Grasping Evil

After returning to the inn, Ning Fan regulated his breathing for three days. During that time, he didn't speak a single word.

He was trying to keep his injuries under control. Three days later, he coughed out a mouthful of black blood.

That black blood was caused by the King's Domination Technique. Until then, he let out a long sigh of relief.

When his name was spread widely in Quwo City, countless Gold Core Realm cultivators came to pay him a visit out of courtesy. However, he rejected them all by giving the excuse of entering into secluded cultivation.

Only those who weren't willing to leave were entertained by Jing Zhuo.

At the yard of the residence, Ning Fan lied on a rattan chair, bathing himself under the sun while listening to the melody of the flute.

A tight frown formed between Yin Suqiu's eyebrows. It's impossible for her to not know about Ning Fan's injuries after seeing how Ning Fan forced the black blood out from his body. He didn't suffer that injury back then. It should have been inflicted on him when he was alone with Jie Xiu.

"That Great Jin cultivator went too far! How could they hurt you when you're trying to help them with good intentions?! His action cannot be condoned! I want to have a talk with them" Yin Suqiu said, failing to calm her thoughts down. She put down her flute, planning to search for Jie Xiu.

But Ning Fan held her hand.

"It was just a trivial matter and did not harm me much. The journey to the Endless Sea takes priority. I can bear it. Furthermore, the reason why I'm helping Great Jin isn't similar to yours. To be honest, my intentions weren't good at all."

"But…" She gently freed her hand from Ning Fan's grasp and stroked her wrist. The crease on her head still remained tightened.

It's because of me that Ning Fan offended Yun Kuang, creating a conflict between him and Rain Palace. Now, he's on bad terms with Great Jin's cultivators. Furthermore, he's going to disguise as a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator in order to participate in the War Division. He'll be involving himself in the battle at the frontlines. If someone tries to plot against him, he might find himself in a dangerous situation…"

There's no way she could not be worried for him…

If she knew that Ning Fan wasn't actually quarreling with Jie Xiu but the Great Jin's King instead, she would never be able to calm herself down.

"Keep playing the flute. It's truly a pleasure to have a beauty as my company, accompanied by the melody of the flute. Let's not upset the mood by those trifling matters…"

His eyes shut with a gentle smile on the corner of his face.

That smile pacified her feelings.

It was a genuine smile as he was really enjoying the sunlight.

"Fine. What do you want to hear?"

"How about the 'Song of Yue Boatman'?"

Listening to the beautiful sound of the flute, the past memories in Yue Country surfaced in Ning Fan's mind.

I wonder how Zhi He and Lan Mei are doing right now. That evil little girl, Bai Lu, must be diligently cultivating…

Have master and little Dugu reached the Sword World?

Is Ning Gu still always arguing with An Ran?

Does Hai Ning[1] still look the same? I guess the culprit who framed me up previously should be living a joyful life right now.

Ning Fan didn't care who exactly the culprit was. He did not even take the old ancestor of Hai Ning seriously. The culprit was only an ant to him now. If I pass by Wu Country one day, I would then eliminate him.

His goal was to achieve Peak Divine Transformation Realm within a hundred years. However, he now decided to let go of his original goal.

After the fight with Great Jin's King, he lost his inner peace. He then suddenly realized that he had gradually grown accustomed to the life of a cultivator with time.

Even if he didn't have Emperor Moksha as his enemy, he would still be willing to cultivate the Dao.

It was because if he didn't began the journey of Dao cultivation, he would be bullied by others just like the earlier scenario where he had almost been killed by the king's golden light.

"It would seem that the reason I put in tremendous amount of effort for Dao cultivation isn't to fight against Emperor Moksha. In reality, I am just unwilling to be bullied, suppressed and threatened by others. That is my true Dao, hatred wasn't. Master should've known about it and that's why he purposely left Yue Country for the Sword World. He wanted to erased the stubbornness in my heart so that I am able to understand my Dao more. My Dao isn't to defy order, I am just not willing to give in to others. Looking from another perspective, I am quite fortunate. If the king didn't push me too far, I wouldn't be able to discover my true nature…"

All his concerns which were as heavy as stones were let go.

Love and hatred dissipated in his thoughts. Now, his focus was all on what happened earlier when he resisted the King's Ten Decrees of Black Waves. He kept recalling about the feeling he had when he was resisting the technique.

At that moment, his heart was pure without any unnecessary thoughts. His heart was only filled with an unyielding will.

He carried a Dao that stunned the king which destroyed the King's Dominating Intent!

"The 'me' earlier can only be considered as a true cultivator!" Ning Fan's eyes sparkled. Unknowingly, the realm of his mental state was improving to a level comparable to a Late Gold Core Realm cultivator's mental state.

Along the journey through the four countries, Ning Fan not only widened his view and gained more knowledge, but also adapted his mental state to a cultivator's identity.

In the past, I wasn't happy at all even though I was displaying a smile.

Today, I felt more relaxed and happier.

Ning Fan shifted his gaze to Suqiu's quiet face while immersing in her melody.

Suddenly, he found that Yin Suqiu from his point of view was extremely captivating.

"Gorgeous!" Without any self-restraint, he complimented her.

Yin Suqiu's blushed at his unexpected compliment. Inwardly, she blamed Ning Fan for his frivolousness. But in her heart, she felt sweet.

A woman would doll herself up for the man who loves her. For six hundred years, she hadn't put on makeup. However, after she boarded the ship, she began to wear light makeup for Ning Fan.

All this time, Ning Fan didn't notice at all it as his mind was occupied by other problems.

Now, he finally noticed it!

"I know how to sing 'Song of Yue Boatman'. Let me sing for you while you play the flute."

"What a blessed night is tonight? Drifting down the river wide."

"​What auspicious day is today? My prince in a dream – right beside!"

"Too bashful to stare, a secret I cannot share."

"My heart fills with longings, to know you, my dear."

"The tree lives on the mountain, the branch lives on the tree."

Since young, Ning Fan learnt to sing the fisherman's song of Wu Country. As such, he could sing Yue Country's songs quite good as well.

It was Yin Suqiu's first time listening attentively to a man singing a song. For her, it was very pleasant to hear.

…

Three days passed. Yin Suqiu, Jing Zhuo and the others were led by the disciples of Han Yi Sect to use the short-range transportation portals, heading towards their assigned cities.

In the lands of Great Jin, there would be a cultivation city built in every ten thousand li. As such, short-range transportation portals were set up in the cities to allow the cultivators teleport for ten thousand li in order to assist the other cities any time if help was needed.

To get to the frontline, one needed to travel at least a hundred thousand li from south to north. For that distance, one would only need hundreds of transportation portals. In other words, one can reach the frontlines within half a month. It was extremely fast that only Divine Transformation Realm cultivator could travel at such speed.

However, each of them was at Nascent Soul Realm. Each activation of portals could teleport a hundred people but the cost would be at least ten thousand immortal jade.

Using the transportation portals for hundreds of times would need at least millions of immortal jade. If it wasn't for the demon tide, the portals wouldn't be open for use.

Moreover, a low-rank cultivation country didn't have the financial support to maintain the facilities and use them frequently.

Jing Zhuo and Yin Suqiu headed to Ju Shan Guan[2]. The threat level of the city was middle-rank. It was said that a high quality spiritual vein existed in that city. Therefore, the demons attacked the city incessantly in order to seize the vein.

It wouldn't be dangerous for Jing Zhuo and Yin Suqiu if they didn't try to be brave and went out of the city alone as their strength rivaled old ancestors.

"Hopefully, that troublesome woman wouldn't act rashly…" Ning Fan smiled bitterly. After witnessing my injuries that were inflicted by the cultivators of Great Jin, her passion to help the country should have diminished a lot.

When all the Gold Core Realm cultivators left, there were still other cultivators of the same realm passing through the boundary of Great Jin one after another. They too, were led to Quwo City.

Ning Fan was rather unfamiliar to them. They wouldn't know that the person on the opposite side was the merciless cultivator who shocked the entire Wei Country.

For the next ten days, Ning Fan remained secluded. He was stabilizing the realm that he broke through earlier after consuming the Burning Blood Pill.

In the third level of the Second Realm of "Colossal Bone Secret Art", Ning Fan could turn into a twelve zhang giant. With that amount of strength, he was rest assured that he could have defeated the Old Scholar using only Body Refining Technique.

On the tenth day, Jie Xiu personally arrived at the inn. His arrival surprised the Gold Core Realm cultivators currently staying there.

Jie Xiu didn't meet anybody else besides Ning Fan. After having a deep conversation with each other, Jie Xiu handed him a storage pouch.

Those unrelated cultivators inquired about Ning Fan all around. After they knew that Ning Fan was Old Ancestor Zhou Ming, each of them came to pay him a visit.

However, Ning Fan rejected all of them. The atmosphere in his room turned silent.

Jie Xiu told him that the storage pouch was an apology from the king. He hoped that Ning Fan wouldn't mind the king's previous aim of testing him to gauge his power.

"Was he really just testing me? If I wasn't capable enough, I would have died already… In a way, it was indeed a trial, a trial of life-and-death." Ning Fan said in a disapproving manner.

There were ten bottles of Three Revolution Pills in the pouch. These pills were meant to treat wounds and restore spiritual energy. A Low Grade Four Revolution Pill could be found as well, namely the "Extreme Bone Pill". After consuming it, one could unlock the potential and break through to the Second Realm of Silver Bone for a short period of time. The pill would lose its effect after a certain period of time and the cultivator's Body Refining Realm would return to normal. The downside of the pill was that it would leave behind a serious side effect on the cultivator.

But this pill was still very precious. If this pill is used during an intense fight, it would definitely be very effective.

Aside from those mentioned, there were also two Early High Grade Realm magical treasures.

It was as if the King knew that Ning Fan's current magic power could only unleash the full strength of an Early High Grade Realm magical treasure. If he sent one with a higher grade, Ning Fan might not be able to use it to its full potential.

Although they weren't Supreme Grade magical treasures, the ability added to the magical treasures after the process of Spirit Augmentation weren't weak. One of them was the Verdant Stone Sword which held a Nascent Soul Realm ability, specifically the Shadow Phantom. The other one was Jade of Orchid Hill. It had the power of purification which could nullify any Low Grade Nascent Soul Realm evil illusory technique.

Furthermore, Ning Fan also found one spiritual equipment and a Dao Fruit…

The Dao Fruit is obtained after an Intermediate Gold Core Realm cultivator dies. It was considered rare. However, the spiritual equipment was something priceless compared to the Dao Fruit!

Profound Silver Spiritual Equipment was for Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivators. Profound Golden Spiritual Equipment was for Gold Core Realm cultivators. Profound Jade Spiritual Equipment was for Nascent Soul Realm cultivators. The equipment that Ning Fan received was Profound Earth Spiritual Equipment. It was meant for Divine Transformation Realm cultivators!

Profound Earth Spiritual Equipment, "Wind Lightning Wings"!

After making the equipment recognize him as its master, it would fuse with his body. When using it, the master's back would grow a pair of wings having the power of wind and lightning. It allowed the master to possess movement speed comparable to an Early Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. (To clarify again, it's about movement speed, not teleportation!)

Ning Fan could use teleportation although he was just at the Harmonious Spirit Realm. Moreover, his black teleportation didn't cost any magic power and used the power of his spirit sense instead. However, it would be impossible for him to rely heavily on teleportation and less on flying when he travelled.

Teleportation was an ability that would only be performed in urgent circumstances. Usually, he still needed to travel by flying.

Flying consumed magic power… Unfortunately, magic power was Ning Fan's biggest weakness and his flying speed was extremely slow as its speed was only at Early Gold Core Realm.

If he gets involved in a battle against a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, teleportation would be very effective. However, when the battle turns into a pursuit, he wouldn't be teleporting the entire time as he might be pursuing the enemy for hundreds of thousands of li. As such, slow flying speed and low magic power might become his fatal weak point.

This equipment was indeed a helpful gift.

The biggest advantage of this equipment wasn't its Early Nascent Soul Realm speed. In fact, the owner didn't need to spend any magic power when flying!

Magical treasures were weapons which were infused with the magic power of cultivators to inflict damage on the opponents.

Spiritual equipments were treasure that were augmented with spiritual marks and secret arts which infused them with the energy of heaven and earth. Therefore, using them would help the cultivators save their magic power as they needn't spend any of it.

In other words, if Ning Fan is successfully recognized as master by the wings, his flying speed would be unrivaled without exhausting his magic power. Even if he needed to travel for a long distance, he no longer needed a ship nor an immortal cloud to aid him in his journey!

Profound Earth Spiritual Equipment… It was also considered as a precious item to the King!

The last item in the pouch made Ning Fan stupefied for a while.

He didn't expect to find this item in this country and it was even beyond his expectations that the King would present this item to him as a gift...

The eleventh rank qi in the Twelve Heavenly Cold Qi, Cold Pine Essence!

It might not be as strong as the Profound Yin Qi which was ranked at the ninth, but it's much stronger than Bone Prison Qi which was ranked at the twelfth place…

Only cold qi of the fifth grade and above were named as Heavenly Cold Qi… This item was priceless!

If the others knew that he possessed it, there would be a lot of people interested and try to seize it from him.

Is the King really being nice to me? If it was given by the King out of good intentions, Ning Fan would try to forget the misunderstanding between them.

However, Ning Fan felt that the gift wasn't something good at all.

It was as if he was drawing more troubles to Ning Fan. It would trigger some people's greed to snatch it from him.

As his cultivation realm increased, he gradually realized that he couldn't be like his master, displaying the Black Demon Flame everywhere.

His master was able to do that because even the 'Big Shot' of Rain World showed him respect. No one dared to snatch it from it.

My situation is much different from my master. Not many people know that I am the disciple of the Old Devil. If I keep displaying the Heavenly Cold Qi or Earth Flame without caution, I would certainly receive the attention from the enemies lurking in the dark.

It won't be a serious matter to display the Black Demon Flame once in a while in a low-grade cultivation country. However, there were a lot of strong experts in a middle-grade cultivation country. Moreover, the Divine Transformation Realm Demon General seemed to be keen on getting it… That was the reason why Ning Fan didn't reveal his Fire Element Cultivation Method when he was tested earlier. He showed the opposite, which was Ice Element Cultivation Method. He was afraid of exposing the fact that he possessed the Black Demon Flame.

Currently, it appeared that the King had the intention of getting Ning Fan into troubles.

If the King wants to cause trouble for me, he wouldn't keep it as a secret after this item lands into my hands.

If I am not mistaken, there would be a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator coming to ask for the Heavenly Cold Qi after a while.

I would of course be fine if I obediently hand the item over to the cultivator. Furthermore, I might be able to get a favourable impression from him.

However, I might appear to have no harm on the surface but my Heart of Dao would suffer great damage.

My Heart of Dao was not giving in to others. If I am forced to hand over this item, it shows that I submit myself.

Is that the ultimate intention of the King?

Ning Fan wasn't certain on his assumption. It's easy to find out the truth!

He left the inn and spread his spirit sense all over the area, covering the entire Quwo City.

At the next moment, he could eavesdrop on the conversations and gossips from the restaurants and residences.

"Have you heard? Old Ancestor Zhou Ming received the approval of our King and will become one of the Seven Commanders. He's going to take over Xun Ri's position who was also known as the 'Water Commander' that died in the line of duty.

"Who doesn't know about this?! Did you also know that Old Ancestor Zhou Ming not only got Xun Ri's post, but also obtained Xun Ri's treasure!"

"What?! Is there really something like this?! What's the treasure?!"

"Heavenly Cold Qi! Cold Pine Essence!"

"Aiya! It's weird. This item is always wanted by Revered Snow, one of the Revered Elders of Rain Palace, isn't it? Could it be that Revered Snow didn't want it anymore?"

…

Ning Fan withdrew his spirit sense and his eyes turned cold.

If the King held good intentions, it would be impossible for him to spread the news all around which would cause troubles for me.

From the conversation earlier, Ning Fan found out that Cold Pine Essence was owned by the late Xun Ri. Besides, Revered Snow of Rain Palace took fancy to it.

Ning Fan didn't know who Revered Snow was. He presumed that it must be a Divine Transformation Realm Revered Elder. It was because only Divine Transformation Realm cultivators could be addressed using the word 'Revered' in Rain Palace!

"Sure enough, the King wants to take revenge on me for crushing his Dominating Intent. He now wants to destroy my Unyielding Intent.. Revered Snow, Divine Transformation Realm… It was indeed a 'huge' gift from the King. Does he really think that I, Ning Fan, dare not to receive?!"

<strong>Note:</strong>

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<strong>Translator Team:</strong>

G-Team [Tommy (TL), Roel (Editor)]