Grasping Evil

The masked youth seemed shocked by Ning Fan’s actions. His body flickered as he retreated, putting several zhang of distance between them. His gaze carried a hint of displeasure as he questioned coldly.

"What do you mean by this?"

If not for the fact that the masked youth didn’t detect any hostility from Ning Fan, he would have almost thought Ning Fan intended to attack him. Internally, he was even more wary of Ning Fan’s ghostly speed.

This sudden change attracted the attention of many of the examinees. The examiner elder also showed a trace of displeasure, but due to Ning Fan’s attire, he opted for watching coldly instead of intervening.

"Peak of Shekong, and it seems he’s already half a step into the Shattered Thought Realm. His cultivation is deeply hidden because of that mask, so much so that I couldn’t discern his true cultivation when I first glanced at him. Compared to Xianyu Chun’s previous cultivation, it’s like they’re two completely different people. Different cultivation, vastly different intellect and character. The only certainty is that he is indeed Xianyu Chun. Everyone in the world has their unique aura; even if the scent of blooming flowers is similar, there will always be differences. I’ve interacted with Xianyu Chun for so long, even if there’s an ox horn mask concealing him, I wouldn’t mistake his aura if I focused..."

A faint flash of azure light flickered in Ning Fan’s eyes as he gradually discerned some clues from the masked youth and formed some conjectures, causing his expression to grow increasingly serious.

These conjectures couldn’t be confirmed yet. Seeing the growing crowd of spectators and the ensuing commotion, he felt a headache coming on.

He was merely here to register for the Blood Martial Arena ranking battle and didn’t want to stir up any trouble.

"Rest assured, I mean you no harm. I just recognize the other half of your soul, so seeing you here was unexpected..." Ning Fan explained via transmitted sound.

The masked youth’s gaze immediately turned cold, as if his greatest secret had been exposed. He responded in a somber transmitted sound, "What other half of the soul, what are you talking about? I don’t understand!"

"Never mind if you don’t understand."

Ning Fan gave the masked youth a deep look, then turned around and walked to an empty area nearby, refraining from speaking to anyone else, waiting for the test to commence.

There were still over a hundred people ahead of him. Even though the assessment was simple and quick, it still took nearly two hours for Ning Fan’s turn to come.

Among those hundred-plus individuals, aside from the Sea Witch Triad and the masked youth, only one or two people successfully registered; the rest didn’t even qualify for the Blood Martial ranking battle.

After registering, the masked youth left. Faced with the examiner elder of Shekong Peak cultivation, the masked youth responded with ease, effortlessly making it into the selection.

The Sea Witch Triad, on the other hand, lingered there, showing some curiosity about Ning Fan’s test.

The muscular elder in charge of the assessment and registration was a strong contender from the last Blood Martial Arena ranked in the top hundred, known as Ancestor Kuang. He was a body cultivator with explosive muscles that exuded a force capable of shifting mountains and overturning seas, twisting the space with a mere wave of his hand.

When it came to Ning Fan’s turn to be tested, Ancestor Kuang merely glanced at him askance, arrogantly saying, "I’ll tell you now, even if you’re from the Holy Mountain Tomb Guardians, I won’t hold back a whit. If you can take more than three punches from me, you can register for the Blood Martial ranking battle. If you can’t withstand them or get injured, even if the Holy Mountain seeks revenge, I won’t be held responsible!"

"Don’t worry, I’m not from the Holy Mountain Tomb Guardians," Ning Fan said with a faint smile.

"So you’re a foreign cultivator."

Ancestor Kuang’s brows furrowed before he burst into laughter. Faced with Ning Fan, all his reservations vanished, and his aura became ferocious and exposed.

"Then you better watch out. I detest foreign cultivators the most, and I won’t hold back for this assessment. Take this punch!"

Ancestor Kuang stomped the ground, instantly vanishing from sight, leaving not even a trace of an afterimage. Simultaneously, a slight movement of wind arose to Ning Fan’s left, and he knew Ancestor Kuang attacked from this side, intending to close in and overpower with raw strength, a common body cultivation tactic. Ning Fan wasted no time, similarly shifting from his original spot.

In the next instant, from a nearby desolate area, a deafening sound of collision erupted. The space contorted violently, and then two figures emerged from that collision point: Ancestor Kuang and Ning Fan.

It was a clash of fists!

Ancestor Kuang used his signature move, the Demon-Breaking Fist, with full force! The enormous shockwave it created caused many examinees to stagger unsteadily, their expressions drastically changing.

Only then did the crowd realize that Ancestor Kuang hadn’t used his true punching force in previous tests, as none of his earlier punches had ever caused such a huge shockwave.

Even the Sea Witch Triad appeared solemn. If Ancestor Kuang had approached their assessment with this level of seriousness, they wouldn’t have withstood the tenth punch of the Demon-Breaking series. At this moment, the first punch alone carried the power equivalent to a previous combined ten punches...

Without Shattered Thought realm strength, it was almost impossible to withstand it!

Ancestor Kuang was confident in his punching power, his eyes filled with bloodthirsty desire. He wanted to dye the arena ground with the blood of this foreign cultivator!

Confident that his punch would send Ning Fan flying, the moment their fists made contact, his expression changed drastically with shock!

Despite the fist-to-fist collision, Ancestor Kuang felt as if he wasn’t hitting Ning Fan’s fist but rather colliding with a whole Cultivation Star. The punching force was unimaginably heavy!

The heavy punch was secondary; more astonishingly, it carried a bizarre force that erupted explosively, like a volcanic eruption!

In just an instant of contact, a crushing pain shot through his punch bone and even his entire arm, unable to withstand even a fleeting moment. The massive force knocked him back, spurting blood wildly as Ning Fan’s punch sent him flying backward, his body resembling a meteor, before crashing heavily into the distant stone wall of the arena!

The crowd was shocked!

The Sea Witch Triad was drenched in cold sweat. This punch’s power was something even some Shattered Thought Early Stage elders would struggle to resist. They thought if this punch landed on them, a one-punch kill was highly probable, uncertain whether Ancestor Kuang was dead or alive...

Crash!

The portion of the wall suddenly collapsed, and then Ancestor Kuang, covered in blood, emerged from the debris, wearing a composed look.

Hiss!

The entire crowd gasped in astonishment. Such a terrifying punch, yet Ancestor Kuang survived. Truly, he was worthy of being one of the top-ranked warriors in the Blood Martial Arena!

"Young man, your fist power is not bad. Here is your identity token, take it! Four days from now at 11:15 AM, use this token to go to Arena Number One to participate in the Blood Martial Ranking Battle. If you’re late, you will be disqualified, so make sure not to be late."

Ancestor Kuang laughed seemingly relaxed and threw a stream of light to Ning Fan.

Ning Fan caught the stream of light in his hand; it was a blue wooden token filled with thunderous force. Putting the wooden token away, Ning Fan gave Ancestor Kuang a long look before turning and leaving.

"Registration ends today. Those who have not qualified can come back tomorrow to try again!"

Ancestor Kuang impatiently drove the examinees out of the arena, then closed the arena and left for his own abode.

As soon as he returned to his abode, he could no longer hold himself up and fell to the ground spitting blood.

"This person... is so strong..."

In fact, Ning Fan was also quite surprised to have heavily injured Ancestor Kuang with one punch.

Admittedly, with his Ninth Nirvana of Heavenly Demon cultivation, if he punched with full force, it would be easy to send a Peak of Shekong Body Cultivator flying. But he hadn’t exerted his full strength in that punch; he had used less than one-tenth of his strength.

Less than one-tenth of his strength should not have been enough to batter a Peak of Shekong Body Cultivator so badly, it should have just slightly overpowered him at most.

Unexpectedly, after comprehending the true essence of the Ancient Demon, the power of this punch had significantly increased. Moreover, the punch naturally employed the force method of the Ancient Demon Mountain-Shattering Strike, his only self-created Ancient Demon divine skill so far, with a profound degree of mystery, which caused the contained power to explode suddenly, leading to a small critical hit!

This small critical hit directly enhanced the real power of the punch by more than double, far exceeding Ning Fan’s expectations.

Thus, Ancestor Kuang met a miserable end...

Fortunately, Ning Fan instinctively held back at the last moment; otherwise, Ancestor Kuang might have been killed outright by even a tenth of his strength...

If that had happened, it might have triggered an incident in the Blood Martial underground arena...

"It seems that my newly created Ancient Demon Mountain-Shattering Strike exceeds my expectations. If I want to control it smoothly, it will require some strenuous cultivation..." Ning Fan thought to himself.

After the registration ended, Ning Fan didn’t linger in the Blood Martial Arena but chose to leave directly. Just as he stepped onto the Teleportation Formation, he suddenly felt a sense of perception and glanced in a certain direction.

Then, the formation light took him back to the ground.

"It seems he noticed me, interesting... Is this the person who defeated Baihua Great Emperor’s Dao Image head-on?" In the shadows, a man wearing a blue demonic ghost mask, whose entire body was illusory and translucent, smiled inscrutably. He was the true master behind the scenes of the Blood Martial Arena.

"Master, your guess is correct. According to the information received, this person is indeed the one who defeated Baihua Great Emperor’s Dao Image. But the Baihua Emperor has been severely injured for a thousand years and is just a Zhongzhou Immortal Emperor; his divine skills are far inferior to the Emperors of the Holy Mountain, so this Foreign Cultivator defeating Baihua Emperor isn’t much of a big deal..." Behind the illusory man, several armored guards replied.

"You underestimate the Baihua Emperor. The waters of Baihua Peak are deep... that Bee Demon is unfathomable..." The illusory man stroked a scar on his chest, frowning.

"Bee Demon? What Bee Demon..." The several armored guards clearly were unaware.

"These matters are beyond your knowledge. Even the Central Continent Five Emperors, the Liuli City Three Hidden Emperors, and the Holy Mountain Nineteen Emperors have no right to know about this... it is one of the five supreme beings of the entire Dabei..."

"Five supreme beings?" The armored guards were shaken; it was the first time they had heard of the Dabei Clan having five supreme beings. But in the next instant, the three of them became bewildered, and the memory of the five supreme beings suddenly began to fade.

"Did Master just say something?" The armored guards asked in confusion.

"I spoke of things you shouldn’t know... let’s not talk about this, tell me more intelligence about the Foreign Cultivator, I’m quite interested in him."

"Yes. I have received another piece of information that the Foreign Cultivator has greatly angered Emperor Lou Tuo over a certain matter, and the Prime Disciple of Lou Tuo has secretly spread word to teach this guy a bloody lesson in the second round of the Tomb Seizing Battle..."

"Offending Lou Tuo? Interesting..."

"My informant at Tiandu Peak passed me an extremely confidential message; it’s said that this Foreign Cultivator named Ning Fan seemed to have seen ’complete success’ in the text exam of the first round of the Tomb Seizing..."

"Oh? Seen ’complete success’..."

The illusory man suddenly became solemn, recollecting something, and fell into a brief silence.

"In the history of Dabei, only three people saw ’complete success’ before becoming an Immortal Emperor. The Death Emperor of Vacant Flame, the Ming Luo of Holy Mountain... this guy is quite something."

"Weren’t there three people? Who’s the other one?" The armored guards seemed curious, hearing such secrets for the first time.

"The other one was a formidable figure who once broke into the Sacred Tomb, whose aspirations were as high as the sky, thinking the world could be conquered but was successively defeated by the five supreme beings. To fulfill a promise with one of the supreme beings, he has remained silent and unseen within the Dabei Clan ever since..."

"Five supreme beings? What are the five supreme beings, and does our Dabei Clan have such a title?" The armored guards were visibly shaken, but then lapsed into bewilderment and forgotteness.

"...Did the Master just say something?"

"Hmm, yes, things you shouldn’t know. Make arrangements for me to participate in the ranking battle in four days, and the second round of Tomb Seizing in seven days. Arrange a fitting identity for me. I’m interested in this Foreign Cultivator, perhaps I could gain some insights from him, breaking through the final barrier to the Quasi-Saint level."

"Yes!"

...

Ning Fan was naturally unaware that the illusory man was a ruthless individual who was half a step towards a Quasi-Saint, but he sensed that the man was formidable as well.

Ning Fan had to admit that the foundation of the Dabei Clan was profound. Beneath the Blood Martial Arena, there was a powerful being almost close to the Quasi-Saint level; in the small Liuli City, there were no fewer than three presences comparable to an Immortal Emperor, who remained hidden from the world. Coupled with the Central Continent Five Emperors and the Immortal Emperors of the Holy Mountain, this Dabei Clan was definitely a superpower like the Dark Clan and the Southern Clan, not an ordinary Eastern Heavenly power to be compared with...

After all, they were the lineage of Saints.

What Ning Fan didn’t expect was to encounter the somewhat enigmatic Xianyu Chun in this Blood Martial Arena...

The strangeness of Xianyu Chun, whether related to the old man with the water jar he had previously mentioned... but judging by his symptoms, the other party didn’t seem malicious.

Upon returning to the surface, Ning Fan secretly activated his spirit sense, trying to find where Duolan had settled in the city and by the way, looked for Wu Laoba to see what he’d been up to during the time Ning Fan signed up for the arena.

He found Duolan, but Wu Laoba seemed to have vanished, unable to be located within the city.

Could it be that he’s trapped somewhere, unable to be sensed?

Ning Fan frowned, thinking that although Wu Laoba loved to cause trouble, he always knew how to avoid misfortune and court fortune. He shouldn’t have provoked those he couldn’t afford to. However, since Liuli City was a place filled with powerful figures, the old monsters’ aura concealing techniques here were astonishingly profound. Even Ning Fan, a Heavenly Immortal Practitioner, needed considerable effort to break through them. If Wu Laoba truly made a slip, provoking some great power and disappearing, it was not impossible...

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a frantic, illusory message-transmitting flying sword burst through the sky over the long street of Liuli City, alarming countless passersby.

The flying sword headed straight for Ning Fan, and upon breaking apart, a message directly entered Ning Fan’s divine sense.

"Master, save me!"

It turned out to be a cry for help from Wu Laoba!

Ning Fan’s gaze immediately darkened; this guy indeed caused trouble again. Only, given Wu Laoba’s strength, he couldn’t escape and had to resort to asking for help, indicating that the opponent wasn’t ordinary.

To help or not to help?

With a turn of thought, Ning Fan quickly made up his mind. Although Wu Laoba was not loyal, there was a cause and effect with the old monster, and during their recent time together, Ning Fan had received many benefits from Wu Laoba. Since Ning Fan brought Wu Laoba into Dabei, he naturally couldn’t ignore the situation.

Plus, Wu Laoba always did things with restraint, never offending anyone to the point of no return. Most Dabei hermits disliked killing, and there may still be a chance for a peaceful resolution...

Having decided, Ning Fan immediately pushed his Rain Technique to the extreme, and a veil of rain fell over Liuli City.

All were Ning Fan’s all-pervasive rain thoughts!

"Hey, why is it suddenly raining?" The pedestrians on the long street dispersed as the sudden drizzle fell.

Can’t find him, just can’t find him!

Ning Fan felt a chill in his heart. With his mysterious rain thoughts, even if Wu Laoba were trapped in a place where an Immortal Emperor resided, there should have been a trace of detection, yet searching the entire Liuli City, Ning Fan could find no trace of Wu Laoba, evidently indicating that the opponent’s divine skills exceeded his understanding!

Could it be that the opponent was a Quasi-Saint level...

If the opponent truly had power comparable to a Quasi-Saint, how could Wu Laoba have the opportunity to release a message-transmitting flying sword for help? Or was it deliberate, wanting him to go there?

In such a case, even if he didn’t save Wu Laoba, the opponent probably already had his eyes on him.

"It seems this person is worth seeing. If this person wishes to see me yet conceals Wu Laoba’s aura, not allowing me to investigate, is it a test of my abilities... but if this is indeed a test, then it doesn’t seem malicious..."

"Or perhaps, this isn’t a test but a prompt... If I can find the opponent under such powerful concealment, it might be a significant improvement..."

Ning Fan closed his eyes, standing quietly in the rain, his spirit sense sweeping across the entire Liuli City again and again along with the fine rain.

Can’t find it...

Still can’t find it...

His understanding of the Rain Technique had long been close to nature, indistinguishable from natural rain.

What’s needed to improve is not the understanding of the Rain Technique, but... the control of his spirit sense?

Ning Fan seemed to grasp a key point, just as he intended to try. Suddenly, a woman holding an umbrella walked toward him from the dense rain curtain.

She stood there alone on the long street, in the rain, holding an umbrella, looking at him with an indescribably complex gaze.

"Vast Expanse Butterfly, do you need help?"

Ning Fan’s eyes immediately sharpened.

Not only because of the woman’s words.

But also because... after she removed her veil, her face was remarkably similar to Dugu’s.

But... why was the aura of this woman so similar to the auxiliary demon soul of that Bee Demon, almost as if she were another auxiliary demon soul of the Bee Demon!

What on earth...

"It seems you don’t recognize me..."

Don’t recognize me!

Ning Fan remembered hearing this phrase in the Scripture Tower gifted by the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor.

Within that Scripture Tower, there was a stone door he couldn’t open, from which this phrase emerged, once invoking an inexplicable sadness in him...

"Who are you really, the auxiliary demon soul of the Bee Demon in the Hundred Flowers Emperor’s Treasury, or someone else entirely..."

Ning Fan frowned.

This woman’s voice did not bring the same soul-stirring sorrow as the voice from behind the stone door.

Although the two voices bore a certain degree of resemblance...

"I am Afeng, Xiu Fang’s Afeng, the little turtle you’re looking for is at Nan Yao Temple outside the East Gate..."

The woman looked desolately at Ning Fan, then walked away holding the umbrella.

Ning Fan thoughtfully watched her back until she disappeared from view, leaving an indescribable feeling lingering in his heart...

Who exactly is this woman!

However, this line of thought was quickly interrupted by some troubling noise from others.

In the rain curtain, a group of playboys suddenly rushed out after the woman left, blocking Ning Fan’s way.

"Who are you! You’re wearing the Foreign Cultivator’s attire, are you a Tomb Guardian of the Holy Mountain! But even if you are, we won’t give Afeng to you!"

"Afeng is mine! Anyone who vies will die!"

"Nonsense, Afeng is mine!"

"Damn it, you dare to snatch Afeng from me, didn’t we say we were coming to teach this guy a lesson?"

"I’ll teach you a lesson first!"

"You dare hit me, watch me beat you to death!"

They turned out to be a group of suitors infatuated with Afeng in Liuli City.

These people were originally envious of Afeng’s interaction with Ning Fan and planned to rough up Ning Fan, but as they approached, they started a quarrel among themselves, leading to a fight between five or six people.

Such foolish dialogues, truly in the style of the Great Humble Ones.

Ning Fan naturally had no interest in the farce in front of him, his figure blurred as he walked past these playboys.

He forcibly terminated his thoughts about the woman in his mind, focusing on rescuing Wu Laoba first.

The one trapping Wu Laoba was probably a Quasi-Saint.

That woman... she didn’t seem simple either...

Using the Teleportation Formation at a certain inn on the street, Ning Fan instantly teleported outside the East Gate.

This was an outlying area, with only two or three scattered residences, and besides, a notably dilapidated temple with a plaque reading Nan Yao Temple.

Because of its remote location, Nan Yao Temple currently only had a few travelers occasionally passing by its gate.

As Ning Fan approached Nan Yao Temple, a sudden gust of chilling wind emanated from inside the temple, yet the passing travelers seemed not to notice, ignoring the eerie wind completely.

The main gate of Nan Yao Temple unexpectedly opened by itself.

A slightly formal voice came from inside the temple gate.

"You found this place under the guidance of the dead bee, which doesn’t count as your merit. Such a shortcut has cost you a great advantage that this old man intended to give you. What a pity, what a pity..."

"Senior, is the guidance you want to impart to me the ultimate use of the divine sense... Myriad Miles Wander?" Ning Fan’s eyes showed a trace of reminiscence.

The Myriad Miles Wander divine skill, he had inadvertently used at the beginning of his cultivation journey... yet he had never fully understood it.

Today seemed to be an opportunity.

Upon Ning Fan speaking, the old man inside the temple gate immediately made a surprised noise.

Evidently surprised by Ning Fan’s easy insight into this point...