Grasping Evil

Chapter 541: Lunatic

With a single teleportation technique, Ning Fan brought Yun Ruowei and Ning Qingqing back to Hai Ning.

He had already grown used to smiling. No matter how difficult the path ahead of him, he would never lose the smile on his face.

To him, smiling was an attitude and it had nothing to do with feelings... Today, however, he could not wear a smile on his face, even if he tried forcing it.

"Mistress Yun, if you encounter any trouble in the Southeastern Cultivator Union in the future, you can come to Seven Apricot City to seek help anytime. Mistress Qing, as long as I am alive, you can rest assured that the Ning Family of Hai Ning will continue to exist and prosper..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around looking depressed and left.

Ning Qingqing had something to ask him at first but she was unable to get a word out of her mouth.

Yun Ruowei originally wanted to ask for the blue jade pendant from Ning Fan but when she saw his sad expression, she could not open her mouth to ask for it.

A feeling surfaced in her heart telling her that he should be the one to keep it, no one other than him...

"Why would he be so depressed...?" Neither Yun Ruowei nor Ning Qingqing could understand him.

No one would...

Ning Fan returned to Seven Apricot City in a ray of travelling light. Three days later, he received a message-transmitting flying sword from the Endless Sea.

Right after he heard the message in the flying sword, he entered the Sovereign Tomb using his separated soul without a word to help Old Ancestor Dong Xu, who had been waiting for him, break through to the Void Refinement Realm.

It had been a long while since the last time Old Ancestor Dong Xu met Ning Fan. He planned on cracking a joke upon meeting him but when he noticed Ning Fan's desolate expression, all the jokes he planned to tell turned into sighs.

One month later, Old Ancestor Dong Xu had successfully broken through the bottleneck of the Void Refinement Realm with Ning Fan's aid. All he needed to do next was to return to his island and enter seclusion and he would truly become a Void Refinement Realm expert.

After Ning Fan was done his part, he left Seven Apricot City all alone and headed to the Central State.

The little sable remained in the city as her injuries had yet to recover. With her and Treant Min Luo around the city, the city's defenses were strong enough that it could even defend against someone like Moksha Sovereign even if he personally came.

Ning Fan walked past the land of Wu Country by his lonesome and travelled across four countries, passing by each and every one of the foreign countries he had never visited before.

He travelled all the way north. Sometimes, he would fly in the sky and sometimes, he would travel on foot. During his journey, he would walk for some distances and would stop to occasionally go deep into the mountains and ridges to rest while looking at the blooming mountain flowers... It was unknown how many cultivation countries he had passed through within a single month...

He intruded the den of a demon tiger by mistake and a tiger cub bared its fangs fiercely and pounced on him ignorantly.

He slightly released his aura force and it literally made that tiger cub cower in fear.

He lifted his finger with the intention of killing that tiger cub. However, a large black tiger jumped in front of the tiger cub and knelt to the ground like a human. With eyes filled with despair, it kept kowtowing to Ning Fan, begging him to spare them.

It was a tigress and it was probably the tiger cub's mother...

Ning Fan let out a sigh and his killing intent diminished instantly. Then, he turned around and left the den.

Evening rain started to drizzle. Ning Fan stood on the edge of a nameless river and stared at the duckweeds that were scattered by the rain.

The mayflies which were originally resting on the duckweeds immediately flew away from the scattered duckweeds to look for another resting place.

The rain gradually became heavier and became so dense that it looked like a curtain, blocking the view on the other side of the river. Eventually, the rain turned into a rainstorm.

Lightning flashed across the sky with thunder crackling and rumbling continuously.

Ning Fan's robes were completely wet. As the autumn wind blew, it made him feel slightly cold. Even the blue jade pendant around his neck felt cold. He closed his eyes and sighed with his face filled with loneliness.

"Who said that the world is inhumane? If the world is inhumane, why would you be born into this world...? The world is only inhumane to those who are inhumane in the first place..."

"Who said that one has to give up their emotions in order to grasp the Dao? If one gives up all their feelings and eliminates all their thoughts, what else will be left at the end of their path...?"

"I cultivated the devil path not because I hated the world, but because I wanted to break free from the prison of suffering and protect my loved ones behind me... I didn't kill for riches and fame. Instead, I only killed because I wanted to protect those I cared about and to repay the favor of a meal... If I don't kill, it isn't because I am kind. When I kill, it isn't because I am evil. There are just too many things that are against one's will in this world..."

"I thought I was born without parents. How ridiculous of me to think like that! If I didn't have a mother, I would have already died a thousand years ago... Every drop of blood in my body doesn't belong to me at all... However, despite knowing about her now, I still can't find her..."

"The reason why duckweeds don't grow roots isn't because they don't want to. Even so, the mayflies just can't do anything about it no matter what the reason is…"

Ning Fan gnashed his teeth with his eyes closed. While standing under the desolate evening rain all alone, he clenched his fists so tightly that his nails pierced through his palm, causing fresh blood to trickle down his hand.

"I'm sorry..."

Even after a long time, the rain did not stop. It was still raining heavily like a waterfall.

Ning Fan left the riverbank and slowly walked upstream by the side of the river. Several days later, a small cultivation city appeared in front of him.

The cultivation country was called Zhao Country. It was a low-grade cultivation country. As for the cultivation city, it was called Vermilion Bird City. It was only guarded by a single Gold Core Realm old ancestor.

Even though Zhao Country was not strong, many powerful experts from the Central State would pass through this country because it was located at the border of the southeast continent which was near the Central State.

It was raining heavily in the city and many cultivators were wearing their straw raincoats while hurriedly walking on the streets.

Ning Fan walked into the city. No one knew his cultivation level. The passers-by only thought that he was a mere low-grade cultivator.

When each of the Harmonious Spirit Realm and Gold Core Realm old monsters entered the Vermilion Bird City, the guards would treat them respectfully.

If Nascent Soul Realm experts arrived, they would give them a grand reception. For Divine Transformation Realm experts, however, the city guards would not be polite to them as they could not discern how strong they were since their cultivation level was not obvious.

This is how things were in this world. Ning Fan did not bother with the attitude of the city guards and walked toward a liquor shop in the city which was called Falling Cloud Bar.

His mood had already gradually improved during his journey to the border of the Central State. Now, he only wanted to get himself drunk and revitalize his devil heart.

If one dies from liquor, they would be drunk. If they are born from liquor, they would become conscious. Liquor could intoxicate or awaken a person's heart and the same applies to all the Dao in the world.

Outside the bar, a few Vein Opening Realm burly men wearing bamboo hats and straw raincoats were guarding the entrance. When they saw Ning Fan wanted to enter the bar, they uttered coldly.

"My friend, the liquor in our bar is quite expensive. Those who don't have enough immortal jade are not allowed to enter."

"It doesn't matter. The immortal jade I have should still be enough." Ning Fan said indifferently and walked past the men, entering the bar.

Most of them who were drinking liquor in the bar were Vein Opening Realm cultivators. All the seats were fully occupied, leaving only one seat beside the window. No one sat there because some of the rain would splash inside. Some Harmonious Spirit Realm old monsters occupied a large table and indulged themselves in the taste of wine. Despite the empty spaces on their tables, no one dared to sit at the same tables as them.

As cultivators, only a minority of them were drenched by the rain. The clothes of each of the Vein Opening Realm cultivators in the bar was dry. Even though a few of them would get themselves drenched in the rain, they would dry their clothes using their magic power.

As for people who came in with thoroughly wet clothes, Ning Fan was the first one. Thus, everyone thought that Ning Fan's magic power was weak as he could not even use it to dry his own clothes.

A few young cultivators even burst into laughter upon seeing Ning Fan's worn-out appearance and mocked him.

"Since brother is already soaked entirely, there should be no problem for him to sit near the window as he can't get any more wet."

"Sounds reasonable."

Ning Fan walked toward the window and sat down on the empty seat, allowing the droplets of rain to hit his body. There was a sign of discontentment on his face.

"Haha. He actually said that it's reasonable!" A few cultivators laughed and teased. Seeing Ning Fan did not react to their words, they gradually found him uninteresting and left him alone.

After paying immortal jade for the spiritual wine, Ning Fan poured the wine into his cup and started drinking by himself. Occasionally, he would look at the rain outside the window. Everything that was happening inside the bar had nothing to do with him.

He stared at the never-ending autumn rain. Slowly, he felt that what he saw in his eyes was no longer rain but his memories of his entire journey.

Thoughts began springing up within his mind and he was gradually absorbed in them.

The rain is real but the memories are illusory... At the Void Glimpse Stage, one sees the void as the void. At the Void Inquiry Stage, one does not see the void as the void. At the Void Pierce Stage, one will still see the void as the void but at the Absolute Void Stage, meanwhile, one will see reality as the void.

If one achieves the Void Fragmentation Realm, they will probably be able to break the void. At that time, reality and illusion would depend on what one wills...

"So this is the Great Dao of Void, huh...?" Ning Fan lifted his wine cup and took a large gulp of it. The traces of sadness inside of him were diluted by the rainy scene and the wine.

"Good wine!"

Ning Fan's compliment immediately caused many customers in the bar to burst into laughter.

"Haha. Does that young man actually know about wine?! The spiritual wine in the Falling Cloud Bar is always diluted with water. How can it be good?! It's really ridiculous for that young man to make such a compliment despite his lack of knowledge in wine!"

"Speaking of good wines in Vermillion Bird City, they are the wines in the Drunk Sparrow Bar... *Clicks tongue* Those are truly excellent wines. However, they are ten times more expensive than the wines here in the Falling Cloud Bar... *Sigh* Vein Opening Realm cultivators like us have no choice but to opt for the diluted wines here."

Ning Fan continued to fill up his own cup and drink on his own, ignoring those low-grade cultivators. In his eyes, those Vein Opening Realm and Harmonious Spirit Realm cultivators were no different than mortals. Therefore, there was no need for him to get their acknowledgement.

Whether a wine is good or not does not solely depend on its concentration and taste. If a wine is able to flush away one's sadness, it would be good wine.

No one agreed with what Ning Fan said. However, a loud and hearty laughter echoed into the bar from afar.

"Hahaha. I thought I was the only one who thinks the wine in the Falling Cloud Bar is good. It turns out that there is someone who shares the same opinion as me. It's my life's greatest pleasure to know that and I shall celebrate it with a good drink!"

The laughter was originally from across the air far away. At the next moment, however, a burly man wearing a bamboo hat draped with a straw raincoat around his shoulders had already walked into the bar.

"Bloody hell. What heavy rain. I actually got wet despite clearly wearing the hat and raincoat. Hahaha. Haha..."

The burly man let out a hearty laugh. His presence gave off Fifth Level of the Vein Opening Realm qi.

He looked around the bar and spotted Ning Fan with one glance. Upon seeing Ning Fan who was sitting beside the window and drinking his wine calmly despite the droplets of rain constantly hitting him, he immediately guessed that he was the person who made that compliment earlier.

"Haha. Isn't this Lunatic Wu of Vermilion Bird City? I heard that you went into secluded cultivation three years ago to break through to the Sixth Level of the Vein Opening Realm. Why is your qi still at the Fifth Level? Could it be that you failed to achieve a breakthrough again? Haha!"

"I've known him for ten years. Ten years back, he was already at the Fifth Level of the Vein Opening Realm. Ten years have passed but there is no improvement in his cultivation base. It seems like he has no chance of attaining the Harmonious Spirit Realm in his entire life!"

"Achieving the Harmonious Spirit Realm? If the lunatic can achieve that cultivation level, I will be able to reach the Gold Core Realm!"

A series of mockeries filled the bar. Obviously, everyone there knew who that burly man in the bamboo hat was.

He took off his hat and raincoat and laughed it off without even caring about what they said. Then, he walked toward the table where Ning Fan was sitting.

He also did not mind the rain splashing from the window. He sat down on the other side of the table and randomly tossed his hat and raincoat aside. Afterward, he laughed and said, "What a cooling rain! This seat that is exposed to the rain is indeed the best spot in the bar!"

As soon as the burly man said those words, countless customers in the bar spurted out their wine and laughed.

"Look at him. That lunatic is saying something crazy again! Haha!"

Ning Fan lifted his gaze and took a casual glance at the burly man. The quiet baleful qi within his body actually trembled gently as he sensed quite a powerful baleful qi from the burly man's body.

A Peak Divine Transformation Realm cultivator, huh...? This man is already not that far away from attaining the Void Refinement Realm. Even though his baleful qi is far more inferior to mine, it's still quite intense. He should be a devil cultivator with a willful and unscrupulous personality...

With just a single glance, Ning Fan saw through the burly man. The man, however, could not see through anything about Ning Fan at all. He just regarded Ning Fan as a Vine Opening Realm junior. Even so, he still cupped his fists politely and introduced himself.

"My name is Wu Cheng. The Wu in my name means none and the Cheng means city!"

The name that the burly man said was 'Wu Cheng'.

However, those who knew him well knew that his name was Wu Chen. What he said just now was completely irrelevant and it simply told everyone that he was illiterate. The bar was filled with a burst of laughter again.

"Haha. Wu Chen is talking gibberish again!"

"Little brother, you better not trust his words. His surname is Wu of Wu Country and his last name is Chen, which means dust!"

The burly man was not bothered by those who laughed at him. With a flick of his finger, he sent some immortal jades to the owner of the bar who immediately served him some wine.

He held the wine jug and drank a mouthful of it. Then, he announced with a carefree tone.

"It's good wine. It's indeed good wine!"

The customers around naturally began to laugh at him, just like how they laughed at Ning Fan earlier.

"May I know what your name is, little brother?"

"Ning Fan."

When Ning Fan uttered the two words indifferently, the entire bar became as silent as the grave.

Ning Fan?! White-Robed Marquis, Ning Fan?!

Impossible. This is definitely impossible! There are many people who share the same name under the heavens. In the Rain World, it is unknown how many thousands of people are named Ning Fan. There is no way this man can be the White-Robed Marquis!

The people put on smiles again and continued drinking wine, thinking that it was just a coincidence.

The burly man was also stunned for a second. However, a short moment later, he also shook his head and laughed.

"Young Brother Ning, you really have a good name. It's exactly the same as the White-Robed Marquis. You nearly scared me to death."

"Is that so...?"

Ning Fan was not bothered by them. He continued drinking his wine without having any intention to have a conversation with the burly man.

The burly man, on the other hand, became interested in Ning Fan. He carefully studied Ning Fan for a while and suddenly said with a sigh.

"Little brother, your eyes contain the pain of losing a loved one."

"Oh? Does Brother Wu know how to read faces?" Ning Fan was surprised and Wu Chen started to pique his interest.

"Haha. I know nothing about reading faces. I just know how to look at someone's face. Your face might not contain any sadness, but there is pain in your heart. I'm just randomly guessing. *Sigh* You know, there aren't many people like you... Most of the people in the world of cultivation are cold, heartless and selfish. Those who called themselves righteous don't even dare to keep their love for their loved ones within their hearts as they stubbornly sever their emotions to cut ties with their mortal coil. Hehe. From my perspective, these kinds of people are really foolish!"

The burly man sighed and kept his smile. After gulping down a jug of wine, he bought another jug and finished it instantly. Then, he proceeded to buy three jugs in one go.

Ning Fan felt slightly stunned. He felt that what the burly man said agreed with his thoughts. Even though his cultivation base was not as strong as his, Ning Fan started to have some respect for him.

After carefully observing Wu Chen for a while, Ning Fan even discovered that he possessed a strand of heavenly secret's power. He should be an expert skilled in the Dao of Divination. This discovery slightly increased the respect he had for him.

"If you don't mind, can you divine if the family member I am grieving is dead or alive?" Ning Fan asked politely.

"Alive!" Wu Chen answered without hesitation.

"Where is she?!"

"I don't know... Her fate has been altered and I can't see through it. If I try to glimpse it by force, I will certainly cause harm to myself..." Wu Chen was still drinking. After a brief conversation, however, Ning Fan was already certain that this man's talent in divination was shockingly good.

In the past, Dong Xu only managed to divine that Ning Qian's fate was altered with the help of an immortal being's blood. The burly man in front of him, however, saw through the secrets of heaven after merely having a brief conversation with him. He was indeed an outstanding and talented individual.

"Brother, can you please help me divine her fate!"

"*Sigh* Alright. I'll help you look into it. Just once..." Wu Chen could not help but change his mind after seeing the earnest look on Ning Fan's face. He put down his wine jug and took out twelve empty wine bowls. Then, he arranged them in a certain formation.

Right afterward, he closed his eyes and slammed on the wine jug. The wine within the jug flew in the air and fell into the twelve bowls respectively.

"The Twelve Earthly Branches Technique!" Ning Fan was inwardly astonished as he recognized the technique that Wu Chen used was a lost ancient divination technique.

Wu Chen grimaced in pain. It was as if divining Ning Fan's heavenly secrets were extremely difficult.

However, Wu Chen was a man who would deliver on his promises after giving his word. Since he had promised to help Ning Fan divine his family member's fate, he must do it no matter how difficult it was!

"Glimpse!"

As Wu Chen uttered that word, he suddenly opened his eyes and coughed out mouthfuls of blood before passing out.

All the customers in the bar were befuddled. They had no clue why Wu Chen would suddenly faint.

Ning Fan was shocked to see what had happened to Wu Chen. With a flick of his sleeve, he sent a pill into his mouth and released its medicinal power using his magic power. It was a Sixth Revolution vulnerary pill.

As the medicinal power of the pill went into Wu Chen's body, he slowly regained consciousness. He sat up straight again while patting the back of his head and said with confused tone.

"F***. It scared me half to death. The cultivation level of the person who altered her fate is too high. I was almost killed by her heavenly secret... However, it's really strange. Why were my injuries suppressed so quickly even though I coughed out so much blood...?"

Wu Chen actually had no idea that Ning Fan had let him take a vulnerary pill.

He looked at Ning Fan and said with a slightly pleased expression.

"I've seen it! The person you are looking for is in the Central State!"

"The Central State!"

Ning Fan's lips curved upward, forming into a broad smile. It was his first time putting on a smile throughout his journey.

Since he now knew that she was in the Central State, he was going to find her even if he might need to overturn the entire state!

"Thank you!" Ning Fan cupped his fists solemnly at Wu Chen.

"Hehe. It's just a small matter. There is no need to thank me for it... Aiya. This is bad. The people who are pursuing me have arrived. I got myself into trouble in the past few days and I need to run now..."

Just as Wu Chen was about to stand up and get out of the bar, his injuries were aggravated, causing a sharp pain on his chest. The excruciating pain pushed him back to his seat.

With a few seconds of delay, the entire Vermilion Bird City was already enveloped by four extremely powerful qi.

Four Void Refinement Realm experts!

"We are the 'Four Rain Summoning Elders' from the Vast Heaven Palace of the Central State. We came to the Vermilion Bird City of Zhao Country to apprehend the Revered Rain Giver, Wu Chen! This man disobeyed the palace lord's orders and let the rain fall randomly, violating the World Law. According to the laws, he should be escorted back to the Vast Heaven Palace and receive twenty rain whippings as punishment! Wu Chen, come with us!"

Ning Fan's eyes turned stern. The people who came after him were four Void Glimpse Stage experts!

And Wu Chen was actually a revered elder of the Rain Palace who was under the Vast Heaven Palace.

Besides, his identity was different from the other elders.

There were many elders in the Vast Heaven Palace. Among them, there were only twenty-four Revered Rain Givers who had the authority to summon rain in the Rain World.

Surprisingly, Wu Chen was one of them.

The four Void Glimpse Stage elders instantly descended on the Vermillion Bird City and entered the Falling Cloud Bar.

All the customers in the bar looked at Wu Chen like they were looking at a monster. None of them had ever thought that the Lunatic Wu who was always laughed at by others was actually a Divine Transformation Realm revered elder of the Rain Palace!

"H-He is a D-D-D..." Several cultivators who proclaimed that Wu Chen would not be able to achieve the Harmonious Spirit Realm in his whole life almost peed on themselves.

Wu Chen looked at the four elders with defiance in his eyes.

To Divine Transformation Realm cultivators, receiving twenty rain whippings was not considered as a serious punishment. Even so, it would inflict them with serious injuries which they would need several years of secluded cultivation in order to fully recover.

It would have been reasonable for him to be punished if he had really committed a serious crime. However, he had not done anything wrong. Thus, he could not accept his punishment.

"I've done nothing wrong! The palace lord asked me to summon a tempestuous rain, causing water to flood Chu Yun Country! That country is just a mortal kingdom which does not even have a single cultivator. Besides, they didn't violate any rules or regulations. Why should I drown them?! I can't accept it!" Wu Chen retorted.

"They refuse to agree to build shrines for the Rain Sovereign in their country. They also aren't willing to offer incense to the Rain Sovereign. Aren't these considered violations of the law?!" A Void Glimpse Stage elderly man in silver robes coldly retorted.

"F***ing bulls***! It's their freedom to worship whoever they want!" Wu Chen said in anger.

"Impudent! How dare a mere revered elder of the Rain Palace disrespect Void Refinement Realm elders like us!"

The Void Glimpse Stage expert in silver robes lost his temper and suddenly unleashed his aura force which pressed down on Wu Chen like heaven was falling.

Wu Chen's face was filled with shock. With his current condition, there was no way he could withstand a Void Refinement Realm aura force!

Even if he was in his prime, he would still not be able to hold on for half a round in a fight against a Void Refinement Realm expert.

Seeing the aura force that was about to crush Wu Chen, another ferocious aura force that was countless times stronger soared into the sky, making all the four Void Glimpse Stage experts cough out blood.

"He is my friend!"

Ning Fan gently rose to his feet and stared at the four experts.

As the four of them got a clearer look at Ning Fan's appearance, they immediately broke out in cold sweat.

"W-W-White-Robed Marquis!"

*Hiss*

Every single person in the Falling Cloud Bar was petrified.

All the cultivators in the Vermilion Bird City were stupefied!

That white-robed young man who was completely soaked in the rain was in fact someone who they must never provoke!

"White-Robed Marquis, please calm down! We had no idea that he's your friend!"

"Little brother, no, White-Robed Marquis, please appease your anger. You must not kill any of them. If you kill them, I'll become your accomplice... If you do it, I'll be unable to remain a revered elder of the Rain Palace and would have to spend the rest of my life running and hiding at the remotest corners of the world!"

Wu Chen's face turned pale. He never expected that Ning Fan would actually be such a terrifying person.

White-Robed Marquis! What the freak? He was actually drinking and chatting merrily with the number-one devil lord of the Rain World. This was frightening!

This must be the craziest thing that he, Lunatic Wu, had ever done in his entire life!

If Ning Fan kills the four Void Refinement Realm experts of the Rain World and implicates Lunatic Wu into becoming a fugitive in the Rain World, that was it for him...

1. Wu Cheng (Chinese: 无城 Pinyin: wú chéng)Wu 无 means none, Cheng城 means city.
2. Wu Chen (Chinese: 吴尘 Pinyin: wú chén)Wu 吴 is a Chinese surname. Chen 尘 means dust, dirt or the earth.The author is playing with the words here. Notice how the first name is different from this. He introduced himself as Wu Cheng,无城, by explaining the meaning the Wu 无 and Cheng 城 while his real name is Wu Chen, 吴尘) This shows how illiterate he is