Grasping Evil

After hearing Elder Jiang’s words, Zhao Zijin got the shock of his life.

If what Elder Jiang says is true, then it would mean that I have just offended a fierce Mid Nascent Soul Realm expert whose combat power is comparable to that of a Late Nascent Soul Realm expert! But why haven’t I heard of him before?!

“I suppose Elder Jiang is just joking. If this person really is a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, why couldn’t I sense his cultivation level when I met him face to face?”

“No! I can joke about other things but not this one! Nearly ten years ago, I once brought the disciples of my sect into the sea to temper their skills by cutting down human sharks. Unfortunately, we encountered the Upheaval of Thousand Human Sharks.”

“The Upheaval of Thousand Human Sharks? Oh. I heard it was caused by the members of the Demon Sealing Sect from the Internal Endless Sea…” Zhao Zijin nodded his head as he recalled his memories of the incident. However, what Elder Jiang said next made his face turned pale. Not only him, but also everyone including the rest of the six top talents were shocked.

“That time, I felt the presence of a fierce devil approaching us. Each of his teleportations allowed him to travel thousands of li. When he brushed past me, I saw his face. It was exactly the same as this person in the projection! During the incident, he crushed his Sea of Consciousness as the price for the ability to enhance his speed of teleportation. The insane and indifferent look that he wore was etched deeply into my memories. There is no way I can ever forget about it… After he asked me for the exact location of the incident, he then dashed into the groups of human sharks alone…”

“What?! He faced thousands of human sharks all by himself?! Also, he could even teleport thousands of li for every teleportation he did?! Don’t tell me he really is a Mid Nascent Soul Realm expert!”

After his words fell, there was dead silence in the air. Those who said that they would avenge Zhao Zijin did not dare to utter another word.

It would be fine if they were just going to face a Mid Nascent Soul Realm expert whose combat power could rival that of a Late Nascent Soul Realm expert. However, if they were to face a madman like Zhou Ming, no one would be willing to recommend themselves to do so. It was because not even the heavens would know what an insane expert like him would do when he was pushed to his limits.

Zhao Zijin let out a few dry coughs and his eyes met those of another elder of the Profound Virtue Sect. Both of them could tell the fear each other had for the person.

After two days the 8 men he sent to pursue Zhou Ming have yet to return. It seems the eight experts he sent are probably dead already in the latter’s hands.

But even if Zhou Ming is a madman, he would not be that reckless to kill the experts from the top ten sects in their territories.

Zhao Zijin calmed himself down and filled his cup with wine. He forcibly maintained an unperturbed smile and said,

“Crushing his own Sea of Consciousness. Teleporting thousands of li every second. He truly is a terrifying madman. However, he is just a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator after all. Based on what Elder Jiang said, this person might possess uncommon power but he is just a rogue cultivator. From the way he travelled in the past, he is probably a foreign rogue cultivator who entered the Endless Sea using the sea route. As such, he does not have any backing here. What should we be afraid of?”

But just before he could finish his cup of wine, another person’s voice was heard!

“Wait! I remember now! This old man has seen him before! A few days ago, when I was entering the Pleasure Devil Sea, I saw him engaging five devil cultivators from afar. He was trying to save the female cultivators of Bi Yao Sect. I recognized the five devil lords. They were the renowned “Five Ugly Monks” from the Black Buddha Sect. Therefore…Therefore I did not dare to give a helping hand to the members of Bi Yao Sect and left… As for the result of the battle, I do not know what happened… However, it has been rumored that the sect master of Bi Yao Sect has arrived on the island safe and sound. That is to say, this person managed to save them from the five devil monks…”

“Five Ugly Monks?! The Five Ugly Monks from the Black Buddha Sect?! Elder Xue, are you certain?!”

“It can’t be wrong! I am just unsure of how the battle turned out…”

“What kind of result do you expect?! Yesterday, when I passed by the external part of the island, I met the vice sect master of the Black Buddha Sect – Xie Guang, who was at the Early Spirit Severing Realm by chance. Just as he set foot on the island, he flew into a rage. I heard that it was because the Five Ugly Monks of his sect have all been killed. If Elder Xue did not see wrongly, I guess it was this person who killed them all!”

*Sucks in cold breath together*

Every Nascent Soul Realm expert at the scene sucked in a cold breath at the same time.

*Crack*

The jade goblet in Zhao Zijin’s hand slipped and fell to the ground and shattered.

His thoughts were in disorder as if a tempestuous storm and violent waves had just hit him!

The Five Ugly Monks! The group was led by Milian who was a Late Nascent Soul Realm expert. The other four were Mid Nascent Soul Realm experts whose role was to assist him. Moreover, the leader, Milian, was rumored to possess a second Nascent Soul. His true combat power could even rival that of a Peak Nascent Soul Realm expert. When the five of them worked together, they could be considered middle-grade experts among the Peak Nascent Soul Realm experts in the Internal Endless Sea.

But they died?! Before they died, Zhou Ming was the one they fought… That is to say, the person who killed them all was Zhou Ming!

In other words, this person couldn’t be just a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator…He is clearly an expert at the Peak Nascent Soul Realm and he is at the top of the list among the experts of that cultivation level.

At this moment, the sword that Lu An of the Green Cloud Sword carried at his back cried!

At the same time, the eyes of Wang Yun from the Dao Law Sect flashed with astonishment!

In the External Endless Sea, there’s another young man who has combat power equivalent to that of a Peak Nascent Soul Realm expert?!

Zhao Zijin lost his composure. If Ning Fan was just Mid Nascent Soul Realm madman, he would only fear him but not to the point where he would be too frightened to hurt him.

However, if Ning Fan was a Peak Nascent Soul Realm expert at the top among them, he could not afford to offend him at all!

His father who was the vice sect master of Profound Virtue Sect was only a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. As for himself, he was also at the same cultivation level with his father. For cultivators like them, they would need to be courteous in facing Late Nascent Soul Realm experts, let alone experts at the Peak Nascent Soul Realm. Besides, even Spirit Severing Realm experts would have to show their courtesy towards Peak Nascent Soul Realm experts. As such, could Zhao Zijin afford to offend Ning Fan who was one of them?!

“Detestable! Why hasn’t Lu Wuping returned yet…Could he have met with a mishap?! No, even if the opponent is a Peak Nascent Soul Realm expert, he would not dare to kill the experts from the top ten sects in their territory… Besides, even if I offended him, I did not offend him too much. Perhaps, there is still room for reconciliation…”

Zhao Zijin was no longer in the mood to drink wine. He stood up abruptly and gave an order to the Mid Nascent Soul Realm elder behind him.

“Elder Yuan, quickly prepare lavish gifts. I want to find him and apologize for my offense…”

If he knew this person was a Peak Nascent Soul Realm expert, he, Zhao Zijin, would not have sent his men to tail the latter!

If he knew this person was a powerful madman, he, Zhao Zijin, would not have been so daring to plant a tracking seal on him!

It’s ridiculous, too ridiculous!

All these while, I was painstakingly trying to recruit the experts of the External Endless Sea in order to expand my father’s influence. However, at the end of the day, I actually offended a Peak Nascent Soul Realm expert, an expert that is worth recruiting!

Unfortunately, when he came up with the decision, it was already too late.

All of a sudden, the stench of blood filled the air when a gust of wind with snow blew towards them. Immediately, everyone was on high alert.

In the dark sky, a glimmer of blood light flashed through and transformed into an illusory, grievously injured Nascent Soul. He was completely terrified and panic was plastered all over his face.

Zhao Zijin was shocked but the feeling of shock was instantly replaced by anger.

The Nascent Soul who was about to die in front of him was Lu Wuping!

“He hurt you?! He really has guts to do that! Now, even if he is a Peak Nascent Soul Realm expert, he would never be forgiven as he has just injured a Nascent Soul Realm elder of the top ten set!”

“No… No…”

Upon seeing his own young master was still unaware of the severity of the situation, Lu Wuping’s illusory Nascent Soul was burning with anxiety.

After a tremendous amount of effort, he could only muster his remaining strength to utter a few more words.

“Run…Run…It’s…him…HIM!”

“Run?! Why do I have to run?! I was going to send him some gifts out of courtesy since he’s a Peak Nascent Soul Realm expert. However, since he has hurt the Nascent Soul Ream expert of my sect, he has to give an explanation to the Spirit Severing Realm old ancestor of my sect!”

As he thought of the mysterious Peak Nascent Soul Realm expert who had just assaulted Lu Wuping, Zhao Zijin was secretly delighted, though he behaved like he stood firm for justice.

Great! It’s too great!

If this person did not hurt my people, I would be the person who offended him. In the end, the trouble would be on me.

Now, since he has done it, it is no longer a conflict between me and him. Instead, he has just offended the entire Profound Virtue Sect!

The Spirit Severing Realm old ancestor would not sit idly and ignore it!

Now, there is no need for me to fear him anymore!

“Flee… Flee…” The loyal and devoted Lu Wuping pronounced a few more words like his life depended on it. But he seemed to be unable to comprehend why his own young master was feeling pleased after seeing that he was severely wounded.

“What are you talking about?! You’re such a coward! Lu Wuping, I now order you to lead the way to the expert who hurt you. Today, I must make him give an explanation to my Profound Virtue Sect!”

“Explanation… Do you think you deserve it?!”

Suddenly, a trace of blood-red Violent Qi swept across the Sparrow Ascending Stage!

All the experts at the scene were having a hard time breathing immediately under the pressure of the Violent Qi!

A white-robed young man who draped a black cloak around his body appeared in the snow. His presence radiated an air of indifference. Behind him was a woman who had the same look.

When he made a step forward, all the Nascent Soul Realm experts felt a violent quake in their chests. Experts at the Early Nascent Soul Realm spurted out blood and were injured, while those experts at the Mid Nascent Soul Realm and above might not have suffered any injuries but their blood and qi were in a chaotic state!

Even the Peak Nascent Soul Realm expert, Wang Yun, who was the strongest among the group had a wrong impression in his mind.

He must not fight against this person. If he does, he would not survive!

It’s him! It’s him!

Among all the cultivators in the External Endless Sea, there was only one individual that Wang Yun was fearful of!

He was…Zhou Ming!

“It’s him… Zhou…Ming…” Lu Wuping finally could convey the message completely. But it was already too late!

The two simple words were even more shocking to the hearts of the people present compared to the first step he had just made!

Just as the two words came out from his mouth, the members of the other six sects hurriedly cupped their fists and left. The first thing they thought to do was to wash their hands off of this case and extricated themselves from having any relationship with the Profound Virtue Sect!

Everyone already knew what would happen that night. Even if Zhao Zijin was going to die, it would not be anything surprising because his opponent was Zhou Ming!

No matter what was going to happen, no one would involve themselves in it because the other party was Zhou Ming!

This was the Endless Sea.

An individual who kills a single person is considered a “criminal” but one who is able to kill thousands would be considered an influential being!

The fiercer you are, the more feuds you start, the lesser amount of people who would offend you!

In contrast, if you show the white feather and try to befriend others, you would be considered weak and feeble.

Zhao Zijin’s body quivered uncontrollably. He had no idea that it was… Zhou Ming!

This person could even battle against three Peak Nascent Soul Realm experts by himself and kill all three of them!

Even the old ancestor of his sect once requested that every disciple must not offend the devil lord, Zhou Ming. Otherwise, those who died in his hands would have nothing to do with the sect!

“You… can die now…”

A tremendous amount of killing intent surged within his eyes!

Zhao Zijin’s entire body went limp on the ground…

“I…am…doomed!” 

Note :

Measurements :
a. li(里) = 500 m
b. zhang(丈) = 3.13 m
c. chi(尺) = 30.7 cm