
Another tale...
The Tongtian Ancient Emperor is at the Quasi-Saint cultivation, and his cultivation has been stuck at this level for countless years, never touching the bottleneck of being a Saint, unable to become sanctified.
He longs to open the Ancient Passage, enter the Sky Desolate Ancient Realm, and step into the Saint Realm. Many share this ambition just as he does.
Most interested in the Ancient Passage are none other than the ten great secret clans. They are the ten oldest forces above the Four Heavens, their whereabouts mysterious, with innumerable strong members. Even the Four Oceans Sect is constrained by them, not daring to compete.
However, although the ten great secret clans are interested in the Ancient Passage, they never participate in its contention.
In the past million years, there have been some changes, with some secret clans secretly recruiting Guest Elders, having them search for the Ancient Passage on their behalf.
It seems due to some reasons, the clan members of the ten great secret clans cannot directly participate in the contention for the Ancient Passage...
The old eyes of the Tongtian Ancient Emperor narrowed, worried that Ning Fan was sent by the secret clans. If Ning Fan is truly from the secret clans, even if he obtains the Ancient Passage, it may end up belonging to the secret clans...
The Tongtian Ancient Emperor was certainly overthinking it. Ning Fan was not sent by the secret clans and had no covetous heart for the Ancient Passage.
The pervasive Evil Qi between heaven and earth gradually dissipated over time, but the Evil Qi on Ning Fan remained condensed, its aura frighteningly cold.
The Evil Qi obtained from slaying the Eternal Immortal Venerable was vast in quantity. Without the Innate Ghost Mask’s suppression, Ning Fan would likely have his mind overwhelmed by such powerful Evil Qi, leading to his downfall.
In the storage pouch, a certain Token was emitting endless golden light because of Ning Fan’s act of slaying Ancestor Dulong, gradually transforming.
As Ning Fan walked on the blue stone ancient road, he suddenly sensed something and tapped the storage pouch, taking out the Immortal Position Token. He had overlooked that having slain Ancestor Dulong, he had accrued a substantial amount of military achievement points, causing his Immortal Position to seemingly advance.
Upon entering the Barbarian Wilderness Ancient Domain, Ning Fan had slain numerous demon race Immortal Cultivators, his accumulated military achievement points already elevating his Immortal Position to a fifth-grade inferior Golden Immortal.
Now having slain Ancestor Dulong, he naturally received another large amount of military achievement points. Upon receiving these, the Immortal Position Token changed once again. Originally a brilliant gold Token, a third of it had changed to a material resembling Violet Jade, and the recorded Immortal Position upgraded from inferior grade Golden Immortal to middle grade!
It seems to have promoted him again.
Unfortunately, it only advanced to fifth-grade middle rank.
Ning Fan showed slight regret, shaking his head. After all, he had slain an Eternal Immortal Venerable, thinking the military achievement points would be enough to directly elevate his Immortal Position to the fourth-grade Celestial Supervisor level, which now seemed a bit ambitious.
Ning Fan was unaware that within the entire range of the Four Heavens, only a mere few hundred had achieved a fifth-grade middle-ranked Immortal Position.
Those who had reached this Immortal Position mostly had endured for millions of years, completed numerous tasks, and achieved countless merits to gradually rise to this position.
Ning Fan was different; he had directly slain a demon race Immortal Venerable on the Barbaric Wilderness Battlefield, achieving a middle-ranked Golden Immortal Position, a truly rare feat.
Returning the Immortal Position Token to the storage pouch, Ning Fan quickens his pace, continuing forward. With the protection of four Twelve Nirvana magical treasures and the remaining eight Incense Arrows, every few breaths, he could clear another palace, a speed much faster than any Eternal Immortal Venerables within the Ninefold Celestial Towers.
On the two blue stone ancient roads, at first, continuous thunder could still be seen, but as he proceeded, the thunder gradually vanished, replaced by increasingly cold auras.
On the ancient road, a frost began gathering on the eaves of the palaces. Occasionally, one or two empty ice coffins would drift by from a distance and slowly drift away.
Along the ancient road, there occasionally appeared patches of black ash piles. These ash piles were filled with extremely intense Yin energy, which Ning Fan, having the corpse devil physique, was especially sensitive to sensing this Yin energy.
The first five layers of the Ninefold Celestial Towers had no Yin energy, but starting from the sixth layer, the higher he went, the heavier the Yin energy seemed...
On his journey, Ning Fan didn’t encounter any palace that increased Barbarian Blood, which was different from what he previously thought.
When he reached the 74th Palace of the sixth layer, an ancient ice coffin resting on floating clouds suddenly had its lid burst open.
Throughout his journey, Ning Fan had encountered many empty coffins, but this ice coffin was not unoccupied!
At the moment the coffin lid flew up, a chilling aura of Yin death immediately locked onto Ning Fan. In the next instant, a black shadow with a putrid smell charged swiftly at Ning Fan’s face.
The speed was too fast; very few below Eternal Immortal Venerable could escape the black shadow’s attack!
The Ninefold Celestial Towers prohibited flight; Ning Fan was unable to escape, but his expression remained calm, without saying a word, he directly commanded the four Seven Stars Demon Lamps at his side to block the shadow.
These demon lamps originally had seven, but when seized from Ancestor Dulong, they were severely damaged, with three destroyed, leaving only four.
Although greatly weakened, after all, they were a set of Twelve Nirvana-ranked defensive magical treasures, with an astonishing defensive power.
The black shadow didn’t even glance at the four demon lamps flying toward it, directly sweeping its large hand down onto them.
A large hand collided with the magical treasure, producing the sound of metal clashing, and the strong force spread out, causing the four demon lamps to fly back. The shadow, however, did not retreat a step and charged at Ning Fan once more.
It was only then that Ning Fan realized this shadow was an ancient corpse decayed for countless years. The face was so decayed that its original appearance was unrecognizable, and its eye sockets were void but had a ghostly green fire flickering within. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
A putrid smell assaulted Ning Fan’s senses, prompting him to raise his hand abruptly, gripping the Separation and Union Sword as he slashed forward.
The ocean of clouds was directly cleaved apart by Ning Fan’s sword light. Faced with such a fierce sword light, the ancient corpse neither dodged nor avoided, allowing the sword light to strike its body, sending it flying. However, it only left a very shallow dent on its chest, with no real damage!
Observing the dent, Ning Fan’s gaze suddenly became intense.
If the Seven Stars Demon Lamps could not defend against the ancient corpse’s attack, it was understandable, as the demon lamps were damaged and their power greatly diminished.
But the Separation and Union Sword were undamaged. Even though Ning Fan could not exert its full power with his cultivations, it shouldn’t have had such a minimal effect.
It wasn’t that the Separation and Union Sword was weak; it was that the ancient corpse’s physical defense was extraordinarily strong, strong enough to withstand an attack from a Twelve Nirvana Magical Treasure directly!
"I, Purple Dou Immortal Cultivator... born of calamity reversal... buried with no regrets..."
"Life and death all for... Purple Dou Immortal..."
From the hollow eye sockets of the ancient corpse, an infinite killing intent suddenly shot forth. It took a step in the air and arrived in an instant, speaking wooden words, as its black and shining claws reached straight for Ning Fan’s Tian Ling.
Ning Fan swung the Separation and Union Sword again, using its sword light to fling the ancient corpse ten steps backward, but the force also caused Ning Fan to retreat several steps. Amidst the dodging, his eyes remained clear, and the fragmented words of the ancient corpse kept echoing in his mind.
Purple Dou... Purple Dou...
Could it be that this ancient corpse originates from the Zi Dou Immortal Domain, and in life was a cultivator under the Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign?
As his thoughts rapidly shifted, the ancient corpse once more bared its teeth, let out a strange howl, and charged straight at Ning Fan. It seemed to possess no Divine Skills, relying solely on its powerful flesh to attack singly. Nevertheless, its grip was not to be underestimated, as even a casual grip could rival an attack from a Twelve Nirvana Magical Treasure!
Ning Fan had no time to ponder the corpse’s identity. The only priority now was to ensure survival from the corpse’s clutches.
This corpse’s physical defense was exceedingly strong, and relying on magical treasures alone would not injure it. Ning Fan’s cultivations did not guarantee that spells could harm the ancient corpse.
However, this ancient corpse imparted a familiar sensation to Ning Fan; he had previously sensed it in the hands of the Undying Devil Vein’s Si Ming.
In his eyes, a blue light glimmered, and the pathway of the Dao became clear to Ning Fan. With just a glance, he saw through the entire ancient corpse and devised a countermeasure.
This ancient corpse was essentially just a hollow shell. Its physical defense was strong, but internally, it was extremely weak, simply relying on a thread of immortal energy within to roam freely. If that energy vanished, this corpse would instantly become an empty shell.
Though Ning Fan could not directly destroy this ancient corpse, he had a way to sever the immortal energy within, rendering it to an empty shell.
He had learned the Yin-Yang Five Swords from the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor—Heavenly Sword to annihilate fate, Earth Sword to sever momentum, Human Sword to sever life, Divine Sword to annihilate Dao, and Ghost Sword to annihilate thoughts.
The Slaying Fate Sword once killed the Undying Devil Vein’s Si Ming, and it would surely be effective against this ancient corpse’s immortal energy.
Ning Fan’s face grew cold, and he stepped back slightly, suddenly raising the Separation and Union Sword, pointing it at the ancient corpse! As mana circulated, the sword’s tip began to be gently covered with a moon-white sword light.
The sword light seemed ordinary, yet when it caught the ancient corpse’s eyes, it abruptly halted its steps, displaying an unprecedented fear and dared not approach.
This ancient corpse had little spirit awareness, and the fragmented words from before were merely caused by its determination when alive. Perhaps it truly was a cultivator of the Zi Dou Immortal Domain, holding strong desires before death, allowing it to speak those ingrained words after death.
Yet now, it was merely a dead person, a corpse, without its former emotions, memories, or spirit awareness.
The ancient corpse instinctively sensed a fatal threat from the sword light emanating from Ning Fan’s sword, like being nailed by a pin, standing rigidly in place, staring at Ning Fan from ten steps away.
"Retreat! Or I will sever the immortal energy within you!"
Ning Fan’s gaze suddenly turned cold, and the ancient corpse seemed to understand, stumbling back several steps, slightly trembling.
After a long while, it suddenly turned around to flee, flying back to the Xuan Ice Coffin, not daring to make a move against Ning Fan.
Seeing the ancient corpse retreat frightened, Ning Fan’s gaze grew solemn as he continued forward, passing through the final palace and arriving at the peak of the Sixth Layer’s Tianque.
As he arrived, instantly, more than ten ancient coffins flew in from afar, hovering in the air.
Once opened, twelve shadows rushed at Ning Fan, each no different from the decayed ancient corpse before, seemingly intending to prevent Ning Fan from ascending to the Seventh Layer, with constant strange howls.
Intermittently, several ancient corpses muttered softly to themselves, their words all repeating the same phrase.
"Life and death all for... Purple Dou Immortal..." (to be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
