Grasping Evil

Vast Frost City was the greatest trading city of the Northern Tree Ocean, with a hundred thousand cultivation shops in all.

Nominally, Guang Hanzi was the city lord, yet in secret the city involved the vital interests of dozens of Void Refinement-level great powers.

Ning Fan slew Du Yu in Vast Frost City, abducted Guang Hanzi, and looted the entire city. Within a single day, his fierce name spread across the whole Northern Tree Ocean!

When the thirteen Absolute Void and Void Fragmentation old monsters arrived at Vast Frost City, Ning Fan was long gone, and the entire city had been stripped bare.

Three days later, the Vine Sovereign of the Western Tree Ocean learned that Du Yu had been killed. He flew into a towering rage and sent countless experts to hunt Ning Fan down.

Ten days later, wanted posters for Ning Fan covered every corner of the Western Tree Ocean and the Northern Tree Ocean.

"The villain Lu Bei, Void Inquiry cultivation, slew the Vine Sovereign's disciple in the Earth Abyss Kingdom of the Northern Tree Ocean. The Vine Sovereign is enraged and issues a Tree World-wide warrant for this man! Whoever slays Lu Bei shall be rewarded with ten billion immortal jades and ten bottles of sixth-revolution medicinal pills!"

The Eastern Tree Ocean and Southern Tree Ocean did not strictly hunt Ning Fan—likely because the Tree Sovereigns of those two Tree Oceans did not get along with the Vine Sovereign.

In the Northern Tree Ocean, upon a deserted tree mountain, Ning Fan held a wanted poster, his gaze cold.

After looting Vast Frost City, he had left at once, fleeing across dozens of cultivation countries and dodging the pursuit of countless experts.

"I did not expect to be hunted by the Vine Sovereign of the Western Tree Ocean. That makes infiltrating the Western Tree Ocean rather troublesome..."

The Fire Tree Clan lay in the Western Tree Ocean—the place Ning Fan intended to go.

Yet the Western Tree Ocean was also the Vine Sovereign's territory. Now that Ning Fan had slain Du Yu and enraged the Vine Sovereign, if he went to the Western Tree Ocean he would likely be hunted at once by countless cultivators...

The Western Tree Ocean was out of the question for now, and the Northern Tree Ocean was extremely dangerous as well.

From looting Vast Frost City, Ning Fan had seized twenty billion immortal jades, countless spirit medicines, magic treasures, and cultivation methods, and even obtained four Void Refinement Dao Fruits.

That act had likewise offended countless powers of the Northern Tree Ocean. As far as Ning Fan knew, among the five hundred-odd cultivation countries of the Northern Tree Ocean, countless forces now wished him dead...

"The Western Tree Ocean is not suitable for now. I can remain in the Tree World for three years; there is no rush to visit the Fire Tree Clan. The Northern Tree Ocean is likewise no place for a long stay. Right now, three Void Fragmentation experts in the Northern Tree Ocean alone are hunting me... Offending the Vine Sovereign is truly troublesome—but so what if I offended him?"

There was not the slightest ripple of emotion in Ning Fan's gaze.

Du Yu had delivered himself to the door to die. Having killed him, Ning Fan naturally felt no regret.

His thoughts turned swiftly. Since there was no rush to visit the Fire Tree Clan, he could first attend to other matters.

While looting Vast Frost City, Ning Fan had seized several hundred Tree Spirit Fruits.

These fruits were very similar to Divine Intent Stones and could raise one's Intent cultivation. They were a special spirit fruit that grew in the Eastern Tree Ocean of the Tree World.

Divine Intent Stones were a mineral of the Rain World, hard to form and limited in number.

Tree Spirit Fruits, however, were spirit fruits. So long as one spent enough to cultivate them, one could obtain as many as one wished.

Ning Fan's gaze stirred. To raise his Rain Intent to the first grade, he did not know how many Divine Intent Stones he would need. Even all the Divine Intent Stones of the Rain World combined might not be enough for Ning Fan to break through to first-grade Intent.

But in the Tree World... so long as he obtained enough Tree Spirit Fruits, first-grade Intent was not necessarily impossible!

Tree Spirit Fruits were a specialty of the Eastern Tree Ocean. If Ning Fan wanted large quantities of them, he might well have to make a trip to the Eastern Tree Ocean.

The Tree Sovereign of the Southern Tree Ocean was the Willow Sovereign. The Tree Sovereign of the Eastern Tree Ocean was the Bamboo Sovereign...

"One way or another, I must visit the Eastern Tree Ocean once. But before leaving, I can first repair the puppets and deal with the Yang Body and the spoils of war..."

Ning Fan formed seals and displayed a wood-escape technique seized from Vast Frost City. His body slowly sank into the tree mountain.

He waved out sword light, opened a vast space at the mountain's heart, embedded many moonlight stones in the walls for illumination, and at once carved out a temporary cave dwelling.

Then he patted the pocket-world cloth-bag magic treasure and released Guang Hanzi, as if he had something to ask.

Guang Hanzi had already been planted with a restriction by Ning Fan and taken as a slave. In this life he dared not betray him.

In the dozen-odd days since Ning Fan captured him, Guang Hanzi had regretted endlessly—regretted why he had sold Ning Fan out and curried favor with Du Yu, bringing this disaster upon himself.

A perfectly good Void Glimpse city lord had now fallen to being another's slave. His end was truly somewhat tragic.

He was still blaming himself when Ning Fan suddenly released him. At once he put away every expression and dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction, terrified of angering Ning Fan.

Ning Fan's gaze swept coldly over Guang Hanzi. Fear rose in Guang Hanzi's heart. He immediately rubbed his hands and smiled apologetically. "Daoist Lu—no, no, I should call you Master. May I ask why Master has summoned this subordinate? Even if this subordinate must go through fire and water, he will certainly complete Master's command!"

Guang Hanzi was a man who knew how to read the situation and could bend as well as stretch. Though he regretted and feared being captured by Ning Fan, he knew to lower his posture and serve Ning Fan with utmost respect as a slave.

Guang Hanzi dared not be disrespectful. His discernment was not weak. He could see that Ning Fan was a devil who feared nothing under heaven. Even the Vine Sovereign's fame could not frighten him. With such a fierce devil, life and death hung on a single thought. Guang Hanzi absolutely dared not offend him.

"I spared your life. Do you know why?" Ning Fan asked lightly.

"Master wishes this subordinate to repair puppets?" Guang Hanzi asked tentatively.

"Correct. I have two puppets here. If you can repair them, I will remove your restriction and grant you freedom. If you cannot repair them..."

Ning Fan left the rest unsaid, yet Guang Hanzi could guess roughly what followed, and tension flooded his heart at once.

He did not dare hope Ning Fan would free him. He only hoped Ning Fan would not kill him...

"M-Master, rest assured. This subordinate will certainly do everything in his power to help Master repair the puppets..."

"Very good. The puppets are here. See how much confidence you have of repairing them!"

Ning Fan patted his storage bag and took out countless puppet fragments, placing them in two piles on the ground.

One pile of puppet fragments radiated a dense aura of flame. The other flowed with dense strands of purple lightning.

These two piles of puppet fragments were precisely the Fire-Holding and Purple Lightning puppets.

The instant the two piles of fragments appeared, a vast puppet aura spread out, making the entire tree mountain tremble slightly.

Guang Hanzi's gaze was shaken beyond measure. A wooden token at his waist shattered outright!

Back then, he had sensed the puppets on Ning Fan precisely by means of this wooden token.

Now that magic-treasure token could not withstand the aura of the two puppets' fragments and was destroyed...

Guang Hanzi stared in ashen-faced shock at the two piles of puppet remnants before him. He could not believe the puppets on Ning Fan were such terrifying things!

"Void Fragmentation puppets! No—not only that. These are... Heavenly Tribulation puppets!!!"

He looked toward Ning Fan with boundless terror. Upon these two puppets there still remained restrictions Ning Fan had planted!

Guang Hanzi of course understood what that meant... He could not imagine that Ning Fan had actually captured Heavenly Tribulation envoys as puppets!

"This man is a madman—an absolute madman! He dares capture even Heavenly Tribulation puppets. He dares defy even the Heavenly Dao! No wonder he does not fear the Vine Sovereign... This man is simply one who knows no law under heaven!"

"And since he can capture even Void Fragmentation puppets, his divine abilities are absolutely not simple! He is not an ordinary Void Refinement cultivator—absolutely not!"

Guang Hanzi's gaze was shaken beyond measure, yet Ning Fan's eyes remained as calm as water.

"How much confidence do you have of repairing these two puppets?"

Hearing Ning Fan's question, Guang Hanzi's heart lurched. He came back to himself and carefully examined the two piles of puppet remnants once more.

He was a puppet master. In puppet arts alone, he could crown the Tree World.

With enough materials, he could even manufacture Void Refinement puppets—but Void Fragmentation puppets... this was the first time he had ever seen them.

Honestly speaking, he had not the slightest confidence of repairing these two puppets, yet such words he naturally dared not tell Ning Fan.

If he could not repair them, for the offense alone Ning Fan would never let him go.

"I have fi... fifty percent confidence of repairing these two puppets..." Guang Hanzi told a small lie, looked up with an apologetic smile—and met Ning Fan's cold, sharp gaze.

"Deceiving me is not a wise choice!"

With Ning Fan's mind, a change in Guang Hanzi's expression was enough for him to see that Guang Hanzi was lying.

Guang Hanzi had no confidence of repairing the two puppets. That left Ning Fan slightly disappointed, yet it was also within his expectations.

Guang Hanzi was, after all, only a Void Glimpse cultivator. If he could repair Void Fragmentation puppets, that would be far too heaven-defying.

"Since you cannot repair the puppets, then..."

A look of indifference flashed through Ning Fan's eyes. He took a step forward, killing intent stirring.

Guang Hanzi felt his heart seize with cold. Both knees trembled.

Having cultivated to this stage, who would willingly die!

Guang Hanzi gritted his teeth. He was unwilling to die. He threw caution to the wind!

"Master, calm your anger! This subordinate indeed cannot repair these two puppets, but this subordinate's master once repaired Void Fragmentation puppets!"

"Oh? Your master can repair Void Fragmentation puppets? Where is he? Can you take me to see him?"

Ning Fan was slightly surprised. He stopped and asked.

"My master... is already dead..." Guang Hanzi swallowed.

At those words, a cold gleam rose again in Ning Fan's eyes. Guang Hanzi panicked and immediately waved his hands to add, "Though my master is dead, the method by which he repaired Void Fragmentation puppets was passed to me... I have no confidence of repairing Void Fragmentation puppets, first because I have never attempted it, and second because the materials needed to repair Void Fragmentation puppets are all rare treasures of the age, priced beyond reach..."

"If the materials are sufficient, how much confidence do you have of repairing these two puppets?"

"Thi... thirty percent..." Guang Hanzi had learned his lesson and dared not lie again.

"Thirty percent, is it..." Ning Fan nodded, showing a look of satisfaction.

Given Guang Hanzi's cultivation, having a thirty percent chance of repairing the two puppets was already rare.

Since Guang Hanzi could repair puppets for him, it counted as atoning for his offense, and Ning Fan could naturally forgive Guang Hanzi's earlier wrong.

"Brand the required materials into a jade slip and give it to me," Ning Fan ordered.

"Yes, yes! This subordinate will brand the jade slip at once!" Guang Hanzi's heart eased. Joy showed on his face. From Ning Fan's tone, he would not be killed for the time being.

He immediately branded a jade slip, handed it to Ning Fan, and was then taken back into the pocket-world cloth bag.

Returning to the pocket-world space, Guang Hanzi let out a deep breath, his expression caught between hope and fear.

After merely exchanging a few sentences with Ning Fan, his clothes were soaked through with cold sweat...

Ning Fan was truly too terrifying, far too terrifying...

"This man treats his enemies with cold indifference, yet he also seems one who keeps his word... Since I offended him before, unless I help him repair the puppets, I will die for certain. But if I succeed in repairing them, perhaps there will still be a thread of life..."

"Ai. I only hope that after I help him repair the puppets, he will show mercy and let me leave."

In the tree-mountain cave dwelling, Ning Fan put away the puppet remnants, held the jade slip, swept it with divine sense, and then sighed softly.

The jade slip recorded the method of repairing puppets, as well as hundreds of rare spirit ores and spirit woods—all materials needed for the repair.

Among them were twelve kinds of spirit ore, each priced at over ten billion immortal jades—extremely precious items.

Though Ning Fan was not proficient in refining puppets, his understanding of them was considerable.

He swept his gaze over the jade slip, carefully weighing the repair methods recorded within. Finding no error in the method, he finally truly believed Guang Hanzi had a thirty percent chance of repairing Void Fragmentation puppets.

"No wonder Guang Hanzi claimed earlier he had no confidence of repairing them... The cost of repairing the two puppets would require at least two hundred billion immortal jades... Immortal jades alone are not enough. One must also find those rare spirit ores... With Guang Hanzi's cultivation, he absolutely could not gather enough immortal jades to repair the puppets. Even for me, obtaining such a vast sum of immortal jades and rare spirit materials is no easy matter..."

Ning Fan composed his expression and hooked a smile.

So long as there was a thirty percent chance of repairing Void Fragmentation puppets, Ning Fan would gather every material no matter what.

What he could buy, he would buy. What he could not buy, he would seize.

With the puppet matter settled for now, Ning Fan's figure flickered as he entered the dark-gold treasure pagoda of the Yuan Yao Realm and began refining his spoils of war.

Raising Rain Intent was extremely important. Repairing the puppets was extremely important. Raising his cultivation was likewise extremely important.

Ning Fan took out Divine Intent Stones and Tree Spirit Fruits and refined them one by one. Secluding himself for ten years on the pagoda's seventh floor, his Rain Intent broke through to the fourth grade.

He took out the ten bottles of Illusion Sea Pills Chu Chang'an had gifted him and consumed them one by one.

He took out the many sixth-revolution medicinal pills and Void Refinement Dao Fruits plundered from Vast Frost City and consumed them one by one.

His magical power rose strand by strand. Another twenty years passed within the pagoda.

Ning Fan's magical power rose to 9.2 million units, still 800,000 units short of Void Pierce.

He still had loose-immortal Dao Fruits he had not consumed. If he took them, he might well strike toward the Void Pierce realm in a single push...

"I must begin preparing to break through to Void Pierce... I do not know how great the Void Pierce Heavenly Tribulation will be this time. For the sake of absolute certainty, I must wait until the puppets are repaired before undergoing tribulation and advancing to Void Pierce!"

Thirty years passed on the pagoda's seventh floor, yet outside only three months had gone by.

After raising his magical power, Ning Fan did not hurry to leave the pagoda. Instead he took out Du Yu's corpse.

Du Yu possessed the Crimson Yang Body, one of the Seven Yang Bodies.

His flesh and blood held vast Yang force. If that Yang force were absorbed, the first Yang Spirit Monument Spirit of the Sun Moon Monument could be completed!

When that time came, Ning Fan could freely wield the Sun Moon Monument magic treasure and release a Void Fragmentation strike against enemies at any moment!

"Use Yin Yang Fire to temper Du Yu's corpse. Burn away the remnants of his body and refine out his Yang Spirit," Luo You reminded him within his mind.

"Mm."

Ning Fan nodded and pointed a finger at Du Yu's corpse.

The corpse floated up at once and hung in midair. Then Ning Fan opened his mouth and spat. Layers of Black Fire rolled forth and swept Du Yu's corpse into the Black Fire.

In a single instant, Du Yu's corpse turned to flying ash and dissipated, while all his Crimson Yang force remained within the Black Fire.

Within the Black Fire, the Crimson Yang force slowly condensed into a hundred-zhang scarlet sun.

As the Black Fire forged it, that sun gradually shrank.

Fifty zhang, forty zhang...

Ten zhang, five zhang...

Three chi, two chi...

Two cun, one cun...

In the end the Crimson Yang force was refined into a fire-red sphere of light an inch across.

Within that sphere, the Crimson Yang force was so pure it could be tempered no further.

Ning Fan withdrew the Black Fire, crooked his palm, and drew the fire-red sphere into his hand. At once he felt a scorching aura rush against his face.

His gaze was calm. After a long while, he suddenly opened his mouth and swallowed the scarlet sphere into his belly.

In an instant, Ning Fan's body seemed to burn from within, beginning to combust spontaneously!

This Crimson Yang force was truly formidable. After tempering, even with Ning Fan's powerful fleshly body, he could not withstand the blazing Yang qi!

Ning Fan swallowed a healing medicinal pill, waved his palm to summon ninety-nine natal black stars, swiftly treated his wounds, suppressed the injury of spontaneous combustion, and rapidly refined the Crimson Yang force.

In the Profound Yin World, upon that Sun Moon Monument that had stood since ancient times, among the seven sun-shaped recesses, the first recess was slowly filling with scarlet Yang Spirit.

At that moment, the first Yang Spirit and the first Yin Spirit of the Sun Moon Monument were both complete!

At that moment, with but a single thought Ning Fan could take the Sun Moon Monument from the Profound Yin World and unleash a Void Fragmentation strike anytime, anywhere!

Not only that!

After refining away the Crimson Yang force, scarlet Yang force and purple Yin force suddenly coiled about Ning Fan's body.

The scarlet Yang force came from Du Yu. The purple Yin force came from Yuan Yao.

Ning Fan felt half his body burn with unbearable pain, while the other half seemed plunged into icy cold, slowly freezing.

Yet the instant the Yin and Yang forces converged, his fleshly body exploded with a roar—and in the next moment, under the mutual generation of Yin and Yang, his fleshly body was remolded!

Again and again it shattered. Again and again it was remolded!

Formerly, Ning Fan had possessed no constitution at all.

But through this repeated remolding of the fleshly body, strands of Yin and Yang force poured into Ning Fan's flesh.

At that moment, Ning Fan vaguely sensed that a constitution had appeared within his fleshly body!

The primordial spirit in his dantian had turned half black and half white—extremely eerie!

"This is... the Minor Five Elements Constitution!" In the Profound Yin World, Luo You suddenly cried out in alarm.

Though she knew the Sun Moon Monument's method of fusing Monument Spirits, she had never truly seen anyone fuse Yin and Yang Monument Spirits.

Even Luo You had not known that after Ning Fan fused the first Yin Spirit and Yang Spirit of the Sun Moon Monument, his fleshly body would be remolded and a brand-new constitution would be born!

This constitution was called the Minor Five Elements Constitution. It somewhat resembled the Inextinguishable Flame Body.

The Inextinguishable Flame Body could suppress fire. The Minor Five Elements Constitution could likewise suppress fire. In pure defense against flame, the Inextinguishable Flame Body far surpassed the Minor Five Elements Constitution.

But a possessor of the Minor Five Elements Constitution could not only suppress fire—he could also suppress the other four elements: metal, wood, water, and earth!

Suppression of any single element of the Five Elements was not high, yet its strength lay in suppressing all Five Elements!

Moreover, the Inextinguishable Flame Body could not be upgraded, yet in ancient times there had been ancient cultivators who cultivated and evolved the Minor Five Elements Constitution into the Major Five Elements Constitution!

The Major Five Elements Constitution's suppression of the Five Elements was extremely heaven-defying—utterly incomparable to the Inextinguishable Flame Body!

"Could it be... that fusing the Yin and Yang Monument Spirits of the Sun Moon Monument not only raises the magic treasure's power, but can also improve a cultivator's constitution?! If so, perhaps by gathering Yin and Yang Monument Spirits you can raise the Minor Five Elements Constitution to the Major Five Elements Constitution!" Luo You's beautiful eyes were deeply moved.

"I did not expect that gathering the Monument Spirits of the Sun Moon Monument could even generate a constitution... The Minor Five Elements Constitution, is it..."

Ning Fan showed a thoughtful look. After a long while, he suddenly swept his divine sense toward his dantian, toward that Yin Yang Lock.

Only then did he notice that the small jade lock had undergone some subtle changes.

It was not a change in appearance, but that its connection with Ning Fan had grown even closer.

Ning Fan seemed to sense something. He suddenly rose, shook his body, left the Yuan Yao Realm, and fled straight into the Profound Yin World!

Standing in the Profound Yin World, Ning Fan abruptly raised his head—and saw that in the gloomy sky above, a half-black, half-white crescent moon had appeared from nowhere!

The Profound Yin World had originally held nothing. Now, it had a moon!

After the moon appeared, the Yin qi in the Profound Yin World grew denser, and cultivation speed rose a little.

The greater change, however, was in the duration one could remain!

Ning Fan vaguely sensed that formerly he could stay in the Profound Yin World for three days at most.

Now, a single stay could last at least a month!

And a month of cultivation in the Profound Yin World was worth ten years of bitter cultivation in the outside world!

"The Sun Moon Monument has seven recesses for Yin Spirits and seven for Yang Spirits. If all are filled, you will not only cultivate an astonishing constitution, but also freely command the Profound Yin World... The Immortal Emperor treasure left by the Chaotic Ancient Great Emperor is truly inconceivable!"

Luo You stepped out of the thatched hut step by step, walking across the gloomy sky toward Ning Fan, envy in her gaze.

"It seems you need to find the second Yang Spirit soon. Elder Sister's constitution is a Yin Spirit constitution. If you devour the second Yang Spirit, then break through to Void Fragmentation, rescue Elder Sister from the Profound Yin World, and remold Elder Sister's fleshly body, when we dual-cultivate you can complete the second Yin Spirit and Yang Spirit... Hm? Someone outside the tree mountain has come looking for you."

Luo You suddenly started. Her beautiful eyes turned slightly cold. She sensed that beside the tree mountain in the outside world, several Absolute Void old monsters had tracked Ning Fan's trail and come with surging killing intent.

"These people are probably sent by that Vine Sovereign... Does Elder Sister need to help you deal with them?"

"No need. Rest well. There is no need for you to act for now. A mere few Absolute Void cultivators are nothing to fear!"

Ning Fan reached out to stroke Luo You's cheek, yet Luo You lightly avoided him, her pretty face faintly flushed.

Ning Fan looked deeply at Luo You, carrying a smile that seemed both there and not. His figure flickered as he fled the Profound Yin World and appeared upon the tree mountain outside!

The moment he showed himself, four extremely sharp killing intents locked onto him at once.

"That Lu Bei is indeed here!"

"He is within the mountain belly. Split open the tree mountain and kill him—avenge the Young Lord!"