Grasping Evil

Ximen Ye gently touched the cut on his neck, his eyes filled with killing intent.

However, he fiercely bit the tip of his tongue afterwards and suppressed that immense killing intent.

He was arrogant. Therefore, when he got injured by Ning Fan, he went crazy due to his reluctance to accept the truth.

He was self-conceited. Therefore, he would not allow himself to suffer any losses.

The sleeves of Ximen Ye's black robes fluttered in the wind. Gradually, his heart became calm and composed. His deep black eyes no longer revealed any emotion. Four black divine stars appeared on his glabella. However, he lifted one of his hands and crushed two of them. Blood flowed out from the corners of his mouth while his expression remained cold and dignified.

He did not give any explanation and neither did he conceal his killing intent towards Ning Fan.

However, Ning Fan knew that the reason why he destroyed two of his divine stars himself was for the fairness of their showdown. He wanted to eliminate Ning Fan while having a similar strength.

"You are indeed very strong. If you were born one thousand years earlier, you would certainly have attained the Void Fragmentation Realm. However, you have to understand one thing. At the end of the day, you are not my match! Your injuries are too grave and you are now just like an arrow at the end of its flight…"

"I don't think so."

Ning Fan secretly activated the Black Star Healing Technique as faint starlight glowed around his body.

Since he did not directly summon his natal black stars, even Ximen Ye would not know that he had comprehended the Black Star Technique.

His injuries which were originally bloody and severe were quickly healed.

This scene shocked Ximen Ye once more. The self-healing technique that Ning Fan used closely resembled the Star Healing Technique.

"Your techniques are quite impressive. As such, I can fight without any restraint. If you are able to walk out of here alive, I can assure you on behalf of the Ximen Aristocratic Family that Bei Xiaoman belongs to you! If you can't… your journey ends here!"

Ximen Ye no longer spoke any more words. His expression changed as his first divine star twinkled. All of a sudden, darkness engulfed every ray of light within the heavenly dwelling space.

As darkness fell, Ximen's qi gradually turned ethereal. Eventually, his presence had literally disappeared from Ning Fan's sight.

Ximen Ye's first divine star was the Divine Star of Night, the master of darkness.

As long as he stayed within the darkness, he could completely conceal his presence including his qi which could allow him to perform assassinations or sneak attacks with ease.

*Chi*

Traces of sword qi which were as black as ink flew towards Ning Fan from all directions of the lightless space.

Ning Fan wielded both of his swords and parried each and every one of the attacks. The purple star in his left eye flashed which allowed him to see through the darkness. Almost in an instant, he located the place where Ximen Ye was hiding.

The baleful qi in his body seethed and flowed into his blood-red sword. Under the enhancement of his baleful qi, the blood-red sword emanated a bizarre and evil red glow amidst the dark.

He swung his sword and pointed at Ximen Ye's location. The vast land trembled and the mountains swayed as if millions of troops were trampling across this place. The tip of his sword seemed to have pierced through heaven and earth. In the next moment, countless ear-splitting roars of a blood dragon filled the entire heavenly dwelling space.

A blood-red sword light shot out from his sword. It split into ten and then split into a hundred. In a matter of seconds, there were already one million rays of sword light.

When his sword qi swept across the place, innumerable rifts appeared in the hollow space. Layers of darkness were literally torn off and Ximen Ye who concealed himself within it was forced to reveal himself with just a single sword attack from Ning Fan!

*Puke*

After coughing out mouthfuls of blood, Ximen Ye retreated one hundred steps. His bun was cut making his long black hair scatter and dance wildly in the wind.

He was inwardly astonished by Ning Fan's sword attack that forced him to reveal himself. However, it was within his expectations.

As a matter of fact, the reason why he concealed himself in the darkness was to activate the power of his second divine star which was a little unique. It was called the Divine Star of Seven Sounds. It would take some time for him to completely activate the power of this divine star with his Divine Transformation Realm cultivation base.

He drew a mysterious diagram of a sound wave in the air with both of his hands and conjured a seven-stringed guzheng with his void power. He carried it in his arms as traces of an ancient melody echoed from his fingertips.

Wherever the melody passed through, the sword light would crumble. At this moment, Ximen Ye stood in midair. It looked like he was able to compete with the sun and the moon hanging above the sky.

Suddenly, an immense sense of danger rose within Ning Fan, making him retreat instinctively.

At the moment he flew backwards, Ximen Ye muttered the first chant.

"The first sound of the Seven Sounds, The Sound of the Five Elements!"

His speed of plucking the strings increased and the devilish melody burned like fire. In the places where the melody passed by, columns of black flames emerged. Meanwhile, cold ice fell from the sky as wind and sand blew violently and thunder boomed in the sky. The entire area was also filled with thick mist.

"A Mortal Void Realm technique!"

Ning Fan's eyes shone with solemnity. This devilish melody which manipulates the five elements was clearly a fatal attack at the Mortal Void Realm. Being hit by any one of the elements was the same as being struck by a Mortal Void Realm attack.

Each of the sound waves travelled towards him, carrying unstoppable destructive force. However, since a sound wave was intangible, how could it be fended off?

There were ten thousand traces of dark light shining upon Ximen Ye's head which made his presence look regal. At this moment, no one would be able to tell that the melody he produced with his guzheng carried an infinite amount of killing intent.

As the devilish melody swept across the area, the soul of the great land that Ning Fan had extracted suddenly dispersed. His Soul Extraction Technique failed, causing his aura to regress to the Peak Divine Transformation Realm.

*Zheng*

As Ximen Ye increased his pace of plucking strings, the sound waves turned into physical waves, cancelling out all five elements!

The first sound of the Seven Sounds – The Sound of the Five Elements could neutralize all the five elements beneath the heavens!

In order to fend it off, one must never use techniques of the five elements. The only choice was to use means that did not consist of the five elements.

Ning Fan who was dressed in white robes looked like a silver moon. His cold eyes were deep and bright like stars.

He did not know many techniques that did not make use of the five elements. However, he knew there was one technique which could allow him to fend off this devilish sound of the five elements.

To break the five elements, I shall conjure five graves!

"Wind as the Wood Dragon, land as the Earth Dragon, lightning as the Golden Dragon, fire as the Fire Dragon, ice as the Water Dragon…

"Upon the death of these five dragons, the black dragon rises! When the five elements die, the five graves emerge!"

Ning Fan's fingers moved rapidly, creating a series of abstruse and mysterious hand seals. At the same time, he activated his Fu Li Demon Blood to help in casting this technique.

Every time he muttered the chant, a one thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) tomb would appear above his head. The shadows of dragons soared around it.

The five tombs represented the five elements respectively. This technique held the secret of life and death. Upon the appearance of the five tombstones, Ximen Ye was suddenly stunned. The first string on his seven-stringed guzheng broke!

At the same time, the devilish sound of the five elements faded!

"The Five Graves of the Dragon Burial Technique! This is the lost demon ancestral blood technique of the Black Dragon Race! How are you able to use it?!"

Looking at the five large tombstones which were falling above his head, Ximen Ye's eyes widened. He immediately plucked the second string of his guzheng.

"The second sound of the Seven Sounds, the Sound of the Four Beasts!"

The Sound of the Four Beasts specialized in restraining cultivators who possessed the blood of the Azure Dragon Race, White Tiger Race, Vermilion Bird Race and Black Tortoise Race!

*Zheng*

Traces of sound waves which seethed with murderous intent turned into runes that took the shape of a dragon and crashed against the five tombstones.

The massive force of the falling tombstones was strong and violent. Upon collision, they pulverized countless sound waves.

However, the more runes the sound waves created they encountered, the more illusory the black dragon of the tombstones became. Within a few breaths, the black dragon on the first tombstone faded and the tombstone exploded into pieces!

"The third sound of the Seven Sounds, the Sound of Mountain Extraction!"

*Zheng*

At the moment he strummed his guzheng, a devilish melody that carried the aura of wild and turbulent waves that were strong enough to move mountains and sink an island, destroyed the remaining four tombstones!

"The fourth sound of the Seven Sounds, the Sound of Thousands of Swords!"

*Zheng*

When he played this melody, a magical sound conjured one million rays of sword light which plunged towards Ning Fan, drowning the latter in a sea of swords.

Ximen Ye's magical melodies were crafty and hard to repel. Each of the melodies was able to break unique techniques.

As he saw Ning Fan being buried under the sea of swords, Ximen Ye let out a cold snort. He then said in a disdainful tone.

"You could only withstand four of my magical sounds? It seems like there's no need for me to use the three remaining sounds."

"Are you done blabbering?"

A cold chuckle was heard under the sea of swords.

He would admit that the art of the Seven Sounds that Ximen Ye displayed was indeed unique. However, it seemed to be a little too early to say that he could kill him with it.

If anyone could see through the one million rays of sword light, they would be able to witness an extraordinary sight.

As the magical melody resounded, the one million swords that the melody transformed gathered and became nine streams of swords. Ning Fan stood composedly above the streams of the river. There were multiple rays of sword light flying past along his skin every second. However, none of them dared to pierce through him.

This magical sound might be strong, but it did not contain a sword intent.

On the other hand, Ning Fan's sword intent was the Immortal Entrapping Sword Intent which had attained the Large Accomplishment. It was the greatest sword intent of all kinds of swords. With this sword intent, how would the sword qi of an ordinary sword cultivator dare to hurt him?!

Ning Fan gently lifted one of his fingers which seemed to carry an unimaginable power that could wipe out everything and cause a stir in the heavens.

When he pointed it, the world within the heavenly dwelling space trembled. Mountains collapsed. The land cracked. The sky shattered.

"Heaven Breaking Sword Finger - the first and second stage!"

Amidst the destruction of heaven and earth, a blinding sword light shot out from his finger turned into one million rays of sword light which he then stretched into one million sword threads.

Threads of swords filled the sky. The swords that were conjured by the melody disintegrated. When Ximen Ye saw Ning Fan whose body was coiled with sword threads, his cold eyes widened with surprise. He then summoned darkness that wrapped around his body.

Without any hesitation, he cast his guzheng aside and ran!

At the next moment, one million sword threads bombarded Ximen Ye's direction. Heaven and earth was turned into a place as awful as a purgatory.

Under the barrage of the sword threads, the guzheng which was condensed using void power was immediately broken. Ximen Ye's physical body was shredded to blood mist and he disappeared without leaving a shadow.

Ten breaths later, the sword threads faded. Above the ruins, a ball of black light condensed and Ximen Ye reappeared. His physical body had reformed. Doubtlessly, it was the Indestructible Body of Incarnation Technique!

Even though Ximen Ye was able to resist Ning Fan's Sword Finger technique with his incarnation, he still suffered a great deal of damage. Amazement filled his eyes for the very first time.

"Sword Finger! You actually have the Sword Finger inheritance from the Sword Ancestor!"

It was really beyond Ximen Ye's expectations that his Art of Seven Sounds which allowed him to defeat all of his rivals in the same cultivation realm as him would be destroyed by Ning Fan with just a single finger.

Besides, he had never imagined that the number of secret arts that Ning Fan had was not any lesser than him who was a prodigy of an aristocratic family.

"Ximen Ye, continue to fight me!"

Ning Fan kept both of his swords. Even though his whole body was stained with blood, his robes remained intact.

On the other hand, although Ximen Ye did not have any external injuries after he withstood Ning Fan's attack using his incarnation, his robes were tattered and he looked worn out.

Ximen Ye had used his incarnation which was the incarnation of night. Ning Fan made a step forward. His body gave out masses of black qi and turned dark like concentrated black ink, gradually becoming illusory.

When Ximen Ye saw what was happening to Ning Fan, his pride was crushed!

The thing that made him proud the most was that he managed to comprehend the Incarnation Technique and constructed his incarnation of night when he was just at the Void Refinement Realm.

Ning Fan, however, was able to use the Incarnation Technique while he was at the Divine Transformation Realm. It immediately made Ximen Ye feel that his achievement was rather insignificant.

"Ximen Ye, continue to fight me!"

Ning Fan had grown tired of showy and stylish techniques. He stepped forward and disappeared into black smoke with a puff. In the next second, he was already right in front of Ximen Ye, swinging his fists.

Ximen Ye was also enraged. His cultivation realm was obviously higher than Ning Fan's but he was surpassed by the latter in almost every aspect. He disliked this feeling!

"Zhou Ming! You certainly can't be my opponent!"

*Rumble*

Abandoning all kinds of fashionable techniques, the both of them battled against each other with only their fists.

Both of them were cultivators with the Jade Life Body Refining Realm. Each of their punches and kicks carried force that could break mountains and lands.

While alternating between striking and guarding, Ximen Ye conjured a giant black sword with his void power. He wielded it and cut the sky in half, suppressing Ning Fan with his mighty strength.

While alternating between charging and dodging, golden purple mist coiled around Ning Fan's body. Wherever the mist passed by, the giant sword would be eroded and disintegrate. Even Ximen Ye could not avoid suffering serious damage from this.

Both of them revealed their incarnations. Even though they used their incarnations to receive most of the damage during their fight, they were still unable to avoid being wounded.

This kind of hand-to-hand combat lasted for an entire day. During the first few hours, Ning Fan's body techniques were inferior to Ximen Ye's. Thus, he did not go on the offense a lot and only played defensively most of the time.

In the following few hours, Ximen Ye's injuries got more severe and his strength weakened. Ning Fan, on the other hand, was as spirited as a dragon and as fierce as a tiger. Each of his punches was powerful!

Ximen Ye finally realized why Ning Fan's courage went up as the battle progressed.

It was because Ning Fan's incarnation had already reached the state where it could heal itself while his own incarnation was still at the initial stage.

Currently, Ning Fan was covered in blood from head to toe. However, he did not seem to recognize pain. He continued to throw his fists, just like an insane devil who could annihilate the world.

With a single step, his incarnation dispersed. With another step, his body recondensed.

In between the dispersal and recondensation, he carried the spirit of the saying which goes: It's better to be a shard of jade than a whole tile. As he continued to battle on, his body refining realm which was on the verge of achieving the next breakthrough had finally broken through!

Now, his Jade Life Body Refining Realm had advanced to the Fourth Level from the peak of the Third Level. All it took was just a bloody physical battle with Ximen Ye!

*Bang*

The force of Ning Fan's punches grew stronger for every punch he unleashed . To Ximen Ye's surprise, his strength was completely at a disadvantage.

It wasn't merely because his strength had been greatly depleted or he lacked a self-healing ability like Ning Fan, but also because Ning Fan had broken through the bottleneck of his body refining realm during the battle!

Seeing Ning Fan's punches which got stronger to the point where his incarnation could barely defend himself against his punches, Ximen Ye's eyes turned grim. He had no choice but to admit that he had lost to Ning Fan once more in a prolonged physical combat!

For the first time, he began to contemplate.

If Ning Fan breaks through to the Void Refinement Realm, how strong and powerful would he be?!

If Ning Fan attains the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm, would he, Ximen Ye, be able to become Ning Fan's rival?!

He did not have a clear answer!

For the first time, Ximen Ye who had always been arrogant and proud failed to see any hope of winning against Ning Fan!

*Rumble*

Just as he was distracted by his own thoughts, Ning Fan hurled one of his punches towards him, hitting him right on his chest.

The strength of Ning Fan's punch gave him a wrong impression. The pain was extremely excruciating as if he had been slammed by a ten thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) tall mountain.

His 24 ribs were all broken by this punch.

His original body was beaten out of his incarnation which was surrounded by darkness.

This is bad.

Fresh blood violently gushed out from his mouth. He knew that he had already shown signs of losing when he was caught off guard earlier.

However, it was not anybody else's fault but his own as he lost his composure and focus in the middle of a battle!

*Dong* *Dong* *Dong*

Heavy and vigorous punches landed consecutively on his chest. This time, his broken bones and internal organs were pulverized altogether. Even though his physical body was at the Peak Jade Life Body Refining Realm, he was completely mutilated.

The bones and tendons of his whole body were like a rack that had broken into pieces. He could no longer move a single muscle on his limbs.

Ning Fan lifted his leg and stomped on him with an imposing manner, sending him crashing into the ground from midair.

Mercilessly, he turned into a ray of lightning which flashed to the ground and made another stomp on Ximen Ye's chest. The force of his foot broke all of the latter's defenses!

*Boom*

After that, the broken sky within the heavenly dwelling space shattered. Within the southern tower, two men whose robes were soaked in blood appeared.

Ximen Ye was already so badly beaten up that he fell on the ground with a thump. His eyes were filled with resentment.

As for Ning Fan, he stepped on Ximen Ye's dantian with his foot that was stained with pieces of flesh. As long as he exerted enough force, the latter's clone would certainly die!

*Hiss*

Every Divine Transformation Realm cultivator in the southern tower was filled with disbelief. None of them batted their eyes as every single one of them was completely stunned by what they had seen.

They originally thought that it would take just a matter of seconds for Ximen Ye to get rid of Ning Fan with his superior capabilities. However, the victor and loser of the fight was only determined after an entire day. It was enough to show how difficult the battle was and that the both of them were almost on par with each other.

The cultivators of the Ximen Family already found it difficult to believe that the battle would actually take such a long time.

However, what filled them with even more disbelief was that their dignified 'Emperor Xi', Ximen Ye, would be in such a terrible state after the fight. He was now like a half-dead dog being trampled upon on the ground by Ning Fan.

A gust of cold wind blew across the hall.

Ning Fan's eyes were bloodshot. He was already in a frenzy. He did not even conceal any of his baleful qi. With just a single glance, the cultivators of the Ximen Family retreated in unison. Some of them even had their jaws clattering in fear. To them, he was just like an invincible ferocious beast.

What kind of aura was that? It even carried the pride of defeating Ximen Ye!

"Don't hurt my lord!"

"Impudent! How dare you hurt my Young Master Emperor Xi?! If you ascend to the Northern Heaven in the future, you will certainly be hunted down by our entire Ximen Aristocratic Family!"

The cultivators of the Ximen Family gradually recovered from the shock and began to spit harsh words and threatened Ning Fan, trying to save Ximen Ye.

However, no one there was bold enough to step forward and fight against Ning Fan. The current him was just too terrifying!

"S-Shut up! Get lost! Everybody, get lost!"

Ximen Ye kept coughing out blood while he was beneath Ning Fan's foot. He could not accept the fact that he had lost to him. He could not accept that his subordinates whom he despised would use the most low-class method – threatening others to save him.

In the past, he was the one who trampled upon others. There was never once he was under anybody's foot!

He was discontented. However, he was unwilling to rely on the Ximen Aristocratic Family to oppress Ning Fan!

He wanted to wait. He wanted to wait until the day when Ning Fan truly attains the Void Fragmentation Realm and defeat him to clear himself of all of the shame and humiliation that he suffered today. Otherwise, this humiliation would haunt him for the rest of his life!

"Ximen Ye, you've lost." Ning Fan's tone was flat and his words were simple but they made Ximen Ye unable to refute them.

Ning Fan could have crushed Ximen Ye with his foot. However, the latter did not use any Void Fragmentation Realm divine ability to suppress Ning Fan from the beginning until the end of the fight. He only used his Half-Step Void Refinement Realm strength. Therefore, Ning Fan did not take the life of his clone.

"Why didn't you kill me?! Why?! The loser should die!"

The fact that Ning Fan did not kill him was indeed much more humiliating.

He mustered up whatever strength he had left and forcefully moved his palm and slammed it on his forehead!

The body of his clone then disintegrated. After all, he was more willing to die than be humiliated.

"Zhou Ming! Today, you humiliated me. I will remember this. You are my only target. I won't hurt any innocents. I, Ximen Ye, am a person who keeps his words. As promised, Bei Xiaoman is yours! However, if you dare to lay a finger on my subordinates, I will certainly make you pay for it and make sure that you regret it. Mark my words!"

"Humph!"

Ning Fan let out a cold snort. Before this Ximen Ye 'died', he still wanted to displease Ning Fan by threatening him. It was indeed loathsome.

From the start, he did not harbor the thought of eradicating the cultivators of the Ximen Family. If this group of cultivators are killed in the Rain World, it would then be a serious matter.

Besides, this battle was just a personal grudge between Ximen Ye and Ning Fan. It had nothing to do with this group of Divine Transformation Realm cultivators at all.

"Get lost!"

Ning Fan bellowed coldly. The 48 Divine Transformation Realm cultivators of the Ximen Family almost jumped out of their skin and hurriedly left, returning to the Northern Heaven.

All of a sudden, there were only Ning Fan, Bei Xiaoman, Lu Qing and Stone Warrior left in the main hall.

"I hope I'm not dreaming… Fellow Daoist Zhou actually defeated the clone of Emperor Xi. That is to say, Fellow Daoist Zhou already has the capability to put up a fight against a Void Refinement Realm expert if Fellow Daoist Zhou goes all-out! *Clicks tongue* If this matter were to be known, I suppose it will greatly astonish the Endless Sea." Lu Qing praised incessantly.

"I would like this matter to remain as a secret…" Ning Fan shook his head. This time, the incident was related to Bei Xiaoman's marriage contract, the Lost World Palace and the Ximen Aristocratic Family. If it were to be spread, it would certainly taint the reputation of the Ximen Aristocratic Family.

Although Ximen Ye might tolerate having his marriage partner being taken away by an insignificant being of the mortal world, the Ximen Aristocratic Family might react otherwise.

The current Ning Fan was still unable to bear the wrath of the entire Ximen Aristocratic Family… He was still too weak. After defeating Ximen Ye, he did not feel the slightest hint of joy. All he did was laugh mockingly at himself.

The person he had defeated was just Ximen Ye's clone. If Ximen Ye comes with his true body, Ning Fan would probably not even have the chance to retaliate when faced with his Void Fragmentation Realm strength.

"The difference between me and a true prodigy is too vast… Unless I attain the Void Fragmentation Realm…"

Ning Fan shook his head. From now on, he would no longer call himself a genius or a prodigy. There were still too many people who were stronger than him.

"Zhou Ming, are you alright? Why did you bleed so much?!"

"I'm fine. I'm just a little dizzy. I probably lost too much blood…"

Ning Fan looked at Bei Xiaoman who still had tear stains on her face and felt his heart soften. This time, he did not smile anymore.

It was beyond logic and above reason that Bei Xiaoman would actually shed tears for him.

*Pak*

Ning Fan's mind went blank and his vision turned white. Then, he passed out just like that and fell right towards Bei Xiaoman.

Before he lost his consciousness, he had two thoughts in his mind.

Firstly, Ximen Ye was a strong opponent.

Secondly, the place where he fell was truly soft and tender although it was not too ample…

Bei Xiaoman was at a loss of what to do next. When she saw Ning Fan faint, her face paled from being too worried.

However, when Ning Fan collapsed into her arms, only then did she feel that he was still actually breathing.

The reason why he would pass out was due to him losing a lot of blood and exhaustion…

"Detestable! Stinky Zhou Ming! Since you are not dead, why are you trying to scare me? You are really detestable!"

"Get your dirty face off of me! You are leaning against my... my…"

Bei Xiaoman's face turned red. Ning Fan was really good at falling where he should by shoving his head onto her chest.

Did he do it on purpose?

However, Bei Xiaoman did not dare to irresponsibly throw Ning Fan on the ground and ignore him since his injuries were not minor. The only thing she could do was to let him bury his head in her chest, greedily breathing in her fragrance.

"Mistress, Revered Ming's injuries are too serious. From my perspective, he must be treated immediately…" Stone Warrior advised.

After all, he had a friendly relationship with Ning Fan. Besides, if it wasn't for Ning Fan, Bei Xiaoman would certainly have been captured and brought back to the Northern Heaven this time.

Thus, he was unwilling to see any accidents to befall him.

"Mm. I know. I'll treat him. I have something that I haven't finished using…"

Bei Xiaoman clenched her teeth. Actually, her scarlet dragon had yet to be completely severed. She had only managed to cut off half of it using up only half of the black crystal that her mother gave her.

The other half of the crystal was naturally precious to her. However, compared to healing Ning Fan's wounds, her scarlet dragon did not seem to be something significant.

"Fine. I will figure out how to deal with my scarlet dragon later. Now, I have to make this Stinky Zhou Ming regain his consciousness! Humph! He is my human cauldron. If he dies just like this, then I will suffer a loss!"

Bei Xiaoman carried Ning Fan with her petite body and walked to the top floor of the southern tower.

That floor was her boudoir.

In the Ximen Aristocratic Family of the Northern Heaven.

Within a stone chamber, Ximen Ye was in the middle of understanding the next bottleneck of his cultivation realm by meditating. Outside the chamber, countless cultivators were patiently and respectfully waiting for him.

Among the cultivators who were waiting for him, there was even the head of the Ximen Aristocratic Family, Ximen Feng!

He was a True Immortal Realm old monster and also the father of Ximen Ye.

Looking at the entrance of the stone chamber, the eyes of Ximen Ye's father were filled with pride and contentment. He had nine sons in total and Ximen Ye was doubtlessly the most outstanding one. Moreover, Ximen Ye had even become one of the Four Sons of the Northern Heaven and people even addressed him as Emperor Xi.

It was conceivable that tens of thousands of years later, Ximen Ye would definitely be the next True Immortal Realm expert in the family, the next head of the Ximen Aristocratic Family.

"Hehe. Master really has a great son, just like the saying which goes: A tiger father will not beget a dog son. Young Master Ye has already attained the Void Fragmentation Realm at just two thousand years old. In the entire Northern Heaven, he is one of very few prodigies.

"You flatter me." Ximen Feng nodded his head with pleasure. He felt deeply satisfied by the compliments and praises from everyone.

"I heard that Young Master Ye has split a part of his soul and descended to the mortal world to seize the fourth mistress of the Lost World Palace. Will something happen down there?"

"My son has just descended onto the Rain World. What kind of thing will happen to him?" Ximen Feng replied with a displeased tone.

"No no no. Master has misunderstood my words. What I meant is whether something will happen to the others there or not. Not Young Master Ye. I'm just worried that too many people will perish by Young Master Ye's hands as he is too strong. How could anything happen to him…?"

"Haha! Well said. Only the people there will probably meet some problems or mishaps. How could my son face any problems? It doesn't matter how many people of the Rain World die. They are merely ants of the mortal world. As long as Ye Er (Ye Er 夜儿 is an affectionate way to call Ximen Ye which his father uses) is happy, he can simply kill as many as he wants." Ximen Feng casually spoke.

*Boom*

In the midst of their conversation, the stone chamber suddenly gave out a loud bang. The door of the chamber broke into pieces!

In the middle of the stone fragments and thick dust, Ximen Ye walked out of the chamber wearing a set of black robes. A stream of fresh blood could be seen flowing from a corner of his mouth. His eyes were also cold. When he had walked three steps away from the stone chamber, he suddenly coughed out blood violently and one of his knees fell to the ground.

That shocked countless cultivators of the Ximen Aristocratic Family.

"What happened?! Could it be that Young Master Ye has failed in comprehending his bottleneck?! But it is impossible to cause such a serious backlash on him. Why would Young Master Ye suffer such grievous injuries?!"

"Shut up! Ye Er wasn't wounded by anybody but himself!"

Ximen Feng's eyes shone with a cold light. He clearly noticed the palm imprint on Ximen Ye's forehead. It could not be wrong. That palm imprint was left by the Great Void Palm, the unique technique of the Ximen Family which was inherited from generation to generation.

Judging from the palm imprint, it was not directly struck on his forehead but his separated soul which caused his true body to be injured.

According to Ximen Feng's experience throughout his years of cultivation, he knew at first glance that the reason why Ximen Ye wounded himself was because something had happened to his clone in the mortal world which forced him to destroy his own separated soul.

He then spread his spirit sense and scanned across the ancestral shrine. After discovering that none of the life plates of the cultivators who followed Ximen Ye to the mortal world was broken, he felt rather curious.

Could it be that Ximen Ye has lost a fight against someone else and destroyed his own separated soul out of embarrassment?

This is the only possible explanation. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the 48 Divine Transformation Realm cultivators who were sent to protect him to take no action when he was hurt. They would have fought his enemy to death before he was even wounded.

As the saying goes, no one understands one's son better than his own father. Ximen Feng had already figured out what had mainly happened to his son.

"Was your clone defeated by a Void Refinement Realm expert?" Ximen Feng inwardly sighed. If Ximen Ye's Divine Transformation Realm clone lost to a Void Refinement Realm cultivator, he still had his ways to console him.

"No. He is… a Peak Divine Transformation Realm cultivator…" Ximen Ye said grudgingly. After his clone died, all of its memories were transferred back to his main body using a strange ability.

"What?! You, a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm clone, lost to a Peak Divine Transformation Realm cultivator of the mortal world? How is that possible?!" Ximen Feng's expression was filled with surprise. He, of course, knew the potential and capabilities of his own son very well. There was not a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator of the Northern Heaven who could defeat Ximen Ye's clone, much less the mortal world.

However, when he saw the resentful look on Ximen Ye's face, he knew that his son was not lying. If he did not lose to a person who had a lower cultivation realm than him, he would definitely not harbor such resentment.

"Who was he? Do you need Father to send people after him…?"

"No need. I want to wait for him to attain the Void Fragmentation Realm and then I will fight him once more! His name is Zhou… Ming…"

Ximen Ye clenched his teeth in hatred. Then, his vision went white and he passed out on the ground.

On the same day, the Ximen Aristocratic Family boiled in anger because of a single person – Zhou Ming!

However, Ximen Feng kept to Ximen Ye's words and did not send anyone to the mortal world to hunt Ning Fan down.

He understood his own son.

Ximen Ye was too arrogant. He had to fight Ning Fan fair and square and destroy him with his own hands. Otherwise, everything would be meaningless to him.

Countless cultivators of the Ximen Family discussed animatedly among themselves. The topic of their discussions was naturally the defeat of Ximen Ye's clone.

"At first, there is an outstanding person called Lu Bei in the Rain World. Now, there is Zhou Ming… Apparently, there are several extraordinary cultivators among the geniuses of the mortal world.

"Even Emperor Xi was also defeated by a genius of the mortal world. *clicks tongue* This Zhou Ming is really terrifying. If he has another one thousand years, perhaps he will really become a person of renown…"

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

<strong>Note:</strong>

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