Chapter 1334: Shadows of Heroic Souls of Old
Chapter 1334: Chapter 1334: Shadows of Heroic Souls of Old
Quanzhi was successfully soothed by Clock Ghost and no longer caused trouble.
Ning Fan once again focused on the battle before him; with a pinch of his spirit sense, the rotation of day and night between heaven and earth instantly grew violent, dawn and dusk alternating like a revolving lantern without end.
His Gui Xu Zhi targeted the entire territory of the Zi Clan, but not everyone would be harmed.
If someone was karmically implicated, they would be like the Zixiao Ancestor and the others, their bodies burned by fierce flames, their cultivations and life force rapidly dissipating, losing a hundred thousand years of Taoist attainment with every breath.
If one was innocent, they would not be further injured by this fire; instead, they would be protected by a light of flame similar to a Settling Skill, as though bathing in the morning sun of spring.
If there were those who died yet did not regret, they would even have the chance to transform into a bird within the blazing flames, called Fu Li2.
The firelight devoured everything of the Zi Clan; waves of flame galloped like wild horses across wastelands and city walls. Some wailed and fell in the fire, while others received redemption in the flames, even gaining new life.
Amidst the soaring flames, there was yet an unending curtain of rain; water and fire did not interfere with each other, coexisted in harmony, complemented each other, exuding an indescribable Dao rhythm. Within this domain, the generation and restraint of the Five Elements seemed to lie within a single thought of Ning Fan.
Fire was the anger of all living beings.
Rain was the flowing of reincarnation.
The demonic aura of the Fu Li Spirit Wheels and the comprehension of the Dao of reincarnation were merged by Ning Fan into water and fire, into heaven and earth, thereby further blurring the boundary between life and death for the Zi Clan.
As time passed, there even began to appear phenomena of ancient heroic Immortal Thoughts recongealing and briefly returning to the mortal world...
"Impossible! This is impossible! You who have already passed away, how can you return to the human world! Such a method is utterly unheard of!"
Zixiao and the others suddenly sensed some of the dead returning to the living world and all showed looks of shock.
They had thought that Senluo’s "defection" and Quanzhi’s "betrayal" were already the worst news, yet they had not expected the situation to deteriorate further!
Before their eyes appeared an aged soul, condensed from countless points of light between mountains and seas, regaining a form from the dust of mountains and seas. That figure, as if from a bygone age, grew gradually clearer within the glow of fire and curtain of rain. Though this person’s soul-body was illusory, his Long-armed Ape Skill had already reached the Transformation Realm, his Dao intent soaring straight into the heavens, manifesting the Dao Image of [Monkey Arm Sky Shooting]. Observing his features, they were actually identical to the portrait of [Elder Zi Yi] enshrined in the Zi Clan’s ancestral temple.
Elder Zi Yi, in life, had been an Ancient Great Cultivator. Because he possessed the highest talent of the long-armed lineage, he was deemed most qualified to inherit the Tongbi Ape Saint’s Robe and Bowl, yet to aid a friend, he died in battle at Cangyue Mountain in the Desolate East Dust, and never again had the chance to become a Saint.
An Immortal’s death is like the scattering of thoughts; this life shall not return! An Immortal Cultivator whose body and soul were destroyed should not reenter the world of the living; this was common knowledge.
But now, this common knowledge was broken by Ning Fan, leaving Zixiao and the others unable not to be shocked.
"We who have long since passed ought not meddle in the karma of later generations. Blame only that what you have done truly shames us forebears! A man, born into this world, should carry a seven-foot sword to sweep clean the filth of the Third World! Because villains like you bring evil upon the human world, our aspirations were unfulfilled; though our bodies died, we could not obtain even a single breath of peaceful rest! Fortunately, Dream Venerable has shown mercy, and thus we have a chance to cleanse our own household! With sun and moon as bowstring, mountains and seas as bow, righteousness as arrow, we may pierce gold and stone! This arrow is meant solely to slay the unrighteous of this world!"
The very moment Elder Zi Yi manifested in the world, he immediately performed the Long-armed Ape Skill, taking sun and moon in hand, shrinking thousands of mountains into bow and arrow, and shot nine continuous arrows straight at Zixiao and the others.
There was no need for Ning Fan to personally act; he wished to slay these abominations with his own hands!
When he spread his ape arms, he was like clouds drooping from the sky; when he drew the bowstring, even the light and shadows of heaven and earth warped into arcs with his motion.
Once the nine arrows were loosed, their might approached that of a strike from an Initial Saint; wherever they passed, all things were shattered into dust and dispersed into formless qi.
Wild horses, dust, the breath of living things blowing against one another!
Seeing that Elder Zi Yi’s first move was a killing strike, Zixiao and the others were both shocked and enraged. They no longer cared whose forefather he was and immediately counterattacked.
Mixed Heaven Quasi-Saint: "Sea Reversing Sword Seal, Heavenly Chaos Sword Formation!"
War Sky Quasi-Saint: "Fighting Saint Technique, One Stick Subdues Demons!"
Zixiao Ancestor: "Reincarnation Dream Path, All Dharma is Illusion!"
The three bore the burning of Gui Xu Zhi’s fire, unable to fully exert their strength. Though they joined forces, they barely managed to block six arrows; three arrows remained irresistible, each of them taking one, all suffering heavy injuries, each inwardly alarmed.
One must know, though the three were not in peak condition, Elder Zi Yi on the opposite side was even further from the word "peak," being merely a single Residual Soul.
For a single Residual Soul to be this formidable, one could hardly imagine how overpowering this man must have been in his prime.
Si Kong Realm, Hidden South Mountain: "Truly strong! But do you not know, sir, that the moment you open your bow is also the moment you reveal a flaw!"
Do you know why Si Kong Realm and Hidden South Mountain did not help Zixiao and the others block those arrows?
It turned out the two had gone to hide themselves and launch a sneak attack on Elder Zi Yi.
Hidden South Mountain excelled at stealth; with him aiding Si Kong Realm in concealing his presence, even Ancient Great Cultivators could be ambushed successfully.
Si Kong Realm excelled at Array Maps; his very first move was the Stone Soldier Remnant Formation. If he used this Formation to trap and slay Elder Zi Yi, with the latter possessing only a Residual Soul, it would not be long before he fell within the Formation.
"The Nine Realms Deer Venerable was compassionate, the Zhongnan Chrysanthemum Saint was as bright as wind and clear moon; who would have thought their descendants would be this despicable!" Seeing the enemy about to succeed in their sneak attack, Elder Zi Yi’s expression remained calm, merely filled with disdain. As he had no time to defend, he also had no intention of defending.
There was no need for him to personally defend.
There was naturally a Daoist to settle the accounts with Si Kong Realm and Hidden South Mountain for him!
Between mountains and seas, countless points of light suddenly converged, transforming into a single Water Immortal soul, standing guard behind Elder Zi Yi.
This was the soul of the Luo Clan’s first ancestor, surrounded by River Map and Luo Book Runes, bearing the water-light protection of the Four Rivers Dragon Lord, named Luoshu Jun.
His descendants proved unworthy, leading to his own death and the extermination of the clan; as the first ancestor, how could he not grieve, how could he not hate.
Now that Dream Venerable had shown mercy, allowing the dead to return to the human world, the karma therein naturally had to be reclaimed!
"So it was you who exterminated my Luo Clan!"
From the River came the Diagram, from the Luo came the Book; from this arose the Innate and Acquired Eight Diagrams!
Facing the assault of Si Kong Realm’s Stone Soldier Remnant Formation, Luoshu Jun neither dodged nor evaded; he directly entered the Formation with his body. With one step fallen, the Formation instantly reversed.
He was the true inheritor of Luo Shu; why fear a mere Stone Soldier Remnant Formation. Even if the complete Formation stood before him, so long as the Formation was deployed by the likes of Si Kong Realm, he dared walk back and forth within it; as for a Remnant Formation that had once been torn apart by a Demon Crane, it was not even worth mentioning!
Bearing the true inheritance of Luo Shu, within this Remnant Formation, he was the direction, he was fortune and misfortune!
Without any visible technique from Luoshu Jun, the Remnant Formation instantly changed hands on the spot, instead trapping Si Kong Realm and Hidden South Mountain within.
Clearly just a heavily damaged Remnant Formation, yet under Luoshu Jun’s control, its Ning Fan multiplied several times over, beating Si Kong and Hidden nearly to tears, especially Si Kong Realm, whose treasured Formation was snatched before his face, causing such heartache he could hardly breathe.
"This is..." Luo You, who stood guarding at her master’s side, suddenly sensed the aura of Luo Clan methods, and thus looked around, just in time to see Luoshu Jun viciously beating Si Kong and Hidden.
"Are you the orphan left of the Luo Clan, child? These years have been hard on you..." Luoshu Jun seemed to notice Luo You’s gaze, and with a wave of his hand, he separated some runes and water-light from around him and bestowed them upon Luo You.
In an instant, Luo You seemed to confirm something and suddenly felt an urge to cry.
She had once seen this forefather’s portrait in the ancestral temple. At that time, she had still been very young, brought by her father to the temple to offer worship, not yet understanding the weight behind the four characters "forebears and ancestors."
Now the Luo Clan was annihilated, only she left alone in the world. To suddenly see the old ancestor return to the human world, she felt an abrupt sense of bloodline connection. The grievances borne for many years were suddenly touched upon by another, therefore surging forth, impossible to hold back.
Hard?
Not hard.
She had long since grown accustomed.
But she still wanted to cry.
Yet before her tears could fall, Ning Fan had already handed her a handkerchief, showing utmost thoughtfulness.
Ning Fan was everywhere.
He could be upon the battlefield, and he could also appear at Luo You’s side at any time.
"From this day on, the Luo Clan will not be only you..." Ning Fan comforted her.
The reason Luoshu Jun could return to the mortal world lay both in this man’s own intent and in Ning Fan’s tireless guidance.
To allow the Luo Clan’s forefather to return to the human world could both resolve the obsession of the dead and console Luo You, finding a backing for her—why not do it.
If possible, Ning Fan would even be willing to summon back all the souls of the Luo Clan’s dead, but that was no easy task.
Those who had taken the First Step of cultivating the Dao had already reentered reincarnation, leaving no room for manipulation.
Only Second Step Immortal Cultivators, whose thoughts dispersed into heaven and earth after death, could, through defiance of heaven, be briefly brought back into the human world.
This possibility had only ever existed in theory; to put it into practice required overcoming numerous obstacles.
The Immortal Thought had already scattered. How to search for it? How to gather it? Mountains and seas are vast, heaven high and earth broad—wanting to find thousands upon thousands of fragments of Immortal Thought amidst all this, the difficulty needs no words. Only because Ning Fan bears the Divine Spirit Technique of All-Things Gathering can he take a shortcut to accomplish this.
The order of reincarnation is even harder to overstep; only Ning Fan, who has fully comprehended the Lamp Fire Chapter, can so easily alter the order of reincarnation.
Once the Divine Technique is activated, the Immortal Thoughts return of themselves.
Having fully grasped life and death, one can make the departed briefly return to the human world.
Yet this return is still only temporary. If one wishes the dead to truly be reborn, only by enlightening them into Fu Li2 can they truly transcend the order of reincarnation.
He did not know how many people of this age and of antiquity would become Fu Li2 today; no matter what, Ning Fan would do his utmost—good for others, and good for himself.
"Even Ancestor can return, then can my father and mother also return! And Sister Chenyu, and Sister Bi Yue, and Uncle Fu Feng, and Little Douzi, and..." Luo You said excitedly, reciting one living name after another from the past.
"Sorry...my methods too have their limits," Ning Fan said with guilt.
Those of the First Step have already entered reincarnation.
As for those of the Second Step, not everyone is willing to return; there are residual thoughts that, for various reasons, do not wish to re-enter the human world—among them is Luo You’s father, Luo Ming.
Luo Ming’s case is perhaps the most special of all.
After his death, his Residual Soul was not in any corner of the Dreamland Realm at all, but somehow drifted beyond the realm.
Not the outside of the Dreamland Realm, but outside the entire Vast World, in a distant place filled with endless Unknown...
Such means stir the imagination; without noticing it, one will connect Luo Ming, the Heavenly Emperor, and Divine King Niyue in one thread...
Yet that association is not necessarily the correct answer. Divine King Niyue is the most mysterious; everything about him is The Unknown, and cannot be predicted—the reality seen at first glance may also be a disguise...
"I see... Having just one Ancestor return is enough for me..." Luo You put away her disappointment and instead began to comfort Ning Fan, holding him tightly.
She understood that one must not be insatiable. Meeting Ning Fan in this lifetime was already immense fortune; more things—if they came, she would rejoice; if they did not, she dared not force them.
"It is not only one who has returned, but it is not all, either."
Almost as Ning Fan’s words fell, more heroic souls of the Luo Clan manifested.
Among them were not only the forefathers and ancestors of the Luo Clan, but also those Immortal Cultivators who fell in the war of extermination.
There were War Immortals clad in armor and bearing swords, Daoists smiling with flowers in hand, and soul-shadows of children with hair in small tufts; in this moment, even the raindrops falling in the curtain of rain were playing the rhythm of the Luo Clan’s ancient music—the Melody of Purity and Universal Goodness.
"Child, these years have made you suffer. Those who bullied you—we will avenge you!"
"Blood debts must be paid in blood! Sikong Realm! Hidden South Mountain! The hatred of extermination of our clan is irreconcilable beneath the same sky!"
"You’er, don’t cry. Your deep, bitter hatred—let Uncle Fu Feng avenge it for you!"
"Where are the Luo Clan’s Immortal Cultivators! We shall quickly enter the Formation and lend Ancestor our strength!"
"Kill the dog thieves! Offer sacrifice to the souls of the Luo Clan’s Immortal Cultivators!"
At this time, both Sikong Realm and Hidden South Mountain were far from their peak; a single Luoshu Jun was enough to leave them scrambling.
Now several hundred powerful figures of the Luo Clan through the ages had come killing over; the situation completely turned toward their disadvantage.
"Damn it! What kind of method is this! I have never heard of the dead reviving in groups! When has the order of reincarnation in this realm ever been treated as a child’s game!"
"It must be Clock Ghost! It must be Clock Ghost shielding this man! This man bears the duty of reincarnation in the Land of Dreams, yet for Ning Fan he bends the law for favoritism—how utterly unjust!"
Seeing their chance of survival dwindling, Sikong Realm and Hidden South Mountain simply went all out, daring to hurl curses even at the Five Transformations of the Dreamland Realm.
Only to hear Old Man Clock Ghost fall into deep speechlessness.
When had he ever bent the law for favoritism?
It was clearly that Ning Fan’s methods were defying the heavens.
If it were someone else, who could directly seek out all the fragments of Immortal Thought of the deceased, forcibly piece them together, and make them briefly return...
Such a method of seeking things was comparable to spirit, yet all of it was achieved by lawful and compliant means, neither violating the order of reincarnation nor breaking the justice of reincarnation...
Anyone can learn the same methods and accomplish the same; the difference lies only in that some learn it with ease, while others spend their whole life unable to grasp its fur...
"Speaking of which, this child actually being able to reach this step truly surprises me. Compared to before, his Divine Spirit Techniques have increased; he has even learned All-Things Gathering—judging purely by Divine Spirit aptitude, it is somewhat exaggerated. Moreover, aside from Divine Spirit Force, this child seems to have more powers... How many kinds of Five Spirits Power has he cultivated in the end? In suppressing the Zi Clan at this moment, just how much strength has he actually used? All of this, I cannot see through..."
The ugly man named Clock Ghost drank as he observed Ning Fan’s deeds, astonished in secret.
He tried to discern Ning Fan’s character from the smallest details.
At times his eyes showed a look of reminiscence, recalling scenes from when Ning Fan underwent Cloud Sea Divinity Transformation.
In the Zidou Illusion Realm, there are five major variables: Nihe, Axe Fool, Clock Ghost, River Lord, and Demon Insect.
If one asks among these five who noticed Ning Fan first, there is no doubt it was Clock Ghost.
He is the overseer of the Bell of Samsara; as early as Ning Fan’s Divinity Transformation he had noticed this youth who was different from the rest.
On The Ten Steps Bridge, Ning Fan resolutely turned back, only to see his mother’s face clearly... At that time Ning Fan did not know what kind of shock his actions had brought a certain Bell Guardian.
"His spirit sense is not lost, like that of a newborn child..." That was how Clock Ghost judged him back then.
Others, when they look at Ning Fan, almost always see him as a member of the Evil Sect.
Clock Ghost, however, did not. He did not believe that a single word "Demon" could summarize all of Ning Fan.
At the start of this child’s cultivation, he might indeed have been somewhat vicious and extreme, but that was merely the mad-demonic mask presented after Destiny had ravaged him through countless reincarnations.
His ruthless side truly exists; his gentle side likewise exists at the same time, but is shown only to those close to him.
His gentle treatment of Luo You at this moment is simply his consistent way.
If one must put it bluntly, throughout his lifetime of cultivation, most of his time has been spent cultivating for the sake of protecting others; he rarely advances out of needs for himself. This child is more like a potential bearer of a "giving-type" personality.
A giving-type personality?
In a man of the Evil Sect?
At first glance it sounds utterly contradictory, but if one takes this child’s Dao Image as evidence, Clock Ghost is convinced his judgment is not wrong.
Demonic Night Transformation is the shell by which this child’s sharpness is exposed.
Dao-Manifested Big Dipper is his true original intention and aspiration.
His Dao is filled with contradictions: he says aloud that he does not wish to be anyone’s savior, yet in practice he tries to give those victims a chance to defy destiny and end their obsessions...
The world calls him Moral Sage; part of it is blind worship, another part is fearful of his demonic name and wildly flattering him... Yet in Clock Ghost’s eyes, this title contains both endless water and a small measure of truth.
Say his morality is high—this brat can gather together every ant and every stone, and the killings of his life are beyond counting, karmic sins immeasurably deep, far from a Sage.
But to say this child has no morality at all is not accurate either... "Demon too has Dao"—these four words precisely summarize his moral bottom line. Simply put, this child still has a few points of morality; if full score is a hundred...
Sadly, there are too many Immortals and Saints in this world who discard their bottom line entirely; their morality is practically a negative number. With such peers for contrast, his small amount of morality, placed among the Third Step and The Fourth Step who adhere to the black-forest law, is indeed like a crane standing among chickens...
Precisely because of this, Clock Ghost felt regret.
It is evident that Ning Fan is not the most suitable inheritor of the Immortal Emperor’s will; entrusting the Bell of Samsara to Ning Fan, Clock Ghost cannot be completely at ease.
Who knows whether this brat will someday, in a fit of anger for a beauty, lose his head and destroy the world for the sake of his friends and family...
The question is... Do all beings have a better choice?
Those more virtuous than Ning Fan do not have Ning Fan’s strength; they cannot guard even one corner.
Those stronger than Ning Fan lack Ning Fan’s bottom line and morality: Demon Crane goes insane and recognizes no kin, River Lord grows lazy and sleeps for a hundred million years, Axe Fool grows muddleheaded and forgets everything; as for Demon Insect... it is the problem itself and not even counted among candidates. He himself can barely uphold fairness, but his attrition has accumulated beyond repair, his remaining days already few... As for those like Ancient Chaos and Lie Yukou, they do not yet have the strength to bear the Bell of Samsara; what can be done...
Compared to these, Ning Fan is already the optimal solution as successor.
"If this child can resolve the threat of Dust King Tribulation Thought... No, so long as he can even slightly stall it, creating for me a chance to seal that Thought, I will entrust the Bell of Samsara to him... My days are already numbered; now all I can do is believe in the juniors, just as the Immortal Emperor once placed his trust in me..."
Thinking to this point, Clock Ghost, who was drinking with Quanzhi, suddenly put down his cup, stretched out a finger, and plucked a petal of osmanthus from the wine cup.
He chanted under his breath, then the osmanthus blossom turned into a peal of bell chime and, in an instant, flew into Ning Fan’s body.
Ning Fan was slightly taken aback, but did not refuse this piece of osmanthus that Clock Ghost was gifting him, allowing the flower to enter his body.
"Gui," ghost, is homophonous with "osmanthus."
If his perception was not mistaken, this osmanthus blossom contained a trace of Ghost Spirit power. Borrowing this power, Ning Fan could summon the Reincarnation Bell Shadow to protect his body; this was a method Clock Ghost had specially lent him, intending to help Ning Fan oppose the Dust King Tribulation Thought hidden within the Zi Clan.
"Within this Zi Clan, a single thought of the Dust Realm’s Third Dust King is concealed. The trouble posed by this thought, in some sense, surpasses even that of Emotion Control; you absolutely must not be careless... In a critical moment, this osmanthus can summon the Reincarnation Bell Shadow to guard you, shielding you from a death tribulation. With this item here, once the Dust King Tribulation Thought manifests, I hope little friend can delay it from the side for a moment or two, to win me the chance to seal it..." Clock Ghost requested via voice transmission.
"For now I am only lending you the Bell Shadow; but if we succeed in suppressing the Dust King Tribulation Thought, after this battle I will hand over this Bell’s authority to you in full..." Clock Ghost supplemented.
"Senior, be at ease. With me here, this Dust King Tribulation Thought won’t be able to stir up any real storm. As for this item... many thanks for Senior’s generous gift." Ning Fan replied via voice transmission, his tone somewhat surprised.
What surprised him was that at their very first meeting, he actually gained Senior Clock Ghost’s trust; the other party was even willing to lend out such a heavy treasure as the Reincarnation Bell Shadow.
If this person were not known to never bend the rules for personal feelings, Ning Fan would absolutely suspect that this was done out of personal sentiment.
In truth, even without Clock Ghost’s reminder, Ning Fan had already probed out that there was an extremely formidable Dust King Tribulation Thought hidden within the Zi Clan.
He was, after all, the Master of Dream Realm; how could any petty, messy hidden danger in this realm be concealed from him.
As for the other party’s intelligence, Ning Fan had more or less already ascertained it.
To eradicate this Tribulation Thought and at the same time not allow the Dreamland Realm to be destroyed by the aftermath of the duel, Ning Fan knew full well that in this battle, only by bringing out all his methods could he succeed.
The hardest part was not killing the enemy, but maintaining that the world did not collapse. Fighting with a burden in tow was extremely troublesome, but since he was already the Dream Master and the Dreamland Realm was his turf, he had no reason to let his own home be reduced to ruins.
Once the Dust King Tribulation Thought showed itself, he would at the very least need to divert eighty percent of his strength to keep the world from collapsing; in that case, there was no way he could refrain from going all-out.
But if he had Clock Ghost’s assistance, he might be able to save some effort and deal with the Dust King Tribulation Thought more leisurely... Though this move did have a bit of the flavor of many bullying the few, when dealing with a world-destroying enemy, there was no need to be overly scrupulous about martial ethics. Ning Fan’s moral baseline had always been flexible.
"Take it. Even if you have a thousand methods to oppose the Dust King, with this item here, you can relax a little, can’t you?" Clock Ghost said with satisfaction.
What he had gifted was the Reincarnation Bell Shadow; if it were an ordinary person, they would more or less feel the joy of suddenly obtaining a great treasure. Yet Ning Fan treated it with calm indifference, showing no trace of greed. Just this state of mind alone was already superior to that of most people...
As the saying goes, when one thought is broad, heaven and earth broaden with it. Once Clock Ghost decided to trust Ning Fan, the more he looked at Ning Fan, the more pleasing to the eye he found him.
It was just that he did not actually believe Ning Fan could easily suppress the Dust King Thought and keep it from so much as making a splash; he merely took this as the boastful words of a young man.
Young men, after all, it is good for them to be a bit self-confident; they need not be as lifeless and old-fashioned as us old codgers.
However, the Dust King Tribulation Thought was not to be underestimated; if the youngster got careless, they old fellows would need to step in and catch him.
If he could call that Daoist All-Knowing to make a move together, their chances of success would certainly be even higher.
Thus Clock Ghost quietly organized his words, trying to persuade All-Knowing to act.
Unexpectedly, All-Knowing was the first to make a move.
"Wait! What are you doing! Why are you giving my junior brother something!"
"That’s my junior brother! With me protecting him, when is it ever your turn to step in!"
All-Knowing could no longer sit still.
He was the one who was Ning Fan’s senior brother! With him here, if it still came to outsiders butting in to help, how would he have any face to see their master... And for some reason, All-Knowing inexplicably felt a sort of deflated sensation of being shown up right to his face; this made him unwilling to fall behind, and he immediately forced out his Life-Bound Crane Feather from within his body, transforming it into a streak of flowing light and sending it into Ning Fan’s body.
After this act, All-Knowing’s aura visibly weakened to the naked eye.
Ning Fan wanted to refuse this item, but when he met All-Knowing’s stubborn gaze, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
"It’s merely a trifling Dust King Tribulation Thought; there’s no need to use Senior Brother’s Life-Bound Crane Feather to assist..." Ning Fan sought to decline this item.
"There is a need! Of course there is a need! This is what Senior Brother owes you; you must accept it! If you don’t accept it, and if anything at all happens to you, Senior Brother will never have the face to see you again... Or is it that you look down on Senior Brother’s Crane Feather! You think my feathers are not as good as that mere Bell Shadow! Boo-hoo-hoo, in the end, the feelings between us have still grown cold..." All-Knowing started bawling like a madman.
Helplessly, Ning Fan had no choice but to temporarily accept All-Knowing’s Life-Bound Crane Feather, planning to return this item to its owner intact once the battle was over.
Ning Fan knew All-Knowing’s true body was the Divine King Niku’s Reverse Drying Crane Feather. Because of this, All-Knowing’s Life-Bound Crane Feather naturally carried the might of Divine King Niku [Chi Ming]; with just a casual crane claw, he could tear apart a Saint’s Dharma Body.
If he drew on the power of this feather, Ning Fan—whose battle strength was already absurd—could push it yet another step further, to something even more outrageous...
But he decided against it.
The power of the All-Knowing was already nearly exhausted; it was no longer what it had been at its peak. Every bit of his life-bound crane feather power he used would be one bit less remaining. Better to conserve it and not use it.
He truly had no intention of using this feather, but this scene, falling into the eyes of Zi Xiao and the others, was nothing short of despair!
Ning Fan was already invincible, and now he had the protection of the Reincarnation Bell Shadow and the Reverse Crane Feather. Even if Emotion Control himself came here, he would probably be beaten until his teeth were all over the ground!
"Damn it! Damn it all! You clearly possess supreme strength, clearly could annihilate us all with a single strike; why must you torment us with the Gui Xu Zhi! And why must you resurrect our enemies, utterly humiliating us! A man may be killed, but not humiliated!"
Zi Xiao and the others felt their mentality completely collapse.
Ning Fan could not even be bothered to respond. He continued operating, allowing more dead to return to the world of the living, and attempted to enlighten more Fu Li2 among them.
Thus, more and more cries and calls began to arise!
First, the Flame Spirit Saint Mother completed her Fu Li2 evolution, thoroughly transforming into a Fu Li2, joining the Luo Clan’s revenge ranks to reclaim karma on behalf of Luo Ming.
After that, Elder Zi Yi, Luoshu Jun, and others in turn showed signs of becoming Fu Li2 clones. Thus their brief rebirth began to evolve toward a true resurrection. The residual souls that should have been weak also, by transforming into Fu Li2, gradually returned to their peak state—some even growing stronger than before!
There were many more who likewise possessed the qualifications of Fu Li2, only waiting for Ning Fan to enlighten them.
To simultaneously enlighten so many Second Step Fu Li2 required an enormous expenditure. Ning Fan did not pay this cost from his own body; instead, he used what was at hand, relying on the Gui Xu Zhi to strip the cultivations and life force of these perpetrators, using that to supply what the Fu Li2 enlightenment needed.
In Clock Ghost’s eyes, this was without question a good deed: Ning Fan could have cleared the board with a single move, yet chose to go to such trouble to seek justice for the dead. This made Clock Ghost’s confidence in Ning Fan becoming a Bright Monarch grow a few degrees stronger.
In the eyes of those deceased, this was likewise a supreme kindness. Whether it was the departed souls returning to the human world, or the Fire of All Living Beings that had not yet returned, all believed wholeheartedly in Ning Fan’s title of Moral Sage, finding it utterly deserved.
And this matter also brought benefits to Ning Fan.
Each time he enlightened a Fu Li2, his own Fu Li ancestor blood grew more refined, and his Fu Li Cultivation grew even stronger.
After breaking the Mana upper limit of Ten Thousand Tribulations, every improvement in Ning Fan’s cultivations now was a kind of breakthrough.
He had always acted with his own interests in mind, but if that selfishness could benefit both sides, then that was the finest way of "trade"; why not do it?
The Flame Spirit Saint Mother turning into a Fu Li2 caused Ning Fan’s Fu Li ancestor blood to advance slightly, and his Mana surged by dozens of tribulations.
Elder Zi Yi becoming a Fu Li2 clone made Ning Fan’s ancestor blood directly gain a full drop, and his magical treasure power surged by as many as three hundred tribulations.
Luoshu Jun’s transformation into a Fu Li2 likewise increased Ning Fan’s ancestor blood by half a drop, and his Mana surged by one hundred and seventy tribulations.
And besides this, there was more, much more!
"Bestowing favor upon others and reclaiming it a thousandfold—marvelous! In accord with my Dao! This is a True Man!" A Quasi-Saint named Zi Lu praised Ning Fan’s actions without end.
This man had fallen in the war against Emotion Control’s invasion; now, under Ning Fan’s guidance, his soul had returned and he transformed into a Fu Li2.
This also gave Ning Fan another half drop of ancestor blood and a surge of one hundred and eighty tribulations of Mana.
"To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the ancient sages, to open peace for all ages. To shelter beneath this man’s wings—perhaps there truly is a chance to realize the Immortal Emperor ideal..." A Quasi-Saint named Zi Hou thus spoke.
This man had fallen in the war to defend the Immortal Domain’s boundary; now that he returned, part of the reason was to weed out traitors, but even more was to follow Ning Fan and strive once more for his ideals.
Thus, Ning Fan’s bloodline advanced yet again, and his Mana rose further.
"Oh, to have mansions of ten thousand rooms, to give vast shelter so all the world’s cold scholars could smile in joy..." A Quasi-Saint named Zi Mei returned as a Fu Li2, her Dao of poetry seemingly not far from Sainthood.
"Say not that women are no heroes; each night the Dragon-Spring sword rings upon the wall!" A Quasi-Saint named Zi Jin likewise returned as a Fu Li2.
And there were more, still more...
Not only those of old who had died took Fu Li2 form; there were even people of the present transforming into Fu Li2!
The Zi Clan did not consist solely of those steeped in evil; there were also people seized and brought here, whose lives were full of suffering.
Among them was a youth named Zhi Zha!
He had not originally borne the surname Zi, nor did he have the qualification to bear it, but someone had taken him as a sworn younger brother, watching over him all along the way and securing him a place within the Zi Clan.
Yet because Zi Zha was reckless for a moment, he provoked an existence he should never have provoked; he not only brought upon himself the fate of having his flesh scraped from his bones and dying, but also got his sworn brother Zi Chuan expelled from the Zi Clan.
Even after he himself was driven out, Zi Chuan, before leaving, still secretly had someone mold a Golden Body statue for his sworn younger brother, to gather and preserve his soul.
"If one day I attain the True Immortal Realm, I will definitely return, help you gain new life, and take you away from this filthy place!" Such was Zi Chuan’s promise at the time.
Although Zi Chuan’s words were loud back then, deep in his heart he still couldn’t let things go, still minded his identity as one discarded by the Zi Clan.
And later...
Later, Zi Chuan’s Heart Demon could not be resolved; his actions grew more and more overbearing. He used his status as a discarded son of the Zi Clan to act wildly and arrogantly across Ning Fan, and it was then that he encountered the greatest setback of his life.
But Zi Chuan did not become despondent because of that; instead, he seized upon this matter to sever his Heart Demon, awakened with a jolt, was incomparably excited, and even deliberately wrote a letter, entrusting someone to carry it back to the Zi Clan, wanting to share this with his sworn younger brother.
"Worthy younger brother Zi Zha, if this letter reaches you: I write to share something with you! In the lower realms I chanced upon a man; despite using all my strength, I could not defeat him. His name is Lu Bei. The Zi Clan may have countless peerless geniuses, but in my eyes, none of them equal even half of this man. It has nothing to do with bloodline, nothing to do with cultivations; in this man, I sensed a power the like of which I have never felt before... He is strong, exceedingly strong, but this strength is not his cultivations, it is his Dao. His Dao bears a kind of mad resolve—if I were to give an example, it is as if even as a mere mortal he would still dare face an Immortal Emperor head‑on... This metaphor may be somewhat exaggerated, but it truly is how I felt. I now have a new goal, and no longer intend to muddle through my days. So what if I am one discarded by the Zi Clan? If I take Lu Bei as my target and surpass him, then even away from the Zi Clan, there will surely be a day when my Dao is fulfilled! Don’t speak only of True Immortals; even Immortal Emperors, I would dare to attempt! When my Dao is accomplished, I will return openly and uprightly to the Zi Clan and take you away..."
Brother, you clearly had such resolve—so why... did you not meet a good end...
In a small temple out in the desolate outskirts of the Zi Clan territory, the Residual Soul of Zi Zha, who had attached itself to the Golden Body, shed tears of agony.
Back when Fate Wielding invaded the Zi Clan, he had felt a stab in his heart and sensed the matter of his brother’s fall.
They had clearly agreed to meet at the peak, yet what finally came was eternal parting...
Blood‑tears flowed from the eye sockets of the Golden Body statue.
Zi Zha’s Residual Soul kept ramming against the statue, trying to break free from within, even if the price was total soul annihilation, he did not hesitate!
The enemy was right here in the Zi Clan—Fate Wielding! He might be weak, might die in an instant, but before dying, if he did not tear a bite of Fate Wielding’s flesh, he would never be content!
Return my brother’s heart to me!
Aaaahhhhh——
Crack crack crack—the Golden Body was physically shattered by Zi Zha’s sheer obsession!
Yet what flew out from within was not a Residual Soul, but a Fu Li protected by a Purple Lotus!
On this visit to the Zi Clan, every Fu Li that Ning Fan enlightened was at the Second Step cultivations; only this Fu Li was at the First Step. But his obsession was in no way inferior to any Second Step Fu Li!
"I have old ties with Zi Chuan. Are you willing to follow me and slay that Green Fate Wielding?" A voice suddenly rang out.
Only then did Zi Zha realize that someone had appeared out of thin air before him—if it wasn’t Ning Fan, who else could it be.
"Senior, aren’t you..." Zi Zha could not comprehend Ning Fan’s Divine Skills; the other should, at this moment, be on the battlefield fighting Zi Xiao and the others—how could he also appear before him at the same time... Such means, he had never even heard of! But because Zi Zha’s Taoist experience was still shallow, he did not understand just how shocking this act truly was.
Hence he did not think too deeply, and directly fell to his knees.
He recognized Ning Fan!
The other said he had old ties with Zi Chuan, and his appearance matched the Lu Bei Zi Chuan had described in his heart—if not Lu Bei, who could it be!
Moreover, the other wanted to take him along to kill Emotion Control; such favor could only be repaid with his life!
"I am willing to go through fire and water for Senior, and help Senior slay Fate Wielding!" Zi Zha said without a shred of hesitation.
"Good."
Ning Fan then brought Zi Zha with him, heading straight to Ten Thousand Immortal Ridge, doggedly chasing Green Fate Wielding.
He did not need the weak Zi Zha to offer any help; the only reason he bothered to take this extra step was that he saw in Zi Zha the reflection of his own past self—small and helpless.
Equally plotted into despair by Fate Wielding, equally bearing the hatred of close kin, yet having no strength to repay that blood‑debt...
"Achoo..."
Green Fate Wielding suddenly shivered for no reason, not knowing that his happy times were running out.
At this moment, he was wildly plundering Ten Thousand Immortal Ridge, preparing for the final possession of the Ape Saint Corpse.
All the Zi Clan powerhouses of Ten Thousand Immortal Ridge had been taken away by Zi Xiao; the minnows left behind were no match for him.
And this place was the highest forbidden ground of the Zi Clan; it housed the Holy Ape Corpse and hoarded countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
Forget about Shienie Wilderness’s Three Energies—just speaking of Ten Revolutions Elixir, there were more than ten pills here!
It was just absurd!
He’d seen wealth before, but never wealth like this! How many heaven‑high, three‑corpses sins had the Zi Clan committed to scrape together such a trove! What a pity—everything here now belonged to this old man!
Only, Green Fate Wielding also knew that swallowing all the Ten Revolutions Elixir here would not be easy.
If you asked why...
This place was the Zi Clan’s painstakingly operated Land of Corpse Nurturing and Demon Transformation! Every Ten Revolutions Elixir here, without exception, had turned into a demon, each with earth‑shattering combat power and not easy to subdue.
"Luckily, I came prepared, specifically to counter these demons! None of you will escape; you will all... belong to me!"
Green Fate Wielding smiled smugly.
He did not know that at some point a tiny Fu Li, whose body could not be seen, had appeared beside Ning Fan, who was trailing him.
"Senior, can I bite him now..." The instant Zi Zha saw Fate Wielding, he ground his teeth in hatred. Though only at the First Step, even at such close range he was not cowed by Fate Wielding’s aura—indeed somewhat extraordinary.
"Not yet... This place holds not only Fate Wielding, there’s someone else—and that person is even more troublesome than Fate Wielding..."
Just as Ning Fan’s words fell, someone walked out of the shadows—it was actually a man in purple armor.
Ning Fan had seen this man before, back in the Mirage when he had taken the form of a Barbarian Fish, and had nearly been harmed by him.
His name was Purple Luo, one of the Eight Divisions of the Dust Realm, his status on par with Red Yaksha and Qingnaluo.
But what made Ning Fan truly wary was not Purple Luo himself, but the crimson horsetail whisk he held in his hand—that whisk was the real, great ominous thing...
"Heh, I thought you would never show yourself. If you still refused to appear, don’t blame me for breaking our old agreement and swallowing all the demons here for myself!" Green Fate Wielding said thus, seemingly not at all surprised by Purple Luo’s sudden appearance.
"Mind your wording! A mere Barbarian Slave is not worthy of making agreements with me; you are nothing but a tool for this seat to scheme against the Zi Clan!" Purple Luo said in disdain.
At the same time he pinched a spirit sense, intending to activate the Tribulation Slave’s Ban he had placed in the past within Fate Wielding’s divine sense.
But to his surprise, the ban he had laid long ago had already been broken by Fate Wielding; the latter was in no way under Purple Luo’s coercion.
"Impossible! You are not Fan Mokong at all! With his mere Barbarian Slave status, he could never break a ban of mine! Who are you, really!" Purple Luo’s gaze instantly turned cold.
"Heh, who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is that our aims are the same—we are both here for the Ape Saint Corpse, and our intentions do not conflict. What I want is the corpse; what you want is the strand of Dust King Tribulation Thought that has tormented the Ape Saint till now. I advise you not to make things difficult for me. Know that at this moment the Zi Clan has already invited a calamity as vast as heaven; a certain butterfly has arrived at the Zi Clan to settle accounts with me. Yet if I am right, you too have karmic ties with this butterfly. Once you encounter it, I fear you’ll also be on the list to be settled... So, how about joining hands with me? Otherwise, you won’t stand a chance of surviving that butterfly!"
Upon hearing this, Green Fate Wielding instantly dispelled Purple Luo’s idea of secretly attacking.
The heaven and earth within Ten Thousand Immortal Ridge had been constructed from the shattered Mountain and Sea by Tongbi Ape Saint, and could isolate all outside turmoil; thus Purple Luo, hidden here, only knew the Zi Clan was in trouble, but not the details.
After Fate Wielding’s reminder, Purple Luo immediately used his methods to forcibly sense the outside world.
And then he paled in shock.
"That little Barbarian Fish of the past has actually grown to such a level!" Purple Luo exclaimed.
Even he did not have the strength to crush the Zi Clan single‑handedly, yet Ning Fan could do so with ease, and with a wave of his hand enlighten many Fu Li powerhouses...
There was simply no chance of victory!
"You have no choice but to join forces with this old man!"
"Fine!"
Purple Luo no longer put on airs; though he looked down on Fate Wielding, at this moment the only one he could take as an ally happened to be Fate Wielding.
He had no choice.
"Since that’s the case, we shall immediately exterminate all the demons here and then... take the Ape Saint Corpse directly!"