Grasping Evil

Ning Fan flew out of the volcano without any intention of stopping and headed for the heart of all trees of the ninth level!

In the continuous rain, he landed on top of a 30 thousand meters tall tree. This tree blotted out the sun and the sky, towering like a giant peak. It was precisely the body of Old Man Ming Luo.

As he landed on the tree, a spirit sense even stronger than a Void Fragmentation fourth layer swept past him. Knowing that Bright Sparrow was safe and uninjured, the voice in the spirit senseheaved a sigh of relief.

“Come into this old man’s tree trunk.”

An indifferent voice was heard from the massive tree, and immediately, the tree trunk in front of Ning Fan cracked open, revealing a 30-meter large door.

This tree was the Ming Luo Tree, the true body of Old Man Ming Luo. The Void Fragmentation fourth layer small geezer earlier was merely a part of Ming Luo Tree demon soul.

His true body was the tree, grown from the dark underground, which was why he hated the glow of fire so much. Moreover, his roots had grown so deep underground that he couldn’t pull them out. Also, the Qi of his true body was extremely strong. He could’ve easily killed that Void Fragmentation fourth layer Snake Lin with his current power.

He couldn’t leave the ground and could only use his tree spirit to look for Bright Sparrow. This explained why the demons in the eighth level could take advantage of him. If those demons ever dared to come messing around in the ninth level, Ming Luo would turn all of them into fertilizer!

Ning Fan was left speechless when he thought about the true strength of Ming Luo. This also reminded him that this Ming Luo still owed him a favor. If he asked Ming Luo to help him exterminate Moksha Emperor, Ming Luo would be less likely to refuse it. Unfortunately, Ming Luo’s true body couldn’t leave the ninth level, and his clone’s strength was limited. If he ever climbed his way up to the higher levels of the grave, his clone’s cultivation base will drop. There was no way he could ever leave Dark Sparrow’s Grave.

Just like what Ming Luo had said, he only had one way of leaving Dark Sparrow’s Grave – that was by burning his demon soul and break the law of the Heavens and Earth at the expense of his life!

Ning Fan smiled wryly at this idea. Asking Ming Luo to kill Moksha Emperor was indeed somewhat unrealistic. Besides, Ning Fan would prefer to take the life of Moksha Emperor himself. Of course, that would only happen if he already had the strength to execute Moksha!

Within the tree, the paths bent in various ways towards the world of the tree heart. In the heart of the tree, there was an extensive wooden palace. A short old man in black clothes could be seen from the distance. He greeted Ning Fan hastily as soon as he saw him.

“All of the Void Poison is suppressed?!” He sounded extremely excited as he looked at the soundly asleep Bright Sparrow in Ning Fan’s arms. His face was full of affection.

“Fortunately I didn’t fail in the task,” Ning Fan said plainly.

“Good! Good! Bring Bright Sparrow to her room, let her rest and her Demonic Yuan to recover!”

…

After putting Bright Sparrow on the bed, he gazed at the short little old man outside with a dignified look.

This short old man was no doubt the essence of Ming Luo Tree. He was a Void Fragmentation expert in the ninth level of Dark Sparrow’s Grave. In front of his true body, Ning Fan felt so insignificant. The true body of Ming Luo was even a few notches stronger than Moksha Emperor. After fulfilling Ming Luo’s request, based on this old demon’s character, he certainly wouldn’t return kindness with vengeance, but things in the world was hard to predict. Ning Fan had to be on alert as he was now in a dangerous situation.

He grasped a trace of the true soul under his sleeve. This was precisely the soul of Ming Luo. With an indifferent tone, he said: “I have fulfilled Senior’s request. So, can I ask for my third request from Senior now?”

Ning Fan’s eyes didn’t show any trace of carelessness. This was his Dao of Discreet. Once he detected any signs or suspicious movement from Ming Luo, he would crush Ming Luo’s true soul instantly, dealing a massive damage to Ming Luo’s cultivation base!

“Hehe! Little Friend has saved Bright Sparrow. Just tell me if you have any more request! Don’t worry, I, Ming Luo, always do things honestly and openly. I will never break the promise I made.”

Ming Luo said with confidence, as though he had forgotten how he had sneak-attacked Ning Fan.

Ning Fan glanced at Ming Luo in a strange way, but didn’t remind the old man of what he did to avoid embarrassing the old man.

It seemed like this Ming Luo loved his face pretty much…

Before saving Bright Sparrow, Ning Fan had put forward three conditions. First, he requested Ming Luo to give him a trace of his true soul. Second, he requested to use Ming Luo’s 10 000-year-old spiritual herbs to treat Bright Sparrow’s poison.

From these two requests, it rather seemed like Ning Fan was the one who suffered the loss. Which was why he held his third request so that he could use it to give the old man a hard time.

Since Ming Luo had already agreed to let Ning Fan offer three requests, Ning Fan wouldn’t be polite about it.

“My third request… I suppose Senior can already guess what is it…I want Ming Luo Fruit!”

“Sure enough, you want Ming Luo Fruit. Alright, this old man will grant you this request! However…how many Ming Luo Fruits do you want? Currently, I only have three in my hands. If you want four fruits, you will have to go into my Ming Luo Mirage and pluck it…” Ming Luo’s eyes turned stern as he gazed at Ning Fan.

“Ming Luo Mirage?”

“That’s right! There are countless of Ming Luo Fruit growing in the mirage. But I can’t go into the mirage now as Bright Sparrow is still unconscious. As for you, I can make an exception this time by opening it for you!”

Ming Luo’s tone was flat as if he was talking about a casual matter, but Ning Fan’s expression had changed slightly.

The memory of Ancient Chaos had mentioned about the place that grew Ming Luo Fruit – the Ming Luo Mirage. However, any outside races would never be allowed to enter the illusory world. The fact that Ming Luo was willing to make this an exception indicated his sincerity.

Rumor has it that the illusory force could ignore one’s cultivation base. The number of Ming Luo Fruit one could pluck would solely depend on one’s determination, totally unrelated to one’s cultivation base. Even a Void Fragmentation cultivator would likely be affected by the illusion playing in his heart, and might end up with not a single Ming Luo Fruit.

With the true soul of Ming Luo in Ning Fan’s hand, he wouldn’t need to worry that Ming Luo would do something to harm him.

Since there was a chance to obtain more Ming Luo Fruit, Ning Fan wasn’t foolish enough to decline it.

“Please open the mirage for me, Senior.”

“Yes. For the sake of saving Bright Sparrow, this old man will remind you once more. Once you enter the mirage, don’t be too greedy. As long as you close your eyes and wait for the illusory force to fade, you will be able to get one Ming Luo Fruit. Young man, never be too greedy. Four Ming Luo Fruit is already considered plenty.”

“Thank you, Senior, for reminding me. I will keep that in mind. However, I still want to try my best to get as much Ming Luo Fruit as possible.”

“Alright…if you are eroded by the illusory force, I will get you out even if I have to use force.”

Ming Luo shook his head. Although he praised Ning Fan’s boldness, he didn’t think that this young man could even get half of the Ming Luo Fruit if this young man pushed his luck.

The power of the illusion was the bane of the human heart. Those who cultivated Evil Dao would be affected even more by the illusory force. Plus, this young human also seemed to be cultivating the Evil Dao, which would make it very difficult for him to resist the power of the illusion.

Ming Luo had already concluded in his heart that Ning Fan would find nothing in the end, but despite that, he still opened the illusory world as a reward for rescuing Bright Sparrow.

…

Ming Luo made a ten-fingered incantation gesture. After seeing a ray of light, an abstruse spatial zone appeared outside the palace of the tree heart, which vaguely radiated a very strong illusory force. Then, Ning Fan stepped into it!

After the time it took for half an incense stick to burn, Ming Luo’s expression changed all of a sudden.

He sensed that Ning Fan had already broken the mirage and had gotten his first Ming Luo Fruit!

“This kid has actually obtained his first Ming Luo Fruit!”

Ming Luo gradually switched back to his grim expression. It seemed like he had underestimated Ning Fan…

The fact that Ning Fan could obtain a Ming Luo Fruit proved that he was person with persistent heart. Despite being an evil cultivator, he was still able to pluck a Ming Luo Fruit. This kid is extraordinary!

“Unfortunately, this kid won’t be able to get a second Ming Luo Fruit. In Ming Luo Mirage, every next fruit that one plucks will only become harder to get due to the increasing power of the illusion. Since the birth of the race of Ming Luo Tree, countless powerhouses have already entered the Ming Luo Mirage, if this kid, given his young age, can pluck his second Ming Luo Fruit in the mirage…however, from the ancient times till today, no more than 100 individuals had achieved that…”

Ming Luo spoke in a soft tone, but before his voice faded, his eyes showed a look of surprise as he could sense that Ning Fan had gotten his second Ming Luo Fruit in the mirage!

Even those young righteous cultivators who practiced Profound Sect Cultivation Law would find it difficult to resist the illusory force of the second Ming Luo Fruit!

Given his age that hasn’t even reached 20-years-old, if he can pluck a third Ming Luo Fruit…he will no doubt be regarded as a  proud son of Heaven!

Ming Luo’s heart began to be filled with certain anticipation about Ning Fan’s following result.

However, an hour had passed and Ning Fan had yet to pluck his third Ming Luo Fruit, as though he had been already trapped by the power of illusion.

Ming Luo sighed slightly. It seemed like he had overestimated this kid…

…

In the mirage, Ning Fan was holding two Ming Luo Fruits, standing in the vast rainbow-colored world.

Rivers flowed in the sky, mountains hung upside down in the sky and beasts were moving upside down in the sky. The world in the mirage was influencing one’s common sense.

Thousands of rainbow-colored fruits that seemed partially imaginary and real drifted in the air. Only a few of these fruits were real, the rest were fake.

If one plucked the fake fruit, one’s body would be invaded by the illusory force.

Once Ning Fan entered the mirage, he cast the First Level Heart Law of Yin Yang Transformation. The cultivation law of Immortal Emperor had tremendous resistance against illusions. As soon as he circulated this cultivation law, he discovered a true Ming Luo Fruit and plucked it, but immediately after that, the surrounding power of illusion was doubled, making the identification of Ming Luo Fruit difficult for him once more.

Fortunately after a moment of contemplation, he was able to discern the trace of a true Ming Luo Fruit at last and plucked it into his chests, and again, the power of illusion was doubled.

At this stage, even with the First Level Heart Law of Yin Yang Transformation, he couldn’t see through the genuineness of the fruit.

At this time, an idea rose in Ning Fan’s mind – he might as well bet on it, but then, he was wrong.

The third Ming Luo Fruit in his hand was a fake. Once it was wrapped by his fingers, it instantly burst into rainbow-colored mists, enveloping Ning Fan completely.

Ning Fan’s countenance changed. He immediately lifted his guard knowing that the illusory force had invaded his body. His eyes swept around but discovered no unusual occurrence.

However, he smelled a scent in the air and all of a sudden, innumerable images of female naked bodies emerged.

These illusory images burst back into colorful mists after Ning Fan harrumphed coldly, but a split second after that, the mists recondensed to form the image of a familiar girl.

This young female wore a fox-fur robe, her hair combed into a maiden bun. She was staring at Ning Fan in a charming and touching way.

“Brother Fan, if you can cut off Zhihe, you will be able to break free from the power of illusion, or even get a Ming Luo Fruit…it’s just that, are you willing to do so…?”

This ‘Zhihe’ was undoubtedly the formation of the illusory force…

“Zhihe…”

Ning Fan closed his eyes which was now filled with a trace of desolation.

The current ‘Zhihe’ was merely an illusion and Ning Fan only needed to summon the Separation Slayer to slash, and break it…It was just that…he couldn’t bring himself to make the strike even though it was only a fake image.

The power of illusion targeted one’s innermost feelings. Clearly, it was no longer an illusion, but a Heart Devil!

“If this slash was made, not only could I get a Ming Luo Fruit, this would also be very beneficial to my future in Gold Core realm that needed to abandon one’s sentiment. It’s just that if this slash was made, it would be a kind of blasphemy to Zhihe…So I’d rather not want this Ming Luo Fruit!”

A hint of resoluteness was shown in Ning Fan’s eyes. At this moment, even his last trace of greed for the Ming Luo Fruit had dispersed, leaving behind only determination.

Just as the moment the thought of greed faded, ‘Zhihe’ exploded into colorful mists once more. Additionally, the clouds of mist that were enveloping him dissipated rapidly.

The fog of illusion was finally gone, then a Ming Luo Fruit appeared at the spot where it vanished. Instead of feeling delighted, Ning Fan seemed dismayed.

“Slashing sentiment, slashing the Heart Devil…although I choose not to slash away Zhihe this time, it’s only for the sake of avoiding the confrontation…I wonder if I can avoid this incident again while I’m forming the core…

“However, I finally know the way to pluck the Ming Luo Fruit. The way is to have no thoughts at all! I, Ning Fan, will never be able to achieve this state no matter how hard I try…even though Ning Fan can’t do this, Dark Ning can!”

Ning Fan muttered to himself. A moment later, he patted the top of his skull, and immediately, a white and black-clad Ning Fan emerged.

The white-clad was White Fan and the black-clad was Dark Ning.

The white-clad had a smile on his face, but was instantly enchanted by the power of illusion, whereas the black-clad Ning Fan had a heart like rock. None of the temptations could shake his heart.

“Plucking these Ming Luo Fruits? Humph! Who cares if they are fake or real? Just pluck them!”

He waved his hands violently among the countless drifting Ming Luo Fruits and plucked out ten of them. As soon as it happened, a heaven defying power of illusion rolled towards the black-clad Ning Fan, but he just stood there motionlessly.

“I’m heartless! You can’t enchant me! Break!”

The force of illusion broke and crumbled before his very eyes!

…

In the outside world, even after a long time, Ming Luo still couldn’t see Ning Fan obtaining the third Ming Luo Fruit, which he felt that it was a pity.

The closing time of the mirage was nearing, but Ning Fan still showed no signs of leaving the illusory world.

“What is he doing in there…? Whatever it is, he must have been trapped in the fog of illusion after plucking two Ming Luo Fruits. I think I will have to save him out of the mirage.”

Ming Luo shook his head. As he was about to get Ning Fan out with force, his eyes turned stern all of a sudden, and with startling speed, it turned to shock that grew stronger and stronger!

“He has gotten the third Ming Luo Fruit…wait, the fourth, the fifth…this-this…”

Ming Luo’s expression seemed blank. For the first time in his life, he discovered that Ming Luo Mirage was showing the signs of collapsing before its closing time.

“What has that kid done in the mirage?! To cause the mirage to crumble in advance!”

With a loud blast, a white and black ray of light shot out of the mirage and turned into a youth with white clothes and black cloak. In the next moment, the mirage closed with a loud crash!

“It’s a pity…black-clad Ning is being somewhat unruly…otherwise, I can pluck a few more Ming Luo Fruits. Now I only got 10 of them!”

“Huh…you have plucked 10 Ming Luo Fruits in the mirage?!”

Ming Luo’s face was zombie-like and full of disbelief.

In the history of Ming Luo Tree Race, those who could pluck ten Ming Luo Fruits in the illusory journey were experts above Nascent Soul realm. And no matter how monstrous the Nascent Soul expert was, the expert would need to be hundreds of years of age… even if the expert cultivated the inter-generational force of Lost World Palace by slowing the time in the outer world, it would take hundreds of years of honing…

Without hundreds of years of experience, one wouldn’t able to resist the power of illusion of ten Ming Luo Fruits.

But Ning Fan only had the skeletal age of 20. Because of this, Ming Luo was puzzled.

If Ming Luo knew that the black-clad incarnation of Ning Fan wasn’t affected by the enhancement of the mirage, he would definitely feel even more astonished.

“It was just through sheer fluke.” Ning Fan showed a wry smile.

When he was being invaded by the Heart Devil and was put in the position to slash off ‘Zhihe’, he avoided it.

But next time, would he be able to avoid it again the moment he broke through to the Gold Core realm?

Because his Heart Devil is Zhihe…