Grasping Evil

His blood essence gradually replenished. His white hair turned black and his appearance returned to its original.

After spending a few months healing his wounds using his five natal black stars, Ning Fan completely recovered despite the severity of his injuries.

"The Black Star Technique is indeed profound. Without this technique, it would have been very difficult to recover my blood essence and injuries, let alone my life force that has been greatly depleted this time..."

Ning Fan exhaled a mouthful of foul breath and loosened up his muscles. After making sure that everything was alright, he revealed a pleased smile.

His gaze fell upon the golden crystal. He no longer hesitated this time and was determined to consume it.

This crystal was brimming with the power of time which could cause distortions in time.

Its power was so strong that it could never be absorbed in one go. Instead, it would need to be harmonized using different kinds of spiritual herbs.

This technique of harmonization was rarely mentioned in the Emperor Ancient Chaos' memories. However, the pill refinement techniques which Xi Ran gave him happened to contain a number of methods to harmonize this power.

Ning Fan patted his storage pouch and took out a jade bowl and tens of types of spiritual ingredients. He ground them into powder and turned them into medicinal liquid. After that, he submerged the crystal in it.

The crystal gave off a faint golden vapor and slowly melted in the medicinal liquid.

At first, that medicinal liquid was deep green. But after the crystal melted, it turned pure gold.

Ning Fan lifted the jade bowl and stared at the liquid with his keen eyes which were bright like torches. He then gently took a sip of the medicinal liquid and immediately put down the jade bowl to refine its power.

Even though he had just taken a sip of it, a burning sensation instantly ran across his body as if his entire body was on fire and his blood veins boiling violently.

The heat waves in his body increased without stopping and his skin turned reddish violet.

Ning Fan could not help but feel rather shocked. He was very familiar with this situation. It was clearly an indication of consuming too much medicinal power which caused his body to be on the verge of exploding!

He merely took a sip of the medicinal liquid but this sip contained at least ten thousand units of magic power which was equivalent to consuming one hundred pellets of Thunder Profound Pills!

Despite having a total of nearly one hundred and eighty thousand units of power from his three types of power, his immortal veins were almost destroyed by the power contained within the medicinal liquid he had consumed.

Fortunately, before the power he absorbed nearly exceeded the amount he could take, it stopped and his body did not burst in the end. After all, Ning Fan still had a sense for the proper limit on refining how much medicinal liquid at one time.

"Refine!"

Ning Fan closed his eyes, trying his best to absorb the golden power of the medicinal liquid.

He finally realized that he had completely underestimated the power of the crystal that was controlling the time flow on the seventh floor.

Seven days later, Ning Fan absorbed all of the medicinal power within the first sip he took and had gained 11400 units of magic power in total.

He then took a big mouthful of the medicinal liquid and began the assimilation process for another seven days. His magic power increased by another 12200 units.

After that, he took the third sip, the fourth sip...

Two months later, Ning Fan completely assimilated the last drop of the medicinal liquid and his magic power had increased by 109400 units in total.

When he was consuming the golden crystal in the form of medicinal liquid, he did not grow immune to its effect like how he did after consuming pills excessively in the past and his magic power also did not turn illusory in the end.

After all, this crystal contained the purest power of time which not any kind of pill would be able to compare.

Looking at the remaining viscous liquid on the jade bowl, Ning Fan stuck out his tongue and licked it clean without considering his image. That little amount of liquid raised his magic power an additional 500 units.

Putting away the jade bowl, Ning Fan examined his inner body and his eyes twinkled with excitement.

After assimilating the crystal, his magic power rose from 28320 units to 138220 units!

A single crystal had helped him raise more than one hundred thousand units of magic power. That thing was indeed heaven-defying!

A humongous cloud of silver flames suddenly appeared in the void space above him. A cluster of flames rushed towards him.

This Heavenly Tribulation of Flames which could send chills down the spines of ordinary Divine Transformation Realm cultivators was literally devoured by Ning Fan in a gulp, serving as nourishment for his Stele of Sun and Moon.

After examining his inner body again, a frown appeared on his face.

He noticed that there was something else residing inside his immortal veins.

It was... a trace of golden blood!

The streak of golden blood was extremely delicate. If Ning Fan had not observed his inner body closely, he definitely would not have noticed it in his veins.

He tried to study that trace of golden blood more deeply. However, as soon as his spirit sense went close to the golden trace of blood, it immediately vanished, as if it had melted in his blood. Then, it was nowhere to be found.

"What was that?!"

Ning Fan knitted his brows even more tightly and repeatedly circulated his magic power. However, he did not feel any side effect or extra ability after experiencing such a tremendous improvement in his magic power.

This is strange.

Doubtlessly, this trace of golden blood appeared after I assimilated the power of the crystal. I wonder if it's something good or bad…

"Could it be a mark that the Lost World Palace planted in the crystals?!"

Thinking of this possibility, a tingling sensation ran across his scalp. He did not enjoy being pursued by a group of immortal beings.

After making sure several times that the golden blood that disappeared in his body did not look like a mark, only then did he start to feel a little calmer. However, his mind was still unsettled.

Having a great boost in his magic power was a joyous matter, but he could not feel happy about it at all. If he couldn't get a clear idea of what the golden blood was, he would not be at ease.

When he began to ponder about the trace of golden blood, he was absorbed in his own thoughts for ten consecutive days. From the beginning until the end, he was checking his inner body, waiting for that trace of golden blood to appear once again.

On the tenth day, that trace of golden blood reappeared in his immortal veins.

This time, Ning Fan did not give the golden blood the opportunity to dissipate again. He directly coiled it with his spirit sense and expelled it from one of his fingertips.

He gazed thoughtfully at the trace of golden blood on his fingertip. His expression gradually turned calm and composed.

"So it turns out that this golden blood is a trace of the power of time that had dissolved in my blood. Let's temporarily call it the 'Blood of Time'. This streak of blood should bring no harm to me but benefits instead. With this blood, I can use a trace of time power…"

Ning Fan let out a sigh of relief. His eyes turned solemn and at the next moment, a trace of golden purple mist revolved around his fingertips.

He looked at the mist in silence. In the past, he did not understand why the mist was golden purple. Now, however, he seemed to have found the answer.

The color of purple remained unchanged but the color of gold had become slightly deeper.

The color of purple represented the Immortal Sovereign's Dao while the color of gold was the power of time!

It was a technique that Ning Fan comprehended on his own by imitating the power of Samsara.

Now, only then did he realize that he created this technique by imitating the power of Samsara from the perspective of time. The power that weathered out everything depended on the power of time which was gold in color.

An interval of time is worth an ounce of gold…

He then absorbed the Blood of Time into his body. He now concluded that the Blood of Time was something useful that would enhance the power of his Wind Mist Finger. As such, it was a blessing to him.

That crystal had increased his magic power by one hundred thousand units and gave him a trace of Blood of Time. For a moment, it really urged him to steal the other six crystals too.

He finally understood the reason why the dignified Red Cloud Rain Sovereign would try to steal the crystals. Perhaps what Red Cloud Rain Sovereign wanted was not the power of the crystals, but the power of time.

Although the crystals were good, one needed to stay alive to enjoy them.

Not to mention Ning Fan who was not able to steal the remaining six crystals for now, it was definitely an unwise move even if he had the capabilities.

The seventh floor of the Lost World Tower lost its time distortion effect due to the loss of the crystal. However, since it was rare for Void Fragmentation Realm experts to come to the Lost World Tower, who would find out about the missing crystal?

If the time distortion of the first six floors of the tower are also ruined, the matter about Ning Fan stealing the crystals would be immediately exposed.

It was obviously unwise.

Setting all thoughts aside, Ning Fan calmed his breathing, trying to adjust his condition to its best.

His magic power which used to be the weakest of all the three types of power he possessed had been improved. Now, all three types of power: magic power, demon power and devil qi had attained the Mid Divine Transformation Realm.

Right afterwards, Ning Fan would try to merge these three types of power together, just like how he combined his three kinds of divine intents.

In the past, he had merged his Divine Intent of Rain, Devil Intent of Evil Luo Mountain and the Demon Intent of Fu Li into a portrait. That brand-new intent realm was his longing for his past in the Seven Apricot City, a determination to freeze all of his past in Samsara.

With the experience of merging his intent realms beforehand, it would not be too difficult for him to combine his three powers.

Ning Fan's goal was to break the restriction of race and wipe out all the traces of the divine cultivators, demon cultivators and devil cultivators.

From now on, he was neither a member of the divine race, the demon race nor the devil race…

He was just Ning Fan!

Three days later, Ning Fan's eyes beamed with energy as he bellowed.

"Condense!"

As soon as he uttered that word, black snow began to fall in the vicinity of ten thousand li* (500m per li). Ning Fan's body was coiled with violet light, as if he had put on a purple robe. A plum tree with bloody plum blossoms and dark trunks appeared behind him.

This portrait was formed with three kinds of divine intent. They were completely different from each other and their natures contrasted among themselves. Despite that, they were integrated into one and it was done depending on Ning Fan's stubbornness and memories.

He was never stubborn over his race. What mattered to him the most was whether he had the capabilities to protect his family or not.

Be it being a divine cultivator, a demon cultivator or a devil cultivator… Whichever path he chose, he was still Ning Fan after all.

"Combine!"

The three types of powers started to combine together. After Emperor Ancient Chaos's death, no one could perform such a pioneering act. It was really unexpected that someone like Ning Fan who cultivated all three types of power would appear in later generations!

The devil qi merged with the demon power and the demon power overlapped with the magic power.

Occasionally, Ning Fan's body would seethe with thick devil qi, radiate the light of divinity and give off immense demonic qi.

Three distinct temperaments eventually disappeared without a trace.

One month later, Ning Fan opened his eyes. There wasn't the benevolence of the divine cultivators, the thirst for blood of the devils and the treacherous demeanor of the demons.

What he had on his face was just an easygoing expression like before.

"I am who I am!"

He suddenly rose to his feet. After the combination of the three types of powers, his magic power had become dominant.

Additionally, this magic power had 293130 units in total. It had already broken through to the Late Divine Transformation Realm and was just a hair's breadth away from the Peak Divine Transformation Realm!

Besides, this amount of magic power could be turned into devil qi or demon power at will.

The path he took was not the path of divinity, the path of demons or the path of devils. It was a completely different path. Someone had chosen this path before Emperor Ancient Chaos. After Emperor Ancient Chaos died, all the great emperors in the ancient times perished. Since then, no one had walked this path again.

It was an ancient path of cultivation!

Above the sky, clouds of flames appeared again. This time, before the clouds could even condense, they were pulverized by Ning Fan with a swing of his palm and he then swallowed all of the silver flames of the Heavenly Tribulation.

The Heavenly Tribulation that occurred this time was powerful enough to severely injure a Late Divine Transformation Realm expert. However, how would Ning Fan care about this degree of damage with his current power?

"It's just a small step away from achieving another breakthrough in my cultivation realm again. I might as well just press on and go straight for the Peak Divine Transformation Realm in one go!"

Ning Fan patted his storage pouch and fished out a Peak Void Refinement Realm Dao Fruit.

Wei Xuan gave him five Dao Fruits in the past. One of them was at the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm while the other four were at the Peak Void Refinement Realm.

If Ning Fan were to consume this Dao Fruit with his Mid Divine Transformation Realm cultivation base in the past, his body would explode due to the excessive amount of power which would be beyond his body's capacity to hold. On the other hand, if he consumes it at the Late Divine Transformation Realm, he could still absorb at least one-third of the medicinal power of the Dao Fruit.

A Peak Void Refinement Realm Dao Fruit contained at least fifty thousand units of magic power. With Ning Fan's current cultivation base, it would be a waste to consume this level of Dao Fruit. It would be best if he consumes it when he attains the Void Refinement Realm at the very least.

However, as the matter of achieving another breakthrough took precedence, he did not care how much of it he would waste.

After blending tens of types of spiritual herbs with the Dao Fruit to harmonize its power, Ning Fan swallowed the Dao Fruit down and his magic power skyrocketed, gaining nearly twenty thousand units.

When his magic power reached 312500 units in total, Ning Fan broke through the bottleneck of his cultivation base. His body began to emanate the vigorous aura of the Peak Divine Transformation Realm. Even the star beneath his feet was trembling.

Finally, he attained the Peak Divine Transformation Realm!

The Heavenly Tribulation of Silver Flames took form once again above the hollow space.

The power of the flame tribulation this time was comparable to a fatal attack at the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm. It should not be underestimated.

Moreover, it was powerful enough to put experts at the same level as Dong Xu in terrible shape!

Ning Fan no longer relied on the Stele of Sun and Moon to fend off this Heavenly Tribulation.

Black devil flames coiled around his body. He extended his fingers wide to draw in the soul of the star and devoured it.

After performing the Soul Extraction Technique, his aura rose to the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm.

In the past, he was a person who was capable of killing experts beyond his cultivation realm. Currently, his strength was absolutely on par with the Venerated Seven of the Internal Endless Sea. The improvement in his strength and power was no trivial matter.

"Samadhi Fire Palm!"

Ning Fan pushed one of his palms out towards the sky. A one thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) large fire palm took form and soared into the sky, rushing towards the fire clouds.

One-tenth of the so-called Heavenly Tribulation of Bloody Cloud directly vanished after being struck by his palm attack.

Ning Fan did not intend to rely on a magical treasure to resist the Heavenly Tribulation. Instead, he condensed all of his magic power on his palm. His expression showed not the slightest hint of fear.

He recalled the force of Yan Zhongze's palm and the palm attack that destroyed the Southern Prison Country. His heart was filled with new insights…

At first, he could only create one palm imprint when he displayed that attack. But when he infused more of his magic power, the second palm imprint appeared. He then put his palms together.

"Crush!"

This palm imprint was two thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) large.

At the moment it struck the cloud of Heavenly Tribulation, the remaining clouds immediately dispersed into nothing.

This palm attack had nearly exhausted Ning Fan's energy. It was an attack that could not be displayed without having Void Refinement Realm level of strength.

Evidently, Ning Fan's application of the Samadhi Fire Palm was much better than Revered Flame's.

With Revered Flame's innate talent, it was absolutely impossible for him to create the second palm imprint.

"It truly deserves to be a Mortal Void Realm magical technique."

Ning Fan opened his mouth wide and took a deep breath, drawing in all the scattered flames in the sky. Then, he sat down with his legs crossed to restore his magic power.

There was not much time left before he had to leave the tower. Rather than having any further training, it was better to stabilize his Peak Divine Transformation Realm cultivation base that he had just obtained.

After spending 126 years in the Lost World Tower, Ning Fan's bone age was now close to five hundred years old.

That is to say, he managed to attain the Peak Divine Transformation Realm within five hundred years. Ning Fan would not dare to say that his innate talent was peerless, but it was an achievement that was absolutely worth feeling proud.

However, after arriving at this step, the more Ning Fan realized the difficulties of breaking through to the Void Refinement Realm… As his cultivation base had reached the Peak Divine Transformation Realm, the effect of consuming Early Divine Transformation Realm Dao Fruits was reduced by nearly half.

In order to advance from the Peak Divine Transformation Realm to the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm, one would need two hundred thousand units of magic power. Perhaps it would be very difficult for him to gain such a tremendous amount of magic power in a short period of time.

To cultivators, a single year was extremely short.

But during this year, Lu Qing had done one thing that filled him with utmost regret.

Since he found out that Bei Xiaoman had an ambiguous relationship with Ning Fan, he made a decision by himself and reported this to the Lost World Palace.

He did not expect that as his words spread to the Lost World Palace, it would cause such a huge trouble to his mistress.

In the southern tower, Lu Qing looked at a group of wild and uncontrollable cultivators in the main hall, feeling guilty of his actions.

"Lu Qing! Are you the one who let them come?" Bei Xiaoman's gaze was cold. She disliked the feeling of being betrayed by others.

"Fourth Young Mistress, it's my fault for making such an inconsiderate decision. If I knew that this would happen, I would never have dared to report it to the Lost World Palace… I truly regret my inconsiderate act!" Lu Qing was ashamed and his voice was full of guilt. The reason why he reported the relationship between Bei Xiaoman and Ning Fan to the Lost World Palace was because he did not want to see his mistress fall deeper and deeper into their relationship. However, he had never thought that it would cause this much trouble…

"What's the use of regretting?! Get rid of them for me!" Bei Xiaoman clenched her fists. If it wasn't because she knew Lu Qing was acting for her own good, she would have never let him go.

Her eyes glanced across the hall. The group consisted of forty-nine cultivators in total and every one of them was at the Divine Transformation Realm.

The leader of the group was a young man in black robes and his name was… Ximen Ye!

This was the person that Bei Xiaoman loathed the most. Her aversion to him came straight from the bottom of her heart which was completely different from the kind of hatred she had for Ning Fan.

"Ximen Ye, I won't go with you!" Bei Xiaoman spoke indifferently.

"Hehe. You're my fiancée. Do you think you are allowed to say 'no' when I have come to bring you home? Bei Xiaoman, let me be frank with you. With your unruly personality and inferior innate talent, I, Ximen Ye, would have never set my eyes on you. Our marriage contract is merely a condition to form an alliance between the Ximen Aristocratic Family and the Lost World Palace. Moreover, I've obtained the Great Elder's consent to descend to the mortal world today with my incarnation. You should understand that if the Great Elder gives the approval, even your mother can't protect you!"

The black-robed young man's eyes were cold. He actually did not care about Bei Xiaoman at all. But when he heard that his fiancée was messing around with another man in the mortal world, he had the feeling of being cuckolded and a murderous intent rose within him, urging him to immediately kill Bei Xiaoman.

"If you follow me back obediently, I will forgive you. But if you disobey, I will break your limbs and drag you back to the Northern Heaven. You decide!"

"Impudent!"

Lu Qing and Stone Warrior were both furious upon hearing those words. Even though it was a marriage contract made by the Great Elder for Bei Xiaoman, even though it was a significant matter related to the future of the Lost World Palace, even though the Ximen Aristocratic Family was extremely powerful... Both of them would never allow their mistress to be insulted like this!

They made a step forward and their Divine Transformation Realm auras spread across the hall. Their auras were showing signs of merging with each other.

Especially Stone Warrior's aura which became extremely vigorous after his cultivation base was raised by Ning Fan to the Mid Divine Transformation Realm.

Among the forty-nine experts of the Ximen Aristocratic Family, 30 of them were Early Divine Transformation Realm experts. When they were hit by Stone Warrior and Lu Qing's auras, their breathing instantly became chaotic.

Their eyes were filled with astonishment. However, they were not surprised by Lu Qing but Stone Warrior instead.

Isn't the spiritual puppet protecting Bei Xiaoman an Early Divine Transformation Realm puppet? How could it be a Mid Divine Transformation puppet?!

As for the other nineteen experts, their expression remained calm. Among them, there were nine Mid Divine Transformation Realm experts, five Late Divine Transformation Realm experts, three Peak Divine Transformation Realm experts and two Half-Step Void Refinement Realm experts.

That black-robed young man, Ximen Ye, was one of the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm experts and this Half-Step Void Refinement Realm body was just a part of his soul.

This person wasn't the likes of Zi Chuan and Lin Su… His innate talent was peerless in the Northern Heaven. He was one of the Four Top Geniuses of the Northern Heaven in this generation.

He named himself Emperor Xi!

After being struck by the auras of Stone Warrior and Lu Qing, Ximen Ye kept a straight face. His demonic dark eyes flashed with a hint of disdain.

"Bei Xiaoman, my patience is wearing thin. I heard that the person you have fallen in love with in the mortal world is a Mid Divine Transformation Realm cultivator and his combat power is comparable to a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator… His name is Zhou Ming, isn't it? Well, if you don't come with me, I will… kill him!"

"Who has fallen in love with that stinky Zhou Ming?! Wait! You can't kill him!"

All of a sudden, anxiety and fear filled her entire being. She knew how cold-blooded and scary Ximen Ye was.

"Indeed, you care about him very much…"

Ximen Ye's eyes turned colder. He was even certain that her fiance was having an affair with another man.

He took a quick scan on Lu Qing and Stone Warrior, as if he was watching buffoons playing tricks.

His eyes were filled with magic power that was gloomy like the night sky. By just darting a single glance at Lu Qing and Stone Warrior, both of them flew backwards while coughing out blood as if they received a heavy blow. They were severely injured by Ximen Ye with just a gaze!

Injuring Stone Warrior with a single gaze? What exactly is this man's true cultivation base?!

Suddenly, Bei Xiaoman felt her body becoming powerless.

"You…have attained the Void Fragmentation Realm…"

Indeed. Ximen Ye's original body had already broken through to the Void Fragmentation Realm.

Even though his incarnation only had Half-Step Void Refinement Realm power, he must not be belittled. With his current power, he could even fight against an Early Void Refinement Realm expert.

"Hmph! Who do you think I am? Will I be like you who only have Divine Transformation Realm cultivation base?! Among the four young mistresses of the Bei Family, only your eldest sister and second elder sister are slightly worth noticing. The rest are nothing!"

Ximen Ye's tone was cold. He stepped forward and reached out his large hand, trying to grab Bei Xiaoman.

Bei Xiaoman dodged but her eyes met Ximen Ye's glance in the process. Blood moistened her throat and flowed out from the corners of her mouth. Her eyes were full of resentment.

No one can bully me! No one!

"Young Mistress!"

Stone Warrior and Lu Qing were in great shock. Especially Lu Qing who was feeling the most remorseful for his action.

If he had foreseen that his mistress would have to suffer such humiliation, he would never have reported this matter to the Northern Heaven.

The dignified Fourth Young Mistress is being bullied by the Ximen Aristocratic Family as they wish. Moreover, it's the idea of the Great Elder. What is the Great Elder thinking?!

Is he trying to send the Young Mistress back to the Ximen Aristocratic Family and be treated like a human cauldron?

*Boom*

At the moment Ximen Ye's claw-like hand was about to land on Bei Xiaoman, an eerie shadow of a white-robed man suddenly emerged in the main hall. He held Bei Xiaoman's waist in his arm and moved sideways, avoiding Ximen Ye's hand.

"Who are you?!" Ximen Ye looked at the white-robed young man who had just appeared out of nowhere with a cold expression. If he was not wrong, the white-robed young man's speed was at the level of the Early Void Refinement Realm.

"I'm Bei Xiaoman's consort… Zhou Ming."

Ning Fan replied with a calm tone. There was a streak of blood on his face. Even though his speed was at the level of the Early Void Refinement Realm, he still did not manage to avoid Ximen Ye's claw.

This man is strong… He is different from all the geniuses that I have met before!

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

<strong>Note:</strong>

-