Grasping Evil

"Who is this lunatic?! How dare you kill my disciple?! You are blatantly courting death!"

An angry bellow resounded throughout Xuan Wu City along with a jarring whistling sound given out by the teleportation light of a Peak Divine Transformation Realm expert flying across the sky.

"This is bad! It's Revered Flame! This person had always covered up for his shortcomings. No matter what the cause of Gu Zhen's death was, he will certainly put up a fight against Venerated Ming until one of them dies!"

"In any case, Venerated Ming is still one of the Venerated Eight of the Internal Endless Sea. Would he be afraid of Revered Flame?"

"It seems like you have no idea who Revered Flame is. From his cultivation of flames, he has managed to turn his Sea of Consciousness into a fire consciousness. Besides, he has devoured countless types of flames in his whole life. He not only excels in pill refinement techniques, but he also has impressive combat power. He had literally burnt a Half-Step Void Refinement expert to death in the past!"

"What?! Revered Flame can kill a Half-Step Void Refinement expert?! Does it mean that his strength and power is considered superior even among the Venerated Seven?!"

"Not only that, I heard rumors saying that when Revered Flame entered the Endless Sea this time, he had also brought along two Void Refinement Realm experts to protect him… Even though no one knows where the two experts have gone, it's enough to show how extraordinary Revered Flame's status is in the Rain Palace!"

After all the spirited discussion, even if the cultivators there knew Ning Fan's identity, many of them still did not have any hope in him. They quickly dispersed in the commotion, afraid that they might get involved with him.

Soon after these cultivators left, a blazing fiery light descended outside the southern tower with a loud bang and materialized into a red-robed old man.

The aura of the old man was extremely strong. What's especially powerful about him was his flames.

By just standing there, the air became hot like steam for no reason and gave out crackling sounds of explosion. His aura force seethed from his body and glimmered into the sky.

This man was Gu Zhen's master - Revered Flame, a revered being of the Rain Palace!

"Who are you?!"

Revered Flame let out a menacing bellow and his sound wave turned into raging flames which rushed towards the southern tower, trying to burn Ning Fan and the southern tower to ashes.

This technique was called Fire-Sound Transformation. It was an extremely high-end technique of fire manipulation. As soon as this technique was used, it immediately gained a lot of attention from the crowd.

Layers upon layers of fire waves blasted towards Ning Fan and invaded the palace. But at the next moment, the fire waves eerily disappeared from everyone's sight.

Ning Fan walked out of the southern tower unaffected and stared at Revered Flame indifferently. He made a stomp on the ground which caused the whole ground to tremble. Revered Flame sensed a great force which came out of nowhere rushing towards his direction and hurriedly dodged.

However, the movement he made caused the aura condensed with his wrath to vanish.

"I'm Zhou Ming, the tower lord of the three towers of the Lost World Palace!"

"Zhou Ming?! You said you're Zhou Ming?!"

Revered Flame seemed to have recalled something and one of the corners of his lips raised and formed into a cold smirk.

"Are you the one who took the Green Phoenix Flame? Are you the one who killed Dong Mu and the other two?"

"So what if I am?!" Ning Fan replied firmly.

"If you are, you can die then!"

Revered Flame sneered coldly. In the first place, He already had the intention to kill Ning Fan to vent his anger regarding the matter of the Green Phoenix Flame.

After all, were the people whom he placed in the Lost World Palace someone Ning Fan could kill?

Now, his disciple had died in Ning Fan's hands. With all the grudges that he had yet to resolve with him, Revered Flame would, of course, not let him off.

Even if he set his personal enmity and grudges aside, Revered Flame coveted the several kinds of Earth Vein Demonic Flames that Ning Fan possessed!

Revered Flame patted his storage pouch and produced a fiery-red flying sword. Just as he was about to make a move against Ning Fan, he suddenly heard voices of two worried females.

"D-Don't blame him. It's me who has offended Gu Zhen!"

"Impudent! A revered being of the Rain Palace is trying to cause trouble in my Lost World Palace?!"

The voice which was begging for mercy belonged to Ya Lan while the other one that sounded imposing belonged to Bei Xiaoman.

Ning Fan was inwardly astonished. It was still explainable for Ya Lan to plead for him, but it was somewhat strange to see Bei Xiaoman taking his side.

Wasn't this unruly little girl planning to kill me every day and night to vent her anger in the past…? I've heard that she has successfully attained the Divine Transformation Realm. Could it be that her disposition changed after achieving the breakthrough?

The group of cultivators who stayed to spectate the battle were all stunned. A showdown between two mighty beings which was originally going fine and smooth was abruptly stopped by two women with their words.

Revered Flame stood still with his hands clasping his sword. His eyes darkened and he stopped at once.

The reason why he did not attack Ning Fan was definitely not because of Ya Lan who pleaded with him for mercy but because of Bei Xiaoman's arrival.

In terms of cultivation base, Bei Xiaoman was nothing in Revered Flame's eyes but with regards to identity, Bei Xiaoman was the fourth young mistress of the Northern Heaven. She was not someone that Revered Flame could mess with.

However, what Revered Flame found difficult to understand was the rumors spreading in the outside world claiming that Bei Xiaoman had not been on friendly terms with Ning Fan. The reason why he dared to directly act against Ning Fan in Xuan Wu City was because of that information.

It seemed that the information he got was false. This Bei Xiaoman clearly did not resent Ning Fan. Instead, she was behaving coquettishly to the marrow of her bones and had a crush on him.

Revered Flame made a contemptuous smirk and mocked inwardly.

The so-called fourth young mistress of the Northern Heaven is nothing more than a loose woman.

"Mistress Bei, this man has killed my disciple and everyone here witnessed it. Don't tell me that you and the Lost World Palace are trying to cover up for him?!"

"He killed your disciple?!"

Bei Xiaoman petulantly rolled her eyes at Ning Fan and muttered inwardly.

Why is this stinky Zhou Ming still acting without thinking properly first? Why is he so bold to kill anyone he likes?!

Bei Xiaoman was bossy and arrogant. However, she still knew how far to go and when to stop. She might dare to kill a Fourth Revolution Pill Master but she would be very polite to a Fifth Revolution Pill Master and would not purposely make things difficult for a Divine Transformation Realm expert.

Furthermore, Revered Flame was said to be quite popular in the Rain Palace and he was a good friend to many Void Refinement Realm experts of the Rain Palace. Bei Xiaoman was reluctant to displease a person like him.

Despite knowing full well that provoking Revered Flame was a foolish act, she just could not help but feel angry upon seeing Ning Fan who was still smiling leisurely in silence even though he was faced with imminent disaster.

"This stinky Zhou Ming is mine. You can't kill him!"

*Hua*

What Bei Xiaoman said caused an uproar in the crowd.

According to rumors, Bei Xiaoman was arrogant and unruly and she never showed mercy in killing anyone. There was no way she would ever show consideration to her subordinates. Why did her temperament change today?

Why would she actually protect a devil lord at the risk of offending the Rain Palace?

The great Devil Lord Zhou Ming was truly powerful and he's one of the Venerated Eight of the Internal Endless Sea. However, Revered Flame's status is even higher than that of the eight venerated beings…

Even though Bei Xiaoman had a powerful background, she should know that it's inappropriate to be on bad terms with the Rain Palace while being in the mortal world.

The guardian of the silver tower, Old Ancestor Lu Qing, was absolutely the most surprised person at this moment.

Although he heard that after Bei Xiaoman attained the Divine Transformation Realm and severed parts of her scarlet dragon which temporarily suppressed her menstruation and softened her temperament a lot, he had never expected that Bei Xiaoman would defend others.

Even Ning Fan looked at her with a puzzled look which made her blush with embarrassment and anger.

He suddenly felt that this Bei Xiaoman seemed to have some cuteness within her.

Revered Flame's eyes flashed with a hint of hesitation. As a matter of fact, he absolutely did not expect that the Lost World Palace would be so protective towards Ning Fan.

Revered Flame had also heard of Ning Fan's notoriety as the Venerated Eighth of the Internal Endless Sea. However, he did not believe most of them. Even if Ning Fan really had a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm combat power, Revered Flame would still not put him in his eyes.

The only person who could ever make him feel fearful in the entire Penglai Immortal Island was Bei Xiaoman because he did not want to offend the Lost Palace World either.

However, the longer Revered Flame studied Ning Fan's dantian using his spirit sense, the more apparent the covetous look in his eyes.

He had wanted to kill Ning Fan a long time ago!

Since the time when Dong Mu was killed and the Green Phoenix Flame fell into Ning Fan's hands!

This time, many experts of the Rain Palace entered the Endless Sea to get the qualifications to enter the Thunder Emperor's Tomb. However, Revered Flame had already obtained his qualification and he did not have to worry about it anymore.

Now, he came here just for the Earth Vein Demonic Flames! Dong Mu's death had allowed him to find out quite a lot of details about Ning Fan. The most important detail of all was him possessing several types of Earth Vein Demonic Flames!

Moreover, he had made certain of that fact himself as he sensed four types of Earth Vein Demonic Flames from Ning Fan's body.

If he obtains these four types of Earth Vein Demonic Flames and devour them with his flame spell, his cultivation base would certainly experience a drastic boost and break through to the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm or even… to the Void Refinement Realm!

After having innumerable thoughts in his mind, Revered Flame made a decision.

No matter what happens today, he was not going to let Ning Fan go!

"Mistress Bei, for the sake of the Lost World Palace, I showed you some respect but it doesn't mean that I have to give others respect too! This person has killed my disciple and I must kill him to avenge my disciple! If I have offended you, I hope the Lost World Palace can be magnanimous enough to forgive me!"

"If you dare to, I will never forgive you!"

Bei Xiaoman's eyes narrowed coldly. She rolled up her sleeves and knitted her pretty brows. Judging by her posture, it seemed like she was going to charge towards Revered Flame and teach him a lesson in the next second.

However, just as she made a small step forward, Ning Fan gently grabbed her delicate wrist and pulled her backwards. Then, he gave her a casual smile.

"Mistress Bei, thank you for not forgetting our past relationship and defending me. However, even though our relationship is deep, we have yet to take the final step and so, I am still not officially 'yours'. You don't have to be so protective of me."

*Hua*

The onlookers were overwhelmed with great shock once more.

Venerated Ming is making fun of Bei Xiaoman! Judging from Venerated Ming's words, could it be that he has a very intimate relationship with Bei Xiaoman and they've done many things that they love to do but just haven't proceeded to the last step of their relationship?

Flirting. He was absolutely flirting with her!

"Let go of me! Don't touch me! You're gross! Who has a deep relationship with you?!" Bei Xiaoman slapped away Ning Fan's hand without realizing at all that she had been verbally assailed by Ning Fan with obscenities.

"Be quiet, you too…"

Ning Fan's gaze swept across Bei Xiaoman and then Ya Lan. All of a sudden, his smile turned into his usual indifferent look.

He smiled because he was in a good mood seeing his two old friends, Ya Lan and Bei Xiaoman, who were nervous for him.

He turned cold because Revered Flame kept threatening to kill him with every word he said. Even a man made of mud would also be enraged after hearing such a threat.

Interesting.

After making the Endless Sea afraid of him with some effort, there was the Rain Palace trying to challenge him now.

Ning Fan threw a cold glance at Revered Flame and saw through his scheme.

What a hypocritical person. Revenge for his disciple? What a reasonable and righteous reason. Ultimately, he's just eyeing my Earth Vein Demonic Flames, just like how he was covetously eyeing the Green Phoenix Flame of the Lost World Palace in the past.

As the saying goes, a crooked stick will have a crooked shadow. Since the disciple is already that kind of person, how could the master be any better?

Ya Lan was Ning Fan's old friend while Ning Fan was the lord of three towers of the Lost World Palace. It was impossible for one to leave his subordinate in the lurch. Thus, there was no ground for blame on him in helping her.

Gu Zhen was the one who bullied Ya Lan first and Ning Fan only killed him after that. With Ning Fan's personality, no matter who Gu Zhen was, if one deserved their death, Ning Fan would never hesitate to kill them.

Ning Fan had never been a big-hearted person who could tolerate bullies.

To him, killing Gu Zhen was nothing.

And it was no big deal to displease Revered Flame since he had already done so.

Moreover, Revered Flame already had some old grudges against him. These unsettled scores were already irreconcilable since the day Ning Fan killed the three tower lords of the Lost World Palace.

Furthermore, Ning Fan did not think that seeking revenge for his disciple was the main reason why Revered Flame wanted to kill him.

From the moment Revered Flame showed up, he had exuded his spirit sense seven times to sense Ning Fan's dantian within a few breaths.

After sensing the traces of auras of four Earth Vein Demonic Flames, a hint of joy could be seen at the corners of his eyes. Of course, these small details could never escape from Ning Fan's eyes and ears.

Avenging his disciple is just a pretense. After his disciple died, his eyes glinted with a hint of delight. Thus, it's really obvious.

From the very beginning, Revered Flame went at me for my Earth Vein Demonic Flames!

Even if I didn't kill Gu Zhen, once this person knows I'm on Penglai Immortal Island, he will still make up other reasons to sneak attack me or hunt me down.

Ning Fan glanced at a certain direction and the purple star in his left eye flickered faintly. At a corner, he saw two Void Refinement Realm experts who were hiding themselves from everyone's view. They were probably the experts Revered Flame hired to protect himself.

It's no wonder why Revered Flame is so arrogant that he even dares to humiliate Bei Xiaoman. It turns out that he came with some backup.

Well, he might have two Void Refinement Realm experts but I possess three Void Refinement Realm spiritual puppets. They are nothing much to be worried about.

Ning Fan's eyelids twitched and exposed a trace of aura of the Realm Beast puppets from his storage pouch, secretly sending it to the two hidden Void Refinement Realm experts.

All of a sudden, their expressions were filled with shock and they immediately transmitted a message to Revered Flame through telepathy.

Revered Flame glanced sideways at Ning Fan repeatedly as murderous intent filled his eyes.

Suddenly, it seemed that someone had secretly conveyed a message to Revered Flame. At the next moment, Revered Flame's expression greatly changed. The killing intent that he originally had for Ning Fan significantly diminished.

That voice came from the hidden Void Refinement Realm experts. They were trying to warn Revered Flame.

"This Zhou Ming isn't easy. He noticed us! He even spread out a trace of Void Refinement Realm aura to us on purpose. He isn't someone who can be trifled with…"

"What?! How come he possesses Void Refinement Realm aura?! Could it be that an elder of his is protecting him in secret?! Could it be that a Void Refinement Realm elder is hiding in his Treasure of Immortal's Abode?!" Revered Flame was a little terrified.

Compared to Bei Xiaoman's reputation, he was more afraid of a Void Refinement Realm expert…

Even though Revered Flame might be haughty and disdainful, that side of him only applied to Divine Transformation Realm experts. When facing a Void Refinement Realm expert, he would still feel afraid.

"Even if there's a Void Refinement Realm expert protecting him, I don't want to give up on the Earth Vein Demonic Flames…" Revered Flame clenched his teeth.

"Then… seize them with a gentler method and don't completely fall out with him… Why don't you try gambling with him! This way, it won't harm the harmony between the two of you. As long as you don't go out of line, that hidden Void Refinement Realm expert won't interfere with the fight between you two." One of the two Void Refinement Realm experts suggested.

"Gamble? Alright…"

The group of cultivators surrounding the area only saw Revered Flames mumbling some words to himself and no one knew what he was talking about. However, a short moment later, Revered Flame's killing intent gradually withered away like a frosted eggplant.

The most unimaginable thing was when Revered Flame who turned a deaf ear to others' words and insisted on killing Ning Fan suddenly withdrew all his anger and let out a hearty laughter. He looked at Ning Fan with a look of admiration and complimented.

"The Venerated Eighth of the Internal Endless Sea - Venerated Ming, Zhou Ming. You indeed deserve this esteemed reputation! I admire you! It was just a joke when I said I would seek revenge for my disciple's death just now. I was just trying to test Venerated Ming's courage. Don't take it too seriously. That disciple of mine you killed was ignorant and incompetent. Today, he actually dared to lay a finger to a female cultivator of the Lost World Palace. He deserved more than death. In fact, I have to thank you, Fellow Daoist, for killing Gu Zhen. It's an excellent punishment!"

*Uhh*

The crowd was speechless. At first, both sides were about to fight. Now, however, Revered Flame suddenly turned nice for no reason and spoke in an extremely kind and friendly way?

On second thought, they suddenly came to realize that Revered Flame was just joking around with Ning Fan previously.

Well, it sounded completely right and logical. Revered Flame was a famous senior while Ning Fan was just a young rising expert. How would Revered Flame bully the weak with his strength?

What a magnanimous man. His disciple has been killed by someone but he forgave and set aside that matter. Besides, he even thinks that his disciple deserved his death for committing all sorts of wicked crimes.

Many cultivators who did not know the truth began to admire Revered Flame.

Ning Fan also put away his indifferent look and revealed a faint smile. His eyes shone with sarcasm.

This Revered Flame is indeed a shameless person. I purposely released a trace of aura from the Realm Beast puppets to mess with the morale of the two Void Refinement Realm experts. As expected, they wavered.

Gu Zhen, Dong Mu and the others were really nothing to him. This Revered Flame is the kind of person who will abandon everything for his own benefits.

"I see. Revered Flame was just joking with me just now. But I don't think the joke is funny at all."

"Hehe…"

Revered Flame forced a hollow laugh. It seems that he failed to notice the sarcasm in Ning Fan's words.

Looking at Ning Fan, he abruptly changed the topic of their conversation and spoke sincerely.

"It feels like I'm meeting an old friend even though I only met Venerated Ming for the first time. I wonder whether I can have the honor of asking Venerated Ming for advice for a technique or two? Don't worry, Venerated Ming. It's just a friendly match to learn from each other by exchanging fighting techniques. It surely won't harm anyone's life. Thus, there is certainly no need for the elder behind you to come forward." Revered Flame made hints in his words.

"I always travel across heaven and earth by myself. I don't have any elders with me… As for the friendly fight you said, I don't like a fight without a bet." Ning Fan deliberately made a brief laughter but it made Revered Flame's suspicion grow.

It can't be wrong. A deliberate explanation is just a concealment. This Zhou Ming probably has a Void Refinement Realm expert backing him up!

In that case, I really can't afford to offend a Void Refinement Realm old monster just for fifth-grade Earth Flames…

Revered Flame felt fortunate inwardly. It was lucky that the two Void Refinement Realm experts he brought reminded him just now. Otherwise, he might have been fighting with Ning Fan at this moment.

"Oh? Fellow Daoist Zhou wants to set up a bet for the fight?! Great! I'm thinking of the same thing too. Why don't the both of us take out one type of our Earth Vein Demonic Flames as a bet?"

"Only one type is a bit too little. If you want to bet, let's bet on all the Earth Vein Demonic Flames we have then. I have four types of the Earth Vein Demonic Flames while you have three of that. You won't be at a disadvantage on this bet."

*Hiss*

All the cultivators gasped in disbelief.

Except for both Revered Flame and Ning Fan who could tell how many types of Demonic Flames each other possessed, the others had no idea of how many Demonic Flames each of them had.

Earth Vein Demonic Flames were items that were highly sought after by Divine Transformation Realm experts and were difficult to get. However, as soon as Ning Fan spoke, all the cultivators clearly knew that Revered Flame owned three types of those flames while Ning Fan had four!

Rumor has it that if one manages to gather all twelve types of Earth Vein Demonic Flames, the power of his flames would be comparable to a Void Refinement Realm attack. Today, if both of them bet all their flames on this fight, whoever wins would then possess seven types of Earth Vein Demonic Flames!

"Don't gamble! There's the Green Phoenix Flame that I gave you! If you lose…" No one knew what Bei Xiaoman was disagreeing with and why Ning Fan could not lose what she had given to him.

"Don't worry! I won't lose."

Ning Fan smiled confidently.

He was not afraid of Revered Flame or the two Void Refinement Realm experts. Besides, if he summons all three Void Refinement Realm spiritual puppets and sacrifices one or two of his other puppets, he might even be able to kill one of the Void Refinement Realm experts.

However, what benefit would Ning Fan get from killing an expert of the Rain Palace in front of countless cultivators? He was a person who maximized the benefits he would get and he certainly would not simply kill a Void Refinement Realm expert of the Rain Palace for fun.

A Divine Transformation Realm expert was a revered being in the Rain Palace while a Void Refinement Realm expert would be one of the top-level combat personnel of the Rain Palace.

Ning Fan could foresee innumerable Void Fragmentation Realm experts of the Rain Palace coming in the next day to hunt him down if he really kills the two Void Refinement Realm experts in front of others.

Being able to seize the flames from Revered Flame without offending him openly was the best outcome.

Of course, there would be some accidents during the fight as fists and kicks had no eyes. Even if Ning Fan were to injure Revered Flame, it would only be considered as an accident, just like how he accidentally burnt Gu Zhen to ashes previously.

Ning Fan was determined to get the Earth Vein Demonic Flames and the same goes for Revered Flame!

Revered Flame made a cold snort inwardly as he could not bear seeing Ning Fan's confident expression. However, he still managed a half-hearted smile on his face. After pretending to refuse the offer with a few words, he eventually agreed to bet all of his Demonic Flames.

"Hehe. Fellow Daoist Zhou can be rest assured that I will surely pull my punches during the fight." Revered Flame said with a friendly smile but he could not stop sneering within.

What he had in mind was exactly the same thought as Ning Fan.

Revered Flame could not kill Ning Fan in front of his Void Refinement Realm elder, but fists and kicks had no eyes. Thus, it would be a different story even if he accidentally crippled Ning Fan…

"Young man! You don't have enough qualifications yet to fight with me, Yun Yan1! I will definitely cripple you and let you have a taste of my strength!"

Revered Flame sneered evilly, but the problem was that he still had no idea who was actually going to be crippled in the end.

Both Revered Flame and Ning Fan soared into the sky and turned a part of it into a battle ring.

"Be careful, Fellow Daoist Zhou. My flying sword is coming!"

Revered Flame wielded his flying sword. However, it disappeared completely after emitting a flash of fiery light.

Although it seemed like he was warning Ning Fan, he was pretty confident that Ning Fan would definitely not be able to block that sword attack!

"Stinky Zhou Ming! Be careful! The sword is being reinforced by a Void Grade ability – Shadow Cut!"

Bei Xiaoman warned anxiously.

At the next moment, the fiery-red flying sword that had vanished did not plunge straight towards Ning Fan but flew towards his shadow.

The two of them stood in midair as clouds drifted past them. The shadows beneath their feet were longer as they basked in the sunlight…

In the blink of an eye, the sword light had already reached his shadow!

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

<strong>Note: </strong>

1. Yun Yan (Chinese: 云焱 Pinyin: yún yàn)

Yun means cloud. In this case, however, it refers to a surname.

Yan is a classical Chinese word meaning flames or fire sparks.