Grasping Evil

As soon as Ning Fan used the token of the Rain Sovereign, his figure vanished from the second layer and he returned to the thirteenth swamp of the first layer.

He brought Yu Chong'er out from his Cauldron Ring and dispelled the power of his Yin Plucking Finger. He then held her in his arms, waiting for her to wake up.

After a while, she let out a faint moan. She was gradually regaining her consciousness. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Ning Fan's face, which was the most detestable face to her.

Before she fully regained her consciousness, she subconsciously placed her jaw on Ning Fan's arm and took a bite. Afterwards, she mumbled words that were ambiguous and indiscernible, similar to how one would talk in their sleep.

"Zhou Ming, you bullied me… You knocked me out… You're a shameless man…"

After she finished cursing him, the little lady gently shut her eyes and leaned against Ning Fan's arm, entering her sweet dreamland again. She even reached her delicate arms out and placed them around Ning Fan's neck like she was hugging a pillow.

Ning Fan was rendered speechless from her actions.

This little lady seems to hate me a lot that she could not forget about me and was even thinking about me in her dreams.

What did she think of Ning Fan as? A bed? A pillow? Something that she could bite and sleep on as she wished?

"Yu Chong'er, I will only give you three breaths to wake up." Ning Fan indifferently uttered.

"You're terribly noisy. Why can't you just let me sleep…?"

Yu Chong'er rubbed her eyes. This time, she gradually became clear-headed.

As soon as she realized that she was indecently snuggling in Ning Fan's embrace and even hugged the latter's neck, her face instantly blushed. She was literally scared awake. With an angry tone, she uttered.

"Zhou Ming, how shameless of you! You knocked me unconscious and took advantage of me!"

"I took advantage of you?" Ning Fan laughed, a bit provoked by her remark.

This little lady must have a bad memory.

It was her who forced a kiss on him, treated him as a pillow and refused to wake up from her sleep.

Since when did Ning Fan take advantage of her?

"Who knows whether or not you have done something to me while I was sleeping…?"

Yu Chong'er replied defiantly. She quickly broke free from Ning Fan's embrace and ran away to hide at a corner.

Then, she carefully checked her own clothes and examined her inner body with her spirit sense. After making sure that there was not a sign of her being undressed and the presence of her primordial yin, only then did she let out a breath of relief.

Luckily, he didn't force himself on me while I was asleep… Let's think of him as a person who still has some humanity in him.

Her expressions and reactions were within Ning Fan's view all this while, making the latter even more speechless.

Well, if he wanted to pluck a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator, does he really need to knock them unconscious?

"Are you awake?"

"Mm…"

"Great. Let's get going then."

"Where are we going?"

"Find your elder brother. You have been asleep for nine days. Today is the day to leave."

"N-No. I don't want to go!"

As soon as Ning Fan heard her words, she immediately felt a little afraid and nervous.

She could not pluck the courage to find her elder brother. Her recklessness had exposed her elder brother Yu Bai and the others to life-threatening danger. She could not imagine how much her brother hated her now.

"What are you afraid of? You have been to the forest of the beast king and stole a spiritual herb and even escaped death from numerous Void Refinement Realm blood beasts. I didn't see you being scared at that time. Why? Don't tell me you are actually such a timid lady who doesn't even dare to return to receive punishment for your mistakes?" Ning Fan stared at Yu Chong'er directly, trying to provoke her with his words.

"No! I am not afraid of receiving punishment. I'm just afraid…I'm just afraid that my brother will hate me…" Yu Chong'er pursed her lips. Her cheeks were slightly pale. She was not afraid of death or punishments. What she feared the most was that her brother would hate her for the rest of his life.

"How is it possible for you to still be afraid that your elder brother will hate you since you even dared to bite my arm?"

"Pah! I didn't bite you!"

"Then, was my arm bitten by a dog?"

"You! How impudent of you!"

Yu Chong'er answered insolently. However, she did not realize that her fear had diminished by quite a lot after quarrelling with Ning Fan.

After thinking about it deeply for a while, she figured that she had already made a mistake and it was irreversible no matter what. Fortunately, Ning Fan had saved her brother and the others. At the very least, she still had a chance to make up for her mistake.

She petulantly rolled her eyes at Ning Fan. Then, she patted her storage pouch and took out a jade pendant. She turned around and faced a certain direction. It seemed like she had managed to lock on to the direction where Yu Bai and the others were with the help of the pendant.

"Zhou Ming, you're right. I should not be afraid. Even if my brother will come to hate me, I still have to go back to apologize to him. Thank you for saving me and keeping me safe throughout this trip. You may leave the Blood Dragon Pool first. I want to reunite with my brother."

Yu Chong'er held her head high. Her long black hair danced in the wind and her face brightened up.

Ning Fan nodded his head.

This lady knows her mistake and is not ashamed to admit her wrongs. She is even willing to make up for her mistake. She is not a bad lady after all.

He was just trying to test her character by saying those words just now.

At the next moment, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his embrace. He was not going to give her a chance to leave alone.

By making a step forward, he dashed towards a certain direction within the thirteenth swamp.

Yu Chong'er was stunned. Only a few seconds later did she realize that Ning Fan was taking advantage of her again.

"Let go of me! Where are you taking me?!" She resisted with a low tone. However, she did not struggle very much. After all, she had already grown accustomed to it as she had been staying in Ning Fan's embrace for more than ten days.

"I will send you back. With my presence, no one will make things too difficult for you."

Ning Fan stopped speaking. As he travelled within the thirteenth swamp, his presence shifted smoothly and swiftly like a trace of smoke.

To the blood beasts of that area, his qi was a literal nightmare. Whichever beast sniffed his presence would all prostrate on the ground, shivering in fear.

Yu Chong'er felt a mild pain on her nose. According to Ning Fan's words, he was obviously going to exert some pressure on the other revered elders so that they would not hold Yu Chong'er's accountable.

A feeling of warmth filled her, making her heart skip a beat.

Other than her own mother, elder brother and master, Ning Fan was the first outsider who treated her well.

"Thank you…" Her voice was extremely soft. Perhaps Ning Fan did not hear her at all.

With Ning Fan's speed, it only took the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to reach the place where Yu Bai and the rest were healing their wounds.

They had yet to leave the Blood Dragon Pool. The reason why Yu Bai had chosen to stay was naturally because he felt unsettled and guilty since Ning Fan had gone to search for his sister on his behalf.

Most of the blood beasts in the thirteenth swamp were already dead. There was basically no danger at all even when all twelve revered elders meditated in seclusion.

In the dwelling place which they stayed temporarily, all twelve of them were busy treating their own wounds. None of them was talking to each other.

When they sensed two traces of Divine Transformation Realm auras outside their cave, the expressions of all the revered elders changed. All of them slightly behaved like a bird that had been startled by a mere twang of a bow.

If they were blood beasts which had come to attack them, although they might be afraid to confront them, they would still fight to the bitter end.

Luckily, all of them discovered that the two traces of auras were very familiar at the next second. One of them belonged to Yu Chong'er whereas the other belonged to Ning Fan.

"Revered Ming has returned!"

The revered elder in hemp robes instantly rose to his feet with eyes filled with excitement.

The group of revered elders walked out of their dwelling place. Then, they saw Ning Fan stand outside the cave waiting for them with the usual smile on his face. Seeing him completely unscathed, the eyes of the revered elder in hemp robes were filled with an even deeper respect.

He had witnessed Ning Fan entering the second layer with his own eyes. One has to know that the second layer was a dangerous place where Void Refinement Realm creatures roamed freely.

Unexpectedly, not only did Ning Fan come back in one piece from the second layer but he had also successfully brought Yu Chong'er back.

This kind of strength and capability were truly impressive and admirable.

However, when the eyes of the revered elders fell upon Yu Chong'er, all of their expressions became a little unnatural.

It was all because of her that they had been in a life-threatening situation on that day. All of them certainly hated her to the core during that time.

However, on the following day after the incident, Ning Fan eliminated every last one of the blood beasts and headed to the second layer on his own. As for Yu Bai and the rest, they returned to the forest of the beast king and gathered a number of spiritual herbs.

There, they found signs of a living Blood Dragon Moss. However, the Blood Dragon Moss had been plucked away by someone.

Instantly, Yu Bai understood the reason behind all of this.

The reason why Yu Chong'er recklessly entered the forest of the beast king was because she was after the Blood Dragon Moss.

This Blood Dragon Moss was their only hope of curing their mother. By putting himself in her shoes, he would also do the same regardless of the costs if he was the one who discovered the existence of the Blood Dragon Moss in this forest.

He then told the other revered elders about his sister's motive. All of them fell into silence.

As the saying goes, of all virtues, filial piety is the most important. Yu Chong'er was just eager to save her mother. She did not have the intention of causing any trouble to them. Besides, no one died during the incident.

Hence, the original hatred they had for her diminished a lot. However, they still wanted to reproach her.

If she discussed with them about her plan of stealing the spiritual herb, it would not have caused such a huge trouble to them if everyone cooperated.

All in all, Yu Chong'er was still at fault but her mistake was forgivable.

"Greetings to Revered Ming!"

The twelve revered elders straightened their backs and cupped their fists towards Ning Fan. Their eyes were filled with sincerity and respect.

If it wasn't for Ning Fan, they would have died in the mouth of the beast king. Ning Fan was their savior and this debt of gratitude must never be forgotten easily.

"Mm. Brother Yu, I have rescued your younger sister. You don't have to be worried anymore."

Ning Fan loosened his embrace, allowing the brother and sister to reunite.

Yu Bai's eyes shone with joy. However, as soon as he thought of his sister's mistake, his face changed at once.

Yu Chong'er did not dare to look his brother in the eye. But when she thought of the promise that she earnestly made in front of Ning Fan from before, she regained her courage. Without backing off, she raised her head high and bowed towards the twelve revered elders to express her apology.

"I have endangered all of my Fellow Daoists' lives and I know that not even ten thousand deaths will make up for my mistake. Fellow Daoists, if you want to punish me, you can just say so."

"Hmph!" One of the revered elders snorted coldly. Evidently, he still harbored some resentment towards Yu Chong'er.

However, he was taken aback at the next moment. Just as he let out a sound, he saw Ning Fan suddenly walk up to Yu Chong'er and pull her into his embrace with one of his arms.

"Give me face!"

He did not explain too much. All he did was just utter a brief and simple sentence.

Even so, all of the revered elders there were sharp-witted. When they saw the intimacy between Ning Fan and Yu Chong'er and heard his words, how could they not know what he meant?

Ning Fan was pleading for their mercy on behalf of Yu Chong'er.

How could the twelve revered elders of the Serene Heaven Palace not give him face?!

Even if all of them were unaware that the reason why Yu Chong'er made that mistake was for her mother, they would also have no choice but to forgive her in order to pay respect to Ning Fan.

"This matter shall be written off right away!"

The elderly cultivator in hemp robes took the lead in voicing out their opinion. Then, each of the revered elders of the Serene Heaven Palace began to chime in with agreement one after another.

Even the revered elder who let out a dissatisfied snort earlier hid away all of his discontentment and heaved a confused sigh.

It seems like Yu Chong'er has become Revered Ming's woman…

This woman can't be touched or offended.

Yu Bai was dumbstruck. Ning Fan saved Yu Chong'er from an awkward situation with just a single sentence. He was extremely thankful for him. However, he had never thought that his younger sister would have such a close relationship with Ning Fan.

Yu Chong'er felt her heart miss a beat. Ning Fan saved her once again.

She had made a huge mistake. Even if she could avoid the death penalty, she certainly could not be exempted from any other forms of punishment.

However, her mistake and wrongs were erased by a single sentence from Ning Fan.

Give me face!

What a domineering man. Who would not dare to pay him respect?

Perhaps she was completely overwhelmed with surprise after seeing what had just happened. Even though she had always been disgusted by Ning Fan, she actually did not resist the latter's embrace this time.

Regarding the mistake that she had made, all the revered elders would definitely keep their lips sealed.

After having a brief conversation with Ning Fan, everyone talked nicely and communicatively with each other. Then, all of them got out of the Blood Dragon Pool together.

Yu Chong'er was snuggled in Ning Fan's embrace all this while. Looking at the harmless and innocent smile on his face, she could not help but feel a little speechless.

Well, she finally witnessed what 'mingling with both the evil and righteous side' meant.

He was obviously a devil cultivator who killed without batting an eye but he was still able to warmly converse with a group of righteous cultivators and even make them admire him so much.

To her, this was just too unreasonable.

"Humph…" While leaning against his shoulder, she let out a dissatisfied snort.

At the next second, her ears turned red and hot and her cheeks flushed pink.

It was because Ning Fan mischievously blew a mouthful of warm breath at her ear and uttered with a soft tone.

"Yu Chong'er, you owe me another favor now."

"I will definitely repay you…" Her voice grew weaker as she spoke because she was a little unconfident whether or not she could really repay them.

She had already given Ning Fan her Insect Sovereign's blood as well as the Heaven Deceiving Cloak. It seemed like she did not have anything else that was good enough to give him.

Is devoting my life to him the only option I have left?

She began to feel a mild headache.

It's fortunate that Ning Fan did not continue questioning her about how she would repay him this time. At least, she could feel a bit of relief from this mental burden.

However, when she thought that both of them would probably say goodbye to each other as soon as they returned to the surface of the Blood Dragon Pool, her heart was filled with disappointment.

*Piak*

Yu Chong'er felt a large hand grabbing and ruthlessly squeezing her soft and tender buttocks even though they were covered with silver armor.

All of a sudden, her delicate body tightened up. Her charming eyes were filled with absolute anger and embarrassment The person who squeezed her backside was none other than Ning Fan!

"Shameless!"

Humph…

Yu Chong'er was in a fit of anger and disregarded Ning Fan. Well, her buttocks were being fondled. It would only be weird if she could still be in a calm mood.

She was certainly foolish to actually feel sad to part with such a shameless and lecherous man.

Just as Ning Fan saw the disgusted expression which she originally had during their first meeting, he smiled without speaking a word.

It's good to remain like this.

To Void Fragmentation Realm old monsters, one month was nothing more than just a short meditation.

Yun Tianjue and Chu Chang'an were both sitting in meditation. The difference between them was that the former was at peace like he was sleeping whereas the latter seemed to be a little dejected.

I've lost…

Chu Chang'an knew that he lost the bet against Yun Tianjue.

Twenty-one beast kings had been killed and there were even three Void Refinement Realm blood beasts dead… If all of this was Ning Fan's doing, then the amount of dragon blood he obtained already exceeded 50 bottles.

Even to a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm expert, gathering 50 bottles of dragon blood within one month was a ridiculous mission.

However, it seemed like Ning Fan still managed to accomplish it.

Chu Chang'an held a golden lamp in his hand. Within the lamp, there was a small mass of yellow flames shining brightly. It was the Sixth Grade Void Flames – Serene Palace Buddha Fire.

This spiritual flame was the most precious flame of the Serene Heaven Palace. Even though Revered Flames came to ask for it in the past, Chu Chang'an did not hand it over to him.

Don't tell me it's going to change hands after today…

"No. I may not necessarily lose the gamble. Even though Zhou Ming has killed quite a lot of blood beasts, he might not have killed 500 Divine Transformation Realm blood beasts in total… Perhaps he just killed the beast kings of the swamps without touching the other blood beasts…"

Chu Chang'an consoled himself although he knew he was just lying to himself.

One month was already over. Multiple rays of travelling light burst out from the surface of the blood-red pool one after another.

There were fourteen rays of light in total. Without a doubt, all of them were the revered elders of the Serene Heaven Palace. Of course, Ning Fan was one of them as well.

Seeing that all the Divine Transformation Realm elders from his own division were still alive despite having some injuries, Chu Chang'an let out a sigh of relief.

The chance of dying in the Blood Dragon Pool was quite high. Even though he deliberately sent all the Divine Transformation Realm elders from his own palace to a similar area, it was likely that one or two people among them would get killed.

Thus, it could not be any better that everyone had survived.

As for how much dragon blood they obtained from the trip, it was not that important because having a life and death experience was much more advantageous to them in their cultivation.

Chu Chang'an was only concerned about how much dragon blood a particular individual had gathered.

His gaze then fell upon Ning Fan. His eyes were filled with hesitation and a hint of curiosity.

"Little friend, how's your gain? It was very difficult to gather 50 bottles of dragon blood, wasn't it…?"

"It's indeed very difficult." Ning Fan nodded his head and let go of Yu Chong'er who nearly died from her own embarrassment and anger. He turned towards Chu Chang'an, completely ignoring the latter's expression which looked like she was about to devour him.

"Oh? Could it be that this Little Friend didn't manage to gather 50 bottles of dragon blood?"

As soon as Chu Chang'an heard Ning Fan admit that it was indeed difficult, he was euphoric.

According to his tone, he probably failed to collect enough dragon blood.

However, just as his lips formed into a broad grin, he saw Ning Fan pat his storage pouch and a multitude of bottles of dragon blood immediately emerged on the ground. There were actually more than one hundred bottles.

"117 bottles of dragon blood! You have gathered all of these within a month?!" Chu Chang'an found it a bit hard to believe.

"Yes. I accomplished the mission without fail by chance!"

Ning Fan nodded his head again and cupped his fists towards Yun Tianjue.

Yun Tianjue who had been sitting in meditation for the entire month only opened his eyes now. His cold piercing eyes shone with a hint of approval after hearing Ning Fan's words.

"Well done. Elder Chu, you've lost."

He stood up and tied the giant sword to his back again.

After that, he shifted his gaze to Chu Chang'an. The latter certainly understood what he meant.

Chu Chang'an clenched his teeth. With a pained expression, he took out the golden lamp which he was holding earlier. A bright yellow flame flickered within the lamp.

With a snap of his fingers, the golden flame flew out from the lamp and went towards Yun Tianjue.

After losing the Serene Palace Buddha Fire, the lamp was instantly extinguished.

Yun Tianjue flicked his sleeve and drew the Buddha Fire to his hand. Without even sparing a glance at it, he directly tossed it to Ning Fan. Other than the mass of Void Flame, there was also a golden token.

"You've passed the test and this is your reward."

"My reward?"

Ning Fan was stunned for a moment. He caught both the golden token and the flame.

The golden token was obviously the golden token of a revered elder that Yun Tianjue promised him in the first place. With this token in his possession, Ning Fan could freely travel around the eight hundred cultivation countries of the Rain World without any obstructions. It was the item that he would originally get for passing the test. Thus, it was not surprising.

That Serene Palace Buddha Fire, however, was not something that Yun Tianjue had promised him.

Ning Fan was a bit confused when Yun Tianjue decided to use his beloved sword as a bet for the Sixth Grade Void Flame of Chu Chang'an.

Yun Tianjue's skills and abilities entirely involved the use of a sword. What did he want the spiritual flame for? It was utterly illogical to bet for a useless flame with his beloved sword.

Ning Fan only knew that Yun Tianjue had already planned on giving him this flame after winning it when he suggested the gamble.

"Why?" Ning Fan frowned. He did not like receiving gifts from someone for nothing and then owe them a favor because of it. He could not help but feel a little suspicious about receiving so many benefits from Yun Tianjue for free.

"If you don't want it, then just throw it away."

Yun Tianjue's expression turned cold. Well, would he even care whether you want it or not when he gives you something?

As a matter of fact, he also did not understand why a cold and indifferent person like him would feel such an affinity towards Ning Fan and would be willing enough to grant him some opportunities.

Perhaps it was because of the confident smile on Ning Fan's face.

It resembles a person a lot. It just looks like…

That smile was able to move the unfeeling heart of Yun Tianjue.

Who was it? Who was it…

Yun Tianjue balled his fists. Someday in the future, he would regain his memories.

Since he had gotten rid of his emotions to practice the Dao of Swords, his memories had been erased by the Heavenly Dao and Samsara. It was the cost of becoming the frightening sword devil.

He wanted to retrieve his memories. In the Rain World, there was only one single secret technique that could bring back the memories that were wiped out by the Heavenly Dao.

That was the White Lightning Technique of the Thunder Sovereign Bu Zhou1 which could extinguish or salvage one's memories!

The reason why he asked for the Immortal Entrapping Sword and seized countless famous swords from the eight hundred cultivation countries was to fight the Thunder Sovereign in the Sovereign's Tomb and snatched his White Lightning Technique!

"You have one day to understand and finish what you have started. One day later, return to the Endless Sea!"

Yun Tianjue did not say anything else. He turned around and tried to leave.

However, at the moment when he was about to leave, two rays of dazzling golden light dashed past the sky and flew towards them. They were message-transmitting flying swords.

There was a trace of gold qi in the shape of a dragon revolving around the flying swords. It had lengthened the travel distance of these flying swords to a terrifying extent.

It was impossible for Ning Fan not to recognize that trace of gold qi.

That was… a sovereign qi!

"Sovereign Message Flying Swords! Could there be a command from the Rain Sovereign?"

Chu Chang'an's expression changed. Deep inside, he was thinking of what had happened in the Middle State that was significant enough to make the Rain Sovereign send out a message to Void Fragmentation Realm experts.

Yun Tianjue's eyes shone with a little surprise too. After catching the flying swords, he remained silent as usual.

All the content of the message from the swords directly flowed into the Sea of Consciousness of these two Void Fragmentation Realm experts without letting any outsider know about it.

Just as they heard what the message was, an immense astonishment filled Chu Chang'an's face, making him be at a loss for words. Even Yun Tianjue's eyes widened a little in surprise.

"Sovereign qi! Someone has condensed the sovereign qi!"

A new Rain Sovereign has been born in the Rain World!

Someone had used the cultivation method of the Divine Sovereigns – the Sovereign Rain Primordial Art, to condense a trace of sovereign qi!

It was a matter of great importance. The Rain Sovereign ordered Yun Tianjue and Chu Chang'an to return to the Rain Palace at once to look into this matter.

Chu Chang'an's words made the group of revered elders stand and gaze at each other in confusion. None of them really understood what he meant.

Only Ning Fan had a vague understanding that the matter that shocked the Rain Sovereign, Elder Chu and even Yun Tianjue were related to him condensing the sovereign qi.

Besides, judging from the heavy expressions of the two Void Fragmentation Realm experts, the matter that he had successfully condensed the sovereign qi did not seem to be a good thing to the Rain Palace.

Am I being considered as a threat to the throne of the Rain Sovereign…?

If that's the case, it might be a disaster to me once I reveal my sovereign qi which might even get me killed.

Thus, I must never reveal my sovereign qi!

Ning Fan made up his mind. Even though his sovereign qi had a might that could easily overpower a Void Refinement Realm expert, he must never use it without much consideration unless he has the power that could make the Rain Sovereign afraid of him.

Otherwise, a catastrophe would certainly befall on him!

It was clear that the Rain World was not going to be peaceful in the future.

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

<strong>Note: </strong>

1. Thunder Sovereign Bu Zhou was previously called Thunder Emperor Bu Zhou. It had been changed to better suit the context.