Grasping Evil

For cultivators, the period of a few days were as quick as snapping their fingers.

There were 91 Peak Nascent Soul Realm experts with 74 of them coming from the Internal Endless Sea while the rest of them hailed from the External Endless Sea who gathered at the Blissful Summit.

When Ning Fan arrived alone, Xu Rushan nodded his head and led the group of cultivators into the sea, together with Yan Zhongze.

It's rare to see Ning Fan moving alone.

The female corpse was kept into the Cauldron Ring by him and entrusted to Bing Ling and Yue Ling.

The Secret Realm of the Broken World forbade any Divine Transformation Realm experts from entering. Since the female corpse could not enter, that was the only way to settle her down.

If it was in the past, the female corpse would never be willing to leave Ning Fan for half a step.

Today, however, due to the growing closeness in the relationship between her and Ning Fan, she became more obedient than ever towards Ning Fan's orders.

Even if she was reluctant to leave him, she would quietly sit on the small bridge above a flowing river within the Cauldron Ring and do her embroidery.

The image of her embroidery would always be Ning Fan, regardless of anything.

"Light…Lonely…" The female corpse sadly muttered to herself.

However, there was not any other choices. Ning Fan only had five months to stay in the Secret Realm. The only option was to let her suffer a little during the coming five months.

The entrance of the Secret Realm of the Broken World was at the bottom of the Pleasure Devil Sect, directly under the Joint Joyous Island.

This area was rich in minerals. A tremendous Primordial Magnetic Force formed a waterless area which was ten thousand li* large in the deepest part of the ocean.

In here, the atmosphere was a bit unstable but not to the point of being on the verge of collapsing. Furthermore, it was faintly connected to another realm.

It was the entrance of the Secret Realm.

The corals on the ocean floor sparkled like crystals. All the sea beasts like human sharks retreated.

Stepping on the sea's seabed, Ning Fan and the rest of the cultivators landed on the deepest part of the Pleasure Devil Sea. In front of them, there was a three zhang* tall gate, glittering in the colors of the rainbow. It was being guarded by fourteen Nascent Soul Realm experts of the Joint Joyous Sect. On the surface, it remained sealed as there were still three days before it would open.

Outside the door stood a giant amethyst stele which was approximately one hundred zhang* tall. Countless names were carved on it. Some of them were black while some of them were grey.

Xu Rushan exchanged looks with Ning Fan. When he found a trace of confidence within Ning Fan's eyes, only then was he able to feel relieved.

Before entering the Secret Realm of the Broken World, he needed to brief all the Peak Nascent Soul Realm experts about the rules and regulations to be followed.

"As you all know, those who are able to enter the Secret Realm must be cultivators below the Divine Transformation Realm. There are obviously risks inside that realm. Therefore, this old man does not recommend anyone who has yet to attain the Peak Nascent Soul Realm to enter the Secret Realm. There are 92 experts who responded to my invitations and are willing to enter the Secret Realm. However, this time, only 40 of you would be able to enter the realm. Your strength and power will decide whether you can enter or not. Regarding the benefits of entering the Secret Realm, I don't think I need to explain much about it. Everyone who enters the Secret Realm will be entitled to a drop of Profound Liquid of Mother Earth. In addition, every Demon Pill that you obtain from killing the Fake Wild Beast can be exchanged for a single drop of Profound Liquid. Just for your information, the effect of consuming two drops of Profound Liquid would be equivalent to that of a Nascent Soul Realm Dao Fruit. As long as you can gather Demon Pills for me, I will never be stingy on giving you all the Profound Liquids!"

As Xu Rushan's words fell, all the experts at the scene were in high spirits.

For them, it would be extremely difficult to increase their magic power after reaching the Peak Nascent Soul Realm. A drop of Profound Liquid of Mother Earth would grant them 10 units of magic power each. Therefore, two drops of Profound Liquid would be equal to a Nascent Soul Realm Dao Fruit. That fact alone was able to motivate them to strive to enter the Secret Realm.

Even if we choose to find a spot and meditate for half a year within the Secret Realm and come out empty-handed, we would also be entitled to a drop of Profound Liquid, right?

Try to imagine if we kill one or two of those beasts by chance. The reward is going to be huge.

In the past, there wasn't a year where 40 Peak Nascent Soul Realm experts actually came for the Secret Realm. As such, there was still a chance for the Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.

This time, however, there were too many Peak Nascent Soul Realm experts. Among the 92 experts, 52 of them would have to be disqualified. In other words, more than half of the group would not have the luck to enter the gate.

Furthermore, among the group of Peak Nascent Soul Realm experts, the experts from the Internal Endless Sea clearly were stronger than the experts from the External Endless Sea. Besides, there were still elites from the seven venerated forces.

It was not going to be easy for them to get the chance to enter.

"I wonder how the forty candidates would be selected…" An elderly expert politely asked.

"How to select? Please look at the giant amethyst stele over here… This stele is called the Stele of Slaughter. Customarily, experts who wish to enter the Secret Realm have to carve their names on the stele. It will then rank your strength and power accordingly. It can hold thousands of names in total. The higher your ranking, the stronger you are…"

Everyone's gaze was anchored at the giant purple stele while Ning Fan scanned it from top to bottom.

There were already thousands of names carved on the stele. Some of them were black while some of them were grey. Some of them were carved thousands of years ago, while some of them were carved hundreds of years ago. Besides, some of them were famous in the External Endless Sea.

The person who managed to kill 11 Fake Wild Beasts himself was ranked 47th.

As for Xu Rushan, his name was ranked at the 13th… Before attaining the Divine Transformation Realm, he once entered the Secret Realm to kill the beasts. After thousands of years, his name was still at the 13th place.

The 12 experts before his name were of course the people from the Internal Endless Sea. These people who were once Peak Nascent Soul Realm experts, were now the well-known Divine Transformation Realm experts in the Internal Endless Sea.

After glancing through the names, many of the experts were dumbstruck.

"*suck in cold breaths* Senior Xu Rushan was also one of the candidates who entered the Secret Realm. However, his power was only ranked 13th among all the experts…"

"Look! The one who was ranked 7th is the sect master of the Floating Wave Sect from the Internal Endless Sea, Duan Congyun. He is a Mid Divine Transformation Realm expert now!"

"The number four expert is the vice master of the Zhou Clan from the Internal Endless Sea, Zhou Wei! His name should have been carved on the stele three thousand years ago. Now, he is a Late Divine Transformation Realm expert!"

"The first expert is Ju Yan. He is rumored to be the first person who entered the Secret Realm…Impressive! However, his name is rather unfamiliar to me…Speaking of which, only his name is red in color in the entire list…"

"Idiot! Ju Yan is the father of Venerated Giant. He was the former patriarch of the Giant Devil Sect. In the past, he was just a hair's breadth away from attaining the Void Refinement Realm!"

After reading the names on the stele, many of the experts had the itch to try. They wanted to see how strong they were and whether they would be able to outshine the rest of the experts.

I wonder what my rank will be on the stele…

"Senior Xu, why are there black, grey and red names on the stele? What do the colors imply?!"

"Even if you don't ask, I will also explain it. As you all can see, the black names are the experts who were able to survive and leave the Secret Realm. As for the grey names, they were the ones who died within…"

As Xu Rushan spoke, almost everyone at the scene sucked in cold breaths.

It was because there was nearly forty percent of the names on the stele were grey. In other words, the death rate of the experts who entered the Secret Realm would be 40%!

However, the candidates who died in the Secret Realm were mostly Mid or Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivators. This time, those who would enter the Secret Realm would only constitute those experts at the Peak Nascent Soul Realm. The death rate might not even be as high as 40% but still, it meant that the Secret Realm was a dangerous place…

"What about the red color?" Ning Fan's voice pierced through the silence of the atmosphere.

The former patriarch of the Giant Devil Sect, Ju Yan…

His name was dyed in red color. If Ning Fan wasn't wrong, it was completely stained by the redness of the Violent Qi.

"Red color… It means that the candidate killed over a hundred Fake Wild Beasts in the Secret Realm! I sincerely hope that Fellow Daoist Zhou's name would be in red color as well!"

*Tsk*

Each of the experts were suddenly filled with great respect.

The former patriarch of the Giant Devil Sect entered the Secret Realm all by himself and managed to kill more than a hundred Fake Wild Beasts within a year, even though he was still an expert below the Divine Transformation Realm.

His combat power must be heaven-defying. It's no wonder he could become the patriarch of the Giant Devil Sect in the past.

What a powerful expert! Unfortunately, we can't meet him face to face now as he lived in the past when most of us weren't even born yet.

"Red color…"

Ning Fan's eyes brightened. Now, he wanted to see how the giant stele would rank his power.

"Right. Next, I would like to invite all the experts to place your hands on the giant amethyst stele and release a trace of your magic power. The stele will then do the work itself."

"Let me first!"

"This old man will be the second!"

The test went on for three consecutive days.

Each of the old monsters took turns in placing their palms on the stele. Their cultivation level and names would then be carved on it. It was easy for most of them to be ranked within one thousand. Besides, most of them were ranked within five hundred.

After a long while, the expert who obtained the best ranking was the Feudal Ranking Elder of one of the seventy-two islands. He was ranked 247th.

Those who could enter the top 200 in the list would certainly be an outstanding being in the Endless Sea within ten thousand years. That is to say, having their names ranked higher than 200 was an honor!

"Let me try!"

A young boy in red robes spoke in a hoarse voice. He made a step forward and immediately, the crowd opened up a passage for him.

This person was the Sixth Elder of the Demon Sealing Sect, Chu He!

When his palm was placed on the giant stele, his name instantly appeared on the 174th place!

This person had 9000 units of magic power. He was a Half-Step Divine Transformation Realm expert!

Aside from that, he was also the Seventh Elder Eagle Crane's brother! The reason why Eagle Crane was able to gain the position of Seventh Elder was all because of his brother, Chu He!

"Chu He! He is also known as 'Seven Lives'! It had been rumored that he practices the secret art of the Demon Sealing Sect – Corpse Fusion Technique and fused with a cat corpse which possessed nine lives, making him able to die ten times… He is a madman. He once used three of his lives to eliminate the physical body of an Early Divine Transformation Realm expert. Even so, he still has seven lives left… Ever since the incident, people called him by his alias, 'Seven Lives' which spread widely to the entire Endless Sea. On the Board of Devils, this person was able to enter the top 100…"

"However, if I'm not wrong, this person is the brother of Eagle Crane. He seems…He seems to have been killed by Revered Zhou… Could Chu He be here to avenge his brother?"

"Are you crazy?! Revered Ming is a being who could even eliminate a Divine Transformation Realm expert with just a finger. He is also an expert who could cause three out of the seven venerated forces to be on friendly terms with him. Even the Old Ancestor Purple Gu had also represented the Demon Sealing Sect in befriending him. No matter how unruly Chu He may be, there's no way he will defy the orders of his sect and offend Revered Ming…"

The discussion among the crowd made Chu He's eyes turn gloomy. His short and small body which was like that of a boy turned and he then glanced at Ning Fan without revealing any sign of hostility.

This Zhou Ming is truly powerful. However, this old man is hard to kill. As such, it's not impossible to kill him after draining all of his power in a prolonged battle… However, Old Ancestor Purple Gu's order was to focus on the 'important matter' after entering the Secret Realm. About the human shark kings, we have gathered 12 of them as offerings for the ancient demons. They should be enough… But if Zhou Ming did not kill my brother, Eagle Crane, and hunted down a few of the human shark kings, we would've been able to gather eighteen of them. The offering ceremony will surely succeed… Hmmph! You just wait, Zhou Ming. Old Ancestor Purple Gu will exact his revenge on you on my behalf in the near future. This time, the mission is my top priority! The only thing that I am unsure of is if Zhou Ming actually saw the memories of Eagle Crane. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Eagle Crane was clueless about this mission when he died. Even if this Zhou Ming saw something, he would not know the details of it…"

The evil intention that Chu He harbored towards Ning Fan was carefully concealed, making it unnoticeable by anyone. However, Ning Fan was an expert who murdered innumerable people and had developed a keen sense towards killing intent. Despite Chu He's cautious pretense, Ning Fan was still able to notice a trace of killing intent from him.

"Demon Sealing Sect…"

Ning Fan's eyes stared at the giant stele without blinking once.

If this Chu He dares to cross me, I don't care how many lives he has, be it seven or seventy, I will certainly kill him!

Finally, all the Peak Nascent Soul Realm experts had got their rankings. The first 39 experts beamed in joy while the following 52 experts sighed in disappointment.

The last person to be tested was Ning Fan. However, even a fool would know that a person who could eliminate a Divine Transformation Realm expert like him would surely enter into the top 400. Perhaps he might even have a higher ranking than Chu He.

"I wonder if Revered Zhou could enter the top 100…"

"I bet Revered Zhou will enter the top 50!"

"Top 50? I think it's rather impossible… I bet he will be within the top 80…"

"Hmmph!"

The commotion in the crowd was quelled immediately after Chu He coldly snorted.

He might have an important duty to perform, making him unable to publicly provoke Ning Fan., but even so, he was still reluctant to see Ning Fan's reputation being higher than his.

I am only ranked 174th on the stele. Now, some of them bet that he would be in the top 50?! What is that supposed to mean?!

"This old man bets that he will never enter the top 200! After all, he is just a Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator!"

Chu He's words instantly caused an uproar among all the experts at the scene.

Ning Fan's combat power was universally recognized as most of them had witnessed it themselves. But regarding his cultivation level, it was always a mystery. None of them were able to tell that the devil lord who shook the entire External Endless Sea was only a Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, unless they were Divine Transformation Realm experts.

Upon hearing Chu He's words, a majority of them scoffed and sneered at his statement. They did not believe that a Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator was capable of killing a Divine Transformation Realm expert with just a finger.

However, some of them thought that Chu He was not lying. After all, they were still people who envied Ning Fan and hold grudges against him, despite his terrifying devil prestige. Speaking of which, with his current cultivation level, even if his combat power was astonishing, it might not be impossible for him to have a low ranking.

Amongst all of them, only Chu He dared to lay bare that information about Ning Fan in public.

In other words, he was extremely daring. He dared to be so audacious because of what Purple Gu said, that he would not allow Ning Fan to hurt any cultivators of the Demon Sealing Sect anymore. Aside from that, Chu He himself had seven lives. He did not fear death at all. In the past, when he fought against a Divine Transformation Realm expert, his opponent was only able to kill him three times. And then, he killed the expert in return. Even if Ning Fan was stronger than him, he still have the confidence to eliminate Ning Fan after sacrificing three of his lives!

Due to the mission he was assigned, he did not dare to become enemies with Ning Fan. However, it did not mean that he feared him!

Xu Rushan's expression became gloomy while Yan Zhongze had the impulse to kick his butt.

Ning Fan couldn't enter within the top 200?! What kind of joke was that?!

About the finger that Ning Fan used to kill Evil Light, Yan Zhongze clearly knew that he was not capable of taking it head on and neither was Xu Rushan. Both of them thought that a powerful person like Ning Fan would easily be within the top 200, and perhaps even be within top 10.

After hearing Chu He's words, Xu Rushan and Yan Zhongze hoped that Ning Fan could immediately place his palm on the stele and put an end to their ridiculous gossip.

In the crowd, Old Ancestor Dong Xu who brought Xu Qiuling with him stood together with the experts who were looking forward to see Ning Fan's result.

"Ling Er, what ranking do you think your Brother Zhou would get…" Dong Xu asked with a smile.

"Number one!" Xu Qiuling firmly answered.

"Hai. A woman's heart really always sides with an outsider. So in your eyes, your Brother Zhou is already matchless even though the both of you aren't officially married yet. However, I don't think he is able to get the number one ranking. At most, he would only get number-nine…"

"Why not? Young Master Zhou is so powerful…" Xu Qiuling was confused.

"Perhaps you don't know about this. The Secret Realm of the Broken World was initially discovered by the Giant Devil Sect. At first, every expert including the Early Divine Transformation Realm experts were able to enter… The person who opened up the place was the former patriarch of the Giant Devil Sect – Ju Yan. He was once an extraordinary person in the Endless Sea. During the time when he ruled the Endless Sea, I was still a Gold Core Realm junior who just began my cultivation of the devil path. After opening up the Secret Realm, he killed hundreds of Fake Wild Beasts. He was already a Divine Transformation Realm expert when he started to hunt down the beasts. Other than him, there were also a few more Divine Transformation Realm experts. Do you see the first nine names on the top ten list? Other than Ju Yan, they were all the Divine Transformation Realm experts who entered into the Secret Realm in his era. However, because of Ju Yan who slaughtered a massive amount of beasts, the population of the Fake Wild Beasts was on the brink of extinction. Therefore, there were not many beasts left to be killed by the other 8 Divine Transformation Realm experts. It was why their names did not turn red like Ju Yan's. Otherwise, they would also be able to kill more than a hundred of those beasts in the Secret Realm…After that, the Secret Realm began to show signs of collapsing. Because of that, experts at the Divine Transformation Realm and Peak Nascent Soul Realm were prohibited to enter the Secret Realm. The population of Fake Wild Beasts only gradually increased after thousands of years. Xu Rushan and the others were the candidates who entered after the recovery of the Secret Realm…Therefore, being able to be ranked at the 10th place simply means that the candidate is the strongest below the Divine Transformation Realm. The reason I said it is impossible for him to get the first ranking is because the first nine experts were all Divine Transformation Realm experts."

"But I still think that Young Master Zhou will be number one…" Xu Qiuling cast a heart-warming smile at Dong Xu.

"Hmm. Why do you have so much confidence in him?... Though he really is mysterious to the point I can't even see through him. But even if he could get into the top 9, it's still impossible for him to get the first ranking. It's because the first expert on the list is the former Venerated Giant…"

"He was capable of showing you, a venerated being from the Internal Endless Sea, the directions to break through to the Void Refinement Realm…Is there someone else that could be like him?"

Xu Qiuling smiled. The confidence she had in Ning Fan was limitless.

Ning Fan walked towards the giant amethyst stele with calm.

There was not an intention to brag nor to compete in his mind. When he stood at the giant stele, his eyes widened and a powerful aura surged around his body, revealing a terrifying Violent Qi.

He lifted his palm which seemed to contain all the slaughters he committed in his entire life and resolutely pressed against the surface of the rock.

"I want number one!"

The characters of his name - "Zhou Ming" gradually emerged on the stele and appeared on a spot higher than Ju Yan!

The first ranking!

Throughout the countless years, this man was the most outstanding person among all the experts on the Stele of Slaughter!

Everybody was wrong…

Actually, the Stele of Slaughter wasn't simply basing on their cultivation level and combat power in judging them.

Having strong combat power was not enough. In its judgement, a great portion of it was about their abilities to kill.

Most of the devil cultivators at the scene had the experience of annihilating an entire country of mortal humans. Their hands were stained with the blood of countless mortal men and women.

However, the people whom Ning Fan killed were solely cultivators, which made his Violent Qi peerless among all the experts.

Furthermore, not only did his name appear on the first ranking, it began to turn red from dark when it appeared.

The redness on his name was actually the Violent Qi!

Ning Fan was the first man who was able to turn his name red on the stele on the spot relying just on the Violent Qi he accumulated!

At this moment, Ning Fan's eyes were still indifferent. However, his body shone in a fearsome red light. As he turned his head, his gaze landed on Chu He. Immediately, Chu He felt a dreadful pressure within his heart, as if he was being locked on by a ferocious beast. He moved backwards as cold sweat covered his back!

I will die. I will surely be dead!

If I offend this man, I won't live to see another day! Even if I have seven lives, seventy lives or seven hundred lives, he is going to kill me until I have no more lives to spare!

"So what if I face Ju Yan? So what if I have to fight against a Divine Transformation Realm expert? My true enemies are people akin to Void Fragmentation Realm experts and True Immortals. My battlefield is in the Four Heavens of the Immortal World. Right here, I can't afford to be weaker than Ju Yan!

Ning Fan's battle intent rose. At the same time, the third day ended and the gate opened!

Without any hesitation, he dashed into the rainbow-colored gate like a sharp arrow.

The people behind him couldn't hold a candle against him.

It was because they never had the great ambition of becoming the strongest nor the aspiration of surpassing Ju Yan.

There was a saying that goes 'the stiffest tree is the easiest to break'. In the cultivation world, however, if a cultivator lacks courage, no matter how lucky he may be, there is no way he can become an Immortal.

Xu Rushan and Yan Zhongze exchanged looks which were filled with absolute shock. None of them uttered a single word.

Xu Qiuling beamed with joy. She was the only person who had complete faith in Ning Fan's capabilities among those present.

"See that, Master? My guess was correct."

"*Cough*… You knew it, didn't you? You knew this Zhou Ming was even stronger than the former patriarch of the Giant Devil Sect who was at the Early Divine Transformation Realm."

"No. I don't… I just believe in Young Master Zhou. Among all cultivators in the Endless Sea, the Rain World, the Nine Worlds, and even the Four Heavens of the Immortal World, none would be able to match Young Master Zhou. Maybe there are still a lot of people who are above him at the moment, but I believe one day he will be able to stand at the pinnacle…That's my only belief…"

"Silly girl. You're just blindly believing…"

"So what if I'm blind? Am I wrong for believing entirely on a person with no regrets?"

<strong>Note:</strong>

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<strong>Translator Team:</strong>

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