Grasping Evil

Scared Witless

Ning Fan threw a cold glance at Revered Flame and saw through his scheme.

What a hypocritical person. Revenge for his disciple? What a reasonable and righteous reason. Ultimately, he’s just eyeing my Earth Vein Demonic Flames, just like how he was covetously eyeing the Green Phoenix Flame of the Lost World Palace in the past.

As the saying goes, a crooked stick will have a crooked shadow. Since the disciple is already that kind of person, how could the master be any better?

Ya Lan was Ning Fan’s old friend while Ning Fan was the lord of three towers of the Lost World Palace. It was impossible for one to leave his subordinate in the lurch. Thus, there was no ground for blame on him in helping her.

Gu Zhen was the one who bullied Ya Lan first and Ning Fan only killed him after that. With Ning Fan’s personality, no matter who Gu Zhen was, if one deserved their death, Ning Fan would never hesitate to kill them.

Ning Fan had never been a big-hearted person who could tolerate bullies.

To him, killing Gu Zhen was nothing.

And it was no big deal to displease Revered Flame since he had already done so.

Moreover, Revered Flame already had some old grudges against him. These unsettled scores were already irreconcilable since the day Ning Fan killed the three tower lords of the Lost World Palace.

Furthermore, Ning Fan did not think that seeking revenge for his disciple was the main reason why Revered Flame wanted to kill him.

From the moment Revered Flame showed up, he had exuded his spirit sense seven times to sense Ning Fan’s dantian within a few breaths.

After sensing the traces of auras of four Earth Vein Demonic Flames, a hint of joy could be seen at the corners of his eyes. Of course, these small details could never escape from Ning Fan’s eyes and ears.

Avenging his disciple is just a pretense. After his disciple died, his eyes glinted with a hint of delight. Thus, it’s really obvious.

From the very beginning, Revered Flame went at me for my Earth Vein Demonic Flames!

Even if I didn’t kill Gu Zhen, once this person knows I’m on Penglai Immortal Island, he will still make up other reasons to sneak attack me or hunt me down.

Ning Fan glanced at a certain direction and the purple star in his left eye flickered faintly. At a corner, he saw two Void Refinement Realm experts who were hiding themselves from everyone’s view. They were probably the experts Revered Flame hired to protect himself.

It’s no wonder why Revered Flame is so arrogant that he even dares to humiliate Bei Xiaoman. It turns out that he came with some backup.

Well, he might have two Void Refinement Realm experts but I possess three Void Refinement Realm spiritual puppets. They are nothing much to be worried about.

Ning Fan’s eyelids twitched and exposed a trace of aura of the Realm Beast puppets from his storage pouch, secretly sending it to the two hidden Void Refinement Realm experts.

All of a sudden, their expressions were filled with shock and they immediately transmitted a message to Revered Flame through telepathy.

Revered Flame glanced sideways at Ning Fan repeatedly as murderous intent filled his eyes.

Suddenly, it seemed that someone had secretly conveyed a message to Revered Flame. At the next moment, Revered Flame’s expression greatly changed. The killing intent that he originally had for Ning Fan significantly diminished.

That voice came from the hidden Void Refinement Realm experts. They were trying to warn Revered Flame.

“This Zhou Ming isn’t easy. He noticed us! He even spread out a trace of Void Refinement Realm aura to us on purpose. He isn’t someone who can be trifled with…”

“What?! How come he possesses Void Refinement Realm aura?! Could it be that an elder of his is protecting him in secret?! Could it be that a Void Refinement Realm elder is hiding in his Treasure of Immortal’s Abode?!” Revered Flame was a little terrified.

Compared to Bei Xiaoman’s reputation, he was more afraid of a Void Refinement Realm expert…

Even though Revered Flame might be haughty and disdainful, that side of him only applied to Divine Transformation Realm experts. When facing a Void Refinement Realm expert, he would still feel afraid.

“Even if there’s a Void Refinement Realm expert protecting him, I don’t want to give up on the Earth Vein Demonic Flames…” Revered Flame clenched his teeth.

“Then… seize them with a gentler method and don’t completely fall out with him… Why don’t you try gambling with him! This way, it won’t harm the harmony between the two of you. As long as you don’t go out of line, that hidden Void Refinement Realm expert won’t interfere with the fight between you two.” One of the two Void Refinement Realm experts suggested.

“Gamble? Alright…”

The group of cultivators surrounding the area only saw Revered Flames mumbling some words to himself and no one knew what he was talking about. However, a short moment later, Revered Flame’s killing intent gradually withered away like a frosted eggplant.

The most unimaginable thing was when Revered Flame who turned a deaf ear to others’ words and insisted on killing Ning Fan suddenly withdrew all his anger and let out a hearty laughter. He looked at Ning Fan with a look of admiration and complimented.

“The Venerated Eighth of the Internal Endless Sea - Venerated Ming, Zhou Ming. You indeed deserve this esteemed reputation! I admire you! It was just a joke when I said I would seek revenge for my disciple’s death just now. I was just trying to test Venerated Ming’s courage. Don’t take it too seriously. That disciple of mine you killed was ignorant and incompetent. Today, he actually dared to lay a finger to a female cultivator of the Lost World Palace. He deserved more than death. In fact, I have to thank you, Fellow Daoist, for killing Gu Zhen. It’s an excellent punishment!”

*Uhh*

The crowd was speechless. At first, both sides were about to fight. Now, however, Revered Flame suddenly turned nice for no reason and spoke in an extremely kind and friendly way?

On second thought, they suddenly came to realize that Revered Flame was just joking around with Ning Fan previously.

Well, it sounded completely right and logical. Revered Flame was a famous senior while Ning Fan was just a young rising expert. How would Revered Flame bully the weak with his strength?

What a magnanimous man. His disciple has been killed by someone but he forgave and set aside that matter. Besides, he even thinks that his disciple deserved his death for committing all sorts of wicked crimes.

Many cultivators who did not know the truth began to admire Revered Flame.

Ning Fan also put away his indifferent look and revealed a faint smile. His eyes shone with sarcasm.

This Revered Flame is indeed a shameless person. I purposely released a trace of aura from the Realm Beast puppets to mess with the morale of the two Void Refinement Realm experts. As expected, they wavered.

Gu Zhen, Dong Mu and the others were really nothing to him. This Revered Flame is the kind of person who will abandon everything for his own benefits.

“I see. Revered Flame was just joking with me just now. But I don’t think the joke is funny at all.”

“Hehe…”

Revered Flame forced a hollow laugh. It seems that he failed to notice the sarcasm in Ning Fan’s words.

Looking at Ning Fan, he abruptly changed the topic of their conversation and spoke sincerely.

“It feels like I’m meeting an old friend even though I only met Venerated Ming for the first time. I wonder whether I can have the honor of asking Venerated Ming for advice for a technique or two? Don’t worry, Venerated Ming. It’s just a friendly match to learn from each other by exchanging fighting techniques. It surely won’t harm anyone’s life. Thus, there is certainly no need for the elder behind you to come forward.” Revered Flame made hints in his words.

“I always travel across heaven and earth by myself. I don’t have any elders with me… As for the friendly fight you said, I don’t like a fight without a bet.” Ning Fan deliberately made a brief laughter but it made Revered Flame’s suspicion grow.

It can’t be wrong. A deliberate explanation is just a concealment. This Zhou Ming probably has a Void Refinement Realm expert backing him up!

In that case, I really can’t afford to offend a Void Refinement Realm old monster just for fifth-grade Earth Flames…

Revered Flame felt fortunate inwardly. It was lucky that the two Void Refinement Realm experts he brought reminded him just now. Otherwise, he might have been fighting with Ning Fan at this moment.

“Oh? Fellow Daoist Zhou wants to set up a bet for the fight?! Great! I’m thinking of the same thing too. Why don’t the both of us take out one type of our Earth Vein Demonic Flames as a bet?”

“Only one type is a bit too little. If you want to bet, let’s bet on all the Earth Vein Demonic Flames we have then. I have four types of the Earth Vein Demonic Flames while you have three of that. You won’t be at a disadvantage on this bet.”

*Hiss*

All the cultivators gasped in disbelief.

Except for both Revered Flame and Ning Fan who could tell how many types of Demonic Flames each other possessed, the others had no idea of how many Demonic Flames each of them had.

Earth Vein Demonic Flames were items that were highly sought after by Divine Transformation Realm experts and were difficult to get. However, as soon as Ning Fan spoke, all the cultivators clearly knew that Revered Flame owned three types of those flames while Ning Fan had four!

Rumor has it that if one manages to gather all twelve types of Earth Vein Demonic Flames, the power of his flames would be comparable to a Void Refinement Realm attack. Today, if both of them bet all their flames on this fight, whoever wins would then possess seven types of Earth Vein Demonic Flames!

“Don’t gamble! There’s the Green Phoenix Flame that I gave you! If you lose…” No one knew what Bei Xiaoman was disagreeing with and why Ning Fan could not lose what she had given to him.

“Don’t worry! I won’t lose.”

Ning Fan smiled confidently.

He was not afraid of Revered Flame or the two Void Refinement Realm experts. Besides, if he summons all three Void Refinement Realm spiritual puppets and sacrifices one or two of his other puppets, he might even be able to kill one of the Void Refinement Realm experts.

However, what benefit would Ning Fan get from killing an expert of the Rain Palace in front of countless cultivators? He was a person who maximized the benefits he would get and he certainly would not simply kill a Void Refinement Realm expert of the Rain Palace for fun.

A Divine Transformation Realm expert was a revered being in the Rain Palace while a Void Refinement Realm expert would be one of the top-level combat personnel of the Rain Palace.

Ning Fan could foresee innumerable Void Fragmentation Realm experts of the Rain Palace coming in the next day to hunt him down if he really kills the two Void Refinement Realm experts in front of others.

Being able to seize the flames from Revered Flame without offending him openly was the best outcome.

Of course, there would be some accidents during the fight as fists and kicks had no eyes. Even if Ning Fan were to injure Revered Flame, it would only be considered as an accident, just like how he accidentally burnt Gu Zhen to ashes previously.

Ning Fan was determined to get the Earth Vein Demonic Flames and the same goes for Revered Flame!

Revered Flame made a cold snort inwardly as he could not bear seeing Ning Fan’s confident expression. However, he still managed a half-hearted smile on his face. After pretending to refuse the offer with a few words, he eventually agreed to bet all of his Demonic Flames.

“Hehe. Fellow Daoist Zhou can be rest assured that I will surely pull my punches during the fight.” Revered Flame said with a friendly smile but he could not stop sneering within.

What he had in mind was exactly the same thought as Ning Fan.

Revered Flame could not kill Ning Fan in front of his Void Refinement Realm elder, but fists and kicks had no eyes. Thus, it would be a different story even if he accidentally crippled Ning Fan…

“Young man! You don’t have enough qualifications yet to fight with me, Yun Yan1! I will definitely cripple you and let you have a taste of my strength!”

Revered Flame sneered evilly, but the problem was that he still had no idea who was actually going to be crippled in the end.

Both Revered Flame and Ning Fan soared into the sky and turned a part of it into a battle ring.

“Be careful, Fellow Daoist Zhou. My flying sword is coming!”

Revered Flame wielded his flying sword. However, it disappeared completely after emitting a flash of fiery light.

Although it seemed like he was warning Ning Fan, he was pretty confident that Ning Fan would definitely not be able to block that sword attack!

“Stinky Zhou Ming! Be careful! The sword is being reinforced by a Void Grade ability – Shadow Cut!”

Bei Xiaoman warned anxiously.

At the next moment, the fiery-red flying sword that had vanished did not plunge straight towards Ning Fan but flew towards his shadow.

The two of them stood in midair as clouds drifted past them. The shadows beneath their feet were longer as they basked in the sunlight…

In the blink of an eye, the sword light had already reached his shadow!