Grasping Evil

"Ning Fan, the painting that Yun Youmu showed you is just an imitation. The original painting is called the Immemorial Fisherman's Raincoat. It's one of the four ancient paintings. These paintings contained the Great Dao. They are treasures that countless true immortals dreamt of obtaining. However, all four ancient paintings had been lost for a long time already. No one knows where they are… The reason why this Yun Youmu sent his men to test you using that imitation is probably because he suspected you of knowing its whereabouts."

Luo You's voice resounded within Ning Fan's mind, warning him against Yun Youmu.

Ning Fan was surprised inwardly but his expression did not reveal a hint of his feelings.

"The Immemorial Fisherman's Raincoat? One of the four ancient paintings?"

It was his first time hearing that name. Even though he had no idea what it was, it must be a supreme treasure since countless true immortals desired to obtain it.

Everything made sense if Yun Youmu really sent his men to test Ning Fan because he had a suspicion of him knowing the whereabouts of the genuine painting.

However, why would Yun Youmu think that Ning Fan might know the portrait's whereabouts?

Ning Fan could not figure it out. However, he was sure that he had no relation with that painting at all. Even if Yun Youmu was really just after that, it was pointless for him to find him.

Looking at Ning Fan's expression that had remained calm and quiet, Yun Youmu began muttering toward himself inwardly: is it possible that this kid truly does not know where the Immemorial Fisherman's Raincoat is?

Yun Youmu once discovered an imitation of the painting from a place that ancient cultivators resided in the past. Besides that, he also found two sets of incomplete magic technique records called 'Immemorial Fishing Line' and 'Fishing Net of Creation'.

From these two incomplete magic techniques, Yun Youmu had comprehended the Dao Lines of Life and Death and even cultivated some Life and Death Qi within his body, giving him extraordinary combat power. He was even capable of putting up a fight against an expert at the Second Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm.

If Yun Youmu's understanding about the Life and Death Qi increases a bit more, he would have high chances of seeing through life and death as well as ascending to the heavens to become an immortal.

Thus, he placed his attention on the original painting of Immemorial Fisherman's Raincoat.

He had searched countless historical remains and finally discovered a clue from one of them.

According to the information he obtained, the progenitor of the Shedding Orchid Sect had once obtained the Immemorial Fisherman's Raincoat. However, he lost it eventually and its whereabouts became unknown.

The Shedding Orchid Sect was once a sect of the Rain World. However, it was eradicated from the world countless years ago. Its historical remains were at the Burning Immortal Valley.

Yun Youmu entered the Burning Immortal Valley several times but he failed to find any clues about the painting.

During the battle of the one hundred sects, Ning Fan had used the Mutual Death Technique in the Giant Devil Clan. After Yun Youmu carried out some investigations, he found out that it was a technique which had originated from the Shedding Orchid Sect. That technique enjoyed great fame for a period of time in the past and it was a technique that the sect would never pass on to anyone.

Thus, Yun Youmu began to suspect that Ning Fan had obtained the teachings of the Shedding Orchid Sect and might know about the whereabouts of the true painting.

However, after testing Ning Fan multiple times today, You Youmu had to admit that he really had never heard of that painting at all.

Since Ning Fan did not know, there was no need for him to go against him and make him his enemy.

"White-Robed Marquis seems to be holding dissatisfaction toward me… However, you can rest assured that I harbor no enmity against you. All I have is good intentions. Hehe. Old Man Chu and I are taking care of the Serene Heaven Palace together. I've heard of your name not just once. Today, I've even had the chance to see you myself. You're truly extraordinary. With your innate potential, you will have great chances of breaking through to the Void Fragmentation Realm." Yun Youmu smiled faintly with his eyes partially closed.

"Is that so…?" Ning Fan replied to Yun Youmu half-heartedly without commenting on what he said.

Yun Youmu might look easygoing on the surface but on the inside, however, he was cold and brutal. Judging from the way he casually killed King Jin and severed one of Fang Si's arms, it was evident that he was a cold-blooded and heartless man.

The Rain Palace had seven princes. The eldest prince, Yun Tianjue, who was also known as White-Robed Sword God oversaw the Great Heaven Palace. He was not the Rain Sovereign's biological son.

The second prince, Yun Xiaoxiang, oversaw the Vast Heaven Palace. He proclaimed himself as the Imperial Cloud Prince.

The third prince, Yun Bushu, commanded the Profound Heaven Palace. He proclaimed himself as the Leisurely Cloud Prince. He was the only prince who had a friendly relationship with Yun Tianjue. Just like him, he was also not the Rain Sovereign's own son.

The fourth prince once commanded the Yang Heaven Palace. However, Yun Tianjue murdered him and the Yang Heaven Palace no longer had a master from then on.

The fifth prince oversaw the Vermilion Heaven Palace. His name was Yun Zhongyan and was the self-proclaimed Flame Cloud Prince.

The sixth prince was called Yun Youmu. He gave himself the title of Poison Cloud Prince. He and Chu Chang An oversaw the Serene Heaven Palace together.

The seventh prince was called Yun Jinghong. He proclaimed himself as the Rainbow Cloud Prince. The palace he commanded was none other than the Scarlet Heaven Palace of which Ning Fan was made the palace lord.

Other than the seven great divisions that each of the seven princes oversaw respectively, the remaining two large divisions, the Complete Heaven Palace and the Altering Heaven Palace, were being guarded by Yun Daoku and another Void Fragmentation Realm expert who was also a member of the 'Great Four Void Fragmentation Realm Experts'.

The Rain Sovereign, the seven princes and The Four Great Void Fragmentation Realm experts… These were the strongest forces of the Rain Immortal World.

Countless thoughts came across Ning Fan's mind. Yun Youmu did not have the highest cultivation realm among the princes. However, he certainly was a dangerous person because of the fact that he possessed the Life and Death Qi.

It must be Yun Youmu who taught Fang Si to use the black fishing lines technique. Since Fang Si was already so powerful, Yun Youmu was definitely much more terrifying.

"I've been too lenient on my subordinates. Today, one of my subordinates actually dared to disrespect one of his superiors and offended White-Robed Marquis. Thus, I'm willing to compensate you, White-Robed Marquis…" Yun Youmu suddenly paused and waved his hand to summon a delicate storage pouch. Then, he passed it to Ning Fan and continued his speech with a faint smile.

"These are just some little toys. I'll give them to White-Robed Marquis. Consider them as my compensation to you. Farewell!"

Yun Youmu flicked his sleeve while keeping his eyes narrowed into slits. A massive amount of magic power carried both Fang Sheng and Fang Si and all of them disappeared without a trace. They had already left.

"*Exhale* That terrifying man is finally gone." Zhi He patted her chest, feeling extremely worried that Yun Youmu would hurt Ning Fan. Naturally, she felt relieved after seeing him disappear.

The entire Lin Shui City was dead silent. No one dared to casually speak a single word. Only gulping sounds were heard in the surroundings.

The city lord of Seven Apricot City from Yue Country was actually White-Robed Marquis whose name shook the entire Rain World… With him around, who else would dare to mess with Yue Country in the future?!

Ning Fan had even defeated the vice palace lord of the Serene Heaven Palace. Even the sect master of the Martial Sect was scared away by Ning Fan's presence. Even the Sixth Prince of the Rain Palace put on a smiling face when dealing with Ning Fan…

This was the impressiveness of White-Robed Marquis!

King Jin was now dead. Great Jin was bound to be doomed. Tianji Laoren fell to his knees with terror written all over his face.

He had tried to murder Ning Fan in the past and he did not know what consequences he would face for his past actions…

On the seats of Wu Country, the three Gold Core Realm old ancestors from the Ning Family of Hai Ning stared at Ning Fan in disbelief. Their eyes were filled with fear.

Many years ago, the three ancestors of the Ning Family had dreamed of the same thing. In the dream, a mortal young man called Ning Fan would trample upon the territory of Hai Ning.

After having that strange dream, the three ancestors had tried to conduct an investigation about the man in private. However, they could not get any information about the young man that had appeared in their dreams. Hence, they gradually forgot about that mysterious dream.

It was only today that the three of them realized that the young man they saw in their dreams that night was actually White-Robed Marquis who was famous far and wide in the Rain World!

"This is impossible! Even though my Ning Family isn't a charitable family, we've never done anything that is ruthless and against reason. Why would we provoke such a frightening big shot?!"

'Young Master Tian', Ning Tian, was the person with the best innate potential in the Ning Family. He was already a Mid Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator after forty plus years under the careful training and grooming of the Ning Family.

He stared at Ning Fan's back that looked too far from his reach and felt a bone-chilling coldness running throughout his body.

He recognized Ning Fan. He remembered that he was none other than the mortal whom he had bullied in the past… He was the person who sold Ning Fan to the All Pleasure Sect!

"The mortal young man whom I bullied in the past has actually become a Void Refinement Realm old monster today! I'm dead! I'm certainly dead!"

Ning Qingqing who was also known as Mistress Qing was sighing nonstop. She was also an outstanding descendant of the Ning Family. Today, she was already a Late Harmonious Spirit Realm female cultivator.

She owed Ning Fan her life. When she was bathing in the pond of the Ning Bi Hill in the past, she was nearly defiled by a gang of scoundrels. If it wasn't for Ning Fan who yelled to warn her, she certainly would not be able to escape that disaster.

She was saved. However, Ning Fan had offended the scoundrels because of that and invited trouble into his life…

In the past, she did not know Ning Fan was his savior. She also had no idea that Ning Fan was sold to Wu Country by Ning Tian.

When she accidentally saved Ning Fan from Ning Tian's subordinates, she did not even know that mortal young man was her savior.

When she found the truth behind everything, she could no longer find nor repay Ning Fan.

When she finally found Ning Fan, he had already broken free from his mortal body and arrogantly stood at the pinnacle of the vault of heavens above the Rain World in a state that she could never have imagined. He became so strong that she could only look up to him in awe…

"Ning Fan… I no longer have the chance to repay you, right…?" She smiled bitterly. Why would Ning Fan, who currently carried the noble title of White-Robed Marquis, need a favor from a Harmonious Spirit Realm junior?

In the past, she was the sky and he was the earth… Now, however, she was the earth and he was the sky…

Ning Fan descended once again on the jade platform that was hanging in midair and scanned around the area. When his eyes scanned past Tianji Laoren and the Ning Family of Hai Ning, he looked down-hearted.

Both Tianji Laoren and Ning Tian wronged him in the past. They must die.

However, the Ning Family of Hai Ning and the cultivators of Wu Country were innocent.

His past resentments had already lessened. He was not willing to commit more massacres in Wu Country. When he looked back at his mortal life, the mountains and rivers in Wu Country once had his footprints as well. The Ning Family of Hai Ning had also once fostered him who was a mere orphan and raised him into a man…

He was not in a hurry to look at the storage pouch that Yun Youmu gave him. Instead, he gradually walked toward Tianji Laoren and coldly uttered, "Kill yourself."

"N-No! I've realized my mistake. I was muddle-headed in the past and that's why I sold Senior's information to the Heavenly Dao Sect. I was wrong! Please give me a chance! Please spare my life! I don't want to die. I don't want to die!"

"If you refuse to commit suicide, then let me help you…"

With a cold and indifferent face, Ning Fan lifted a finger and pointed at Tianji Laoren's forehead. His body trembled for some time while his expression froze. His nascent soul was destroyed and his corpse collapsed to the ground.

"I'm not a kind person. If someone wronged me, I'll seek revenge; if someone helps me, I'll definitely repay them. That's all. You have made a huge mistake in the past and caused the deaths of countless cultivators of Yue Country. Your mistake even nearly got Zhi He killed… After killing you today, that animosity will be permanently resolved…"

Ning Fan did not even spare a glance at Tianji Laoren's corpse. His coldness made countless cultivators shiver with fear.

After that, he gradually walked toward the seats of Wu Country, approaching the Ning Family of Hai Ning. Every step he took instilled immense anxiety into the cultivators of Wu Country, sending chills down the spines of the three ancestors of the Ning Family.

"Is White-Robed Marquis going to eliminate our Ning Family?! Are we going to die?!!!" The three ancestors did not even have the courage to escape.

"Ning Fan! Please spare me! I was wrong. I was thoughtless in the past to have harmed you. I was stupid back then!" Ning Tian suddenly dashed out from the seats of the Ning Family and knelt before Ning Fan, kowtowing and begging him nonstop.

Countless cultivators of the Ning Family were petrified.

It turned out that it was Ning Tian who provoked Ning Fan. It was him who invited a great calamity to the Ning Family!

Ning Fan's face remained cold. He calmly uttered a few words.

"Ning Tian, you've made an inexcusable mistake against me and Ning Gu in that year and you must pay with your life. It's impossible for me to forgive you."

"Since you leave me with no choice, I'll just fight you to the death!" Ning Tian's eyes suddenly flashed with ferocity. He shot out a mid-grade flying sword from his long sleeve which headed directly toward Ning Fan's dantian.

Ning Fan did not even pay any attention to that flying sword. When the flying sword was three cun* (3.33cm per cun) away from him, it was literally burned to ashes by Ning Fan's massive magic power.

With Ning Fan's current level, Ning Tian could certainly not harm him even if he stood still… This was the difference between their cultivation bases!

"Impossible! I don't believe it! Forty years ago, you were just a mere mortal. How did you become so strong? I refuse to believe it! Only I, Ning Tian, am the blessed son of Heaven. You're nothing. Why would Heaven show favoritism toward you?! Ah!"

Ning Fan did not give Ning Tian a chance to continue blabbering nonsense. As soon as he pointed his finger at him, the latter turned into ashes…

As such, his grudges against Wu Country were gone now once and for all, ashes to ashes, dust to dust…

"Are the three of you the three ancestors of the Ning Family?" Ning Fan shifted his gaze toward the seats of the Hai Ning Family and said with a flat tone.

"Yes. We j-juniors are t-the three ancestors of the Ning Family." The three ancestors of the Ning Family were scared half to death. They immediately cupped their fists and bowed to Ning Fan while their bodies were trembling uncontrollably. They did not know how Ning Fan would deal with their family after killing Ning Tian.

"Is Ning Daniu dead…?" Ning Fan suddenly asked an unrelated question.

"Erm... W-Who is Ning Daniu? We don't know him…" The three ancestors began trembling even more intensely. They had no idea if they would enrage Ning Fan if they did not give him a satisfactory answer.

"He is dead. Your foster father is dead. He died of old age." In the next instant, a lady in green robes walked out from the seats of the Ning Family. She was none other than Ning Qingqing.

"He's now dead too…" Ning Fan closed his eyes and felt slightly disappointed.

Ning Daniu was a mortal. He was one of the servants that the Ning Family of Hai Ning adopted and he was Ning Fan and Ning Gu's foster father.

Ning Daniu was not any less harsh on Ning Fan. However, despite his bad treatment, Ning Fan still held gratitude toward him for raising him…

Thus, Ning Fan more or less felt melancholic upon hearing his demise.

Looking at the green-robed lady in front of him, Ning Fan was slightly astonished.

Ning Daniu was just a lowly mortal servant in the Ning Family of Hai Ning. The cultivators of the Ning Family should not have paid attention to a mortal.

Even though he asked the three ancestors of the Ning Family about him, he did not expect to get an answer from them.

To his surprise, this lady could actually give him an exact answer.

"So it's you… Mistress Qing..." Ning Fan recalled his past memories and gradually remembered who this lady in green robes was.

When he was still a mortal young man in the past, he had entered the Ning Bi Hill to gather some herbs.

On that day, he saw a green-robed young lady who was in danger and shouted for help to draw the attention of the gang of scoundrels.

On that day, he had offended Young Master Tian of the Ning Family because of this incident, bringing a life-threatening disaster to himself. When he got in trouble, it was that lady who saved him again.

The resentments and debts of gratitude surfaced in his mind again. All of a sudden, feelings of exhaustion filled him.

"Ning Fan, a-are you going to annihilate the Ning Family…?" Ning Qingqing bit her lips and asked.

"Ning Tian was the one who wronged me in the past. The Ning Family has nothing to do with it. Besides, I've once promised a friend in the Demon Sinister Forest to help her take care of the Ning Family. I won't eliminate the Ning Family… You can rest assured."

Ning Fan turned around to leave the seats of the Ning Family and returned to the jade platform.

His indifferent eyes scanned across the surroundings. Several hundred thousands of cultivators lowered their heads, not daring to look Ning Fan in the eye.

"King Jin is already dead. Great Jin will not be swallowing up the countries. The one that is going to annex the countries will be my Yue Country. I declare that from today onward, the land of the eleven countries here will all be included into my Yue Country's territory!"

"I'm a Void Refinement Realm expert. With me around, the Yue Country will be promoted as a void-grade cultivation country anytime. As long as the countries that join my Yue Country don't rebel, I will not disappoint you all. If any of you have second thoughts in your mind, don't blame me for being ruthless and merciless!"

Ning Fan did not have the idea of discussing with the eleven countries. What he said was an order. Not a single cultivation country would dare to defy his order.

After annexing the countries, Yue Country's territory would expand one hundred times. And Ning Fan had also decided to strengthen his forces within Yue Country.

He wanted to build a force that would be strong enough to protect Yue Country and withstand all the forces of the Rain Palace!

He did not wish to conquer everything by building this force. All he wished to do was to protect each and every one of his women.

Only when he no longer had any need to worry about them could he step onto the sea of blood of the cultivation world all alone!

He would not give anyone a chance to gather the forces of the one hundred plus sects and threaten his friends and relatives again.

"If there is time in the future, I'll return to the Ning Family of Hai Ning and have a look. I also miss the mountains and rivers there." Ning Fan said indifferently to the members of Hai Ning. Then, he turned around and returned to the seats of Yue Country.

"Let's go home." He smiled gently at Zhi He and the other women.

"Mm."

…

Ten days later, on the south-eastern continent of the Rain World, a surprising news was being spread around like wildfire.

Yue Country had annexed eleven cultivation countries including Great Jin and it was officially promoted to a void-grade cultivation country, becoming the nineteenth void-grade cultivation country of the Rain World!

The person who ruled over Yue Country was the lord of Seven Apricot City –Ning Fan who was also known as White-Robed Marquis!

The situation in the south-eastern continent of the Rain World instantly changed because of the rise of Yue Country!

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