Grasping Evil

The Ten Steps Bridge; Bei Li.

The Daoist child, Yi Qing came from the Black Tortoise Star[1] in the Void Realm. In the past when Ning Fan consumed the Spirit Refining Grass in the Sinister Sparrow Sect, he accidentally comprehended the ability of Myriad Miles Wander, which stretched his spirit sense into a fine, long line that could penetrate into different worlds, enabling his spirit sense to enter the Void Realm. If it was not because of a person with great capabilities in the Black Tortoise Star who saved him, his spirit sense would have been crushed and he would have died back then…

The Elder Sister with whom the Daoist child was communicating using his telepathy on the talisman was Bei Li…

This place was the Sea of Clouds and the three tablets were built for the cultivators to engrave their names. But before that, one has to go through the Three Steps of Mortal Severance.

What mattered the most to Ning Fan was the black-colored names. He just could not understand why the Old Devil’s name would be dyed in black.

There must be a special meaning behind the color black!

“Can I ask Fellow Daoist Yi Qing about how the names on the tablets are being differentiated using colors?”

“To be honest, the colors represent a cultivator’s luck… Ordinary cultivators would not be able to notice them during the process of achieving Divine Transformation. Their names often glow in the first five types of colors. If there are exceptional cultivators who could see luck, they will be granted the technique of ‘Congealing Luck into Pen’ and they could condense their luck into a pen to carve their names which would glow in blue or even purple color. Once the carving process is over, the cultivator’s luck will receive blessings from the Heavenly Tablet. Those whose names glow in purple color will have at least 10% higher chances of success than common cultivators in ascending to become an immortal!”

Ten percent! Compared to the probability of immortal ascension which was said to be zero in ten thousand, ten percent was an unbelievably great amount.

From Yi Qing’s perspective, with the help of the pen condensed from luck, Ning Fan would at least leave a blue name on the tablet which would then raise his luck to the blue level under the blessings of the Heavenly Tablet.

In the future, if he bumps into any opportunities, he might even be able to bring his luck a notch higher, reaching the purple level.

To Yi Qing, a being like Ning Fan was a person who had a high chance of becoming an immortal. A person like him was worthy enough to deserve his respect! Besides, they might already have a predestined fate in the path of cultivation after he ascends to the heavens even though he was just a cultivator from the mortal world.

“Then, what’s the meaning of the color black?”

Ning Fan laughed bitterly inside his heart.

The purple luck is heaven-defying. But sympathetically, my luck has already been stained… Though awakening the Fu Li bloodline brought me lots of benefits, the cost was the contamination of my own luck.

Rumor has it that those who possess black luck will be hopeless in becoming immortals. But if Old Devil could ascend and become an immortal, why can’t I?!

“The black luck…which is also known as ‘Hopeless Immortal’…The individual who has such luck cultivates the path of defiance to the Heavens. The road to becoming an immortal is bumpy, his fortune is extremely weak and the Heaven’s Tribulation is especially formidable. Among the defiant cultivators with black-colored luck, the probability of achieving immortal ascension is zero out of one hundred… Well, it’s nearly impossible that Fellow Daoist will obtain such luck. Even if you have the capability to do so, I strongly not recommend Fellow Daoist to carve a black name on the tablet…”

Yi Qing’s advice was good and earnest. Unfortunately, Ning Fan’s luck could not be in any other colors other than black.

Countless thoughts flooded within his mind.

Judging from the signs of it, the Devil Transformation mentioned by Dong Xu is probably about carving down the ill fate with the pen of luck.

After having the Fu Li bloodline, my luck has been altered and my fate has changed. I suppose I really have to go through the Devil Transformation…

It’s unchangeable but there is also no need to change it. Now, I shall bring my focus in contemplating the three steps of severing my mortal self.

“What are the three steps of the Three Steps of Mortal Severance?” Ning Fan asked.

“*harrumph* About the name-carving session, Fellow Daoist will need to be handled by Elder Sister Bei Li. I can’t make any decision about it. However, regarding the Three Steps of Mortal Severance, I can bring you there now. The three steps are quite difficult for common people but the difficulty isn’t really high. For Fellow Daoist, I believe it’s just as easy as lifting your hands… The first step is called the ‘Ten Steps Bridge’. Ten steps and an illusion, mister must never look back. Crossing the bridge with a hundred steps, one should be unfamiliar to all his past. This bridge is rumored to have been built by the Immortal Sovereign when he established his Dao. Crossing this bridge could bring a lot of benefits to a cultivator’s state of mind.”

“Common cultivators are able to walk for fifteen steps in a day and eventually cross the entire bridge within seven days. As for the illusion of the bridge, it intensifies with the number of seven. On the seventh day, the illusion that a cultivator experiences on the bridge will become more intense, making Divine Transformation Realm cultivators not be able to regain their conscious selves. On the fourteenth day, the power of the illusion will become strong enough to delude a Void Refinement Realm cultivator. On the twenty-first day, even a Void Fragmentation Realm cultivator would face danger from the illusion… Once there was a Void Fragmentation Realm expert who intended to use this bridge as a tool to balance his heart’s illusion and temper his state of mind. However, he ended up staying for more than twenty-one days on the bridge. On the twenty-second day, he was unable to walk out from the bridge anymore. In the end, he was devoured by the illusion… His life perished together with his Dao…”

As Yi Qing was explaining, he was leading Ning Fan to travel across folds of clouds until they saw a bridge made up of mist.

There was a stele with “Ten Steps” engraved on it beside the bridge. Underneath it was a deep pool with a depth that cannot be measured. The body of the bridge was covered with a cloud of purple mist which could transform and produce different kinds of illusions.

“So this is the Ten Steps Bridge… Ten steps and an illusion, mister must never look back…Is this about bidding farewell to one’s past…”

Ning Fan stood beside the stele. As his gaze landed on the stele, they widened with surprise.

The handwriting of the two words is rather familiar…

He recognized it!

Because the handwriting was exactly identical to the handwriting of the four words “A Man of Honor”!

“This Ten Steps Bridge is actually constructed by the peerless True Immortal who wrote the nameless ancient scroll!”

Ning Fan could not resist the feeling of surprise.

According to Yi Qing’s explanation, this bridge was built by the Immemorial Immortal Sovereign. So if the person who built the bridge is the same person who wrote the nameless ancient scroll, it would mean that it was the Immortal Sovereign who wrote the four words – A Man of Honor!

The Immemorial Immortal Sovereign was the master of the Ancient Chaos Emperor. He is the master of a billion worlds. The handwriting of such a supreme being had fallen into my hands…

“I wonder... If I sell the four words, would the sum of money I earn be able to buy the entire Rain World…”

Ning Fan’s expression gradually became calm.

“Fellow Daoist, please board the bridge and sever your mortal self!” The Daoist child said with a clear voice. A path slowly emerged amidst the dense purple mist on the bridge.

Just as the purple mist was scattering to both sides, Ning Fan seized the opportunity and got on the bridge immediately!

When the purple mist covered the bridge once again, Ning Fan felt a great immortal’s prestige pressing against his body. It was as if countless mountains were on his shoulders, making him feel it was hard to move even an inch forward.

The prestige of an Immortal Sovereign! Under such pressure, even if it were the Immortal Emperors of mortal beings, none of them would be able to move a single step!

After trying a few fruitless attempts, Ning Fan shut his eyes, no longer intending to advance forward.

Strands of Late Divine Transformation Realm prestige which were flashing with blood light started to encircle his body.

Just as when the blood light appeared, Ning Fan suddenly reopened his eyes and broke free from the immortal’s prestige, making the first step forward!

The Daoist child’s countenance changed, silently admiring the rare sight before him.

If he was not wrong, Ning Fan’s aura force had attained the Late Divine Transformation Realm even though he had yet to complete the Divine Transformation process.

His aura force is not any weaker than mine!

“As the saying goes, every beginning is always difficult. The first step is always the hardest step for a cultivator to make. For cultivators with ordinary talents, the first step might take them a few hours or even a few days. But a being like him who could take the first step within ten breaths after boarding the bridge… There aren’t more than one hundred thousand of them among the millions of Divine Transformation Realm experts in the Four Heavens Immortal World! However, I wonder if this man can continue for how many more steps in a single attempt after moving the first step…”

Yi Qing slightly narrowed his eyes with anticipation. Under his watch, Ning Fan raised his heels and in the blink of an eye and had completed nine steps.

Each of the steps he made compelled the great momentum to become a sword and resist the immortal’s prestige using the aura of the sword.

I can only make the nine steps after breaking through the Late Divine Transformation Realm!

Yi Qing reflected within himself.

“Conjuring a sword in nine steps. It was accomplished in one breath. If this man can finish the first tenth step and call out the first illusion, he can be ranked within the top ten thousand experts among the millions of Divine Transformation Realm cultivators in the Four Heavens Immortal World…”

Nine steps. This was already the limit of Ning Fan’s technique – Nine Steps, Sky Treader. After making the nine steps, his sword aura which had reached its peak began to decline swiftly. The heavy and strong immortal’s prestige nearly made Ning Fan suffocate, let alone complete the tenth step.

The Daoist child’s words were obviously a compliment to Ning Fan but when they echoed into Ning Fan’s ears, they became rather unpleasant.

Even if I make the tenth step in just an attempt, I could only be regarded as the top ten thousand experts among the Divine Transformation Realm cultivators of the Four Heavens? Are there really that many descendants of fiendgods and young talents in the Four Heavens Immortal World…

“It’s not enough to be within the top ten thousand! I might not know what the ranking my master got in the past, but I’m sure he isn’t just ranked within the top ten thousand!”

The blood-red aura force ferociously surged around him, slightly dispersing the immortal’s prestige carried by the purple mist. Determined, Ning Fan brought one of his feet forward, making the tenth step.

Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel

Note:

A Man of Honor is from a characterless scripture he bought in the past when he was still in the Sinister Sparrow Sect. (Found in chapter 165(2))