Grasping Evil

The southern region of the island had completely become a forbidden area!

This time, the black bear had literally given a death order that gave no explanations.

"Whoever dares to create troubles in the southern region shall be executed!"

According to hearsay, the outside world thought that the old bear was really intimidated by an Early Divine Transformation Realm cultivator.

Previously, when the old bear learnt about the rumors that had been spreading around, he felt extremely displeased. Now, however, he was no longer unreconciled to that fact.

Yes. I am really scared! So what? Is it an embarrassment to be afraid of facing a Void Fragmentation Realm old monster?

Of course, it was impossible for him to publicly declare Wei Xuan's existence. The three of them including his two wives sealed their mouths tightly. None of them dared to reveal a single thing about Wei Xuan's presence as they feared that they might provoke that powerful being and cause him to wash the entire star island with blood!

Inside the abode, the two females were still in deep slumber. Ning Fan dispatched the female corpse and Yue Lingkong to look after them while he followed Wei Xuan to a gloomy mountain valley located in a remote place on the island.

At the mountain valley, Wei Xuan and Ning Fan's shadows loomed after one another.

The reason why Wei Xuan would bring Ning Fan to this ghastly valley was probably because he wanted to give Ning Fan more benefits.

Let's talk about Ning Fan's gains.

Firstly, Wei Xuan had already given him 5 Dao Fruits with four of them being at the Peak Void Refinement Realm and one of them being at the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm. The magic power contained within these five Dao Fruits were beyond his imagination. At least, with Ning Fan's current cultivation level, he did not even dare to consume any of them. Otherwise, he would directly die with his body exploding into pieces due to the overwhelming amount of magic power contained within them.

As for pills, Wei Xuan had given Ning Fan several of them. Most of them were Fifth Revolution and Sixth Revolution pills. Seventh Revolution pills were extremely hard to obtain. Although Wei Xuan had also given some of those pills to Ning Fan, most of them were useless to Ning Fan. Other than the pills for healing wounds and performing some secret techniques, the pills for raising his cultivation level were not many. There were two bottles of Thunder Profound Pills with each containing 20 of them. Thunder Profound Pills were a type of Fifth Revolution Intermediate Grade pill and each of them would be able to increase an Early Divine Transformation Realm cultivator's magic power by one hundred units. Aside from that, he also received one bottle of Fifth Revolution High Grade Purple Firmament Pills which contained 11 of them. Each of those pills was able to increase a Mid Divine Transformation Realm cultivator's magic power by two hundred units.

Wei Xuan did not have many pills as he was not a pill refinement master after all. Those pills were actually obtained from the storage pouches of those unlucky cultivators who got into trouble with him. Besides, with his current cultivation level, he no longer needed those pills as all of them were considered low grade to him.

Wei Xuan did not give Ning Fan any magical treasures. The reason was because Ning Fan had displayed three of his Immemorial Divine Weapons which managed to make Wei Xuan be full of praise.

Inside the valley, Wei Xuan looked at a piece of compass which emanated starlight in his hand and sighed with feelings.

The Separation Slayer Sword was enhanced for its sharpness. The Spirit Crushing Whip was refined with the ability of injuring one's primordial spirit. However, the third Immemorial Divine Weapon, Inlaid Star Compass made Wei Xuan feel awe.

"This treasure was fused with one hundred and ten thousand types of Spirit Realm formations, twenty thousand types of Dan Realm formations, one thousand and seven hundred types of Nascent Soul Realm formations, two hundred and seven types of Divine Transformation Realm formations and seven types of Mortal Void Realm formations! This treasure has already accumulated ten thousand star lamps. If all of them are lit up, perhaps the defense of this treasure will be able to withstand even a strike from a Void Refinement Realm expert!"

However, after expressing his praise, Wei Xuan lightly knitted his brows together.

"Perhaps you have met some kind of opportunities that allowed you to know so many powerful ancient formations. Your level in the Dao of Formations is certainly not weak. The idea of using formations to refine this treasure has really widened my horizon. I suppose the person who was able to figure out such method to refine a treasure must be a remarkable senior… However, there are some flaws on this treasure. The problems aren't because of the ancient formations, the ingredients or the methods of refining it. However, it is due to the lack of comprehension towards the Dao of Formations."

Wei Xuan gave Ning Fan a deep stare as if he was contemplating something seriously and shook his head.

"Which style of Dao of Formations are you practicing?"

"Which style…" Ning Fan helplessly shook his head and gently shrugged. The cultivation level of his Dao of Formations was completely inherited from the memories of the Ancient Chaos Emperor, so was his pill refinement technique. He knew that the pill refinement technique he practiced belonged to the faction which was known as Nine Revolutions of the Riverboat but not his formation techniques. Apparently, he did not have an orthodox faction for his formation techniques.

Anyhow, Ancient Chaos Emperor was an Immortal Emperor. For the formation arts below the Immortal Void Realm, they were of course obtained by him as easily as reaching out his hands. However, among the Immortal Emperors who were at the same level as him, Ancient Chaos Emperor was not famous for his Dao of Formations. What he truly excelled in was probably the cultivation techniques about dual-cultivation and the speed of assimilating pills.

Well, perhaps Ning Fan already had quite an excellent innate potential towards the Dao of Formations. Therefore, after inheriting Ancient Chaos's memories which were jumbled together, he could be considered as a cultivator with a strong level of Dao of Formations to an extent. However, when his level was placed before the eyes of an authentic master in the Dao of Formations, there would surely be some flaws.

The cultivation of formation techniques needed great care and meticulous attention. Only then would one be able to discern the proper spots for formation eyes in a vast terrain and calculate the complex formation eyes which would need to be established.

To set up the formation eyes, it would require a strong spirit sense. To activate the power of the formation, it would need a great amount of wealth.

Ning Fan had learnt all of these by himself through his own hard work. In spite of that, Ning Fan had not gone through the study of the fundamentals about the formation techniques. Therefore, on the general comprehension towards the Dao of Formations, he might appear to greatly surpass the cultivators at the same level as him but on the details of the Dao of Formations, he still had some flaws.

Wei Xuang was feeling speechless upon seeing Ning Fan's reaction.

How could this young man, Ning Fan, possess such startling level in the Dao of Formations if he didn't go through the traditional learning of the Dao of Formations?

It would not be possible even if he had obtained an inheritance from some powerful beings! Formation techniques are different from other things. Even if one knows the methods of establishing the formations, it's impossible for them to successfully establish them without calculations that demands great meticulousness and precision.

Having the ability to set up a Mortal Void Realm formation showed that Ning Fan's level in the Dao of Formations was extraordinary.

However, having flaws on Spirit Realm formations showed that Ning Fan's basics in formation techniques were just too weak.

"Fine. You are born in the mortal world after all. It isn't strange that you haven't heard of the nine main factions which practice the Dao of Formations. In the Four Heavens, the Dao of Formations is divided into nine styles. As for the family I am in, the Wei Clan, which resides in the He Luo[1] Star Domain, it is known as the origin of the He Luo Style. In our He Luo Style, the cultivation level of the Dao of Formations is categorized into 'Pattern Formation' and 'Heart Formation'. Pattern Formation means that one has to arrange the formations beforehand and will need external things to support the power the formation. The three types of things include the 'Human Formation', 'Earth Formation' and 'Heaven Formation'."

"As its name suggests, the Human Formation uses men as formations, like the military formations of the mortal troops and the battle formations of the immortal armies. It emphasizes on the 'unity of people'. The Earth Formation needs to borrow the help of the terrain. Any formations that need to be established with the help of the physical features of a place is categorized as an Earth Formation. It places importance on the 'geographical advantages'. The Heaven Formation uses the astronomical phenomenon as the formations. If one reaches a certain level in the Dao of Formations, the arrangement of the sun, moon and stars or the changes of the clouds, wind, snow and rain can be turned into formations to kill enemies. It emphasizes on the 'climate'. The Human, Earth and Heaven Formations all belong to the Pattern Formation. Regarding this type of formation, your foundations are weak. However, what's special about you is your power of understanding. It's rare to find someone with the level of shrewdness like yours. As for the Heart Formation, however, I find you have no knowledge in it at all."

"Heart Formation is akin to magical techniques. A true master of Dao of Formations does not need the help of a formation compass during battles at all. A wave of the hand will be enough to create a formation. That's how a Heart Formation is used, similar to Mental Seals as well as the Spirit Seals on your treasures. There's no need to intentionally set up a formation and it can be used to attack enemies like any magical techniques. However, there is a limitation to the Heart Formation. In order to attain the level of Heart Formation, one would need the 'Inheritance of Heart Blood'! In the He Luo Star Domain, the outstanding disciples will normally be granted the Ancestors Heart Blood by their sects or families. It will not only cause one's potential in the Dao of Formation to improve by leaps and bounds but also greatly boost one's spirit sense. The most important thing is that after obtaining the power from that inheritance, one could then start cultivating the Heart Formation!"

As Wei Xuan was patiently explaining, Ning Fan became more and more fascinated.

The difference between the Dao of Formations which he had been blindly exploring by himself from that of a true family that practices the Dao of Formations was not just a tiny bit.

The usefulness of Ancient Chaos' memories is becoming more and more insignificant. I suppose after attaining the Void Fragmentation Realm, it will nearly have zero help to me.

Then, my Dao of Formations will be stagnant in the Immortal Void Realm. Comparing to the disciples of the Four Heavens, I lacked a systematic teaching about the fundamentals of the Dao of Formations from the beginning, let alone the Inheritance of Heart Blood.

Wei Xuan took a few more gulps of wine while his eyes were filled with hesitation, as if he were pondering something.

After quite a while, he gritted his teeth, flicked his sleeve suddenly and passed an exquisite jade bottle to Ning Fan.

Inside the bottle contained a drop of blood. It was a drop of silver-colored blood!

By just holding the bottle, Ning Fan could already feel an immense power that came rushing at his face, energizing the power of his spirit sense.

"This is…" Ning Fan's eyes flashed with a hint of seriousness.

The value of this item must certainly be uncommon.

"This is a drop Heart Blood. It is left by one of the Life Immortal Realm ancestors of my Wei Family before he died using a secret art. Originally, I planned to use this blood to improve the cultivation level of my Dao of Formations once more. However, now it seems like it is much more useful to you."

There was one thing that Wei Xuan did not tell Ning Fan. The Heart Blood of one's own family must never be given to any outsider.

Although Wei Xuan did not see Ning Fan as an outsider, if the matter about him privately giving the Heart Blood to Ning Fan were to be known by his family, he might be exiled.

After all, the Heart Blood was just like the demon bloodline of the demon race. It held some kind of secret inheritance of formation techniques of the family which had practiced the Dao of Formations for generations!

Ning Fan was not a fool. Even though Wei Xuan did not tell him about it, he also understood that a precious item like the Heart Blood would certainly be strictly supervised by the members of the family.

"If I accept this item, I'm afraid I will get senior into trouble."

"Just take it!" Wei Xuan's words gave him no room to reject it. He had given Ning Fan all the benefits he could, regardless of any consequences. At first, it was because of his guilt towards the Old Devil. However, the more he looked at Ning Fan, the more he favored the latter.

As such, Ning Fan would not pretend to reject it anymore. The only thing he did was to secretly keep Wei Xuan's help and generosity in his mind.

If Wei Xuan suffers from injustice in the Wei Family because of this matter, I will definitely help him regain his place in the family after I have improved my power in the future!

"You've gained the Heart Blood. Since I have already broken the rules of my family once, I might as well break it for one more time. Take this item with you as well!"

Wei Xuan patted his storage pouch and took out an ancient jade slip for Ning Fan.

When Ning Fan studied it with his spirit sense, his countenance changed greatly. It was because what recorded in the jade slip was actually the He Luo Style's cultivation method and the records of its formations.

Its name was "He Luo Secret Formations"!

It contained a massive amount of ancient formations which even include those of Immortal Void Realm and above. As for the cultivation method for the Dao of Formations, it placed more emphasis on the cultivation of the power of mind and sense. After all, these two were the crucial elements that determined if a cultivator could successfully set up a formation.

With a complete cultivation guide in hand, if Ning Fan continues to cultivate it, it might even be possible for him to become one of the masters of the Dao of Formations who could create an Immortal Formation with just a wave of a hand.

"You don't have to reject. Just accept it!" Wei Xuan uttered with a serious tone.

Five Dao Fruits, a large amount of pills, the inheritance of Heart Blood, the secrets of the formations of the Wei Family.

Although most of these benefits could not come in handy for the moment, they were indeed a great help to Ning Fan in the future.

"This junior will never forget the gifts given by senior!"

"You don't have to be so formal. I believe Old Man Han would also do what I just did if he were to be here. So, what's the difference? Alright. Let's forget about that matter. Now, I have a question for you. Do you know why I brought you to this valley?"

"The yin qi of this area is extremely concentrated. I suppose senior has noticed that I have also cultivated the cultivation method of the Corpse Devil Veins. Therefore, senior intends to give me another opportunity to assist me in raising my devil power!" Ning Fan's eyes blazed with interest. His demon power had already attained the Divine Transformation Realm and it was only a matter of time for his magic power to also break through to the Divine Transformation Realm. His devil power however, was a jack rib. Up until now, he only gathered 109 units of devil power, remaining stagnant at the Mid Nascent Soul Realm.

The biggest reason was because he was unable to find a large amount of corpse qi, yin qi or evil sense to cultivate the Corpse Devil Record. However, now it seems that Wei Xuan was able to help Ning Fan get rid of that hindrance.

"You are quite sharp-witted. My intention is exactly the same as what you've said. Even though I don't know how and why you could still cultivate the Corpse Devil Veins and even possess the demon bloodlines after having the Yin Yang Devil Veins, I am not planning to ask because that is your secret. Before we start, I have another question to ask you. Do you have any idea what the secret hidden within this Star Palace?"

"This place is a labyrinth transformed from the Star of the Celestial Emperor. The Star of the Celestial Emperor is what I am determined to obtain!" Ning Fan did not conceal anything as he had already considered Wei Xuan as a person on his side.

"The Celestial Emperor?!" Wei Xuan's eyes brightened. "So that's what it is. It's no wonder so many demons are gathering in this world. There are not only the demons of the True Spirit Races from the Lands of Demons but also the imperial concubines from the Spirit King Palace… Young man, did you also keep the imperial concubines of the Spirit King as well?" Wei Xuan strangely stared at Ning Fan. He could faintly sense that the two female demons' qi within the temporary abode carried the unique demon qi that specially belonged to the imperial concubines of the Spirit King Palace.

"It's just by luck…" Ning Fan did not deny.

"Impressive! You even dare to touch the women of someone like the Spirit King!" Wei Xuan revealed a look of admiration.

He truly deserves to be Old Man Han's disciple. He's just the same as him, always defying every law and rules.

Regarding who would obtain the Star of the Celestial Emperor, Wei Xuan had no interest at all. The reason why he would come and observe the abnormal changes of this place was because of his duty. Since he was one of the deacons of the Four Heavens, if the Rain World experienced a great change, he must immediately report back to the Upper World.

However, since Ning Fan had set his eyes upon the great treasure of this place – the Star of the Celestial Emperor, as Ning Fan's senior, Wei Xuan would certainly lend him a hand.

"In the Heaven Hall, there is an Immortal Void Realm formation. It has a total of 49000 formations eyes. Every seven formations eyes contain 1 surviving chance and 6 chances of dying. Now, you have already acquired the inheritance of heart blood. As such, these 49000 formations eyes won't be difficult to pass through for you! After getting through the formation, there are eighteen doors of life and death. Nine of them would lead one to death while the other nine allow one to live. I have already gone through the six doors of life. All six of them lead to a dead end. As for the others three, I was unable to enter because the weak body of my clone is unable to withstand the pressure. I'm afraid the Star of the Celestial Emperor which you are looking for is within one of the three doors. With my memories jade slip, you can avoid entering the doors of death as well as the doors of life which would lead you to a dead end. You just have to select one of the three doors of life to enter. In that manner, your probability of seizing the Star of the Celestial Emperor from the group of demons will be quite high. However, from one of the three doors of life, I sense a trace of a Void Refinement Realm beast's qi… You must be careful!"

Wei Xuan took out an empty jade slip and embedded his memories before passing it to Ning Fan.

His words caused Ning Fan to be stunned. Apparently, Ning Fan had understood Wei Xuan's implied meaning.

"Senior is not joining me to acquire the Star of the Celestial Emperor?"

"No. I'm not. One would need to spend one month or a few months to enter a single door of life. It would take at least a few more months for you to seize that opportunity. Therefore, during these few months, I will have to help you delay something."

"Delay something? Delay what?"

For the investigation about the drastic change happening in the Rain World this time, I have another deacon as my partner. I stayed behind to continue investigating this place while he had left earlier to report back to the Upper World and request for assistance. Relying on just our clones, we are unable to compete with the demons for the opportunity in the Star Palace. However, morally speaking, we can't allow the demons to have it themselves. Thus, there will be quite a number of outstanding beings from the divine race rushing here to seize the star. If they also involve themselves in this competition, your chances of obtaining the star will be slimmer. Six months! This old man will figure out ways to delay them, making them unable to arrive here within six months… However, you still have to depend on yourself whether you can win against the outstanding beings of the demon race."

Deep inside, Wei Xuan believed that since Ning Fan was Old Man Han's disciple, he would definitely not lose to the demons.

Originally, he planned to stay a little longer at this place. Now, however, he had to leave the Star Palace first for Ning Fan in order to help him delay the strong cultivators from the divine race.

Therefore, before he left, he wanted to give Ning Fan another opportunity to help Ning Fan break through the obstacles that had been limiting his devil power, allowing his devil power to attain the Divine Transformation Realm!

"You will need a great deal of corpse qi to cultivate but the corpse qi of this place is far from enough…"

Wei Xuan took a few more gulps, finishing the wine of the purple bottle. Then, his eyes sparkled with resolution and took out a worn dark compass.

That compass was the Immortal Formation that he used in the past!

That compass once allowed him to become widely known in the He Luo Star Domain while he was at the Life Immortal Realm!

That compass had accompanied Wei Xuan in every battle he fought but as his cultivation level fell below the Immortal Realm, it became laden with dust.

At the moment the compass was revealed, Ning Fan's eyes were filled with enthusiasm once more.

If his magic power attains the Life Immortal Realm, using it to kill ten Emperor Moksha would be as easy as turning his palm over!

It was a supreme treasure!

"Break!"

That compass of Immortal formation which was considered as a supreme treasure in Ning Fan's eyes was crushed into pieces by Wei Xuan without any hesitation!

As the compass was pulverized, a massive amount of corpse qi began to flow out from it.

Hundreds of thousands of corpses were sealed within the formation compass. All of them were the people killed by Wei Xuan when he was famous in the past.

Although the number of those cultivators was not as many as that in the Internal Endless Sea, most of them were at the Nascent Soul Realm and above. Besides, the strongest among them was at Void Fragmentation Realm!

Wei Xian might look like a drunkard who always drink to drown his sorrows and live his life negatively now, but he was certainly a powerful ferocious devil who was not any weaker than Old Devil in the past!

"Is this amount of corpse qi enough for your devil power to attain the Divine Transformation Realm?!"

"Certainly!"

Ning Fan's current mood could not be put into words.

He would of course never forget Wei Xuan's kindness towards him. However, he also understood that there was only one true reason why Wei Xuan would give him countless benefits including the Dao Fruits, Heart Blood and even precious pills.

It's because I am the Old Devil's disciple! And Old Devil is Wei Xuan's brother!

Wei Xuan's immortal foundation had already been discarded. He no longer had the hope of becoming an immortal again. Since he was not able to meet Old Devil, he passed the Dao Fruits which he planned to use for advancing his cultivation level to the Third Heavenly Layer of Void Fragmentation Realm to Ning Fan and gave him the inheritance of Heart Blood as a gift. Besides, just for helping Ning Fan to improve his devil power to the Divine Transformation Realm, he had even destroyed the terrifying immortal treasure which he had used to rule over his domain in the past.

"This old man will make a move first! Six months! I will try my best to help you delay them for six months. Six months later, among the proud sons of heaven from the Northern Heaven, there might be the members of the White Devil Sect. The current you are still incapable of messing with them. Once you obtain the Star of the Celestial Emperor, quickly leave this place!

Wei Xuan slapped his storage pouch, summoning the jade-green wine gourd and flew away on it.

His eyes were no longer dazed and confused like before. Now, they were flashing with a hint of pride and sense of responsibility that could not be numbed with alcohol.

"Ancient Heavenly Court, Han Nietian? Hmmph! This old man will surely not miss this battle!"

Towards the direction where Wei Xuan flew, Ning Fan cupped his fists. He knew that the reason why Wei Xuan would be so busy travelling was all because of him.

Perhaps the relationship between the Old Devil and Wei Xuan is just like the relationship between me and Ning Gu. Although they aren't blood brothers, their relationship is inextinguishable.

Recalling the words that Wei Xuan said before he left, Ning Fan's face darkened.

The outstanding beings from the White Devil Sect?

Why should I hide from them?

Clearing all thoughts, he sat down in a meditative position and began to activate the Corpse Devil Record to absorb the corpse qi of the area.

The terrain of this valley is just right for the accumulation of the corpse qi. I have to say this: Wei Xuan's comprehension towards the Dao of Formations is indeed extremely deep.

"Devil power, attain the Divine Transformation Realm!" Ning Fan's eyes flashed and the billow of corpse qi began to flow within his body. Meanwhile, his body which was thin and pale at first gradually decayed, giving out a disgusting odor.

It was the technique of Corpse Transformation that was recorded in the Corpse Devil Record! Through the process of Corpse Transformation, he could enhance his body to the level like that of a corpse devil which would grant him frightening strength and defense in the end!

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

<strong>Note: </strong>

1. He Luo (Chinese: 河洛 pinyin: Hé luò ) He(河) literally means river. Luo (洛) was an old name for river in Chinese. It was also used as surname. Based on my research, He Luo actually means the area between the Yellow River and Luo River in China. There is also a community of Hoklo (which is written as He Luo in Chinese) whose traditional ancestral homes are in southern Fujian.