Grasping Evil

Along the journey to the south, Qing Xuan had divulged every secret about the ancestor blood after a series of interrogation and torture. He did not dare to conceal any bit of information.

Beneath the Dragon Burial Ocean City was where an ancient dragon's skeletons were buried. The dragon's bones were already weathered by wind, completely diminishing their usefulness. However, the marrows within its bones contained two drops of ancestor blood!

Beyond all doubt, that dragon must be one of the personages at the same level as an old ancestor of the dragon race when it was still alive.

It was because of these two drops of ancestor blood that Zang Long1, who was also known as Revered Dragon, was able to gain such tremendous power and enabled him to fight the old bear when he was still just at the Peak Divine Transformation Realm.

Today, Zang Long was hiding somewhere in the city, going through his secluded meditation to refine the ancestor blood and break through to the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm.

Qing Xuan was the only person who knew the exact location where he had gone into seclusion. It was not at any of the places in the city. In fact, he was residing inside an Immortal Abode's Treasure!

Without Qing Xuan as the guide, it would certainly be difficult for Ning Fan to discover where Zang Long was hiding on his own!

That was also one of the reasons why Ning Fan did not immediately end Qing Xuan's life. To him, the man still was useful to him.

Ancestor blood was something that could not be seized or robbed from others. Other than the inheritance from one's ancestor, it could only be obtained through diligent self-cultivation. These two drops of ancestor blood, however, were an exception among exceptions. Perhaps it was because of the power of the Celestial Emperor which shaped this Star Sea or the abnormal landscape around the Ocean City that allowed them to be passed down.

Ning Fan was the possessor of the Fu Li Demon Bloodline. Although the two drops of ancestor blood could not directly enhance the strength of his demon bloodline, they could bring quite a few benefits to him.

Besides, even if there was not the existence of the ancestor blood, Ning Fan would also destroy this Dragon Burial Ocean City anyway. The sole reason for that was because the Dragon Burial Ocean City had taken action against him!

When one is pursued and hunted, one shall return the favor with complete retaliation. The best way to do it is undeniably eliminating those powerful forces like Dragon Burial Ocean City, making the other minor forces know their places. In that manner, none of them would be audacious enough to find trouble with me.

The slaughter has already begun. Be it a single person or ten thousand people, all of them shall die. Since I've destroyed thousands of troops belonging to Zang Long and captured Qing Xuan, there is certainly no turning back between me and the Dragon Burial Ocean City.

"How many experts are there in the Dragon Burial Ocean City?!"

"Other than the city lord being a Peak Divine Transformation Realm expert, there are still three elders at the Late Divine Transformation Realm. I'm the trusted follower of city lord. Therefore, I was appointed to become the vice city lord. Apart from that, there are seven Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts whose power is on par with mine. As for Early Divine Transformation Realm cultivators, there are fifteen of them with four being the newly-captured captives…"

"Captives?"

"Mm. I suppose you must have noticed this: there have been lots of outsiders intruding the Star Sea recently. However, no one knew what's the cause of it… The four of them were all captured by the city lord when they broke into our Dragon Burial Ocean City by accident. They were then planted with demon seals and kept in the city, taking up positions as guards in the city."

Facing Ning Fan's question, Qing Xuan did not have the guts to conceal any information. With only his head, he displayed a secret technique to reconstruct his demon body of star spirit. Sadly, his cultivation level regressed to the Early Divine Transformation Realm.

After all, it was something that could not be helped. Being able to keep his life safe from Ning Fan's hands was already considered fortunate. It was just unavoidable to experience a decline in his cultivation level to recover himself.

At this moment, Qing Xuan finally understood how terrifying the white-robed young man standing in front of him truly was.

Unfortunately, that realization was a little too late and agonizing.

As the vice city lord of the Dragon Burial Ocean City, Qing Xuan had no other choice but to betray his city in order to save his own life.

After everything had quieted down, Qing Xuan had another more depressing finding: Ning Fan might be powerful, but he showed no signs of camouflaging his cultivation level. Apparently, he was truly just an Early Divine Transformation Realm cultivator.

"This person might be strong and is able to kill me as easily as pinching an ant to death, but his cultivation level is just at the Early Divine Transformation Realm. I wonder if he could win against the city lord… Since I've been planted with a demon seal by him, if he dies, I will die too. Hai… The city lord was already capable of receiving ten palms from the old bear. Today, I guess his power must have greatly increase again… If this person is defeated by the city lord, what should I do…"

*Sigh*

Qing Xuan heaved a deep sigh. When he lowered his head and noticed the Golden Flame Chariot beneath his feet, his facial expression immediately burnt with passion.

This chariot is really fast! Its speed has already attained the level of a Void Refinement Realm expert!

This Lu Bei truly deserves to be the ferocious man who could escape from Kun Mo's pursuit with such speed. Since Kun Mo was unable to catch up with him, I believe the city lord would not be able to as well. Perhaps he might not be an opponent to the city lord, but it would not be an issue for him to run away.

"Fine. I shall just follow him all the way to the dark. I just feel sorry for my family members. I wonder if they would be killed by the city lord to vent out his anger…"

The Golden Flame Chariot seemed to have transformed into a ray of extremely fine delicate golden thread, moving one hundred thousand li* (500m per li) in the Star Sea in every instant. Within a short period of time travelling in such terrific speed, the Dragon Burial Ocean City was already close. Upon seeing the city, nervousness immediately overtook Qing Xuan. Columns and columns of battle chariots were slowly seen moving around the city.

Dragon Burial Ocean City was a neutral force which did not side with any other forces. As for its city lord, the venerated Zang Long was once notoriously known for his viciousness. However, as he was busy getting ready to break through to the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm as of late, he rarely had contact with the world. Despite that, his fearsome prestige still lingered around.

The defense outside the city was strict and tight. At one hundred thousand li* in the northern part of the city, there were one hundred thousand sea beasts standing guard with seven silver chariots.

Each of the seven battle chariots stood a Divine Transformation Realm being. Three of them wearing star armors were at the Mid Divine Transformation Realm.

As for the other four who wore an overcoat sewn with marten's fur, they were all Early Divine Transformation Realm experts. Each of them wore an angered look. In spite of their anger, none of them dare to speak up.

"Feng Han, step forward!" One of the Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts indifferently ordered with a face cold like an iron bar.

"Yes… I wonder if there are orders from General Mu Nan…" A young man whose face carried some bruises moved forward, lowering his head and cupping his fists at the elderly man. His eyes revealed a hint of pent-up rage.

If there is any demon cultivator form the Second World present at the scene, they would find out that this young man who was swollen with restrained anger and forced to lower his tone when speaking was actually General Feng Han from the Feng Yun Tribe!

"You knew what the business is and you still dare to deliberately ask?! The city lord has given one month to consider. Today is the last day. Have you made up your mind?!"

"I, Feng Han, don't dare to leak the cultivation method of my Feng Yun Tribe. I hope General Mu Nan could have mercy on me!" Feng Han gritted his teeth and replied. One month ago, he and three other generals from the same tribe as him had intruded the Dragon Burial Ocean City. However, all of them were assaulted by the ferocious beasts within and captured.

Among the four of them, other than Feng Han, the others were all Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts. However, when facing the powerful attack from the city lord, all of them were defeated almost instantaneously. The demonic technique of ancestor blood performed by the city lord had overly frightening power. With just a single move, all three of the Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts immediately suffered a decline in their cultivation level, regressing to the early stage. As for Feng Han who had activated his secret technique just in time, he avoided the attack with a speed that even Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts found difficult to catch up with, preventing his cultivation level from regressing below the Divine Transformation Realm.

After the four of them were held captive, they were turned into demon slaves of the Dragon Burial Ocean City. To Feng Han and his comrades who had high pride and arrogance, it was literally the biggest humiliation in their entire lives.

However, if it was not because the city lord was interested in Feng Han's cultivation method, the four of them would not have the chance of surviving up until this day.

One month! The city lord had given Feng Han one month to consider handing over his cultivation method. By doing so, he and his other comrades could be spared. If he is stubborn and insists on keeping it to himself, Zang Long could only search his memories and soul by force. Although it might not be the complete part of the cultivation method, that was the best way to get it out of Feng Han's head.

Throughout the month, Feng Han had been hesitating and struggling. However, after discussing with the other four generals, they had reached a conclusion: the secret technique of the Feng Yun Tribe must never be exposed.

"How dare you! If you don't hand over the cultivation method, you will certainly die!" Mu Nan's eyes turned cold.

"As a general, why would I fear death?!"

Feng Han took another step forward. He had had enough humiliation for the past one month. Today, he would no longer tolerate it any longer!

"Hmmph… Seems like your backbone is quite sturdy. But this old man has my own means to make you spit out your cultivation method… Speaking of which, that Lu Bei of Luo Yun who has stirred up trouble in the Star Sea seems to have come from the same place as yours. I wonder how many more days it would take the vice city lord Qing Xuan to capture him back so that you will have one more friend to accompany you on your journey to hell!" Mu Nan changed the topic with threatening words.

But he had never expected that his threat would make Feng Han's angry eyes to gradually turn calm and that calmness was replaced with blazing enthusiasm in the next moment.

"Qing Xuan won't be able to capture Lu Bei!" Feng Han stood up arrogantly, laughing with his face facing upwards. He already had the intention of dying.

"How impudent! Is the name of the respected vice city lord something that can be directly called out by a mere demon general like you?! However, I'm quite surprised that you have such interest in Lu Bei. According to my knowledge, at the world where you came from, there are nine large forces. Your Feng Yun Tribe is the third strongest force. As for Lu Bei, he originated from the force which was ranked the seventh. Besides, I heard that he's just an Early Divine Transformation Realm cultivator. In other words, his power would at most be at a similar level as yours. Furthermore, he has already been afflicted with the poison of the Evil Cold Worm. It's only a matter of time before his combat power completely depletes… To kill you, I will need three breaths! To kill that Lu Bei, however, I won't even need three breaths!"

Mu Nan fluently talked about his findings towards the Second World. Upon hearing his words, Feng Han's face turned grim and ferociously glared at the other three generals behind him. Immediately, one of the demon generals who seemed to have yet to sober up lowered his head and revealed a look of remorse.

"It's my careless mistake leaking it out after I was drunk… However, I didn't blurt out too much…"

Without a doubt, the information about the Second World was inadvertently divulged by that drunk general.

Feng Han took a deep breath in. Since the matter had already been exposed, it would be pointless to continue accusing whose fault it was. Looking at Mu Nan firmly and determinedly, Feng Han uttered word by word confidently.

"You can kill him? Impossible! He won't even need a single finger to kill you!"

"Hmmph! I'm really eager to see what kind of Early Divine Transformation Realm cultivator won't need a single breath to kill me! As for you, since you've infuriated me, I shall search your soul and memories right away to shut you up now and forever!"

Mu Nan's body suddenly disappeared. In a stream of smoke which Feng Han found difficult to notice clearly, Mu Nan immediately emerged in front of him and reached out his large hand, clutching his head.

This strike was a strike that contained Mu Nan's rage. As such, its destructive power was of course not something that should be underestimated.

That speed of his hand was too fast, making Feng Han who had already suffered grievous injuries unable to avoid it at all.

"I'll die!"

Feng Han's eyes displayed a hint of regret. No. He was not afraid of dying. He just detested that as a demon general, he was not able to die in a battlefield but in the hands of a weak underling instead.

However, before his hand could even touch Feng Han's head, his movement came to a sudden pause and his face was filled with shock.

Somewhere far away in the north, a ray of golden line with a long golden-fiery trail was dashing straight towards them.

The golden ray had caused the sea water beneath it to boil and churn. However, what was strange about it was that the continuous flow of purple cold qi being emitted by the chariot froze the sea water after it boiled.

In that bizarre scene where the sea water boiled and froze at the same time, the Golden Flame Chariot rushed towards the city.

Mu Nan and the other three Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts were astonished while noticing the abnormal phenomenon and immediately uttered with a cold menacing tone.

"You! Stop right there!"

However, that golden chariot was too dazzling. Its momentum was too domineering. It showed no signs of stopping at all.

The only response they got was a blood-curdling voice which echoed out from the chariot.

"Anyone who blocks my path shall die!"

As if a ray of golden light, like a scorching sun that had exploded, the Golden Flame Chariot literally crashed against the demon troops. However, any sea beasts which stood before the chariot were all trampled and turned into minced meat!

The force of the collision from the chariot alone was already not any weaker than a Mid Divine Transformation Realm expert's strike!

"Stop that damn chariot!"

Mu Nan commanded. The other two Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts instantly took off and displayed their respective means to attack the golden chariot.

However, Feng Han and the other four captured generals did not initiate any attacks at the golden chariot. Instead, each of them hurriedly drove their respective chariots away and avoided it.

They knew who the person riding on the chariot was!

They knew Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts did not have the qualifications to block that chariot at all!

"Three Talents Sword Formation!"

Mu Nan and his two other comrades opened their mouths and disgorged a bone sword which emanated an extremely threatening qi.

Just as three rays of refined sword lights hit the golden chariot, they formed a formation diagram which was constructed with twelve layers of sword qi. Each layer was stacked together, creating a wall of formation light within the sea. After consecutively crashing through nine layers of them, only then did the golden chariot's momentum diminish. However, Mu Nan and his comrades did not feel good as all of them suffered a heavy resistance force which caused their five internal organs to feel excruciating pain.

Three of their eyes widened with amazement. The momentum of the Golden Flame Chariot was incredibly ferocious. Twelve layers of sword formations were already enough to parry a Late Divine Transformation Realm expert's strike. But this Golden Flame Chariot was able to break nine of them relying on just its momentum. In other words, if there was only one of them to block this chariot, he would definitely be put in a grievous state by it!

At this moment, they finally saw clearly the full appearance of the chariot.

They finally saw clearly the white-robed young man who emanated a tremendous Violent Qi with red light revolving around his body standing at the head of the chariot.

"He's Lu Bei? Hmm? Why is the vice city lord, Qing Xuan, also on this chariot…"

While Mu Nan's group was in the midst of hesitating, Qing Xuan had already turned into a green beam and rushed at one of them, piercing through his dantian without any hesitation.

The group of three were completely defenseless. They had never expected that Qing Xuan, who was their vice city lord would attack them. Although the person who was assaulted by Qing Xuan did not die immediately upon receiving the attack, his dantian was destroyed by that strike, causing his cultivation level to regress by a lot. In a flurry, he retreated and his eyes were filled with anger.

"Qing Xuan! You've betrayed the city lord! You traitor!"

"I don't want to die! This time, it's the city lord's fault. He should not have offended Lu Bei. He should not have given the order to seize his Evil Cold Worm!" Qing Xuan's eyes were determined and ferocious. He had decided to follow Ning Fan till the end. The only thing he regretted was that he did not manage to kill that person to show his loyalty to Ning Fan.

"A traitor shall be killed with no exception!" Mu Nan was greatly enraged. But at this moment, a stream of purple smoke flashed by. It was none other than Ning Fan. Instantaneously, he appeared before Mu Nan and placed his finger on his head.

The strength of his finger immediately caused the sea and mountains to collapse. The power he exerted was comparable to that of an expert who had Third Level of the Jade Life Body Refining Realm. Violently, he pressed against Mu Nan's head, directly shattering the latter's protective shield.

With just a finger, the mountains within the area of ten thousand li* (500m per li) crumbled. There was even a trace of void power encircling the tip of his finger which easily penetrated through Mu Nan's body, breaking into his Sea of Consciousness.

"This power…is so strong…" At this very moment, Mu Nan finally recalled Feng Han's words.

"You can kill him? Impossible! He won't even need a single finger to kill you!"

Feng Han did not lie to him. This Lu Bei might be an Early Divine Transformation Realm cultivator, but his body's strength was already more than enough to rival that of a Late Divine Transformation Realm expert's!

"It's no wonder Qing Xuan would choose betrayal… If I have the chance to beg for my life, I will also yield to…"

Before he could finish his words, he was already killed by Ning Fan, turning his physical body into blood mist.

Qing Xuan was stunned. He knew that the protective shield of Mu Nan's body was not weak at all. At least, among the Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts, no one was able to destroy it as easily as this. If Ning Fan was able to finish Mu Nan off with just a finger, didn't that mean that the power of his finger was comparable to that of a Late Divine Transformation Realm expert's?

Upon seeing that scene, Feng Han revealed a look of exhilaration. The man he was looking at was the Lu Bei from Luo Yun, the person whom he had driven the chariot for!

"Spare no one!"

As Ning Fan uttered that command, Stone Warrior and the other spiritual puppets as well as the refined corpse spread into all directions in light beams and commenced a large-scale bloodshed. When the black dragon exposed its Half-Step Void Refinement Realm aura force, the remaining two Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts could not help but feel respectful and fearful towards him.

"Please have mercy on us, my Lord. I, Wu Ya (Wu Yun), am willing to follow your battle chariot to attack the Dragon City! I will never dare to betray you for the rest of my life!"

At this moment, the two of them did not even possess the courage to flee. Before this, they hated and even condemned Qing Xuan for his treacherous act. But when it was their turn to face it, only then did they realize how much courage one would require to face their death.

None of them was able to behave as heroic as Feng Han. None of them was brave enough to give up their lives for their honor as a demon general.

With a wave of his hand, Ning Fan planted two mental seals onto the generals. Afterwards, he pointed at the demon troops and ordered them with a commanding tone.

"Lead the way! Annihilate the Dragon City!"

In the Void Realm, Wei Xuan was establishing multiple layers of confusing formations, trying to delay the arrival of the outstanding beings from the Northern Heaven.

The matter in regards to the Star Palace had been reported by another deacon. As such, he had no choice but to resort to this method in order to slow them down. Luckily, the formation he established was just a maze of the Immortal Grade, not a formation for killing others.

Anyone who entered the maze by accident would not die. They would at most be temporarily trapped within the Void Realm.

"Ning Fan… This is the only thing that I can do for you…"

The formation was extremely complex. Usually, it was more than enough to entrap someone for six months.

However, what Wei Xuan had never expected was the appearance of three rainbow-colored rays which were travelling across the Void Realm in a hurry. Their speed was incredibly terrifying. Upon sensing their presence, Wei Xuan's eyes widened with shock.

"A True Immortal at the 'Shedding Void Stage'?! Why would such expert come to this place? Don't tell me that that person is also after the Star of the Celestial Emperor! Besides, there are something that's following her from behind. Don't tell me… they are Realm Beasts?! It's bad. I must hide. If I am seen placing formations here to plot against the outstanding beings from the Northern Heaven, I will definitely be in grave danger…I must flee!"

Wei Xuan took out a purple golden compass which helped one to traverse the Void Realm. In a flash, he directly teleported millions of li* (500m per li) away.

He might have run away, but the three shadows did not also remain.

The person in front was an angelic woman clad in a palace outfit. Her waist was extremely slim and she was well-endowed with ample bosom. Her face was shrouded with a veil, concealing her appearance. She wore a phoenix corona and a rainbow belt. Nothing on her body was not precious and rare. Every action she made was the complete representation of beauty, arousing amorous feelings within everyone who saw her. By looking at her presence, one would be able to tell that she must not have a lowly identity in the Four Heavens.

Her cultivation level was a little terrifying.

There were two ferocious beasts following behind her. Each of them was one hundred thousand zhang* big!

A ferocious beast with such strength would be sufficient to wipe out the nine worlds with ease!

"Detestable. I just want to sneak into the mortal world. Why would I be spotted by the Realm Beasts… Whatever. If I can obtain the Star of the Celestial Emperor, perhaps it would not be difficult to help Man Er to sever the scarlet dragon2 of her Gui Vein. She must have found it hard to deal with it all these years… Hmmph! If it isn't because I have to seal my own cultivation level to conceal anyone from sensing my presence, I won't have to be afraid of these beasts. Fine. The Star Palace should not be far from here. All it takes is just another teleportation… Ahhh!"

The beautiful woman suddenly let out a moan. Unprepared, she fell into the maze placed by Wei Xuan. All of a sudden, her countenance turned pale.

Just at this moment, the two Realm Beasts behind her let out howls together. Under the vibration of their howls, the woman's cultivation level regressed in a shocking speed and her internal organs experienced a sharp pain.

"Detestable. How dare you mere Realm Beasts seal my cultivation level… You are courting death!"

"Speaking of which, who the hell established a maze here to trick others, causing me to suffer injuries. If I discover who it is, I will definitely use all the forces of my Lost World Palace which consists of hundreds of millions of cultivators to hunt down that person!"

Although that woman was cursing and complaining with her mouth, her eyes were filled with seriousness.

It was unknown whether she could have the chance to take revenge on that person who established the formations.

It was because being trapped in a maze and attacked by two Realm Beasts at the same time in her current condition was rather fraught with grim possibilities…

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

<strong>Note: </strong>

1. Zang Long (Chinese: 葬龙 Pinyin: zàng long)

Zang (葬 zàng) means bury

Long (龙 long) means dragon

* 'Dragon Burying Ocean City' is a name derived from his name as Zang Long in Chinese means 'bury' and 'dragon'.

2. Scarlet dragon in the cultivation terms refers to a woman's menses. From the physical aspect, one of the main differences between women and men is that the female's essence comes from blood. Having menses will hinder the female cultivators to attain higher level in cultivation. Therefore, the first, important step for the female cultivators is to cut off their menses which is also known as "severing the scarlet dragon". Because the color of the menses is red, the "scarlet dragon" is used to represent it.