Grasping Evil

While holding an umbrella, Ning Fan held Zhi He's hands and walked past the snowy areas of Seven Apricot City and returned to Si Fan Palace.

The pill chamber, the apricot farm, Du Gu's sword grave… All of these sceneries were still the same as before. Nothing seemed to have changed.

Ning Fan closed his eyes, recalling his past memories of this place. His heart that had remained cold for a long time gradually turned warm.

Zhi He was on the verge of breaking through to the Gold Core Realm. She was about to sever her emotions… However, she was reluctant to sever her heart's devil because her heart's devil was Ning Fan.

With Ning Fan's current cultivation base, he completely had the capabilities of helping Zhi He form her gold core without severing her heart's devil. It was as easy as blowing off dust and was not difficult.

He did not deliberately conceal the news of his return. The four greatest families protecting the Seven Apricot City had already received the news.

Three patriarchs of those families had personally arrived outside Si Fan Palace to meet Ning Fan. Only the head of one family came late. Aside from that, Ning Fan found that person's qi rather unfamiliar…

The four families of the Seven Apricot were the Wu, Ye, Mo and Fang Families. The head of the Fang Family did not come in person… Instead, the person who headed there was the new head of the family.

Ning Fan stroked Zhi He's hair with an emotional sigh and asked, "Did the former lord of the Ye Family… pass away…?"

"Yes… During the past forty years, the heads of the four greatest families had reached the bottleneck of the Gold Core Realm successively. The patriarchs of the Mo, Wu and Fang Families had successfully formed their gold cores. Only the head of the Ye Family failed to form his gold core and died ten years ago…" Zhi He lowered her head as if she could not bear to speak about that tragedy. She was still as soft-hearted as before.

"Failed to form the gold core… The world is unpredictable and everyone has their own fate that they can never defy or force… Let's go and meet the heads of the other three families."

Ning Fan let out a gentle sigh. The world's affairs are ever-changing and life and death is unpredictable. Who could foresee that they would die or live tomorrow?

After leaving Yue Country for forty years, an old friend of his had already passed. It affected him deeply but there was nothing he could do about it.

Together with Zhi He, they walked out of Si Fan Palace. Four cultivators were already patiently waiting for them outside.

Three of them were Early Gold Core Realm cultivators. They were Wu Lan, the head of the Wu Family, Mo Rushui, the head of the Mo Family and Fang Nuo, the head of the Fang Family…

The fourth person was the new head of the Ye Family. He was just a young man at the Early Harmonious Spirit Realm. His innate potential could be considered quite good.

"Greetings to the Young Lord!" The four cultivators uttered in unison and were going to salute Ning Fan with a bow.

"You may dispense with the formalities. It has been many years since we last met. I believe everyone has been doing well during this period of time." Ning Fan smiled gently and casually flicked his sleeve. Then, a gust of cool breeze brushed against their faces. The four of them felt that their bodies seemed to have been paralyzed. None of them could actually kneel or bend their bodies.

The Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator of the Ye Family looked stunned. He was surprised at Ning Fan's great ability. With just a casual flick of his sleeve, he could actually stop him from kneeling down.

In the meantime, an immense feeling of shock washed over the three Gold Core Realm cultivators like raging waves.

In any case, they were still Gold Core Realm cultivators. However, they actually could not withstand the magic power which Ning Fan had summoned with a casual flick of his sleeve… All of them could not help but wonder what exactly his current cultivation base was as he could immobilize them with just a simple move!

The three of them had also heard of the Marquis White Robe. However, none of them thought that the young lord of the Seven Apricot City and Marquis White Robe were one and the same.

They spread out their spirit sense, trying to inspect Ning Fan's current cultivation base.

When they scanned Ning Fan with their spirit sense, their expressions turned pale. They could feel that the person standing in front of them was not the young lord of the Seven Apricot City but an insurmountable mountain. His heavy aura force pressed against them to the point of suffocation!

"Young Lord's cultivation base is actually so powerful. Could it be that… you have already broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm?!" The head of the Mo Family, Mo Rushui, spoke with eyes shining in wonder.

"Old Ancestor Jing Zhuo of the Fire Cloud Sect is an Early Nascent Soul Realm expert. However, he doesn't have a heavy aura force like Young Lord's… From my perspective, Young Lord should have already reached at least the Mid Nascent Soul Realm!" The head of the Wu Family, Wu Lan, covered her mouth with her hand and said in surprise.

"No! Young Lord's cultivation base is definitely not just at the Mid Nascent Soul Realm! I met a Mid Nascent Soul Realm senior ten years ago. Even that senior did not have such a frightening aura force! I think Young Lord's cultivation base is at the Late Nascent Soul Realm at the very least!" The head of the Fang Family, Fang Nuo, said firmly.

"O-Oh my god! The young lord of our Seven Apricot City is actually a Late Nascent Soul Realm expert?!" The Harmonious Spirit Realm young man from the Ye Family was dumbfounded. He was still young. He had not been born yet forty years ago. Thus, he had never met Ning Fan before.

*Chuckle*

Zhi He could no longer hold back and smiled mischievously.

Late Nascent Soul Realm? How could her Big Brother Fan only be at the Late Nascent Soul Realm?

Today, Marquis White Robe's name was widely known around the world. Why was there no one who would think that Marquis White Robe was her Big Brother Fan?

Why was there no one who would guess that her Big Brother Fan's cultivation base had already broken through to the Void Refinement Realm?

"Actually, Big Brother Fan's cultivation base is much higher than the Late Nascent Soul Realm. He has already reached…" Zhi He who had been containing herself wished that she could directly tell the heads of the four families what Ning Fan's true cultivation base was.

However, Ning Fan stroked her hair and gently placed his hand on her lips, stopping her from telling them the truth.

It was not because he did not want her to tell them his true cultivation base nor was it because he wanted to deliberately keep it a secret.

He was just afraid that they would be scared half to death after telling them his cultivation base at the Void Refinement Realm which would then ruin the ambience of their reunion.

"City Lord Zhi He said the young lord's cultivation base is actually higher than the Late Nascent Soul Realm?! Is it possible that Young Lord is now at the legendary Peak Nascent Soul Realm?!" Fang Nuo said in disbelief.

"If Young Lord is a Peak Nascent Soul Realm expert, your identity can probably scare King Jin and solve the crisis of our Yue Country!" Wu Lan said optimistically.

"Right. The reason why we came here today is to discuss with Young Lord about the 'Great Jin's Merger'." Mo Rushui remembered what they came here for and immediately reported to Ning Fan while holding her forehead.

"Great Jin's Merger?" Ning Fan's eyes turned slightly cold. Even though he had heard about Great Jin harboring malice against Yue Country, he did not know about the whole incident.

Mo Rushui and the others quickly told him the details.

When Ning Fan passed by the Great Jin in the past, King Jin was only a Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

A short while after Ning Fan left the country, King Jin broke through to the Peak Nascent Soul Realm.

Then, King Jin sought refuge in the Serene Heaven Palace which was a division of the Rain Palace and gained the support of the Serene Heaven Palace Lord who provided him with a secret method to break through to the Early Divine Transformation Realm within forty years.

When King Jin had attained the Divine Transformation Realm, the level of Great Jin also improved. From being a mid-grade cultivation country, it was promoted to a high-grade cultivation country.

Under the instruction of the Serene Heaven Palace, King Jin ordered the neighboring eleven countries to submit and integrate into his country. Besides that, he even sent out Nascent Soul Realm experts to threaten all of the sects in those eleven countries to yield to them.

King Jin wanted to merge the eleven low-grade and mid-grade cultivation countries into Great Jin's domain. This was the Great Jin's Merger that gave rise to a lot of discussions.

Ten days later, King Jin would hold an assembly regarding the merger of countries in Song Country located at the north of Yue Country. King Jin was giving a final chance to all eleven countries. If any of those countries still refused to join Great Jin during that time, King Jin would annihilate the country and every sect involved…

"Serene Heaven Palace… It seems like it's the division ruled by the Sixth Prince of the Rain Palace, Yun Youmu…" Ning Fan muttered to himself. He, of course, did not place King Jin in his eyes.

"Young Lord, if you really are a Peak Nascent Soul Realm expert, you must head to Song Country and participate in the assembly to back our Yue Country!" Mo Rushui and the others pleaded to Ning Fan.

"Don't worry. I will not just stand by and watch!"

Ning Fan nodded and gave his promise. After dismissing the heads of the four families, he turned around and returned to Si Fan Palace, directly hugging Zhi He to sleep.

Tonight was the first night they reunited. Without a doubt, they would have some intimacy to celebrate their reunion.

On the next day, Ning Fan secretly left Si Fan Palace and headed to other places in Yue Country.

He did not only have friends in Seven Apricot City but also in other places. No matter what, he still had to pay them a visit.

In Ning City, the Three Divine Armies of the Black Devil were standing guard as usual.

Forty years had passed. The fame of the armies had spread across the entire Yue Country because all the devil guards had reached at least the Harmonious Spirit Realm.

As for the three commanders of the armies, their cultivation bases were even higher. Even Nan Yangzi and Lu Nanzi had achieved great improvements in their cultivation.

When Ning Fan appeared in Ning City, no one noticed how he got in.

The three divine armies were greatly shocked by his appearance at first. The sound of countless arrows whistling through the air resounded.

However, when the armies got a clearer look at Ning Fan's appearance, each of them was petrified as if they had just seen a ghost.

In the next instant, an earth-shattering cheer erupted within the city!

"It's our young lord! Our young lord has returned!"

"The Three Divine Armies of the Black Devil greets the Young Lord! Welcome back to Yue Country!"

Countless cultivators knelt down before Ning Fan. Among the crowd, a few people who looked overjoyed rapidly flew toward him.

"Nan Gong, Si Tu, Wei Chi, Nan Yangzi, Lu Nanzi greets the Young Lord!"

"You all may dispense with the formalities."

Ning Fan's eyes scanned across everyone. Looking at each and every one of those familiar faces, his heart gradually turned warm.

The commander of the ice division, Nan Gong, cultivated both the ice and lightning elements. He had already reached the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul Realm. Currently, he was a renowned expert of Yue Country.

The commander of the sword division, Si Tu, emanated an imposing aura of evil sword qi. His cultivation base had already reached the Late Gold Core Realm. With his current strength, he could even put up a fight against a Peak Gold Core Realm cultivator!

Wei Chi, the commander of the apricot division, was still as buff as back then. He actually had also reached the Peak Gold Core Realm by depending on the dual cultivation method between human and beast.

Nan Yangzi was already at the Mid Gold Core Realm whereas Lu Nanzi was at the Early Gold Core Realm.

Wei Chi looked at Ning Fan with a silly smile on his face. There was a ravishing woman following behind him.

"My wife, come and meet our young lord."

"This maidservant greets the Young Lord." As soon as Wei Chi's wife heard what her husband said, she bowed at Ning Fan respectfully.

Ning Fan was slightly surprised. After not meeting them for forty years, We Chi had actually established his own family already?

When Ning Fan shifted his eyes toward that beautiful woman, he nearly could not hold in his laughter.

That beauty was not a human but a pig demoness. Her original body was a sky river pig.

If Ning Fan was not mistaken, she was the little piglet which Wei Chi held in his embrace!

After having sexual intercourse and performing dual cultivation with Wei Chi, this piglet had also broken through to the Gold Core Realm and gained human form.

Ning Fan who rarely expressed his emotions laughed to his heart's content. This Wei Chi really was amusing. Making a pig demoness his wife…

When Ning Fan laughed, everyone was stunned for a second and began laughing together.

Their laughter was as carefree as before.

However, when they finished laughing, Nan Gong's eyes turned serious. He cupped his fists at Ning Fan and said, "I suppose Young Lord should have already heard about the Great Jin's Merger on your way back to Yue Country. I wonder if you have any plans in mind!"

When everyone heard Nan Gong raising an important issue, their expressions began to turn serious again and stood up straight to await Ning Fan's orders.

If Ning Fan orders them to join Great Jin, they would follow his order despite their reluctance.

If Ning Fan orders them to wage a bloody war with Great Jin, they would be willing to shed their blood in Great Jin even if they could not defeat them!

As long as Ning Fan gives them an order, they would certainly obey without any qualms!

"Plan? Well, this is an unnecessary question. I'm originally uninterested in Great Jin's plan of integrating the other countries. However, since they have laid their hands on my people, it's impossible for me to ignore this matter. They need to pay with their lives!"

Ning Fan's eyes were cold and indifferent. It was the bone-chilling coldness that one would have after trampling upon countless corpses and seas of blood.

When Nan Gong and the others met Ning Fan's eyes, their expression turned pale. Each of them had strong cultivation bases. In Yue Country, they were considered first-class experts. However, they could not withstand the killing qi from a single look in Ning Fan's eyes at all!

"Young Lord, what exactly is your cultivation base?! You could make us lose all resistance with just a look!" Nan Gong was flabbergasted.

In his life, he had only met a cold look that intense once before. It was the expression he read from Old Devil's eyes when he met him for the first time!

Those eyes carried a devil might that looked down upon the entire world. No one could rival him!

"You all should get some rest for now. Nine days later, I'll lead all of you to Song Country!"

Ning Fan smiled. In a flash, he had already vanished without a trace.

Every single person in the three armies was astonished. That was an exceedingly frightening travelling light. The speed was not something they could imagine!

"Is it possible that… our young lord has already broken through to the Divine Transformation Realm?!" Nan Gong guessed inwardly, finding it difficult to believe. From his perspective, only the legendary Divine Transformation Realm experts could possibly have that kind of travelling light.

…

In the Fire Cloud Sect, Old Ancestor Jing Zhuo was sitting under a fire orchid tree. He was gently feeding medicine to a lady who had a vacant expression.

It had already been thirty plus years since Jing Zhuo left the Endless Sea and returned to Yue Country. He was the first Nascent Soul Realm expert of Yue Country and its strongest expert!

The lady in front of him was none other than the love of his life – Lady Yun Hua.

After Jing Zhuo had broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm, he had been searching everywhere for a method that could allow Lady Yun Hua to break free from the body of a spiritual puppet and be truly revived. Eventually, he found one method.

Not wishing for longevity. Not wishing for power to rule over the world. Just wishing to correct your reflection…

He did not forget the promise he made in the past. His life ambition was not to advance to the Mid Nascent Soul Realm but reviving his dead wife while he was still alive.

He had found a method to revive her wife. However, he could not make Yun Hua's soul return to her physical body at the end of the day.

In order to make her soul return to her body, he would need to achieve the Void Inquiry Stage and use the void power to restore the void and return her soul. Only then would there be a chance for him to succeed.

Jing Zhuo smiled bitterly. Where could he find a Void Inquiry Stage old monster to return the soul of his wife?

After all, he was just a small Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

In the past, he thought that the Nascent Soul Realm was a supreme cultivation realm. However, after he witnessed the terrors in the Endless Sea, he realized that Nascent Soul Realm cultivators were just as insignificant as ants in the eyes of truly powerful experts.

"Yun Hua, I will certainly make you truly come back to life in my lifetime. Trust me!" Jing Zhuo, who had gray hair, spoke with a smile.

"Mm. I believe you." Yun Hua smiled faintly at him, just like the blossoming fire orchid.

"Nine days later, I will have to head to Song Country to participate in the assembly. I've owed Ning Fan too many favors. I'm afraid I won't be able to fully repay him in my entire life. Since he isn't in Yue Country now, I have to help him protect the country. No matter what, I can't let King Jin annex this country!" Jing Zhuo's eyes flashed with a hint of anger.

"My husband, you must be careful on this trip…" Yun Hua gently stroked Jing Zhuo's face.

When the two of them were having a display of their deep feelings, a light cough suddenly reverberated behind Jing Zhuo.

Jing Zhuo's face was filled with surprise! The Fire Cloud Sect had extremely strict defenses. Who could actually sneak inside the Fire Cloud Sect stealthily and even get past his senses?!

Before he could turn around and look, a hand was already gently patting his shoulder.

"Fellow Daoist Jing Zhuo, it's been many years already. I hope you are doing well."

"You are… Ning Fan!" Jing Zhuo was startled at first. Then, his expression revealed a look of joy.

"You're back! Yue Country is saved!"

"Yes. I'm back. Great Jin is finished." Ning Fan smiled jokingly.

"What is your current cultivation base?! I already can't see through you at all. Could it be that you have already achieved the Divine Transformation Realm?!" Jing Zhuo made a guess.

Ning Fan only smiled at him without telling him the truth. However, when he inspected Lady Yun Hua carefully, he sighed with emotion.

"You are trying to resurrect her, aren't you?"

"Yes. I've found a method that could give her a chance of revival even though she is currently in a puppet's body. However, my cultivation base is not enough to return her soul to her body… *Sigh*…" Jing Zhuo said dejectedly.

"Returning her soul to her body?"

Ning Fan went silent for some time. Then, he suddenly lifted his finger and pointed at Yun Hua's glabella.

Jing Zhuo and Ning Fan had quite a close friendship. Thus, it was fine for him to give him a hand.

Strands of void power covered the tip of his finger. After he applied the power, Yun Hua's soul became connected with her original body and then fused with it!

"You don't have to worry about Great Jin. With me here, Yue Country will not be in any danger. Just stay here and look after your wife."

Ning Fan gave him a smile and left. His travelling light was so fast that Jing Zhuo actually could not see how he departed.

Jing Zhuo had yet to digest everything that had happened. He had no idea of the profound meaning behind Ning Fan's actions and words.

All of a sudden, the lady in front of him made a sound. She rubbed her forehead and said, "It's strange. How did my soul return to this body?"

*Clang*

The bowl of medicine in Jing Zhuo's hand fell to the ground, shattering into pieces. However, he did not care about it at all. His eyes were fixed at Lady Yun Hua and gradually moistened with tears.

"It's Ning Fan. It's him who helped you return your soul to your original body… He… Is it possible that he is already a Void Refinement Realm old monster…? Yun Hua, you've finally come back to life. I've waited for this day for far too long…You are still as beautiful as I remember. I, however, am already old…"

Jing Zhuo's white hair messily fell down. His face was covered with deep wrinkles. He was already old…

Lady Yun Hua raised her hand and gently touched Jing Zhuo's wrinkles. With a loving expression, she said, "You aren't old. In my heart, you are still the handsome Jing Zhuo from back then…"

Even though his woman did not age at all, he had no regrets for his promise in the past!

There is no word that can express my gratitude for your kindness, Ning Fan.

Jing Zhuo pulled Yun Hua into his embrace and hugged her tightly. While feeling deeply moved because of his lover's revival, he was extremely thankful to Ning Fan.

He stared at the direction where Ning Fan left, having a hard time getting over it for quite a while.

Outside the Fire Cloud Sect, Ning Fan kept his spirit sense. After sensing that the pair of lovers, Jing Zhuo and Yun Hua, finally got to reunite at last, he could not help but smile faintly.

"The next stop should be the Sinister Sparrow Sect…"

Ning Fan gently took a step forward and travelled across countless distances in an instant. In a matter of seconds, he appeared at the Dark Sparrow Valley located at the western domain of Yue Country.

When he took another step, he directly went past layers of formation light and arrived at the edge of the Bright Moon Pond within the valley.

A lady in blue robes was standing quietly beside the pond. She was the current sect master of the Sinister Sparrow Sect – Lan Mei, the 'Blue Sparrow Sword'.

There was also a lady who wore revealing clothes standing beside her. She was the inner elder of the Sinister Sparrow Sect – Bai Lu, the 'Pink Skeleton'.

Both of them were staring at the pond. Their beautiful eyes held inexplicable longing for a person.

"Great Jin is going to annex Yue Country. Aren't you going to come back yet, Big Brother Ning Fan…?" Lan Mei sighed faintly.

"Humph! That stinky man is full of bad intentions. He must be spending his time drinking and engaging in debauchery. How can he still remember us, the wives who help shoulder his burden?!" Bai Lu complained with her eyes filled with hidden bitterness and light anger.

Ning Fan nearly burst into laughter.

He never knew that Lan Mei would call him 'Big Brother Ning Fan' behind his back… A wave of tingling sensation flowed throughout his body.

He never knew that Miss Bai Lu who had been hostile toward him would actually claim herself to be one of his wives and even harbor a secret grudge for his disappearance.

Ning Fan showed up behind the two of them like a ghost. He then raised his hands and smacked their buttocks.

*Piak* *Piak*

They felt soft and tender.

"Who is it?! How dare you defile me?!" Lan Mei scolded angrily.

"You're courting death!" Bai Lu was literally prepared to kill that person.

The two ladies turned around with immense killing qi. However, just as they saw the man's face, they were stunned and were rooted to the ground.

"W-When did you return?! Y-You… You… You still remember coming back home?!" The two ladies hid the joy in their eyes and purposely revealed a look of anger.

"If I still don't come back, I'm afraid you two won't be willing to form your gold cores for the rest of your lives…"

Ning Fan's eyes scanned past the two ladies mischievously.

Their magic power was clearly enough for them to form their gold cores. Even so, they still had yet to break through to the Gold Core Realm. Thus, the reason why was not because they could not achieve the breakthrough but they were just unwilling to do so.

Just like Zhi He, their heart's devil was Ning Fan. They were reluctant to form their gold core because they were afraid of forgetting Ning Fan.

"A group of silly ladies…" Ning Fan closed his eyes as the warmth in his heart intensified.

Because of this group of silly ladies, this Yue Country was his home.

"M-Master! I've detected your smell. I followed the trail of your smell and rushed to this valley… I didn't expect that you're really back!" A surprised voice of an old man resounded at an inappropriate timing, interrupting the lovely atmosphere.

"Do you have a dog's nose? No one noticed that I've returned to Yue Country. Only you, however, detected my return by sniffing the air from afar."

Ning Fan was speechless. The old man who smelled his return was none other than his first cheap disciple – Xue Qing.

This disciple had already attained the High Grade Fourth Revolution Pill Refinement Realm. Based on his speed of improvement, he would attain the Fifth Revolution one day.

As his pill refinement realm improved, his nose became sharper.

Zhi He and his other women's improvement in their cultivation bases as well as the improvement of the cultivation of the Three Divine Armies of the Black Devil were all Xue Qing's contributions.

Since the day Ning Fan left Yue Country, he had been concocting pills day and night. If there was no Fourth Revolution Pill Refinement Master like him in Yue Country, it was impossible for all the three divine armies to achieve the Harmonious Spirit Realm…

Xue Qing had been working diligently day and night in the past forty years. Now, the master he had long awaited finally returned. He naturally was extremely happy.

However, his euphoria was not because he missed Ning Fan. Instead, he remembered that Ning Fan promised to give him a Fifth Revolution Pill.

"Master, what about the Fifth Revolution Pill you promised to give to me?" Xue Qing asked eagerly.

"Oh yes. I've promised to give you a Fifth Revolution Pill…"

Ning Fan, who seemed to have just recalled, took out one hundred plus bottles of pills from his pouch and placed them on the ground.

"All of the pills in these bottles are Fifth Revolution Pills. Just take whatever you want."

"What?! This is impossible! You actually have so many Fifth Revolution Pills?!!"

Xue Qing's face was full of astonishment. He was literally petrified.

Oh my god! Even a Divine Transformation Realm old monster won't have so many Fifth Revolution Pills. Why does Master have so many with him…?

This is just unreasonable! Since when did Fifth Revolution Pills become as cheap as cabbage that could be found everywhere on the floor?!

"Right. Do you want a Sixth Revolution Pill?" Ning Fan patted his pouch again and took out a delicate jade box. It contained a Sixth Revolution vulnerary pill.

"S-S-Sixth…" Xue Qing was so excited that he lost his ability to speak properly.

He actually was fortunate enough to witness a legendary Sixth Revolution Pill today.

This is truly the best day of my life!

"Master, you are too great! Your virtue equals heaven and earth. Your great reputation shall give you the power to rule the entire world forever!" Xue Qing began flattering Ning Fan incoherently.

All of a sudden, his large red nose wiggled, sniffing the air around Ning Fan. In the next moment, his face looked frightened.

"M-Master… Why would you have a medicine soul! Could it be that you have become a legendary Fifth Revolution Pill Refinement Master?!"

Legendary…

Ning Fan rubbed his forehead.

Is it very rare to possess the Fifth Revolution Pill Refinement Realm? A legend…

Apparently, a Fifth Revolution Pill Refinement Master and cultivators at the Divine Transformation Realm are legendary beings in Yue Country.

Then, Ning Fan quietly thought to himself: Since I am a Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Realm and my cultivation base is at the Void Refinement Realm, am I going to be considered as a legend of all legends?

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