Grasping Evil

In the thirteenth swamp, twelve Divine Transformation Realm cultivators including Yu Bai were heavily surrounded by blood beasts.

Except for Yu Chong'er, all of the revered elders of the Serene Heaven Palace who came to the Blood Dragon Pool this time were trapped.

In the middle of the group of beasts which was as large as a tidal wave, none of the twelve Divine Transformation Realm revered elders remained unscathed. Even the two Peak Divine Transformation Realm revered elders also had serious injuries.

The only Half-Step Void Refinement Realm revered elder in their ranks who was dressed in hemp garments, held a compass in his hand and created a Mortal Void Realm Formation Light which prevented the massive number of blood beasts from assaulting them.

The expression of the revered elder clothed in hemp garments currently looked extremely worried. Outside the formation light, a beast king which had a body as huge as a mountain was leading the blood beasts to besiege the formation light. Their constant barrage of attacks was on the brink of completely breaking the formation light.

I did not expect… that the little lady, Yu Chong'er, would actually cause such a huge trouble!

"Yu Bai! The reason why we are all trapped here is mainly because of your sister who acted recklessly by stealing the spiritual herbs in the forest where the beast king resides. If I get lucky enough to survive this, I will definitely make your younger sister pay!"

Yu Bai's face looked bitter and helpless. He was unable to refute it at all. He knew that the cause of this disaster was his younger sister.

Ten days ago, a group of revered elders of the Serene Heaven Palace were teleported to the thirteen swamp.

Just three days ago, Yu Chong'er broke away from the group and intruded the forest of the beast king on her own to steal some spiritual herbs. Unfortunately, what she did had drawn the attention of the large group of blood beasts which then surrounded her and the rest of her group members.

After that, Yu Chong'er had been struck by the beast king with its paw and fell into the pond of blood. Because she had fallen into the pond, she was transferred to the second layer, her life and death currently unknown.

Yu Bai was extremely worried about his younger sister's safety while feeling extremely guilty and embarrassed to face his Fellow Daoists.

The revered elder in hemp garments was right. If everyone dies here, Yu Bai's younger sister, Yu Chong'er, would definitely be held responsible for their deaths.

After all, was a beast king something they could mess with?

Currently, there were sixteen Divine Transformation Realm blood beasts led by a beast king attacking the formation light from outside.

Besides, under the call of the beast king which kept on producing ear-splitting roars, countless blood beasts were approaching them from every direction. They were no doubt reinforcements and there was no shortage of Wild Beasts among them.

Yu Bai's eyes were filled with despair. Currently, they were trapped in the middle of one hundred thousand blood beasts. Moreover, there were also a lot of Divine Transformation Realm blood beasts around. Even if they manage to get out of the formation light, there would probably be few of them who could return alive.

At the very least, Yu Bai knew that he did not have the strength to kill his way out of the massive group of blood beasts.

"I wonder how Brother Zhou is doing now? If he was here, we would probably have a greater chance of getting out of this alive." Yu Bai muttered to himself.

"Even if Revered Ming is here, what can he do? After all, he is just a Peak Divine Transformation Realm cultivator. When we resisted against the attack of the beast king, two of our Peak Divine Transformation Realm Fellow Daoists were wounded. Even I am incapable of gaining the upper hand against the beast king… There's no difference whether or not he is here. The strangest part of this Blood Dragon Pool is that it severs all the telepathic communication with the outside world. Otherwise, we could have requested for Lord Chu to rescue us."

The revered elder in hemp garments heaved a long sigh. He was already running out of immortal jade and magic power. Thus, it was becoming incredibly difficult for him to maintain the defensive formation light.

Once the defensive formation light fades away, it would be a life and death battle for the twelve individuals.

If any one of them manages to get out of the Blood Dragon Pool, that individual would live. To those who fail to kill their way out, their lives would end here.

Even the revered elder in hemp clothing did not have a hundred percent confidence that he could survive this, much less the other revered elders.

*Bang*

The beast king led its group of blood beasts to attack the formation light once again. Amidst the echoes of the clashes against the defensive formation, more and more cracks appeared on the surface of the formation light. It seemed like it would not be able to hold on against the beast king's assault any longer.

"My Fellow Daoists, prepare yourselves…"

The face of the revered elder who wore hemp garments revealed a determined look. The formation light was probably incapable of withstanding the next round of attacks. Once the formation light collapses, the only thing that they could do was to run for their lives. If they manage to get out of this alive, they would survive.

*Shua*

Right at the next second, a black sword ray arrived in a shocking way. It suddenly stretched out and scattered in the vast sky just like when concentrated ink permeates a piece of white paper.

Just as the sword light dispersed, tens of thousands of Gold Core Realm blood beasts were instantly crushed into powder by the sword light before they could even yelp or cry, forming a huge cloud of blood mist.

As the black sword ray filled the sky, a young man who wore black robes and had sleek black hair steadily walked past the massive group of beasts. Every time he unleashed his sword sense, the dark red shadows of the blood beasts would explode into nothingness.

Bizarre! This scene was just too bizarre!

One hundred thousand Gold Core Realm blood beasts were wiped out in a matter of seconds!

"Who is it?! Who is that person?! Could he be a senior at the Void Refinement Realm?!" Each of the Divine Transformation Realm revered elders who were despairing just now looked at the terrifying scene with their mouths agape. Their eyes lit up.

Even though their vision was obscured by the formation light and blood mist which made them unable to clearly see that young man's appearance, all of them knew that he was here to rescue them.

The strength of this black-robed young man could completely rival a senior at the Early Void Refinement Realm!

"H-He is Brother Zhou!" Yu Bai's eyes widened with disbelief.

When the heavy blood mist gradually dispersed, Yu Bai could clearly see that the black-robed young man was none other than Ning Fan!

There was no actual need for Yu Bai to remind the rest of the revered elders because everyone could recognize Ning Fan after the blood mist dispersed.

However, none of them had expected that Ning Fan was actually this strong.

What he used to instantly kill the group of beasts was obviously sword sense!

That figure seething with black qi was clearly the incarnation technique!

"Revered Ming actually has so many trump cards?!"

The revered elder in hemp garments was filled with tremendous shock as if a tempestuous storm was raging within his mind. The current Ning Fan was showing his full strength and he made him feel weak and powerless. To him, Ning Fan was invincible.

"We should get out of this formation at once and help Revered Ming kill the beasts!" A few Divine Transformation Realm cultivators uttered with excitement when they saw Ning Fan's unstoppable aura force.

"There's no need… He alone is enough…"

The expression of the revered elder in hemp clothing looked a little dispirited. He was the first person out of them all who sensed Ning Fan's baleful qi.

It was immense and heavy. By just prying into his baleful qi, his spirit sense became sullied and polluted. It was baleful qi that could only be accumulated after killing thousands of Divine Transformation Realm cultivators.

It can't be wrong! One definitely needs to kill one thousand Divine Transformation Realm cultivators or even more in order to gain baleful qi this intense!

The revered elder in hemp garments had outstanding natural talent. He had thought that he was already a genius when he managed to attain the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm within four thousand years of cultivation.

However, when he compared himself to Ning Fan, he felt that the pride he had in his achievements was nothing.

The sixteen Divine Transformation Realm blood beasts were staring dreadfully at Ning Fan.

Even the beast king felt tremendous danger from Ning Fan's presence.

The six hundred Nascent Soul Realm blood beasts which had the lowest spiritual intelligence among the group soared into the sky simultaneously and charged at Ning Fan.

Facing the incoming six hundred Nascent Soul Realm beasts, Ning Fan's eyes remained cold and detached. He released his sword sense which swept towards them. In an instant, all of them perished. Their demon bodies disintegrated splattering blood everywhere.

Killing Nascent Soul Realm creatures in an instant!

When he scanned the surroundings with his piercing cold eyes, the twelve Divine Transformation Realm revered elders felt chills running down their spines. The sixteen Divine Transformation Realm blood beasts retreated a few steps out of instinct. All of them were stricken with fear.

*Roar*

Just as the group of beasts were about to be overwhelmed with fear, the beast king let out a terrifying roar and activated the power of its bloodline. Its roar gradually made the other blood beasts cast away their fear. Their eyes became fierce again.

An Early Divine Transformation Realm blood beast leapt into the sky. It had a body that was as huge as a hill which charged towards Ning Fan as if it was not afraid of death anymore. The force of the clash was enough to flatten the summit of a mountain!

*Bang*

The one thousand zhang* (3.33 m per zhang) large blood beast crashed into Ning Fan's body. Wait. To be more precise, it crashed into Ning Fan's palm. It created a loud bang which shook the land and the mountains.

In the face of the forceful impact from a Divine Transformation Realm blood beast, Ning Fan only reached out one of his palms and pushed the lower jaw of the beast upward like how one pushes a light object away.

The force he used to push the one thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) large beast actually stopped it from moving forward!

In terms of strength alone, Ning Fan who looked thin and weak was in fact multiple times stronger than an Early Divine Transformation Realm beast. This sight was just too unbelievable.

When Ning Fan stretched his five fingers outward, the terrifying force of his fingers created five slashes in the air.

The blood beast was torn apart by the five slashes and yelped in pain. Its enormous body was literally torn into six parts by Ning Fan and it died instantly.

"All of you, come at me together!"

Ning Fan coldly uttered. He made a step forward and a great and irresistible aura force spread across the area.

Two Mid Divine Transformation Realm blood beasts pounced on him together at the same time. However, Ning Fan blasted them away with his fists. They were instantly crushed into pieces by a massive force that was strong enough to move mountains and fill up the sea.

A Late Divine Transformation Realm beast tried to flee in fear but Ning Fan directly caught its gigantic tail and tore it into two.

His physical body was now at the peak of the Third Level of the Jade Life Body Refining Realm. With the help of his corpse devil body, his physical body's strongest state was even stronger than the Peak Level of the Jade Life Body Refining Realm!

Every time he threw a fist, a single Wild Beast would certainly die.

Trampling upon the bones and corpses of the beasts, Ning Fan's aura force intensified. The remaining two Peak Divine Transformation Realm blood beasts and the beast king were fleeing for their lives disregarding everything else.

They... were terrified!

Moreover, the beast king could sense the qi of twenty other beast kings that had died in Ning Fan's hands from his presence.

Its instincts were telling it that the black-robed young man before its eyes must not be provoked!

"Five graves, appear!"

Ning Fan's eyes gave off a cold light. He raised one of his hands, extending his five fingers and clawed at the air. Suddenly, five tombstones of the black dragon emerged in the sky and fell rapidly upon the three beasts.

Two of the tombstones crashed into the two Peak Divine Transformation Realm blood beasts. Upon collision, the impact it made literally crushed the two of them into an unrecognizable bloody mush.

As for the remaining three tombstones, all of them struck the body of the beast king. Despite the hardness of the scales and the shell on the body of the beast king, it was still smashed by the tombstones. Blood gushed out from its body which formed a stream of blood.

*ROAR*

The beast king became mad!

It knew that it would not be able to live any longer after being wounded so seriously by Ning Fan. Thus, the only option it had was to fight its opponent to the death.

However, Ning Fan did not even give it a chance to act. He stepped forward and fluttered his demon wings. With an extremely incredible speed, he appeared above the head of the beast king. Without any hesitation, he raised one of his feet and stomped!

*Bang*

The gigantic skull of the beast king was squashed by Ning Fan's foot. Its remaining body then lifelessly fell to the ground.

*Hiss*

The twelve Divine Transformation Realm revered elders sucked in a mouthful of cold breath at the same time.

It had only been tens of breaths from the time Ning Fan came to their rescue to the annihilation of the entire herd of blood beasts.

Within such a short period of time, he eliminated the beasts with abilities and techniques that would shock the world.

Since he had wiped out the entire herd of beasts and saved their lives, they should have removed the formation light and thanked him for his help.

However, all of the revered elders including the revered elder who wore hemp garments were trembling in fear. Faced with the current black-robed Ning Fan who appeared to be extremely cold-blooded, all of them were scared of him from the bottom of their hearts.

The revered elder who wore hemp garments did not dare to remove the formation light!

He was afraid! The current Ning Fan was more terrifying than the one hundred thousand blood beasts which had surrounded them earlier!

When he faced the beast king, he felt that there was still a slim chance to survive. However, when he faced the current Ning Fan, he felt that death was inevitable!

Ning Fan's spirit sense already broke through to the Void Refinement Realm. Therefore, when he used his Sense Soul Incarnation Art and manifested his black incarnation, he would naturally have Early Void Refinement Realm magic power.

With a wave of his sleeve, he drew all the dragon blood floating in the air to him. From this massacre, he obtained nearly two hundred drops of dragon blood. Ning Fan calmly walked towards the formation light. When he pressed against the formation light with one of his fingers, it immediately shattered!

"Are you all afraid of me?" Ning Fan asked with a cold tone.

"N-No. We don't dare to…" Each of the Divine Transformation Realm revered elders hurriedly explained to Ning Fan except for Yu Bai.

Although they said that they didn't dare to be afraid of him, the phrase 'didn't dare to' already carried the trait of being fearful.

"Brother Zhou's actual strength really amazes me excessively…" Yu Bai smiled helplessly. He had never expected that the individual he befriended was actually an expert as terrifying as this.

"Rest assured. Since my intention was to rescue you all, I will not kill anyone. Hmm? Why isn't Miss Chong'er here?" Ning Fan's tone might sound indifferent, but it was filled with a hint of concern. When Yu Bai heard his words, the fear he had for Ning Fan slightly diminished and sadness began to well up inside his heart.

"Chong'er… I'm afraid she isn't alive anymore… She fell into the pond of blood and has been there for three days. Even though her life plate isn't broken yet, she…"

Yu Bai then briefly recounted what had happened earlier. When he said that Yu Chong'er fell into the second layer of the Blood Dragon Pool after being swatted into the pond of blood, even Ning Fan gently knitted his brows.

The second layer was a domain where even Void Refinement Realm blood beasts existed. Since Yu Chong'er had fallen into the blood pond for three days now, she probably would have died on the first or second day.

However, since Yu Bai said that she was still alive, perhaps she had some kind of means to protect or conceal herself which kept her alive.

Even so, if she continues to be trapped in the second layer without being saved, it was difficult to ensure that she would not die.

"The Blood Dragon Pool is open for one month. Within this month, we can neither leave this place nor perform telepathic communication with the outside world… There are still twenty days before all of us can leave and request help from Lord Chu. However, I'm afraid Chong'er would be dead by that time."

"Morally speaking, her recklessness had brought a life-threatening danger to all of you, Fellow Daoists. Her mistake deserves no pity from anyone even if she has to die a hundred times as a punishment. But she is still my younger sister after all. I, Yu Bai, have decided to enter the second layer to save her. Even if I am just going to die in the second layer… I won't regret my choice as it's my fate! I still have some spiritual herbs in my storage pouch. I have been collecting them to cure my mother's illness. Brother Zhou, I'm sorry to trouble you but could you please help me give this to my Yu Family? If you can help me with this, meeting Brother Zhou will be the best thing that has happened in my life even if our friendship might end here!"

Yu Bai's expression looked as if he was no longer concerned about his own life and death. He was truly a dutiful son and a virtuous brother.

He untied his storage pouch and passed it to Ning Fan. His actions seemed to carry the meaning of entrusting his final belongings to the latter. However, Ning Fan did not reach out his hand to receive the pouch. Instead, he suddenly turned around, facing the direction of the blood pond. He made a step forward and turned into a trace of purple smoke and entered.

"It should not be difficult for me to bring her back. However, if you are the one who will go to the second layer, you won't be able to do anything at all."

As soon as Yu Bai heard Ning Fan's words, his face greatly changed. It was already too late to stop Ning Fan.

If Ning Fan doesn't come out alive and dies down there because of his younger sister, he would never be able to absolve himself from his guilt.

"Brother Zhou!"

Yu Bai tried to follow him so that he could help but he was stopped by the other revered elders. They hurriedly advised him not to do it.

"If you go, you will only be a burden to him… Revered Ming is a man with great strength. As long as he is cautious enough, even the Void Refinement Realm ferocious beasts in the second layer won't simply attack him. Besides, Revered Ming knows his limits. If he can't rescue your younger sister, he won't waste his life for nothing."

When they finished speaking, everyone there remained silent.

Those who were still thinking of Ning Fan as an inferior villain a moment ago no longer harbored such an absurd thought right now.

How could a man who is willing to put his own life at risk to save a friend's younger sister be a villain?

At the very least, Ning Fan's deed made this group of revered elders of the righteous path ashamed of themselves.

"It's ridiculous. We claimed ourselves to be cultivators of the righteous path but we aren't as good as a devil cultivator… Is there really a need to insist on the difference between the righteous and devil paths?"

The Dao Hearts of all the Divine Transformation Realm revered elders began to waver.

When Ning Fan leapt into the blood pond, he increased his movement speed to the maximum and dived straight down into the second layer.

The reason why he decided to save Yu Chong'er was not because he yearned for her beauty or a good reputation or anything at all.

He just did it because he wanted to repay Yu Bai a favor for welcoming and treating him cordially when he got up the striding bull.

Of course, he would not sacrifice his own life in order to save Yu Chong'er. However, if it is within his capabilities, he would certainly do his best.

"Puppets, appear!"

Nearly at the same moment he arrived at the second layer of the Blood Dragon Pool, he summoned his three Void Refinement Realm spiritual puppets without any hesitation.

With his incarnation that had a combat strength of Void Refinement Realm and his three Void Refinement Realm spiritual puppets, he should be fine as long as he acts quickly even if he is in the domain of the second layer.

As he descended to the ground, he spread his spirit sense to study the surroundings. To his surprise, he actually found quite a lot of signs of battle within the vicinity of one hundred thousand li* (500m per li). They seemed to have been left by Yu Chong'er.

Luckily, the signs of battle were the aftermath of Divine Transformation Realm beings battling each other. Judging from the aftermath, Yu Chong'er seemed to have been pursued by Divine Transformation Realm blood beasts. Fortunately, she didn't meet any of the Void Refinement Realm beasts when she fell to the second layer. Otherwise, she would be dead by now.

Even so, it was still extremely dangerous for a female cultivator at the Early Divine Transformation Realm to travel in the second layer.

"She has been in the second layer for the past three days. I should be able to find her from the direction she has fled to. If I am unable to find her, then I should quickly return to the first layer."

Ning Fan fluttered his wings and propelled himself forward. Along with his three spiritual puppets, they formed into four rays of travelling light heading to the direction where Yu Chong'er had fled to.

All the blood beasts he met along the way were mostly at the Nascent Soul Realm and above. After flying continuously for half a day, he met at least fifty Divine Transformation Realm blood beasts which approached him to block his path. However, Ning Fan and his three spiritual puppets eliminated all of them using techniques involving thunder and lightning.

Ning Fan had used his body's strongest power in the first layer while dealing with the beast kings and their herds. While in the second layer, he used all kinds of strength he possessed including those of his spiritual puppets.

After travelling for half a day, the messy traces of blood along the way became fresher. They seemed to have been left there not long ago.

In a remote valley, the roars of countless beasts echoed into the sky like a thunderclap. A silver-armored young lady who was draped with a black cloak was surrounded. Her robes which revealed her delicate body were stained with blood and her face was pale as if she had suffered a heavy loss of blood. Holding a tuft of spiritual herbs in her hand, she stared hopelessly at the ferocious beasts which had heavily surrounded her.

"O-One hundred and forty Wild Beasts and three Void Refinement Realm blood beasts… Even if I have the Heaven Deceiving Cloak which my master gave me, I won't be able to escape… What should I do…?"

The young lady pursed her pale lips in worry. Her heart was filled with resentment.

It took her a lot of effort to get this tuft of spiritual herbs. It took her a lot of effort to find some hope of curing her mother. The reason why she went to the forest where the beast king resided was to get this tuft of spiritual herbs…

If I'm unable to get out of this alive, who is going to save my mother…?

"My brother must hate me to the core. I was too reckless and because of me, I have caused such a huge trouble to everyone…"

When the young lady noticed that the herd of beasts was charging towards her after the three Void Refinement Realm blood beasts let out commanding roars, the remaining blood immediately drained from her face.

"No! Don't…"

*Chi*

A black-colored cloud spread out above the sky and countless sword light suddenly poured down on the remote valley. Each of the Nascent Soul Realm blood beasts immediately disintegrated!

At the next moment, Yu Chong'er felt that her body became very light as if she was no longer standing on the ground.

When she lowered her head to take a look, she noticed that she was being lifted. A person had carried her in his strong arms.

That person's palm was boldly pressing against one of her breasts. However, the owner of the palm did not seem to feel anything was wrong with his actions.

Yu Chong'er turned around and looked. Her small mouth opened slightly and stared at the person in surprise. It was because the person who saved her was actually Ning Fan.

A lump formed in her throat and she began to weep faintly.

"Z-Zhou Ming, why did you come to save me…? I-I…I don't want to be saved by you!"

"Be quiet for a while!"

Ning Fan's expression was grim. His entire focus was on the ferocious beasts all around them. How would he have the time to care about the childish thoughts in Yu Chong'er's mind?

"Kill!"

As soon as Ning Fan uttered that command, his three Void Refinement Realm puppets fearlessly threw out punches. Regardless of which ferocious beast was struck by their fists, they would either die instantly or suffer grave injuries. In an instant, the herd of blood beasts was in chaos.

As for Ning Fan, he held Yu Chong'er even more tightly in his arms and escaped with his three puppets without any delay. He did not plan to stop for anything, not even for a second.

Was it a joke? There were three Void Refinement Realm blood beasts and more than one hundred Divine Transformation Realm blood beasts. Even if Ning Fan had plenty of trump cards, he would not be so foolish as to risk his life against them.

Moreover, once the battle begins, it would certainly draw the attention of even more ferocious beasts. When that happens, it would be even more difficult to escape from the massive herd of beasts.

"V-Void Refinement Realm spiritual puppets?! And you actually have three of them? How is this possible?!"

Yu Chong'er snuggled in Ning Fan's embrace while her little face was filled with shock.

She could not imagine that Ning Fan, the man whom she despised, would actually have such powerful spiritual puppets. Even the aristocratic families of the Rain World didn't necessarily have Void Refinement Realm spiritual puppets!

She had lots of questions. However, she knew that getting out of there alive was their first priority right now and it was not the time for questions.

She gently turned her head and looked behind them. When she saw the ferocious beasts which were chasing after them relentlessly, she felt her scalp tingle. Among them, a Void Refinement Realm blood beast which had the fastest speed was just three hundred zhang* (3.33m per zhang) behind Ning Fan. Yu Chong'er could vaguely feel its fiery breath on her face.

Moreover, she also noticed that the enormous beast had opened its terrifying mouth. A ball of red light was forming between its jaws. Evidently, it was going to blast out something at Ning Fan.

"Be careful!" She cried out in alarm.

In the next moment, a blinding red light engulfed Yu Chong'er, Ning Fan and his three spiritual puppets.

*Roar*

An evil and pleased roar reverberated throughout the dense forest.

From the perspective of the Void Refinement Realm blood beast, that ray of red light was more than enough to eliminate Ning Fan and his group.

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

<strong>Note:</strong>

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