Grasping Evil

The night was quiet and still as a gaily-colored boat sailed on the river.

In the River Gazing Tower, Ning Fan did not feel sleepy.

It was just his first day in the province but his name had already shook the entire Luo Yun Tribe. The incident of killing three Divine Transformation Realm demons on his own was rapidly spreading to other tribes in the Second World like a typhoon!

Even though it was just the first day, Lu Wan'er had gone to visit her master and eventually stayed overnight in her friend's house in the province.

That friend of hers seems to be a prostitute…She is a female entertainer in the Misty Rain House…

"I hope Wan'er will not be influenced by her friend and become bad… However, based on Wan'er's personality, that woman must be rather unique since she could be regarded as a friend by Wan'er… Misty Rain House…"

Ning Fan repeatedly muttered the three words thrice and then became silent.

After Yao Yuan and the others had fulfilled their duty, they held a token and returned to the Northern Desert City without the Golden Flame Chariot. The chariot of course was reserved for Ning Fan's use.

Lu Daochen had yet to summon Ning Fan. As for the matter of Lu Tianming, it was completely left out.

Currently, Ning Fan was unclear of Lu Daochen's thoughts. He could not identify what the latter's true intentions were. However, he guessed that Lu Daochen had probably found out the truth that he was not the true Lu Bei.

The heads of the generals are just a display of power. No matter if Lu Daochen will befriend me or not, it can at least guarantee that he will not dare to be my enemy.

Perhaps Lu Daochen would automatically present the map of the World Passage of the Third World himself or maybe Ning Fan had to steal or even rob him for it!

There was only Ning Fan left within the River Gazing Tower. Above the dark sky, the moon glowed in faint-red, arousing a shred of loneliness within him in this foreign land.

He came to the province with two purposes in mind – search for the map to the World Passage and learn more demon characters.

However, what he wanted now was just serenity.

With a slap on his storage pouch, he took out a few ten-thousand-year-old demon grass which he bought during the day in the province.

He shook his Cauldron Ring and summoned the Wind Demoness and the Flower Demoness. When they were called out, the two of them were in loose and revealing outfits. Apparently, they were in the middle of resting within the Cauldron Ring. As soon as they saw their master, they quickly held their hands up and covered themselves.

"Is there anything we can do for Master?"

"Take off your clothes and prepare for a bath…"

"Wha…What? Take off our clothes for a bath? Now?"

"Precisely. Why? Are you afraid of me looking at the two of you?"

"No. It's not. Our appearances are hideous. We hope Master doesn't dislike us. If Master is wil…willing to enjoy the sight of our bodies, it truly is our good fortune…"

From their perspective, being summoned by their master at a time like this would probably be for dual-cultivation purposes…

The Wind Demoness appeared to be a little reserved. She bit her lip lightly, nervously undressing her bra. On the contrary, the Flower Demoness was rather enthusiastic. She ogled at her master and intentionally turned to her back, hiding her ugly appearance while showing only her voluptuous body. Untying the knot of her dress, it slid down from her body, revealing a silky white back.

If they were not disfigured, they would definitely be stunning beauties…

The atmosphere of the room was filled with a delicate fragrance, as the night breeze gently blew in from the window. Having such gorgeous sight under such relaxing environment was really a delight to one's heart and refreshing to one's mind.

As time elapsed, the level of the Yin Yang Locket was slowly advancing to the Second Level of the Second Realm from the First Level.

In order to improve the ability of the Second Realm, he at least has to practice dual-cultivation with Nascent Soul Realm female cultivators or at most, with Void Fragmentation Realm female cultivators. Only then would he have the chance to break through to the Third Realm of his Yin Yang Transformation.

However, practicing dual-cultivation with Void Fragmentation Realm female cultivators was too ambitious. On the other hand, he had two Gold Core Realm female demons by his side.

The expected dual-cultivation by the two demonesses did not come to fruition in the end.

They only saw Ning Fan pointing his finger at a corner, conjuring his Divine Intent of Rain which gradually congealed into a bathtub.

After that, Ning Fan waved his hand at the demon river outside the window and immediately, streams of river water flew in, filling up the bathtub to its brim.

A finger on his other hand lit up a fire, heating up the water within the bathtub. Eventually, traces of hot mist filled the room.

"Alright. You can go in now. Each of you take one of these pills. After consuming them, begin to assimilate the medicinal power of the pills within the bath. In the meantime, I will prepare some medicinal liquid to mix in the bath. The two of you have to absorb the medicinal power from the bath too. When the pills are completely digested, your appearances will be restored!"

Two Facial Restoration Pills were given to them.

At first, the two demonesses were petrified. But subsequently, their faces were filled with happiness and surprise. Deep inside, they were deeply moved.

These are the Fifth Revolution Pills?!

The abundant medicinal power contained within the pills were enough to prove that they were indeed invaluable.

Ning Fan did not lie to the two demonesses. He had really fulfilled his promise to them.

"Master, we…"

"You don't have to say anything. Both of you deserve it." Ning Fan gave them a smile. With a flick of his sleeve, a gust of wind swept the two women into the bathtub.

That was when they realized that Ning Fan's demon power was already nearly comparable to that of a Divine Transformation Realm expert!

Sitting cross-legged within the water, the two demonesses studied their surroundings and found out that they were now at the Second World.

It had just been less than two years since the last time they met Ning Fan. Within this period of time, Ning Fan's demon power had improved to nearly at the level of Divine Transformation Realm from just Early Nascent Soul Realm!

Besides, be it the Late Divine Transformation Realm aura force or the prestige of the royal bloodline, his presence was superior, making the two women feel that they could never be on an equal standing with him.

The Baleful Qi he accumulated from killing the Divine Transformation Realm demons had even caused them to be unknowingly stricken with fear.

If Ning Fan did not suppress his Baleful Qi so that he would not be overly intimidating for the two demonesses, he could have easily injured them with just his Baleful Qi alone!

Astonishment overwhelmed their hearts. When they compared their current master to their previous master – Li Ban, they could faintly tell that he could kill the latter without much effort!

"Congratulations to Master for your great advancement in your cultivation level… Thank you Master for granting us these pills…"

"En. Now, consume it."

Ning Fan patted his storage pouch and took out a few different demon grass. He used his knife-like finger to peel, husk, draw the meridians and grind the roots. Without needing much time, the water in the bathtub turned emerald green. It was filled with medicinal power.

However, the medicinal power of the bath was excessively massive. To the two demonesses whose cultivation levels had regressed to the Gold Core Realm, it was somewhat difficult to absorb it.

While they were drawing in the medicinal power, it almost tore their immortal veins apart. Their faces paled but in their hearts, no matter how painful it might be, they showed no signs of giving up.

The pain they felt from having their appearances being disfigured was equivalent to the pain a man felt from having his immortal veins being maimed. It was an extremely agonizing experience.

Now, they finally got the chance to recover their appearances. None of them were willing to miss it.

In the past when they were the partners of Li Ban, they had no freedom. Not a single day passed by without them worrying when they would die in the hands of their previous master. They only wished that Li Ban could cast them a single more glance and treat them a little more kindly. Unfortunately, those wishes were doomed to be just wishful thoughts.

Currently, they became Ning Fan's human cauldrons. They did not have to worry about bloodshed of the cultivation world, let alone becoming a sacrificial tool in battle. Now, they even had the chance to regain their appearances.

"These are the Fifth Revolution Pills that our Master concocted with great effort. We must not waste it…We must endure till the end…" They gritted their teeth, strenuously assimilating the medicinal power of the bath. At the same time, a layer of blood scab began to emerge on their faces. Under the scab, their spoiled, hardened skin regrew into completely new, soft ones and their faces slowly turned white and pure.

"Just a little longer…" The Wind Demoness was more unswerving whereas the Flower Demoness who had a more timid personality could no longer bear the pain.

Looking at their progress, Ning Fan let out a faint sigh.

If I let them continue like this, it's either they will fail in restoring their faces or they will lose their lives due to the unbearable agony.

He undressed himself, entered into the bathtub and sat in a meditative posture under the water bath with the two demonesses.

*Splash*

Immediately, the water within the bathtub overflowed from it.

He pulled the two women who were bearing the pain reluctantly into his arms by their waists. Out of surprise, they moaned and their faces blushed.

"How can our esteemed Master be on the same bath with us, maidservants…"

"If dual-cultivation can relieve your pain, who wants to come first?"

"Wha…What?" The Wind Demoness shyly turned her head to the other direction while bitterly enduring the pain with her teeth clenched tightly together.

Even if she had been plucked by Ning Fan once, she still found it difficult to remain calm while facing Ning Fan with her naked body.

The Flower Demoness was rather open-minded. After all, back in the Song Country, she was regarded as Red Flower Old Demon who specially plucked female cultivators. In fact, she was always looking forward to practicing dual cultivation with Ning Fan.

As soon as she heard what Ning Fan said, she immediately sat on top of Ning Fan without hesitation, placing both of her hands around his neck while lasciviously looking at him.

"Master please be gentle…"

Such an embarrassing scene caused the Wind Demoness to turned her head aside, not daring to glance at them anymore. Under her long, purplish hair, her eyes were gradually being filled with eroticism under the arousing moans emitted by the Flower Demoness. Feeling a little envious, she silently muttered, "What a shameless woman…"

But when she was in the midst of criticizing, she suddenly felt a big hand gradually gliding up along her calf from the bottom of her feet. Eventually, it stopped at her soft, sensitive point and began to caress her…

*Mmh*

The Wind Demoness let out a soft moan. Lowering her head down, her expression was not visible. She was bashful, thinking of escaping from him but no matter what, her body could not escape from the caress of his finger.

Gradually, her body became powerless and started to succumb to his finger. Eventually, it entered…

The water bath slowly cooled down. Ning Fan's fingertips arrived at a wet, soft and tight part of her body.

During dual-cultivation, one would forget the feeling of pain. Unknowingly, the medicinal power of the water bath had already been assimilated. Unconsciously, the blood scab on their faces had desquamated, revealing two elegant appearances.

The Wind Demoness' face was tranquil with a light complexion, making her look sick and feeble.

The Flower Demoness' face meanwhile, was well-developed and tender, giving her a lively and active look.

The two of them had already lost themselves in their enthusiasm.

Outside of the tower, the night atmosphere remained calm and serene.

…

Three days later, Ning Fan received an invitation card which had Lu Daochen's signature on it.

It was to invite Ning Fan into his government office to have a meeting and discuss about matters regarding their "cooperation".

From the card, Ning Fan also discovered that Lu Wan'er and her friend were already at Lu Daochen's place, paying the latter a visit while waiting for him to come.

However, there was one thing that Ning Fan was unable to understand.

"Cooperation? How are we going to cooperate with each other if we don't even have a common interest? Could it be that this Lu Daochen who is one of the Demon Generals tasked to protect the Demon Marshal also long for the Demon Marshal's blood and so he wants me to seize the maps from the other eight tribes?"

Ning Fan's eyes shone with seriousness.

"If that's the case, this Lu Daochen really is a cunning man…"

However, during the time Ning Fan entered the province, he could clearly sense Lu Daochen's spirit sense.

"His spirit sense remained non-discriminatory, not siding with any parties. He does not seem like a crafty person at all."

No matter what it was about, be it the map or the permission to enter the Scripture Tower, Ning Fan still had to meet Lu Daochen.

Besides, Ning Fan was not afraid whether it was a trap to murder him or not. He might not have the confidence to kill Lu Daochen, but the latter also did not have the assurance to bring Ning Fan down.

Unless Lu Daochen was a blockhead, he would definitely not throw a banquet to ambush me without having the ability to kill me with a single strike. It would be an extremely foolish act.

On the other hand, this invitation card also intentionally mentioned that someone from the Pure Flame Tribe is invited too…

What Ning Fan cared the most about was that Lu Daochen mentioned there would be two "Demon Generals from the Upper World" coming along with the member of the Pure Flame Tribe…

"There is nothing to worry about Jing Yun. However, the Demon Generals from the Immortal World… I wonder which two of them are coming… If it is Wang Xiao, the battle might have lots of variable elements. If it is Li Ban…"

A hint of gloominess flashed within Ning Fan's eyes.

"If Li Ban comes, I will make sure he will never be able to return!"

"But I am afraid that even if Li Ban comes, he won't be able to recognize my current look… Otherwise, he is going to be taken aback by my presence…"

The concerns within his mind had already gone for long after the three days of dual cultivation.

He calmly stepped out from his room while two women clad in purple robes and red robes respectively were obediently following him from behind.

They were both Gold Core Realm demons. But now, their qi had recovered to the Mid Gold Core Realm. Moreover, their appearances had become peerlessly angelic.

The purple-haired one was calm and cool like wind whereas the other one was energetic and smiling, emanating a unique charm.

As they were walking along the street, countless demons would glance at them from time to time. Some young masters would also take the initiative to strike a conversation with them, trying to find a chance to sexually harass them.

However, whenever they realize that the person whom the two beauties were following was the prominent person – Lu Bei, all the demons immediately shushed and would hurriedly leave the scene. None of them dared to stay and cast a single glance at them anymore. As for the young masters, they gulped in fear and quickly backed off from the women.

Chopping off three heads of Demon Generals, crushing Young Master Tianming's Heart of Dao… That incident had already spread all over the Luo Yun Tribe. Ning Fan's appearance had already been known by every member of the Lu family. It would probably be rather difficult for him to remain low profile.

Of course, the face that was recognized by all was Lu Bei's face.

As such, he could avoid lots of unnecessary troubles. At least, he did not have to deal with people like Lu Tianming. Although people like him were insignificant to Ning Fan, dealing with them required time.

"Master, you really killed three Divine Transformation Realm demons?!" The Flower Demoness' eyes flashed with astonishment.

"Do you really think Master would lie about such matters? Master will never lie!" The Wind Demoness replied, as if she had become the spokesperson for Ning Fan.

After their appearances had been restored, the knots within their hearts had been untied, making them more cheerful than usual.

For the banquet held by Lu Daochen, Ning Fan decided to bring along the two demonesses with him. After all, they were genuine ancient demons. Bringing them along was not going to expose anything.

Well, one of the reasons was because Ning Fan had no fear of getting exposed.

If Li Ban really comes, I wonder what he would think…

Outside the government office, thirteen lines of elite soldiers were inspecting the guests that had arrived. Those who had fame and good reputation within the province were all invited to the banquet.

As soon as the soldiers caught sight of a man intruding inside with two women behind him, they loudly shouted.

"Stop!"

But when they took a closer look on the man's face, they straightened up their bodies and saluted at once.

"Greetings to Commanding Officer Lu! The Honorable Demon General ordered that if Commanding Officer Lu arrives, just directly enter the internal hall without the need to register."

Ning Fan's gaze scanned his surroundings. Most of the people who came, no matter if they flew here or they rode here on their chariots, they must get down for a security check and register. It was enough to show how strict they were about this banquet.

It seems a little too excessive if this banquet is just for me. I guess it was prepared for the Demon Generals from the Immortal World.

He brought his eyes back to focus and asked the soldier.

"For this banquet, who else is permitted to directly enter the internal hall like me?"

"Replying to Commanding Officer Lu, other than you, they are the 'Fourth General' and the 'Sixth General' who were urgently summoned. They have already entered the hall. Besides that, 'Yao Fei' of the Misty Rain House and Mistress Wan'er were also specially permitted to enter the hall…"

"What about the Pure Flame Tribe?"

"Pure Flame Tribe…" The soldier shot him an awkward look.

As a matter of fact, the soldiers were given an order forbidding them to reveal the detailed guests coming from the Pure Flame Tribe to any outsiders. It was considered as classified information. That soldier did not dare to disobey the military order.

"Never mind. I got it…"

Ning Fan waved his hand, dismissing the soldier and walking into the hall. Because of the instruction beforehand, not one of them stopped him as he walked into the hall. On the contrary, those who saw him immediately offered to lead the way.

"Yao Fei of the Misty Rain House… So that is Wan'er's friend? Yao Fei… Her identity must be quite sophisticated… She was also granted the permission to enter straight into the hall… That is to say, in Lu Daochen's eyes, that woman is on equal standing with me… As for the Fourth General and the Sixth General who were urgently called back, I suppose they aren't directed against me. Apparently, the intentions of the Pure Flame Tribe is not as simple as it seems, judging from the look of that soldier… Could it be that the generals that were summoned back at once are to defend against the people from the Pure Flame Tribe…"

After walking for some distance, Ning Fan stopped in the internal hall – Encompassing Heaven Hall.

Outside the hall, there were two Cloud Beasts. Although they couldn't be considered as members of the True Spirit Races, they were an extremely rare type of hybrid demon.

Within the hall, the atmosphere was rather stern and solemn. When Ning Fan glanced around the place, he was a little surprised. Only tens of people were qualified to sit inside the Encompassing Heaven Hall.

The Cloud General, Lu Daochen, sat on the seat of honor. When he saw Ning Fan, he immediately rose and welcomed him with a broad smile.

"Oh. Commanding Officer Lu has arrived. I hope Commanding Officer could excuse this old man for not being able to go out and meet you…"

"It's nothing!"

Ning Fan cupped his fists while his gaze shifted to the lower seats beside Lu Daochen's.

On his sides, there were two men. One of them had a red face and wore a green armor while the other one had a black complexion and wore black armor. They were the Fourth General, Lu Qing and the Sixth General, Lu Zhan respectively.

The man in green armor was twiddling with his long beard while his eyes which were like those of Lord Guan1 looked at Ning Fan from top to bottom. His qi was dense and concentrated, just like that of Bai Yuan, but it was still weaker than that of Lu Sheng. After taking a good look at Ning Fan, he generously praised, "Impressive! The younger generation sure is formidable. I'm really not at the same level as you!"

In opposite, the black-armored man whose qi was slightly stronger than Bai Yuan was filled with excitement after meeting Ning Fan.

"So you are Lu Bei, the one who killed three Demon Generals by yourself! Very well! After the banquet, let's have a match!"

Ning Fan cupped his fists towards them. He did not say much. His eyes swept across the other seats. Among numerous and unknown faces, he instantly spotted Lu Wan'er who was smiling sweetly at him. Beside her sat a graceful woman who wore a dress adorned with green feathers. Her appearance showed that she was in her mid-twenties. And her presence displayed a matured woman's charm.

Without hesitation, Lu Wan'er stood up and welcomed him while that beautiful woman beside her looked deeply into Ning Fan's eyes, as if she was trying to see through Ning Fan.

So this woman is Yao Fei…"

Ning Fan's gaze continued to move. When his gaze landed at the members from the Pure Flame Tribe, his face became gloomy.

Demon General Jing Yun… As expected, it's him who came on behalf of the Pure Flame Tribe.

There were another two generals sitting beside him. One of them was in golden armor while the other was a red-haired man.

When Ning Fan's face turned gloomy, the latter's eyes became solemn as well.

It was because he saw the women standing behind Ning Fan were…

My previous demon partners?!

"What are my demon partners doing here?!"

<strong>Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel</strong>

<strong>Note:</strong>

1. Lord Guan, a.k.a Guan Yu was a general who shared a brotherly relationship with Zhang Fei and Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms Period. In this case, it is just quoting him for his pair of eyes which resemble those of Lu Qing. (Click here for his picture)

2. Measurement :

a. li (里) = 500 m

b. zhang(丈) = 3.13 m

c. chi(尺) = 30.7 cm

d. cun(寸) = 3.33cm