Grasping Evil

On the eleventh floor of the lightning tower, the skies were filled with dark clouds. Cold wind blew and the rain fell constantly. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled from time to time.

At the foot of the Zhong Mountain, a group of nearly two hundred undead spirits were rushing to the valley of the mountain day and night. It was where the palace of Zhu Feng, the lightning lord of the eleventh floor, was located.

The cultivation bases of all the members in that group of two hundred cultivators was at the Divine Transformation Realm and above. Besides, six of them were even at the Void Refinement Realm!

However, the leader of this group of cultivators was not an expert at the Void Refinement Realm. Instead, he was just a young man at the Divine Transformation Realm who was wearing white robes.

"It's near…"

Ning Fan's eyes were calm and composed. Even though he was about to have a fight against the strongest of the eleventh floor, he did not have the slightest bit of concern.

His physical body had broken through to the Peak Level of the Jade Life Realm. With his corpse devil body, he could directly resist a body cultivator with a body at the First Level of Golden Body Realm or have physical confrontation against Void Glimpse Stage old monsters.

After digesting the Immortal Emperor's Finger Bone, Ning Fan was aware that if he displays the sword finger now, its destructive power would probably be completely different from before.

After absorbing that single drop of Mo Luo's blood which he had yet to completely assimilate, he could go into a demonized state with the power of that devil blood and turn into his devil form with the symbolic features of Mo Luo's four slaves. Within that short period of time after his transformation, he could even battle against a Void Inquiry Stage expert!

However, because he had yet to completely assimilate Mo Luo's blood, there was a drawback in recklessly using the power of this blood to go into the demonized state.

Each time Ning Fan demonized himself, he would feel his primordial spirit turning black bit by bit.

The longer and more frequent he went into the demonized state, the greater the intensity of the darkness would be.

That black color was a symbol of devilishness. It would not be a big deal if the devilishness in him was low. However, if he accumulates too much of it, he would probably lose his mind and act without any emotion.

Even though he would not turn into a cold-blooded and heartless person like the black primordial spirit, he never liked external things messing with his mind.

Hence, if he could choose not to use the demonization technique, he would refrain from using it unless he completely assimilates Mo Luo's blood and his body refinement realm breaks through to the Golden Body Realm.

When that time comes, Ning Fan could demonize himself and turn into a giant without worry.

"Kill!"

At the end of the valley, a hidden formation light flashed in the dark. Several tens of thousands of cultivators suddenly appeared with each of them holding a lightning bow. Without hesitation, they fired tens of thousands of deadly lightning arrows at Ning Fan's direction.

The volley of lightning arrows rained on them heavily. As they mixed with the rain and lightning in the skies, they flew even faster than normal.

Each of the lightning arrows was enough to kill a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. In the face of tens of thousands of lightning arrows, even a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator would also be instantly killed with certainty.

However, such a large amount of lightning arrows did not make the group of two hundred cultivators slow down their advancement.

Ning Fan's eyes looked indifferent. He flicked his sleeve. Even though it was clearly just a wave of his hand, he gave out an unimaginable amount of force which was strong enough to shake mountains and rivers. That move was already comparable to the full-powered strike of a Void Glimpse Stage expert!

When he exerted force, the mountains cracked and rivers dried up. All of the incoming lightning arrows shattered to pieces. The several tens of thousands of enemies who were hiding in the dark were wiped out with a single attack. Only seven panic-stricken figures survived by luck. All of them had Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivation base. After witnessing their armies being eliminated in an instant, they were overwhelmed with fear and immediately fled for their lives, returning to their base.

"Retreat at once. We have to report to the lightning lord that Zhou Ming has already breached the line of defense at the foot of the Zhong Mountain. All seventeen lines of defense could not stop their advance. The three Void Glimpse Stage commanders have already died in his hands!"

"Do you think you can run away…?"

Ning Fan's tone was cold. When he raised one of his palms, an icy sword light which was as thin as the wings of a cicada flashed past them and disappeared without a trace.

At the next second, the dantians of the seven who were in the middle of escaping were pierced through by a sword light.

That sword light was too fast. It was even faster than the travelling speed of a Void Glimpse Stage expert. Other than experts at the Void Inquiry Stage, who else could defend against such a fast-moving sword light?!

The sharpness of the sword light nearly disregarded all kinds of defenses of the Void Glimpse Stage.

Just as the sword light went through their bodies, there were one hundred million sword threads penetrating outwardly from the dantians of the seven cultivators. In just a matter of seconds, the seven of them had been shredded into pieces by sword threads and were reduced to blood mist.

Ning Fan's expression remained unaffected. He had already done such brutal killings 16 times while he was on the way to the lightning palace on the Zhong Mountain. This was his 17th time.

There were already 400 Divine Transformation Realm undead spirits and 3 Void Glimpse Stage experts that had died in his hands!

He devoured each and every trace of primordial lightning into his abdomen to assimilate them. As for the lightning jades, he gathered them all into his hands and tossed them to Lei Shiyi who was following behind him.

Ning Fan's actions were smooth and swift. Killing others and seizing their treasures were normal to him in the first place.

However, the six Void Refinement Realm experts who were following from behind him, including Lei Shiyi, were already so astonished that their expressions froze.

"This young man's methods are really ruthless! Slaughtering nearly all the members on the first ten floors of the lightning tower… Even a Void Pierce Stage old monster won't be bold enough to do such a thing as it will certainly enrage everyone in this tower. He, however, is very brave to have done so… Judging from his momentum, he not only wants to get to Zhong Mountain and eliminate Zhu Feng, but also kill his way up to the twenty-fourth floor and get rid of King Ying Long!"

Mo Feiyun's heart was filled with utter astonishment. He could proudly say that he had met a lot of heroic and strong individuals in his entire lifetime. Among them, Lei Shiyi was the person whom he admired and respected the most. As for the person whom he was most afraid of, it was none other than Ning Fan that was standing before him.

I'm really ashamed of myself… How silly and bold was I to belittle and tease this young man before this… From what I've seen today, it's certainly as easy as flipping his hands for him to kill me with his strength. Regarding him as a Void Pierce Stage expert is definitely not overreacting… Whenever he wielded his sword, coldness spread and his enemies would die under his sword threads… I suppose his cultivation in the Dao of Swords is certainly very profound as well."

Chu Nanfeng muttered to himself.

Amazement filled Lei Shiyi's eyes time after time. In the past, he knew that Ning Fan was very strong. However, he had also noticed that the latter was not as strong as he was today when he met him three days back.

The previous Ning Fan gave Lei Shiyi the feeling like he was being naturally restrained. That feeling actually originated from the Tai Su Lightning Star.

As for the current Ning Fan, there were two types of completely different aura force inside him. Each of them was able to strike fear into Lei Shiyi's heart.

"That kind of aura force gives me a suffocating feeling… Even a Void Fragmentation Realm old monster won't possess such strong aura force… What exactly happened to this young man in the past three days?!" Lei Shiyi thought to himself.

Along their journey, Ning Fan took care of almost all of the killing.

After witnessing Ning Fan take the lives of three Void Glimpse Stage experts with his own hands, there was no longer anyone remaining who still doubted his strength in eliminating Zhu Feng or resisting King Ying Long.

The lightning palace of the Zhong Mountain which was located one million li* (500m per li) away was already within their vision!

Inside the lightning palace, Zhu Feng, the lightning lord who was clad in a set of black armor, was sitting on his throne while looking at each piece of information that was given to him. His expression was grim.

Outside the Zhong Mountain, the seventeen lines of defense which were made up of hundreds of thousands of experts had all been wiped out within just half a day!

The group of people who had done this was really beyond Zhu Feng's expectations. They were actually Ning Fan and the members of the Myriad Treasure Pavilion!

"Humph! Unexpectedly, that Zhou Ming who King Ying Long is currently pursuing still dares to come to my lightning palace. What a foolish and audacious person! Doesn't he know that he is walking right into a trap? Don't tell me that he really thinks that he could put up a fight against me, a dignified Void Inquiry Stage expert, with his lowly Half-Step Void Refinement Realm strength! It's utterly ridiculous!"

"As for the Myriad Treasure Pavilion, their judgement seemed to have really been clouded by their boldness and rashness. Lei Shiyi! This man has lost to me eleven times already. Originally, I thought that he would know what's good for him. He ought to behave accordingly ever since his last defeat and obediently hand over the emperor bone. Unexpectedly, this sinful creature still dares to challenge me again! If he is bold enough to come to my lightning palace, I will certainly make him regret it for the rest of his life!"

Zhu Feng's wrathful roar reverberated inside the lightning palace for a long period of time.

His Void Inquiry Stage aura force was as big as the mountains and as vast as the sea. When it spread across the atmosphere, it caused the air inside the great hall to become abnormally heavy. Countless Nascent Soul Realm and Divine Transformation Realm undead spirits fell to the ground as they could not endure the intense pressure.

Only nine Void Glimpse Stage old monsters present could remain calm after blocking Zhu Feng's aura force.

"Rest assured, Lightning Lord! Inside this lightning palace, there are us, a group of ten Void Refinement Realm experts in total standing guard. Even if Zhou Ming or the Myriad Treasure Pavilion has three heads and six arms, it will still be equivalent to digging their own graves when they finally come here…"

An old man with whiskers like that of a mouse spoke with ridicule. His name was Ma Renwang and his eyes which were as tiny as mung beans flashed with ferocity as he spoke.

He did not place Ning Fan and his group in his eyes. The other eight Void Glimpse Stage experts also did the same. Hence, all of them absolutely agreed with the words of the rat-whiskered elderly man.

"Exactly! Fellow Daoist Ma is totally correct. If that Zhou Ming comes to the lightning palace, he will die without a doubt. Even though he managed to breach all lines of defense along the path and came with great momentum, he probably just depended on the forces of the Myriad Treasure Pavilion and his three Void Glimpse Stage spiritual puppets. At the end of the day, he is just a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator. A Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator can never overcome the gap in cultivation level and kill a Void Glimpse Stage expert. It's fine if that young man does not enter the lightning palace. However, if he really steps into this palace, I, Li Gui, will be the first one to eliminate him!"

Another Void Glimpse Stage expert who was much taller and bigger spoke in agreement.

All of a sudden, the great hall was filled with mocking laughter and words of ridicule about Ning Fan and his group.

At this moment, a bone-chilling voice which was as cold as a ten-thousand-year-old glacier suddenly resounded in the entire lightning palace on the Zhong Mountain.

It carried an aura force which was as heavy as one thousand mountains and a lofty air which looked down upon all things. The voice blasted the ears of the group of cultivators in the lightning palace like the thunderclap that comes after one hundred million rays of lightning flashes. At the next moment, the cultivators below the Void Refinement Realm had blood flowing out from their eardrums with all of them feeling a sharp pain in their Sea of Consciousness.

As for the Void Refinement Realm old monsters including Zhu Feng, their qi became stagnant and heavy and they all felt a huge weight pressing against their chests. Their expressions changed instantly.

"Who said that I, Zhou Ming, won't dare to come forth?!"

That voice carried a terrifying ferocious might!

The ferocious aura force in his voice alone was enough to suppress ordinary Divine Transformation Realm cultivators!

Suddenly, an atmosphere of fear and panic filled the entire lightning palace.

At the next moment, the earth moved and mountains shook, causing a huge tremor over the range of mountains connecting to the Zhong Mountain on this stormy night!

Countless undead spirits flew out of the lightning palace and looked at the surroundings. Then, all of them sucked in a cold breath.

They saw a group of only two hundred cultivators beginning a large-scale massacre on the Zhong Mountain. All of the two hundred cultivators were at the Divine Transformation Realm and above.

In front of the group of Divine Transformation Realm cultivators, there were six Void Refinement Realm experts including Lei Shiyi and three Void Glimpse Stage spiritual puppets. That group was advancing unstoppably and killing every enemy on sight!

The most frightening part of all, however, was certainly not these Void Refinement Realm experts but a young man in white robes instead.

The young man marched forward with his hands clasped behind his back. Each step he made seemed gentle and light but the force behind his every step was comparable to that of a cultivator with the Golden Body Refining Realm. A single step could move mountains and rivers!

It was none other than him who caused the rumbling tremor of the earth and mountains!

That cold voice which had suppressed countless cultivators in the lightning palace also belonged to him!

It was Ning Fan!

"Kill him!"

Several ten thousand Nascent Soul Realm undead spirits with low spiritual intelligence desperately charged at Ning Fan from behind.

At this moment, Ning Fan suddenly turned around and coldly stared at them. His stare was like cold electricity had flashed past the night sky. When the innumerable Nascent Soul Realm undead spirits with low spiritual intelligence met his gaze, all of them felt their souls shiver in fear. None of them could resist this feeling.

What a fearsome stare!

What kind of bloody battle had this absolute devil been through?!

Even these undead spirits without spiritual intelligence were also afraid of Ning Fan's gaze, much less those who had a low level of spiritual intelligence!

"Get lost!"

Ning Fan roared. Under the amplification of the enormous force comparable to the Golden Body Realm, the sound waves of his roar carried a might which was even more terrifying than any kind of Divine Transformation Realm devil sound!

As soon as the black sound waves came out from Ning Fan's mouth, the physical bodies of several ten thousand Nascent Soul Realm undead spirits instantly collapsed. All of them died screaming miserably.

Ning Fan was unable to withstand Mo Luo's stare.

Likewise, these Nascent Soul Realm undead spirits could not resist a single roar from Ning Fan.

Ning Fan was nowhere near as strong as Mo Luo. But these Nascent Soul Realm undead spirits were far too weak.

"Who said that I will certainly die once I step inside the lightning palace?!"

Ning Fan's gaze shifted to the lightning palace at the next second. He then stepped onto the ground!

The gigantic force spread. The vast skies broke. The lightning palace which occupied one hundred li* (500m per li) collapsed into ruins.

Each of the Divine Transformation Realm cultivators and Void Refinement Realm experts showed themselves. However, the ones whom Ning Fan was staring at among this group of cultivators were only Ma Renwang and Li Gui.

Under Ning Fan's piercing gaze, the two dignified Void Glimpse Stage old monsters felt a chill running down their spines. An immense sense of danger surfaced within their hearts.

Without giving them any time to think, Ning Fan draped the Heaven Deceiving Cloak around him and vanished without a trace.

At the next moment, an abnormal presence moved towards the group of cultivators from the lightning palace and suddenly appeared in front of the two individuals.

An icy sword light pierced through Ma Renwang's dantian.

A forceful punch landed on Li Gui's chest.

Upon impact, Li Gui's chest armor completely shattered and grievously injured him. His eyes were filled with shock and confusion. He could not see through how Ning Fan concealed himself and how he got near them. What he found even more incomprehensible was why the force of Ning Fan's punch was even greater than his own full-powered attack!?

When his sword light went through Ma Renwang, countless sword threads cut through from within him. Without giving Ma Renwang time to think, the sword threads had already shredded his primordial spirit apart.

In just an instant, Ning Fan directly sneak-attacked two Void Glimpse Stage experts. One of them died instantly while the other was severely injured!

"Zhu Feng, come forward and fight me!"

Ning Fan made a step forward. Under the pressure of his aura force, countless enemies did not dare to confront him and they all retreated like receding tidal water.

Even Zhu Feng was deterred by Ning Fan's strength capable of hurting two of his subordinates. He actually fell back half a step, feeling it hard to resist against Ning Fan.

His expression changed greatly. It was impossible for the Ning Fan in the rumors to have such strength of instantly hurting and killing Void Glimpse Stage old monsters!

"This young man is different from the information I got. Why is he so strong?! It's totally unbelievable!"

Zhu Feng's eyes widened in surprise. It was his first time feeling life-threatening danger from a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator!

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