Grasping Evil

The second stage was Immortal and Mortal.

Standing in the second lightning palace, Ning Fan's heart was so tranquil that it was like it was dead. He would no longer be deceived by any kinds of illusions in this place.

Unexpectedly, this second lightning palace was a beautiful realm like a spring day where sweet-sounding bird songs could be heard and the sweet fragrance of flowers filled the air. Amidst the sea of flowers, there were two different paths which led to two different exits.

One of them was filled with abundant spiritual qi. A pleasant melody from the celestial world could be heard while hooded cranes could be seen dancing gracefully in the air. A stele which was carved with two words "Immortal Path" stood at the entrance.

As for the other one, it looked rather quiet and peaceful. Only a few butterflies flew solitarily in the air. There was also a stele carved with "Mortal Path" in front of the path.

The two paths led to two different exits which were shrouded with thick mist. No one would be able to see clearly what was at the end of these paths.

However, Ning Fan's sharp senses told him that these two paths had different Dao Rhythms.

This is… the difference between an immortal world and a mortal world!

"Does it want me to make a choice between these two paths…?" Ning Fan pondered. The difference between an immortal and mortal which was an extremely common concept in the cultivation world was set as a test here by Lightning Emperor Tai Su.

If I pass this test, I can then get another one-third of the lightning star. But is that really it?

If Ning Fan fails, he would probably face danger. After all, he had learned that lesson during the first stage earlier. Ning Fan could imagine the realm spirit who was also the elderly man scheming against him in the dark.

As expected, when Ning Fan was absorbed in his thoughts, that teasing voice echoed across the lightning palace once again.

"Young Junior! Between the Immortal and Mortal Paths, one of them will lead you to a safe zone while the other one will lead you to death. You have to choose one of them to proceed. If you walk the right path, you can then enter the third stage. If you fail, you'll die!"

"…"

Ning Fan did not place any attention to the elderly man. Upon hearing his words, his eyes flashed with a hint of skepticism.

He did not believe that the elderly man would be so kind as to deliberately tell him the method to pass through this stage.

The elderly man said that this was only a choice between life and death. In Ning Fan's eyes, however, these two paths were not as simple as they seemed.

If one chooses the Immortal Path, they would have to abandon their mortal dust. To ordinary cultivators, perhaps it was the right path. However, to Ning Fan who had gone through the mortal severance in the Sea of Clouds, he understood that the so-called mortal severance was not really about cutting off his ties with his past and all things in the mortal world. In fact, it was about eliminating the weaknesses that resided in a mortal being.

The Immortal Path must not be taken!

Ning Fan had great confidence that once he chose the Immortal Path, he would probably die! It was a path that led to death!

If one chooses the Mortal Path, they would have to give up the Immortal Dao. To cultivators, abandoning the Immortal Dao was equivalent to giving up their entire life's worth of cultivation. Obviously, the consequence of choosing the Mortal Path would also lead to death!

Ning Fan would never let any detail slip past his mind. He had already seen through the evil motive of the elderly man by saying those words.

He wanted to deceive Ning Fan into choosing one of the paths. However, no matter which path he chooses, he would still end up dead. It was impossible for the elderly man to remind Ning Fan in the first place. He was just trying to lure him into his death!

"I will never choose any of these two paths!"

Ning Fan sneered. He flicked his sleeve and summoned a gust of wind. Then, he extended his five fingers and a mass of golden purple mist swirled into the air. The two paths before his eyes collapsed after being weathered away by the mist and eventually disintegrated!

"What?!"

The elderly man was immensely shocked. He never expected that Ning Fan would be able to see through the test of the Immortal and Mortal Paths with just a glance.

As the two paths vanished, the elderly man coughed out a few mouthfuls of blood. His injuries worsened even more as the backlash he suffered was extremely severe!

This was the cost of plotting against Ning Fan.

Indeed. One must not choose any of the two paths to proceed. The idea of choosing the Immortal Dao and abandoning their mortal dust or the other way around were both wrong!

It was beyond the elderly man's expectations that Ning Fan who was just a Divine Transformation Realm ant could discern the difference between immortal and mortal!

What astonished him even more was that not only could Ning Fan see through the implied meaning of the two paths, he could also directly erode the two paths with a strange and frightening technique!

No one had ever been able to completely destroy the two paths!

That golden purple mist… What power does it contain, exactly?! It's incredibly terrifying!

Even the wild and arrogant lady in the past who passed through this stage managed to only do it by luck. Despite that, she could not destroy these two paths just like this at all.

"You have destroyed the Immortal and Mortal Paths. You have destroyed the lightning portal. You won't be able to proceed to the third stage!" The elderly man said as he tried his best to maintain his composure.

"Is that so…?"

Ning Fan did not talk much. He moved forward and travelled across the sea of flowers. Each step he made carried the massive force of the Fourth Level of Jade Life Realm, causing heaven and earth to tremble.

Each of his steps literally trampled on the blossoming flowers, creating a path amidst the flower bed!

"I have already comprehended the difference between immortal and mortal. An immortal is a being who stands at the peak of the mountain whereas a mortal is a being who is trapped in samsara. If the Dao is a mountain, I will be an immortal by ascending the mountain or a mortal if I descend the mountain. If samsara is a prison, entering samsara will make me a mortal while breaking out of samsara will make me an immortal. Hence, the difference between an immortal and mortal also lies in one's will!"

"My Dao is not about being an immortal or staying as a mortal. Instead, my Dao is the path that I myself choose to walk!"

Step by step, Ning Fan walked across the sea of flowers. Step by step, he created his own path.

At the end of the path, a lightning portal gradually appeared. It was the only true exit of the second stage!

Ning Fan nodded his head. He already had a guess about the stages of Tai Su's Three Questions.

These three stages had been left by the Lightning Emperor Tai Su. The first stage was to test cultivators in their perception towards the reality and illusions of the Dao.

The second stage was to test cultivators whether or not they had their own Dao.

As for the third stage which was called the Dao or Life, perhaps cultivators would have to make a choice between their Dao and their lives.

When Ning Fan entered the first stage, he was still a little confused at first. As such, he was trapped by the illusions for half a day.

When he proceeded to the second stage, his mind was crystal-clear. The test of Immortal and Mortal was no longer able to hinder him for even half a step.

Next, he wanted to enter the third stage!

Once again, a ray of blood-red lightning flashed in the lightning portal and it went into Ning Fan's glabella as soon as he approached it.

Under the nourishment of this trace of lightning power, the incomplete and illusory Tai Su Lightning Star on his glabella slowly expanded by another one-third, making it two-thirds of its original size.

With the power from the two-thirds of the Tai Su Lightning Star, Ning Fan felt the lightning power within his body surge wildly like boiling water.

Even though the amount of lightning power in him remained unchanged, its might once again got a few times stronger than before!

Arcs of blood-red lightning sizzled on his palm like the sharp shrills of thousands of birds.

Ning Fan's eyes turned solemn. The blood-red lightning revolving in his hand was too impressive. Bluntly using this lightning power to kill any Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivators would just be a matter of seconds even without displaying any lightning techniques!

Besides, cultivators of the Void Glimpse Stage would also certainly suffer severe injuries if they are attacked by Ning Fan using these lightning arcs!

"This is the power of just two-thirds of the lightning star… If I condense the complete lightning star, I think I can probably grievously injure those weaker cultivators of the Void Glimpse with a single strike or even… kill them!"

After condensing two-thirds of the lightning star, it not only enhanced the might of the lightning power in Ning Fan's body, but also gave him an even more mysterious feeling.

At this moment, he felt like he had become the master of lightning!

This feeling was not especially obvious when he condensed one-third of the Tai Su Lightning Star.

However, after he passed through the second stage and gained two-thirds of the lightning star, his control of lightning power became even more domineering.

He recalled the time when his Spirit Crushing Whip was effortlessly seized away by Hong Yi.

At that time, what Hong Yi depended on was none other than her control and command over lightning.

Although Hong Yi was able to easily seize away Ning Fan's lightning magic treasure that time, she would no longer be able to perform that again now!

"I suppose Hong Yi also has the Tai Su Lightning Star. However, if I am not wrong, she probably only managed to condense two-thirds of the lightning star. If I pass through the third stage, my control over lightning power will be even greater than hers!"

Ning Fan took a step and crossed the lightning portal.

Under continuous rumbling thunderclap, Ning Fan passed through layers of lightning and arrived at the third lightning palace.

This stage was the final test before he could go out of this place.

Once he goes through this stage, not only could he condense the complete lightning star, but he could also take revenge on the realm spirit.

The third stage, the stage of Dao or Life!

The elderly man's eyes were filled with fear. He had witnessed Ning Fan breaking through two stages in one go. He had also witnessed the terrifying might of Ning Fan's blood-red lightning with his own eyes.

Currently, his condition was pretty bad. Even though he had an Early Void Refinement Realm cultivation base, he definitely could not withstand the vigorous power of Ning Fan's blood-red lightning.

As the White Lightning Realm Spirit, he was clearly aware how frightening the might of just two-thirds of the Tai Su Lightning Star.

In actual fact, a complete Tai Su Lightning Star contained all of Lightning Emperor Tai Su's comprehensions and understandings about the Dao of Lightning!

Other than Tai Su, no one had ever obtained the complete lightning star.

If Ning Fan successfully obtains it, no one would be his opponent when he faces cultivators of the Dao of Lightning who were at the same level as him!

"I must never let you pass the third stage!"

The elderly man's eyes flashed with ferocity as if he had lost his sanity. He controlled the formation of the third stage frantically and summoned a few lightning spirits which manifested into Wild Beasts to assault Ning Fan.

However, before these Wild Beasts could even get close to Ning Fan, all of them were eliminated one after another as soon as he raised his finger and pointed at them. To Ning Fan, it was as easy as taking out something from his pocket.

The elderly man could not stop Ning Fan from breaking through this stage!

Ning Fan paid no attention to the elderly man. His gaze swept across the surroundings. The sky of this area was filled with countless rays of lightning which was the power that condensed the two heavenly paths.These paths led to two exits that were located in the vault of the heavens.

At the entrance of one of the paths, a stele which was carved with a single word 'Dao' stood beside the exit…!

As for the other path, there was also a stele which was carved with the word 'Life'.

On the surface, this stage looked very similar to the previous one.

However, the concept that was being tested in this stage was far more difficult than the earlier stage.

To cultivators, in between their Dao and lives, which was much more precious? Between the Path of Dao and the Path of Life, which was the correct path?

Ning Fan knitted his brows tightly together. He stood facing the two paths and pondered. In the blink of an eye, half a day passed with him remaining at his original spot.

He had already understood the difference between immortal and mortal in the past. Thus, he could pass the test without much difficulty.

However, he had never thought about his Dao and Life.

During his journey in the past, he sometimes upheld the Devil Dao while sometimes he also pretended to support the Righteous Dao. There were also times when he walked the path of the Demon Dao. His Dao varied from time to time and it was muddled.

Throughout his journey, he had viewed people's lives like mustard grass. In his mind, the only way to deal with his enemies was to eliminate them. The difference in treatment for his enemies was either to kill them once in their current lifetime or keep killing them in their coming ten thousand lifetimes.

For those whom he decided to kill just once, he would give them a chance to enter into the cycle of reincarnation. This kind of enemy just had a different Dao from him. However, he did not have a deep enmity against them. Thus, he could still spare them.

For those whom he decided to kill ten thousand times, he would eliminate all possibilities for them to take revenge on him. This kind of enemy must have had relentless and irreconcilable grudges against him.

Ning Fan shut his eyes and his thoughts gradually quieted down.

Be it Dao or Life, they might be precious to other cultivators but it was not worth mentioning to him.

Seeing Ning Fan fall into a dilemma, the elderly man naturally heaved a deep sigh of relief. Inwardly, he continued sneering at Ning Fan.

In history, there was no one who could pass through this stage.

Some cultivators chose the Path of Dao but they ended up losing their lives right here.

Some cultivators chose the Path of Life and managed to avoid death. However, because of their choice, they lost their Dao.

The elderly man smirked coldly. If he was the one to choose, he would certainly choose Life.

It was because someone had told him this: If I throw a punch at you, you will lose your life. If you lose your life, what's the point of cultivating and attaining the Great Dao? Life should, of course, be the supreme Great Dao!

"In this stage, if you choose Dao, you will die but you will live if you choose Life. However, even if you choose Life, you certainly can't look for me outside of the formation to get your revenge after passing through the third stage. You want to kill me, don't you? Unfortunately, it is absolutely impossible!"

The elderly man sneered but Ning Fan was not affected by his words.

Life was undeniably very important. If one loses their life, they certainly could no longer cultivate their Dao.

To cultivators who wholeheartedly pursued the higher cultivation realms, protecting their lives was certainly their top priority.

However, to an ordinary individual, there were too many things in their lives which were much more important than their own lives. Moreover, those things could even be more significant than their Dao!

Ning Fan did not agree with the elderly man's opinion.

In Ning Fan's eyes, the elderly man could not even compare with the ferocious beasts in the lower level of the Black Lightning Realm which were not afraid of death.

In order to guard the teleportation formation, those ferocious beasts did not hesitate to sacrifice themselves. Even though they were afraid of Ning Fan, they still did not back off even for half a step.

As they were his enemies, Ning Fan had to kill them. Even so, his heart retained a trace of respect towards these ferocious beasts. In the face of these beasts, Ning Fan would only choose to kill them once.

These beasts clung to their Dao inside their hearts. In order to protect that Dao, they still chose to fight even though it meant death for them!

In their eyes, as long as their Dao existed, they would live on but if their Dao vanished, they would perish!

Ning Fan looked back on his past. He had met and killed too many enemies of this kind who attached their hearts to their Dao.

As he continued to ponder, his thoughts went deeper and the Dao Comprehension rose within him.

The First Step of Cultivation consisted of seven cultivation realms. Cultivators of these seven cultivation realms struggled and strived just to attain longevity. That was the meaning of Life.

The Second Step of Cultivation consisted of three cultivation realms. Immortals of these three cultivation stages sought and explored continuously just to attain the truth of their Dao. That was the meaning of Dao.

However, no matter if it was Dao or Life, Ning Fan was seeking after none of them. In fact, they never were what he was looking for. He was never concerned about how long he could live or the truth of the Dao.

What mattered to him had always been the extremely trivial things and people.

"From the beginning of my journey up until now, I, of course, valued my own life. However, there were too many times where I had to risk my life and bet on the will of my Dao to fight, compete and kill in order to deal with those difficult situations and create a path to advance. I was left with no other options. As long as one's Dao remains, they would live on but if their Dao vanishes, they would perish. I can understand their feelings… To me, however, Dao and Life aren't the most important things."

"If she can have peace and joy… I don't even care even if I lose both of my Dao and Life! Thus, to me, Dao and Life can both be crushed!"

Ning Fan raised one of his fingers and pointed at the two paths in front of him. Golden purple mist shrouded the sky. It carried the will and determination to dissolve everything.

The heavenly path of Dao crumbled!

The heavenly path of Life collapsed!

The elderly man's face was filled with fear and shock. He had never witnessed any cultivator who would be so bold as to destroy the two paths of Life and Dao!

It only meant that the cultivator did not seek for longevity or the truth of the Dao.

The elderly could not understand what Ning Fan was after!

To his surprise, however, he realized that Ning Fan had actually accomplished the third stage which no onee in history had succeeded!

In the center of the lightning palace, an enormous door appeared. The third ray of blood-red lightning entered Ning Fan's glabella.

When this final trace of lightning power went into him, the incomplete and illusory Tai Su Lightning Star on his glabella grew rapidly, forming into a complete star!

A rush of blood-red lightning power which was as vigorous as the soaring sea waves spread out from Ning Fan's body. A massive lightning diagram was imprinted beneath his feet. It appeared swiftly, just like opening a portrait scroll.

That lightning diagram was carved with abstruse marks and lines. Just as this lightning diagram emerged, all lightning and thunder in the skies of the entire world seemed to yield beneath Ning Fan's feet!

Ning Fan's body gave off a frightening aura of invincibility which no one could directly stare at. His presence was both powerful and intimidating. His terrifyingly cold eyes could make all creatures change their expressions!

"T-Tai Su Lightning Diagram!"

The elderly man was scared half to death.

This lightning diagram was one of Immortal Emperor Tai Su's overwhelming techniques. As long as he summoned the lightning diagram, he could nearly absorb all kinds of lightning attacks from his opponents who were on the same level as him!

Tai Su's Three Questions which no one had ever managed to get through in history was accomplished at this very moment. The lightning palace collapsed!

Amidst the ruins, Ning Fan stepped on the lightning diagram and coldly stared at an elderly man in grey robes who was standing in the distance.

That person was the realm spirit, the despicable elderly man who deliberately made things difficult for Ning Fan and wanted to kill him here!

"You can die now."

Ning Fan's eyes flashed with indifference. He stretched his five fingers and clawed at the heavens. With the power of the lightning diagram, countless rays of lightning heeded his command and turned into a massive blood-red lightning palm imprint which fell down on the elderly man.

The destructive power of that single palm imprint could definitely rival a single strike from a cultivator at the Void Glimpse Stage.

The elderly man's eyes widened with shock. If he takes this palm imprint head-on in usual times, it would certainly not kill him even though it would inflict heavy injuries on him.

Today, however, as he tried to murder Ning Fan with his vicious plots, he suffered a severe backlash each time Ning Fan passed through the stages. With the grievous injuries he had now, his cultivation base had already regressed to the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm.

When the lightning palm imprint crashed into him, he did not even have time to escape. He could only use up all his lightning power to conjure a faint gold Primordial Lightning Armor to protect his chest.

A golden-colored lightning armor was the second grade of the Primordial Lightning Armor. It was enough to defend against a Void Refinement Realm attack.

However, this lightning armor was just faint gold. It still had a bit of silver color that had yet to recede. Thus, it was not able to completely nullify a strike from a cultivator of the Void Glimpse Stage. Nevertheless, it was still sufficient to protect him from dying.

However, just as this Primordial Lightning Armor condensed, an abnormal thing happened!

The lightning diagram below Ning Fan's feet suddenly gave off a profound and mysterious lightning. It seemed to be giving a command to the Primordial Lightning Armor.

The lightning armor could not resist at all and literally disintegrated. It turned into dots of lightning power that were sucked into the Tai Su Lightning Diagram.

After his lightning armor lost all of its defenses, the elderly man took the damage inflicted by the might of Ning Fan's lightning palm imprint directly.

The terrifying might of his palm imprint was the result of being enhanced by the Tai Su Lightning Star. It was nearly on par with the strike of a cultivator at the Void Glimpse Stage!

When it landed on the elderly man's body which was completely defenseless, it carried a devastating lightning power which drowned him in lightning.

"How could you, a mere Divine Transformation Realm cultivator, be so strong…?! Ahhh!"

The elderly man found it hard to believe. He let out a painful cry and died in the immense lightning power. His body was reduced to ashes and dissipated.

Henceforth, Tai Su's Three Questions had been completely solved.

The lightning palace had already vanished. From today onwards, no one would be able to obtain the inheritance from Lightning Emperor Tai Su!

Ning Fan withdrew his lightning power and removed the lightning diagram beneath his feet. Then, he touched the third divine star on his glabella. His face revealed a look of satisfaction.

The enhancement effect of the third star was really great.

If Ning Fan was going to be blessed with opportunities, with the strength of his third divine star, he completely had the chance to become the next Thunder Sovereign Bu Zhou one thousand years later!

"One day has already passed. It's not good to continue dragging on. I shall head to the Black Lightning Tower as fast as possible… Condense!"

Ning Fan moved his ten fingers and formed a set of hand seals which were exactly the same as those that the elderly man made earlier. It was the hand seals to summon the Primordial Lightning Armor.

In his dantian, a silver lightning armor which was a little illusory formed on top of the body of his primordial spirit that was just as large as his palm. That armor could protect his primordial spirit from being sneak-attacked by the undead spirits in the lightning tower.

Since Ning Fan had just begun to practice the Primordial Lightning Armor, his lightning armor was naturally still at the lowest grade which was silver in color.

The first grade silver lightning armor was only enough to defend against Early Divine Transformation Realm attacks.

However, there was an advantage in this lightning armor – the user could improve the armor by devouring the primordial spirits and lightning power of other lightning cultivators.

After the elderly man died, he did not leave any remains. There was only a massive amount of lightning which filled the skies.

That elderly man was the realm spirit of the White Lightning Realm in the first place. He was a unique type of spirit entity. Thus, he had no physical body but only a body of lightning.

The lightning was his remains. Amidst the lightning in the sky, there was also the lightning power which was transformed by his primordial spirit. It was an extremely nourishing item to the Primordial Lightning Armor. Of course, Ning Fan would not let such a great amount of primordial spirit lightning power go to waste.

He opened his mouth and inhaled, swallowing all the lightning power into his abdomen to be assimilated into his lightning armor.

The lightning power that a Void Refinement Realm expert had gathered in his entire lifetime was certainly impressive. It directly raised the grade of Ning Fan's lightning armor to the second level of the silver grade!

The lightning armor on the second level of the silver grade was strong enough to withstand a Mid Divine Transformation Realm attack on his primordial spirit!

"I wonder how much lightning power from the undead spirits I can devour by killing all the way up to the seventh floor in the Black Lightning Tower. To what level could this Armor of Primordial Lightning Armor improve?!"

Ning Fan's eyes burned with excitement. If he has enough primordial lightning to devour, this Primordial Lightning Armor would certainly be a rare and strong defensive technique!

…

On the lower level of the Black Lightning Realm, Hong Yi remained silent.

She found that all the words that Ning Fan uttered when he passed through the three stages in a row and killed the realm spirit were unforgettable.

She really had underestimated Ning Fan.

It was beyond her estimation that Ning Fan would actually accomplish Tai Su's Three Questions and obtain the Tai Su Lightning Star…

"Unexpectedly, it has only been ten thousand years and such an outstanding individual has been born in the Rain World… This young man is excellent. He has the Wind Mist Finger and the Tai Su Lightning Star. He can help me achieve great things!" Hong Yi spoke to herself. She seemed to be convinced of something.

She kept her bronze mirror and no longer spied upon Ning Fan. Well, if she wishes to continue spying on him, it was also impossible for her to do so.

The Black Lightning Tower concealed the heaven's secrets. Once Ning Fan enters the tower, she would not be able to observe Ning Fan's actions with her bronze mirror anymore.

However, she also did not think that there was a need for her to continue watching him.

The current Ning Fan had passed Tai Su's Three Questions and condensed the Tai Su Lightning Star. Besides, he had also comprehended the technique of Tai Su Lightning Diagram by chance. With his current strength, it would be more than enough for him to kill all the way up to the seventh floor of the Black Lightning Tower. Aside from that, he might even be able explore the first ten floors.

Without a doubt, letting Ning Fan gather the dark golden bamboo leaves was definitely not an issue.

Hong Yi had never expected that the helper whom she randomly found would be such an impressive individual.

To her, Ning Fan's usefulness was extremely great now!

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