Grasping Evil

It was drizzling in the Second Level of the grave. For some reason, the Rain Beasts that hid in the darkness didn’t attack the two of them.

Xue Qing couldn’t find an explanation for this, but he knew that this must be due to Ning Fan.

“Master isn’t just a Fourth Revolution Pill Master, but can also defeat Revered Bai and scare the Rain Beasts away. Although he’s just a teenager yet he’s more than qualified to be my master.”

Indistinct changes started to occur in Xue Qing’s mindset. Before, he only volunteered to become Ning Fan’s disciple so that he could steal some concoction techniques from this young teenager. But today, with full sincerity, he was willing to become Ning Fan’s underling. He decided to focus all of his attention in cultivation. Not only would he practice the techniques of concoction, but also his magical power and cultivate his mental state.

Xue Qing saw some unusual expression in Ning Fan’s eyes as he looked at the rain pond. He guessed that something in the pond must have drawn Ning Fan’s attention. He also guessed that that ‘something’ must be some great treasure as it could even attract the eyes of the person who didn’t even put the Myriad Soul Streamer in his eyes.

In spite of that, Ning Fan still decided to leave. This undoubtedly showed that there was an existence in the pond that made Ning Fan uneasy.

To be able to forgo the precious treasure indifferently… Xue Qing had to admit that he didn’t have such mental state.

There was a floating cloud staircase lit by a dozen of black towers, extending downward, leading to the dark underground.

In front of the huge pit, Ning Fan stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes to feel the rain that splashed on his body.

At this time, Xue Qing imitated Ning Fan by also closing his eyes and feeling the rain. To his surprise, he discovered that there was a unique intent within the rain. It could nourish one’s heart and improve one’s mental state.

Unfortunately, given Xue Qing’s eyesight, he wasn’t able to see past what it was no matter how hard he tried.

However, compared to other Sinister Sparrow Sect’s elders that had entered the Dark Sparrow’s Grave, Xue Qing was a lucky one, besides Ning Fan, he was afraid that he was the first to realize that the rain could improve one’s mental state.

All the things happening around wasn’t captured by Ning Fan. His mind was immersed within the drizzling rain as he was trying to discover the enlightenment left by Que Shenzi in the Second Level.

Gradually, the whole scene turned silent and the sound of rain disappeared… At this moment, a scene emerged in Ning Fan’s mind through the rain.

A black-clad elder with an indistinct face, holding an umbrella, passed by.

“The Heaven is divided into four and the Earth is divided into nine, in between them is the Rain Immortal World that has unceasing rain. Rain is born from the Heaven and dies in the Earth… The rain dies not because of the death of the body but of the heart. The body will then turn into cloud Qi, returning to the sky. However, the heart had already shattered as it fell into the soil… Can this shattered raindrop still be itself again when it’s condensed? A rain consists of trillions of raindrops. Although every raindrop’s physical appearance seems the same, every one of them is different in nature and has unique Dao End. It will turn into a Dao Enlightenment after Slashing away trillions of raindrops… From now on, this place will become Sinister Sparrow Sect…”

The scene disappeared all of a sudden… Ning Fan slowly opened his eyes that was now filled with a trace of confusion and blackness.

Although the words of the elder about the First Level was profound, it couldn’t stir Ning Fan’s heart.

For the Second Level, the elder was enlightened once more, but sadness could be felt in his tone as he integrated his emotions into the rain.

Why would Que Shenzi appear in Rain Immortal World…? Could it be when he was lamenting for the rain, the rain was sent to the sky below and he was knocked down into the Mortal World…?

Que Shenzi had once gotten enlightenment of the Divine Intent of Rain from this land!

And it was highly possible that the enlightenment in this rain had rekindled Que Shenzi’s aspiration to work his way back to the Four Heavens Immortal World!

Given Ning Fan’s wisdom, he was able to infer all these details with ease, and it was relatively the same as the truth.

His eyes were gazing at the raindrops in the sky in contemplation, he began to understand why Que Shenzi said that there were distinctions within the trillions of raindrops.

There was only one type of Divine Intent of Rain, but after dividing it, it could become countless, it required not only the Heaven and Earth Dao, but also the Dao of oneself to give birth to Divine Intent.

Even though all the rain was the same, the cultivators’ experience and enlightenment differed, which was why every Divine Intent of Rain was unique!

The enlightenment in the First Level didn’t have an impact on Ning Fan, because it lacked the encounters of Que Shenzi.

As for the Second Level, Ning Fan was slightly affected by it as he could already sense the sorrow and resentment of Que Shenzi.

The most precious thing in Dark Sparrow’s Grave wasn’t the Pill Devil, the Profound Yin Qi and the coldness that could boost one’s cultivation speed nor the Immortal Bone of Dark Sparrow in the ninth level.

To Ning Fan, the most precious thing was the remnant of Dao Enlightenment in this rain!

“The third level… What has enlightened Que Shenzi in the third level…?”

Ning Fan’s eyes glittered. He stepped into a huge pit leading to the Immortal Clouds of the third level.

Vaguely, he felt that there would be an unexpected gain in this visit.

“If I walk the path of Senior Que Shenzi… would I acquire enlightenment of the Divine Intent of Rain?! If I succeed…” His eyes blazed.

Ning Fan leaped onto the ground after racing through the levels of cloud stairs. Xue Qing followed behind hastily, his eyes were filled with dread and wariness.

The rain has stopped in the Third Level…?!

…

The surrounding was just as Xue Qing described. It was dark and unwelcoming. Unknown white bones were scattered all over the place… These weren’t bones of humans… they were bones of demonic beasts! And the quality of the bones were uncommon. These demonic beasts had to be at the Gold Core realm before they were killed!

This place was twice as cold than the second level, bringing slight discomfort to Ning Fan, but the speed of his magical power circulating the Zhoutian had become even faster!

There weren’t as many beasts’ eyes as before in the surroundings… but in the darkness hid the hints of an extremely powerful demonic Qi. Xue Qing couldn’t sense it, but Ning Fan could, given his strong spirit sense!

“One, two… seven, there is a total of seven Gold Core demonic beasts within 30 000 meters peeping at us. However, there is only one intermediate Gold Core beast and the rest are early Gold Cores. So there’s nothing to fear of.”

Ning Fan withdrew his spirit sense and spoke in an extremely plain tone, but as these words entered Xue Qing’s ears, they turned into a trace of fear.

“There are seven Gold Core demonic beasts within 30 000 meters! This-this… this place is so dangerous! Master, I think we should return to the second level…”

Xue Qing sounded timid, but that wasn’t his fault. Given his current strength, he wouldn’t be able to fight the seven demonic beasts. If he wasn’t frightened and escaped now, he would only be a foolish and reckless man!

But Ning Fan wasn’t afraid. Given his present strength, these seven Gold Core demonic beasts weren’t intimidating at all. If he acted scared, all his previous cultivation would be just in vain.

“No. They won’t dare to come forward! Eastern Ocean Bell, *ji!*”

Ning Fan patted his storage pouch and took out the ancient golden bell for the first time!

The channeled magical power initiated the small bell in his palm, causing it to swirl and then turn into a 300-meter-sized bell, standing in his front and sending out its terrifying sound!

“Supreme Rank… Magical Treasure!” Xue Qing’s eyes lit up. Although he didn’t have much interest in treasure refinement, he couldn’t help being impressed by the Supreme Rank Magical Treasure.

Even though he knew that Ning Fan had a Supreme Rank Magical Treasure, Ning Fan didn’t use it even when he fought against Revered Bai. Ning Fan would be viewed as weak if he used such a treasure. But from Xue Qing’s observation, Ning Fan had no problem initiating the Eastern Ocean Bell using his peak Harmonious Spirit magical strength, even though he could only activate one percent of the bell’s power!

Moreover, the sound of the bell spread across like demonic sonic waves, causing people’s heart to tremble. Under his manipulation, the sound rang simultaneously in the minds of the seven Gold Core beasts!

Six early Gold Core demonic beasts fainted straightaway! As for the intermediate Gold Core demonic beast, its head began to spin so much that it was frightened. Certainly, it wouldn’t dare peep at Ning Fan anymore!

“Perhaps there’s a demonic lord in this land… so I can’t simply kill them, however, they aren’t be allowed to oppress us!”

Ning Fan’s tone was stern. With a pat on the 300-meter-sized bell, the enormous bell shrunk back into a small golden bell in his palm.

He seemed satisfied with the power of the Eastern Ocean Bell. One percent of its power was enough to make early Gold Core beasts pass out and scare away the intermediate Gold Core beast, and this was the result of adjusting the power of the bell. If he wanted to, he could kill the six early Gold Core demonic beasts and severely injure the intermediate Gold Core beasts.

“*Hiss…* The match between Master and Revered Bai was a hard battle, but Master still has such a powerful trump card. Which meant that if Master used all of his trump cards, he could’ve killed Revered Bai easily!”

Xue Qing felt shocked in his heart. The wails of the six demonic beasts fell into his ears. Each wail were filled with magical strength even stronger than his. Making the six Gold Core demonic beasts pass out in just one strike… what kind of horrifying strength was Ning Fan hiding?!

Upon hearing what Ning Fan had said, and knowing that there might be a demonic lord, Xue Qing couldn’t help but shiver, silently thinking to himself that that demonic lord isn’t the Pill Devil right?

Ning Fan had some consideration for not killing the demonic beasts… In the second level of the grave, the demonic creature that he encountered in the Rain Pond had given him a very strong sense of danger… As for those rain beasts, they seemed to be following the orders of that demonic creature. And apparently, the demonic creature’s cultivation was way above Ning Fan’s, however, instead of eliminating Ning Fan and Xue Qing, it stopped the rain beasts, making way for Ning Fan to move forward. Although this might not be a kind act, it should at least be considered as an act out of good intention.

Therefore, Ning Fan didn’t hastily slaughtered the Gold Core beasts. Just like the saying goes, courtesy demands reciprocity.

He put away the Eastern Ocean Bell while ignoring Xue Qing’s astonished look, raised his head and looked at the dark and damp sky.

“Why does this place have no rain…why…?”

His eyes looked puzzled. According to his inference, Que Shenzi should have obtained an even higher enlightenment in the third level that year.

Without the rain, how could one acquire the insight?

Or could it be that one could only attain enlightenment in the absence of rain?

Traces of moist intent settled over him. All of a sudden, he closed his eyes.

“Xue Qing, don’t disturb me…” After leaving a word, he shut all of his six senses.

The only thing that was left open was his spirit sense, the instinct that could keep a cultivator alive.

…

In the gloom, Ning Fan immersed himself in Dao Enlightenment, whereas Xue Qing was feeling numbness over his scalp.

The surrounding air was cold and gloomy. The land was scattered with white bones. Every single one of these bones made him nervous, reminding him of the woman’s face that was full of blood.

“Pill Devil… I don’t think Pill Devil will emerge now right…”

He smiled bitterly. Despite being an early Gold Core expert, dread was still plastered all over his face, making him no different than any junior.

“Hehe, what’s so scary about the Pill Devil…? There’s no need to be afraid… I will do the same thing as master, closing my eyes to attain enlightenment… But how do I do that without rain…?” Emboldened by a hollow laugh, he closed his eyes.

But in the next moment, he could clearly feel that a soft but icy cold hand was on his shoulder.

“I’m very hungry……” A voice of a miserable woman sounded behind him! Xue Qing was freaked out instantly.

Not good, this is Pill Devil! How strong is she? How could she approach him from behind unnoticeably?!

Xue Qing gritted his teeth and spun. He then saw a woman with dreadfully pale face that was full of blood, a strange smile and gloomy white teeth. As she looked at the elder, she was licking her long tongue as if she was looking at a delicious meal!

“Mas-master…” Xue Qing called out to Ning Fan.

“Don’t make a scene… Just play with her, and don’t disturb me…” After Ning Fan detected the ‘female ghost’ with his spirit sense, he withdrew his spirit sense and said no more.

“What? Me playing with… with her?! She will have me eaten!” Xue Qing showed a face of helplessness.

Even though experts should stay calm in any situation, this wasn’t a situation that an expert could stay calm at! “Pill Devil was just in front! Master, you can’t immerse yourself in Dao Enlightenment anymore, you have to save me!”

…

Zhou Tian – Qi Circulation