Grasping Evil

The bamboo forest before him stretched for hundreds of miles, resembling a vast sea of bamboo.

Ning Fan had been to the Tree World’s bamboo sea, where he left behind some past memories. Now, triggered by the scene, he couldn’t help but reminisce.

Hollow Bamboo, with a soul dwelling; the soul takes root, in the heart of the bamboo; the root of the soul, the heart of the bamboo, inseparable...

He wondered how Old Tree Spirit Mu Luo was doing after reuniting with his old lover... How were his friends and family in the Rain Immortal World... Had Mother awakened... Had the Dao Fruit planted by his master matured...

Shaking his head, Ning Fan put aside his distracting thoughts, slowly advancing through the bamboo forest, carefully observing the changes around the bamboo sea.

With his Fuli Illusion-Breaking Talent, he could easily decipher the illusionary pattern here. There were no Immortal King illusionary beasts in this place, in fact, even the bamboo sea before him was false, non-existent.

Outside the bamboo forest, he thought he could rely on his Fuli talent to easily decipher the bamboo sea’s illusions.

However, once he stepped into the bamboo forest, it was a different feeling, the illusory bamboo sea suddenly felt extremely real. Inside Mount Luxxx, Ning Fan found it difficult to see through this bamboo sea.

Gradually, a serious expression appeared on Ning Fan’s face.

Even though he had been walking through the bamboo forest for a long time, for some reason, he always felt like he was walking in place, as if with every step he took, the entire bamboo sea moved a step as well.

Although he felt as if he saw through the bamboo sea’s illusions, after deciphering them, he frustratingly found himself still trapped in another layer of illusions.

No, it’s not just an illusion! It’s really just staying in the same place!

Ning Fan checked the scroll map and found that only a very small area of the map was illuminated, indicating that although he seemed to have traveled far within the bamboo forest, he was actually just going in circles...

One incense stick passed, then another... Ning Fan circled around and somehow ended up coming out of the bamboo forest and back to where he started.

Finally, he acknowledged the complexity of this bamboo forest illusion.

"This bamboo forest illusion is not as simple as I imagined," Ning Fan thought to himself.

Emperor Butcher was a bit speechless, and said to Ning Fan, "Alright, kid, put me down. You’ve been circling around here for half an hour, and even though the trial of illusions will last for a month, you can’t waste time like this. Alright, I’ve gradually adapted to the suppressing force here, and I can move freely now."

With that, Emperor Butcher twisted her slender waist, jumped down from Ning Fan’s embrace, landed on the ground, and shook off the numbness from her body, then stared at Ning Fan with a strange gaze.

Stare.

Stare.

Stare.

Ning Fan felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at and asked, "Why is the young lady looking at me like that?"

"I’m looking at a weirdo, the most amazing weirdo in the world," Emperor Butcher replied earnestly.

"Weirdo? Is the young lady talking about me... What do you mean by that?"

"Imagine if there was a person in the world who could ignore grand illusions like the ’Five Finger Illusion,’ but was stumped by an entry-level ’Inferior Taixuan Illusion,’ would you call that person a weirdo?"

"What is the Five Finger Illusion... and what is the Taixuan Illusion?" Ning Fan perked up and asked.

"That’s not the point. The point is, your talent for illusions is very high, but you seem to have not systematically learned illusions. Is that so?"

"Uh, indeed I haven’t systematically studied illusions... the young lady has good insight." Ning Fan nodded.

"Good insight? Seeing through this doesn’t require much insight. I bet any illusion master among the Immortal Emperor-level could see your illusion foundation is quite shallow. From what I’ve seen of your method of breaking illusions, it seems you only know how to forcibly break them, without understanding the basics of ’attacking the illusion and hiding the reality’ and ’guarding the reality and placing the illusion,’ let alone advanced concepts like ’creating illusions,’ ’destroying illusions,’ or the ’Taixuan Eight Thousand Illusions.’ You can’t just wander through the bamboo forest aimlessly. That won’t work."

"Indeed, your talent for illusions is very high. With your talent, forcibly breaking ordinary illusions is not difficult. But know this, the illusions inside the Fire Soul Tower, many of them are renowned Taixuan illusions from ancient times. If you don’t understand the deep principles of illusions, unless your cultivation far surpasses the one who set the array, it would be impossible to forcibly break these ancient illusions..."

"Do you think no one in the Sea Witch Sect or the Huanhai Clan can see through the true situation of the Illusory Bamboo Forest? Do you think they all quickly left out of fear of the false Immortal King beast roars here? I don’t know about others, but I’m sure there are people in the Huanhai Clan who can see through the illusion’s reality here. After all, the Huanhai Clan has a lone copy of the ’Taixuan Eight Thousand Illusions Lower Volume,’ someone must be able to see through the Taixuan Illusions here, which is why they decisively abandoned this place and chose to illuminate other sections of the map."

Attacking the illusion and hiding the reality, guarding the reality and placing the illusion, creating illusions, destroying illusions... Ning Fan had only read about these terms in ancient texts, and didn’t understand what they meant.

The Four Heavens had very few illusion masters, and even fewer illusion traditions had been passed down. These terms seemed to be extremely advanced illusion knowledge, it was no wonder Ning Fan didn’t understand them. Although the demon race was very skilled in illusions and had passed down many ancient illusion traditions, unfortunately, Ning Fan had never been to the Higher Realms’ Immortal Demon World; if he had, he might have learned these illusionary arts...

As for the strange term ’Taixuan Eight Thousand Illusions,’ Ning Fan swore this was the first time he had ever heard of it.

Ning Fan knew that Emperor Butcher was probably dropping hints to help him, so he certainly wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to learn. After all, here was a Great Emperor guiding him in illusions; many ancient experts would be willing to give up everything for the chance to hear the teachings of a Master of Illusions.

"Senior, are you saying the illusion of this bamboo forest is not a normal Immortal illusion, but one of the ’Taixuan Illusions’ you mentioned?" Ning Fan’s eyes narrowed as he asked.

"Indeed, the illusion here is one of the Taixuan Illusions. In ancient times, the Black Buddha Sect had an illusion prodigy known as the Taixuan Elder. Although his cultivation wasn’t the pinnacle, his understanding of illusions was unmatched. He collected over eight thousand of the strongest illusions from across the heavens, compiling them into a work titled ’Taixuan Eight Thousand Illusions,’ divided into upper, middle, and lower volumes. The upper volume recorded the strongest illusions, the middle volume the next strongest, and the lower volume contained the weakest. However, even the weakest Taixuan Illusions were potent enough for a mumbling True Immortal to use as a secret technique."

"Because of the existence of the Taixuan Elder, later generations even regard the term Taixuan Illusion Technique as a general term for powerful illusions. Taixuan Illusion Techniques are divided into three grades: upper, middle, and lower. The bamboo forest illusion here is merely a lower-grade Taixuan Illusion Technique. If the practitioner has slightly weaker cultivations, your skill would be enough to forcibly break the technique and reach the depths of the bamboo forest. But unfortunately, the practitioner is the Fire Soul Tower itself... In this case, you can only hope to break this technique by understanding the true and false of this illusion."

"I know you sensed the treasure in the deep bamboo, so you want to enter this bamboo forest, right? Well then, follow me; I’ll take you into this bamboo forest. Hmm... it still won’t work. Although I can walk, some places that require brisk walking cannot be traversed quickly enough, and cannot span the gap between illusion reality... Fine, carry me for a while, follow my lead, and naturally, you can enter the depths of the bamboo forest!"

Emperor Butcher walked directly to Ning Fan and calmly said, "Carry me!"

"...Oh." Ning Fan answered, once again carrying Emperor Butcher horizontally. Having experienced it before, this time neither was too embarrassed, remaining very calm. Emperor Butcher’s body fragrance filled Ning Fan’s nostrils, a hint of honey-like sweetness that he hadn’t noticed when his mind was unsettled.

"What are you smelling!" Emperor Butcher frowned. Although she didn’t mind physical contact between men and women, she was not willing to be openly teased by Ning Fan like this.

"Sorry." Realizing he had been caught sniffing her scent, even Ning Fan, with his thick skin, felt somewhat embarrassed.

"No need to mind it too much; if you want to smell it, it’s not impossible. Oh, and don’t keep calling me ’young lady’; just call me Qingling." Seeing Ning Fan wasn’t purposely teasing, Emperor Butcher didn’t mind, even jokingly replying to Ning Fan.

"Uh, isn’t Qingling your alias? Could it be your real name?"

"Of course it’s my real name. I only disguise this identity; the name is real."

"Haha, I thought your real name was Emperor Butcher?"

"...What woman would name herself that... Emperor Butcher is just my code name for participating in the Blood Martial Arena, like your code name ’Slaughter Fox’; it doesn’t mean much. From now on, just call me Qingling; calling ’young lady’ all the time is annoying to hear. Hmm, I won’t call you ’boy,’ either; I’ll address you by your name, since I seek your help, I need to respect you a little. Enough idle talk; the illusion here has changed. Move to the direction I indicate. South twenty steps, west eleven steps, change direction, and enter the bamboo forest from this position!"

Emperor Butcher directed from within Ning Fan’s arms.

Oh, perhaps he shouldn’t call this delicate woman Emperor Butcher anymore; even though she kills without mercy, she desires not such a name.

So, it’s Qingling...

Ning Fan moved according to Emperor Butcher’s directions, entering the bamboo forest. Then, under her guidance, he gradually approached the depths of the forest.

"West nine steps, retreat one step, south two steps, speed three breaths per step, slow pace."

"East three steps, west three steps, east two steps, west two steps... speed four breaths per step, slow pace again."

"West seventy-nine steps, quick pace, one breath ten steps!"

"East two hundred and twenty-seven steps, quick pace, one breath thirty steps!"

"Faster!"

"Slow down!"

"Chop the left thirteenth Purple Bamboo with your palm!"

"Move this stone!"

Regarding Emperor Butcher’s directions, Ning Fan felt confused, as if a barrier prevented him from comprehending the real brilliance within.

He held the beauty, moving swiftly like a leopard at times, slowly like a turtle at others, sometimes going east, sometimes west, occasionally destroying some bamboo. He didn’t know how long he had walked when the dense bamboo suddenly opened up, revealing a vast clearing ahead.

Emperor Butcher said ’arrived’, leaped from Ning Fan’s arms, and gazed around with great interest.

Feeling light in his arms, Ning Fan freed his hands and took out the map to check, noticing that in this short time, the area of Illusory Bamboo Forest on the map had been completely lit up. Clearly, through Emperor Butcher’s seemingly indecipherable guidance, Ning Fan had traversed hundreds of miles of this bamboo forest and finally reached its depths!

Here, the scent attracting his Fu Li Demon Bloodline grew even stronger.

Ning Fan put away the map, looked around, then raised his head, his expression suddenly stiffening.

Above the clearing, amidst fluttering bamboo leaves, hundreds of vividly ethereal purple-black birds were dancing. All were in a spectral form, emitting a glowing light, chirping crisply in mid-air, ethereal and illusory!

Under the glimmering light of their wings, the place felt dreamlike and illusionary, with a unique fragrance filling the air, refreshing and sobering. The surroundings of eerie Purple Bamboo gave the bamboo forest an ethereal and secluded beauty, seemingly isolated from the world.

"What a beautiful place; it’s because of the Cloud Blood Fruit growing here." Emperor Butcher stretched lazily and turned to Ning Fan, saying, "Kid... no, Ning Fan, do you know why so many spectral birds are dancing here?"

"Didn’t the young lady say it’s because the Cloud Blood Fruit grows here?"

"Do you know what Cloud Blood Fruit is?"

"I don’t."

"Cloud Blood Fruit is a kind of Innate Spiritual Medicine, unique to the Dabei Clan. Consuming this fruit raw can enhance a Master’s blood flow, strengthening parts of the physical defense. It grows from the blood of Immortal Emperor-level Powerhouses at the site of their demise, using the blood as nourishment and slowly forming. It absorbs the essence of heaven and earth, growing gradually; when mature, the Spirit Fruit body becomes void, transforming into endless illusions. The different blood from the powerhouses used as nourishment makes the medis highly unique. Look at the bird phantoms here... no, not ordinary birds, these bird shadows must be of that specific demon class... the evil presence of the Feather Fiend Lineage, the Fu Li! So, the effect of this Cloud Blood Fruit should be increasing blood flow in the eyes, significantly enhancing a Master’s vision to improve Illusion Deciphering."

Ning Fan thought indeed, these dazzling, dancing fluorescent birds are illusions of Fu Li. Presumably, the Cloud Blood Fruit growing here once absorbed nutrients from the blood of Fu Li Demonic Mounts, thus manifesting these phantoms.

"All the shadows of birds here are transformed from Cloud Blood Fruits, false among the many with only one real. If you wish to capture this fruit, you must catch the one true bird shadow. Ning Fan, with your ability, you should be able to discern which bird is real, right?"

"I’ll give it a try."

Ning Fan’s proficiency in illusions might truly be as high as the Emperor Butcher claimed, with great natural talent yet shaky fundamentals. Nevertheless, his skill in seeing through illusions was exceptional, with the Fuli Breaking Illusion Talent combined with the formidable Tianren Eye Technique. Effortlessly, he identified the true entity among hundreds of bird shadows. Ning Fan’s figure merely flickered slightly before he stood still again, as if he had never left his place, never leaped, yet he had already captured a bird shadow from midair.

The bird shadow captured by Ning Fan fluttered its wings, unable to escape from Ning Fan’s grasp, then reluctantly transformed into a luminous, fair and reddish fruit, resembling an infant’s tender and delicate skin.

The Cloud Blood Fruit was now in hand!

In the instant of acquiring the Cloud Blood Fruit, all other false bird shadows vanished without a trace.

Touching the slightly cool Cloud Blood Fruit in his hand, Ning Fan could feel his Fuli bloodline radiating with excitement. Clearly, this fruit had formed using Fuli blood as nourishment, and consuming it would enhance illusion deciphering for others, but for Ning Fan, it would also improve his Fuli bloodline.

No doubt, the Emperor Butcher hadn’t deceived him; just by touching the fruit, he could already sense the numerous benefits through his bloodline...

Thoughts of consuming the fruit alone couldn’t help but arise, but...

Ning Fan noticed the Emperor Butcher’s intense interest in this fruit, and he cooled down, suppressing the fervent craving in his bloodline.

Indeed, he entered this place aiming for the Cloud Blood Fruit, and obtaining it would be ideal. However, he also understood that without the Emperor Butcher’s help, given his own skill in illusions, he wouldn’t be capable of entering the depths of this bamboo forest to claim the Cloud Blood Fruit.

The fruit rightfully belonged to the Emperor Butcher.

"With my illusion skills, I wouldn’t have been able to reach deep inside this bamboo forest without your guidance. It seems like you need this fruit, so take it." Ning Fan smiled lightly and handed the Cloud Blood Fruit to the Emperor Butcher.

The Emperor Butcher’s gaze towards Ning Fan became somewhat peculiar, as if it was the first time she had seen someone so generous.

After a brief hesitation, a smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

"If it were an ordinary Cloud Blood Fruit, I wouldn’t care, but this one’s effects are rather special, and it has significant benefits for me.... However. It seems you also need this fruit, so how about we each eat half of it?"

"Each eat half?" Ning Fan was slightly astonished.

"This fruit can only be consumed raw, and it has a drawback that once it’s harvested, it must be eaten within the time of an incense stick’s burn, or it will wilt swiftly and lose its effectiveness. In my Dabei Clan, this fruit is known as the ’Flower of the Fruit,’ due to its sudden life and death nature. Don’t waste time, it’s decided, half for each of us. You first eat half, and then pass the rest to me!" The Emperor Butcher cheerfully shoved the Cloud Blood Fruit back into Ning Fan’s hand.

Had he not examined the fruit and found it flawless, Ning Fan might almost have suspected that the Emperor Butcher was setting some kind of trap for him by inviting him to partake.

After a cautious investigation, Ning Fan felt guilty for his tinge of mistrust; indeed there was nothing wrong with the fruit.

So, could he now safely consume half and then give the other half to the Emperor Butcher?

For some reason, Ning Fan found himself imagining a scene where the Emperor Butcher’s lips slightly parted, savoring the leftover fruit with gusto, unfazed by his saliva on it...

"It’s better if you eat first," thinking of this, Ning Fan decided it was best to let the Emperor Butcher eat first.

The Emperor Butcher regarded Ning Fan with a deep glance, then chuckled indifferently, "Ah, what a cautious young lad..."

Worried that I might tamper with the fruit and therefore want me to eat first? Hehe, such caution isn’t misplaced in the cultivation world. Well, I meant to let you eat first so you could have more, but since you suspect me, then I’ll simply help myself...

With this thought, the Emperor Butcher no longer hesitated with Ning Fan and quickly ate most of the fruit.

After eating roughly two-thirds, she left one-third for Ning Fan...

"The rest is for you, hurry up and eat it; bear in mind that once time’s up, the fruit’s potency will dissipate."

Ning Fan looked at the remaining third of the Cloud Blood Fruit in his hand, feeling a little disheartened.

What happened to the promise of half for each?

The prominent Emperor Butcher, a powerful figure almost at the Quasi-Saint level, the formidable master of the Illusionary Control Position as a Great Emperor, is really going back on her word?

Oh well, thanks to the Emperor Butcher’s guidance, he managed to obtain the fruit free of charge; it’s pretty good to eat a third for nothing.

Ning Fan brought the fruit to his mouth, ready to bite down, then suddenly noticed the edge of the fruit bearing faint lipstick marks...

So he raised his glance, peculiarly looking at the lips of the Emperor Butcher. Eating it now would seem like eating her lipstick as well...

"Hurry up, eat. We still have important matters to attend to; although this Illusion Trial will last for a month, just traveling to the sixth floor’s base will take a considerable amount of time." Seeing Ning Fan hesitant to bite, the Emperor Butcher urged impatiently.

She clearly mistook Ning Fan for being timid and overly cautious, afraid to recklessly eat the fruit she had eaten from, thinking thusly, she wished she could snatch away the remaining third of the fruit and finish it herself! It’s rare for her to show goodwill in sharing the treasure equally with this youngster, and yet he still harbors suspicion towards her. Hehe, hehe... She really felt like venting her anger.

"This woman seems to misunderstand something..."

Ning Fan shook his head, ignoring the rouge on the fruit, and wolfed down the remaining fruit in just a few bites, leaving only the core.

The first sensation was the fruit’s sweetness, a kind of sweetness with a hint of blood, apparently due to the fruit being nourished by blood.

The second sensation was that the rouge was also quite sweet, tasting like honey. One wonders what kind of rouge Emperor Butcher used. It seems that no matter how fierce a woman is, in the end, she’s still a woman who adorns herself.

The third sensation... was the overwhelming medicinal power contained in this fruit! This was indeed an Innate Spiritual Medicine. Even though it was only one-third, eating it raw like this was extraordinary!

Seeing Ning Fan’s flushed and blood-filled face, looking as if he had overindulged, Emperor Butcher frowned belatedly.

She had forgotten about this. To her Half-Step Quasi-Saint body, swallowing innate spiritual medicine wasn’t a big deal, but for Ning Fan, it seemed to be a bit too much.

"Sit cross-legged, meditate, circulate your energy, and refine the medicinal power! Forget it, this item originally had another purpose, but I might as well lend it to you now! I cannot exert my cultivation at this moment to help you quickly refine the medicinal power within you, but the Will of the Saint contained within this item is enough to press you into accelerating the refinement of the medicinal power!"

Emperor Butcher was unaware of Ning Fan’s background, which is why she was worried if Ning Fan’s overindulgence would endanger his life.

Ning Fan knew his own body very well and was well-prepared to refine the massive medicinal power of the Innate Spiritual Medicine. If he wasn’t confident, he wouldn’t dare to eat the Innate Spiritual Medicine raw.

He initially intended to handle the immense medicinal power himself, but when he saw what Emperor Butcher took out, he changed his mind.

With the assistance of the Will of the Saint provided by Emperor Butcher, he could expedite the refinement of the medicinal power. With such benefits, he wouldn’t refuse. He also didn’t want to waste too much time refining the medicinal power within the Illusory Bamboo Forest.

Emperor Butcher slightly parted her red lips, spitting out a beam of blood-light. Within that blood-light, the object was indiscernible, wrapped and sealed layer upon layer. Ning Fan’s spirit sense couldn’t penetrate those seals to see clearly.

Even though he couldn’t see what it was, Ning Fan could distinctly sense the overwhelming will exuding from it!

The Will of the Saint!

Once, at the Zhenhuan River, Ning Fan used the Immortal Emperor’s will provided by the River Demon to quickly refine some Dark Star Fruit, greatly enhancing his cultivations.

Under the auxiliary pressure of a strong will, blood and mana can accelerate in flow, thus speeding up the refinement of consumed spiritual fruits and expensive pills.

The Will of the Saint, in terms of quality, is naturally far inferior to the Immortal Emperor’s will, but in terms of quantity, it differs. The Immortal Emperor’s will the River Demon collected from the Zhenhuan River was extremely diluted and mixed, whereas the Will of the Saint exuding from the item taken out by Emperor Butcher at this moment was unimaginably immense, giving Ning Fan the illusion of truly facing a Saint!

As a result, the sense of oppression brought about by the Will of the Saint in front of him, in some sense, surpassed the Immortal Emperor’s will he felt before!

"Thank you!" Ning Fan sat cross-legged, refining the medicinal power within him while expressing his gratitude.

"It’s a small matter, no need to keep it in mind. You can completely consider my help as our trade-off. Alright, quickly refine the medicinal power within you!" Emperor Butcher feigned lightheartedness, though her delicate body trembled slightly. At this moment, unable to exert any of her cultivation, the sudden use of this item made it difficult to resist the overwhelming Will of the Saint.

However, to save time and let Ning Fan quickly refine the excess medicinal power within him, she didn’t dwell on it.

With the aid of this immense Will of the Saint, it didn’t take long for the medicinal power of the Cloud Blood Fruit within Ning Fan to be entirely refined. After refining, Ning Fan distinctly felt that his eyesight was more potent, discerning the illusionary changes around him more clearly than before.

Clearly, these were the benefits brought by the Cloud Blood Fruit!

Additionally, his Fu Li Demon Bloodline also advanced to some degree due to consuming this fruit. Even a drop of ancestral blood once burned in anger in the Barbarian Wilderness Ancient Domain had partly been restored!

Amazingly, it had been directly refined back to one-tenth!

"By the way, the reward you obtained at the Blood Martial Arena last time seems to have yet to be consumed. Given that the item is unsealed once, let’s use this will’s pressure to refine all the expensive pills you have. Gaining more strength is very beneficial for my trip’s purpose as well!"

Emperor Butcher’s face turned slightly pale under the pressure of the Will of the Saint, yet she continued to speak nonchalantly.

Clearly, she was determined to let Ning Fan gain as much strength as possible in one go.

With Emperor Butcher’s good intentions, Ning Fan naturally didn’t refuse. He flipped his hand to take out Blood Martial Arena’s rewards, including the Nirvana Mother Stone Marrow and Thunder Tempering Fruit, consuming and refining them one by one!

The aura around him surged continuously under the nourishment of various medicines!

The rapidly rising cultivation aura transformed into a raging storm, sweeping through the bamboo forest and engulfing the place!

...

Outside the bamboo forest, a beam of blood-light, ignoring the forbidden force of the space, skimmed across the ground, crashing down violently outside the bamboo forest.

As the blood-light landed, a sharp-featured, merciless man stepped out, staring at the bamboo forest with a murderous intent surging.

It was Sha Bailou!

"Such a delicious scent, hehe, hiding in this bamboo forest, huh? Well then, I’ll enter this bamboo forest and thoroughly enjoy this delicacy of yours!"

Sha Bailou licked his lips, his figure flickered, transforming into blood-light, forcefully charging into the Illusory Bamboo Forest!