Grasping Evil

Yuan Yao's heart ached terribly seeing the indifferent young man covered in blood.

She could not imagine what kind of battle Ning Fan had faced and what torment he had suffered to accumulate such severe injuries.

All this time, Yuan Yao had tried to avoid Ning Fan either on purpose or by accident because reality reminded her that certain things were just not meant for her .

At this moment, however, she was unable to hide her feelings anymore. When she saw Ning Fan's current state, she found it difficult to suppress the anxiety within her.

"Will he die? No, he can't die…"

"If he dies… If he dies…"

Her fragrant shoulders were trembling. Inwardly, she felt that she doesn't even have the courage to look at the current Ning Fan.

She did not dare to touch his body at all because not a single part of his skin all over his body was intact.

Yuan Yao bit her lower lip tightly, causing fresh blood to trickle down from it. Her eyes glistened with sorrow as tears began streaming down her cheeks.

"It isn't worth it… It isn't… You've sacrificed so much just to protect me… It just isn't worth it! It's obvious that I can't give you anything…"

Ning Fan who was supposed to be unable to even lift a finger still raised his hand to wipe off the bloodstains on his face with difficulty and gave her an innocent and harmless smile.

Regarding Yuan Yao's self-blame, Ning Fan shook his head in disapproval.

"Miss Bei Yao, you're a little too slow… If I die, aren't you going to be a widow?"

"Bah! Don't talk nonsense!"

Yuan Yao's tears flowed to the corners of her lips but Ning Fan's words made them curve upwards to form a smile.

This stinky young man is always so irritating. He has already been injured to such a serious condition and yet he still has the mood to make fun of me.

Speaking of which, whose primordial spirit exactly did he borrow earlier? Why was that aura so familiar…?

Yuan Yao shook her head, thinking that it was not the time to contemplate these now.

Since she saw Ning Fan was still alive, she felt relieved…

After her heart calmed down, her phoenix eyes turned cold and emotionless.

There are some old scores that I have to settle with these Realm Beasts!

"Thank you… Previously, you have been protecting me. From now on, it's my turn to protect you!"

Her eyes were cold, very cold. She had never been so angry before in the past.

She was not bothered at all even if these Realm Beasts labelled her as a lowly slave woman.

However, her heart just could not stay unaffected after seeing Ning Fan being hurt by the Realm Beasts!

"You… shouldn't have infuriated me like this… Were you the one who harmed him with your stomps just now?"

Yuan Yao's graceful, charming body suddenly moved as she made a single step forward. Her step was gentle and soft as if she was stepping on a lotus leaf!

Those delicate cotton shoes seemed to be weak and lacking in strength. However, when that step landed, a heart-stirring aura swept across the hollow space within the vicinity of a million li* (500m per li) in an instant.

Under that step, the hollow space within that area seemed to be afraid as it could not stop trembling!

Under that step, all three Realm Beasts abruptly spat out blood and their facial expressions changed drastically!

"Y-you lowly woman, your cultivation base has recovered. This is bad! Let's retreat now! She has regained her Shedding Void Realm power. We aren't a match to a single palm of hers!"

The two old men in black robes unhesitantly performed hand seals, attempting to open the Realm Gates to flee away!

As for the burly, cloaked man who was previously extremely arrogant, his jaw was chattering and his body trembled in fear at this moment. His courage to fight back left him upon confronting Yuan Yao who was now at her peak state!

However, just as the Realm Gates creaked open and revealed a small gap, Yuan Yao lifted her elegant leg up and stomped it down with hatred.

Layers of hollow space were torn apart by an irresistible crushing force. The cracks rapidly spread in all directions. As for the two Realm Gates which had just appeared, they were immediately shattered by Yuan Yao.

The three Realm Beasts who were trying to escape spat out blood again under the power of her step especially the burly, cloaked man who already had severe injuries. After Yuan Yao made the second step, a loud bang was heard and his powerful True Immortal Realm demon body crumbled!

"Ahh!"

The burly, cloaked man screamed in pain. As his physical body was destroyed, he was left with only his demon soul. With a panic-stricken face, he immediately knelt down and prostrated himself towards Yuan Yao's direction, begging desperately for mercy!

"X-Xianzi1, please have mercy on me. I-I was too muddle-headed before. I didn't mean to hunt you down. Please forgive me for my sins…"

Meanwhile, after witnessing Yuan Yao's power, the other two True Immortals exchanged glances with each other and activated the Ancestral Talisman on their backs with their eyes flashing with ferocity.

"Ancestral Talisman, break!"

One of them had 6 Ancestral Talismans while the other had 7. The rest of their talismans had already been used in previous battles.

When an Ancestral Talisman is unleashed, its power would be immense. A single Ancestral Talisman was what all it took to blow up the entire Heaven Hall.

However, Yuan Yao did not even dart a glance at the light of the Ancestral Talismans. She pointed one of her fingers and layers of magic power spread, sealing away their power. When she pointed once again, all the Ancestral Talismans of the two Realm Beasts vanished into thin air. The next moment, a massive force hit right at their chests, making both of them spit out mouthfuls of blood. In a blink of an eye, they were already put in a bad state!

Facing the current Yuan Yao, these two True Immortals did not have the strength to resist completely!

This scene was caught by the group of Northern Heaven top talents who were at one million li* (500m per li) away. All of them were dumbfounded!

"Who is this woman? She's so powerful! After just showing up for a while, she has already pushed the three True Immortals to the brink of death with only two steps."

"No idea. Her cultivation base is too high. She is not someone whom we can pry into. Besides, our cultivation bases are too low. Unless she is willing, none of us would be able to even see her appearance!"

"She could inflict heavy damage on the three True Immortals with just two simple moves and even make a respectable Realm Beast of the Crossing Truth Realm kneel down begging for mercy. Could this woman be a … Shedding Void Realm old monster?!"

"But I have clearly seen this woman come out from Lu Bei's storage pouch… Could it be that this woman is a senior in Lu Bei's family?"

A Shedding Void Realm expert!

When they thought of that mighty level, each of the top talents felt a tingling sensation over their scalp.

The seven realms of cultivation were only the First Step. From the Vein Opening Realm to the Void Fragmentation Realm, one needs to comprehend a single word: void.

Once they have understood the true meaning of void, they could then break through the Void Realm and ascend to the immortal world to be an immortal.

As for the three realms of immortal cultivation, they were part of the Second Step. After an expert breaks through the Peak Void Fragmentation Realm and successfully achieves ascension, they would then attain the first realm of immortal cultivation - Life Immortal Realm.

The Life Immortal Realm was classified into two types: the Human Immortal Realm and the Ghost Immortal Realm. A Human Immortal Realm cultivator comprehends 'life' while a Ghost Immortal Realm cultivator comprehends 'death'. Once a cultivator of that level reaches the Peak Life Immortal Realm, they would never age or die. Their lifespan would become endless. However, they would need to face countless Small Heavenly Tribulations and Large Heavenly Tribulations.

The next level after the Life Immortal Realm was the True Immortal Realm!

The True Immortal Realm was divided into three levels.The key of this cultivation realm was to comprehend the word 'truth'. At the end of the day, the path of cultivation is to comprehend the truth of Dao. The first level of the True Immortal Realm was the Crossing Truth Realm while the second level was the Shedding Void Realm.

The three Realm Beasts were just at the Crossing Truth Realm while Yuan Yao was already an expert at the Shedding Void Realm!

Although they had a gap of just a small cultivation lower from Yuan Yao, the difference in power was worlds apart!

As an analogy, the power gap was similar to the difference between a Void Fragmentation Realm old monster and a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator!

Indomitable! There was not a single Nascent Soul Realm cultivator who could defeat a Void Fragmentation Realm old monster!

Also, there was not any Crossing Truth Realm cultivator who could win against a Shedding Void Realm expert!

Even if Yuan Yao had sealed her cultivation base to the Void Fragmentation Realm when she confronted the two Realm Beasts earlier, she was still able to kill one of them while grievously injuring the other.

Currently, she was in her best condition. The three Realm Beasts were like cockroaches to her!

With her full cultivation base, if she was unwilling to reveal her appearance to anyone, who else below the Shedding Void Realm could see her face even if she does not wear a veil!

This group of top talents from the Northern Heaven were completely clueless that Yuan Yao was actually the Lord of the Lost World Palace. Furthermore, they had no idea that Yuan Yao was not Ning Fan's senior at all but his woman instead!

However, even though they were unaware of those facts, their respect and fear towards Ning Fan rose to an unprecedented level.

"What exactly is this Lu Bei's identity?! Could he be one of the children left in the mortal world by the ten great secret clans? Otherwise, why would he have a personal guardian at the Shedding Void Realm? A Shedding Void Realm old monster… That is a mighty person who is capable of wiping out all the nine worlds of the mortal world with a single palm! Even in the immortal world, every Shedding Void Realm old monster is a rare existence. No one would dare to provoke them… Even this man, Lu Bei, should not be provoked!"

"What the f**k? The old ancestor of my Yuan Family is only at the Human Immortal Realm. Usually, I am already extremely grateful that I could get a tiny bit of teachings from my old ancestor. This Lu Bei, however, can have a Shedding Void Realm fighter by his side at all times. Who else would dare to offend him?! Who else would dare to lay a finger on him?!"

This group of top talents were already flabbergasted. Among all the male cultivators, not one of them did not revere and fear him to the extreme.

In contrast, each of the female cultivators became extremely obsessed with Ning Fan. They could already see Ning Fan being the charming prince of their dreams.

In their eyes, while Ning Fan might look a little thin and feeble, his appearance was not bad. When he exhibits his feminine side, he was also very unique; when he was cold and indifferent, he was cool and dashing.

His power was astonishing. His achievements were brilliant. Besides, he could even defeat Zi Chuan. Perhaps he had also eliminated Lin Su as well.

His character and capabilities were top-notch. However, what was even more important was that he could summon a Shedding Void Realm fighter at will!

He was just like the dream guy with perfect height, looks and wealth.

Although this group of young ladies were the outstanding figures of their own sects and parties, there was a saying which goes: there is nothing wrong for young maidens to fall for a hero.

It was just like men falling for beauties. It was just how human nature works.

All of them stopped in the Void Realm to spectate the battle. Aside from that, a number of them also prepared to report the huge change happening in the Star Palace by sending out their messages secretly.

However, when each of those top talents tried to take out their message transmission compasses or wield their message transmission flying swords, their items broke without notice. At the next moment, a cold and aloof voice of a woman echoed to their ears.

"No one is allowed to linger around here and none of you shall report the incident that happened in this place to your clans or families. If any of you violates this order, I will definitely show no mercy!"

*Suck in a cold breath*

The hair on every one of the top talents' bodies stood out of fear.

They were being threatened and that person who threatened them was a Shedding Void Realm old monster!

Would they dare to disobey? Definitely not!

"Retreat! We must leave this place as quickly as possible! Let me make this clear beforehand. Whoever dares to divulge anything regarding the incident that happened in the Star Palace using secret techniques on our way back to the Northern Heaven, shouldn't blame me for being ruthless and merciless!"

A Half-Step Void Refinement Realm old monster said with a threatening tone as his eyes coldly scanned across each and every one of the young cultivators.

Yuan Yao had already demanded this group of top talents to get lost and allowed no one to leak out anything. This old monster did not dare to disregard her. But what he was worried about was some reckless and ignorant kids that would still report to their own clans. Their action would surely enrage Yuan Yao, making her want to kill them and possibly dragging other innocent people into the matter.

Thus, he must put out a warning first.

This old man's words immediately drew countless people's support.

"Old Ancestor Yuan Ming is right. Whoever dares to leak out anything and offend this Shedding Void Realm senior, even if you're one of the top talents, I will also kill you with no exception!"

"I will kill whoever dares to tell anyone anything about this incident too!"

"I agree!"

The brief and simple words uttered by Yuan Yao directly caused the tens of thousands of top talents to behave obediently. Not a single person from that group dared to disobey.

That just showed that when one's prestige grows to a certain extent, they would make others obey them without the need of any mental seals.

The group of top talents was completely gone this time.

As for the three Realm Beasts, other than the burly, cloaked man who had fallen to his knees, the other two True Immortals' faces were filled with apprehension.

"Yuan…"

"My name is Bei Yao!" Yuan Yao darted a worried look at Ning Fan lest he figure out her true identity.

She was scared. In the past, she did not dare to tell Ning Fan about her true identity. Now, she was even more afraid to tell him the truth.

In the past, she did not dare because she was afraid that Ning Fan would conspire against her and take advantage of her.

At this moment, however, the reason why she did not want to let Ning Fan know her identity was because she was afraid that she would involve him in even more trouble.

There would not be any good ending for her relationship with Ning Fan. Even if she protects Ning Fan at this moment, they would never stay together in the future. All of this was because Yuan Yao was the Lord of the Lost World Palace. It was an extremely unique identity. If she violates the rules … she would die and Ning Fan would also be hunted down by countless forces.

Her cold piercing phoenix eyes swept across the three Realm Beasts. The burly, cloaked man was still kowtowing to apologize for what he had done. As for the other two Realm Beasts, their hearts and souls felt a jolt as their eyes met hers and knelt down immediately with their teeth clenched.

"Bei… Bei Yao Xianzi, we were too reckless and ignorant. We are sinners. But it was the Great Elder's order and we were just taking orders from him…"

"The Great Elder…" Yuan Yao gritted her teeth. She didn't say much about him as if she had already had an idea who the mastermind behind it all.

She then turned her gaze to Ning Fan. When she saw his condition again, her heart could not help but feel pain again.

She was never a sinister woman, but today, she wanted to be sinister just one time!

"There's no use for you all to kneel before me. I want the three of you to kowtow to Ning Fan!" Bei Yao said and her face was frigid cold.

"What!? We are reputable Crossing Truth Realm True Immortals. How could we kowtow to a Divine Transformation Realm ant!"

Piack! Piack! Piack!

Yuan Yao's body leaned slightly forward as if she had just moved but her body still remained at the same spot without moving.

However, the three experts' faces were suddenly covered with horrifying palm imprints. Half of their faces were crushed!

Without a doubt, they were left by Yuan Yao who had charged forward to slap them with a terrifying speed!

"I don't mind being scolded by you all, but I will not tolerate it if you do it to him!"

"Detestable…"

The three True Immortals had their pride. They might be able to lower their pride when facing Yuan Yao, but if they need to yield to Ning Fan, it would be even more intolerable than killing them directly...

However, if they don't want to die, then they must kowtow to Ning Fan.

The three of them clenched their jaws hard as if they were in great agony and eventually kowtowed several times towards Ning Fan.

Yuan Yao revealed a resentful sneer.

It was her first time showing that expression in her entire life. She used to blame Ning Fan for being merciful on the members of the White Demon Sect in the past.

Today, however, only then did she realize that no matter how kind a person might be, they would also turn evil if a person important to them has been hurt!

"You all might have done what I told you to do, but I will still not show any mercy... I hate killing people, but I am even more unhappy to see him being hurt like that. Lu Bei, when you were being pursued just now, you lost two spiritual puppets, didn't you? … Now, I will give you three puppets as a gift! Puppet Sacrificial Technique!"

All the pain inside Yuan Yao's heart had turned into a purple ray that condensed within her hand. When she lifted one of her fingers and pointed at them, the purple ray shot out.

At first, it was just a purple light beam. However, it eventually split into three beams and entered the bodies of the three experts.

When the purple light beam went inside their bodies, they immediately turned into blazing purple flames which engulfed their bodies entirely. As their bodies were being burnt by the purple flame, they were overwhelmed with immense pain and eventually, each of them screamed to death with their eyes filled with grudge.

"You… did not keep your promise! We have already knelt down…"

"I've never said I will let you all go! Puppets, appear!"

*Zi-Zi-Zi*

Within the purple flames, the three experts' demon souls were completely incinerated, leaving only their strong physical bodies.

Ning Fan was silently observing every word Yuan Yao said and every move she made. He did not interfere. However, when he saw Yuan Yao kill the three of them with resentment and even turned them into puppets, Ning Fan could not help but feel sympathetic for her.

"You don't have to force yourself to... kill. Taking the lives of others has never been an enjoyable thing. I know that you don't like killing anyone. With your help, it probably would have been better to let me kill them."

"But they have hurt you…" Yuan Yao's eyes no longer had the nobility and arrogance she had before. There was only confusion and emptiness.

Self-blame, remorse, fear... She could not imagine how crazy and insane she would react if Ning Fan really died.

*Pu*

A mouthful of fresh blood spewed out from her mouth. Yuan Yao's face turned pale immediately and the purple flame on her fingertips was extinguished after just burning halfway leaving three half-completed spiritual puppets. Her vision turned black and she nearly fainted.

Actually, she had not fully recovered her cultivation base at all...

However, when she saw Ning Fan was in danger just now, she refused to continue waiting. Therefore, she forcefully assimilated the tremendous amount of magic power into her immortal veins at the expense of her condition. The process almost caused her to die due to the severity of her injuries.

"Bei Yao!"

Ning Fan's eyes widened with nervousness. He quickly went for her and held her up. When he checked her breathing, only then did he find out that this woman had not completely recovered her cultivation base yet. Nonetheless, she struggled to come save him instead...

"I'm sorry. These three corpses are fine True Immortal Realm bodies. Unfortunately, I failed to refine them into puppets…"

Yuan Yao hated herself for being useless. Perhaps it was because she was about to part with Ning Fan and they might not meet each other again after they parted ways.

I can't even refine three Immortal Realm spiritual puppets for him before we part...

Half-completed products. These three mere half-completed products are just equivalent to three Early Void Refinement Realm cultivators. Would they be enough to protect him?

"I like these three spiritual puppets very much. They are only at the Early Void Refinement Realm, aren't they? Then they really suit me well. With my cultivation base, it would definitely be impossible for me to control Void Fragmentation Realm or even Immortal Realm spiritual puppets. Perhaps, I might even suffer a backlash or be devoured by them!"

Ning Fan mischievously pinched Yuan Yao's wrist and praised the three Realm Beast puppets without any reservations. Without a second thought, he kept them into his storage pouch.

After being touched by what Ning Fan said, Yuan Yao seemed to have regained her strength. Petulantly, she pulled her hands back and struggled to stand properly with her phoenix eyes glaring at Ning Fan.

"The thing that happened between you and me will never happen again. It was the last time... You better behave yourself!"

Yuan Ning was really distressed and angry at the injured Ning Fan.

He is already half-dead, but he still wants to flirt with me? Is he trying to throw his life away for sexual pleasure!?

"By the way… I want to thank you… Thank you for protecting me all the way until here. If there is a chance in the future, I will surely repay you in the Northern Heaven!" Yuan Yao said seriously.

There was no way she didn't feel touched when Ning Fan refused to sell her out when he was facing three True Immortals.

"How will you repay me?" Ning Fan's eyes deliberately looked at Yuan Yao's ample breasts.

"You ... don't even think about it!" Yuan Yao was slightly nervous and she immediately covered her breasts by crossing her arms in front of her chest.

I definitely can't do that for the third time with him! The first time was an accident and the second time was inevitable. If it happens for the third time ... I will really get into real trouble!

I must protect my own bottomline!

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

<strong>Note: </strong>

1. Xianzi (仙子) means fairy.