Grasping Evil

Xu Qiuling wore a black dress and appeared irresistibly charming. Despite knowing the incoming lightning tribulations from above her head, she appeared to be unconcerned.

She had never been a timid woman.

Shadows of floating flowers lingered around her, as if every inch of her magic power had turned into pitch-black petals.

When she made a gentle step forward that looked like she was stepping on a lotus leaf, innumerable rare plants within the deep sea rapidly withered and all their essence seeped into her body.

At this moment, her Half-Step Divine Transformation Realm aura was closely similar to that of a real Divine Transformation Realm expert!

"This is… the 'Black Flower Empress' physique!"

Ning Fan was inwardly astonished and his face slightly changed. He had never thought that Xu Qiuling would have such an excellent innate talent.

The Black Flower Empress' physique was the bane of nearly all kinds of demons and magical techniques related to plants. Moreover, it even possesses a secret power which allows her to borrow power by absorbing the essence of plants around her for her own use, making them wilt in the process.

According to rumors, the Black Flower Empress physique would only be bestowed upon cultivators who fulfilled certain conditions.

Firstly, that cultivator must be a woman and she must also possess a physique with Yin attribute.

Secondly, this female cultivator must be a plant once in her previous lives and had attained the status of being the emperor or empress among plants.

Previously, because of the inadequacy of the gold element in her life force, her true physique had not been revealed.

Today, however, after her lacking element was replenished, her physique became complete. She took a step, emanating a majestic aura that could make all flowers yield to her, just like an empress among flowers!

"Lightning tribulations, break!"

Xu Qiuling's eyes turned grim. As she waved her hand, the entire area became filled with falling black flowers.

A black garland slowly formed around her bare hand, glowing with a gleam of terrifying black light.

When she threw the garland into the sky, it became like a crescent blade of light, cutting everything in its path. All the silver lightning rays above her were cut into half by the garland and the Lightning Tribulation was destroyed!

It can even cut off lightning rays! The attack speed of this garland is so fast!

Ning Fan inwardly reckoned that not many cultivators below the Divine Transformation Realm would be able to withstand the attack that Xu Qiuling had just shown.

This woman had seen through the matter of life and death and she was not afraid of misery and hardship. The mentality she had was rare among the women whom Ning Fan had met. If she did not have a problem with her life force, she would have been even more outstanding than the so-called Seven Sons of the External Endless Sea!

"I did it…" Xu Qiuling's smile was as beautiful as an orchid but her face was slightly pale. It seemed like temporarily boosting her power by absorbing the essence of hundreds of flowers was rather burdensome on her body.

Besides, as her gold qi was just fully replenished, her body was certainly worn out. Suddenly, she carelessly slipped on the ground and was about to fall down. Ning Fan immediately dashed towards her in a flash of light and held her delicate wrists. His eyes were filled with surprise.

"Your physique is so outstanding. If you can find a fiendgod cultivation method related to immortal flowers, your cultivation base will advance at a tremendous pace… On the basis of the potential of our physiques, I'm not a match for you."

Black Flower Empress was a special type of physique, just like the Bewitching Physique that Zhihe had. At the moment they were born, they had an advantage that others could not compare.

Ning Fan did not have any physique. The only thing that made him luckier than other geniuses was the profoundness of his Yin Yang Transformation.

Of course, if Ning Fan had been born with any kind of unique physiques like the Yin Yang Body, his potential would definitely be much higher.

Xu Qiuling only smiled faintly at Ning Fan after hearing his praise and replied with a firm tone.

"Big Brother, you must be joking. Even though you don't have any physique, no one can replace you in my heart!"

"Now, even though your injuries are healed, you still need to rest. Let's return to the Pleasure Devil Island for now to recuperate…"

"No, I don't want… Can we rest in Gusu? The Pleasure Devil Island is like a cage and I don't like it." Xu Qiuling pleaded.

"Silly girl, if I'm with you, which part beneath the heavens is not like Gusu?" Ning Fan stroked her cheek as he spoke. His words had brightened up her eyes.

"Big Brother, you're right. I've been too obsessive. If Big Brother herds horses in the countryside, I would then shepherd goats and weave clothes for you. If you serve as an officer at the imperial court, I would then stand by your side and support you. If you hold a sword and go on a battlefield, I will follow you with wine in my hand and always drink with you to divert you from boredom. If you become a butterfly and fly against the sky, I would then give up my petals for you to help you soar to greater heights… As long as we go through the ups and downs in life together, wherever we are is the same as Gusu City…"

Xu Qiuling's words were genuine and sincere. They made Ning Fan feel touched.

He had been going through hardships throughout his life. When he was young, he was bullied. Until that day in the All Pleasure Sect, he had no choice but to defy and fight back.

He had abandoned his mortality, chose the path of the devil and travelled through seas of blood. Even if he had countless beauties, his shadow was always lonely.

This loneliness was his perseverance and stubbornness to face all obstacles by himself. Now, however, Xu Qiuling was willing to stand with him and share his burden.

Ning Fan's notoriety was widely spread around the world. However, the more notorious he becomes, the more people become afraid of him and despise him.

His cultivation method was mean and shameless but Xu Qiuling tolerated it regardless.

As long as we go through the ups and downs in life together, wherever we are is just the same as Gusu City…

"Thank you!"

Ning Fan felt warmth in his heart. He was more convinced that it was right to choose the path of cultivation.

If he had not stepped into the world of cultivation and had died willingly as a mortal, he would never have met so many beauties and female companions in his life.

"We will return to the Pleasure Devil Island first. There are some affairs I have to deal with after that… I need to see some people and beat some forces. Then, I will enter the Internal Endless Sea…"

"If Big Brother is going to enter the Internal Endless Sea and head to the Giant Devil Sect, I will also go together with you… It has been a long time since the last time I met Sister Xueyan. I miss her so badly…"

Ning Fan pondered.

The 'Sister Xueyan' that Qiuling is referring to is probably the little princess of the Giant Devil Sect, Feng Xueyan.

When he was about to continue asking her about the background of the Giant Devil Sect, the sound of something as heavy as an island crumbling was suddenly heard from above the sea!

*Boom*

This noise was soul-stirring and it was definitely not the sound from a volcanic eruption or an earthquake!

This was the sound of a powerful cultivator attacking Gusu island!

"What happened? Why is there such a loud noise in Gusu?! Uncle Wang, Uncle Qi, Sister Bai Su and Little Stone… Big Brother, I'm worried about Gusu. Should we quickly go and check it out?!" The indifferent expression on Xu Qiuling's face was no longer able to hide her panic.

"Of course we should!"

An unpleasant feeling rose within Ning Fan's heart. He spread his spirit sense fifty thousand li* (500m per li) wide, encompassing the surroundings of the sea as well as Gusu City!

What he had seen with his spirit sense was a sea of blood. Someone was there, staining Gusu City with blood!

*Whoosh*

He put his arm around Xu Qiuling's waist and vanished into a sword beam, zooming into the sky. His eyes flashed with a hint of cold rage!

In the sky above Gusu City, three black-robed swordsmen were hovering in midair. The loud noise that they heard just now was clearly caused by one of them who had broken the Spirit Separation Grand Formation with a slash and cut the island into half!

As the three of them had broken through the formation light of the city, one of the swordsmen who was as plump as a mountain of meat immediately let out a cacophony of laughter and began to commit a massacre there.

His magic power was vast like the sea. With a single slash of his sword emanating cold light, nearly one-third of the island was instantly crushed into powder.

When he saw the innocent people being killed on the island, he vigorously spread his spirit sense over the island. Whenever he finds a woman with good looks, he would summon a gust of black wind which would sweep her into a huge gunny sack.

Within a few breaths, he had already abducted thousands of women!

"Despite being a sword cultivator, you still long for external things like women. It's no wonder you can't condense your sword intent even if you have been cultivating the Dao of Sword for two thousand years!" The lanky expert among the two swordsmen who were standing beside him with their arms folded said with a disdainful tone while watching that tubby swordsman loot everything around the city.

"Hmph! Even if I don't have sword intent, my combat power is not any weaker than the two of you! These women have massive use for me. Not only can I enjoy them, but I can also feed my 'Sen Luo1 Sword' with them after I am done using them. They can be the sword spirit's food…

Hehe, especially mortal women like them, they aren't polluted by any qi of the

cultivation world. Thus, their souls are the purest, and they are the best sacrificial offerings to my sword soul!"

"Don't forget our main objective of coming here! Are we coming here this time just to abduct some mortal women?!" A bald swordsman standing beside the lanky swordsman spoke and his face looked rather impatient.

"Our main objective? Of course I remember it! The three of us are ranked within the top fifty on the 'Board of Devils' of the Internal Endless Sea and we were invited by Purple Gu to join the Alliance of Ming Assassins. Our job is to give Zhou Ming a blow! However, we have already scouted around the Pleasure Devil Island for him not long ago. That Zhou Ming was not around on that island. How are we able to assassinate him? Therefore, we went back to the Ying State Immortal Island to report our progress. However, we bumped into such a good mortal kingdom along our way. It would be such a waste if we don't wipe it out!"

The tubby swordsman had a cold smile on his face while catching the women he wanted. When he had caught nearly ten thousand women, he finally nodded his head with satisfaction. He then said with a hideous grin while looking at Gusu City which was now half-destroyed.

"Wang Kun, Yu Ge, the task of killing the rest and handling the aftermath are now handed to the two of you. I will make a move first to return to the Ying State Immortal Island and enjoy my beauties!"

"Luo Sen, you!"

The tubby swordsman laughed loudly. Then, he carried the bag which was filled with women on his shoulder and conjured a flying sword which was shining with blood-red light. He rode on that sword and within a few breaths, he went out of the vicinity of a few hundred thousand li* (500 m per li) from the island.

These three experts were actually three famous devil cultivators from the Internal Endless Sea. The tubby one was called Luo Sen. He was excessively interested in sex. The lanky one was Wang Kun, and he liked slaughtering mortals. As for the third one, his name was Yu Ge and he only had one hobby - to eat a living person's flesh bite after bite!

The three of them were among the top 50 experts in the Internal Endless Sea. And none of them wasn't a Mid Divine Transformation Realm expert!

Their motivation of annihilating Gusu City was no doubt just for fun!

"Detestable!"

Inside Gusu City, the five old men who guarded the city were all trapped inside a light curtain formed with sword threads. That light curtain was doubtlessly created by one of them who had used the 'Threads Transformation Sword' technique.

These five Peak Nascent Soul Realm old men were dyed with blood. Just a moment ago, the three intruders' teleportation light had passed by Gusu City. These five old men didn't know their identities and showed up to request them to stop revealing their teleportation light in order to prevent the mortals in the city from knowing the existence of immortals in this world.

If these words were said to cultivators of the External Endless Sea, every one of them would definitely obey because this was a common rule in the External Endless Sea. Gusu City was the place for cultivators to cultivate their hearts and mind and experience a mortal's life. Thus, every cultivator of the External Endless Sea, including the thirteen Divine Transformation Realm old ancestors would probably need to comprehend a mortal's life here someday in the future.

Thus, none of the devil cultivators in the External Endless Sea would risk offending the thirteen old ancestors and bully any mortals here.

But this trio of experts was different. The three of them were originally devil lords of the Internal Endless Sea. Moreover, they even had Mid Divine Transformation Realm cultivation bases. When they travelled in the External Endless Sea, they were not afraid of any other cultivators of the External Endless Sea, including those old ancestors there!

Therefore, they naturally would not obey the five Nascent Soul Realm cultivators' request and hide their teleportation light. However, their request had given rise to the idea of slaughtering Gusu City to the trio.

Wang Kun waved his hand and turned his swords into threads, trapping the five old men. He wanted to let them witness the people of Gusu City being massacred with their own eyes.

His intent realm was hatred. Thus, the more someone hated him, the higher the improvement in his intent realm he would obtain after killing that particular person.

At first glance, he had known that the five old men wholeheartedly protected the city. Therefore, he was willing to give Luo Sen a hand in slaughtering the people of the city in order to make these five old men hate him to their core. Then, in the end, he would kill the five of them at their most desperate moment to improve his intent realm!

"You are all Divine Transformation Realm cultivators! Why do you want to bully these mortals!? What sins do these mortals have!?" The leader of the five old men, who was wearing a green shirt, asked with his eyes glaring at them.

His eyes were bloodshot and he was so furious that he almost went crazy. He was originally born in Gusu City. Because of his luck, he received teachings from a cultivator thereby beginning his path of a cultivator.

After walking the path of cultivation, he had committed countless killings until reaching the Peak Nascent Soul Realm. But he didn't seek to achieve a higher cultivation base. Instead, he returned to Gusu and chose to spend the rest of his life here, living peacefully.

This place was his home, but now, his home was being destroyed by others. Moreover, his descendants had all been killed under Luo Sen's strike!

"Give me a reason! Give me a reason for slaughtering Gusu!" The old man in the green shirt screamed out loud. His eyes opened so widely that the corners of his eyes cracked and blood of anger oozed from them.

"Reason? The only reason is that all of you are too weak! Weaklings are not qualified to survive!"

Wang Kun laughed out loudly. Since Luo Sen had left with all the beauties he abducted, Wang Kun was very willing to replace Luo Sen and continued to slaughter every last person in the whole city.

He descended at the city below and walked among the mortals while waving his sword.

Each and every one of the mortals was petrified while looking at Wang Kun who was heading towards them with a sword. Prior to this day, they did not know that immortals or cultivators actually existed in this world.

Neither did they know that someone could flatten a city or split an island into half with a sword!

Looking at Wang Kun who was emanating a black aura while walking towards them with a sword, every mortal was so terrified that they began to kneel down, begging for mercy.

"G-Great Immortal, please spare me. Please spare my life! Aa!"

Facing those who begged for mercy, Wang Kun would directly behead them with a slash of a sword without giving a single glance at them.

He did not like people who begged for their lives. They were only afraid of him and they harbored no resentment… He just like those who vowed not to yield despite dying. The stronger they resist, the more he wants to crush their pride to make them be filled with hatred!

While passing through piles of corpses and streams of blood, mortals were trying to run away from him in all directions. However, how fast could mortals go even if they flee? Would they be faster than a Mid Divine Transformation Realm expert's sword light?

Ahhh!

Each of the mortals died under Wang Kun's feet. However, the more he killed, the more unhappy he felt. He wanted to find someone who would hate him for having done so!

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

<strong>Note: </strong>

1. Sen Luo (Chinese: 森罗Pinyin: sēn luó)

It means to go on limitlessly