Grasping Evil

Hunting 150 Wild Beasts within five months. Even my father would at best only have 70% assurance in accomplishing that mission if he’s the one who enters the Secret Realm… I wonder how sure he is in completing this mission… No matter how strong he may be, he is not a Spirit Severing Realm expert after all.

“Originally, I only have 70% assurance. But now that I have the map, I can somewhat perform sneak attacks and avoid risky confrontations. That’s why I’m 80% confident in succeeding.”

What?! He is that confident of himself?

Xu Qiuling was inwardly astonished. Though she knew Young Master Zhou for only a brief period, she could tell that he was not a person who would try to gain the people’s favor by saying something impressive…

If he says 80%, then there is no reason to doubt him. Having such confidence in hunting down 150 Wild Beasts in just five months…I guess even my father will only be 70% certain of doing it himself. Could it be that this Zhou Ming is stronger than my father?

“Only 80%...” Xu Rushan and Yan Zhongze exchanged glances. A hint of anxiety could be faintly seen from their eyes.

Eighty percent assurance… Is Father still not satisfied even though he already has such a level of confidence?

How high exactly is Father’s expectations on Zhou Ming?!

“Precisely. The reason I claim to only have 80% assurance is because Senior Xu only showed me the map of the outer part of the Secret Realm. If any of the ferocious beasts within the inner part of the Secret Realm comes out and hinder me from killing the Wild Beasts, I can’t guarantee that I will be able to complete the task given to me.”

The affairs of the world are always changing and unpredictable. If Ning Fan could not see what’s within the inner part of the Secret Realm, he could not guarantee the completion of the mission.

“Oh I see… If that is Fellow Daoist’s concern, I think you can be at ease. There wouldn’t be a single beast from the inner part to come out and disturb Fellow Daoist. This is because there is a formation light that separates the inner and outer areas of the Secret Realm. With that formation on, nothing would be able to come out of there…That place might hold the truth as to why the Wild Beasts can grow in such a rapid manner. But none of us really knows since there’s no way for us to get inside it…”

“Formation Light?”

Ning Fan’s brows knitted together.

The Secret Realm of the Broken World has a formation within it? It obviously holds some secrets inside waiting to be unraveled. But as long as it does not obstruct me from carrying out my mission, it will be fine.

“If there is no other potential disturbance, I can assure Fellow Daoist Xu that I can accomplish your mission.”

“Very well. Very well…”

Xu Rushan heaved a sigh of relief. If Ning Fan who has Jade Life Body Refining Realm do not even have 100% assurance of accomplishing it, maybe there would not be any other expert below the Spirit Severing Realm that could fulfill the impractical mission assigned by Venerated Giant.

“Now, Fellow Daoist, please see what this old man has prepared for you. If you find anything lacking, just tell me!”

Xu Rushan stood up with an awkward expression. He shook his head bitterly and clapped his hands twice. Immediately, 12 beautiful female cultivators with curvy bodies similar to an hourglass politely walked out from a room.

All of them were human cauldrons with unrivalled beauty, not to mention their exemplary bewitching techniques. As they arrived in front of Ning Fan, they lined up in an orderly manner and greeted him together.

“Greetings to Master…”

Each and every one of the women’s cultivation levels were at the Nascent Soul Realm!

To Xu Rushan, gifting women as human cauldrons to another man in front of his own daughter was surely not a matter worth being proud of. It was no wonder Xu Rushan wore an embarrassed expression.

However, Xu Qiuling appeared to be quite used to it. Among the devil cultivators, gifting human cauldrons to others could be considered a common practice after all, though she did not like it…

But Xu Qiuling found out that these 12 women were all the remaining Nascent Soul Realm human cauldrons of Pleasure Devil Sect.

Father gifted all of them to Young Master Zhou. Is he planning on not auctioning them anymore?

“The 12 of them grew up in my Pleasure Devil Sect since they were young. Each of them has uncommon bodies and are extremely suitable to be plucked… I heard Fellow Daoist Zhou used to cultivate with the help of human cauldrons. Therefore, are my gifts enough to satisfy Fellow Daoist?”

Ning Fan’s face was emotionless. Within his heart, he let out a faint sigh.

To him, the twelve Nascent Soul Realm human cauldrons together was a really expensive gift but what made him feel disappointed was that there was no sign of the Spirit Severing Realm female cauldron anywhere.

“Fellow Daoist wants the Spirit Severing Realm human cauldron?” Xu Rushan asked, as if he saw through Ning Fan’s thoughts.

“I’m sorry but it might be quite laughable…” Ning Fan bitterly laughed.

“Hehe… This old man isn’t actually trying to be stingy. However, this Spirit Severing Realm human cauldron was captured by the Giant Devil Sect within the Internal Endless Sea. She had quite a powerful influence. If Fellow Daoist obtains that human cauldron, it may not be a fortunate thing, it might be a disaster instead…”

Xu Rushan did not explain further what he meant by disaster. Obviously, there was some secret surrounding the woman.

“Really?” Ning Fan did not prolong the conversation and turned towards the 12 women.

“From now onwards, all of you will be my human cauldrons. If you don’t betray me, I will never mistreat you! At least, I can assure you that you can live the rest of your lives in peace!”

“Thank you Master for sparing our lives!”

The meaning that Ning Fan was trying to convey was clear: If you don’t betray me; I won’t kill you. The most I will do is to pluck you.

To the female cauldrons, it was indeed good news. So it was only natural for them to express their gratitude to him.

However, Xu Qiuling’s feelings felt complicated. She disliked Ning Fan for keeping the human cauldrons. But from the perspective of a devil cultivator, she felt that Ning Fan was kinder than the others. At least, he would not kill, gift or resell them after using them…

Yes, Ning Fan did accept the 12 human cauldrons but it did not mean that he would give up on the Spirit Severing Realm human cauldron.

How exactly does she look like? I guess I would only know about it during the auction. If I really want it, I can just bid it with tons of immortal jade.

After seeing Ning Fan accepting all the human cauldrons without a hint of joy on his face, Xu Rushan put on an awkward smile.

It seems like they’re not enough to buy this Zhou Ming’s heart.

But he also has a point. To Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, 12 Nascent Soul Realm human cauldrons was considered a hefty gift. To Spirit Severing Realm experts, however, they aren’t worth anything.

Xu Rushan stood in silence for a moment. Then he slapped his storage pouch and took out a set of silver armor which sparkled with silver light.

When he showed it to Ning Fan, a slight reluctance filled his face, as if he felt it painful to just give it away. Meanwhile, Yan Zhongze’s eyes blazed with flames when he saw that armor.

“This is…the complete set of spiritual armor that Fellow Daoist Xu mentioned before?!” Ning Fan’s eyes widened a little. In his eyes, this complete set of spiritual armor was rather exceptional.

“Precisely! This set of spiritual armor is known as the Armor of the Silver General. It was the last piece of fine work done by a Spirit Augmentation Master who is already deceased. The entire set consists of seven parts: boots, bottom wear, upper mail, carpal armor, spiritual ring, spiritual pendant and a spiritual helmet. They are all at the Low Profound Earth Grade. The boots can increase your speed. The upper mail can increase the defense of the body. The carpal armor can enhance your physical strength. The spiritual ring improves the primordial power of the five elements. The spiritual pendant enhances resistance against bewitching technique and lastly, the spiritual helmet can block attacks aimed at your Sea of Consciousness. With this complete set of armor and Fellow Daoist’s Jade Life Body Refining Realm, Fellow Daoist can even block a few attacks from a Mid Spirit Severing Realm expert. Moreover, if the seven of them recognize you as their master at the same time, Fellow Daoist can activate the divine ability – Spiritual Formation…”

“Spiritual Formation?” Ning Fan raised one of his eyebrows. This set effect of the spiritual equipment set was equivalent to that of the First Level of Jade Life Realm. Besides, by wearing this set of spiritual equipment, it was enough for him to directly withstand Yan Zhongze’s five palms combined attack.

“Correct. Each part of the spiritual equipment contains a portion of the ability which is sealed off when they are not together. When all of them recognize you as their master, the ability will then be activated. That ability - Spiritual Formation, would speed up the recovery of your magic power by one level. Furthermore, when the seven stars fuse into one, it can condense the Heavenly Spiritual Power and congeal into a Heavenly Spiritual Sword to kill your enemies. Fellow Daoist would find out more about it in the future when you manage to gain their recognition… Regarding the greatness of this set of armor, I only have one comment. Assuming Fellow Daoist has yet to attain the Jade Life Body Refining Realm, if Fellow Daoist obtains the recognition from this set of armor, it would not be difficult for you to put up a fight against a Spirit Severing Realm expert! Even this old man would not be willing to fight against you…”

“Interesting… But can Fellow Daoist Xu explain to me what the emblem of a devil mountain on the spiritual armor means?”

Ning Fan believed that Xu Rushan was not lying. This set of armor truly was powerful.

But what made him doubtful was that such remarkable spiritual armor should not be in the hands of Xu Rushan, an Early Spirit Severing Realm expert.

Maybe this complete set of spiritual armor is not as simple as just a gift.

There was a devil mountain emblem imprinted on the silver armor, as if it was a representation of a powerful force.

If Ning Fan’s guess was not wrong, there must be a special meaning by wearing this set of armor. It would then be difficult for him to take it off.

That mountain is rather familiar… It does resemble the Profound Earth Devil Mark on my back!

In the past, Ning Fan could not understand why Xu Rushan was so respectful towards him. Now, he could indistinctly know the reason.

Perhaps it’s related to the devil mountain!

Furthermore, he only started to behave in that manner after I have condensed my new Divine Intent and summoned the image of the devil mountain.

What exactly is that mountain?

“Let me be frank with Fellow Daoist. That is an emblem of the Giant Devil Sect of the Internal Endless Sea. This spiritual equipment was given by Venerated Giant. And about that mountain, it’s called Evil Luo Mountain! Does Fellow Daoist have any idea about it?”

“Evil Luo Mountain…”

When Ning Fan uttered those three words, he could faintly feel the devil marks on his back burning.

My devil marks must be closely related to this Evil Luo Mountain…

Note :

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