Grasping Evil

The surprise on Lu Wan’er’s face was replaced with terror as she saw the golden wings which were on the verge of materializing break into pieces.

However, when she saw Ning Fan who had his entire body stained with blood while climbing out from the pool, her heart ached.

“Lu Bei, what happened to you? Are you alright?”

“Did you fail? How come it ended up like this?”

“Never mind. Don’t be afraid. It’s nothing even if you fail… I’m here for you…”

But when Ning Fan lifted his head and looked at her, he did not appear to be disappointed nor pretended to be calm. Instead, he only smiled.

Although it was just a faint smile, his eyes were filled with some kind of craziness.

He patted Lu Wan’er’s head. At the same time, a tremendous battle intent surged around his body.

“I did not fail! This time, I broke free from that person’s plot. The next time I undergo Bloodline Awakening, I will make sure his plan will fail!

Lu Wan’er was completely clueless of what Ning Fan was talking about.

However, the one thing she knew was that he seemed to have failed in the Bloodline Awakening on purpose.

Ning Fan took out his battle point plate and swiped it without any hesitation, deducting the remaining one hundred thousand battle points. After that, he leaped into the pool of blood once again!

“Regardless of who you are, your predictions will end here!”

Somewhere in the Void Realm above the Rain World, there were four heavenly gates which led to four different vast, hollow spaces. They were all immeasurably tall.

Beyond the southern heavenly gate, it was a bright world filled with rainbow-colored clouds.

A grey-haired elderly man was sitting in front of a massive chessboard which shone in starlight while adjusting the black and white pieces on it.

He was playing a chess game, but he was playing it with himself.

The chess piece which he was twisting with his fingertips was sometimes dark and sometimes white. Once in a while, it became partially white and black at the same time.

Behind him stood seven polite children dressed in monastery robes. All seven of them were Dao practitioners.

Facing the seventh child, the grey-haired elderly man smiled while placing the chess piece in his hand onto the chessboard.

“Ming’er…”        

“Si Ming is here!” 

“You are already at the peak of the Ninth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm. In other words, you are just a half-step away from the Life Immortal Realm. I, as the Fate Wielding Immortal Emperor, have selected seven Taoist corpses. Which one did you pick to accomplish your Life Immortal Realm?!”

“I picked the Star Lord of the Kui Si1 Star in the Secondary Star Domain in the Southern Ocean Heaven – Kui Ling. Currently, he is a rogue immortal!” Si Ming courteously answered.

“It isn’t the best choice. Due to my plan, after ruling the sea eye of the southern sea for ten thousand years, Kui Ling was betrayed by his closest relative. One of his arms was severed by his loved one, causing his heart to be filled with hatred. After that, he devoted himself into swordsmanship. Using his heart to sharpen the sword, turning his own very eyes into swords and finally killing others with his eyes… His Sword Eyes is indeed a powerful ability, which may suit you in breaking through the Life Immortal Realm. Nonetheless, he isn’t the best person…”

“If that’s the case, I will pick Jin Peng, the sect master of the Cloud Scraping Sect in the Heaven Immortal World which is one of the nine mortal worlds. He is currently at the Eighth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm!” Si Ming answered after pondering for a while.

“This isn’t the best choice either…Due to my plot, Jin Peng’s closest relatives had all died. His enemies were everywhere in the Heaven Immortal World. For his destiny, he severed his feelings without a second thought. For power, he killed his master and seized his position. For the Golden Vein, he sent his wife to others. For longevity, he even sacrificed his own son to cultivate pills… This person is extraordinarily ruthless. His Divine Vein of Gold is able to manipulate the gold elements in every place within millions of li* and use them to enhance his bones, his body and his weapon, making him possess a heaven-defying offense and defense…But still, he is not the best corpse for you…”

The elderly man smiled again. However, Si Ming, one of the seven child cultivators was puzzled.

After contemplating for a while, he cupped his fists towards his master and directly asked, “I wonder who will Master recommend for me to devour to seize his cultivation level as well as luck to break through to the Life Immortal Realm!”

“The person I recommend is this one…”

The chess piece in his fingertips suddenly turned grey from half-white and half-black.

The Taoist kid was startled.

“This person? He is just an insignificant ant from the mortal world. He entered the cultivation path by chance and his inner potential is extremely inferior. The inheritance he possesses is the incomplete volume of the Yin Yang Transformation. Besides, he still needs the famous Ancient Chaos Inheritance which was created before the Ancient Chaos Emperor invented the Yin Yang Transformation. Only with that inheritance complementing his current one could he have hope of attaining the Great Dao… Moreover, his current cultivation level is so weak. He’s just at the Nascent Soul Realm. What’s good in devouring him?”

“You don’t have to ask! Si Ming, I have already given you a choice. Among the seven Taoist corpses, choose one yourself…”

With a smile on his face, he placed the chess piece back on the chessboard and walked away.

At the moment he turned to his back, his brows tightly knitted together.

“This kid abandoned the Immemorial Golden Crow’s Bloodline? Hmmph! A thickheaded man. Do you really think that you can break free from the fate that I have set for you?  Even if you failed in your Bloodline Awakening today, you are still the best corpse for my seventh disciple! Hmm? This is…?!”

Ever since the grey-haired elderly man became an Immortal Emperor, this was his first time wearing a surprised look.

On the chessboard, the grey chess piece which represented Ning Fan was smeared by a foul, dark-purple demon qi.

“It’s contaminated! Why?! It’s Fu Li2!”

“Master, what happened?”  Si Ming cautiously asked. As a matter of fact, it was his first time seeing his master frowning.

“It’s nothing. That Ning Fan is no longer the perfect corpse for you… Now, his luck has already been tarnished. Whoever devours him would never be able to become an Immortal forever! All the hopes that I placed on him are all in vain. Now, his path of Dao is destroyed!”

Defy the Heavens and change one’s fate. It was easier said than done!

Ning Fan did not know that the person who plotted against him was one of the Immortal Emperors above the Four Heavens.

Neither did he know that his entire life, from the time he was born until his death in the future, was all planned. Today, however, he had altered the predetermined ending!

As long as he is able to cause the mysterious True Immortal to miscalculate a single step, he would then be able to break free from the shackles of fate. He would no longer be within anyone’s schemes.

He shut his eyes and entered into the Bloodline Pool once more.

He did not rely on the golden sense of the Demon Ancestor. On the contrary, he made a bold and reckless choice.

He injected that trace of golden sense from the Demon Ancestor into the demon statue.

As soon as it entered into the demon statue, it rapidly disappeared. In the next moment, the top of the statue began to radiate with dazzling golden light.

The condensation speed of the pool of blood became tens of times stronger than before! It was even much stronger than the power of the Life Blood Incense Flame!

“I don’t know how to awaken a complete Immemorial Demon Bloodline. But perhaps the strength of my demon bloodline is the key! Condense!”

Within his mind, he saw different kinds of flames floating in the air. They all came in different colors. Each and every one of them represented a type of demon blood.

There were the Golden Crow, the Fire Phoenix, the Roc and even the Dark Sparrow!

However, Ning Fan did not reach out to any of them because none of them was able to reduce the uneasiness in his heart.

101 traces, 102 traces …199 traces.

200 traces, 201 traces …299 traces.

When he had congealed three hundred blood vortexes, a dark-purple flame suddenly lit up within his heart but it was extinguished in a flash.

In spite of that, it managed to make Ning Fan nauseous. It seemed to carry an extremely strong stench of blood.

Even so, his face was suddenly full of joy. It was because he liked this feeling – a feeling that could lessen that uneasiness within his heart!

Moreover, every step he got closer to this dark-purple flame, the yellowness within the green color of the Stratagem Stone would fade. That is to say that his luck was returning. However, it did not just remain at emerald green but it was gradually turning dark.      

“A dark-colored luck?!” Ning Fan’s eyes flashed with seriousness. In the Four Heavens Immortal World, there was an alias for people who had dark-colored luck – Hopeless Immortal!” It simply meant that they were virtually hopeless to become an Immortal in their lives.

Despite that, it made Ning Fan feel safe. Unconsciously, he felt that if he tarnished his own luck, he would then be able to break free from the mysterious man’s plot!

Perhaps this was the only way out.

Similarly, he felt that he was given only two choices this time. Firstly, dying miserably after falling exactly into the mysterious man’s plot. Secondly, having his luck turn dark, diminishing his chances of becoming an Immortal.

“Rather than falling into someone else’s plot like a puppet, it’s better to break free from the shackles even though it would cause my luck to turn black! Besides, what this dark-colored luck means is the Devil Transformation mentioned by Dong Xu. If I can’t become an Immortal and ascend to the Immortal World, then I will become a devil and ascend to the Devil Pool3! To me, there is no difference. Furthermore, this bloodline seems to be extremely strong. But it is my first time witnessing this beast… What exactly is this True Spirit4 beast?”

Ning Fan shut his eyes and patiently waited. After some time, the dark purple flame emerged again in his heart. This time, Ning Fan grabbed the flame and swallowed it without hesitation.

Instantly, a pair of massive, dark-purplish crystal wings formed on his back.

The Star of Palm Wood on his left eye turned dark-purple!

300 blood vortexes crumbled into blood traces and entered into his body, condensing into a drop of completely dark-purple blood.

As the purple star in his left eye flashed, his aura rose drastically.

His demon cultivation realm was improving unceasingly!

Mid Nascent Soul Realm, Late Nascent Soul Realm, Peak Nascent Soul Realm…

The dark-purple blood gradually spread within his immortal veins.

From 2150 units, his demon power climbed to 2455 units because of the three hundred demon blood traces!

On the Wall of Shadow, Ning Fan’s ranking had risen to the nineteenth place with his demon bloodlines! Although it was just his Second Bloodline Awakening, he was already ranked nineteenth among the hundreds of Spirit Severing Realm demons who had gone through the Third Bloodline Awakening in the Land of Slumber!

Lu Bei, Immemorial Fu Li’s Demon Bloodline, 305 traces!

“Fu Li… Is it one of the True Spirit races? Why haven’t I heard of it before?” Ning Fan frowned.

However, the process had yet to come to an end.

Lu Wan’er covered her mouth with her bare hands. Standing at the side of the pool, she stared into the pool of blood in disbelief.

Under her gaze, the body of Ning Fan was gradually being covered in dark-purple scales. A pair of horns were growing on his head. His long hair which was dyed in dark-purple danced in the air even though there was no wind blowing. He spread his gigantic dark-purple crystal wings and dashed straight into the sky like a flash of lightning, crashing through the ceiling of the palace and the top part of the Demon General’s Egg!

Shortly after he reached the sky, he stopped in midair and let out a sharp, deafening demon shrill. Above the sky, a hundred zhang* tall shadow of a dark-purple demon emerged. It was illusory but ancient.Lu Sheng thrust towards the sky in a column of green smoke, staring with disbelief at the demon shadow.

He saw the name of the demon was Fu Li from the Wall of Demon Shadow. However, he had no idea about what Fu Li was!

As a matter of fact, it was a forbidden name. Among the ancient demons, only a handful of them knew about it. Even Ancient Chaos Emperor did not know about it himself!

Nevertheless, Lu Sheng understood the meaning of the emergence of the illusory shadow…

It meant that the bloodline Ning Fan awakened in his Second Bloodline Awakening was a complete Immemorial Demon Bloodline!

Besides, Ning Fan might even have the opportunity to be granted more bloodlines from the illusory shadow of the ancestor of the Fu Li race!

When a drop of dark-purple blood which looked like a glittering crystal ball in the size of a fist flew into Ning Fan’s hands from the illusory shadow, Lu Sheng felt even more unbelievable.

“This is… ancestral blood!”

Those who were able to awaken the Incomplete Immemorial Demon Bloodline during the Second Bloodline Awakening could be considered outstanding cultivators while those who were able to awaken the complete Immemorial Demon Bloodline during the same process and obtain bloodlines from the Demon Ancestor were regarded as the proud sons of Heaven!

In other words, the bloodline of the person who was awarded with bloodlines would very likely evolve into the royal clan bloodline.

However, since ancient times, the best record in the Second Bloodline Awakening was being awarded 10 drops of True Spirit’s bloodline.

None of the demons in history was once awarded with ancestral blood.

The Fu Li Demon Bloodline that Ning Fan awakened was the cursed demon bloodline.

After so many years, no one had awakened this bloodline because as soon as they saw the dark-colored luck of the demon bloodline, they immediately backed off, let alone continuing to study and find out more about the bloodline.

In Ning Fan’s case, it was because of his intention to break free from the mysterious man’s plot that drove him into awakening this bloodline!

As the first person who awakened this bloodline, the benefit he was given was extremely large!

“Ancestral blood!”

Ning Fan heaved a deep breath. He too had no idea what Fu Li was, but he knew what it meant to be awarded a drop of ancestral blood!

The demon power contained within the drop of blood was nearly… 5000  units!

A voice echoed within Ning Fan’s mind.

“My race, the Fu Li race, has already become extinct for a very long time. Since you are able to awaken this bloodline, it proves that we were brought together by fate. Now, I grant you the royal clan bloodline and appoint you as the Demon Ancestor of the Fu Li race! You will receive the same respect as the ancestors of the Immemorial Dragon Race, the Immemorial Phoenix Race, the Immemorial Sparrow Race and the Immemorial Crow Race!”

As the voice faded, Ning Fan’s demon power was increasing to 7455 units with the help of the ancestral blood!

“Unexpectedly, I awakened the demon bloodline of Fu Li by mistake while trying to avoid falling into the plot of the mysterious man… Because I am the only person of this race, I was given the ancestral blood! Judging by the current situation, the trouble of having a dark-colored luck is not really worth mentioning at all! 7455 units of demon power… Now, not only am I already a Half-Step Spirit Severing Realm demon cultivator, but also a demon cultivator who has completed three quarters of the journey in attaining the Spirit Severing Realm! If I am able to devour the blood of the Demon Marshal, I am very confident that I will be able to advance to the Spirit Severing Realm now!”

Lu Sheng’s eyes were filled with respect and astonishment.

He had never expected that Ning Fan would be awarded with ancestral blood during the Second Bloodline Awakening.

I wonder how terrifying his bloodline would be when he completes his Third Bloodline Awakening…

This drop of ancestral blood not only enhanced Ning Fan’s demon power, but also increased the concentration of his demon bloodline, making it condense into 1305 blood traces from just 305 blood traces.

If one possessed more than a thousand demon blood traces, their bloodline would be regarded as the royal clan bloodline!

Those who were capable of awakening the royal clan bloodline during the Third Bloodline Awakening were considered as peerless demon heroes.

However, in the entire history of the demon race, no one had ever awakened the royal clan bloodline during the Second Bloodline Awakening!

In the province of the Pure Flame Tribe, Wang Xiao and the rest of the Demon Generals were all stunned.

“Awakening the royal clan bloodline of a True Spirit during the Second Bloodline Awakening?! Although I don’t know what a Fu Li is, let alone its strengths and weaknesses, this person actually managed to become a member of the royal clan of a True Spirit race…”

There is not a single royal clan member of the True Spirits in the Second World…

That is to say… in this Second World, his bloodline is the best…

“This is impossible!”

Li Ban crushed the wine bottle with his hands.

He did not believe that the Lu Bei who was claimed to be a trash by the Honorable Demon General of the Pure Flame Tribe was a person he should look up to!

He did not believe that Lu Bei was a True Spirit royalty!

Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel

Note:

Kui Si star 奎司星(literal: Stride Control Star)

Fu Li 扶离(literal: support and leave) The Immemorial Fu Li demon is a type of winged demon. [more information will be revealed in the story later on]

Devil Pool or Ancient Desolated Devil Pool is a place for the devil cultivators to ascend once they achieve the pinnacle of their cultivation. Likewise, the righteous cultivators or divine cultivators will ascend to the Immortal World while the demon cultivators will ascend to the Land of Demon.

True Spirits (真灵) are those Immemorial Demon Beasts like the Immemorial Golden Crow, the Immemorial Dark Sparrow, the Immemorial Phoenix, the Immemorial Fu Li and etc.