Grasping Evil

The moment the black-robed young man shattered the grand formation of Vast Frost City, the entire city erupted. Cries of shock rolled through the streets like a tide!

"This man... this man is the young lord of Flying Flower Valley—'Flying Flower Marquis' Du Yu!"

"What?! This is the Flying Flower Young Lord who commands a million bandit cultivators of Flying Flower Valley? Rumor has it he is the only personal disciple of the Vine Sovereign of the Western Tree Ocean. Though he is merely at Void Inquiry, he runs rampant across the Northern Tree Ocean and no one dares provoke him. Even those Void Fragmentation old monsters who hide from the world dare not move against him lightly..."

"What?! Du Yu is actually the Vine Sovereign's only disciple! The Vine Sovereign... that is the Tree Sovereign who rules the Western Tree Ocean, with the terrifying cultivation of the Fifth Heavenly Layer of Void Fragmentation. Alone, he is enough to dominate the Northern Tree Ocean! With such a fearsome master behind Du Yu, who would dare provoke him?"

"Du Yu shattered Vast Frost City's grand formation the moment he arrived. I fear he comes with ill intent... From his words, someone in Vast Frost City has killed people of Flying Flower Valley... I wonder which cultivator was bold enough to kill Du Yu's men. Now that Du Yu has come in person for revenge, that man is as good as dead."

"I rather think Du Yu's true purpose in coming is not what it seems... I heard he once formed a grudge with the lord of Vast Frost City for some reason. Perhaps he has come to make trouble for Guang Hanzi..."

Guang Hanzi and Ning Fan rose into the air one after another, facing Du Yu across a distance of ten thousand zhang.

Du Yu stood in the open sky with his hands behind his back. His black robe snapped in the wind. His face was lean and dry, his gaze gloomy, and a fierce heat radiated from his body.

Seeing Du Yu arrive with such ferocity, Guang Hanzi's expression turned somewhat flustered. Rubbing his hands and forcing a smile, he was about to step forward and greet him.

In the Earth Abyss Kingdom, Du Yu's fierce reputation was far too great, and it was said he had been taken as a personal disciple by the Vine Sovereign of the Western Tree Ocean... Guang Hanzi dared not offend him.

"Brother Du has come to my Vast Frost City. May I ask what guidance you bring?"

Guang Hanzi had only meant to exchange a few courteous words and cool Du Yu's anger, yet Du Yu's gaze swept over him coldly. With a disdainful snort, Du Yu said, "Brother Du? Hmph. Who is your Brother Du! Get lost!"

Du Yu's eyes sank. Looking at Guang Hanzi and Ning Fan who had appeared one after another, he suddenly took a step forward. In that instant, a presence like a blazing sun pressed down upon the two of them.

Above the sky, the phantom of a scarlet sun abruptly appeared!

That crimson sun radiated ten thousand zhang of fiery light. The moment it showed itself, the ten-thousand-li domain of Vast Frost City became a steamer. The blazing sun scorched like fire.

At a single glance, Du Yu saw that Ning Fan, who stood with Guang Hanzi, was the one who had killed his subordinates!

Without mercy he unleashed his presence, confident he could injure Guang Hanzi with the shock and kill Ning Fan outright!

"This is..." Ning Fan looked at the phantom of the scarlet sun. His gaze tightened slightly, as if he had discerned something, yet he showed no fear.

"This is bad!" The moment Guang Hanzi saw the scarlet sun phantom, his face changed drastically and he fled in haste.

Guang Hanzi knew—and many cultivators of the Northern Tree Ocean knew!

Du Yu, young lord of Flying Flower Valley, possessed an extremely formidable constitution. When he fought, he could summon a Yang Shadow. Among those of the same Void Inquiry Stage, few could contend with him.

Once Du Yu called forth the Yang Shadow, fear rose in Guang Hanzi's heart. He dared not fight at all and withdrew at once.

Unfortunately, though Guang Hanzi wished to retreat, he was still too slow.

Du Yu's finger seals shifted. His scorching presence surged like fire and formed a giant blazing-sun hand that seized Guang Hanzi and passed straight through his body. With Guang Hanzi's mere Void Glimpse cultivation, he could not withstand the force of that claw!

With a single strike, Guang Hanzi's hair and beard were scorched black, the ribs in his chest shattered, and he was forced back dozens of steps in midair before he steadied himself. He coughed blood without cease, his expression filled with extreme terror.

Seeing this, Du Yu laughed coldly three times. Inwardly he thought that though Guang Hanzi was skilled in puppet arts, his divine abilities were far too weak—truly not worth mentioning, not even worth bullying.

His gaze flicked toward Ning Fan. He assumed Ning Fan had already been slain by the giant blazing-sun claw.

In Du Yu's impression, Ning Fan was at most an Early Divine Transformation cultivator and could not possibly endure his attack.

Yet when his eyes swept over Ning Fan, he found Ning Fan completely unharmed. At once, thick shock flooded Du Yu's eyes.

That scorching presence, which had been enough to injure Guang Hanzi and had formed a giant blazing-sun claw of astonishing power, could not wound Ning Fan in the slightest!

Wave after wave of fiery presence pressed down on Ning Fan. Ning Fan merely stood calmly in the air, his gaze as still as water. Suddenly he raised a hand and pressed down.

In an instant, Du Yu's presence shattered like glass, and the giant blazing-sun claw exploded with a roar into countless waves of fire!

Du Yu's attack could not harm Ning Fan at all!

Du Yu stared at Ning Fan in disbelief. He could not accept that a mere Divine Transformation junior could receive his blazing-sun strike!

"This youth is not at Divine Transformation!"

He understood something then. Settling his mind, he swept his divine sense fiercely toward Ning Fan, intending to see Ning Fan's true depth.

But the moment his divine sense touched Ning Fan, it vanished like a clay ox entering the sea.

Ning Fan raised his hand again and pressed a palm toward Du Yu's divine sense. In an instant, all the divine sense Du Yu had released shattered. Pain stabbed through Du Yu's sea of consciousness. He coughed blood and staggered back, shaken beyond measure, then flew into a rage of shame.

"Void Inquiry!"

Though Ning Fan had shattered his divine sense, Du Yu still saw that Ning Fan was a true Void Inquiry cultivator!

His gaze sank. Had he known earlier that Ning Fan was at Void Inquiry, he would never have come alone to Vast Frost City to provoke him. At the very least, he would have brought more men.

What of Void Inquiry? Even Void Pierce or Absolute Void—so long as he prepared thoroughly, Du Yu dared to kill them!

He put away his shock and looked at Ning Fan with a cold smile, speaking with disdain.

"I did not expect you to actually be a Void Inquiry cultivator... But so what if you are Void Inquiry? You dared injure people of my Flying Flower Valley and have already enraged this young lord. In the end, you cannot escape death! Even if you were Void Pierce, Absolute Void, or Return to Origin Absolute Void, you still could not afford to provoke this young lord. Seeing that your cultivation is not weak, this young lord will give you a chance. If you kneel, admit your fault, and allow me to plant a restriction so that you become my slave, this young lord may spare your life. Otherwise... do not think of leaving the Earth Abyss Kingdom alive! I do not mind telling you—this young lord is the personal disciple of the Vine Sovereign of the Western Tree Ocean. Within this Northern Tree Ocean, there are Void Fragmentation cultivators secretly protecting me. You had best not defy this young lord's command!"

"This young lord gives you only three breaths to consider. Either become my slave, or... die!"

Ning Fan's gaze turned cold. In his life he had seen many cultivators, but one as arrogant as Du Yu—this was absolutely the first.

Thinking carefully, he understood why Du Yu was so arrogant.

Du Yu had a master who shook the Tree World—the Vine Sovereign of the Western Tree Ocean. That was the first reason for his arrogance.

Du Yu's bone age was no more than five thousand years, yet he already possessed Void Inquiry cultivation, formidable divine abilities, an extremely special constitution, and commanded a million bandit cultivators. That was the second reason for his arrogance.

And the final reason for Du Yu's arrogant, violent temperament was also his constitution...

Du Yu's constitution was the Crimson Yang Body, one of the Seven Yang Bodies. Among the Seven Yang Bodies, the Crimson Yang Body was the most tyrannical of the Yang Bodies.

Those born with this constitution excelled at cultivating dual-cultivation devil arts, but every woman they took as a cauldron was certain to die.

This constitution had a drawback. Though its possessors excelled at blazing-sun divine abilities, as their Yang force rose, their temperaments grew ever more violent, manic, and extreme.

Ning Fan would never kowtow and apologize to Du Yu, much less become his slave.

On the contrary, because of Du Yu's constitution, Ning Fan would kill him!

Du Yu was one of the Seven Yang Bodies—exactly the kind of Yang Body possessor Ning Fan sought.

He had delivered himself to the door to die. Ning Fan would not let him go.

Though Du Yu's background was powerful and he had a Tree Sovereign of the Western Tree Ocean as his master, to Ning Fan that background was still not enough to frighten him.

Guang Hanzi was still sunk in deep shock.

When he had met Ning Fan in the Everlasting Pavilion, he had only seen that Ning Fan possessed Void Refinement cultivation. He could not discern the exact realm.

Only now, hearing Du Yu's furious roar, did Guang Hanzi learn that Ning Fan was actually a Void Inquiry cultivator—and that Ning Fan's divine abilities were rather formidable. With a casual palm he could crush Du Yu's attack and extinguish Du Yu's divine sense.

Guang Hanzi thought to himself that even some Void Pierce cultivators might not possess divine abilities as vast as Ning Fan's.

He admitted Ning Fan was formidable, yet he did not believe Ning Fan dared offend Du Yu, nor that Ning Fan could afford to provoke him.

"This Lu Bei's divine abilities are extraordinary. Du Yu is absolutely no match for him. But Du Yu is the personal disciple of the Vine Sovereign of the Western Tree Ocean. Even the Void Fragmentation experts of the Northern Tree Ocean who never show themselves must still fear Du Yu to some degree. With that background, Du Yu runs rampant through the world. Who in the Northern Tree Ocean dares injure him... Today this Lu Bei has offended Du Yu. I had best cut all ties with Lu Bei, lest I be dragged down with him..."

Guang Hanzi sighed. He had sensed that Ning Fan carried damaged ancient puppets and had still wanted to exchange puppet fragments with him.

Now that he knew Ning Fan had offended Du Yu, he dared not deepen his acquaintance with Ning Fan no matter what.

Though Guang Hanzi had also formed a grudge with Du Yu, it was only a petty quarrel with room to maneuver.

If he knowingly associated with Ning Fan while Du Yu hated him, he might offend Du Yu beyond all repair...

Guang Hanzi gritted his teeth, slanted a glance at Ning Fan, and shook his head, as if he had made up his mind.

His escaping light flashed, and he actually fled to Du Yu's side, chuckling apologetically.

"Flying Flower Marquis, please calm your anger. This old man has no relation whatever with this Lu Bei. He is not a person of the Northern Tree Ocean. Flying Flower Marquis must not resent this old man because of him. This old man is innocent."

Guang Hanzi's words both cut ties with Ning Fan and secretly curried favor with Du Yu.

His words seemed careless, yet they pointed out Ning Fan's name and origin. He was selling Ning Fan's information to please Du Yu.

Du Yu knew little about Ning Fan. Hearing Guang Hanzi's words, he immediately laughed coldly.

"So this youth is named Lu Bei, and he is not of the Northern Tree Ocean..."

Du Yu raised his head coldly and ordered Ning Fan, "Lu Bei, is it? This young lord will count to three. If you still refuse to become a slave, do not blame this young lord for showing no mercy!"

"Flying Flower Marquis speaks truly! Daoist Lu, in this old man's humble opinion, you had best kowtow and apologize to Flying Flower Marquis. Living in this world, there are some people one must not offend. You need to understand that." Guang Hanzi was actually speaking for Du Yu as well.

Du Yu gave a cold laugh and began to count.

"One!"

"Two!"

A cold gleam flashed in Ning Fan's eyes. He had not expected that, to curry favor with Du Yu, Guang Hanzi would so decisively sell his life and information.

Fortunately, his friendship with Guang Hanzi was not deep, so Guang Hanzi's act could hardly be called betrayal.

As for the name Guang Hanzi had revealed, it was a false name from the start. Ning Fan naturally did not care.

Vast Frost City fell into deathly silence. Many cultivators sighed inwardly. In their view, even if Ning Fan was a Void Inquiry cultivator, he ought to yield before such power...

Du Yu himself was not terrifying, but the Vine Sovereign behind him was far too terrifying.

In everyone's eyes, since Ning Fan had cultivated to Void Inquiry, he must know how hard the path of cultivation was and how precious longevity was. Naturally he would be one who cherished his life, and in the end he would bow his head to Du Yu.

No one expected that the instant Du Yu counted "three," Ning Fan suddenly took a step forward and pointed a finger at Du Yu!

He had actually launched an attack on Du Yu, seeking to take Du Yu's life!

"Minor Void Swords..."

Ning Fan's tone was indifferent. As his finger pointed down, a million void sword shadows appeared across the heavens and descended like a dense rain of blades.

Under that rain-like sword radiance, Du Yu felt certain death. It was as if the one striking him was not Ning Fan but an Absolute Void old monster!

The force of Ning Fan's single strike surpassed that of an ordinary Absolute Void cultivator!

Du Yu had neither expected Ning Fan's strength to be so formidable, nor that Ning Fan would disregard the Vine Sovereign's fame and dare strike at him!

Had Du Yu known Ning Fan was so lawless and so powerful, he would have withdrawn at once.

Even if he wished to take revenge afterward, he would have brought a great host and several Absolute Void experts, ensuring absolute certainty before coming for Ning Fan's life!

Chi! Chi! Chi!

The dense sword rain fell. At the brink of certain death, Du Yu hastily summoned his spirit armor, yet it shattered completely.

In his panic he slapped his storage bag and took out a life-preserving jade pendant—a gift from the Vine Sovereign that could preserve his life once and withstand a single Void Fragmentation strike!

Du Yu crushed the life-preserving jade pendant. A cyan light screen slowly rose and formed a cocoon of light that covered him within.

Though the million Minor Void Swords were formidable, they ultimately failed to cut through that cyan light cocoon.

Having blocked Ning Fan's strike with the jade pendant, Du Yu's heart was filled with terror. On one hand he crushed thirteen distress jade slips in succession; on the other, without choosing a direction carefully, he fled at top speed!

The instant he crushed those thirteen jade slips, across the five hundred cultivation countries of the Northern Tree Ocean, three Void Fragmentation experts and ten Absolute Void experts all received word that Du Yu was in peril, and every face showed fury.

"Audacious! Du Yu is the Vine Sovereign's disciple. Who dares injure him!"

"Du Yu is of great use to the Vine Sovereign. If Du Yu dies, the Vine Sovereign will certainly blame us for failing to protect him. Go to his rescue at once!"

In a moment, thirteen peerless experts set out together, racing straight for the Earth Abyss Kingdom!

They hardened their hearts. Whoever had provoked Du Yu, they would annihilate him!

Seeing Du Yu crush the jade slips and turn to flee, Ning Fan's expression did not change. He took a step and vanished in an instant.

In the next breath he appeared directly in front of Du Yu, raised a finger, and pointed again. A million Minor Void Swords swept forth like a gale stripping dead leaves, like locusts blotting the sky, cutting toward Du Yu without a gap!

This time Du Yu had no life-preserving jade pendant left. Staring at the million sword shadows, despair rose in his heart, and he actually begged the indifferent Ning Fan for mercy.

"Brother Lu, spare me! This Du failed to recognize Mount Tai. Today I have offended Brother Lu. Another day I will certainly come to apologize in person. Please, Brother Lu, spare my life!"

"..."

Ning Fan never uttered a word. He let the million void sword shadows cut Du Yu into a sieve.

Then he casually took out a pocket-world magic treasure shaped like a cloth bag, seized Du Yu's ruined corpse, and tossed it inside.

From the moment Ning Fan suddenly struck to the moment he slew Du Yu, only a few breaths had passed!

Guang Hanzi had already been frightened pale by Ning Fan. Every cultivator in Vast Frost City—whether of this country or another—was deeply shaken!

They knew Ning Fan had slain Du Yu and had already offended the Vine Sovereign of the Western Tree Ocean!

Ning Fan was simply a lawless devil. This man must never be provoked. Even with a background as vast as the heavens, offending him meant certain death!

"Daoist L-Lu..." Thinking of how he had sided with Du Yu and leaked Ning Fan's details, Guang Hanzi's heart turned cold. He did not know whether Ning Fan would hold a grudge and kill him.

Yet Ning Fan only gave Guang Hanzi a cold glance and asked indifferently, "Can you refine puppets?"

It was as if the moment Guang Hanzi said he could not, Ning Fan would annihilate him.

"I can!" Guang Hanzi gritted his teeth. He secretly guessed that if he said he could not, Ning Fan would certainly reduce him to ash.

"In that case, come with me!"

Ning Fan raised a finger lightly and pressed it toward Guang Hanzi, intending to plant a restriction and make him a slave.

Guang Hanzi's face was bitter, yet he dared not resist at all. He allowed Ning Fan to plant the restriction.

Then Ning Fan took Guang Hanzi into the pocket-world cloth bag. He meant to abduct this man and have him repair puppets.

Had Guang Hanzi not courted death, Ning Fan would at most have slain Du Yu alone and would not have touched Guang Hanzi's life.

Unfortunately, Guang Hanzi had sold Ning Fan out to please Du Yu. Ning Fan would naturally show no mercy.

Vast Frost City was deathly silent, without a word spoken.

Ning Fan stood in the air and looked down upon the vast cultivation city beneath his feet.

He had now offended the Vine Sovereign. In days to come he would likely find no peace in the Tree World; it would surely be filled with killing tribulations.

That being so, there was no need for him to act low-key any longer.

Vast Frost City had a hundred thousand cultivation shops. There were no few fine things among them...

Ning Fan turned into a streak of escaping light and descended upon Vast Frost City once more.

Before leaving this city, he might as well loot every fine thing it held.