Grasping Evil

One day, ten days, one hundred days…

Within the world in his mind, Ning Fan had already been sitting alone for a hundred days and swallowed fifty thousand crystals.

The world was filled with complete darkness and only his body emitted a faint black star glow.

"Just a little more…"

Ning Fan slowly got up as he murmured to himself while standing in the sky. The devil qi within his body had already reached 83470 units.

With such a vigorous amount of devil qi, he broke through to the Mid Divine Transformation Realm just based on his devil cultivation alone.

Combining all his divine, demon and devil powers, he already has more than 150 thousand units of power. In other words, even if his cultivation base had yet to break through to the Late Divine Transformation Realm, he already attained the standard of that level with just his magic power.

If he cast the Soul Extraction Technique now, perhaps it would be enough to raise his power to the Peak Divine Transformation Realm.

Not only did his devil qi increase, but also the body refining realm of his physical body. Currently, he has achieved the Third Level of the Jade Life Realm.

Originally, his body was a corpse demon body which had unlocked the limits of the human body, enhancing his strength and physical defense.

At this moment, after his body was tempered by the starlight, the strength and hardness of his physical body improved greatly once again.

With his current body which was at the Third Level of the Jade Life Realm, he would be able to go neck and neck with other cultivators who are at the Fourth Level!

With just the strength of his body alone, he would be able to put up a fight against a Peak Divine Transformation expert in direct combat!

These were all just the improvements he attained in terms of cultivation base. What delighted Ning Fan the most was the other benefits he got.

Standing in the sky, his hair fluttered in the whistling wind. He suddenly raised his head and pointed to the sky.

In his right eye, the second black star had completely formed. Its name was the Body Tempering Star! Its function was to heal one's wounds and cure one's illnesses with the aid of star power!

At the direction where his finger pointed above the sky, five jet-black stars appeared one after another and radiated black starlight.

Basking in the five rays of starlight, the wounds on Ning Fan's body were all healed immediately.

A trace of the starlight had an effect equivalent to consuming a Fifth Revolution Pill.

As such, having five traces of starlight to treat his wounds was nearly equivalent to taking five Fifth Revolution Pills!

"If I manage to condense one million stars, even if my cultivation base is low, not even common Immortal Emperors could kill me! This technique has great potential. If I practice it well, it will definitely become one of my indispensable trump cards in the future!"

Ning Fan nodded, pleased. He was very satisfied with the inheritance of this emperor's star.

Throughout the journey from the Broken World to the current Star Palace, his intention was to increase his strength. Currently, his harvest was extremely obvious.

Except for his main cultivation, his magical power was still his weakness as it had yet to achieve the Divine Transformation Realm, while his demon and devil power were all at powerful levels.

Even if he returns to the outside world and enters the Internal Endless Sea, his current power would be enough for him to dominate without fearing the Demon Sealing Sect.

Besides, when the sect master of the Demon Sealing Sect - Lu Jiefen meets Ning Fan, it would be impossible for him not to retreat and avoid any confrontation!

"In the past, I entered the Endless Sea and got myself into trouble with the Demon Sealing Sect in order to save Su Qiu. Now, however, the Demon Sealing Sect no longer makes me afraid…"

Ning Fan's tone was flat. He had indeed become much stronger. Even if he returns to Yue Country, he would be able to occupy a big part of the country, proclaim himself as an old ancestor and then annex all the other states. The current him was already invincible among the cultivators below the Void Refinement Realm!

"After I return to the External Endless Sea, I shall deal with the things I have to do there and then enter the internal part of the sea again to help Yue Er recover her Divine Space Island. Perhaps I can then go home… Home… I have been away from home for far too long…"

Ning Fan looked at the stars above his head and his eyes softened.

Even though he was carrying a tremendous burden and responsibilities and had been practising hard all the way, it could be said that he had a more blissful life than most people.

At the very least, he had a family, a wife, a master, a younger brother and an ordinary but warm past…

"I probably still have my mother…" Ning Fan was feeling a little hopeful about it.

When he was going through the Three Steps of Mortal Severance in the Cloud Sea, he saw his mother in the illusion. That scene had been deeply etched into his memories and he was unable to forget about it at all.

That scene gave him the idea that perhaps his mother was still alive somewhere in this world.

Perhaps one day in the future, they would reunite.

"Speaking of which, I haven't had a father and mother since I was young. I haven't felt warmth and affection from my parents. To a cultivator, it is rather unfortunate to miss out on this kind of experience… Besides, from the bottom of my heart, I really look forward to meeting my mother."

Ning Fan let out a light sigh and then put all his complicated thoughts away. He knew that it was not the time to think about them.

In a way, returning to the External Endless Sea meant a reunion with a certain someone. Meanwhile, it also implied his parting with Yuan Yao, Xi Ran, Wu Yan and the other women.

From Ning Fan's perspective, it was hard to forget those women who had been through thick and thin with him and even had a few brushes with death during the journey.

He had never once given any flatteries to his own women. What he did was to give them his heart and sincerity which they, in turn, reciprocated with their loyalty.

He loathed parting with them. Presumably, these three women were also unwilling to part with him.

Before leaving, Ning Fan still needed to fulfill Lu Daochen's request which was to clear the evil seal on Lu Wu.

Once the evil seal is lifted, Lu Wu would then be liberated. He could then be free from the burning pains of the Sinful Mark and enter Samsara and start a new life and cultivation.

"It's time to go…"

He seemed to be murmuring to himself but the world within his mind immediately shattered like a mirage.

Inside the Cloud Palace, Ning Fan who had stood there for a hundred days opened his eyes. His current aura force's strength doubled compared to when he had yet to accept the inheritance of the emperor's star!

"You are awake? Alright, good! You have mastered the initial stage of the Celestial Emperor's Star Technique. Impressive! If you have the chance to develop and improve this technique in the future, perhaps you may be the next Celestial Emperor!"

The giant beast, Lu Wu, leaned forward and looked at Ning Fan with approval.

"Senior, you must be joking." Ning Fan shook his head. He was a down-to-earth person. Since he was currently just at the Divine Transformation Realm and there were innumerable cultivation realms more to reach the Celestial Emperor's level, he would not daydream about it.

"This junior has mentioned my two objectives of coming to this place before. One of them is to obtain the inheritance of the emperor's star, and the other is to lift the evil seal for you. Since I have obtained the emperor's star, I just need to break the evil seal that was planted on you and I can then fully accomplish my missions for this trip."

"The evil seal? Hehe. I believe that you're able to break it!" Lu Wu looked at him with eyes full of anticipation. This evil seal has been with him for far too long. Every night, it would come to life and torture him, making him feel that his whole body was being burnt with flames. The pain and suffering was unbearable.

His physical body had perished and there was no way he could resurrect, thus leaving only his remnant soul.

But his remnant soul was sealed by the Sinful Mark causing him to be unable to go into Samsara.

To cultivators, death was inevitable. Dying only means that their cultivation over an entire lifetime would be lost and they have to start all over again.

However, as long as their souls are intact and they have a chance to enter Samsara, they will then start their next lives.

To mortals, death is scary, but to cultivators, what was even more frightening than death was losing their complete souls which would then cause them to be unable to enter Samsara.

It was because of the importance of Samsara that only the cultivators who were willing to give up their chances of entering it would be able to impress Ning Fan.

Just like that day where the old ancestor of the Hu Family - Hu Fengzi, a person who did not have a high cultivation base, chose to destroy his own complete soul for the sake of his family and condensed it into a cultivation pill to exchange for Ning Fan's help in protecting his family.

The cultivation world was cold and selfish. However, at the same time, there was warmth, righteousness and touching moments.

"Senior, you just need to endure some pain. I shall now begin to wash away the evil seal on you!"

Ning Fan touched the ground with the tip of his toe and soared into the air. He then landed on the back of the giant beast.

He squatted down and touched the blood-red mark on the giant beast's back. With just a single touch, the seal gave out a horrible heat which severely scalded Ning Fan's finger.

The power of this evil seal was even more terrifying than what Ning Fan had initially imagined.

Fortunately, this injury was not worrisome at all. A trace of black starlight revolved around his finger. With just a little starlight, his burnt finger was completely healed and became good as new.

The Black Star Healing Technique really deserved its esteemed reputation. With this technique, Ning Fan was just like a saint-level healer. Turning a set of white skeletons back into a lively man would be as easy as flipping a hand to him.

"The evil seal is the punishment of the great True Spirit Races to a sinful demon. Since the demon race has lost their 'spirit', a large number of True Spirit demons were unable to give birth to young demons with royal blood. Only a minority of the True Spirit Races still have royal blood running through their veins. This evil seal can only be planted and lifted by those with royal blood. It means that whoever gets planted with this evil seal by the great True Spirit Races, they would need to follow their each and every order. Otherwise, no one would lift the seal for you and there would be no way you can enter Samsara. The only thing you will taste for the rest of your life is eternal suffering…"

Lu Wu's eyes turned grim and his tone was filled with fury. It was imaginable how humiliating it was when the True Spirit Royal Clan planted the evil seal on him by force.

"If you can't break this evil seal, then forget it… It's not a big deal. After all, I have been enduring this kind of torment for more than a hundred million years and I have already gotten used to it. Regardless of anything, I will never give in to them! Since the moment when I put on the Heavenly Marshal's Armor, I have already put aside my own life and death!"

Lu Wu's eyes were brimming with heroic spirit. Ning Fan had seen that kind of spirit before in the eyes of many demon generals of the Lu Clan.

In the cultivation world, people who were willing to ignite their demon blood to the very last drop and fight to the death without surrendering were not many. But there were quite a number of them in the nine tribes of the Lu Clan.

That was their pride when they raised their arms and shout "As a general, why should one fear death!".

"Don't worry. I've promised Lu Daochen to save you. This trivial evil seal is not worth mentioning at all. The person who planted this evil seal sure has a strong bloodline. I suppose he has practically condensed half a drop of ancestral blood. However, this mere half a drop of ancestral blood is too weak for me!"

Ning Fan bit the tip of his tongue and spat out purple-black blood mist. When this blood mist sprinkled on Lu Wu's back, that inerasable blood-red evil seal began to tremble.

So what if this evil seal was planted by a person with half a drop of ancestral blood?

Speaking of ancestral blood, Ning Fan alone possessed four drops! If the Fu Li Race was still around, he would certainly be the ancestor of this race!

"Break!"

The purple-black blood mist glowed faintly as it formed an abstruse formation mark on Lu Wu's back. At the moment the formation mark was formed, Lu Wu's body became covered with bright purple and black light. In the light, the evil seal which was deeply-rooted in his body began to dissipate with a hissing noise!

*Puff*

Lu Wu's body suddenly trembled and he then heavily exhaled a mouthful of foul breath. Immediately, his eyes flashed with surprise and joy.

The evil seal had been lifted!

He was now free and his remnant soul could finally enter Samsara!

Within the dark Cloud Palace, white rays instantly soared to the sky. These white rays were all shot out from Lu Wu's remnant soul.

While basking in the dazzling white rays, he could feel Samsara calling out to him as his soul seemed to be fading away.

"Thank you. Thank you so much! I'm going to enter Samsara now! Once again, thank you!"

Lu Wu's eyes lit up with delight. After entering Samsara, his current life would come to an end and he could finally be reborn into his next life!

"I'm doing nothing more than fulfilling my own promise. Senior doesn't need to thank me."

Ning Fan leaped down from the beast's body and stood on the ground. Looking at Lu Wu who was ascending the sky within the white glow, his eyes looked pleased and satisfied.

Everyone has their own happiness. For many people, death was a frightening thing. But for Lu Wu, having the opportunity to enter Samsara after death was a kind of bliss.

While Lu Wu's soul was dissipating amidst the white glow, Ning Fan suddenly had a spontaneous idea out of his personal feeling. He patted his storage pouch and took out two jugs of mud-sealed wine. He held one of them himself and threw the other jug towards the sky. With a clear tone, he said.

"Wouldn't it be regretful to see you off for a long journey if there's no wine?!"

Lu Wu whose body was gradually being engulfed by the white glow was stunned by Ning Fan's sudden action. But promptly after that, he laughed out loud and opened his mouth to swallow the jug of wine.

These jugs of wine were looted by Ning Fan from an unlucky stranger. They were not of a good kind but just some kind of medicated wine.

However, Lu Wu did not refuse it at all. He looked at Ning Fan, feeling regretful that they did not meet each other sooner.

"Well said! You phrased it well by saying you'll see me off for a long journey! Everyone is afraid of death and Samsara, but you described death as a long journey! I can't compare myself with this kind of heroic spirit like yours. I will drink this wine. If there's a chance to meet you in my next life, I will surely invite you to sit on a high tower that rises a hundred chi* (30.7 cm per chi) tall and have a pot of really nice wine!"

"Great! If there's an opportunity in your next life, I will definitely have a good drink with you!"

The insights that Ning Fan had about Samsara was getting deeper in his mind.

It was right that Samsara was just a long journey like what he had said earlier. During the process of living to dying and getting rebirthed again, it did not seem to be just like that.

The white glow gradually faded. Lu Wu's figure gradually disappeared and his laughter subsided. He was reincarnated…

In his next life, he could be a farmer, a famous martial artist of the mortal world or maybe an ordinary scholar. The chances of him cultivating the Dao again was probably not high.

Once again, the Cloud Palace was covered with darkness. Only Ning Fan was left standing there. He stood there for a long time in silence, as if he was recalling the feeling he had when he established a tomb for the old ancestor of Wei Country.

Seeing A Gentleman Off To Death…

After a long while, he patted his storage pouch and took out the Characterless Heavenly Scripture.

He exchanged this scripture using the contribution points he earned from the test when he was still at the Sinister Sparrow Sect. The scripture had no characters but on the cover of the scripture, there were only a few words: Seeing A Gentleman Off To Death.

In the past, he had no idea who the author of the scripture was. Now, however, he realized that they were the words written by the Immortal Sovereign Zi Dou.

"Has Immortal Sovereign Zi Dou also once taken part in a funeral ceremony for his friend?"

"Seeing a gentleman off to death… Today I sent a gentleman off. In the next life, that gentleman will send me off. Is this what Samsara means?"

Ning Fan's understanding towards Samsara grew even deeper. All of a sudden, in the Characterless Heavenly Scripture, purple light began to glow faintly and the pages flipped by themselves even though there was no wind.

When the first page opened, twenty-four Chinese words written in a firm and wild style using Chinese ink gradually filled the white paper which was originally blank.

People die like lights extinguished.

Samsara blows and all things rekindle.

Immortals die like shattered thoughts.

None shall return in their afterlife.

This is Samsara!

Ning Fan's expression changed.

So it turns out that this Characterless Heavenly Scripture is not just a scripture without books after all.

It's just that the words on the scripture were wiped away by the power of Samsara!

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

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