Grasping Evil

The Two Elders of Ling Nan did not dare to conceal any information at all in answering Ning Fan's question. They could only tell him every single detail about the entire event.

It turned out that the reason why the red-haired lady pursued the two was purely because of an accident.

The two were Void Inquiry Stage old monsters who had been searching and exploring historical remains of ancient cultivators throughout the years. In their most recent trip where they checked out an ancient place that was used by cultivators in the past, they accidentally discovered a passage leading to another realm that was filled with immense killing qi.

It was unknown as to what realm that passage would lead to. However, it seemed to be connected to a broken and worn out small chiliocosm.

In the first place, it wasn't strange for a hidden broken realm to exist within ancient remains. Many ancient cultivators liked hiding their precious treasures inside a concealed realm. Thus, the Two Elders of Ling Nan were eager to explore the realm.

However, only after entering the realm did they realize that the small chiliocosm was particularly unique. It was filled with killing qi that even Void Refinement Realm old monsters would find nauseating. Not many people could maintain their composure while inside that realm except for those devil lords who practiced the Dao of Slaughter.

Deep inside the broken world, there were many ferocious but obscure Void Refinement Realm qi. Presumably, it belonged to living creatures that had been left behind in this realm. As soon as the two of them entered, the living creatures of that realm gave them a warning.

"Those who don't belong to this realm should leave now! Otherwise, death is what awaits you ahead!"

That voice sounded extremely impolite. The two elders could not help but feel scared since a lot of powerful beings seemed to reside in the depths of the world.

Therefore, they did not dare to explore the broken world deeply and only examined the outer region instead.

There were no treasures in the outer region, let alone any spiritual herbs. Only a vast and boundless land full of blood-red grass was there. It was a type of grass that the two of them had never seen before.

They were not bold enough to explore deeper into the broken world but they were reluctant to return empty-handed as well. After contemplating for some time, they decided to casually take some of the blood-red grass so that they could study them in the future. Then, they left the broken realm.

However, none of them had thought that their act of picking the grass would actually alarm the Void Refinement Realm experts in the broken world.

Immediately, the red-haired female expert dashed out from the depths of the realm and took the lead in pursuing them.

Behind the red-haired female expert, there was also a large group of cultivators consisting of more than ten Void Refinement Realm experts and a few hundred Divine Transformation Realm cultivators. Every single one of them was female.

These female cultivators had gorgeous and pretty appearances and were brimming with primordial yin. However, their faces had cruel and cold-blooded looks which scared the Two Elders of Ling Nan half to death. It was literally beyond their imagination that there would be so many experts hidden inside a broken realm.

What's worse was that they even sensed a Void Fragmentation Realm qi that was slowly awakening in the depths of the broken world.

The aura force of that Void Fragmentation Realm being gave them the feeling that doomsday had arrived as it gave out a command with a bone-chilling voice.

"Heed my words, my blood slaves. Take down the medicine thieves for me and kill them without exception!"

At this moment, the Two Elders of Ling Nan almost had the impulse to vomit blood. How could they consider them as thieves after they randomly plucked a handful of grass? And the Void Fragmentation Realm old monster gave the merciless kill order on them, causing them to be hunted by so many experts just because of the grass?!

If they really had stolen some kind of rare and unique spiritual herbs of the world, they would find it acceptable to be hunted by others. However, they were extremely certain that the grass that they plucked had no medicinal use at all. It was definitely just a bunch of weeds. There was no way it could be any spiritual herb!

Unfair. It's just too unfair!

The two elders understood that no explanations could help them from this situation at this moment. They were even aware that if this group of experts caught up with them, they definitely had no chance of surviving at all. All they could do was to flee at once.

They did not dare to stay in the world any longer. They flew straight towards the exit of the broken world, trying to get out of the place as quickly as possible. Just as they got out, they both sent out attacks to destroy the passage connecting to the broken world.

Except for the red-haired lady alone, all the other experts of the broken world were unable to get out in time as they were trapped on the other side of the passage.

Even though there was only the red-haired lady who was pursuing the two leaders after that, she seemed to be able to kill the two of them by herself.

In the beginning, the Two Elders of Ling Nan belittled her, thinking that she was just a Void Inquiry Stage cultivator that was alone. The two of them were also at the Void Inquiry Stage. If they fought against her together, they had a high chance of defeating her.

However, who would have thought that the red-haired lady had frightening skills and a cultivation level that was nearly at the peak of the Void Inquiry Stage. She was not a person whom the Two Elders of Ling Nan could resist.

When the red-haired lady used some kind of secret killing technique, she severely injured the two of them easily. After that, they began to play a game of cat and mouse.

The Two Elders of Ling Nan desperately fled for their lives with grievous injuries. Eventually, they tore up space and bumped into Ning Fan and the others. Only then were they saved from her pursuit.

This was all of what the two elders knew. Having recently survived a near fatal encounter, they had yet to snap out of their trance when they recounted the sequence of events."It's really unbelievable for a living Void Fragmentation Realm expert to actually be hiding inside of that ancient remains' broken world. The two of you are very lucky to have escaped from an old monster that powerful." Ning Fan said indifferently.

"Lucky? Hai… If it wasn't for your help, both of us would have died in the hands of that vicious lady for sure. If it weren't for your help, how could we say anything about luck? Hehe. We still don't know your name yet. Fellow Daoist stands at the peak among cultivators of the Void Inquiry Stage but we haven't heard of your great name. Could it be that Fellow Daoist isn't someone from the Rain World?"

The two elders were extremely curious about Ning Fan's identity. Based on his strength, it was impossible for his name to remain unknown among the Void Refinement Realm experts of the Rain World.

"My name is Zhou Ming. I am also a rogue cultivator of the Rain World."

"Oh, it's Fellow Daoist Zhou. It's nice meeting you. These are our gifts for you for saving our lives. Please keep them."

After the two elders consumed their respective vulnerary pills to slightly suppress their injuries, they instantly took out 5 carefully sealed jade boxes. Each of these boxes contained a tuft of one hundred thousand years old spiritual herbs.

It was fairly obvious that these five tufts of one hundred thousand years old spiritual herbs were their appreciation for Ning Fan's help.

"One hundred thousand years old spiritual herbs!"

Su Yan's eyes burned with excitement. Ming Que, on the other hand, was salivating in greed. She wished that she could eat all five tufts of spiritual herbs at once.

One hundred thousand years old spiritual herbs were the necessary ingredients for concocting Seventh Revolution Pills. Even Void Fragmentation Realm experts would find spiritual herbs this old extremely precious. Hence, giving 5 tufts of spiritual herbs this precious to repay someone's help could be considered quite generous.

"We have lost our storage pouches while we were fleeing for our lives earlier. Thus, we only have these five jade boxes that we personally carried with us. We intend to give them to Fellow Daoist to repay your life-saving grace. If Fellow Daoist isn't satisfied with these gifts, you can come to the 'Mythical Fairy Pavilion' in the Middle State in the future. Even though we are merely rogue cultivators, we have our own estates and forces. The Mythical Fairy Pavilion is one of them. The storehouse there is not lacking in any heavenly ingredients and earthly treasures. If Fellow Daoist comes to the Middle State in the future, you can pay a visit to our pavilion and take anything you like until you are satisfied. The both of us will not stop you!"

There was not even a hint of anguish on their faces when they gave the five boxes to Ning Fan and even promised to give him more treasures in the future.

Although the one hundred thousand years old spiritual herbs were precious, they were not as valuable as their lives.

Ning Fan's eyes focused on the two elders and studied them. Then, he kept the jade boxes without any intention of declining their offer.

He could tell that the reasons why they gave him a great reward to repay his help covered both their gratitude as well as their fear for him.

They were people who knew about the virtue of paying back a favor to the ones who had helped them as they were grateful to him for saving them. At the same time, however, they were afraid of his incredible strength.

Therefore, the reason why they used such lavish gifts to befriend Ning Fan was also because they were worried that he might eliminate them while they were currently severely injured.

"Oh yes. Do you still have the grass that you plucked in the broken world with you?" Ning Fan then asked.

"Fortunately, yes. We didn't lose them."

"Can I have a look?"

"It's just useless grass. Fellow Daoist doesn't have to be so formal in asking for it. You can just take it with you. Since this grass was even able to draw out so many experts to hunt us down, it probably has some unique uses even if it isn't spiritual medicine. We can't be sure of it. Perhaps Fellow Daoist can identify the origin of this grass based on your knowledge."

Even though the two elders were certain that the grass was not some kind of spiritual herb, they also suspected that the grass might have a certain special effect.

However, since Ning Fan was interested in it, they were clearly willing to give it to him.

Each of them took out a handful of blood-red grass respectively and handed them both to Ning Fan. Their eyes had looks of expectation as they were hoping that Ning Fan would recognize the origin of the grass.

They stared at Ning Fan's face. Unfortunately, Ning Fan's face remained expressionless even after he examined the grass for quite a long while. Then, he only told the Two Elders of Ling Nan with a flat voice.

"I'm sorry but I don't recognize this grass."

"Is that so? Since Fellow Daoist also doesn't know about this grass, I guess it must be a useless item."

Apparently, the two elders completely believed Ning Fan's words. They no longer mentioned the blood-red grass and neither did they ask Ning Fan how he would deal with that red-haired lady. After having a brief conversation with Ning Fan and Su Yan, they then excused themselves and left, anxiously looking for a place to do their seclusion and heal their wounds.

Ning Fan also did not urge them to stay as he let them go without stopping them.

However, just before they left, he asked them about the location of the ancient remains.

According to what they said, the ancient remains had already been destroyed due to their battle earlier. The place collapsed without leaving any traces. Therefore, it would be impossible for him to find it and enter the broken world filled with killing qi.

Besides, they repeatedly invited Ning Fan, hoping that he would pay them a visit at the Mythical Fairy Pavilion in Middle State when he is available in the future. Only then did they part ways with him.

When they had left, Ning Fan's eyes flickered slightly. He patted his storage pouch and took out the two handfuls of blood-red grass. He dismissed everyone, leaving only Su Yan and Ming Que by his side.

"Could it be that Master has figured out the origin of this grass?" Su Yan guessed after seeing Ning Fan dismiss everyone.

"This grass isn't medicine. It doesn't taste good but it definitely isn't as simple as it looks!" Ming Que said assertively, relying on her sharp senses towards heavenly ingredients and precious treasures.

"Indeed. I have identified this grass' origin and I also know that it is certainly not simple. This grass is called 'Blood Burial Grass'. It's considered rare even in ancient times. It isn't a spiritual herb so it doesn't have any medicinal power. However, it's an indispensable item for some cultivation methods of the Dao of Slaughter in ancient times. If I am not wrong, in the broken world that the Two Elders of Ling Nan stumbled upon, all the female cultivators inside were cultivating their slaughter cultivation methods using this grass. It's not simple... The red-haired lady that I have captured and all the experts inside the broken world… They probably have a powerful background."

Ning Fan kept the Blood Burial Grass and continued speaking.

"The ancient remains have already collapsed so it can't be located now. The passage connecting this world to that broken world has also been destroyed by the two elders so there's no way to enter that world again… This red-haired lady probably comes from a powerful background but her comrades won't be able to find out that I have her with me since they can't leave the broken world. In that case, no potential trouble would arise in the future from abducting this lady."

Evidently, the red-haired lady could no longer escape from her fate. She was going to proudly become Ning Fan's first Void Refinement Realm human cauldron.

There were still around 3 days before they would arrive at Si Kong Demon Island.

Ning Fan was planning on using his Mind Reading Technique to interrogate the red-haired lady after taking a short rest to see whether he could extract some secrets out of her.

However, before he could rest, from the horizon where the sea and sky seem to merge into one, a ray of travelling light exuding massive devil qi was dashing toward him at high speed.

The person who was headed to him this time was also a Void Inquiry Stage expert. The devil qi behind him condensed into enormous black devil clouds which covered the heavens and shielded the sea, turning both the sky and ocean dark.

Ning Fan's eyes suddenly became icy cold. The Void Inquiry Stage old monster that was heading toward him was none other than his enemy that had locked his killing intent on him!

"This person is strong. His strength is even higher than the red-haired lady. However, I've never encountered this person's qi before. He certainly isn't someone of the Rain World." Su Yan's face was filled with solemnity.

"He is the one who locked his killing intent at me previously. So it turns out that he isn't a cultivator of the Rain World… Interesting. It is quite unexpected that a cultivator from a different world would come after me after the Two Elders of Ling Nan have already left for some time. I am really eager to know why this man harbors killing intent toward me! Yan Er, protect the silver boat. I will head over to meet him."

Ning Fan took a step forward and soared into the sky. Standing in midair, he coldly stared at the direction where the enemy was coming from.

From that direction, a devil general who was as dry and skinny as a zombie was flying towards Ning Fan at an incredible speed while holding a Sovereign Execution Token in his hand.

This man was originally extremely far away from Ning Fan. According to Ning Fan's calculation, he would need at least a few months to get to him.

However, he managed to catch up in just one day. Clearly, he had used some kind of distant teleportation technique.

What exactly was the foreign cultivator's motive to spend so much effort to hunt Ning Fan down? Ning Fan really wanted to find out.

There was qi on that person's body which Ning Fan found extremely disgusting.

That person got closer and closer to him. When he reached ten thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) away from Ning Fan, he stopped and darted a cold glance at Ning Fan. He was too lazy to even examine the latter thoroughly.

"Are you the one whom Lord Moksha Sovereign assigned for me to kill? I am General Dao Yan, the one who received the order to kill you. A lowly Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator like you isn't even worth me personally dirtying my hands at all. Hurry up and kill yourself so that you'll be spared from humiliation!"

Devil General Dao Yan stood with his hands clasped behind his back and closed his eyes that were full of contempt.

In his mind, he was a dignified Void Inquiry Stage expert and was part of the top ten devil generals of Moksha Palace while Ning Fan was just a "lowly Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator".

From his perspective, he could simply crush Ning Fan by merely releasing his aura force. However, he didn't even bother to unleash his aura force. He did not put Ning Fan in his eyes at all.

"Moksha Sovereign!"

Ning Fan's eyes shone with a cold light. When he heard that name, he immediately understood why the devil general in front of him wanted to kill him.

This person was sent by Moksha Sovereign to kill him.

This person could be killed!

*Bang*

Ning Fan's body released a wave of vigorous aura force that could break the heavens and sink the earth. In the face of this aura force, Dao Yan immediately opened his eyes with immense shock washing over his mind.

What a powerful aura force. It was even countless times stronger than Dao Yan's. In addition to that, there was even an irresistible aura force coming from his bloodline that made his devil qi and magic power go stagnant.

When Ning Fan took a single step forward while using his aura force, the force behind it rushed toward Dao Yan with a momentum that could push mountains.

All Dao Yan could feel was a sharp pain on his chest. He could not resist Ning Fan's aura force at all. He instantly took a few steps backwards as his eyes widened in surprise. He, one of the top ten devil generals, actually did not have the power to resist Ning Fan's aura force!

"You aren't a Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator!?"

A bad feeling silently invaded his heart. The Ning Fan whom he had been underestimating seemed somewhat frightening…

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