Grasping Evil

The wind carried with it the fragrance of green grass along with the shouts of the female guards who were training.

In the peaceful land within the stone chamber, Ning Fan laid 1400 formation eyes filling each and every one with one thousand immortal jade. The entire formation cost him 1.4 million of his total wealth.

He spread his spirit sense, connecting it to heaven and earth. The next moment, the primordial power of heaven and earth turned into a fluorescent sphere that surrounded the area… It was a Low Grade Divine Transformation Realm Formation called 'Primordial Light Devil Suppressing Formation'!

After establishing the protective formation, Ning Fan's expression turned serious. He shook his cauldron ring and summoned a green coffin…

Sounds of fingers scratching against the coffin lid could be heard from within. However, the fear that Ning Fan had towards the corpse devil within the coffin was not as strong as before.

The female corpse had become a corpse devil. That is to say that she successfully completed the second phase of the Corpse Devil Record. Now, she could be considered much stronger than any common Divine Transformation Realm expert.

As for Ning Fan, his body refining realm was closely approaching the Jade Life Realm. He was not any weaker than the female corpse. Furthermore, after upgrading the Stone Warrior Devil Marks to the Profound Earth Devil Marks, his physical defense became many times stronger than before, making it possible for him to be comparable to a cultivator with Jade Life Body Refining Realm.

With the techniques that he possessed and the restraint of the Primordial Light Devil Suppressing Formation on corpses and ghosts, it would be unnecessary to be afraid of the female corpse which just had a low spiritual intelligence…

There's something that I must find out.

He placed his hands on the lid of the coffin and pushed it aside.

Just as the coffin opened, Ning Fan narrowed his eyes and immediately teleported away in retreat!

A pair of ghostly pale hands with two inches long nails stretched out from within!

A powerful corpse qi swept across the surroundings! The aura she emanated nearly at the Mid Divine Transformation Realm! Fortunately, the formation prevented the leak of her forceful aura. If not, her aura would surely shake the entire Peng Lai Immortal Island and shock all members of the External Endless Sea!

Ning Fan was inwardly surprised by the drastic growth of the corpse devil's power.

The first time he opened it was when the female corpse fell from the sky, Ning Fan accidentally activated the coffin, accidentally making her begin the corpse transform.

In the Demon Sinister Forest, Ning Fan opened the coffin for the second time to show Mu Weiliang and Ning Honghong. That time, the female corpse had completed the first phase of corpse transformation, advancing into the second phase!

During the third time he opened the coffin at the Seven Apricot Voyage Ship, the female corpse had become a corpse devil, attaining the power comparable to an Early Nascent Soul Realm expert. With just a claw strike, she destroyed Black Armor!

After ten years, her power almost broke through to the Mid Divine Transformation Realm!

Her speed of cultivation was unprecedented in history…

Faced with such an intense corpse qi, Ning Fan could only stabilize himself after retreating for three steps.

In front of him was a female corpse with dreadfully pale lips like that of a ghost and was covered in pink thin clothes! Although she looked fragile, her body was slender and alluring, just like Mu Weiliang's! Her emerald green eyes adorned by long eyelashes that curled outwards beautifully were irresistible.

Her joints were stiff, making it difficult for her to walk. Despite the fragrance emitting from her body, a whiff of nauseous odor permeated the air…

Her pale white skin had started to slowly decay!

"Corpse Decay!"

Ning Fan frowned in contemplation. He finally found out the reason why this female corpse could progress so quickly in her cultivation. She was actually sacrificing her body to create more corpse qi in order to improve her power!

Nervousness filled his heart when he saw the decayed parts of the female corpse…

If this corpse really is the body of Mu Weiliang, I must protect it. I have to stop it from deteriorating any further.

Furthermore, even if this corpse isn't Mu Weiliang, it's inappropriate to see her continue rotting as she once saved me in the past… Corpse Decay is a technique that allows the corpse devil to accelerate the cultivation progress but once it's corpse is completely decayed, it will no longer have a body, causing it to return to dust…

He was concerned about the female corpse. However, it was obvious that the female corpse would not be able to understand his feelings.

She had been dead for a long time already and turned into a corpse devil. Although she lost most of her memories and intelligence, she could vaguely remember that she kept herself as pure as jade just for a man. She once had a noble status. She once controlled the Key to the Main Gate of the Ancient Heavenly Court…

However, before she could wait for the appearance of the man, a calamity befell the Heavenly Court, destroying the entire Immortal World… Someone had intruded the Heavenly Court through the Main Gate... Whenever she thought about the tragedy, she felt like crying. She felt that she was as blind as a bat because she chose the wrong person in her life…

No matter how hard she tried to recall, she could not remember what actually happened. But there was a person's silhouette that had been deeply etched into her mind.

The shameless young man who had toyed and molested her corpse body, tarnishing her purity!

Her Shougongsha[1] faded because of him…

She forgot everything in her previous life. But the only thing that she knew was that she wanted to kill this young man, tear him apart and devour him…

"You…are…detestable…Die…Die!"

The female corpse's voice was pleasant to hear. However, when she spoke halfway, her voice became hoarse. Seemingly, the decaying process had spread to her throat…

Her brows knitted in an angry manner. In a flash of black light, she darted towards Ning Fan and opened her mouth, revealing her white, razor-sharp fangs. She wanted to tear Ning Fan apart!

He quickly retreated. Meanwhile, the female corpse raised her hand which emanated greenish cold light and slashed at his direction!

A strong corpse intent formed a vortex behind him. It carried a power that could easily rip a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator's body apart.

Just as his back could feel the chill from the vortex, he managed to dodge to the left. However, before he could flee, a great force sucked his body towards the vortex!

When the female corpse was closing on him, her eyes flashed in ferocity and she raised her claw-like fingers, preparing to directly slash at Ning Fan's neck. If this claw manages to land on an expert with Jade Life Body Refining Realm, even his laryngeal bone would probably be shred apart!

"Is that how much you hate me…"

Ning Fan's eyes flickered with cold light. He knew that he must not reserve his power in the face of the female corpse's attack. Otherwise, he would likely die under her hands.

After he attained the Peak Silver Bone Body Refining Realm, his bone literally turned silver in color. When he used his body refining technique, his body was bathed in silver light, emanating an aura that was nearing the Jade Life Realm. He threw a fist at her direction, freezing everything in her path!

"Ice Smash!"

As his fist was thrown, her claws dropped down and heaven and earth froze!

The female corpse's attack was stopped. However, her eyes glowed with a faint light and slashed using her claws in response, crushing the power that froze heaven and earth!

Their fist and palm met. On top of Ning Fan's fist was the female corpse's icy cold palm. It was not soft at all, instead, it was as hard as iron.

That strike almost crushed the bones in his fist. The shock from receiving her attack head-on spread throughout his body, sending him a thousand zhang away while spurting a mouthful blood!

If it was not for the heaven-defying fortification on his physical defense from the Profound Earth Devil Marks, he could not have successfully blocked the attack with his Half-Step Jade Life Body Refining Realm!

He was considered extremely fortunate that his bones did not crack. Even Stone Warrior might not be able to directly withstand this strike…

The female corpse was as indifferent as usual. She vanished in a black light and dashed towards Ning Fan, exposing all her killing intent!

"This is the power of a Mid Divine Transformation Realm corpse devil… I've done experiencing it. Please forgive me for offending you…"

After wiping the blood stains from the corners of his mouth, he spread his spirit sense and activated the 'Primordial Light Devil Suppressing Formation'!

Strands of primordial power from the formation turned into chants to suppress devils, lightly reverberating in the air.

As the voices travelled into her ears, her face was plastered with fear. Her body stiffened, no longer acting to her own will. Her limbs became immobilized. Suddenly, a high-pitched cry echoed in her head, making her cover her ears in pain…

Whenever a ghost or corpse devil unfortunately entered into this formation, they would end up like the female corpse… However, this formation was only effective to the corpses which had yet to master their corpse spirituality. The devil suppressing chants would shatter their corpse spirituality, causing them to lose the ability to control themselves.

The female corpse held her messy sideburns and rolled on the ground while releasing peculiar growls. The pain was evidently unbearable.

Ning Fan was reluctant to see her in that state. But he had no choice as he needed to find out the identity of the female corpse.

Gradually, the female corpse lost control over the muscles of her body. When she saw Ning Fan was approaching her step by step, her expression was filled with fear and anxiety. She was like a mouse that encountered a snake which blocked its path of escape in its hole. There was no way to run!

"Don't…come…near…me…"

She wanted to struggle. She wanted to tear him to shreds. But she couldn't control herself.

"Ao wu… ao wu…" The female corpse was talking in an inexplicable language.

Ning Fan faintly sighed and squatted down to hold the female corpse in his arms. He placed her on his knees and touched her forehead with his finger.

"Don't be afraid. You won't feel pain very soon… Corpse Searching Technique!"

Corpse Searching Technique was another type of technique for reading one's memories. It was different from the Soul Memory Searching Technique. The memories of cultivators were usually contained in their souls. On the contrary, corpses could only retain a fragment of their memories from their former lives.

As a matter of fact, the remaining memories of a corpse would not reveal much of its past. However, Ning Fan had not expected to read anything useful from the female corpse's memories anyway. He only hoped to find the name of the female corpse when she was still alive…

With just a finger, the technique was completed.

In his mind, he felt like he was floating in midair in a broken heaven and earth. Every island that floated in the air were the pieces of her remnant memories.

Every piece of them was the incomplete parts of her life. It was impossible for him to obtain any useful information out of them.

Among the countless islands, there was a large, blood-red island which carried a complete part of her memory fragment.

Ning Fan leaped and landed on top of the island. Immediately, he was affected by the sadness and resentment that were contained within the fragment.

A blood-red memory fragment…

It was because of the grudge which she stubbornly held within her mind that she became a corpse devil. It was also because of this grudge that kept this memory fragment intact…

He crouched down and placed his hand on the blood-red memory fragment, reading it with his eyes closed.

A broken scene gradually appeared in front of his eyes.

In the fallen Immortal World, a noble woman who looked exactly the same as Mu Weiliang stood beside an enormous gate which had an immeasurable height. Tears were all over her face and she was overwhelmed by grief.

"Why… Why did you lie to me…. Why did you open the gate… Why did you betray the Celestial Palace… My father trusted you so much… I was so…"

"Hehe. Mu Weiliang, can't you understand now? I do not belong here! You are the daughter of the Celestial Emperor… You are my enemy!"

…

The scene faded. There were only so much within her memories.

Ning Fan withdrew his Corpse Searching Technique and his brows tightly knitted together.

The fragmented memory was seemingly related to the annihilation of the Ancient Heavenly Court and the destruction of the Immortal World.

But it was a secret that Ning Fan should not involve himself with. Perhaps even the True Immortals from the Four Heavens Immortal World do not know the full story of what happened in the past.

However, he at least understood one thing… This female corpse was certainly Mu Weiliang's.

His guess was correct. The reason the qi of the corpse was not the same as hers was because her soul had split into pieces after she died… The Mu Weiliang in the Demon Sinister Forest was just a part of her complete soul…

The female corpse on his knee was still ferociously staring at him.

Despite that, Ning Fan felt heartache when he looked at her cheeks which had partly decayed.

Mu Weiliang was a woman whom he had a short-lived relationship with. Even if this corpse was a corpse devil, she still was an important person to him.

"Do you recognize this pin?"

Ning Fan showed her the embroidery pin as if he was coaxing a baby. That was the Immortal Pin that would only be used by immortal women from the Ancient Heavenly Court. It emanated the qi of the female corpse.

"Pi…Pin…Embroi…dery…"

Her eyes quietly stared at the pin as if she was recalling something from the past.

"Pin…I…want…" The ferocity in her eyes gradually diminished and behaved like a child. She quieted down and looked at the pin. Her eyes were filled with an inexplicable emotion.

Upon hearing her request, Ning Fan let out a faint sigh and put the pin on her palm.

A satisfied smile adorned her face.

A corpse devil would still know how to smile?

"Be obedient. Don't be silly next time. I'll just give you this pin as a gift. Deal?"

"I…won't…act…rashly…I…want…to...do…embroi…dery…" She spoke in a soft tone as if she was asking for forgiveness. Sincerity could be seen being reflected from her eyes, just like an innocent child.

If Ning Fan did not know that she was a corpse devil which had power comparable to that of a Mid Divine Transformation Realm expert… If her body was also not rotting… Ning Fan would actually treat her like a naïve young lady.

"I'll undo the formation. You must not attack me. Otherwise, I will take away your pin."

"I…obedient…won't…eat…you…" The female corpse was seemed to be sucking up to Ning Fan.

"Oh really? Thank you for not eating me…"

Ning Fan did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Her emotional quotient was exactly the same as Mu Weiliang's. In Demon Sinister Forest, Ning Fan simply uttered a few words and made the latter run in circles.

A low emotional quotient…It's no wonder that she would be cheated and killed while she was alive…

Ning Fan stood up and the formation disappeared. The female corpse regained control of her body and began to move her limbs.

This time, however, she was a little more afraid of Ning Fan.

There was no way she would have an understanding of formations. She only thought Ning Fan was a powerful person that could immobilize her with just a thought. She only thought she was not his match.

As for the pin, she still recognized it because she still had a small portion of memories about it. It was why she treated it like a precious treasure.

"Light…I…want…embroi…dery…" She pleaded.

"Light? What light?" A confused expression filled his face.

"Light…" The female corpse pointed at Ning Fan and pointed at herself afterwards. "I…"

She showed him the embroidery pin in her hand and smiled lightly. "Pin!"

"Oh. This." Ning Fan finally understood her.

"Light" was the name that the female corpse gave him. The reason was probably because of the Primordial Devil Suppressing Light which misled her to think that it was Ning Fan's magical technique.

"Light…I…want…" A crease formed between her eyebrows as she raised the pin.

"Alright. Wait… Let me give you a bath. I want to cure your decaying body…"

Ning Fan kept the green coffin.

This female corpse was indeed strong but her spiritual intelligence was way too low. She was even worse than the black refined corpse, Black Armour… If she possessed the spiritual intelligence of an ordinary human, he could rely on her to overpower the entire External Endless Sea. Unfortunately, because of her low intelligence, she might be caught by other experts.

It was impractical to summon her during battle. If she started to kill, her ferocity might overtake her senses, making her lose the ability to distinguish between friends and foes and attack everyone including Ning Fan. After all, it was still an unknown factor.

First, Ning Fan had to stop the decaying process on her body. Secondly, he would need to plant a seal using the secret art of Corpse Devil Record.

The female corpse was dead and she did not have a Sea of Consciousness. Thus, Ning Fan could not plant a Mental Seal on her. Fortunately, the Corpse Devil record had a secret art that could restrain her.

However, this secret art was not effective on corpse devils that have high spiritual intelligence.

In the future, I'll find ways to save Mu Weiliang's soul from the Demon Sinister Forest and merge them together. Perhaps it would make the female corpse feel a little better.

No matter what, this female corpse could not be deployed as a fighter.

After ordering the female guards to prepare a wooden basin filled with warm water, Ning Fan asked them to leave and closed the door of the room.

He turned around and smiled at the female corpse.

"Take off your clothes and wash yourself. I'll prescribe some medicines for you to maintain your body…"

"I…don't…know…how…"

"Then let me help you…"

"No…Ah…"

Her whole body stiffened when Ning Fan carried her and placed her on the bed.

Troublesome. It's really troublesome…

A female corpse that does not know how to bathe…

A female corpse whose body was so stiff that her clothes can't be taken off…

When she was alive, she was the daughter of the Celestial Emperor. However, after she died, she became a useless corpse that did not know how to care for herself.

Ning Fan activated the Yin Yang Locket and tried to read her mind. To his surprise, he was unable to gain access to her heart.

After her body died, her heart had stopped beating. It was the reason why there's nothing in her heart…

She sure was a troublesome female corpse. But if she was cured, her appearance would be absolutely stunning…

Should I help her soften her body?

Ning Fan's hand stroked on her hardened waist. Immediately, her body trembled and her eyes flashed with ferocity.

"If you're disobedient, I'll take away your pin!"

"I…am…sorry…" She spoke apologetically and her eyes returned to normal.

<strong>Note:</strong>

1. According to Baidu, Shougongsha (守宫砂) is a medicine that was used for testing the chastity of the woman in the past. Once it was applied on the woman, it would not disappear even if the woman dies. However, once the woman had sexual intercourse with a man, it would vanish immediately.

<strong>Translator Team:</strong>

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