Grasping Evil

Tens of thousands of human skeletons were piled up in the valley and the corpse qi was already completely absorbed.

A white-robed young man stood in the middle of the large piles of skeletons. When he made a stomp on the ground, a thousand zhang* black mountain emerged out of nowhere.

Standing on the peak of the mountain, the young man's eyes sparkled with a mysterious light. He directly performed an archaic and abstruse formation seal. At first, the motion of his fingers were jerky but as he continued to practice, he grew more accustomed to it and the formation he created became more mellow and full.

With the cultivation towards the hand seals of the demonic techniques, the formation seals were not difficult for the young man to cultivate. After some practice, his fingertips moved up and down smoothly like a shadow.

As he continued to alter his hand seals, a large amount of magic power began to flow into the hand seals he made, transforming multiple whirling mass of green air in mid-air.

Each of the vortexes appeared one after another, occupying the air in an abnormal arrangement, which drew in the nearby clouds.

Each of the whirlpools were then connected together by his spirit sense and they began to turn black. Gradually, they became a thousand zhang* large dark green mass of wind in the shape of a dragon after being connected by his dark sense!

When the dark-green wind dragon soared into the sky and emitted a roar, the mountains and rivers quaked. The power it displayed was nearly comparable to that of a High Grade Divine Transformation Realm magical technique. However, this technique was not a magical technique but a formation technique!

It was a technique of formation power which was displayed using his magic power and the secret seals of the Heart Formation!

Standing at the peak of the evil mountain, Ning Fan gazed upon the dragon and revealed a satisfied smile. The positions of the three thousand whirlwinds were actually placed according to the climate, occupying each of the formation eyes.

That gigantic black wind dragon was actually a Heaven Formation that was established by borrowing the power of the wind and clouds. Its name was 'Dancing Mist Dragon Heaven Formation'! In order to display a High Grade Divine Transformation Realm formation technique, one would at least have to have Late Divine Transformation Realm spirit sense. As for activating its power, one would need to have a magic power not any weaker than the Late Divine Transformation Realm.

When Ning Fan's five fingers turned into a claw and slashed at the air in front of him, the spiritual qi of the earth veins within the vicinity of one hundred thousand li* was extracted and gathered into his hand, forming into an illusory misty ball. It was the soul of the great land. He opened his mouth and pushed it down his throat.

Combining the three types of magic power he possessed, he was already at the level of a Mid Divine Transformation Realm. After performing Soul Extraction, his total magic power suddenly increased sharply, breaking through to the Late Divine Transformation Realm.

When he lifted his finger, the dark green wind dragon let out another roar and charged downwards, smashing its head against the earth. Immediately, the whole ground rumbled and a fierce gale blew from all directions. As the terrifying howl of the gale echoed, typhoons which were strong enough to tear the hollow space apart spread throughout the entire area. Mountains crumbled and the earth sank. Trees and grasses were reduced to ashes. Within just a brief moment, the vicinity of ten thousand li* of the southern region was razed to the ground!

"So this is the might of the Heart Formation… If the formation techniques are cultivated to a supreme level, its power will not be any weaker than Immortal techniques!"

Ning Fan could imagine that if his spirit sense and magic power were strong enough, he could directly display an Immortal Void technique that could flatten an area of millions* of li. With that power, wiping out a mid-grade cultivation country would be as easy as just flicking his finger.

Unfortunately, formations techniques were limited by one's spirit sense and magic power at the same time. Therefore, the current Ning Fan could at most display a High Grade Divine Transformation Realm formation. Among all the High Grade formations he knew, this Dancing Mist Dragon Heaven Formation had the strongest destructive power, making it the best formation technique to be used.

"Now, I have another technique in my hands!"

Ning Fan put away all his irrelevant thoughts and began regulating his breathing. After dispersing the illusory shadow of his evil mountain, he returned to his abode.

After just a few teleportations, he had traversed more than one hundred thousand li* of land of the southern part of the island. When he stopped, he was already standing right before the abode.

Currently, Ning Fan did not expose a single trace of his qi. No, he was not deliberately concealing his qi. Instead, it was due to the qi retaining effect of his corpse body after successfully completing the second phase of corpse transformation.

Therefore, when he arrived outside the abode, even Yue Lingkong could not sense his presence.

However, when he overheard the intense quarrel within the abode, his brows were faintly knitted together while wearing a strange look.

Inside the abode, Wu Yan was quietly on the stone bed and her look remained elegant but helpless.

Beside her, the female corpse and Xi Ran were quarrelling non-stop. Moreover, the main point of their dispute was actually about whether Ning Fan was going to marry Xi Ran or not.

Yue Lingkong could be considered as the eldest cultivator among all the women present. If such an incident were to happen in the past, that tyrannical female ruler would definitely have acted firmly without showing any mercy. She would have valued her words like gold in such a scenario. However, after her main body was taken over by her second primordial spirit and was turned into child, her cold attitude seemed to have a hint of mischief, especially after she was imprisoned and plucked by Ning Fan. When the two females were in the midst of quarrelling, she would utter some obscene words occasionally to worsen the situation, causing the argument between the two females to become so heated to the point of brawling with each other.

"Lu Bei must marry me! I will marry him tonight!" Xi Ran argued so angrily that her little face glowed with redness.

"Light…won't…marry… you…" The female corpse stubbornly insisted.

Yue Lingkong rested her chin on her hands and her lips curved into a broad smile filled with excitement. Feeling interested, she then chipped in and said, "What's the use of quarrelling? Come on, fight each other. Whoever wins will be the one who is right!"

If anyone who understood Yue Lingkong was around, he or she would definitely realize her eyes were flashing with mischief and wickedness at the moment.

That expression on her face would've been impossible to appear on the face of the dignified female tyrant in the past.

Upon hearing Yue Lingkong's suggestion, the both of them no longer argued. Instead, the female corpse forcefully delivered a blow with her corpse devil palm while Xi Ran performed a hand seal, summoning a rattan whip made of demon power and whipped at the female corpse.

The female corpse was powerful among the cultivators at the same level as her whereas Xi Ran could be considered rather weak compared to those of her level. Despite that, it was a situation where both of them matched each other in strength and power.

Ning Fan was lost.

Why would that little loli Xi Ran simply yell and scream that she wants to marry me? Is my charm really that great?

He did not ask her. Even if he asks, perhaps Xi Ran would forget about her initial intention of involving herself in the fight. Now, she just did not want to lose to the female corpse.

Without uttering much, Ning Fan vanished in a flash and directly stood between the two females who were about to exchange more severe blows with each other. Raising both of his palms, he offset the two incoming attacks.

The female corpse's palm was comparable to a strike from a Mid Divine Transformation Realm expert. She possessed strength which were strong enough to overturn mountains. Even ordinary Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts would never be able to receive a single palm attack from the female corpse.

But this time, when her palm and Ning Fan's palm collided against each other, the earth trembled violently and the mountains swayed. Even so, Ning Fan did not show any signs of retreating and his strength was far greater than the female corpse's!

Luckily, the force that Ning Fan exerted was subtle without having any capabilities of hurting the female corpse. However, his palm was enough to cause her to lose her balance. When she was about to fall, Ning Fan dashed towards her and held her in his arms.

Facing Xi Ran's demon whip, Ning Fan simply hurled his hand and delivered a billow of black lotus devil flame. Within seconds, that domineering flame had burnt the Mid Divine Transformation Realm demonic technique to nothingness.

"The Third Level of Jade Life Realm?! No. This cucumber is still at the Second Level of Jade Life Realm. But judging from his qi, he's already at the Third Level… How's that possible?! Besides, when he stood in front of me, my Half-Step Void Refinement Realm spirit sense could not even sense a single trace of his qi… It isn't because he was intentionally concealing his qi but because all his qi has already been kept within his body… That's one of the characteristics of a corpse devil's body refining technique!"

"Burning the technique to nothingness?! He literally turned that demonic technique into nothingness. The flame he displayed must at least be a level stronger than that of the demon whip! If I'm not wrong, that must be a Sixth Grade spiritual flame and among the flames of that grade, it should be ranked around the middle! However, why haven't I learnt of that flame before? Besides, by the look of its appearance, it rather resembles the Fifth Grade Spiritual Flame, Lotus Corpse Flame. In spite of that, its power is totally different from that Fifth Grade Flame!"

Yue Lingkong and Wu Yan were both beings with sharp insight. At first glance, they were able to tell the uniqueness behind Ning Fan's unintentional act.

Wu Yan did not have a complete knowledge about Ning Fan's background. In her eyes, Ning Fan was always a man that she could never see through or understand completely. As such, it was not a big surprise for her to witness his power.

As for Yue Lingkong, however, she was a cultivator who had witnessed Ning Fan's growth ever since he was still a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. Therefore, in her heart, how could she still maintain her composure?!

Those deep-seated thoughts only existed in the minds of the likes of Yue Lingkong and Wu Yan. For females like the female corpse and Xi Ran, none of them had noticed how powerful Ning Fan's action was at all.

Snuggling up inside Ning Fan's arms, the female corpse's face was no longer as pale as a ghost but it was still as cold as ice. Her heart however was a little confused.

Ever since she had been completely subdued by Ning Fan, she had never had such intimate contact with Ning Fan before. Now, the sudden hug from Ning Fan made her recall the memories when she was forced to copulate with Ning Fan in the past. Her blank but clear eyes flashed with a hint of fear as she began to struggle to break free as if she was afraid that Ning Fan would do something like that to her again.

Ning Fan's eyes were slightly shocked.

This female corpse might be leaning close to me but she's feeling dreadful of me at the same time…

It was the reason why he did not dare to lay a finger on the female corpse anymore when she was in his arms.

Letting go of her from his arms, Ning Fan gently rubbed her hair and looked at her with tender and affectionate eyes.

"Don't worry. I will not hurt you anymore and I'll never allow anyone to harm you…"

When he shifted his gaze to Xi Ran, his eyes suddenly turned cold.

He did not know why this silly loli would decide to marry him all of a sudden. Neither does he know why she argued with the female corpse. If it was just a joke, he would at most have a laugh and forget all about it. But just now, Xi Ran clearly intended to harm the female corpse! Even though both of their strength was almost on the same level and Xi Ran's technique would never really hurt the female corpse, she still acted in the end. Because of that, Ning Fan was unable to tolerate her anymore.

"She is my wife. Anyone who hurts her shall die!"

Xi Ran felt aggrieved. In her mind, she was unable to understand why Ning Fan would take the female corpse's side but not hers in their dispute while looking at her with a cold, indifferent look as if he was staring at a stranger.

Unfortunately, she did not know that if it was not because of Wu Yan, he would have killed her because of the earlier matter where she tried to hurt the female corpse!

The female corpse was Ning Fan's reverse scale, be it in this life or his previous one!

Without showing much concern to Xi Ran's feelings, Ning Fan's gaze eventually landed on Yue Lingkong and his eyes became frigid cold.

"There will be no next time!"

As a matter of fact, this fight was instigated by Yue Lingkong who was bored to the extreme. However, Ning Fan did not care about how elevated her identity was in the past or how domineering her attitude was. As long as she was in his hands, she was not allowed to create anymore troubles for him.

"Hmmph…"

Yue Lingkong's snorted lightly with a diminished aura. Despite that, she did not dare to utter any words. The current Ning Fan gave her an extremely solemn feeling. If they were to be in the usual times where there were less tension, she would have cracked a joke. But now, Ning Fan had actually revealed his killing intent.

In the past, Yue Lingkong thought that the female corpse was merely a refined corpse to Ning Fan, even though he was quite doting on her. She had never expected that that woman had such a significant position within his heart.

With her tyrannical behavior, she should have felt displeased after being reprimanded by Ning Fan. But now, her heart felt an unusual feeling other than dissatisfaction for the first time.

It was the feeling of admiration.

She admired the female corpse for being able to make a devil lord who was cruel and cold to reveal such a violent killing intent.

In the past, Yue Lingkong only had the ambition of dominating the entire Internal Endless Sea. There was not a single moment where she would ponder over the affairs between men and women. Moreover, when she was plucked by Ning Fan, she only thought that she was just being poked by a cucumber. Her former self would never have admired a woman who was being loved and doted upon.

Wu Yan gently lowered her head and sighed. The first time when her heart was moved by Ning Fan was when he was infuriated for Lu Wan'er after finding out she was injured by others. There was not a romantic theme where gentle breeze was blowing, bringing flowers and snow across the sky under the moonlight. There was not a romantic scene where the man hugged his woman, immersing themselves in long-lasting love. There was only a cold but solemn vow.

"She is my wife. Anyone who harms her shall die!"

"Being able to become his wife is truly a bliss…" Wu Yan laughed at herself. She knew that she was not going to have the honor and chance for that.

"Light…Don't…be…angry…She's…my…friend…"

The female corpse slightly stood in front of Xi Ran, blocking her away from Ning Fan as if she was worried that he might suddenly do something ruthless.

Upon seeing what happened before her eyes, Xi Ran was stunned. It was way beyond her expectations to think that the female corpse who had been squabbling with her would be so protective of her. Feeling ashamed of herself, she pursed her lips so tightly that it almost looked like an earthworm and then spoke with a low voice.

"I'm sorry…"

The female corpse shook her head and forced a smile.

"No…argue…let's…play…"

Suddenly, she turned her head to Ning Fan and pleaded for the first time.

"Light…don't…hurt…her…"

"Okay…"

Feeling slightly upset, he looked at the female corpse compassionately and stroked her hair.

"Mm. I won't hurt her."

You were this silly in your previous life. Falling in love with a butterfly and giving up everything for it.

Your silliness still has not changed in this life. Just to save a dying young man, you gave up your chastity.

Even though you have become a corpse and had lost your spiritual intelligence, abandoned your Sea of Consciousness and lost your memories, you still would forgive your enemies, showing compassion to them…

You always make an embroidery of a pair of butterflies which are flying side by side… Despite forgetting everything from your previous life, you still remembered that you are waiting for a person, a person who would transform from a butterfly; a person whom you would marry; a person whom you decided to save your chastity for… You still remember these but you don't recall that I… was the butterfly…

A deathly silence fell upon the atmosphere within the abode. Each and every one present at the place harbored their own thoughts.

Eventually, Ning Fan turned his gaze to Xi Ran and said, "As you can see, I am a merciless person who kill without batting an eyelid. Do you still want to marry me?"

"No…I don't want to…" Xi Ran hurriedly shook her head like a pellet drum. She was literally scared.

Her reply made Wu Yan laugh.

This silly little girl really thought that Lu Bei likes her…

"Very well. It's good that you say you don't want to. I have something to ask you. Were you after the Extreme Profound Zoysia when you intruded the den of the bear demon that day?"

"Extreme Profound Zoysia? You said this is the Extreme Profound Zoysia?" As soon as they were talking about spiritual herbs, Xi Ran instantly wiped away her tears and revealed a look of great interest. The weak and frail part of her disappeared as she shot a contemptuous look at Ning Fan.

"Isn't this the Extreme Profound Zoysia?" Ning Fan's eyes flashed. What he wanted to know was the true use of the spiritual herb.

"You are a Fifth Revolution pill master, aren't you?" Xi Ran folded her arms around her chest and sniffed. Then, she confidently said, "Yes. It can't be wrong. You should be a Low Grade Fifth Revolution Pill Master. Your 'Medicine Soul' is not weak!"

"What?!" This young man is a Fifth Revolution Pill Master?!" Yue Lingkong felt extremely shocked while Wu Yan covered her mouth to hide her surprise as her eyes flashed with astonishment.

Yue Lingkong gently shook her head in disbelief. After all, a Fifth Revolution Pill Master was far more difficult to cultivate compared to a Divine Transformation Realm expert. With just an age of not more than 400 years, Ning Fan's cultivation level was already at the Divine Transformation Realm. Not only was his battle power heaven-defying, but his pill refining technique was also at the Fifth Revolution. Wasn't that just a little too exaggerated?! One has to know that even a tyrannical and oppressive ruler like Yue Lingkong also needed to give face to Fifth Revolution Pill Masters!

Although Wu Yan was shocked, she completely believed what Xi Ran said. She knew that while Xi Ran has a frail character and a pure and innocent heart, she was the princess of the Profound Medicine Race. In other words, she had the purest bloodline of the Profound Medicine Race after so many generations!

The Profound Medicine Race was a great race that practiced pill refinement techniques. All the members of the race had their demon bodies formed from spiritual herbs. They were not the same with the demons which were formed from ordinary grasses and trees. The old ancestor of the Profound Medicine Race was born when an unknown ancient pill refinement grandmaster's spiritual herb gained its spirituality. That is to say, the old ancestor of the Profound Medicine Race originated from a spiritual herb. It was born with the innate talent of the Dao of Pills. After it was born, it became a follower to that pill refining grandmaster and mastered all the ingenious skills of the San Qing[1] Pill Condensation method from him.

Although rumor has it that the pill refining techniques of the Profound Medicinal Race had died out, as a great race which practiced pill refinement techniques, there was not anyone who would dare to offend that race in the entire Land of Demons. After all, it's hard to say that they would not need any pills from them in the future.

As the little princess of the Profound Medicinal Race, she had the royal bloodline of the Medicine Veins. Moreover, her character which was as pure as white paper made her extremely suitable to research pill refinement techniques. She might not be skillful in combat but her pill refinement techniques were already at the peak of the Fifth Revolution!

Ning Fan's eyes turned solemn.

This Xi Ran is indeed not simple. She could see through my pill refinement level with just a glance. That is something that ordinary people could not do.

Besides, regarding the 'Medicine Soul' she mentioned, I haven't even heard of it before. In a sense, my pill refinement techniques which I learnt without a solid foundation has a great disparity from hers.

"Precisely. My pill refinement level is indeed at the Fifth Revolution. However, what is the relation with me not recognizing the zoysia?"

"Don't tell me your teacher hasn't taught you about that before! When spiritual herbs reaches a certain level, they would learn how to camouflage themselves! In order to get a clear look at their true appearances, one has to use their Medicine Soul! That isn't the Extreme Profound Zoysia. In fact, that is the Star Tempering Purple Zoysia! Apparently, if one consumes a piece of its leaves, one could then temper their stars of fiendgod. If one takes a bite on the body of the zoysia, one could draw the star power to refine their bodies and borrow the star power to heal their wounds. Besides, one may even get the chance of comprehending the power of starlight!"

"Star Tempering Purple Zoysia!" Wu Yan and Yue Lingkong's faces were filled with shock. Obviously, both of them had heard of the reputable name of the item.

Even Ning Fan also revealed a look of shock. However, that shock was replaced by a pleasant feeling of surprise.

Even though he could not see through the true colors of the Extreme Profound Zoysia, he had at least heard of the prominent name of 'Star Tempering Purple Zoysia'!

A piece of its leaves could help one congeal and refine the star of fiendgod.

A mouthful of its flesh could enable one to draw the star power to temper their bodies and increase their body refining realm!

Furthermore, during the process of tempering the body using star power, one may also have the chance of mastering the ethereal but boundless power of starlight!

It is said that only the Immortal Demons who have broken through to the Void Fragmentation Realm could learn how to use the power of starlight.

The star power not only could be fused within magical techniques but it is also the best power to heal wounds.

For Immortal Demons who have gained that power, they could borrow the power of starlight to fully heal their wounds even if they have been grievously injured!

Ning Fan cast a deep look at the female corpse beside him. His expression was filled with excitement.

If I acquire the Star Tempering Purple Zoysia, will I be able to recover her fragmented Sea of Consciousness and help her regain her memories with the power of starlight?!

"This zoysia… I have to get it!" Ning Fan's eyes sparkled with determination, as if he was already prepared to immediately look for the black bear and request for that item.

However, before he was able to move, Xi Ran's eyes suddenly flashed slyly.

"Do you know what the 'true' method of consuming the Star Tempering Purple Zoysia is?"

"The true method?" Ning Fan was slightly stunned.

Could it be that the Star Tempering Purple Zoysia can't be eaten raw like how the rumors claimed?

"Of course there is. Look at your expression. I suppose you haven't even heard before what a Medicine Soul is. Without a doubt, you won't be able to truly utilize the power of the purple zoysia. Your teacher is really irresponsible! It's just as if he didn't teach you anything at all!"

"What method?!"

"Why should I tell you? You've been bullying me and you even threatened to kill me just now! If you intend to know how to consume the purple zoysia, you'll have to make me happy first!"

Xi Ran's proudly lifted her head and gave Ning Fan a mischievous stare.

Hmmph. Weren't you very fierce just now? Let's see if you still dare to be fierce against me in the future!

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

<strong>Note:</strong>

1. San Qing Pill Condensation

San Qing (Chinese: 三清 pinyin: sān qīng)

San (三 sān ) means three

Qing (清qīng) means clear or pure.