Grasping Evil

Returning To The External Sea

The Secret Realm of the Broken World, the Second World, the Star Palace… Before entering the Broken World, he was still at the Nascent Soul Realm. However, he was now a Divine Transformation Realm expert already by the time he returned to the External Endless Sea. Additionally, he was already so close to reaching the pinnacle of the Divine Transformation Realm.

There were a lot of hardships and challenges along the way. There were also some losses such as his Golden Flame Chariot which was half-destroyed and his two Mid Divine Transformation Realm puppets which were injured and then killed. However, what he had gained was much more than his losses!

Formation techniques, pill refining techniques, Inlaid Star Compass, Black Star Technique, Fu Li Ancient Blood, the initial stage of Emperor's Shadow, two Void Refinement Realm puppets, an Immortal Painting Treasure… 

As the saying goes, when there are losses, there will be gains. No matter what, Ning Fan did not get the short end of the stick throughout this journey.

Whatever he had been through during these twenty plus years was just like a dream!

“Let’s go…”

Ning Fan activated the formation disk and their figures gradually disappeared outside the Cloud Palace.

At the moment they left, the Cloud Palace vanished along with the Star Seas. No one knew where they had gone.

After twenty years, the External Endless Sea was still full of danger and opportunities. There would be a number of cultivators coming from afar every year. They came here either to temper themselves in the External Endless Sea or to train and cultivate in the Lost World Palace.

In the past two decades, many forces in the External Endless Sea were eliminated and many others were established. Among them, the largest killer organization had been formed on the Ying State Immortal Island and its name was… Alliance of Ming Assassins!

After twenty years, the Secret Realm of the Broken World was destroyed. As for the entrance to the Broken World beneath the sea domain of the Pleasure Devil Sea, it had long been broken. The only thing left there was the Stele of Slaughter which was once carved with Ning Fan’s name. The number one position of the stele was engraved with an intimidating name that emanated an immensely terrifying Baleful Qi.

Zhou Ming!

Originally, one could only enter the Secret Realm of the Broken World and stay within it for six months. Ning Fan, however, had gone inside for more than twenty years.

Most of the experts of the Endless Sea who waited for his return outside the entrance had lost their interest and patience to continue waiting and left. Frankly speaking, no one would be willing to wait there for twenty years just to spectate Ning Fan’s return.

However, only a lady named Xu Qiuling would consistently show up at that place everyday to wait for him. Unfortunately, her injuries began to worsen in the last three years. Her condition deprived her of her strength and energy, causing her to be unable to show up for him beneath the sea domain.

That place had already become deserted. Even the formation that prevented the seawater from flooding into that area had also lost its spirituality. Occasionally, only cultivators who were training themselves or hunting for treasures in the Pleasure Devil Sea would pass by that place.

Deep beneath the sea, an old expert and a young cultivator were gathering spiritual minerals in that sea domain. The Pleasure Devil Sea was rich in spiritual minerals. The deeper the seabed, the more precious the spiritual minerals.

Minerals were good stuff. They could be used for different purposes such as casting magic treasures and weapons, forging spiritual armors and spiritual irons, establishing formations and creating puppets. Moreover, a piece of precious spiritual mineral was equivalent to the total expenses that a Gold Core Realm old monster would spend for an entire century in his cultivation!

Therefore, these two cultivators came to look for spiritual minerals in the deep sea.

The old man in red robes had a horrifying Late Gold Core Realm cultivation base and he seemed to be a rogue cultivator.

As for the younger one, he was a young boy with a handsome appearance. His talent seemed to be somewhat decent and he looked like he had just broken through to the Harmonious Spirit Realm as his cultivation base was not stable yet.

These two people were a pair of master and apprentice.

Perhaps the reason why the old man took the boy into the sea was not only for searching for minerals, but also to take advantage of the opportunity to let the young boy have some experience and use that experience to stabilize his cultivation.

"Master, my cultivation base is still weak as I have just reached the Harmonious Spirit Realm. Isn't it a little early for me to train under the deep sea… " The young boy was a little afraid. His words immediately stirred up the anger within the old man.

"Humph!  How are you going to go far in the journey of cultivation with your cowardly heart! So what if you are just a Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator? Twenty years ago, the Endless Sea once had an incredible individual. Despite being just a Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator, he entered the External Endless Sea and faced thousands of human sharks alone. This deed of his had even caused him to be hunted down by the members of the Demon Sealing Sect. But he survived and entered into a secluded meditation in the Lost World Palace on Peng Lai Immortal Island. Ten years later, he broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm and killed the Eagle Crane Elder of the Demon Sealing Sect on his own! After that, with his Nascent Soul Realm cultivation, he stirred up a great conflict in the situation of the External Endless Sea and he even dared to confront a Divine Transformation Realm old ancestor face to face! This man killed the geniuses of the Ten Sects and Three Islands like child’s play. Even so, none of the ancestors of the top ten sects dared to be angry at him!"

"This man then entered the Secret Realm of the Broken World. Once he went inside, he did not return for more than twenty years. However, his name on the Stele of Slaughter grew more red by the day. It’s enough to prove that he has not died yet but went somewhere else instead and committed countless more slaughters… Even though this person has left for twenty years, the older generation of experts would still tremble in fear when they hear his name… He is the best example for one who has made his way up to the pinnacle of power from the Harmonious Spirit Realm!"

The old man's reprimand made the teenager's face turn red in embarrassment. But he still talked back to his master with a lower tone.

"Master must be telling crazy nonsense. I don’t believe that anyone would be able to dominate the External Endless Sea while being just at the Harmonious Spirit Realm… Who is this person? Can Master say his name out loud?"

"His name? He is the devil lord whom you admire the most. The man whose reputation is so great that countless forces in the External Endless Sea secretly formed an alliance to assassinate him! He is Zhou Ming!"

"What!? Master is referring to ‘Ancestor Revered Ming’!?  Ancestor Revered Ming was actually able to sweep the experts of the External Endless Sea when he was just a Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator!?” The young man originally didn't believe anyone could behave so wildly and freely in the External Endless Sea at the Harmonious Spirit Realm. But when he heard the name - Zhou Ming, he was completely convinced. Besides, his eyes burned with passion and admiration.

The person whom he admired the most was Zhou Ming!

"But Master, how do you know that Revered Ming was just a Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator when he escaped from the Demon Sealing Sect? I heard some rumors claiming that when he entered the sea, he was already at the Nascent Soul Realm?" The boy asked with confusion.

"Why would I not know? During that day when he entered the sea, I was sitting on the same ship with Revered Ming! During our journey, the ship which I was sitting on received distress signals from other ships. Revered Ming was standing right next to me at the moment. Because of the disturbance in his mind, he exposed a trace of his cultivation base. I sensed it and I knew it, he definitely was just a Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator at that time… I suppose I’m the only one who discovered it. Other than me, no one else knew that Revered Ming could fight a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator with just a Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivation base! *Cough* Cough* These events had already passed. Let’s not mention them anymore.…” 

When the old man remembered the past, he could not help but feel ashamed of himself.

When he was sitting on the same boat with Ning Fan to enter the External Endless Sea, he was a Mid Gold Core Realm expert while Ning Fan was just a Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivator at that time.

A few decades later, the old man had finally broken through to the Late Gold Core Realm with difficulty, while Ning Fan was already a Nascent Soul Realm ancestor, an expert who could make Divine Transformation Realm old monsters afraid of him. Currently, he even became the person whom the Alliance of Ming Assassins wanted to kill the most!

Compared to Ning Fan, the old man felt that he had been spinning his wheels in his whole life of cultivation. 

"Master, master… " The young man suddenly paused and called for his master, interrupting the old man's thoughts. With a joyful look on his face, he pointed in one direction.

"What's the matter? Didn't you see that I am recalling the past!" The old man was displeased. But when he looked at the direction where the young man’s finger was pointing, he was immediately shocked and his face was filled with delight at the next moment.

There was a dark red Fire Crystal Mineral next to the reef pile on the seabed in front of them. It was at least the size of a palm!

"It's a Fire Crystal Mineral! And, it is so huge. Master, this Fire Crystal Mineral can sell for at least 100,000 immortal jades!" The young man exclaimed with excitement. One hundred thousand immortal jades to him and his master was a huge amount of money!

He immediately leapt, trying to dive to the ocean floor and dug out the mineral. However,  the old man suddenly pulled him back.

"Wait a second! Something is wrong! The location of this Fire Crystal Mineral is too obvious. Even so, it wasn’t spotted and taken away by anyone. It seems like it’s waiting for us to take it… It is illogical. I’m afraid there’s some danger lurking around here…”

The old man squinted his eyes and studied the place. The life and death experiences he had told him that something was hiding around the place.

When he glanced over a huge reef, he was suddenly shocked as if he had seen something that was beyond his belief. He immediately pulled his disciple by his collar and escaped as if his life depended on it.

"Hurry up and run! That isn’t a reef. That is ... a reef beast!"

At the moment the old man retreated, all the reefs within the vicinity of six hundred zhang* (3.33 m) began to tremble!

Suddenly, the entire ground rose up and a six hundred zhang* (3.33 m per zhang) huge beast was lying secretly beneath the sand! All the reefs around them and even the Fire Crystal Mineral grew on his back.

*Roar*

The beast let out an ear-splitting roar, emanating a Mid Nascent Soul Realm aura. Under this aura force, the old man was totally terrified. He felt a sharp pain on his chest and was rendered motionless by the ferocious roar of the beast. As for the young boy, he was almost scared to death.

"A Nascent Soul Realm fierce beast! Aside from that, it’s at the Mid Nascent Soul Realm! It’s over. We are going to die!”

At the moment the two of them were in despair, a ray of starlight suddenly flashed past in the deep ocean and formed a huge vortex of black stars which was ten thousand zhang* tall (3.33 m per zhang) in the sea!

Inside the whirlpool, booming thunderclaps echoed from time to time and a young man dressed in white robes draped with a black cloak stepped out from within. Without any sign, a violent tsunami was stirred up within the sea domain of one hundred thousand li* (500 m per li) and countless fierce beasts which stayed hidden in that area immediately prostrated on the ocean bed while shivering in fear.

As for the reef beast who emerged in a vigorous and arrogant manner just now, its eyes became wide and round and its body started to tremble when he saw the young man.

Terrifying. It’s too terrifying… 

The beast felt an unconquerable aura from the youth!

*Roar*

The reef beast made another roar. But this time, it sounded as if it was surrendering to him and it quickly ran away, disappearing into the distance!

The elderly expert as well as his young disciple were stupefied.

Both of them were wondering who was the young man that appeared out of nowhere and what his cultivation base was!

With just a trace of his aura, he could make a Mid Nascent Soul Realm beast run for its life!

“G-Greetings to senior!”

The elderly man did not dare to hesitate and immediately cupped his fist to greet the young man.

No matter who this young man was, he was not someone that the elderly man could offend. Besides, the elderly man did not even dare to take a second look at the young man’s appearance as he was afraid that he might accidentally touch the latter’s bottom line.

 In his entire life, he had never met such a powerful expert before!

Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel