Grasping Evil

The Everlasting Pavilion in the east of Vast Frost City lay a full ten thousand li from the city’s north.

At the middle-aged scholar’s Gold Core escape speed, it would take a full day of flight at full force to arrive.

Fortunately Ning Fan was with him, so he would not spend an entire day on the road.

Ning Fan merely flicked his sleeve. Vast magic power swept up the middle-aged scholar, and in an instant the two of them crossed ten thousand li and appeared outside the Everlasting Pavilion.

“A D-Divine Transformation old monster!” The middle-aged scholar was nearly scared to death by Ning Fan’s speed.

As far as he knew, those who could travel ten thousand li in a single escape were at least Divine Transformation cultivators.

Only the shifting arts of Divine Transformation old monsters could cover ten thousand li in one leap!

He had originally guessed Ning Fan was a Peak Nascent Soul great cultivator. Seen in this light, Ning Fan was at least an early Divine Transformation old monster!

This man is actually a Divine Transformation old monster! And I am actually guiding one!

The middle-aged scholar’s heart shook, yet his eyes burned hot.

He bowed respectfully to Ning Fan, pointed at the ten-thousand-zhang treasure pavilion ahead, and said, “Senior, please look. This is the Everlasting Pavilion. Maps of the Northern Tree Ocean are sold only here. The master of this pavilion is the lord of Vast Frost City, an early Void Refinement old monster. To shop inside the Everlasting Pavilion, one must at least have the cultivation of a great cultivator. This junior cannot enter.”

“Since you cannot enter the pavilion, withdraw. I will go in alone.”

Ning Fan dismissed the middle-aged scholar and walked toward the Everlasting Pavilion by himself.

There were no cultivators guarding the gate. Outside the doors crouched only two wooden beast statues.

The carvings were lifelike, their beast pupils especially vivid.

When Ning Fan drew near the Everlasting Pavilion, the two wooden beasts suddenly shed a faint radiance, rose onto all fours, and stared at him with cold eyes.

Each wooden beast radiated the aura of a Peak Nascent Soul!

These two wooden beasts were clearly two puppet beasts!

“Halt, visitor! Cultivators below Peak Nascent Soul may not enter the Everlasting Pavilion!”

Ning Fan’s gaze swept the two beasts, and he was slightly surprised.

No wonder the Everlasting Pavilion had no human guards. It was watched by two Peak Nascent Soul puppets.

The craftsmanship of these two puppets was rather special. Unlike puppets of the Rain World or the Northern Heaven, they were made entirely of wood.

The materials of the two puppets were nothing special, yet profound formation seals were carved upon them. The complexity of those seals was such that even with Ning Fan’s formation skill he could discern only a fraction.

Ning Fan’s eyes sharpened at once as he pondered inwardly.

These two puppets might not be of a high grade, but whoever made them was absolutely an extremely formidable puppet master.

Facing the beasts’ cold stares, Ning Fan said little. He merely released a trace of aura, roughly at the Peak Nascent Soul level.

Sensing Ning Fan’s Peak Nascent Soul aura, the chill in the beasts’ pupils vanished at once. They crouched again and said arrogantly to him, “Your cultivation is sufficient. You may enter!”

Most puppets’ eyes were hollow, yet these two could show arrogant expressions...

Ning Fan was quite certain these two puppet beasts were by no means puppets with true intelligence, yet they could display proud looks... The master who made them was truly extraordinary.

He slowly stepped into the Everlasting Pavilion. On the first floor, row upon row of jade shelves displayed goods one after another.

Every jade shelf was covered in layers of formation light, and puppet beasts stood guard beside them as well.

Quite a few Peak Nascent Soul great cultivators were selecting items on the first floor. Those who received them were humanoid puppets.

The moment Ning Fan entered the Everlasting Pavilion, a gracefully smiling female puppet approached with light lotus steps.

This puppet was an intelligent puppet with half-step Divine Transformation cultivation. Her eyes were like a clear spring, even more vivid than a living person’s by a fraction.

“May I ask what this fellow Daoist wishes to purchase at our Everlasting Pavilion? This humble one is Lou Ruo, shopkeeper of the first floor.”

“A map,” Ning Fan answered coolly.

“Oh? What kind of map does fellow Daoist wish to buy? On this shelf here there are maps of the Earth Abyss Kingdom, maps of the Vast Sea Kingdom, maps of the Carefree Kingdom...”

The woman pointed to a jade shelf beside them, covered with countless jade slips, each branded with map information.

Beside every jade slip were marked the map’s range and its price.

“I want a map of the entire Northern Tree Ocean.”

Ning Fan’s cool voice rang across the first floor. He then took out a storage pouch and handed it to the female puppet. Inside it were a million immortal jades.

His voice was not loud, yet with the hearing of every Peak Nascent Soul old monster on the first floor, they naturally all heard him.

Quite a few people looked toward Ning Fan and that storage pouch holding a million immortal jades, their gazes holding a trace of shock and heat.

Even Peak Nascent Soul old monsters were not all willing to spend a million immortal jades on a single map.

There were also those who had come to the Everlasting Pavilion wanting a map of the Northern Tree Ocean, yet who gave up the moment they heard the price.

Several Peak Nascent Soul old monsters sized Ning Fan up with probing looks, finding his face somewhat unfamiliar, guessing at his background and origins.

A few fierce-looking old monsters paid him covert attention. Seeing how generously he spent, they faintly treated him as a fat sheep, scheming who knew what...

Ning Fan did not even glance at those ill-intentioned old monsters. To him, mere Peak Nascent Soul cultivators were nothing to fear.

The female puppet took the storage pouch, swept it with her divine sense, and smiled meaningfully at Ning Fan.

“Fellow Daoist wishes to buy a map of the Northern Tree Ocean. May I ask for what purpose?”

“...”

Ning Fan did not answer the woman’s question. He merely walked slowly toward a jade shelf beside him and reached for a certain jade slip upon it.

That jade slip was precisely the map of the Northern Tree Ocean.

The formation light set upon the jade shelf was mid-grade Divine-tier formation light. Even Divine Transformation cultivators would not lightly reach for goods on the shelves.

Seeing Ning Fan take the jade slip directly, the woman was slightly startled and was about to stop him when an aged voice suddenly sounded by her ear.

“No need to stop him. This youth hides deep. He will not be harmed by mere Divine-tier formation light.”

Indeed, as that mysterious old man had said, Ning Fan passed straight through the formation light, took the map jade slip, and turned to leave, completely unharmed by the light!

Yet before leaving, Ning Fan suddenly raised his head and swept a meaningful glance toward the upper floors of the Everlasting Pavilion.

On the first floor of the Everlasting Pavilion, every Peak Nascent Soul old monster was stunned.

No matter how dull they were, they could see Ning Fan’s strength. If even Divine-tier formation light could not harm him, he naturally could not be a Nascent Soul cultivator. He was very likely a Divine Transformation old monster!

Those Peak Nascent Soul cultivators who had harbored ill intent earlier all showed fear at the thought that Ning Fan might be a Divine Transformation old monster. Who would still dare scheme against him?

Meeting that backward glance, an old man in brown robes on the top floor of the Everlasting Pavilion first froze, then sank into thought.

“Just what is this youth’s cultivation? He should already have entered the Void Refinement stage. Only, I do not know whether he is a Void Glimpse cultivator or a Void Inquiry cultivator... Perhaps even higher...”

“On this youth’s body there is an extremely strong puppet aura... yet that puppet seems already damaged. Rather a pity...”

“Upon that puppet there lingers a thread of ancient aura. Ancient runes should be carved upon it. I wonder whether this youth would sell those puppet fragments...”

The brown-robed old man’s thoughts spun. After a moment he reached a decision and sent several voice transmissions to the female puppet on the first floor.

At once, the female puppet hurried a few steps before Ning Fan could leave and detained him, saying,

“Fellow Daoist, please wait. My master invites fellow Daoist to the top floor of the Everlasting Pavilion for a word.”

“Your master...” Ning Fan’s gaze was calm, showing no emotion at all.

The master of the Everlasting Pavilion was merely a Void Glimpse cultivator. Such cultivation was not enough to pose any threat to Ning Fan, so he naturally had no misgivings.

After a moment’s thought, Ning Fan said to the female puppet, “Lead the way.”

He rather wanted to see what the master of the Everlasting Pavilion wanted with him.

Ning Fan followed the woman up toward the top floor. Cultivators they met along the way all looked shocked as they watched him ascend.

From the second floor onward, those who came to shop were at least Divine Transformation old monsters.

In the eyes of those Divine Transformation old monsters, Ning Fan was merely a Peak Nascent Soul cultivator.

They could hardly imagine why a Peak Nascent Soul cultivator was qualified to ascend to the second floor, much less climb toward even higher floors!

“Who is this man! Is he climbing all the way to the top floor?!”

“The top floor! That is where the master of the Everlasting Pavilion receives Void Refinement cultivators! Could this Peak Nascent Soul cultivator actually be a Void Refinement old monster?!”

“Hiss! This man looks unremarkable, yet he is a Void Refinement old monster?! Experts of that level, looking across the entire Northern Tree Ocean, are overlord-level figures who dominate a region... We must not offend this man!”

Ning Fan went all the way to the top floor. The woman withdrew, and Ning Fan pushed the door open alone.

On the top floor was a simply furnished loft. A brown-robed old man sat in a rattan chair, drinking tea alone.

Behind him stood eight wooden puppet men, each with half-step Void Refinement cultivation!

Seeing Ning Fan arrive, the old man immediately smiled, fetched a cup and poured tea for him, and said courteously, “Fellow Daoist, please sit. This is top-grade spirit tea this old man purchased from Bamboo Hang Country—Bamboo Hang Cloud Mist Tea, steeped in century-old cold spring water and boiled over sixth-grade void fire. Fellow Daoist, how does it taste?”

Ning Fan’s gaze swept the wooden puppets thoughtfully, then moved away. He sat directly in the rattan chair opposite, lifted the spirit tea, and sipped carefully.

The tea’s spiritual energy was striking. The leaves were like miniature bamboo leaves. Once in the mouth, the tea melted open like cloud and mist, carrying the clear fragrance of emerald bamboo.

“Good tea.”

Ning Fan set down the mutton-fat jade teacup and looked meaningfully at the brown-robed old man.

The old man was also carefully sizing Ning Fan up, and faintly released his divine sense, wanting to perceive Ning Fan’s exact cultivation.

Yet the moment his divine sense touched Ning Fan’s body, it vanished like a clay ox into the sea. He could not see Ning Fan’s depths at all.

The old man’s gaze shook. He was at least a Void Glimpse cultivator, and his divine sense was not weak among Void Glimpse experts, yet he could not probe even a shred of Ning Fan’s foundation...

“How deeply restrained this youth’s aura is! He is absolutely no Void Glimpse cultivator. He must not be offended!”

Wariness rose in the old man’s heart toward Ning Fan, while the puppet aura seeping from Ning Fan’s body greatly interested him.

He fell slightly silent. Ning Fan also smiled and said nothing.

A moment later, the brown-robed old man withdrew his divine sense and cupped his fists toward Ning Fan.

“This old man is Guang Hanzi, lord of Vast Frost City and also master of the Everlasting Pavilion. This old man prides himself on a wide circle of acquaintances in the Northern Tree Ocean, yet fellow Daoist looks somewhat unfamiliar. May I ask fellow Daoist’s honored name?”

“Lu Bei.” Ning Fan smiled and lifted the teacup for another light sip.

This time he had secretly entered the Tree World. It would not do to expose his identity. With his reputation in the Rain World, there were likely quite a few in the Tree World who had heard of the White-Robed Marquis’s great name.

Ning Fan, Zhou Ming... both names were tightly bound to the White-Robed Marquis’s identity and were unsuitable to use.

If others learned that the mighty White-Robed Marquis had slipped into the Tree World, someone might suspect he harbored designs on the Tree World and stir up trouble...

Among the Nine Worlds, passage between realms was managed with extreme strictness. Even for the Nirvana Emperor to send people into the Rain World to kill required the expenditure of an Imperial Kill Token, and one token could kill only one person...

Ning Fan was not so arrogant as to expose his Rain World identity and fight the three sovereigns of the Tree World alone, running rampant across the Tree World.

“So it is Fellow Daoist Lu. Forgive my discourtesy!” Guang Hanzi smiled with his mouth, yet felt deeply strange in his heart.

The name Lu Bei was extremely unfamiliar. This man was certainly no cultivator of the Northern Tree Ocean.

He pondered inwardly. Could the youth before him be a Tree World cultivator from some other Tree Ocean?

Gathering his thoughts, Guang Hanzi exchanged a few more courteous words with Ning Fan, and Ning Fan answered unhurriedly and fluently.

As they talked, time slipped by bit by bit. Guang Hanzi rubbed his forehead. He felt it was time to come to the point.

“This old man sensed a thread of puppet aura from fellow Daoist’s body... That puppet is strong, extremely strong. Ancient runes must certainly be branded upon it. Only, according to this old man’s senses, the puppet is already damaged. Truly a pity. This old man wishes to exchange with fellow Daoist for some of those puppet fragments. I wonder whether fellow Daoist would agree to this old man’s request?”

“Puppets?”

Ning Fan’s eyes narrowed. Vigilance rose inwardly.

His Void Fragmentation puppets were hidden on his person. Even the Rain Sovereign could not detect them, yet Guang Hanzi could. He must possess some special secret art for sensing puppets.

The Fire-Holding and Purple Lightning puppets were Heavenly Tribulation puppets. Even damaged, they held enormous value.

If word that Ning Fan carried the two puppets leaked out, trouble would likely follow.

Had Guang Hanzi invited him here to scheme after his puppet fragments...?

Yet then his thoughts turned... Guang Hanzi seemed rather proficient in puppet arts. He wondered whether this man could repair Void Fragmentation puppets.

Seeing the vigilance on Ning Fan’s face, Guang Hanzi immediately waved his hands again and again with an apologetic smile. “Fellow Daoist, do not misunderstand. This old man harbors absolutely no designs upon fellow Daoist! This old man merely wishes to look at the ancient runes upon fellow Daoist’s puppet fragments...”

Guang Hanzi’s words had barely fallen when a world-shaking roar suddenly erupted outside the Everlasting Pavilion. The entire Vast Frost City plunged into violent quaking.

That roar was deafening—the sound of Vast Frost City’s protective grand formation being broken by someone.

Guang Hanzi’s face changed. He immediately shook his form, took his puppets with him out of the Everlasting Pavilion, and stood upon the heavens.

Ning Fan showed a thoughtful look and likewise shook his form, rising into the sky.

There, in the open air, a black-robed young man stood upon the void. His expression was extremely cold and severe. His Void Inquiry presence swept the long sky, chilling countless low-level cultivators in Vast Frost City to the bone.