Grasping Evil

The 'female ghost' didn't concern Ning Fan… because she didn't have any killing intent, only a trace of mischief.

Also, this 'female ghost' wasn't some kind of evil creature. Her real self was merely a little girl camouflaged by magical technique.

Last time, she didn't harm Xue Qing, and this time, she didn't have the intent to harm Xue Qing either.

Ning Fan simply ignored the two of them. Xue Qing's mental state still needed loads of molding. His mental state had to be at least strong enough to stay calm in the face of crisis. So, this female ghost was just the right stimulation that could help hone his mental state.

Beyond the facade of indifference, Ning Fan's mind was immersed in the Divine Intent of Rain.

There was no rain… but a trace of moisture that was clearly produced by the Divine Intent of Rain was found in the air.

It was rainless, but the Rain Intent existed… That year, what had enlightened Que Shenzi once more…

"My present mood isn't the same as Que Shenzi at that time, so I can't immerse my heart into this rainless realm."

Ning Fan's heart settled down gradually, but that wasn't enough. He then began to feel Que Shenzi's vicissitudes and sorrows by placing himself in Que Shenzi's story.

The journey was full of setbacks. After he was struck down from the Four Heavens Immortal World into the Mortal Soil, he wandered on the Heavens and Earth below and saw a quiet valley that contained the traces of the Dark Sparrow by chance. Three thousand meters beneath the earth, he discovered the Dark Sparrow's Grave. However, what rekindled his deep feelings wasn't the Dark Sparrow's Immortal Bone, but the rain in here…

On the first level, Que Shenzi's heart was lonely, which coincided with Ning Fan's heart as Ning Fan was an orphan. Therefore, he was able to hear the sigh of Que Shenzi in the rain.

In the second level, the sorrow in Que Shenzi's heart was stirred. Ning Fan was able to sense that as well.

However, on the third level, there was no rain… despite that, its divine intent didn't reduce. This indicated that something was about to happen, like the rising wind forebode the coming storm!

His six senses were widely open. At this moment, he could finally sense it from the rainless Heaven and Earth that a trace of terrifying momentum of rainstorm coming towards him!

"Rainless isn't equal to no rain at all. This is the scene before the fall of the rainstorm. One may be able to find enlightenment from the momentum of the rain. It felt as powerless as an unsheathed sword, but at the same time as powerful as the sword hidden in the sheath. A formation can only be deployed by borrowing the great power of the Heavens and Earth. However, where does the great power of the Heavens and Earth come from?"

Ning Fan opened his eyes wide, looking blankly at a deathly dark mountain peak at a far distance.

"There is momentum even when the rain doesn't fall... There's power even if a mountain remains immobile… The dragon that submerges in the deep pool has the tendency to take off… The green insect that forms cocoon will have the potential of turning into a butterfly… The human king doesn't kill as he has the power to subjugate… The Heavens and Earth doesn't compete as they have the power to overturn!"

At this moment, Ning Fan saw the momentum of the rain instead of the rain itself.

His eyes moved. He then spat out the Starlight Sword Shadow into his hand and pointed it straight at his chest. He closed his eyes, immersing himself in the imposing force of the sword. The sword wouldn't move by itself, and the more motionless it was, the stronger its force!

A wave of incredible momentum rose in his body. Boundless sword intent radiated out. No one and nothing dared to approach him within 9 meter range.

The wind dispersed on its own. Rain intent evaded it consciously. All of them were forced away by Ning Fan's motionless sword's force.

This sword move was created by Ning Fan himself. The sword wasn't swung or slashed. By placing the sword horizontally in front of his chest, its sword intent was enough to repel all attacks that were below Gold Core realm. Furthermore, if Ning Fan's insight of 'Force' went deeper, the sword intent would grow stronger. One day, he could even utilize the motionless sword intent to repel all concealed attacks when he walked on the Devil Blood Sea.

"This is my first self-created sword Qi. It isn't a technique to kill but a technique of self-defense. I will then name it as Rainless Sword… Rainless… The profundity of rainless is 'The Coming Storm'…"

Ning Fan put away his Separation Slayer. Next to him, Xue Qing and the female ghost were staring at each other in consternation, as if they didn't notice the changes in Ning Fan at all.

After brushing aside the sword intent in his head, he closed his eyes once more with a faint smile.

"The third level of the Dark Sparrow's Grave has no rain, but it has the momentum of the rain. I suppose that Que Shenzi must have acquired some very profound enlightenment here…"

After understanding the momentum of rain, his heart began to merge with the rain intent.

Slowly, a scene emerged in his mind.

An elder clad in black had put away his paper umbrella, standing on the summit of a mountain with both hands behind his back. His body and mind mingled with the mountain and the momentum of rain.

"There's no rain here… but the rain's momentum is powerful. I'm no longer in the Four Heavens, but could I return; there will be bloodshed… The rain is born from the sky and dies in the earth? Wrong! I will make the rain born from the earth; fight against the sky and live forever!"

Ning Fan slowly opened his eyes. A hint of clarity could be seen in them.

Sure enough, rainless momentum existed in the third level of Dark Sparrow's Grave. Here, Que Shenzi achieved a breakthrough in his mental state. He was beginning to comprehend the Divine Intent of Rain. Which meant that there should be footsteps of Que Shenzi's Dao Enlightenment from the fourth level onwards.

However, the fourth level wasn't a place Ning Fan could go.

He patted his storage pouch and took out a piece of ancient map given by Gui Qiaozi. There were numerous red spots on the map densely covering the fourth level… Each of the red spot indicated the nest of Nascent Soul demons.

"If I go to the fourth level, I will definitely die… But if I don't go, I will miss the opportunity of comprehending the Divine Intent…"

Ning Fan sighed lightly. Certainly, his luck wasn't sufficient. Despite discovering the path of Dao Enlightenment of Que Shenzi, he wasn't able to see the final stage of it.

He kept away his sigh and calmed his mind. This was what the cultivation path was all about. One couldn't just seek for his encounter, or else he would fall into an irrecoverable state.

When his gaze fell upon Xue Qing and the 'female ghost', he showed a strange expression.

Currently, for some unknown reason, Xue Qing had taken out his Pill Cauldron, refining some kind of pill for the female ghost, while the female ghost's stomach rumbled from time to time, as though she was already hungry!

"Great Aunt, we have already talked about this. I'll refine pills for you to eat and you won't eat me…" Xue Qing implored bitterly.

"Ok ok ok! Great Aunt is the one who spoke first. Quick, quick, quick! Bake a few of the 'Pill Cookies' for me…"

The female ghost rubbed the blood off her lips with her delicate hand… En, that was no blood… That was obviously saliva…

Given Xue Qing's Third Revolution pill refinement technique, refining a First Revolution Pill took him less than the time to burn half an incense stick.

He patted the lid of the cauldron and put a hundred First Revolution Pills into several pill bottles and handed it to the female ghost with a bitter smile.

"These are First Revolution Pills, the Yuan Boosting Pill, which has the effect of enhancing a cultivator's Yuan Force. Also, these are peak First Revolution Pills."

Before he could finish speaking, the female ghost snatched away all the pill bottles, and with a glitter of light, she turned into a little girl in black dress.

The dress was long enough to cover her feet. It was a very old dress. The curves and bosoms on her body hadn't developed yet. Her lips were red and her teeth were white. There were two sideburns beside her ears, her hair was tied into two buns and the rest of her hair was combed backwards. The length of her hair was neither too short nor too long. The hair on her forehead was cut in fringe style, making her hair look even tidier. How could she be a female ghost? She was just some extremely cute little girl.

Moreover, this little girl seemed young, probably 8 or 9 years old, but her small brilliant face seemed elegant. The moment she grew up, she would surely be an unparalleled beauty.

Also, as soon as this girl turned into her true form, a wave of momentum no longer could be concealed and surged out. Then, a trace of fragrance emitted from her body entered Ning Fan's nose, causing a dramatic change in his expression.

The pill fragrance of a Fifth Revolution Pill or above! This trace of fragrance could advance Ning Fan's cultivation base by a bit!

Despite that, the little girl's Qi made him frown, because it was similar to the fierce Qi he detected from the rain pond in the second level!

Is this little girl a female ghost, demonic beast or Pill Devil?!

The good thing about this girl was that there had been no trace of killing intent radiating from her from the beginning until now… Her cultivation base was strange… And her magical strength only seemed to be at the early Gold Core realm, however, her spirit sense had already reached the intermediate Nascent Soul realm. That tender hand of hers crushed the pill bottle, then she opened her tiny mouth, revealing her cute canine teeth and chewed as many pills as her mouth could possibly fit and swallowed them, until all the pills were gone!

Although the pills were merely First Revolution grade, the pill bottle was crafted by the historical sapphire. In addition to preserving the medicinal effect, the greater advantage of the bottle was its solidity. It could withstand even an attack of a Gold Core expert.

However, it was so easily broken by the little girl. It seemed like she didn't even use a portion of her strength to do so. How terrifying this little girl's body actually was?!

"It tastes bad. These Pill Cookies does not taste good at all… make another one that's better for me!"

The little girl looked over at Xue Qing with dissatisfaction. Immediately, Xue Qing's forehead was beaded with cold sweat.

"Well, to make Second Revolution Pills for you… but, this old man doesn't have that many spiritual herbs… Oh ya, let my master concoct pills for you! The pills made by my master will taste a whole lot better!"

When Xue Qing was at his wits' end, he suddenly realized that Ning Fan was studying them with a faint smile. Intuitively, he thrust his master into the fiery pit.

"He knows how to make Pill Cookies?"

The little girl looked at the direction where Xue Qing pointed. Her eyes widened, staring at Ning Fan in disbelief. Within her eyes was a flash of black greedy light that inflicted pain in Ning Fan's sea of consciousness, causing him to make two steps backwards hastily. A slight astonishment was shown in his eyes.

That black light, what was that ability…? How could it induce pain in his sea of consciousness?

"Hey, you! Make me some Pill Cookies now. Or else, I'm going to eat you!"

The little girl exposed her small canine tooth and bit them, as if that would frighten Ning Fan.

"Eat me? My flesh doesn't taste good at all but, I can certainly make some delicious pills for you to eat. However, what benefit will I get by doing so?" Ning Fan smiled slightly. His eyes fell upon the brocade pouch at her waist.

The quality of this pouch was extremely high. It isn't just half notch or one notch higher than the average storage pouch. Due to the little girl's negligence, the pouch wasn't bound tightly. The traces of medicinal fragrance that emitted from it refreshed Ning Fan's mind…

1000-year-old spiritual herbs, 2000-year-old spiritual herbs, 5000-year-old spiritual herbs… There was even 10000-year-old spiritual herbs!

This female girl was unusually rich.

"Benefits? What benefits do you want? If the Pill Cookies you make are delicious, I won't beat you, okay?" The little girl spoke in a negotiating tone.

"Beat me? You can't beat me…"

"Then I'll beat you. And then, you'll make the Pill Cookies for me!"

A black light flashed in her eyes and turned into a ray of dark light that charged at Ning Fan. With a wave of her delicate punch, a sonic boom was heard. It was clear how powerful the force of this fist was!

"This girl has incredible strength!"

Ning Fan's eyes seemed slightly astonished. A silver light radiated from both of his hands. When he made a palm strike on the girl's fist, he was forced back a little by the impact, then he leveraged the force of the backlash and made another palm strike on the same fist.

Every impact stirred Ning Fan's blood and Qi. With such a strong fist, it wasn't hard at all for her to kill a late Gold Core expert!

After the thirteenth palm strike, ninety percent of the girl's fist force had been discharged. All of these happened within a second.

At this time, Ning Fan was no longer pushed backwards. The silver light in his body converged on his right fist. He then activated the Ancient Beast Protecting Wristband. Demon Qi soared from his body. And, he launched a punch, colliding with the girl's small fist.

*Hong!*

There was a huge rumble. With them being at the center, all of the rocks within 300 meters range were shattered!

In any case, Ning Fan had withstood the punch of the little girl and gained a clearer understanding about the little girl's physical strength.

Without using his trump card, he might not be able to beat this girl…

"Eh? I really can't beat you…"

The little girl withdrew her fist and showed a strange look. Given Ning Fan's cultivation base, wasn't he supposed to be sent flying away by this fist strike?

But immediately after that, a wicked smile was plastered on her face. "Even though I can't beat you, I have plenty of Rain Treasure to help me. As long as I whistle, all of them will come and attack you… Say it now, if you will make the Pill Cookies for me!"

The little girl gently blew a whistle. Almost instantly, countless eyes flashed faintly in the dark! Each of them was a Gold Core expert!

With so many Gold Core demonic beasts, even Ning Fan felt some numbness over his scalp.

He wouldn't have thought that this little girl in front of him could dominate these terrifying demonic beasts.

"Alright, I will make some pills for you, but… I don't have any herbs. I need yours."

Ning Fan concealed his surprised look. His eyes remained emotionless while his hand pointed at the girl's storage pouch. That caused the girl to instantly call out in alarm, pressed her storage pouch with both hands and pouted her lips.

"No, no way… I don't have spiritual herbs. You should use yours…"

"If that's the case, then there's nothing I can do… if you don't give some spiritual herbs, you won't have Cookie Pills to eat…" Ning Fan smiled teasingly. It seemed like this little girl was truly a Pill Devil. Additionally, she had the power to control the demonic beasts of Dark Sparrow's Grave. No one could tell how many thousands of years she had lived in the grave, but her mind seemed to be as childish as a little girl. Although she was powerful, she behaved so purely and naively.

"It's not Cookie Pills! It's Pill Cookies!" The little girl swung her delicate fists and retorted.

"Alright! It's Pill Cookies! You will give me spiritual herbs and I will make the cookies for you! In the outside world, I'm a renowned Fourth Revolution 'Cookie Refinement Master'…"

"Wah, you are a Cookie Refinement Master! You sure are amazing!" The little girl's eyes glittered like stars. The corner of her mouth started to drool.

At one side, Xue Qing was full of criticism against this brain-damaging dialog.

"Was this little girl the Pill Devil that I was so afraid of? Ai, how could I be so scared of this stupid Pill Devil? Didn't that make me even stupider than the Pill Devil…?"

"And what was with that Fourth Revolution Cookie Refinement Master…"

Although Xue Qing had lots of criticism in his heart, he didn't dare to interrupt. The little girl might not be smart, but her strength mustn't be underestimated. If it wasn't Ning Fan that received that punch of hers just now, he would straightaway be turned into a slag.

…

Time passed as Ning Fan gazed at the little girl.

After a long while, the little girl's eyes revealed some conflicting expression. She lifted her tiny head, looked at Ning Fan and asked pitifully: "Are you really a Fourth Revolution Cookie Refinement Master?"

"Indeed."

"Do the cookies you make delicious?"

"If it doesn't suit your taste, I can make another one."

"Then… I will give my pill treasures to you. I'll let you decide how to make a nice cookie." The little girl pathetically removed the brocade pouch from her waist and gave it to Ning Fan.

Her pitiful eyes made Ning Fan vaguely feel that deceiving this child was just too shameless…

But when his eyes swept inside the pouch, his expression turned from awkwardness to shock!

"There are so many thousand-year-old spiritual herbs!"

The storage space in this brocade pouch was even larger than the whole Sinister Sparrow Sect.

The thousand-year-old spiritual herbs that were stacked within was inexhaustibly plenty!

There were even innumerable ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs! But they seemed to have been planted under a formation seal, and this formation seal had reached the Void Level and was activated by a Void Fragmentation magical force. It was something not even Ning Fan could break!

His eyes flashed. This formation was most likely not deployed by the little girl. That meant that there was a Void Fragmentation expert who planted this formation for her!

The ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs couldn't be taken because there might be a Void Fragmentation expert hiding in the dark, peeping at them to ensure the little girl's safety!

"If it's merely a Pill Devil, why would a Void Fragmentation expert be watching her…? What is the true identity of this girl?!"

His eyes glittered. When he retracted his spirit sense, he saw a pile of pits at the most remote corner.

These pits were similar to the pit of Lychee, but the surface was covered with lines of bizarre patterns, and there were also some traces of illusory force that flowed out from it!

For the first time, Ning Fan's eye expression turned grim. He patted the pouch, took out one of the pits, put it in his hand and gazed at it fixedly!

"This is the fruit fruit pit, it's not edible… Grandpa said that the pit has to be brought back after eating the fruit fruit…" The little girl explained as though she was worried that Ning Fan would use the fruit fruit pit to make her cookies.

"Grandpa?"

Ning Fan felt a tingle in his heart. Could it be that the grandpa was the mysterious Void Fragmentation expert?

But even if he was a Void Fragmentation expert, he shouldn't have obtained such a divine fruit!

It was Ming Luo Fruit, which was also called the dream fruit. After consuming one, the person could fall asleep one time to experience 50 years of Samsara. This fruit couldn't enhance one's cultivation base, but it could enhance one's mental state!

The value of one Ming Luo Fruit was even greater than the Dao Fruit of a Nascent Soul expert!

"There's a Ming Luo Fruit in this place! If I can obtain it, and use it to fortify my mental state… My success rate of breaking through to the Gold Core realm is going to increase once more!"

…

<strong>Note:</strong>

1. Pit – A hard shell containing the nut or seed in the middle of some types of fruit

<strong>Credit:</strong>

G-SEAN(TL)