Grasping Evil

The sword was just one chi* long and was green like jade. Its cutting edge was blunt and unsharpened with a few cracks here and there on its archaic surface.

Rather than calling it a sword, it would be more appropriate to treat it as a dagger.

Even so, as it was unsheathed, it gave an immense feeling of threat to Ning Fan.

There were traces of heavenly spiritual energy emitting from the sword. When Bei He wielded it, the energy condensed into a fine green light that looked like a thread. As he slashed it at the air, a small cut formed on the empty atmosphere, vaguely exposing the dark Void Realm beneath it…

Spiritual Magical Treasure!

Only Spiritual Magical Treasures were able to cut through the air, revealing the Void Realm using heavenly spiritual energy!

If this sword were to slash Ning Fan's body, his strong physical body would still suffer injuries!

Furthermore, the Lightning Whip must not be used to strike this dagger. Otherwise, the whip would definitely be destroyed!

However, Ning Fan noticed something weird about Bei He's sword.

His sword might be encircled by heavenly spiritual energy, but it was slightly weaker than a genuine Spiritual Magical Treasure.

Spiritual Magical Treasures were also known as Profound Heaven Spiritual Treasure. When cultivators attain the Divine Transformation Realm, they could congeal their own Divine Intent. Similarly, when magical treasures achieves the Spiritual Grade, they could fuse within them heavenly spiritual power. The spiritual power of the five elements would become the primordial energy of heaven and earth after condensing. As the primordial energy reaches its peak, it would become pure heavenly spiritual power.

For instance, this green faint light radiated by the sword should be the heavenly spiritual power of the wood element. It was sufficient enough to kill any cultivator whose body refining realm was below Jade Life Realm.

It is a little weak to be a Spiritual Magical Treasure…

With a turn of thoughts, Ning Fan saw through that this sword might once be a magical treasure of that grade. Now, because of its current worn out condition, it could only be considered as a Half-Step Spiritual Magical Treasure, which was much stronger than Supreme Grade Magical Treasures but weaker than genuine Spiritual Magical Treasures.

No. It isn't a Profound Heaven Spiritual Treasure, but a… Profound Heaven Defective Treasure!

Yes. That must be it. Even an Early Divine Transformation Realm expert who has ten thousand units of magic power would find it hard to wield a true Spiritual Magical Treasure. It would be more logical that Bei He was only able to wield this sword since it wasn't actually a magical treasure of that grade.

"Zhou Ming! I know you have exceptional body refining realm. I also know that you own a whip that is specialized in killing a cultivator's Nascent Soul by striking on the cultivator's magical treasures! Xiang Liao was unaware of your true abilities and it was why he failed to defeat you! I am different and I am not going to commit the same mistakes as him! With this sword in hand, no matter how strong your body refining realm might be, you are dead!"

Bei He sneered. However, his pale face showed that it was not easy to control the sword.

Confidence surged within his heart. With this weapon, he could even hurt experts at the Divine Transformation Realm!

"Third Brother. Use this treasure to block his route of retreat. Don't let him run away… I have to sacrifice my cultivation realm in order to display the might of this sword. Besides, our Second Brother has already sacrificed himself in this battle. If we gained nothing out of this, it would be too shameful!"

"Yes!"

Dong Qing dashed to the back of Ning Fan like a light and held a long lock in his hand. He was on alert. If Ning Fan were to show any signs of retreating, he must act!

After sealing off Ning Fan's escape route, Bei He held the hilt of the sword with both of his hands and swung downwards from overhead, making a slash at Ning Fan's direction!

Bei He could feel that his entire body was being devoured by the Profound Heaven Soul Slashing Sword when he made that slash. His face turned even more pale and his body slimmed down rapidly. The next second, there were only skin and bones left on his body. All his blood qi had been infused into the sword.

A green ray of light fell upon the sky, connecting to the surface of the sea. The atmosphere became calm and the sea became tranquil.

All of a sudden, the entire heaven and the skies were divided into two by the heavenly spiritual power of the ray of light, exposing the dark Void Realm!

Ning Fan was shocked momentarily and immediately teleported to avoid the power of the heavenly spiritual power. However, the threadlike spiritual power obstinately trailed his movements, no matter where he went. Cuts could be seen everywhere in the atmosphere and he was left with no room to retreat!

His eyes flashed in ferocity. He knew that the only way to deal with this attack was to resist it head on!

Among all the magical treasures in his pouch, not even one of them was Profound Heaven Defective Treasure, let alone a treasure that achieved the Spiritual Grade.

Perhaps, I really have to withstand this attack with my body!

This was absolutely the strongest attack that Ning Fan had ever witnessed from an expert below the Divine Transformation Realm. Besides, it was much more terrifying than some Early Divine Transformation Realm expert's attacks!

The Earth Controlling Devil Star twinkled within his right eye. The spiritual power of the earth element formed into a dark yellow barrier like a gigantic shield in front of him. After that, Ning Fan hurriedly activated the Sense Defense Art, surrounding himself in a dark cocoon made up of his Peak Nascent Soul Realm spirit sense. Within the cocoon, he turned his body into silver and held at least ten Supreme Grade magical treasures in his hand!

When the green light ray met the gigantic shield which could block a Peak Nascent Soul Realm attack, a 'swish' sound was heard. The shield which was tens of zhang thick was cut into half and the edge was as smooth as a mirror!

The first line of defense was broken. But it only managed to weaken one fifth of the total power of the green light!

Ning Fan's eyes turned cold.

This green light sure is swift and fierce…

Before he could blink his eyes, the green ray of light met the dark cocoon.

The sound of cracking egg echoed into Ning Fan's ears. The dark cocoon which could block an attack of Peak Nascent Soul Realm expert broke apart!

Not just that, the green light also left an hard-to-see thin scar on his spirit sense, dealing a sharp pain to his Sea of Consciousness. A mouthful of blood gushed out from his mouth.

The Sense Defense Art was broken!

It was an exceedingly terrific attack!

The total power of the sword was now reduced to three-fifths of the original. It was still not the right time to take on the damage with his body!

Madness shone in Ning Fan's eyes. Each and every Supreme Grade magical treasure he had was hurled towards the approaching green light and were detonated!

The first treasure exploded!

The tenth treasure exploded!

The one hundredth treasure exploded!

He almost used up all the magical treasures he obtained from killing Nascent Soul Realm experts. Every detonation of the treasures emitted power equivalent to a Nascent Soul Realm technique. The massive shockwave from the explosions sent Ning Fan a thousand zhang away from his original spot. Under such explosion, the green light began to turn illusory.

He managed to reduce the power of the attack to twenty percent. In a flash, the green light emerged in front of Ning Fan and slashed down from over his head!

It all happened too fast! Ning Fan tried to catch the light with his bare hands!

One of his hands balled into a fist and struck on the green light!

However, just as he came into contact with the green light, the bones of his fist crumbled. The green light entered into his body and violently shredded his insides!

Before the green light could inflict severe damage on his body, Ning Fan's eyes turned indifferent and his jet-black hair grew longer. His body became surrounded by a thick black mist.

*Bang*

His physical body vanished!

The green light disappeared!

Dong Qing was completely astonished! Ning Fan managed to exhaust the might of his sword attack, though he still could not survive it!

"So this is Zhou Ming's power… Although the Profound Heaven Soul Slashing Sword is just a defective one, its power is not much weaker than ordinary Spiritual Magical Treasure! Even Divine Transformation Realm experts would be hurt by that attack… But this person was able to wear out the full power of the green light. His combat power is nearly that of a vRealm expert!"

Deep inside, Bei He was astonished by Ning Fan's capability but he could not resist the urge to sneer and laugh.

This attack almost depleted all the Blood Essence in his body. To fully recuperate from his current condition, he would need at least a hundred years or even more unless he has access to excellent locations, treasures and pills. Furthermore, if he manages to gain full recovery, his cultivation realm would drop a little. Perhaps he would only have 5000 units of magic power and maybe even lower…

This attack really took a toll on him!

He, Bei He, could be considered to be an outstanding individual for being able to wield this sword. It was enough for him to be proud of himself.

Despite the heavy price he had to pay, he did not regret it as he had killed Ning Fan in the end.

Revered Flame would certainly commend us and even reward us handsomely as we obtained two types of Earth Vein Demonic Flames for him…

If Revered Flame gave each of them a "Separation and Reunion Pill", they would have hopes of attaining Divine Transformation Realm in their lives!

"Haha! Third Brother, quickly search the place where he died to find the Earth Vein Demonic Flames! I want to rest for a moment to suppress my injuries…"

"But… There isn't any flame here!"

"Impossible! That sword attack might have been infused with the heavenly spiritual energy which could destroy his entire body together with his Nascent Soul without shedding blood, but the Earth Vein Demonic Flames are spiritual items that shouldn't have been affected by it… Hmm? Don't tell me the two flames fell into the Void Realm through the opening made by the sword earlier. What a troublesome matter! I have to perform the technique again to create a rift into the Void Realm in order to retrieve the flames. How about you try wielding the sword this time?"

Bei He who was digesting medicines while floating in the air in a meditative position felt a sudden chill run down his back!

Countless dark sword sense emerged behind him and congealed into a figure of a young man wearing a black robe!

His face was pale and looked as if he was severely injured. However, the severity of his injuries did not kill him!

"Is hurting me something that made you feel contented? Black Tempest Rupture Art!"

The sudden feeling of danger that was too bizarre!

Bei He did not even have the time to notify Dong Qing who was a thousand zhang away from him!

This voice was like that of a devil. The tone was spine-tinglingly cold.

This voice sounds really familiar… Yes! It's him!

"Zhou Ming! You aren't dead?! How is it possible?! How?! Argh!"

The young man exploded into dark shadows and rushed towards Bei He. Immediately, Bei He wailed in pain!

His right arm was cut off when the black shadow passed through it!

The shadow then entered into his body through the wound, shredding every immortal vein within. Afterwards, it devastated his dantian and went directly at the miniature Nascent Soul which was hiding in a corner!

Within seconds, his physical body was cut into pieces. Knowing that he would be the next victim, the miniature man who was wearing a golden armor hurriedly took out a jade plate and crushed it. A scorching hot light emitted from the broken jade plate and the miniature man vanished and appeared a thousand zhang away! It was the power of Instant Shift!

His tiny pair of eyes focused on the young man who materialized from the black mist in disbelief. As for Dong Qing, he was completely stupefied by the situation before his eyes!

How is it possible?! He is still… alive! Even after being struck by the sword attack?!

A body of black mist? What is that? It even allows him to dematerialize at his whim!

Also, what is Black Tempest Rupture Art?! How can it tear Bei He's body down just like that?

"No… No way!" Bei He screamed on the top of his lungs! His voice was filled with fear!

"Both of you are going to die… Before that, I have a question to ask the both of you. You two really went through a lot of troubles and served Revered Flame so obediently. I believe he must be a Fifth Revolution Pill Master. However, do you guys know that I am a Fifth Revolution Pill Master too?! You two should not have offended me."

"Wha…What?! You are a Fifth Revolution…" An intense feeling of regret filled his mind. If he knew earlier, he would have desperately made friends with Ning Fan. It was not worth it to please another Fifth Revolution Pill Master by offending the one before him.

Regrets. His heart was full of regrets. His eyes flashed with terror.

This Zhou Ming is too unusual. I should escape from the Endless Sea and seek help from Revered Flame back in the Rain Palace to avenge my two brothers!

"You wanna run? Seal!"

Ning Fan lifted his finger and Dong Qing's movement as well as the Nascent Soul of Bei He were sealed in place. He glared coldly at the both of them.

What happened next was Ning Fan opening his mouth widely and swallowing Bei He's broken arm. Then, he held a green jade sword in his hand. All of a sudden, he felt the power of heaven and earth combine together in his heart.

So this is the Profound Heaven Spirit Slashing Sword? I have underestimated the full potential of magical treasures in the past. It is out of my expectations that a magical treasure would be able to gather Heavenly Spiritual Energy once it enters into the Spiritual Grade. Its power is terrifying. Even I was hurt by it too…

Although it was just a Profound Heaven Defective Treasure, his 190 units of magic power including his demon power, was far from enough to unleash its full power.

The two bodies that were sealed in place were trying hard to break themselves free through sacrificing their Blood Essence. Dong Qing who was close to gaining control of his four limbs was immobilized once more as Ning Fan lifted his finger at him again!

No matter how many times they broke free, they would be sealed a second after they regained the movements of their limbs!

Gradually, hopelessness filled their faces. The current Ning Fan's aura was nearly that of the Peak Nascent Soul Realm. He might not be at the same cultivation realm like them, but it was a difficult task to break free from his Body Sealing technique!

"Fellow Daoist Zhou Ming. If you let me go this time, I promise you that I will never disturb you anymore! I will not treat you as a criminal who broke the World Law!"

"Disturb? *Cough lightly* Don't be impatient. I'm still learning how to wield this sword to decapitate you!"

"You will never be able to wield it! It is something that not even a Divine Transformation Realm expert could…"

"Shut up!"

These two words were like thunderclaps, blasting in their ears!

Afterwards, a vast and boundless aura slowly filled Ning Fan's body.

He opened his palm and positioned it towards the ground as if he was grasping onto something! It was like the entire ocean floor of the surroundings was in his hand!

"Soul Extraction…"

His faint voice echoed into the sky. The soul he obtained from the ground entered into his body and turned into tremendous amount of magic power!

300 units… 500 units… 1000 units…

2000 units… 5000 units… 10000units!

Ten thousand units of magic power was the amount that a Divine Transformation Realm expert normally had. With an immense amount of magic power, Ning Fan would be able to deliver a full attack of the sword without the need of sacrificing his own Blood Essence like how Bei He did.

"Soul… Soul Extraction! I understand! This black shadow of yours is your incarnation! It is one of the rare types of 'indestructible incarnation'! You… You comprehended two Void Fragmentation Realm ability?! Zhou Ming! Haha. Now I feel that I truly deserved death in your hands! If you change your mind, I would be willing to …"

"Shut up!"

His eyes flashed coldly and an unprecedented aura turned into a sword attack!

A green light crescent slashed out from the sword, emitting an extremely intense power that threatened to cut open the sky!

As the light flashed through Dong Qing and the Nascent Soul, their expressions were a mixture of hatred and terror!

Be it a Nascent Soul or a physical body, both were quickly reduced to ashes…

Two loud painful wails spread across the sea along with the sea breeze. However, it was drowned out by a loud boom from the sky.

A black opening could be seen in the sky, connecting this world to the Void Realm. The trace power of Void Realm emanated from the opening was enough to make anyone's hair rise and chill their spine.

Fortunately, it closed itself up after a short while.

Above the surging waves stood a black-robed young man. He was observing the sword that he was holding.

The soul of the ground gradually escaped from his body.

"Profound Heaven Spiritual Treasures… They're truly terrific… I have to start refining a few handy magical treasures… The Separation Slayer Sword must be upgraded from its current High Grade…Before that, I must be extra cautious when dealing with Divine Transformation Realm experts.

…

Within the Xuan Wu City, countless Nascent Soul Realm experts surrounded the southern pill tower. Lu Qing and Bei Xiao Man were at the top floor of the Lost World Palace, silently looking at three jade plates which showed the life force of three persons. The atmosphere within the southern tower was as silent as a graveyard!

Suddenly, the three jade plates successively broke apart by themselves. Doubtlessly, it meant that the three tower masters were dead.

Next, a sensational news shook the entire Peng Lai and it was spread in the External Endless Sea with an incredible speed!

Zhou Ming killed three Peak Nascent Soul Realm experts by himself!

None of the three tower masters of the Lost Word Palace who were also Feudal Ranking Elders of the Rain Palace survived!

Zhou Ming was certainly the strongest cultivator below the Divine Transformation Realm in the External Endless Sea.

<strong>Note:</strong>

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<strong>Translator Team:</strong>

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