Grasping Evil

As their lips and tongues came into contact, Ning Fan sucked the poison into his own body, turning it into nutrients for his Yin Yang Locket.

A long while later, their lips moved away as Ning Fan let go of Su Yao. He wiped off the saliva on his mouth while his eyes continued to stare at Su Yao, thinking of the pleasant scent from her body.

"I heard that Sect Master Su Yao cultivates the wood element cultivation method – Green Lotus Record. The cultivators of that method are said to possess the natural scent of mint even without the need of putting on perfume. Sure enough, the rumors are true."

"Oh…"

After receiving such compliments from Ning Fan, Su Yao did not know whether to be angry or grateful to him.

Her body which was previously weak and feeble gradually regained its strength because of the disappearance of the poison.

But she could still feel Ning Fan's body temperature on her lips.

As she thought of how Ning Fan detoxified her by sucking the poison out of her body and into his, she could not stop herself from being touched.

The Chastity Falling Powder might only be an aphrodisiac poison to women, but it was a lethal venom to men. Not to mention how Ning Fan sucked the poison out of her, just his kind intentions of risking his life to save hers was enough for her to pledge to marry him.

However, pigs would be flying in the sky if she were to fall for him that easily after just meeting him several times.

Even so, she would never be able to erase Ning Fan's shadow from her heart after what she had experienced.

"Thank you…" She slowly got up from the bed and tidied up her messy hair. After making herself neat, she gave Ning Fan a cool smile, just like a green lotus.

"When I save someone, I don't save them for nothing. If you really want to thank me, then show me your sincerity the next time I visit Bi Yao Sect. Moreover, there is still residual poison within your body. But with your Nascent Soul Realm cultivation level, it won't be difficult for you to expel it from your body. Take a good rest. I still have things to handle. So please excuse me…"

"You want to leave already?" Su Yao instinctively asked without being fully aware of what she had just said. The next moment, she realized how unsuitable and ambiguous her question have been.

At such a time in such a place, her words might be misinterpreted as her implying that she wanted him to stay in her room and rest for the night…

As she tried to explain, she saw that Ning Fan did not even take it to heart. He smiled without uttering any words from his mouth. He then walked to the table in front of the window and wrote something. After that, he held the female corpse and walked out of the room, vanishing in the snow.

The heavy stone in Su Yao's heart was finally lifted…

However, when she saw how Ning Fan held the female corpse's hand, she felt slightly disappointed…

When Ning Fan arrived earlier, she was fearful of him. But when Ning Fan left, she felt lost.

She placed her hands on her lips, recalling how she had been forcefully kissed by Ning Fan just now. Just as those scenes resurfaced in her memories, her face turned reddish.

"Being kissed… Can this be considered as me losing my virginity?"

Her thoughts were in confusion.

She stood up and lightly walked towards the window.

A smooth stone pressed against a piece of white paper. There were a few words written on it. The words were made up of strokes that were both sharp and swift and displayed a sense of grace and vigor, revealing the strength and style of the writer's character.

Those characters were excellently written.

Throughout her seven hundred years of cultivation, Su Yao had seen and studied different kinds of people. Therefore, she knew how to judge a person through his words.

Those short, one-lined characters written using ink contained the verve that was capable of ruling the lands under the heavens, making Su Yao's eyes flash in awe.

"Good handwriting…"

The handwritings were indeed nice. However, the message contained in the words made Su Yao's face flush in awkwardness and angrily spat a curse on him.

"A lonely woman who masturbates is not wrong. Similarly, being selfish is not wrong as everyone has their own devils in their hearts."

*Pah* I thought this Zhou Ming was a decent man. But the message he implied is so improper…

What does he mean by "a woman who masturbates is not wrong"…?

How is such a shameful act not considered a wrongful deed…?

Wait. He really saw it, didn't he?!

"He said he wants me to thank him the next time he comes to Bi Yao Sect… Don't tell me…he wants me to…have sex with him…"

Su Yao's hands quivered as she carefully kept the paper.

She bit her lip with worry filling her eyes.

…

After a short while, Ning Fan had cast aside the matter about Su Yao.

Other than pleasing women, he still had much more important matters to do.

Fortunately, with Yu Long as his servant, he did not need to entertain the cultivators who came to pay him a visit. To him, those unnecessary and superfluous formalities should be handled by his servant as he should focus on cultivating and killing others!

The auction would begin in another 7 days. Before that, he wanted to meet Xu Rushan.

He was able to wait a little longer to get the Profound Heart of Mother Earth. However, he wanted to keep all the human cauldrons that would be auctioned for himself first.

If there is a chance, he would also want to get his hands on the Divine Transformation Realm human cauldron he heard from the rumors too!

Plucking a Nascent Soul Realm human cauldron would grant him approximately 20 to 30 units of magic power.

But plucking a Divine Transformation Realm human cauldron would grant him at least 500 units of magic power!

With his current cultivation level, he would be able to retain much more magic power if he consumes the Green Phoenix Flame, giving him nearly a hundred units of magic power.

This sizeable Pleasure Devil Island should have a lot of pills that can increase the cultivation level of Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.

If everything goes smoothly, Ning Fan would be able to accumulate enough magic power to break through to the Peak Nascent Soul Realm… But regarding the specifics of the plan, he would only know after meeting with Xu Rushan.

Besides, the spiritual veins and spiritual minerals of this island had plentiful of the gold element. No other place would be better than this for Ning Fan to cultivate the second finger of his Sword Finger.

However, if he were to cultivate that technique, he might cause the island to lose most of its spiritual power. If that happens, Xu Rushan might see Ning Fan as his enemy and the outcome would be unfavorable to Ning Fan.

Since this Xu Rushan treated me quite well, it would be more appropriate if I consult him for his suggestion, just like the saying goes, courtesy demands reciprocity.

In the snow, his movement might not be fast but his body appeared to be floating like a ghost.

Occasionally, his body would almost turn into a gust of green smoke that floated in the air.

Every step he made was like a man strolling idly in a courtyard. However, each of his steps would make him disappear into green smoke and instantly reappear thousands of li* away.

This kind of movement technique was much more profound than teleportation. It resembled the Instant Shift technique of a Divine Transformation Realm expert, though it was still way slower than that of the Divine Transformation Realm movement technique.

After passing by another market, he reached the border checkpoint of the external part of the island. Beyond the gate, it would be the forbidden area – the internal part of Pleasure Devil Island…

Ning Fan passed through each and every line of defense of the checkpoint but none of the Nascent Soul Realm experts were able to discover his intrusion.

When his shadow emerged in the mountain which was suspended in midair – the Blissful Summit, the Gold Core Realm guards of the mountain were deeply shocked.

"Who, Who are you?!"

When they recognized that the man who came was the person whom Xu Rushan ordered to treat with utmost respect, the guards only felt relieved. Even so, they still could not restrain themselves from becoming awestruck by the terrifying movement technique of the young man before them who trespassed the border checkpoint unnoticed.

"Greetings to Young Master Zhou! The old ancestor has orders that Young Master can directly enter the internal hall once you arrive."

They knew that Ning Fan's surname was Zhou but they have not been told that his full pseudonym was actually Zhou Ming.

"Mm-hmm."

Ning Fan nodded his head and brought the female corpse with him into the mountain.

The Blissful Summit was a mountain of spiritual minerals. It was one hundred thousand zhang* tall. From afar, the mountain appeared to be glistening due to its black glossy surface. The inside of the mountain had been hollowed out to build a palace-like room.

On both sides of the passage to the mountain, a slew of weapons and magical treasures were attached on the walls. The force that magnetized gold and iron was the Primordial Magnetic Force.

Along the path, Ning Fan counted the number of weapons on the wall. In total, there were more than a hundred Supreme Grade Magical Treasures. That is to say, at least a hundred Nascent Soul Realm experts had once been defeated and killed by Xu Rushan.

Xu Rushan might be temperate in his attitude towards Ning Fan, but his attitude actually depended on the people he was faced with.

When he committed a brutal slaughter in the External Endless Sea, maybe Ning Fan had yet to be born into this world.

When they walked into a remote area of the mountain, the path was split into multiple entrances.

In his current location, if he spread his spirit sense to probe the paths, he would definitely be injured by the Primordial Magnetic Force. He gazed at each and every path in front of him, trying to figure out the way. All of a sudden, a female servant emerged and approached him.

"Miss, may…"

Before he could raise his question, the maidservant took the lead to speak to him.

"Is Young Master lost?"

"Er. Yes."

"If that is the case, please follow me…"

Her eyes landed on the female corpse beside Ning Fan, feeling astonished by the latter's absolute beauty. However, her astonished look was immediately replaced by strangeness.

Why did this Young Master bring a woman when he's coming to attend the Mistress' appointment to admire the beauty of flowers…

Ning Fan did not think much about it.

He did not ask where they were heading and he just quietly followed the maidservant, thinking that this maidservant was someone who was sent by Xu Rushan to guide him.

Their path was not straight at all. They had to turn left and right as if they were climbing a mountain. When they finally reached the peak of the mountain, their faces immediately brightened up.

Whiffs of flower scents blew against their faces, entering their nostrils. The dark, gloomy path finally turned into a beautiful and enchanting backyard garden.

The pots which held those plants were carved and adorned in a natural manner. There were the rare grasses of the mortal world; the immortal flowers of the cultivation world; and also colorful butterflies dancing around them.

Tens of elegant and good-looking young masters were discussing about the plants in the garden while enjoying the beautiful scenery. They acted like they loved plants but if one took a closer look, impatience filled their eyes.

A sweet-sounding melody filled the air from a path deep within the garden. There was a pergola there and a person playing a qin1.

Two maidservants stood cautiously beside the yellow-robed girl who was closing her eyes while passionately plucking the unfretted strings on her qin.

"Hmm? Here comes another 'profit-seeking person'?"

Her sense of hearing was extremely acute that she was able to hear footsteps from distance, though it did not interrupt her.

But when she continued to listen, she found out that there were actually two persons.

One of them had soft footsteps, showing her light bodyweight while the other one's footsteps were rather heavy and firm.

I suppose they must be a man and a woman.

"Which Young Master is interesting enough to bring another woman here while trying to please my father in order to marry me…" Xu Qiuling laughed but her eyes remained shut while her fingers continued to dance on the qin.

This place was Xu Qiuling's personal garden.

The other men should have been invited by Xu Rushan himself to discuss about the marriage of her daughter, Xu Qiuling. If Xu Qiuling took a fancy on any of the young masters and nodded her head in approval, Xu Rushan would immediately proceed to plan her marriage.

Unfortunately, there was no one she liked.

The only person whom she looked highly of was the man that appeared out of nowhere in the market that day – the elegant and unconventional young man who did not reveal his name.

"Mistress. Please have a look. This newly arrived Young Master is quite handsome. However, he seems to be a married man as he had brought another woman here… The woman is also extremely beautiful…"

"Superficial appearance is like the floating clouds. People will get old in the end no matter what…" Xu Qiuling let out a faint sigh. Even though her maidservant complimented the young man, she did not bother to open her eyes.

"After Mistress attains the Divine Transformation Realm, there will be lots of pills for the Mistress. How will Mistress ever get old? I believe Mistress will look young and beautiful forever…"

"Humans may not age but the heart will. On a similar note, even if the appearance remains the same, the heart won't… These people are merely seeking benefits from our sect through marrying me… Look at all the men who came to admire the flowers. Which of them harbor no ulterior motives and only love flowers like me? All they want is my father's power… Speaking of which, why haven't the Seven Sons of the External Endless Sea who hunger for my father's power showed up…"

"Mistress. This servant heard that one of the Seven Sons, Young Master Zhao, from the Profound Virtue Sect had been murdered. After that incident, the remaining six left this island immediately…"

*Beng*

The string on the qin broke.

After a moment of silence, she kept the qin and took out another new one and continued plucking the strings.

Then, she said in a cold tone, " Oh… He's dead? Zhao Ziji may look refined and elegant on the surface but deep inside, he was wicked. An elegant person will never survive in the External Endless Sea. A wicked person, who does not possess true strength, will only be a buffoon who performs antics. It isn't strange at all that he would die. However, I wonder who murdered him. Besides, is that Young Master involved?"

As compared to Zhao Zijin, it was obvious that Xu Qiuling was concerned about the young master whom she met for the first time by chance in the market.

However, her maidservant did not reply to her. As a servant, there was no way that she could know the details of an incident like that.

On the other hand, Ning Fan was completely unaware. Without doing anything, he was already defined as a secular young master who fawned upon the rich and powerful persons by Xu Qiuling.

Moreover, he completely had no idea that his presence was deeply etched into her heart.

Some women would spend the rest of their lives silently waiting for you to be their soul mates, and it's because of your demeanor that had unconsciously attracted them even though they don't even know your name.

Xu Qiuling let out another faint sigh. Her hands remained on the qin plucking the strings but this time, she opened her mouth and sang. Her voice was soft and gentle, harmonizing the melody of the qin.

"I opened my eyes all night long, thinking it would repay your faded smile. Blowing off the candle and walking to the shadow of the flower in the moonlight. Ten years had passed, I could still feel you; ten years had passed, my heart still beats for you…"

There was the feeling of regret hidden within her voice; a regret that she did not have the chance to know the man.

As her voice echoed in the air, each of the young masters cocked their ears as excitement filled their expressions.

This Mistress Xu suddenly sang. Could it be that her heart was touched by someone among us?

Otherwise, based on her cool and indifferent attitude, she would disdain singing for others.

When her voice reached into Ning Fan's ears, it could not stir him up with much emotion, though it was pleasant to hear.

He was not uncultured but there was a lot of time he did not know how to enjoy such arts and culture. In fact, he did not find anything worth examining in this garden full of exotic flowers and rare grasses. Also, he did not know why this voice which could only be barely considered sweet could make the young masters feel that excited.

Ning Fan then realized that he had come to the wrong place.

Maybe the maidservant mistook me as a young master who has come to attend the gathering of Xu Qiuling.

Actually, he held a good impression of that lady but that was it.

However, Ning Fan did not intend to immediately leave. Instead, his gaze swept across all the young masters in the garden. When there was no sign of the six sons, his lips curved into a smirk.

Zhao Zijin is dead but the other six aren't here…

The reason why the Seven Sons of the External Endless Sea came to the Pleasure Devil Sea from far away was because they were also invited to this gathering and also, they all carried the intention of pleasing Xu Qiuling. But in the end, after one of them died, the other six chose to escape.

Of course they fled for their lives since they did not appear in the garden.

If it was not Yan Zhongze, it must be Zhuo Tong who hastily escorted the six of them away, fearing that I will wipe out the remaining six of them out of rage.

Maybe it's the cause for the absence of the six sons in this garden.

It seems that my devil prestige has even struck fear into the hearts of the Divine Transformation Realm experts of the External Endless Sea.

Escorting the disciples to flee by night… Hmm. Interesting.

I have seen both the flowers and the people here. There's no meaning for me to stay any further.

He held the female corpse, intending to walk away but to his surprise, she shook off Ning Fan's hand and reached out for a Bell Orchid and plucked it.

When the greyish Bell Orchid was broken away from its stem, it rang sorrowfully.

Suddenly, all the young masters turned towards them with a shocked expression.

There are maniacs who dared to pluck Mistress Xu's favorite flower?! Are they courting death?!

"Hey! Which clan are you from? How dare you pluck Mistress Xu's orchid?!"

Multiples fierce and unkind stares focused on them. However, the female corpse had no idea of what was happening. After she plucked the dark orchid, she wore it on her ears.

She then turned towards Ning Fan and shot him a pure, innocent look adorned with a broad smile.

"Light…Is…it…nice?" She eagerly asked as if she wanted to get a compliment from him.

"Yes. It's nice. But you're really a troublemaker…"

Ning Fan rubbed her hair and laughed.

She plucked the flower and it was the most treasured flower of Xu Qiuling….

I wonder if that Xu Qiuling would turn into a lioness and find trouble with me.

Xu Qiuling stopped singing. The melody of the qin ceased to echo in the air as if it heard the wail of the broken orchid. Her eyebrows knitted in annoyance and she opened her cold-piercing eyes.

"Which young master would be so cruel to my orchid…"

As she was going to severely criticize the person, she suddenly became tongue-tied. The grief and built-up wrath in her eyes instantly turned into surprise.

"It's you!"

It's you?

All of the young masters from well-known families who expected to witness Ning Fan's misfortune were bewildered. Their expectations did not come into reality.

Moreover, after Mistress Xu saw Ning Fan, she did not reprimand him for plucking her favorite flower at all. On the contrary, the grief she had in her eyes earlier turned into happiness.

Everyone began to harbor hostility towards Ning Fan.

Who is this guy?! He seems to have successfully seized Mistress Xu's heart!

"I'm sorry. Weiliang was not being sensible earlier as she had just plucked your flower…"

"Weiliang is your wife? She has such a nice name… Since the damage had already been done, I can't do anything about it. But I wonder what made you come to Qiuling's flower house. Don't tell me…"

Don't tell me that he has come to talk about marriage with me?

It was too embarrassing for her to open her mouth and directly ask him that question. Her mind turned blank but deep inside, she felt a hint of sweetness.

The sweetness she felt was because the unknown young master, whom she had been longing for, had appeared.

The blankness of her mind was because the young master already had a wife…

"Weiliang? Yea. I guess she could be considered as my wife…"

A wistful look appeared on Ning Fan's appearance.

If there was no female corpse, he would have been already dead in Ning City. It was him who tarnished her purity. Therefore, he felt responsible for her.

"Light…Me…Your wife?"

The female corpse pointed at herself. Her large, round eyes looked confused. Obviously, she had no idea about what the word "wife" meant.

"Yes. Wife."

That lost look on her face made Ning Fan feel sympathy for her. He then patted her head, feeling more determined to help her recover her complete soul.

He turned towards Xu Qiuling and said, "I apologize for my impoliteness. Actually, this Young Master Zhou is not here to attend the matter regarding Mistress Xu. I was just…lost…"

*Giggle*

Xu Qiuling covered her mouth with the sleeve of her robe as she could not hold back a smile at Ning Fan.

When she found out that Ning Fan did not come for her, she felt a little down. However, that sounded more appropriate as bringing a wife to come and seek a marriage alliance could be considered an impertinent act towards Xu Qiuling. If that really is the case, she would be even more disappointed.

After hearing Ning Fan addressed himself with the surname Zhou, she secretly remembered it.

Oh. This Young Master actually has the surname Zhou.

But it was completely out of her expectation that Ning Fan would tell her that he was lost.

This young master seems to not be concerned much about his own embarrassing situation.

He really is a strange man.

"Where do you want to go? Let me, Qiuling, personally guide you there…So that you won't get lost again and enter the rooms of the other ladies in this mountain by mistake. If not, my father is going to be angry with you…"

"It's a bit ridiculous. Mistress is the daughter of an important man. Having Mistress as Young Master Zhou's guide seems to be a condescending act." Ning Fan cast her a smile.

This lady is quite interesting.

"It will be fine… Xiao Ling, see the visitors out!"

She indifferently ordered one of her maidservants. From the beginning till now, she did not even cast a glance upon the other young men.

In the entire garden, it seemed like only Ning Fan was the only man who got her attention.

Each of the descendants of the noble families also came to seek a marriage alliance. However, all of them were "chased away" by Xu Qiuling in an ignorant manner. Naturally, they felt dissatisfied.

They were envious of Ning Fan, especially when they saw the dignified mistress of the Xu Family stoop to offer to guide him.

For what?!

For what reason is this man being treated like that after what he had done?! Why would he even be appreciated by her?!

"This friend. Can you please at least tell us your name?!" A few of the young masters from the powerful forces asked in an assertive tone.

"You won't wish to know my name. Because the previous person who asked my name had already died. I suppose you all should know who the late Zhao Zijin was… If any of you want to follow in his footsteps, by all means, please."

*Suck in cold breaths*

The expressions of each of the young masters changed after listening to Ning Fan's words.

One of the Sevens Sons of the External Endless Sea, Zhao Zijin, from the Profound Virtue Sect had met a sudden death. All of them had at least heard about it. Besides, any news about his death was sealed off by the top ten sects, let alone the information of the person who committed the murder. That fact alone was sufficient enough to show that the murderer was a person who either possessed heaven-defying power or had an extremely influential background that could force the top ten sects to keep it confidential!

The murderer is this young master before our very eyes?!

If it really is him, he is someone whom we must never offend!

Those who were acting tough and bold earlier immediately kept their mouths tightly shut because of Ning Fan's words.

In a way, it was a good thing as it saved Ning Fan the effort of killing a group of insignificant beings that were comparable to a group of kittens and puppies.

Xu Qiuling's tiny mouth was slightly agape. She had never imagined that the gentle and elegant Ning Fan was capable of killing Zhao Zijin.

However, neither did she think Ning Fan was lying nor his action was sinful in the External Endless Sea.

In a place like this, if you aren't capable of protecting yourself by killing others, you will then end up dead, getting killed by others… This is the undeniable sad truth about the cultivation world.

However, if he can kill Zhao Zijin, then his cultivation level should at least be at the Mid Nascent Soul Realm.

Past memories flashed and surfaced in her mind.

In the past, she secretly erased Zhao Zijin's spirit sense tracking seal on Ning Fan.

In the past, she reminded Ning Fan to be more cautious in the External Endless Sea.

In the past, she also tried to entice Ning Fan with just ten thousand immortal jade for the Bell Orchid.

Now, everything she did seemed to be unnecessary.

If he truly is a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, what I did should be laughable in his eyes.

Her face blushed in shyness. She wished to have a place to hide herself right now.

"Young Master seems to hide a lot about yourself…"

"However, I still can't match the Mistress… This place is named as the Grave of Flowers. But it is not for burying flowers. Instead…"

"Don't speak!" Xu Qiuling's eyes turned red as if she was holding back something melancholic to herself. In the next second, the sudden sadness on her face faded, replaced by a calm smile.

"Young Master truly understands Qiuling. Let me be frank with Young Master. What you said is true…"

Yes. I, Xu Qiuling, don't have much time left.

Yes. This place was prepared to bury me…

But he saw through it.

He truly is the person I am waiting for after so long. But he appeared a little too late…

"Isn't Mistress going to lead the way…"

"Ah. I almost forgot about it. I'm sorry… Where does Young Master want to go? I am willing to lead you to every place including where my father stores his magical treasures and pills, but of course except for the women's living area"

"Oh?"

Ning Fan could not help but laugh.

This Qiuling resembles Lan Mei a lot.

After meeting each other for just several times, she is willing to bring me, a stranger, to Xu Rushan's treasure room and pill room.

People say that women's hearts tend to be extroversive. But not to mention my true name, I have even yet to tell her my complete pseudonym.

The good feelings she has for me seems to have developed too fast.

She sure is an interesting lady, isn't she?

"Actually, I have something to discuss with Senior Xu. I hope you can lead us there."

"This…" Xu Qiuling frowned as if Ning Fan made things difficult for her.

"Am I troubling you?"

"No. It's not… But today my father is going to entertain an important guest. He is a devil lord in the External Endless Sea who committed innumerable murders and violated countless wives and daughters. He is cruel, ruthless and he had done every heinous crime. Young Master must be extra careful to not provoke him when meeting him later… Otherwise, even if Young Master is a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, you might…"

"Mm-hmm. Thank you for your concern, Mistress Qiuling. I will take note of that…"

Ning Fan did not know whether to cry of laugh.

Is my reputation that bad?

As for Qiuling, when she heard Ning Fan calling out her name, her face flushed red uncontrollably.

He just called…my name…

In the envious eyes of many young masters, Ning Fan and Xu Qiuling entered into the internal hall of Blissful Summit.

That was the place where Xu Rushan entered into secluded meditation. It was a forbidden area where no ordinary people or personnel could enter, including them!

Ning Fan left a favorable impression in the eyes of Xu Qiuling and was able to enter.

Meanwhile, the rest of the young masters were guided to the door and were sent home.

Now, they no longer dare to hate Xu Qiuling or Ning Fan out of jealousy.

The first one was the daughter of a Divine Transformation Realm expert while the latter was a ferocious devil lord who claimed to have killed one of the seven sons.

They could not afford to provoke either one of them!

<strong>Note:</strong>

1. Qin or better known as guqin was an ancient stringed instrument originated from ancient China. It has seven unfretted strings on it where the player will have to pluck the strings. Click here for picture.

<strong>Translator Team:</strong>

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