Grasping the Evil-Chapter 965: Cause and Effect Revealed in the River
With one successful strike, Wu Laoba suddenly gained a lot of confidence in his heart. His huge body that covered the sky rushed out of the Obliteration River, and he looked at Ning Fan with disdain in his eyes.
Ning Fan, Ning Fan, you possess three Dao traces and ancient great cultivation divine skills, but I hold the Liangyi Square Seal. Ultimately, you are not my match.
Let me show you the true power of this seal! 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
"Yin Seal Phoenix Freeze Heaven!"
Wu Laoba shouted again, and four phoenix shadows, filled with resentful energy, flickered above the Liangyi Square Seal, followed by four earth-shattering phoenix cries echoing across the skies.
After the first cry, the temperature of heaven and earth suddenly dropped; it was like early spring a moment ago, but instantly transformed into the chill of deep winter.
After the second cry, snow began to fall profusely in the starry sky.
After the third cry, the entire Obliteration River froze instantaneously, and even Ning Fan’s body showed a trend of being frozen.
Then, with the fourth phoenix cry, Ning Fan’s entire body was completely encased in ice, as lifeless as if he were dead, and without a trace of vitality.
After the four phoenix cries, the Liangyi Square Seal transformed into a black light, directly crashing down towards Ning Fan’s Tian Ling.
If this seal hits true, in his frozen state, Ning Fan’s Tian Ling would likely be directly shattered by this seal, his brain poured out!
"No good! If this seal strikes, the Rain Monarch will be destroyed even if he doesn’t die! Wu Laoba is too ruthless!"
"This seal is the magical treasure refined by Master over the years; it is said that Master slew four dragons and four phoenixes, all with Immortal Emperor cultivation, to forge it. The seal has three forms, and this Yin Seal Phoenix Freeze Heaven is the first change; the four phoenix cries exacerbate it. The force of this strike is utterly unstoppable; the Rain Monarch is in danger!"
In an ancient temple, there was a clamoring noise. Xiang Mingzi’s expression was extremely solemn, fearing Ning Fan might slip up. He nearly wanted to take action to help Ning Fan block this seal, but Daoist Wood Pine stopped him halfway.
"There’s no need to intervene; this child may not necessarily lose..."
Daoist Wood Pine’s eyes, which were initially tightly shut, now slightly opened a crevice. Although not completely open, faint purple light flickered between his eyelids.
Only he could see through the frozen state and perceive Ning Fan’s real condition at the moment.
Cold, very cold!
Ning Fan’s body felt as if it had plunged into an ice cave, the cold infused with the grievous yin chill formed by the resentment of four Immortal Emperor-level phoenix demon spirits.
This chill easily froze his physical form, froze his Obliteration River, and even his Spirit was nearly in a false death state under the invasion of that severe cold.
"This seal possesses such strong chilling power! If I were not the inheritor of the Yin Yang Evil Vein, possessing the Grand Five Elements Body, this coldness would have frozen my Spirit directly!"
This cold was not simple frost, as it contained a particle of power that pointed directly at the source of the Grand Dao, capable of turning all yin attributes in the universe into a murderous chill!
Divinity Transformation cultivates the principle, Fate Immortal cultivates the force, Spirit Severing cultivates the thought, Immortal Venerable cultivates the Dao trace.
More formidable than the Dao trace are the Control Position Great Emperor’s laws.
The power contained in this seal, directly pointing towards the source, is even more terrifying than the Control Position Path. It is Dao Source Power, something only accessible at the Quasi-Saint level!
Ning Fan’s cultivation level is far from the Quasi-Saint level, this being his first contact with the power of the Dao Source.
He doesn’t know how to define this power, but can recognize its formidable aspect, any carelessness could lead to death under its force!
I underestimated Wu Laoba, unexpectedly with such a terrifying magical treasure in his possession...
"Crumble!"
Under the extreme cold, Ning Fan’s Spirit suddenly condensed his eyes, and the Yin Yang Locket hanging around his Spirit’s neck immediately emitted a strange glow.
This power from the Yin Dao Source is indeed formidable, but don’t forget, Ning Fan is also the inheritor of Ancient Chaos, cultivating the Yin Yang Grand Dao, possessing a restraining force against this Yin Dao Source.
With a push of the Yin Yang Locket, the power of the Yin Dao Source sealed within Ning Fan’s body was immediately dispelled in substantial amounts.
A cracking sound was heard; it was the layer of ice on Ning Fan’s surface turning into ice flakes, and around his body, vitality resumed again.
As soon as the ice seal was undone, the Liangyi Square Seal was about to fall head-on, mere inches away from Ning Fan’s Tian Ling. Time left for Ning Fan was insufficient for evasion, only to harden against the seal’s crashing force.
Ning Fan’s entire body erupted in red light, all the power of Blood Lightning gathering in his right fist, to directly punch towards the crashing seal.
This punch was so powerful that the world was lit red by the force of Calamity Thought; the impact of the strike completely matched the full force of an ordinary First Calamity Immortal Sovereign.
In the clash between fist light and the seal, its momentum was instantly stopped, blocked by Ning Fan’s punch, though Ning Fan also spat blood while retreating continuously in the air, the blood containing ice debris, evidently injured seriously by this seal’s hit.
The seal’s prowess was beyond his expectations; if not fighting with all his might, he wouldn’t be able to withstand this seal!
"Heh, Rain Monarch, oh Rain Monarch, weren’t you quite formidable a moment ago? Didn’t you suppress me easily to the riverbed? Suppress me again, suppress me again!"
Wu Laoba’s arrogant and sordid laughter almost filled the world, with the Liangyi Square Seal constantly smashed towards Ning Fan at his repeated urges.
Bang!
At the second clash, Ning Fan summoned the sword marks, raising a sword towards the seal. This sword seemed to employ some special sword technique, and immediately, a godly light-shining sword ray with a moonlight resemblance, flickering and unstable, reflected onto the seal.
The sword ray was exceedingly strange, seemingly containing infinite power, or none at all. Yet, against the seal, it was no match, directly shattered into scattered light by the seal.
As for Ning Fan, he was once again knocked back by the seal, coughing blood consecutively, though his gaze slightly brightened, as if confirming some matter.
"Heh, heh, what kind of broken sword technique is this? Its power is so weak; trying to rely on it to block the Liangyi Square Seal’s attack is simply wishful thinking!"
Wu Laoba grew increasingly smug, paying little attention to Ning Fan’s sword technique. Bang, bang, bang sounded three times, retreating Ning Fan for the third, fourth, and fifth time.
In subsequent attacks, Ning Fan continued utilizing the strange sword technique, slicing out the bizarre sword rays towards the seal, but yet again pushed back each time by that seal.
Everyone presumed Wu Laoba had the upper hand in this series of attacks; only Xiang Mingzi, and Daoist Wood Pine understood the extraordinariness of Ning Fan’s sword technique.
"It is rumored that the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor possesses five types of heaven-defying sword techniques; could this child be utilizing one!"
Ning Fan’s first strike with the fist was exploratory; the following four attacks using the strange sword technique against the seal were for another purpose.
"You won’t have a sixth time to knock Ning Fan back!"
Having been slammed by the seal five times, Ning Fan steadied his form once more, no longer retreating; the timing was ripe for a counterattack!
"Yo, not bad, Rain Monarch, being knocked away by me five times, yet you’re still so confident! Heh, heh, my favorite thing is acting against those who claim to be outstanding! You say you won’t be knocked back the sixth time; then I’ll knock you back a hundred times, a thousand times! Yin Seal Phoenix Freeze Heaven, hit him hard!"
Wu Laoba grew more arrogant and was about to exhort the seal to smash towards Ning Fan again, only to find the seal malfunctioning, refusing to move towards Ning Fan.
"Hmm? What’s going on? Yin Seal Phoenix Freeze Heaven, smash at me!"
Still no response, unable to activate.
"Yin Seal Phoenix Freeze Heaven, Yin Seal Phoenix Freeze Heaven, Yin Seal Phoenix Freeze Heaven... damn, why isn’t the invocation working!"
A sense of unease arose in Wu Laoba’s heart, and he stared closely at the Liangyi Square Seal. Noticed it wasn’t tight, but upon seeing, he was startled!
Only now did he realize, the four phantom figures of Yin Phoenixes on the seal actually bore ferocious sword wounds. These wounds were remarkably severe, capable of severing the Yin Dao Source within the Yin Phoenix, preventing it from operating freely. Consequently, the seal’s first form was unusable due to the lack of Dao Source Power!
"What, what, what, what, what’s this? The Dao Source Yin Phoenix is injured?! How can this be!"
"Could it be! The technique this child just used to break the sword has actually injured the four Dao Source Yin Phoenixes within the treasure seal! What a joke!"
Wu Laoba gasped.
One must know, these four Yin Phoenixes were manifested from Dao Source Power, formless and intangible. Even a Control Position Great Emperor might not necessarily be able to harm the Yin Phoenixes, yet Ning Fan, with his peculiar sword technique, managed to do so. How could Wu Laoba not be shocked!
He did not realize that the sword technique Ning Fan used was not some peculiar technique but one of the Chaotic Ancient Ultimate Study’s Yin-Yang Five Swords—[Severing Dao Divine Sword]!
The Yin-Yang Five Swords, Heaven Sword Annihilates Fate, Earth Sword Severing Momentum, Human Sword Annihilates Life, Divine Sword Annihilates Dao, Ghost Sword Annihilates Thoughts. When all five swords are unleashed, nothing can stand in their way, making this the renowned ultimate skill of the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor!
Among them, the one Ning Fan is most familiar with should be the Life-Slaying Sword, which he comprehended greatly within the Ninefold Celestial Towers, slaying countless Immortal Venerable ancient corpses and achieving brilliant victories.
The second most familiar is the Heavenly Sword Annihilates Fate, which he had at least used a few times.
However, this was the first time using the Severing Dao Divine Sword. Ning Fan hadn’t comprehended much of it, so its power was insufficient, leading Wu Laoba to briefly assume it was a weak sword technique.
Little did he know, the Severing Dao Divine Sword, though seemingly weak, actually possesses the power to sever all great Daos between heaven and earth!
It can sever Dao traces, sever Control Position Dao traces, and even Dao Source can be slashed!
This Liangyi Square Seal has three transformations. Wu Laoba’s mana was insufficient, only enough to use the first transformation, unable to execute the second and third transformations.
Now that the first transformation is broken, the seal is almost unusable, and Wu Laoba has lost his greatest advantage against Ning Fan!
"Next, it’s Ning Fan’s turn to strike back!"
With a thought, Ning Fan’s shoulder suddenly flashed with black light, revealing a lazy black cat, yawning leisurely.
But as Ning Fan raised his right palm and grasped forward, the black cat on his shoulder instantly sharpened its gaze, transformed into a black light with a flicker, caught by Ning Fan in his grasp, and then swallowed in one gulp.
In an instant, Ning Fan’s aura soared continuously, reaching the peak of Eternity’s First Tribulation and then breaking through the bottleneck to reach the level of the Second Calamity!
"What’s going on! Why has Rain Monarch’s aura suddenly surged!"
The disciples in the ancient temple couldn’t see through the black cat’s true nature, unaware that Ning Fan had temporarily boosted his cultivation using the mysteries of the Soul Extraction Technique.
Xiang Mingzi and Daoist Wood Pine, upon closer inspection, barely discerned some clues, yet were still greatly astonished. Obviously, they hadn’t expected that by Ning Fan’s side, there was a Heavenly Dao Kitten...
"That black cat... is actually Heaven’s Dao Soul! This child can actually extract Heaven’s Dao Soul and take it as a demon pet, this..."
Even as Quasi-Saint powerhouses, they are not qualified to be the masters of Heavenly Dao. They might be able to extract the Heavenly Dao Soul, but they could never make the Heavenly Dao submit!
Yet Ning Fan could make the Heavenly Dao submit, which is simply inconceivable.
To be honest, upon seeing Ning Fan perform the Severing Dao Divine Sword, Daoist Wood Pine was already very satisfied with this trial. But it was only satisfaction, treating Ning Fan as a junior all the same.
However, having witnessed the bizarre event of Ning Fan making the Heavenly Dao submit, Daoist Wood Pine’s view of Ning Fan elevated to unprecedented heights.
What he couldn’t do, Ning Fan could. This child’s ability is overwhelmingly extraordinary, enough to regard him as an equal!
"Wu Laoba, didn’t you tell me to press you down at the river bottom? As you wish!"
At this moment, with Ning Fan’s energy greatly amplified, a mere sweep of his sleeve spread a vast force, shattering the ice sealing the Obliteration River and restoring the water’s flow.
He then raised his palm and pressed down once more. Wu Laoba immediately felt as if the sky and earth were spinning, seeing a fleeting vision as his gigantic form of a hundred thousand zhang in length once again found itself trapped beneath the river, unable to break free.
"Not good!"
Wu Laoba desperately urged the power of his Eternal True Body, trying to escape the river, but it was all in vain.
This time, lacking the protection of the Liangyi Square Seal, with Ning Fan using the power of the Heavenly Dao Black Cat, his cultivation soaring, under these changing circumstances, how could Wu Laoba manage to escape from the river!
"You like being pressed at the river bottom, now stay put there!"
Ning Fan’s right hand suddenly clenched, and the undercurrents of the river bottom surged violently. The tearing force formed by the raging undercurrents tore countless cracks into Wu Laoba’s turtle shell.
Poor Wu Laoba, at this moment, hid reluctantly within his turtle shell, not daring to emerge.
During the time of Eternity’s First Tribulation, Ning Fan’s use of this art was already terribly powerful. Now possessing the Second Calamity cultivation level, the river bottom’s undercurrents posed a mortal threat to Wu Laoba.
Death was imminent!
This was a divine skill of the Ancient Great Cultivator level. Unleashed by Ning Fan’s Second Calamity cultivation, with Wu Laoba’s treasure seal shattered, he couldn’t withstand this strike!
Furthermore, what terrified Wu Laoba most was the faint, elusive sense of killing intent he felt from Ning Fan!
Ning Fan wanted to kill him, Ning Fan actually wanted to kill him! What a joke!
He hadn’t done anything excessively wrong to Ning Fan. How could Ning Fan justify wanting to kill him, how dared he attempt to kill him in front of Daoist Wood Pine, the host of this place!
He merely intended to present Ning Fan with the Heaven-Opening Stone out of goodwill, and even if there was a sliver of malice, it was negligible. Damn it, just for this, Ning Fan wanted to kill him? What a joke!
He had, after all, been a bit ruthless in the subsequent duel, trying to destroy Ning Fan’s physical defense, even underhandedly striking Ning Fan several times. These were but small mistakes, not unforgivable ones. And yet, for this, Ning Fan wanted to kill him, what a joke!
Alright, Wu Laoba admitted, he had indeed gone a bit far with Ning Fan. This time, he might really be in big trouble.
"Such suffering, such suffering, Ning Fan is determined to kill me. This time, I’ve truly hit a dead end..."
Wu Laoba was now utterly despondent, realizing he was likely doomed this time.
His master, Ancestor Heiyun, claimed to have ties with Daoist Wood Pine, but that was merely a nodding acquaintance.
Daoist Wood Pine once owed Ancestor Heiyun some karmic debt, which was why he came to seek three treasures from Wood Pine this time. Wood Pine merely wished to settle this karmic debt, striving for a closer approach to the Perfect Realm.
Wood Pine didn’t care about his life and death. If Wood Pine helped him, he would get entangled in Ning Fan’s karmic situation, which, given Wood Pine’s nature, he would absolutely avoid. After being trapped at the river bottom, with no intent from Wood Pine to rescue him, it clearly spoke volumes.
Crack, crack, crack.
This was the sound of the turtle shell continuously fracturing. Wu Laoba could feel that his shell was nearing its breaking point. If it shattered, he would surely be torn to pieces by the river’s undercurrents.
Ah, to think that I, Wu Laoba, famed for a lifetime, would drown here today.
Suddenly, Wu Laoba found this scene oddly familiar. Yes, many years ago, he seemed to have almost drowned once before.
How long ago was that? Uh, he couldn’t quite recall.
That time, he had terrible luck, venturing to a secret ground of ancient cultivators in search of treasure, only to find the space of the secret ground collapsing.
Even then, as a powerful Immortal Venerable, he was severely injured by the spatial collapse. On the escape, he haplessly triggered several hundred deadly formations set by that ancient cultivator.
He narrowly escaped the secret ground, gravely injured, only to be afflicted by the secret ground’s deadly poison, his mana sealed, falling from the sky like a mortal, plummeting into a river of a Cultivation Star.
Hmm, at that time, it seemed a small cultivator casually saved him, or else he would have drowned. Later... he casually bestowed some fortune upon that small cultivator, guiding him, aiding him in cultivating Black Fortune, avoiding a great disaster...
Wu Laoba smiled bitterly and couldn’t help but reminisce about those long-sealed memories.
Unknowingly, those memories merged in the river water, obtained by Ning Fan, who, upon seeing those glimpses of memory, suddenly widened his eyes, withdrawing his intent to kill Wu Laoba, instead feeling a complex array of emotions.
"So this Wu Laoba... has once had karmic ties with my Master!" (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit 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.)
