Grasping Evil

Chapter 433: Scared King Dong Long Away

Heaven Breaking Sword Finger. The first finger could break an ethereal island, rivers and mountains. The second finger could crush the vast heavens and the black sun. The third finger could pulverize the void space and the dead bones within.

The destructive power of the third finger was close to that of a single arrow from the Star Punishing Bow.

When the three fingers were displayed in a row, the destructive power of the three sword fingers combined was even greater than that of the Star Punishing Bow!

Originally, Ning Fan had yet to successfully learn the third finger. However, inside the dream realm in his mindscape that day, Tai Su had temporarily given Ning Fan Immortal Emperor Realm level magic power. After achieving unity of heaven and man, Ning Fan could be considered as a true Immortal Emperor Realm expert at that time.

With the help of the Dao Comprehensions in that enlightened state and the magic power which was as boundless as the sea, Ning Fan had nearly comprehended the essence of the first five fingers of the Heaven Breaking Sword Finger.

With his current cultivation base, he was still not capable of using the fourth and fifth fingers. However, after getting into the demonized state, it was not really a problem for him to display the third finger.

Ning Fan raised his head. He stared at the seven layers of yellow skies that were descending from above and took in a deep breath.

He saw the full aura force of the seven layers of yellow skies. He saw King Ying Long’s arrogance and pride which made him disdain everything.

If a Void Inquiry Stage old monster were to be in Ning Fan’s position, only certain death would await them after being crushed by the seven layers of yellow skies. Thus, it was no surprise why King Ying Long would be proud of himself.

King Ying Long’s Yellow Dragon Jade Token was really powerful. Even lightning lords like Tai Yue and Mo Lei could not withstand it. However, Ning Fan had no other choice but to withstand this attack!

He pointed the first finger and the mountains and rivers below him gradually collapsed. All of the force which originated from the collapse of the mountains and rivers gathered at the tip of his finger, forming a dazzling sword light. It had a deep yellow color which represented the great earth, mountains and rivers.

Before this sword light could shoot out from his finger, Ning Fan pointed the second finger. At the same moment, the seven layers of yellow skies trembled. The tremor was a sign that they were about to be broken by his second finger but it stopped after a short while. Pieces of the hollow space shattered. The black-colored sun which had risen in the sky suddenly broke too and dispersed.

The force from the shattering of the vast sky and the black sun formed a second ray of bright sword light. Right after that, the two traces of sword light turned greyish-white. This color represented the vast heaven.

When Ning Fan lifted the third finger next, his eyes were filled with unprecedented solemnity. It was his first time displaying this technique with his own cultivation base.

As he pointed the third finger, the Void Realm within the area of one hundred thousand li* (500m peril) was torn apart. This space which was as black as ink had killed too many experts and buried too many remnant bones of the dead.

What the third finger would break was the countless dead spirits that had died in the Void Realm!

Pieces of the Void Realm fell apart and the withered bones inside it disintegrated.

Bellows and roars from ghosts of ancient times resounded from the withered bones. Their voices carried exhaustion from their efforts to obtain freedom.

All of a sudden, Ning Fan was surprised. On the surface, the third finger seems like it gets its power from destroying the remains of the dead experts in the Void Realm but it actually had another use.

Those experts who had died in the Void Realm were trapped within that space, making them unable to enter the Cycle of Samsara after their deaths.

This finger, however, destroyed their remaining bones, breaking the cage that is the Void Realm and sent them into the Cycle of Samsara.

The true meaning of this third finger was not focused on taking lives but rescuing them!

Perhaps the Sword Ancestor who invented this sword finger was guilty of the innumerable deaths he had caused in his life. Hence, he wanted to release those experts who were trapped in the Void Realm from their suffering and send them into the Cycle of Samsara...

“Sword Ancestor...”

Ning Fan closed his eyes. Suddenly, a hint of newfound respect for the Sword Ancestor who was a woman from the ancient times surfaced in his heart.

In the journey to attain the Dao, killing others is inevitable. However, the reason why one would want to kill is not necessarily vengeance. If it isn’t about taking revenge, then I will only kill you in your current lifetime. Bringing you out of dire straits and sending you once again into the Cycle of Samsara can also be considered as offsetting the enmity between us... This is the Sword Ancestor’s generosity, huh...

Ning Fan’s expression gradually turned calm. His eyes shone with a hint of a vast and mysterious power.

That power was the power of Samsara. Even though he only had a small trace of it, using it on the third finger was much more compatible with its true meaning.

Suddenly, his mind became broader than before as if he could contain the entire Samsara within it.

Three rays of dazzling sword light condensed at the tip of his finger. Then, the three traces of sword lights were dyed black. The color of black represented the bones of the dead in the Void Space.

His mind seemed to remember four figures one after another.

Mo Luo’s bloodthirstiness, Tai Su’s righteousness, the Sword Ancestor’s indifference and the smile of Immortal Sovereign Zi Dou who erased Samsara.

Scorching lightning rays appeared on the tip of his finger. The Immortal Emperor’s Finger Bone which he had devoured in the past could definitely make the destructive power of this finger even more stronger.

An unimaginable glow flashed in his eyes. It made him look as majestic and lofty as an immortal emperor. Despite him standing beneath seven layers of yellow skies, when his eyes scanned past King Ying Long’s dragon body, he actually gave him a soul-stirring feeling.

As he delivered that attack, three traces of sword light which carried apocalyptic power pierced through the vault of the heavens. Wild gusts blew across the whole area!

At this moment, Ning Fan remained as firm and steady as a rock as he stood beneath the falling seven layers of yellow skies just like an immortal emperor from the ancient times who had lived until the current era!

“What kind of finger technique is this?! It can actually give me such a frightening feeling! W-What?! This is absolutely impossible!”

All the words got stuck in his throat. King Ying Long’s bloodshot dragon eyes were filled with disbelief, his face hideously ferocious.

Just as he exclaimed in surprise, the seven layers of yellow skies which were falling upon Ning Fan began to break apart one after another when he shot out his three rays of sword light!

*Chi* *Chi* *Chi*

Three rays of deadly sword light penetrated the seven layers of yellow skies one after another.

The first ray of sword light broke the first three layers of the yellow skies.

The second ray of sword light eliminated the next three layers of the yellow skies.

The third ray of sword light retained two-thirds of its destructive power after breaking through the seventh layer of the yellow skies. It turned into billions of pitch-black sword threads and enveloped King Ying Long’s dragon body.

Faced with innumerable sword threads, King Ying Long’s massive yellow dragon body seemed as insignificant as a moth. His eyes were filled with terror.

When the billions of sword threads spread out, it was like a large and inescapable spider web while King Ying Long was the dying moth that got trapped within.

He could not believe that his strongest trump card, the Yellow Dragon Seven Tokens, would easily be neutralized by Ning Fan’s three fingers!

*Chi* *Chi* *Chi*

Traces of sword threads which were as black as ink cut through the dragon scales that were protecting King Ying Long’s body. Even though his physical body was at the Second Level of the Golden Body Realm, the sword threads still managed to leave billions of wounds on his body. His dragon blood sprinkled across the entire area and his blood flowed on the ground like a river!

“Ah!”

Ying Long screamed in pain. His dragon scales fell off from his body like pieces of snowflakes. He suffered serious injuries from the attack of Ning Fan’s Heaven Breaking Sword Finger!

*Hiss*

At this moment, countless experts including Mo Lei and Tai Yue sucked in a cold breath.

When they saw King Ying Long display the Yellow Dragon Seven Tokens and summoned seven layers of yellow skies, all of them felt that they would not stand a chance if they were the ones who had to face it.

Even so, Ning Fan broke the attack of the seven layers of yellow skies by just pointing three fingers consecutively and delivering three rays of sword light. At this moment, Ning Fan had the air, pride and mightiness of an immortal emperor. His very presence would make one have the urge to fall to their knees and worship him.

“The destructive power of Fellow Daoist Zhou’s sword finger is already comparable to a Void Pierce Stage attack. Even if his opponent is a true Void Pierce Stage old monster, not all of them will be able to withstand it! Since Fellow Daoist Zhou can already display this strong of an attack, could it be that his true cultivation base is already at the Void Pierce Stage?”

“King Ying Long has been defeated! Fellow Daoist Zhou has defeated Ying Long. We shall take advantage of this opportunity to kill that evildoer. Then, all twenty-four floors of the lightning tower will return to their original state where the strongest of the respective floors will rule over their own floors. We will never have to yield to King Ying Long anymore!”

Screams and cries resounded from all directions. There were also countless experts who were hiding in this area. Among them, there were the neutral forces of the twenty-four floors and even some experts who descended to the twenty-fourth floor from the floors above. All of them revealed terrified expressions as they looked at Ning Fan.

No matter where a strong being goes, they would always be respected and admired by others. The fact that Ning Fan was able to defeat King Ying Long had undoubtedly proved that he was strong!

Without paying any attention to the respectful gazes and stares from the cultivators around him, Ning Fan activated his devil form and turned into a black giant which was five thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) tall. His body was still clad in golden armor. Finally, he included the last devil manifestation of Mo Luo, the body of Ju Mo[1]!

He opened his mouth and inhaled, swallowing the seven jade tokens which fell from the sky and into his abdomen. He wanted to keep the Yellow Dragon Seven Tokens.

After taking a gigantic step, the giant in golden armor got closer to Ying Long. He grabbed Ying Long’s massive tail and hurled him like a whip, slamming him on the ground repeatedly.

After King Ying Long was harmed by the sword finger, his qi had yet to recover. Thus, he did not have the strength to resist the giant’s attack at all.

He was like a helpless gigantic snake that was being raised and slammed to the ground time after time. Each time he hit the ground, his body would flatten countless mountains and rivers which gave out earth-shattering bangs.

After a short while, the qi of Ying Long who had yet to recover from the previous attack became even more chaotic. His Sea of Consciousness was on the verge of collapsing. As he continued to be slammed by the giant, his injuries became even more severe with his vision slowly becoming blurry as he gradually lost his consciousness for every hit he took. There was nothing he could do to resist other than letting out wrathful and resentful roars.

“Zhou Ming! You’re courting death! How dare you injure me so seriously?! I will kill you! I must kill you!”

“Shut up!”

The golden-armored giant made an angry shout that carried a hint of contempt. Since he had already incapacitated Ying Long, how could he let him go? He must eliminate him today!

With a brutal and violent way, the giant extracted Ying Long’s dragon tendon, peeled off all of his dragon scales, crushed his dragon horns and broke his dragon wings.

Ying Long was racked with intense pain. His skin split and his flesh splattered everywhere. Blood flowed out from his wounds like rivers. At this moment, he finally abandoned his arrogant attitude. He finally felt fear!

“Zhou Ming! You can’t kill me. I am the subordinate of King Dong Long, the lightning lord of the ninetieth floor of the tower! If you kill me, King Dong Long is definitely not going to let you off the hook! Hurry up and let me go!”

A trace of aura force which was extremely close to the Void Fragmentation Realm suddenly arrived at the twenty-fourth floor as if it was responding to Ying Long’s cry for help!

“Ying Long is right. If you dare to touch one of my men, you will die today!”

As soon as this voice fell, an old man in golden robes suddenly descended from the sky. His eyes were as cold as ice.

Just as this man appeared, countless experts on the twenty-fourth floor exclaimed in shock.

“King Dong Long! This man is the lightning lord of the ninetieth floor of this tower. He has come to rescue King Ying Long!”

“It has been said that King Dong Long has already attained the peak of the Absolute Void Stage. He is already a Half-Step Void Fragmentation Realm expert. If it wasn’t for the restrictions of the Black Lightning Tower on the cultivation levels of the undead spirits that prevents anyone from attaining the Void Fragmentation Realm, King Dong Long would have already been at the Void Fragmentation Realm!”

“He had come, unexpectedly. No matter how strong Zhou Ming is, he is certainly not a match for King Dong Long...”

At the moment King Dong Long appeared, hopelessness filled the expressions of Mo Lei, Tai Yue and the others.

King Ying Long who was unrivalled among Void Inquiry Stage experts was already capable of making everyone afraid of him. A Void Pierce Stage old monster, on the other hand, could easily overpower everyone on this floor.

As for an old monster at the Absolute Void Stage, slaughtering everyone on the twenty-fourth floor was as easy as blowing off dust!

However, King Dong Long was not just an Absolute Void Stage old monster but also an expert who was at the peak level of that stage.

Other than true Void Fragmentation Realm experts, who would be able to restrain him?!

“Fellow Daoist Zhou! Let’s retreat at once. We must not face this King Dong Long directly!” Lei Shiyi and the others yelled anxiously.

“No need! He won’t dare to fight me!”

The eyes of the golden-armored giant flashed with killing intent. He applied some force on both of his hands and brutally tore Ying Long into two halves. Then, both of his hands squeezed, turning the dragon corpse into countless pieces of bloody flesh.

At first, King Ying Long felt excitement and was relieved thinking that Ning Fan would certainly not dare to hurt him when King Dong Long had arrived to save him.

However, he did not expect that Ning Fan actually had the guts to kill him in front of King Dong Long. With a miserable cry, his life was ended by Ning Fan.

“How dare you?!”

King Dong Long was filled with rage. He did not expect that a mere Divine Transformation Realm junior would be bold enough to kill his subordinate right in front of him.

Moreover, he had also never expected that Ning Fan would even dare to speak so arrogantly in front of him by saying that he, a mighty being at the Absolute Void Stage, would not be bold enough to fight him who was just a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator!

Humiliation! It was an utter humiliation!

King Dong Long let out a cacophony of laughter due to his extreme rage. He took a step forward and brought his large hands forward. The dragon qi around the sky was like a sword and a halberd. It was rushing directly at Ning Fan.

At the same moment, however, Ning Fan’s body suddenly emanated the aura force of a Void Fragmentation Realm attack. It made King Dong Long’s face instantly pale.

“A-A Void Fragmentation Realm attack?! You actually possess a Void Fragmentation Realm attack?! Who are you?!”

“Get lost! If I see you again, you will be the one who dies!” The golden-armored giant threatened coldly.

King Dong Long hurriedly dismissed his dragon qi. For the first time in his life, he felt anxious and afraid. His mind was filled with doubts and confusion.

Why? Why would Ning Fan, a lowly Divine Transformation Realm cultivator can deliver a Void Fragmentation Realm attack?!

King Dong Long was arrogant and proud. However, in the face of a Void Fragmentation Realm attack, his arrogance was nothing.

He had attained the peak of the Absolute Void Realm. Now, he was just half a step away from the Void Fragmentation Realm. However, he would never be able to break through that gap. He would always be one step away from the Void Fragmentation Realm!

From the strike that Ning Fan possessed in his Stele of Sun and Moon, King Dong Long felt a sense of certain death!

“This young man has a Void Fragmentation Realm attack with him. It is certainly unwise to make him my enemy!”

“Despite having such a strong trump card, he only decided to chase me away but did not try to face me directly. I can assume that displaying that Void Fragmentation Realm attack will take a great toll on him... Perhaps he just has a single attack and he does not want to waste it on me...”

“No matter what, this man has such a frightening trump card with him. I must never offend him just because of Ying Long...”

“I heard that someone had seen that this young man also possesses a strange golden bell that can nullify void power. It’s because of that bell that I decided to descend to this floor... I really want to obtain that bell but if I push that young man into displaying that Void Fragmentation Realm attack because of that bell, the losses I will suffer would outweigh my gains...”

“Fine. It’s better for me not to mess with him!”

Countless thoughts ran across King Dong Long’s mind. In the end, he clenched his teeth with a complicated expression and left after grudgingly cupping his fists at Ning Fan.

He really did not dare to fight Ning Fan!

That scene had startled countless experts.

King Dong Long arrived with a vigorous aura force. However, after being humiliated by Ning Fan who had killed his subordinate right before his eyes, he decided to reluctantly leave. Why did that happen?

Of course, none of them noticed that Ning Fan had secretly released a trace of the aura force of his Stele of Sun and Moon and scared King Dong Long away.

Looking at King Dong Long’s figure that was getting smaller in the distance, the eyes of the golden-armored giant flashed with a hint of cold light and shook his head at the next moment.

If he had really used the stored attack in his Stele of Sun and Moon, he had the confidence to put King Dong Long down. However, there was still a probability that his effort might be for nothing.

He had spent a great deal of effort to fully replenish the soul of the Stele of Sun and Moon. If this Void Fragmentation Realm attack was used on King Dong Long without being able to kill him, it would be too wasteful.

Since he did not have 100% assurance of killing King Dong Long, he just scared him away without really confronting him. If he faces him, he has to really finish him off with a single blow. Otherwise, he would only be bringing a great enemy to himself.

Ning Fan had already reached his limits this time by killing all the way to the twenty-fourth floor. If he wishes to go to the higher floors, he would face Void Pierce Stage or even Absolute Void Stage enemies. Ning Fan was aware that even if he goes into the demonized state, he would definitely be unable to resist those old monsters.

After devouring King Ying Long’s flesh and primordial spirit and storing his primordial lightning, Ning Fan picked up a piece of dark golden bamboo leaf. His eyes were filled with thoughts.

He had already gathered 24 dark golden bamboo leaves in total. They were more than enough to accomplish the mission Hong Yi had given to him.

“It’s time to leave. The treatment of Yue’er injuries can’t be delayed anymore... Besides, there’s still Little You’er who also needs to be treated...”

After dismissing his demonized state, he suddenly felt that his body was deprived of strength. Immediately, he took a few pills to recover his strength and magic power.

With the protection of the lightning armor which was at the third level of the golden grade, he did not suffer any injuries. However, the consumption of his strength and magic power was rather heavy. Demonizing his primordial spirit was too burdensome on his body.

He still needed to devour at least ninety thousand traces of primordial lightning for his lightning armor to break through to the fourth level of the golden grade. He did not have time to continue climbing to higher floors to kill and gather more primordial lightning. The only option he had right now was to temporarily give up on improving his lightning armor.

Ning Fan’s cold eyes scanned across the surroundings, giving a warning to the experts who were secretly watching this battle. Then, he walked towards Lei Shiyi and the others.

“Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Zhou. You have successfully killed Ying Long with your own hands. Fellow Daoist’s name has probably shocked everyone on the one hundred floors of this lightning power after gaining victory in today’s battle.”

“Indeed. Unexpectedly, not only could Fellow Daoist kill Ying Long, you also managed to scare off King Dong Long. Evidently, Fellow Daoist still has an extremely powerful trump card...”

The atmosphere was filled with commotion. The words he heard were either a compliment, a probing question or words with a hidden meaning.

The only similarity was that the eyes of all the experts who looked at him were filled with respect and admiration, including Mo Lei and Tai Yue.

Only Lei Shiyi still maintained a despicable expression. He rubbed his hands and gave Ning Fan a wretched smile.

“Fellow Daoist Zhou, are you leaving now?”

“Yes.”

“Er... As the saying goes, great wits have short memories. Fellow Daoist, think carefully. Is there something you should do before leaving but you have yet to do it...?” Lei Shiyi blinked, like he was trying to remind Ning Fan that he had promised to give him all of the lightning jades.

“As far as I know, I haven’t forgotten anything.”

Ning Fan deliberately gave him a blank expression. As soon as he spoke these words, Lei Shiyi was dazed as if he had just swallowed a bunch of flies.

It’s over... It’s really over... Could it be that this Zhou Ming has completely forgotten his promise?

While he was scratching his head, trying to think of how to euphemistically remind Ning Fan about the lightning jades, the latter had already handed over a pouch full of lightning jades to him and walked away with a smile.

“Don’t worry. I don’t have the habit of breaking promises.”

Ning Fan walked towards Mo Lei and Tai Yue and cupped his fists towards them.

“Thank you for your help today. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will surely repay this favor.”

“Hehe... We didn’t help much actually. It’s Fellow Daoist who had the strong capabilities to successfully eliminate Ying Long...” Tai Yue and Mo Lei made bitter smiles. They did not have a trace of arrogance natural to lightning lords. Other than helping Ning Fan capture two Void Inquiry Stage experts, they did not seem to have done anything else.

“I still have some urgent matters to handle. Thus, I have to leave now. If we are destined to meet in the future, our paths shall cross again! Farewell!”

Ning Fan’s eyes swept across the experts around him and slightly cupped his fists. Then, he summoned the Heaven Deceiving Cloak and disappeared without leaving a trace.

As for the unusual smell of the Fire Scale Ash, Ning Fan had already eliminated it with his golden purple mist. He just did not want to erase it before this. After all, what can’t be erased under the power of Samsara?

“He has left. He doesn’t have the intention to dominate the twenty-four floors at all. Apparently, he is indeed a living person as expected. Did he come to the Black Lightning Tower just to train himself, just like Lightning Emperor Bu Zhou?” Mo Lei let out a faint sigh.

“He will probably return. When that time comes, he will probably be even stronger than before. During that time, I will be more than willing to have a fight with him again. However, I’m afraid that I will no longer be his opponent anymore.” Tai Yue’s eyes shone with battle intent. He was looking forward to Ning Fan’s arrival in the future.

After receiving the pouch, Lei Shiyi did not check how many lightning jades there were inside the pouch. Instead, he just stared at the direction where Ning Fan had left. All of a sudden, his expression turned serious. Using telepathy, he said.

“The mountains are high and the rivers are long. See you again in the future!”

Under the concealment of the Heaven Deceiving Cloak, Ning Fan avoided many troubles and went past every floor swiftly.

Without any battles, it was naturally quick for him to leave this place. In just a single day, he had already gone out of the lightning tower.

The trip to the lightning tower was just like a dream. By chance, he obtained the Immortal Emperor’s Finger Bone, eliminated the hidden danger of the devil marks and even improved his lightning armor. Even though his cultivation base did not improve, his combat power had increased by a great deal.

However, after examining himself internally, his expression became a little dejected seeing the inerasable black devil qi on his primordial spirit.

The drawback of going into his demonized form before completely refining Mo Luo’s blood was not insignificant.

Now, half of his primordial spirit had turned black. If his primordial spirit completely turns black, it would probably bring him a lot of trouble.

Luckily, the foundation of his primordial spirit was solid, relieving him from the influence of the devil qi. The little hands of his primordial spirit formed a series of hand seals and expelled the devil qi within.

It would probably take approximately one month to completely expel all of the devil qi and only then could he go into the demonized state once again.

“When I return to the internal sea this time, it’s better that I don’t go into that state again if it isn’t absolutely necessary. Even though Mo Luo’s devil body is strong, the drawbacks are very serious. Unless I have completely assimilated Mo Luo’s blood, my primordial spirit will suffer some damage every time I go into that state.”

“I’m afraid that it will be extremely difficult to completely assimilate Mo Luo’s blood. After all, this drop of blood is the blood of Great Emperor Mo Luo. It contains the power of ‘blood’. It can’t be assimilated directly like other magic treasures... If I want to assimilate it, I not only have to pay the Giant Devil Clan a visit but also the Six-Winged Clan, the Mist Horn Clan as well as the Ghost Eye Clan. Only then will I have the chance to find the method to assimilate this blood.”

Ning Fan dismissed his thoughts. With the help of the teleportation formation, he left the cloud realm and returned to the lower layer of the Black Lightning Realm.

As soon as he appeared, Hong Yi’s beautiful figure immediately appeared before his eyes. Her cold eyes were obviously filled with discontentment for having to wait for so long.

“I have been waiting for you for seven days before you finally returned. Where are the items? Did you manage to gather seven bamboo leaves?”

“By luck, I managed to accomplish the mission. I gathered slightly more than the amount you needed.”

Ning Fan secretly studied Hong Yi and his expression turned slightly grim. With his current combat power, he still felt it was a little difficult to breathe when facing Hong Yi.

Even though she only had a Void Glimpse Stage cultivation base, the sense of danger she gave Ning Fan was far beyond the one King Ying Long gave off. Perhaps it was even greater than that of King Dong Long!

“How dare you still try to probe into my secrets?” Hong Yi’s expression turned even colder. She had warned Ning Fan once before not to check on her anymore but she did not expect that he would actually disregard her warning and do it again.

However, when she heard that Ning Fan had obtained slightly more than 7 dark golden bamboo leaves, she suppressed her coldness. Her mood became a little better and she did not plan to hold Ning Fan responsible for violating her privacy.

“I noticed your baleful qi seems to have grown more concentrated than before. Could it be that you killed all your way up the lightning tower? How many floors did you manage to ascend and how many lightning leaves have you gathered?” Hong Yi felt a bit surprised. Actually, she already had the answers in her mind for the questions she had raised.

“The process is not worth mentioning but the results are rather satisfying. How about you make a guess on how many dark golden bamboo leaves I have obtained?” Ning Fan changed the topic of the conversation and did not brag about the number of undead spirits he had killed.

Killing others was never a joyful matter. However, the journey of seeking the Dao and becoming an immortal was full of twists and turns. On many occasions, there was no other option other than taking the lives of others. Even though Ning Fan was determined in his actions and he killed without hesitation, he was not that uncouth and bloodthirsty that he would brag about himself with the number of lives he had taken.

“You want me to guess?” Hong Yi looked at Ning Fan in a strange manner. When she asked questions, others only had the right to answer her obediently. Ning Fan was the first person who asked her in return and let her guess.

“Are you afraid that you won’t be able to guess correctly?”

“Afraid?” One corner of Hong Yi’s mouth curved into a sarcastic smile. She was never afraid of anything.

She rarely smiled. Even though the smile she currently put on her face had a hint of sarcasm, it appeared rather different because of her natural beauty.

Instead of being frightening, it looked pretty charming.

Ning Fan was slightly stunned. He did not expect that Hong Yi who had a cold personality and a frigid expression would be so mesmerizing when she smiled.

“With your capabilities, it won’t be difficult for you to kill all the way up to the seventh floor if there wasn’t any accident. It’s also highly possible that you managed to travel across the tenth floor without much hindrance... I guess you have reached the tenth floor and obtained ten bamboo leaves.” Hong Yi said with a firm tone.

“The total number I got is slightly more than ten.”

“You managed to get beyond the eleventh floor?” Hong Yi’s icy cold eyes revealed a hint of astonishment for the first time.

Beyond the eleventh floor, the guardians of the bamboo leaves were Void Inquiry Stage experts.

Hong Yi did not think that Ning Fan was able to resist Void Inquiry Stage old monsters with his thin and feeble body.

“Which floor did you manage to reach, exactly...?”

Hong Yi might not be interested in anything in this world but she had to admit that Ning Fan had successfully piqued her interest.

She took a gentle step and got closer to Ning Fan. Her cold eyes had an oppressive aura. She no longer wanted to continue guessing. She did not have so much patience.

When she stood in front of Ning Fan, she raised her cold and pure appearance and stared coldly at him. There was no hint of emotion on her face.

With such a close distance, Ning Fan could even smell the unique fragrance from her body.

“What if we make a deal? I have obtained a number of dark golden lightning bamboo leaves and I can give you fourteen of them. The remaining will belong to me. However, you have to give me one hundred thousand years old spiritual herbs to harmonize the medicinal power of these leaves.”

“You also need dark golden lightning bamboo leaves? Golden lightning bamboo leaves could be used to save a Void Refinement Realm cultivator while dark golden lightning bamboo leaves... I suppose you won’t be using it at the moment, right?” Hong Yi asked thoughtfully.

“You are also just a Void Refinement Realm cultivator, aren’t you? So why do you need these dark golden lightning bamboo leaves which only Void Fragmentation Realm experts could use?” Ning Fan asked her another question in return. He also had some speculations about Hong Yi.

“Fine. It doesn’t matter if you don’t tell me. Did you really get to the fourteenth floor and above?” Hong Yi was somewhat surprised. She did not think that Ning Fan had the capabilities to fight all the way up to the fourteenth floor.

“It’s just luck. So what do you say about this deal?” Ning Fan’s smile became even more indecipherable and Hong Yi found it even more difficult to understand him.

“I don’t need fourteen bamboo leaves. Just twelve will do. You can have all of the remaining leaves... Now, can you tell me how many bamboo leaves you have obtained, can’t you?”

“24 pieces.”

“A mere Half-Step Divine Transformation Realm like you can actually kill all the way up to the twenty-fourth floor...” Hong Yi’s eyes which were red like blood flashed with a hint of amazement. Then, she perfectly concealed that expression and remained silent.

She realized that she had underestimated Ning Fan.

With such strength, perhaps Ning Fan would really be able to help her accomplish that mission.

“Your strength surprises me... Let’s go. I will bring you to meet a few people.” Hong Yi fell back and distanced herself from Ning Fan. She spoke casually and Ning Fan did not know what she was thinking in her mind.

“Meet who?” Vigilance rose within Ning Fan’s heart. Even though he had a promise with Hong Yi, he had yet to completely trust her.

“The members of the Zhou Clan are right here on this Lightning Bamboo Island. The one hundred thousand years old spiritual herbs are also in their hands. Well, you can choose not to go!”

Hong Yi left ethereally. His eyes glinted and he immediately tailed after her.

If it’s just for saving Yue Lingkong, obtaining the golden lightning bamboo leaves would be enough.

However, in order to save Luo You, he must obtain one hundred thousand years old spiritual herbs to harmonize the medicinal power of the dark golden bamboo leaves.

He had yet to hand over the leaves to Hong Yi. With this bargaining chip in his hands, he was not afraid of the people of the Zhou Clan plotting against him and he was also not worried that Hong Yi would break her promise.

Ning Fan had also noticed that the rare and precious one hundred thousand years old spiritual herbs seemed to be rather insignificant in Hong Yi’s eyes.

“The daughter of the lightning emperor... Such an esteemed identity and such high standards... Even Void Fragmentation Realm old monsters would regard one hundred thousand years old spiritual herbs importantly. But in her eyes, those spiritual herbs seem to have no value.”

“With the Heaven Deceiving Cloak and the stored attack in my Stele of Sun and Moon, it’s not risky to travel within the internal sea. Even if this woman is plotting something against me by leading me to the cultivators of the Zhou Clan, I am also not afraid.”

“Besides, judging from her motives, it seems like she still wants to rope me into the Zhou Clan. Previously, even though she said that she was impressed by my Wind Mist Finger, she did not treat me in this manner. Apparently, it’s the boost in my combat power which made her change her attitude towards me. In this world, in order to make others respect you, you will need to change yourself first no matter what. There’s still a lot of time before I can break through to the Void Refinement Realm. However, breaking through to the Golden Body Realm is far easier than attaining the Void Refinement Realm. With the power of the ‘blood’, my potential in body refinement techniques is one hundred times better than ordinary cultivators. As long as I can improve the grade of my devil marks and make them attain the Marshal Rank, I can definitely break through to the Golden Body Realm. When that time comes, even though my cultivation base has yet to attain the Void Refinement Realm, there is certainly no Void Refinement Realm old monsters who would dare to underestimate me...”

Ning Fan clenched his fists tightly and his eyes shone with confidence. Now, he was not far away from attaining the Golden Body Realm!

Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel

[1] Chinese 巨魔, literally means giant devil