Grasping Evil

A grand auction was going to be held in the Mist Horn Clan.

This clan was neither as strong as the Ghost Eye Clan nor as shady as the Giant Devil Clan. However, it was a little stronger than the Six-Winged Clan as there were three Void Refinement Realm experts overseeing the clan.

While Ning Fan was travelling in the deep ocean, he heard the news about the great incident in the Ghost Eye Clan along his way. Even so, his expression remained unchanged.

In fact, he was now in a relaxed mood since he would no longer be dealing with the Four Clans of the Hidden Ocean once he obtains the fourth slate from the Mist Horn Clan.

Along the way, he remembered the words the Pill Sovereign had said to him. The Pill Sovereign told him that he had once acquired two Min Luo Fruits in the Mist Horn Clan.

When he thought of Min Luo Fruits, he could not help but remember the little girl who asked for 'pill biscuits' from him.

"<strong></strong><anno data-annotation-id="32881706-4930-7d8f-0b12-433e5ceb4b09"><strong>Ming Que</strong></anno>…"

The little pill devil girl in the Dark Sparrow's Grave gave Ning Fan quite a memorable impression. It made him wonder if the Min Luo Fruits in this place had something to do with her.

He shook his head as soon as he thought of that possibility. He did not think that he would meet that little girl in the Mist Horn Clan. That little pill devil should still be playing around by herself in the Dark Sparrow.

The hidden ocean was as silent as a grave. There was only the sound of the sea waves in his ears. Occasionally, several traces of travelling light would fly past Ning Fan.

As Ning Fan travelled, although he might look like he was sauntering idly in a courtyard but no one could distinctly see the motion of his body and catch up to the speed of his movement technique at all.

The Mist Horn Clan also had a devil country where their primary forces gathered. It was Tai Chi City, the main city of the country.

Outside the city, Ning Fan caught a few sea beasts which were capable of shapeshifting to search their souls and memories to gain some understanding of the situation in the Mist Horn Clan.

In the Mist Horn Clan, there were three Void Refinement Realm experts in total. The strongest among them was a Void Inquiry Stage expert who was also the clan leader. Her name was Su Yan and she was said to be an extremely good-looking mature woman.

The other two individuals, on the other hand, were only Void Glimpse Stage experts. One of them was called Gui Jiao. Yue Lingkong had once crushed his attacks with a stretch of silk-like moon ray. The other person was called Xi Mo. Throughout the years, he led armies to garrison around the areas outside the clan. He was said to be on bad terms with the clan leader. However, the specific reason behind their hostile relationship was unknown.

Inside the city, Su Yan and Gui Jiao were keeping watch over the city's expanse. The reputation of the two Void Refinement Realm experts was scary enough to intimidate every bad guy trying to cause trouble during the auction.

Ning Fan remained silent for a brief moment. He had searched the souls and memories of many sea beasts and even a few arrogant members of the Mist Horn Clan. They provided him a lot of information about the clan but there was nothing related to the devil concubine or the slate among the information he got.

Apparently, the information about the devil concubine and the devil slate of the Mist Horn Clan were top secrets of the clan. Perhaps only a few Void Refinement Realm experts would know about it.

"Su Yan, the leader of the Mist Horn Clan, is a woman. With the current level of my Mind Reading Technique, I should be capable of tricking her into telling me the information directly. In that case, I don't need to expend a lot of effort to continue gathering information…"

With that idea in mind, Ning Fan went into Tai Chi City like a gust of wind.

No one discovered him when he entered the city. Only the clan leader who was in the middle of her secluded cultivation opened her apricot eyes with mild surprise, as if sensing something unusual.

"This feeling of soul connection… Who is it…?"

No one knew that Su Yan actually had a mysterious soul connection with Ning Fan.

No one knew that Su Yan who was the leader of the Mist Horn Clan actually had another secret identity and that was her being the devil concubine of the Mist Horn Clan!

When Ning Fan sneaked into the city, he secretly searched the entire devil city. However, he could not find the whereabouts of the clan leader. In his mind, he speculated that Clan Leader Su Yan should be having her secluded cultivation in some kind of hidden heavenly dwelling.

As for the medicine storehouses of the Mist Horn Clan, there weren't any precious spiritual herbs being stored there. Some rumors had been spreading widely which claimed that when King Lan Ling intruded into the Ghost Eye Clan, he had seized not only their devil statue slate but also the countless immortal jade and spiritual herbs inside their storehouses. Those rumors had alarmed many other clans and forces, prompting them to take precautions.

The Mist Horn Clan, for example, deliberately hid their precious items in many different hidden heavenly dwellings in order to prevent them from being stolen.

As for the most precious spiritual herb that was the Mist Horn Clan's specialty – Devil Marjoram, all of them had been relocated to a secret realm. Well, it sure gave Ning Fan a headache as he could no longer steal those spiritual herbs.

It seemed like his plan of robbing the storehouses of the Mist Horn Clan was unlikely to work now and the only option he had to obtain those spiritual herbs was to obtain them the normal way – paying a price to buy the herbs.

With regards to obtaining information from Su Yan's mouth, he did not need to hurry.

After all, once the auction begins, Su Yan would surely show herself. That's the time Ning Fan would have lots of chances to interact with her depending on his identity and status.

Even though Ning Fan had kept a low profile when he entered the city, news of him arriving at the Mist Horn Clan still spread like wildfire after he openly checked into a guest house.

He was the eighth best pill refinement master in the Rain World as well as the half-disciple of the Pill Sovereign. How prestigious was that kind of identity.

Countless cultivators came to pay him a visit. Innumerable old monsters also came to ask him to refine a pill for them. However, Ning Fan refused to meet every single one of them.

There was still a month before the auction begins.

In this one month, Ning Fan did not interact with anyone. Instead, he went into the Yuan Yao World and used the dark golden pagoda for cultivation for the very first time.

On the seventh floor of the dark golden pagoda, time flowed 128 times slower than in the outside world.

One month in reality was equivalent to ten years within the seventh floor of the tower.

Ning Fan went into seclusion for ten whole years. During this period of time, he concocted another dozen pellets of Revered Devil Pills and made the necessary preparations for his breakthrough to the Golden Body Refining Realm in the near future!

If everything goes smoothly, he could then begin to complete his advancement to the Golden Body Refining Realm straight away once he obtains the fourth slate in the Mist Horn Clan!

Other than the Revered Devil Pills, Ning Fan also had another Peak Grade Fifth Revolution pill recipe for concocting a pill called the Devil Raising Pill. It was another pill that could increase one's chances in attaining the Golden Body Refining Realm.

It was obviously better to have more of these pills which could raise his chances of achieving his advancement. Besides, with Ning Fan's current pill refinement techniques, he was capable of concocting the Devil Raising Pill as well.

A month later, Ning Fan got out of the Yuan Yao World. Under the invitation of an elder of the Mist Horn Clan, he headed to the auction. A seat for honored guests was reserved for him.

The auction was being held in a large magnificent palace that had four floors. Gold Core Realm juniors could only sit on the first floor. Those who were able to sit on the fourth floor were all Void Refinement Realm old monsters.

Even though the auction the Mist Horn Clan organized this time was not as grand as the Giant Devil Clan's Pill Ceremony, it still attracted four Void Refinement Realm experts who came from the eight hundred cultivation countries of the Rain World.

Of these four Void Refinement Realm old monsters, three of them were at the Void Glimpse Stage while the other was at the Void Inquiry Stage. Each of them held their heads high, giving off an air of arrogance.

When they discovered that Ning Fan who was just a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator sat on the same floor as them, all four of them wore a displeased look.

However, when they heard of Ning Fan's identity from the mouth of the Mist Horn Clan elder, the contempt on their faces immediately disappeared. All of them looked up to Ning Fan in admiration and the words they spoke to him were filled with the intent to lick his boot.

"Hehe. I didn't expect that you are the great and renowned revered elder of the Great Heaven Palace, the one and only Zhou Ming. It's really my honor to meet you!"

"I heard that Revered Ming is a Peak Grade Fifth Revolution Pill Refinement Master… *Clicks tongue* A Peak Grade Fifth Revolution Pill Master… This identity is far more respectable than being an expert with Void Refinement Realm cultivation base."

"There are rumors saying that Revered Ming managed to kill Shi Kun and Mo Xiu despite having just a cultivation base of the Divine Transformation Realm. Could those rumors be true?"

Each and every one of these old monsters sounded extremely polite. Since they had proper manners, Ning Fan naturally would not be too cold towards them. After having a brief conversation with them, he then remained silent with his eyes closed, waiting for the auction to start.

All of the old monsters were individuals who knew their place. When they saw Ning Fan no longer had the intention to continue talking with them, they also refrained from disturbing him.

Ning Fan who was resting with his eyes closed was carefully reminding himself about the objective of his current trip.

Acquire 8 tufts of forty thousand years old Devil Marjoram during the auction and then seek for an opportunity to approach Su Yan…

"Look! It's the 'Heaven Swallowing Island Lord' from <strong></strong><anno data-annotation-id="ff5801d9-c1c4-3b17-651d-974c13504687"><strong>Si Kong Island.</strong> </anno>She came here again. I wonder if I can get some Min Luo Fruits from her this time…"

All of a sudden, some whispers could be heard from the Divine Transformation Realm cultivators on the third floor.

Ning Fan was not interested in the discussions of Divine Transformation Realm cultivators. However, as soon as he heard of Min Luo Fruits, he got interested and opened his eyes to take a look at the new guest who had just arrived.

The four Void Refinement Realm experts beside him also opened their eyes and spread out their spirit sense with great interest to find out what kind of person the so-called 'Heaven Swallowing Island Lord' was to possess the fabled Min Luo Fruits.

At the direction where the crowd were staring, an Early Divine Transformation Realm female child ascended to the fourth floor under the escort of a dozen Divine Transformation Realm experts.

Among the group of experts, other than an elderly man who showed sincere willingness to follow the young girl, the rest seemed to have been forced to obey her and had signs of being planted with mental seals.

Even though there were many Divine Transformation Realm cultivators in that group, the leader of the group was just an Early Divine Transformation Realm. The four Void Refinement Realm experts lost their interest to continue probing into them. Only Ning Fan seemed rather surprised.

Well, it was truly surprising to Ning Fan. He had never expected that he would be meeting this young girl in such a manner at this place.

She wore a small-sized, black chinese-style jacket. She had red lips and a set of pure white teeth with two little canines. Her hair was tied up into two cute buns with neat bangs just above her eyebrows. She looked so adorable. As she arrived, she was nibbling an unrecognizable ten thousand years old spiritual herb, completely indulging in her food.

"It isn't tasty at all! This ten thousand years old <strong></strong><anno data-annotation-id="b32de9e5-c497-6ca7-d291-81d86aca1d01"><strong>Profound Radiance Fruit</strong></anno> is really bad! Although it's called Profound Radiance Fruit3, it isn't as sweet and tasty as a mango at all! Grandpa Qu, let's sit here."

"Yes, Mistress." The elderly man who was called Grandpa Qu was the only expert among the group who had not been planted with a mental seal. His cultivation level was at the Mid Divine Transformation Realm and was respectful and obedient to the young girl from the depths of his heart.

As for the other Divine Transformation Realm servants, they seemed to have already gotten used to her habit of chewing on ten thousand years old spiritual herbs. As they looked at her two little canines, they were filled with fear and embarrassment at the same time.

Who told you that a Profound Radiance Fruit is a mango fruit?! Profound Radiance is a magic technique that gives off light while a Profound Radiance Fruit is a spiritual fruit that helps enhance the ability of the Profound Radiance.

The Profound Radiance Fruit is not a mango! Doesn't she have any common sense?! Treating a ten thousand years old Profound Radiance Fruit like a common fruit to eat. This literally is wasting a precious heavenly item!

Everyone in the group was criticizing the girl inwardly but no one dared to express any dissatisfaction towards her.

They had tasted bitterness and hardship from her and were aware of how strong and violent she was aside from her adorable and tender side.

All of them had been captured by the young girl and forced to be her servants.

Even though her appearance was not impressive, her little punches which seemed tender and weak at first carried a terrifying strength which was comparable to that of a Late Divine Transformation Realm expert.

The countless cultivators in the hall looked at the young girl with different expressions. Some felt happy to see her hoping to get some Min Luo Fruits from her hands while some were afraid of her, worrying that she would catch them and turn them into her slaves.

As for the way Ning Fan looked at her, it was filled with gentleness. He recognized her.

This pure and innocent young girl was none other than the little pill devil from the Dark Sparrow's Grave.

"It's her, Ming Que. Why did she come here? Her qi has grown so strong. The only thing that concerns me is that her qi seems to have experienced some changes… Her pill devil qi had slightly diminished while the qi of the Immemorial Dark Sparrow inside her increased by a lot. Does that elderly man with the surname Qu have something to do with everything that had happened to her?"

Ning Fan's eyes faintly scanned past the elderly man beside Ming Que. He was a cultivator of demon veins and possessed a trace of the Dark Sparrow's qi as well.

As Ning Fan was contemplating whether or not to walk up to her and greet her immediately, a heavenly melody produced from two ancient string instruments, qin and se, echoed from afar.

A whiff of light fragrance filled the auction stage situated at the center of the hall and was slowly spreading throughout the area. Then, a beautiful woman who was clad in light yellow robes appeared ethereally.

The appearance of that beautiful woman instantly attracted the attention of countless men.

The color of her dress was plain and simple. Her face was free from any cosmetics. Her thick long hair hung down to her shoulders like a waterfall. And there were two delicate tiny jade-colored horns on her head which made her look like a dragon lady.

She was in her mid-twenties based on her appearance. The two lumps on her chest looked soft and ample. Under her dress, her long white legs had perfect curves and roundness which added a special touch of attraction to her overall physique.

"Are you all done looking?!"

Her red lips moved. Her voice was tender and pleasant to hear. However, her presence emanated a vigorous and bone-chilling aura force.

That single sentence she spoke was infused with Void Inquiry Stage aura force which caused a sudden sharp pain on the eyes of the experts who were peeking at her alluring body, making them stop peeking at her.

She was none other than the leader of the Mist Horn Clan, Su Yan!

Even though she had peerless beauty, no one dared to ogle at her anymore. She was like a thorny rose!

Just as this woman appeared, she suddenly raised her head and stared at Ning Fan's direction in disbelief.

"It's him! He is the person who has a soul connection with me!"

Meanwhile, Ning Fan was also looking at Su Yan, feeling a little surprised.

"She is the demon concubine of the Mist Horn Clan!"

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

<annotations style="display: none;"><ol class="tinymce-annotation-container"><li data-annotation-id="32881706-4930-7d8f-0b12-433e5ceb4b09">Ming Que (Chinese: 明雀 Pinyin: míng què)Ming Que is the latest translation for "Bright Sparrow" which is the name of the little Pill Devil who appeared in an earlier arc where Ning Fan visited the Dark Sparrow's Grave.</li><li data-annotation-id="ff5801d9-c1c4-3b17-651d-974c13504687">Si Kong Island (Chinese: 司空岛 Pinyin: sī kòng dǎo)In this case, the possible meanings for the name are as follow:Si (司 sī), which is possibly a verb in this case, means manage or controlKong (空 kòng), which is likely to act as a noun in this case, means air or the sky.</li><li data-annotation-id="b32de9e5-c497-6ca7-d291-81d86aca1d01">Profound Radiance Fruit (Chinese: 玄芒果 Pinyin: xuán máng guǒ)However, ignoring the first word, Xuan(玄), 芒果 means mango fruit. Ming Que might have mistaken the name of this spiritual fruit by just looking at the last two words of its name. </li></ol></annotations>",