Grasping Evil

“Eh? Fellow Daoist Zhou doesn’t look good. You haven’t fully recovered yet?” The two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators showed their concerns.

“No. It’s nothing.” Ning Fan could not just tell them this directly, “I saw the look of looming death from your faces. Both of you are going to die horribly soon…”, could he?

Would they trust him? Of course not. He would end up offending the both of them.

“Hai. I have heard that Commander Zhou Ming suffered severe injuries and had to resign from his position of a commander. I truly feel that it was quite a pity.”

“It’s not really like that. It’s because of my carelessness that I got injured in battle. I hope Fellow Daoists wouldn’t laugh at me, would you? Hmm. I am thinking why this teleportation formation has yet to activate. I can’t wait to leave Great Jin…” A crease formed between Ning Fan’s brows. He sensed the danger that was quickly approaching them, disrupting his calmness.

“Hehe. Fellow Daoist Zhou might not know about this. This teleportation formation would be able to teleport us millions of li away. Since the distance of teleportation is too great, all of us might lose our lives in the Void Realm if something goes wrong with the formation that might disrupt the process of teleportation. Therefore, the formation must go through a thorough check before activating it. This might take us a few days… By the way, I am going to “Zhong Zhou” (Zhong 中 means middle, Zhou 州 means state. It’s Middle State in full) to attend the Assembly of Dan. Meanwhile, Fellow Daoist Yang would be going to Xi Chuan, to rescue his sect. What about you? You seem to be in a hurry. I would be very delighted if you happen to go to the same destination as me.”

“Haha. I guess I will be disappointing you. I am going to the Endless Sea at the east. I want to break through the bottleneck of my cultivation realm there…”

“What?! The bottleneck of your cultivation realm? Don’t tell me Fellow Daoist Zhou is going to break through to the Late Nascent Soul Realm?”

Chen Xiu and Yang Zhu gaped in astonishment. Chen Xiu became even more respectful towards Ning Fan while the latter envied Ning Fan’s progress of cultivation.

In Nascent Soul Realm, the difference in power is tremendous for every small realm, ranging from Early Nascent Soul Realm to Peak Nascent Soul Realm. For example, the magic power of a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator is twice that of an Early Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. Meanwhile, the magic power of a Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator is three times of a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator’s. For a Peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, the magic power is five times of a Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

In the path of cultivation, the higher the cultivation realm, the bigger the difference in magic power would be, let alone the difference in strength. If Ning Fan was really going to break through to the Late Nascent Soul Realm, the gap between him and the other two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators would be even greater. It’s no wonder that they would be surprised and full of envy.

However, they were still unaware that Ning Fan was not a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator at all. Ning Fan was not going to break through to the Late Nascent Soul Realm. He was just going to form his Gold Core.

But even if Ning Fan tells them the truth, they would not believe him.

Chen Xiu was still able to talk and laugh but Yang Zhu’s face turned gloomy upon hearing Ning Fan’s destination. Even so, there was a similarity between the two of them – they were dying.

Ning Fan’s eyebrows knitted tightly together. As his instincts told him that the danger was getting closer, his heart became more anxious.

“Can we enter the formation now?”

“Hai… Why are you so impatient, Fellow Daoist Zhou. You should know that it’s going to take a while to examine the formation, right? If there’s any mistake during the teleportation, all of us might die…” Chen Xiu replied with a relaxed tone.

“Actually, I do have urgent matters to attend to and needed to leave immediately. Can we request to activate the formation right away?” Ning Fan shook his head faintly. Of course he would be willing to wait for a little longer for safety purposes if there was no incoming threat. Now, all he wanted was to waste no more time waiting and stay away from Great Jin as far as possible.

“Hmmph. Fellow Daoist Zhou. Why are you being so stubborn? It’s not only you who have urgent matters to settle since we do too. However, you can’t place everyone’s life at risk for your own matters.” Yang Zhu said in a dissatisfied tone.

Chen Xiu instantly let out a dry cough to stop Yang Zhu from speaking.

To him, Ning Fan was a cultivator who was going to achieve Late Nascent Soul Realm. He must never offend him.

“Okay. I have an idea. What about we enter the formation and teach the juniors the steps to examine faster. Then, we might be able to save some time. Do you agree with me?”

Chen Xiu chuckled as he suggested his idea. Ning Fan shook his head helplessly.

What he says is quite reasonable… If something’s wrong with the formation, we will die in the Void Realm and no one would be able to save us.

“I agree. I guess I have no other options but to wait a little while more…”

All of them were led to different parts of the formation by the cultivators who were guarding it.

This enormous formation was divided into dozens of areas which teleports the cultivators in different destinations. There were just 3 people waiting in the area which were headed to the Endless Sea.

Ning Fan sat down with crossed legs on the floor without letting his guard down. He quickly took out an oracle bone[1] and performed pyromancy. It showed greatly ominous signs.

His expression paled. He sensed that the danger was getting more and more intense. His instincts were telling him that staying in Great Jin for a little longer was absolutely a wrong decision. He must travel across millions of li away to avoid the incoming threat.

“Is something bad going to happen?” Jing Zhuo narrowed his eyes as if he saw through Ning Fan’s thoughts.

“Yes. I have a bad feeling.”

“Why don’t we just make a move to make things faster?” Yin Suqiu understood Ning Fan’s feelings by judging his expression. She knew Ning Fan must have seen something coming that she could not.

“You are right…”

Ning Fan nodded his head gently and indifferently asked one of the guards.

“How much longer do we need to wait for the examination to be finished?”

“Senior, we’ll need another 2 hours…”

“What?! It’s too long. We can’t wait any longer. Activate the formation. Now!”

“This…” The guard was baffled by Ning Fan’s demand. It was because if something really goes wrong with the formation, they could not bear the responsibility.

As for Yang Zhu, he spoke to Ning Fan discontentedly.

“Fellow Daoist Zhou Ming, why do you insist on doing something that is out of line with established procedures? Don’t tell me that you, a Nascent Soul Realm expert, don’t have the patience to wait for another 2 hours.”

“Aiya. Fellow Daoist Yang. Be careful with your words…” Chen Xiu quickly tried to stop the conversation from getting any worse. He helplessly shook his head towards Yang Zhu. Anyone would know what he was trying to tell Yang Zhu judging by his body language.

“Are you courting death, Fellow Daoist Yang? That Zhou Ming is a ferocious man who could even eliminate a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. Are you trying to offend him?”

Yang Zhu shot him a loathsome expression. He was always proud and have been revered in his own country. So it would be very hard for him to show humility in front of Ning Fan.

After taking Chen Xiu’s advice, he heaved a deep sigh as though he was still unsatisfied with Ning Fan and nodded.

“Fine! Activate the formation now. Are you satisfied, Fellow Daoist Zhou Ming?”

The guards no longer dared to disobey them as Yang Zhu and Chen Xiu agreed to activate the formation.

They went through a brief check and opened the portals for teleportation.

Strands of power from the Void Realm encircled each of the cultivators in the formation and the atmosphere around them rippled violently.

Ning Fan shut his eyes slowly and heaved a sigh of relief.

Finally… Finally, I can go to the Endless Sea! I want to achieve Core Formation, Nascent Formation, Spirit Severing Realm, Void Refinement Realm and lastly, Void Fragmentation Realm! I must obtain more power as fast as possible!

However, Yin Suqiu was a little blue.

After we reach the Endless Sea, are we going to drift apart from each other… Will we even meet each other again in the future?

This journey was truly unforgettable.

Do I still have the chance to play the flute for him?

Just ignore the hidden feelings. We should leave as early as possible since grave danger is fast approaching towards Great Jin.

The heaven and earth trembled as the portals shone with rainbow-colored lights. After a period of a few more breaths, each of them would reach their destinations safely.

Yang Zhu’s face was gloomy as he was still displeased that he yielded to Ning Fan earlier.

Just as the portals were ready, a bloody stench of demonic qi enveloped Jiang Zhou City. A cold and malicious laughter reverberated in the entire city.

“The person who killed my partner! There’s no escape for you! Finally, I’ve caught up with you!”

That voice made every cultivator’s blood ran cold in the city.

Both Chen Xiu and Yang Zhu underneath the ground lost their composure when they sensed the sudden presence of the demon!

“Spirit Severing Realm demon?! It’s impossible! He should be in the Dragon Vision Pond. Why would he come here?!”

Ning Fan’s eyes also widened with fright.

He never expected that he still could not keep the Demon General away even though he had been very careful in the entire journey!

It’s not wrong. This bloody qi really does belong to the Demon General! It’s similar to the virtual shadow of the man with bloody scales when I captured the female demons. My instinct was accurate after all. It was really him that brought me the feeling of danger!

“Demonic Technique, Sea of Blood!”

When his merciless tone dropped, the entire city became shrouded by a blood light. No one could view what was happening inside the city other than hearing loud wails and cries from cultivators. Each of them perished as mists of blood!

Within seconds, the city turned into ruins. The ground that separated the underground formation and the surface crumbled to the power of the bloody light. All of them in the portals were now exposed!

Amidst the sky, a red-haired man with bloody scales all over his body gazed upon the sea of blood below his feet!

He carried an air of indifference and an irresistible might of a Spirit Severing Realm demon!

Apparently, I was a little late. That human is already inside the formation while the portals have already opened. They will vanish in just a few more breaths.

Humans are cunning… After I succeeded in my Dragon Transformation, I quietly left Dragon Vision Pond and sneaked into the lands of humans to find him. It’s really beyond my expectations that he would escape from my grasp by using the short-ranged transportation portals in every city. To be frank, I’ve become a little exhausted in trying to catch him.

If I enter the formation, I might die under the power of the Void Realm. The only option is to kill him using demonic techniques before he successfully teleports away.  

 

Footnotes

^ 1. According to Wikipedia, Oracle bones are pieces of ox scapula or turtle plastron, which were used for pyromancy -  a form of divination in ancient China. Click herefor picture.