Grasping Evil

Fragments after fragments and layers after layers, a great amount of memories entered Ning Fan's Sea of Consciousness.

Compared to the memory inheritance he got from Emperor Ancient Chaos, the amount of memories within this Crystal of Inheritance was not a lot.

The memories he obtained from Ancient Chaos include healing arts, divination, astrology, physiognomy and countless cultivation methods as well as profound principles. As for this crystal, it only passed down the insights and experiences of the Demon Cloud Rain Sovereign regarding the Sovereign's Shadow and the sovereign qi.

Of course, there were also some secret techniques of the Rain Palace.

The Demon Cloud Rain Sovereign used the Sovereign Rain Primordial Art to help him condense his sovereign qi. Thus, the inherited memories within the Crystal of Inheritance analyzed and explained that cultivation method with high clarity.

One hour later, the light of the crystal gradually faded away.

Ning Fan took his hand off the crystal. His eyes remained tightly shut as he digested the new memories and insights within his Sea of Consciousness.

Among the insights he obtained, not only were the comprehensions from the Demon Cloud Rain Sovereign there, but also the insights from a few Rain Sovereigns of the previous generations.

The Demon Cloud Rain Sovereign became famous seventy thousand years ago. As for Chu Chang'an, he was a senior at the Void Fragmentation Realm of that generation.

Therefore, even though Chu Chang'an was a member of the demon race which the Rain Palace would never officially accept, he had a prominent status and had become an indispensable member of the Rain Palace in the end.

After the Demon Cloud Rain Sovereign passed away, the Rain Sovereigns of the two following generations did not manage to obtain an honorific title. Not a single Rain Sovereign had gained a title until the Red Cloud Rain Sovereign broke through the Sixth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm and gained the honorific title again.

The Red Cloud Rain Sovereign was the last Rain Sovereign who obtained the inheritance and had also left his own insights in this place. In other words, these were insights from four different generations of Rain Sovereigns in total inside this crystal.

After the Red Cloud Rain Sovereign, it had already been three generations.

The Rain Sovereign of the current generation had never obtained this set of insights before.

Instead, Ning Fan was the first one to obtain it!

Not only had he obtained the insights, but also obtained a mysterious kind of power within the crystal which helped him open up all the bottlenecks of the first five levels of the Primordial Art.

Half a day later, he opened his eyes again. He had already fully assimilated the inheritance of all the cultivation methods he inherited.

The insights related to sovereign qi from four previous Divine Sovereigns were obviously significant. Besides, after he received teachings and advice from the four Divine Sovereigns, he thoroughly learned all the essential parts of cultivation for the seven levels of the Sovereign Rain Primordial Art.

Right after he fully grasped the cultivation method, he went into his Profound Yin World.

A day of cultivation within the Profound Yin World was one hundred times faster compared to a single day in the outside world.

Thus, spending three days cultivating in the Profound Yin World was equivalent to three hundred days of bitter cultivation in the outside world. With the insights from the four previous Divine Sovereigns and the breakthroughs of the bottlenecks of the first five levels, Ning Fan had completely mastered the Sovereign Rain Primordial Art up until the fifth level.

Three days later, Ning Fan was automatically expelled from the Profound Yin World.

Now, there were still five days before the day he could leave the Blood Dragon Pool.

He kept all of the immortal jade, Dao Crystals, jade slips and ancient books away. Then, he stood beside the blood pool and stared at the pool again with a serious expression.

By chance, he managed to enter the third layer of the Blood Dragon Pool and obtained the inheritance which three generations of Divine Sovereigns had failed to uncover.

If he does not make use of the blood pool to condense a trace of sovereign qi, how could he be contented?!

Since his mastery of the Sovereign Rain Primordial Art had reached the fifth level, he could now condense the sovereign qi.

Besides, the current amount of dragon blood in the pool was much greater than the time when the Demon Cloud Rain Sovereign, the Red Cloud Rain Sovereign and the other two Rain Sovereigns individually condensed their sovereign qi. A situation where there is insufficient dragon blood would certainly not occur.

In addition to that, the insights from the four generations of Divine Sovereigns could prevent Ning Fan from making a mistake when he finally condenses his very own sovereign qi.

Furthermore, since he had purple-colored luck, misfortune resulting from the negligence of the heavens would certainly not happen.

Now, the timing and geographical conditions of condensing the sovereign qi were perfect. The only thing that needed to be done was for him to act!

If Ning Fan fails to condense the sovereign qi, the only possible reason for that would be his cultivation realm being too low!

After all, which one of the past Rain Sovereigns was not a Void Fragmentation Realm expert when they condensed their sovereign qi? There was no one among them like Ning Fan who entered the blood pool to condense the sovereign qi while only having a Divine Transformation Realm cultivation base.

But there was another question. Out of the past Rain Sovereigns including the Demon Cloud Rain Sovereign, who among them managed to condense the Sovereign's Shadow while they were at the Divine Transformation Realm?

The biggest factor that would affect the result of his success in condensation of the sovereign qi was his weak cultivation base.

Even so, Ning Fan wanted to give it a try.

If he succeeds in condensing the sovereign qi and breaks through to the Void Fragmentations Realm in the future, he would certainly be unrivaled among the individuals of the same level as him unless he faces another sovereign like himself!

Since Sovereign Moksha1 is the Divine Sovereign of the Devil World, he must have condensed his very own sovereign qi…

If that's the case, how could Ning Fan choose not to condense his sovereign qi as it would make him weaker than Sovereign Moksha?!

His stern eyes flashed with determination. Then, he leaped into the blood pool and immersed himself in it.

Just as the skin of his body came into contact with the dragon blood, it burned and festered.

This was a pool of dragon blood! By adding up all of the dragon blood together, this pool contained several hundred millions of units of magic power!

While bathing in this pool of pure magic power, Ning Fan felt that his five internal organs were burning. At the next moment, his blood qi went into his mind, instantly warping his thoughts. His mind was in chaos. His eyes immediately became bloodshot.

Without any hesitation, he used the Sovereign Rain Primordial Art. Under the protection of the Primordial Art, only then did his mind gradually regain clarity.

He called out his Sovereign's Shadow. With the blessing from the shadow, his eyes became bright and clear like those of a divine being. His aura force became strong and powerful like that of the sun and moon. At the bottom of the blood pool, he crazily performed a series of hand seals.

His physical body was too weak. It could not endure the might of the dragon blood.

His Sovereign's Shadow, however, did not feel any pain at all. It could absolutely serve as the vessel of magic power from the entire pool of dragon blood.

"Refine!"

Ning Fan's face revealed a crazed expression. He wanted to refine and infuse all the magic power of the pool which amounted to several hundred million units into his Sovereign's Shadow.

The dragon blood was gradually absorbed into the shadow. Even though the Sovereign's Shadow still did not have defined features, it became more and more solid.

At the central part of the shadow, a golden vortex slowly took form. When that vortex fully formed, the massive amount of dragon blood got sucked into the shadow with an unstoppable surge.

A layer of blood-red light began to surface around the faint-golden shadow.

Within just two hours, the dragon blood of the entire blood pool was completely absorbed by the Sovereign's Shadow.

"The first step is done!"

Ning Fan sat at the bottom of the pool in a meditative posture. His eyes shone with a hint of joy.

The condensation process of the sovereign qi consisted of three steps.

The first step required one to condense their natal Sovereign's Shadow. Otherwise, they would not have the qualification to condense the sovereign qi.

In other words, Ning Fan had only completed the first step when he condensed his Sovereign's Shadow in the past.

The second step required one to prepare enough spiritual medicine and items for the Sovereign's Shadow and let the shadow devour the power of the items through cultivation and gaining a deeper insight of the shadow.

This process required the cultivator to have the insight of a Void Fragmentation Realm expert who had been cultivating for countless years and also learn the sovereign qi cultivation method. Ning Fan had already obtained both the cultivation method and insights from the Crystal of Inheritance.

The Blood Dragon Pool had several ten thousand bottles of dragon blood. The great amount of dragon blood supplied enough nutrition for the Sovereign's Shadow to condense the sovereign qi.

Next, Ning Fan only had to go through the third and final step – to completely condense the sovereign qi!

This step required the cultivator to be one with the Sovereign's Shadow.

This step was the one that Ning Fan was worried about the most.

His cultivation level was too low. If he merges with the Sovereign's Shadow, the tremendous amount of power from the entire pool of dragon blood would undoubtedly flow into his body.

His body would likely burst directly due to his current body's limited capacity for excessive amounts of magic power.

Cold sweat beaded the center of his palms. Unquestionably, it was another life and death gamble.

If he abandons the third step, he could avoid risking his life but he would lose the chance of condensing his sovereign qi.

If he decides to proceed with the third step, he would have a chance of condensing his sovereign qi but he might also suffer a severe backlash.

Deciding between life and death, Ning Fan's thoughts were slightly chaotic. However, when he recalled the debt he had to repay and the grudges he had yet to resolve, his heart suddenly calmed down.

He could not run away.

If he ran away in the past, Weiliang would have already died in the hands of the Love Wielding Immortal Emperor, Zhang Qing. Her soul would have been completely destroyed and she would not have the chance to reunite with him again in this life.

If he ran away in the past, Seven Apricot City would have been flattened by Sovereign Moksha and he would certainly have become a vagabond who was no better than a stray dog.

"The Incarnation Ability can guarantee my life even if I am defeated. The Black Star Technique can guarantee my survival even if I am injured. If I fail, I will at most suffer severe injuries and my cultivation realm might regress. If I succeed, I will become a sovereign from today onwards."

"I want to be a sovereign!"

Ning Fan's eyes were filled with determination. A rush of resolute aura rose from within his body.

At the moment the aura filled him, a trace of qi from the blood of the Insect Sovereign resonated with him in his bloodline.

That was the droplet of blood which was given by Yu Chong'er.

It was once the blood that remained in her after she reincarnated from the body of an Insect Sovereign. With this blood, Ning Fan's chances of success in condensing the sovereign qi was raised even more.

He had no hesitation. Why should he hesitate at all? He made a step forward and became one with his Sovereign's Shadow.

As soon as the shadow emanating blood. However, he recondensed himself from a cloud of black shadows with the a blood-red light fused with Ning Fan, a faint-golden light that burned his blood surrounded him immediately. A wave of vast magic power gushed into his body.

In an instant, his body was torn to pieces by the massive power of the dragon help of his incarnation. His face was bloodless and fearless.

"Refine them all!"

Ning Fan's fingers moved rapidly as he formed different kinds of hand seals, forcibly driving the dragon blood into his Sovereign's Shadow. Traces of faint-golden thin threads began to form in the shadow.

The red color of the dragon blood on the light surrounding the Sovereign's Shadow gradually diminished.

As for Ning Fan, he drew in the last trace of power from the soul of the land, summoned his five natal black stars and consumed half a bottle of vulnerary pills. He was crazily using every means possible to heal the injuries of his body.

*Boom*

Before Ning Fan's injuries healed completely, his body experienced a second explosion. Again, he recondensed his physical body from black smoke. His determination to condense the sovereign qi did not diminish. There was not the slightest trace of fear on his expression.

"I want to become a sovereign!"

An air of arrogance and unbending spirit rose within Ning Fan's mind. He was always arrogant.

His arrogance was not because of his reputation or the victories he had over his opponents in the past.

Instead, his arrogance was his unwillingness to submit to anyone stronger or mightier than him in his entire lifetime.

He wanted to be the sovereign who controlled others instead of someone who was under someone else's manipulation.

If I condense the first trace of the sovereign qi today, I will attain the level of an Immortal Sovereign in the future and stand at the pinnacle of one billion worlds!

*Bang*

In the following five days, Ning Fan's body exploded again and again. However, he recondensed his body each and every explosion to suppress his injuries.

On the first day, his body exploded 102 times.

On the second day, his body exploded 75 times.

On the third day, his body exploded 51 times.

On the fourth day, his body exploded 12 times.

On the fifth day, his body exploded thrice.

The power of the dragon blood became weaker and weaker. It was no longer dangerous towards the end.

Inversely, Ning Fan's body became so brilliant and shiny like that of Konjin (God of Metal). His eyes were bright like the sun and moon and his aura was vast like the boundless sky.

There was a ray of golden light which took the form of a dragon revolving around his body.

He successfully condensed the first trace of sovereign qi. It only required one final thing and he would then succeed!

Ning Fan's eyes were filled with resolve. He suddenly raised his head and stared coldly at the sky, as if he was communicating with the heavens.

"I want… to be a sovereign!"

*Rumble*

He opened his mouth and swallowed the whole dragon-like golden ray into his abdomen. All of a sudden, his eyes gained an air of mightiness which overpower that of heaven and earth.

A massive and boundless aura force spread across the entire palace. Countless old bookshelves were literally blown away by Ning Fan's aura force.

As he performed a hand seal, his Sovereign's Shadow suddenly emerged behind him. It still did not have defined features but it had grown to ten zhang* (3.33m per zhang) tall from just a few zhang*.

Its color had also turned pure gold from being faint gold.

When Ning Fan made a stomp on the ground, the earth immediately trembled. A trace of sovereign qi was revolving around his body.

"I succeeded…"

His eyes became calm and collected. He knew that he was going to succeed.

It was because if he fails, he would keep trying and trying until he succeeds.

The passage of the Blood Dragon Pool had already opened. Now, Ning Fan could leave this place anytime he wanted.

He held the token of the Rain Sovereign in his hand and gently touched it with one of his fingers. A ray of golden light entered the token.

Under the activation of his sovereign qi, his figure suddenly vanished from the third layer and reappeared in the second layer.

With his new insights after condensing his sovereign qi, he naturally saw through the function of the token of the Rain Sovereign of allowing the holder to get out of the Blood Dragon Pool immediately.

However, he did not directly leave the Blood Dragon Pool. Instead, he appeared right in front of an Early Void Refinement Realm blood beast at a swamp of the second layer. His expression was indifferent.

He did not summon his Void Refinement Realm spiritual puppets or take out his Blood Dragon Demon Sword. He wanted to confront an Early Void Refinement Realm creature using only his sovereign qi.

*Roar*

When the Void Refinement Realm blood beast saw Ning Fan appear out of nowhere, it was a little shocked and agitated. But at the next second, it slowly calmed down.

It could not understand why a dignified Early Void Refinement Realm blood beast like it would feel nervous when facing a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator.

It only felt that the current Ning Fan who had a trace of sovereign qi flying around his body was extremely dangerous!

*Roar*

It dispelled its fear very quickly. After all, it was a Void Refinement Realm creature, how could it be afraid of a mere Divine Transformation Realm cultivator? It was just absurd!

It opened its mouth and shot out its natal green thunderbolt. Immediately, it split into at least a million rays of lightning which were about to bombard Ning Fan.

In the face of such a terrifying thunderbolt, Ning Fan would only choose to evade in the past because he would also be injured badly even if he withstands it using his incarnation.

This time, however, Ning Fan was not going to evade.

He pointed one of his fingers at the lightning rays and a golden beam shot out. It soared into the sky like a flying dragon.

As soon as the golden light was in the air, it immediately multiplied into one million rays, filling the entire sky with a blinding golden light.

Gradually, the golden light condensed into an enormous golden mountain which was approximately ten thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) tall.

That enormous mountain then fell directly at the head of the Void Refinement Realm beast. When the one million green lightning rays came into contact with the golden mountain, each of them dispersed into nothingness.

It fell with a speed that was even faster than a Late Void Refinement Realm cultivator. The Void Refinement Realm blood beast was unable to dodge at all.

*Bang*

When the golden mountain crashed into the blood beast, its bones shattered completely. Blood flowed out from its pulverized body in streams. Without a doubt, it had been instantly killed by that single blow!

The force of the collision directly caused the mountains and earth on the second layer to shake intensely. Countless Void Refinement Realm blood beasts panicked at the same time.

Every one of the blood beasts which had a cultivation base lower than the Mid Void Refinement Realm was horrified as soon as they sensed Ning Fan's presence. Immediately, they hid themselves in the dark corners, fearing that he would appear out of nowhere and kill them like how he killed the blood beast just now!

Terrifying. It's just too terrifying. That enormous golden mountain could eliminate a Void Refinement Realm blood beast with just a single attack. Unquestionably, its destructive power was exceedingly frightening.

"So this is the power of the sovereign qi. A single trace of sovereign qi is enough to kill an Early Void Refinement Realm creature. If I have ten traces, a hundred traces, a thousand traces or ten thousand traces… How powerful would it be?!"

"Sovereign qi is doubtlessly the technique for offense among the three Void Fragmentation Realm techniques…!"

Ning Fan scattered his sovereign qi. In just a matter of seconds, he had scared off groups of blood beasts.

By using that trace of sovereign qi to form a mighty mountain, he nearly fully depleted his magic power. Even though the sovereign qi was powerful, the cost of using it to attack was quite heavy.

After collecting the Void Refinement Realm dragon blood, Ning Fan clenched his fists tightly. His heart was filled with excitement.

Today, he had killed an Early Void Refinement Realm creature using his own strength for the first time!

Today, he was capable of killing a Void Refinement Realm being. In the future, he would have the capabilities to kill a Void Fragmentation Realm being!

The day when he finally kills Sovereign Moksha with his own two hands was not far away now.

"It's time to leave."

The blood beasts were already regrouping. Since Ning Fan used up his magic power, it was difficult for him to instantly kill the other Void Refinement Realm blood beasts.

It's not advantageous to continue staying here. It's more important to return to the outside world and finish Senior Yun's test.

If Ning Fan gets back late, he did not know whether Yun Tianjue would be considered to have lost the bet. Well, he did not want to witness Yun Tianjue's wrath from losing his beloved sword.

By activating the token of the Rain Sovereign, Ning Fan's figure gradually became illusory and eventually disappeared from the second layer.

…

The Rain Palace of the Middle State was in a state of bewilderment and astonishment.

In the ancestral temple of the Rain Palace, the giant statue of the rain ancestors that was worshipped by many with incense and joss sticks day and night had flared with a dazzling golden light.

The sky above the entire Middle State which was nearly tens of millions of li* (500m per li) was lit up with golden rays.

As a cultivator of the Middle State, it was certainly impossible to not know the meaning behind such a strange phenomenon.

The new generation of Rain Sovereign has been born.

But how is this possible?

The current Rain Sovereign has yet to pass away. Thus, how can it be possible for the new Rain Sovereign to be born?

"Who was it that has successfully condensed the sovereign qi? Was it Yun Xiaoxiang or Yun Tianjue?!"

The Rain Sovereign summoned countless experts of the Middle State and questioned each and every one of them as soon as he met them. Evidently, he also did not understand why such a strange phenomenon would happen to the statue of rain ancestors.

However, although he did not know the cause of it, he could guess that someone in the Rain World must have managed to condense the sovereign qi using the Sovereign Rain Primordial Art. Otherwise, the ancestral statue would never show such a strange phenomenon.

Who was it?

Yun Xiaoxiang was the second prince as well as the biological son of the current Rain Sovereign. If Yun Xiaoxiang was the one who condensed the sovereign qi, it would, of course, be a delightful matter to the Rain Sovereign.

But if it was Yun Tianjue… He was not the Rain Sovereign's own son. He attained the status of being one of the sons of god by depending on his own strength and capabilities.

If he was the one who condensed the sovereign qi, he would without a doubt become the Rain Sovereign.

The Rain Sovereign might not say it publicly, but deep inside, he was certainly reluctant to allow the Rain Palace to fall into the hands of an outsider.

Yun Xiaoxiang had yet to return from his journey whereas Yun Tianjue seemed to be in the Dragon Determining Valley. If it was proven that Yun Tianjue was not the one who condensed the sovereign qi after their investigation, it would probably be Yun Xiaoxiang.

"Reporting to Father, the person who condensed the sovereign qi is definitely not Yun Tianjue. One month ago, I have just fought him. His strength has recovered to the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm. He is extraordinarily powerful. However, when he fought, he still emanated a tremendous amount of baleful qi. It's definitely not the graceful and refined demeanor of a sovereign… I can assure you that he definitely has no sovereign qi!"

Yun Jinghong cupped his fists and spoke. He was also the biological son of the Rain Sovereign.

There were still some injuries on his face. Without a doubt, they had been caused by Yun Tianjue using his Myriad Sword Style.

He was unwilling to see Yun Tianjue become the next Divine Sovereign. Thus, he would certainly do his best to prove that the latter had yet to condense the sovereign qi.

Even though he did not harbor kind intentions, what he said was not a lie. Yun Tianjue had indeed yet to condense his sovereign qi.

"If it wasn't Tianjue, then it would be Xiaoxiang…"

The anxiety on Rain Sovereign's face loosened a little.

If it is Yun Xiaoxiang, then it isn't any disastrous matter. Instead, it's a joyful thing.

"It wasn't me!"

Just as the Rain Sovereign revealed a faint smile on his face, an ice-cold voice echoed across the hall. It was none other than Yun Xiaoxiang's voice.

It wasn't him? He wasn't the one…?

His words made all the experts of the Middle State go blank for a second.

Could it be one of the four greatest Void Fragmentation Realm experts? Impossible. The four of them have unique identities but none of them has the innate potential to comprehend the sovereign qi. Even Chu Chang'an has only condensed half a trace of the sovereign qi. However, it had still been bestowed upon him by the past Rain Sovereign.

Among the six princes of the Rain Palace, no one else has the potential to condense the sovereign qi except for Yun Tianjue and Yun Xiaoxiang.

If it's neither one of them, who could it be?

Could it be that the ancestral statue has made a mistake? Was it because the ancestral statue broke and that's why it gave out a strange phenomenon?

No one dared to suggest that the ancestral statue had been broken… It was a disgraceful thing to say that was offensive to all established values of the Rain Palace.

All of a sudden, a brewing storm overwhelmed the Middle State and it was even spreading across the entire Rain World.

Who is the true Divine Sovereign of the world?!

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

<strong>Note: </strong>

1. Sovereign Moksha was previously called Emperor Moksha. The name of this character had been changed to better suit the context.