Grasping Evil

On all four sides of the tree mountain stood four tree-demon giants eight thousand zhang tall. One bore a tree crown upon his head, one wore vine armor, one grew wooden wings, and one possessed a thousand wooden arms.

The moment Ning Fan appeared upon the tree mountain, the four giants each roared in fury and swung their fists toward the mountain.

All four giants were at the Absolute Void realm. When the four struck together, the tree mountain collapsed at once, and the earth for tens of thousands of li around sank three zhang!

Amid the dust, Ning Fan in white robes slowly appeared, completely unharmed by the four giants' blows.

"You are people of the Vine Sovereign?" Ning Fan's tone was extremely mild.

Yet the four giants did not even glance at Ning Fan. They only looked at one another with contemptuous smiles, killing intent surfacing in every eye.

"A mere Void Inquiry junior dares offend the Vine Sovereign. Truly courting death!"

"This youth is Lu Bei. Kill him!"

"Show no mercy!"

Each of the four displayed his means. The Tree-Crown Giant shook his crown, scattering countless wooden leaves. In an instant a hundred million leaves condensed into a vast wooden dragon that charged down upon Ning Fan, shattering the open sky.

The Vine-Armor Giant wielded a pair of giant hammers. The Wooden-Wing Giant held a pair of hand-halberds. Both were giant Immemorial Divine Weapons, crashing down upon Ning Fan's head.

And the giant with a thousand arms abruptly formed seals. Countless giant wooden hands suddenly sprouted from the earth and slapped down toward Ning Fan.

The four showed not the slightest mercy. Once they confirmed it was Ning Fan, they launched killing strikes at once.

Ning Fan's gaze turned cold. He did not know how these subordinates of the Vine Sovereign had found his hiding place. But one way or another, he would not let others come to his door without striking back.

He opened his mouth and spat Black Fire. In an instant that Black Fire spread into a sea of flame and formed nine black giant dragons—three burning the wooden dragon in the sky, six burning the wooden hands upon the earth.

This Black Fire was extremely formidable. In a mere instant it burned away the wooden dragon and wooden hands, breaking the attacks of the Tree-Crown Giant and the Thousand-Hand Giant.

That startled both the Tree-Crown and Thousand-Hand Giants. They had not expected a mere Void Inquiry ant like Ning Fan to possess such formidable Black Fire, able to block the assaults of two Absolute Void cultivators!

"What grade of flame is this, that it can burn away our Peak Mortal Void spell arts!"

After spitting the Black Fire, Ning Fan did not look back. He abruptly raised his right arm and coldly faced the divine-weapon attacks of the Vine-Armor and Wooden-Wing Giants.

Layers of radiance appeared upon his right arm, revealing a silver armguard. Upon the arm a phantom of a white tiger took shape, its roar like thunder.

This was the Divine Profound Spirit Armor, gifted to him by Yu Chong'er.

Though Ning Fan had long since refined it, today was the first time he applied it in true combat.

The White Tiger governed killing. This Divine Profound Armguard carried a Mortal Void body technique. The more the wearer slaughtered, the higher the killing qi, and the greater the spirit armor's power.

Killing qi like blood filled Ning Fan's eyes. A lifetime of slaughter condensed upon his right arm.

He retreated half a step, then suddenly charged, turning into a streak of flowing light that shot into the heavens, swinging his fist to meet the giant hammers and hand-halberds!

"Void Art, White Tiger!"

The moment that fist went out, it released fist radiance like raging billows. The fist radiance condensed into a white tiger fist shadow.

The fist shadow smashed into the two Immemorial Divine Weapons. They shuddered violently and let out an earth-shaking roar.

In that roar, Ning Fan was blasted a hundred li away by the rebound force, while the giant hammers and hand-halberds of the Vine-Armor and Wooden-Wing Giants were pounded to powder by the force of Ning Fan's single fist!

Ning Fan possessed Mid Barbaric Demon cultivation among the ancient demons, and was already not far from Late Barbaric Demon.

His fleshly body could sweep through the Third Stage of the Golden Body. Equipped with the White Tiger Armguard, the force of a single fist was something even Absolute Void cultivators dared not casually receive.

The two giants' Immemorial Divine Weapons were merely one-star divine weapons. How could they withstand Ning Fan's White Tiger fist!

Both giants' divine weapons shattered. They too were blasted a hundred li back by the rebound force, their gazes extremely shaken!

"It is actually the Divine Profound Armguard! This youth's fleshly body is extremely strong. Wearing the Divine Profound Armguard, he can contend with Absolute Void cultivators by fleshly body alone!"

The four had launched a combined assault the instant Ning Fan appeared.

Yet the joint strike of four Absolute Void cultivators could not injure Ning Fan. That truly shook the four. At once they dismissed their contempt for Ning Fan and realized he was a ruthless character.

"Though this youth's cultivation is only Void Inquiry, his divine abilities are astonishing. His combat strength rivals Absolute Void cultivators. He must never be underestimated!"

"Form the Four Directions Tree Annihilation Formation! Once this formation is complete, even Return to Origin Absolute Void will certainly die at our hands!"

Ning Fan's gaze tightened slightly. The four Absolute Void giants before him were absolutely not weak. Without using his trump cards, victory would be hard to seize.

With a single sweep of divine sense he had already discerned the four's relative strength.

Among the four giants, Thousand-Hand was strongest and Tree-Crown weakest. Both excelled at spell attacks.

Wooden-Wing and Vine-Armor ranked in the middle. Both excelled at body techniques.

Though he had used Yin Yang Fire and the Divine Profound Armguard to block the four giants' attacks, he had likewise gained no great advantage.

These four had already realized his formidability. Their next strikes would certainly be fiercer. They had already begun forming a great formation to besiege him.

Ning Fan knew he must end this swiftly. Only by breaking the four's formation momentum could he counterattack!

"Kill one first!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Ning Fan shook his body and transformed into the appearance of his black-robed avatar.

His five fingers clawed toward the earth, then clawed toward the void, drawing out the Earth Soul and the Void Soul in succession and swallowing them both.

Ning Fan's divine sense had reached the Absolute Void realm. After transforming into the Sense Soul Avatar, his cultivation was already Absolute Void!

After draining the Earth Soul and Void Soul, his cultivation continued to surge, approaching Return to Origin Absolute Void without limit!

His black hair danced wildly. His eyes were cold as ice that had not melted for ten thousand years. One hand propped up the heavens, and upon his palm a ten-thousand-zhang giant fire monument abruptly appeared!

This fire monument was no phantom, but a true magic treasure—the world-suppressing treasure that had existed since ancient times in the Profound Yin World: the Sun Moon Monument!

The four giants were still forming their formation when they suddenly saw Ning Fan transform into an avatar and draw Void Souls. All were shaken beyond measure.

"Avatar arts?! Soul-drawing arts?! These two arts are among the Three Great Divine Abilities of Void Fragmentation. How can a mere Void Inquiry cultivator display them!"

"What kind of avatar is this, that it can let a Void Inquiry cultivator possess Absolute Void-level magical power!"

"Drawing Void Souls! That is the second-realm soul-drawing art. In the entire Tree World only three Tree Sovereigns can use it. Why can this youth use it!"

"What magic treasure is this fire monument, that it gives me such a powerful sense of crisis!"

There was no answer. Nor was any needed.

Killing intent stirred in Ning Fan's gaze. He suddenly spat from his palm and offered up the ten-thousand-zhang fire monument.

The fire monument vanished in an instant. In the next breath it appeared ten thousand zhang above the Tree-Crown Giant's head, transforming into a hundred-thousand-zhang half-black, half-white flame giant monument that smashed fiercely toward the Tree-Crown Giant's crown aperture.

The force of that fire monument's smash was clearly the power of a First Heavenly Layer Void Fragmentation strike!

Ning Fan struck too fast—so fast that the other three giants could not intervene to rescue the Tree-Crown Giant.

Sensing the terrifying power of the giant monument's strike, all three changed expression drastically and warned the Tree-Crown Giant, "Retreat at once! This monument cannot be met head-on!"

The Tree-Crown Giant was, after all, an Absolute Void cultivator. His discernment was not weak. He naturally knew this monument's power was world-shaking and not something he could withstand.

He opened his mouth and spat out a jade-green treasure pearl, striking it toward the fire monument, while at the same time withdrawing and flying back, intending to avoid the edge of the fire monument's strike.

That jade-green pearl was extremely extraordinary—a natal magic treasure the Tree-Crown Giant had refined for many years. Once it attacked, it would emit the sound of mountains and rivers.

The pearl and the fire monument collided. In a single instant the pearl was smashed to flying ash by the fire monument.

The fire monument's momentum did not lessen. It still smashed toward the Tree-Crown Giant's crown aperture. The Tree-Crown Giant's gaze shook. He abruptly shook his body and displayed a shifting art, shifting to an extreme distance.

Yet the fire monument also vanished in an instant. When the Tree-Crown Giant appeared far away, the fire monument likewise appeared far away, still hanging above his head and smashing downward.

"I cannot evade it!"

Only now did some fear rise in the Tree-Crown Giant. If this fire monument were merely powerful, he would not yet fear it. Even if he could not block it, he could still dodge.

But now he discovered in horror that this fire monument possessed the ability to track. Once it locked onto an enemy, no matter if that enemy fled to the ends of the earth, he could not avoid the fire monument's strike!

Boom!

The fire monument suddenly smashed upon the Tree-Crown Giant's crown aperture. Upon the monument was a strand of Yin-Yang force—only a strand, yet it seemed heavier than the sky of the Tree World.

The giant's crown aperture shattered at once. A strand of primordial spirit fled in panic from his dantian.

Under the giant monument's smash, the Tree-Crown Giant's eight-thousand-zhang fleshly body was crushed beneath the monument into a pool of flesh paste...

The entire earth shook violently. In the distance, the Vine-Armor, Wooden-Wing, and Thousand-Hand Giants all showed shaken expressions.

In that critical instant, the Tree-Crown Giant's primordial spirit escaped his fleshly body and avoided certain death.

His tiny primordial spirit fled to the side of the other three giants, its aura feeble and dying.

Though he had escaped with his life, there was not the slightest relief on his face—only terror in his eyes.

That fire-monument magic treasure was far too terrifying. A single strike had destroyed his fleshly body, leaving his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

Had his primordial spirit fled even half a breath slower, even his primordial spirit would have died beneath the fire monument and become a pool of flesh paste!

"This youth's magic treasure is formidable. Take out the Treasure-Destroying Formation Disks bestowed by the Vine Sovereign and set the Treasure-Destroying Great Formation to stop him from using his magic treasure!" the Thousand-Hand Giant reminded them.

Hearing this, Vine-Armor and Wooden-Wing each grabbed with a hand, took out a formation disk, and activated it. At once layers of pale cyan formation light enveloped a hundred thousand li around them.

This was Treasure-Destroying Formation light, of Low-Grade Immortal Void rank. Even ordinary Void Fragmentation magic treasures could not be activated within the formation light!

This was the trump card the Vine Sovereign had bestowed upon the four, specifically to counter cultivators who possessed heaven-defying magic treasures!

Ning Fan crooked his palm. The fire monument vanished from afar, returned to ten thousand zhang, and settled once more upon his palm, still in the posture of a single hand propping up the heavens.

His aura was slightly disordered. This Sun Moon Monument strike was indeed extraordinary. A single blow had destroyed the Tree-Crown Giant's fleshly body.

He knew this was his first time displaying the One Spirit Sun Moon Monument. His technique was not yet skilled, and he had not yet displayed the Sun Moon Monument's true divine ability.

Otherwise the Tree-Crown Giant could never have escaped with his primordial spirit. He would certainly have been smashed until even his primordial spirit was annihilated.

Moreover, the Sun Moon Monument consumed no small amount of magical power. A single strike had nearly drained ten million units of magical power.

After transforming into an avatar and drawing Void Souls, Ning Fan's magical power was only around thirty million units.

That meant that in Ning Fan's current state, he could display the Sun Moon Monument's attack at most three times.

"We have already opened the Treasure-Destroying Formation. Your fire-monument magic treasure can no longer be used!" the Vine-Armor Giant said with a cold laugh.

"You destroyed this old man's fleshly body. When this old man captures you, he will certainly crush your bones to ash and tear your corpse into ten thousand pieces!" the Tree-Crown Giant's primordial spirit snorted coldly.

Ning Fan held the monument in one hand, standing amid layers of formation light.

From that formation light he felt wave after wave of suppressing force, attempting to suppress the Sun Moon Monument's might and prevent the treasure from being used.

Ning Fan's gaze flashed. He had not expected the four giants to possess such formidable Treasure-Destroying Formation Disks.

He had thought the Sun Moon Monument might be unusable within the formation light—yet suddenly his gaze froze.

Ning Fan sensed that the Sun Moon Monument resting upon his palm had not been suppressed by the formation light in the slightest!

His thoughts turned swiftly. In only a moment he understood the vast truth within.

Right now the Sun Moon Monument had only just completed its first Yin Spirit and Yang Spirit. It was equivalent to a Void Fragmentation magic treasure and could unleash a Void Fragmentation strike.

Yet this treasure's true rank was by no means merely a Void Fragmentation magic treasure—it was an Immortal Emperor magic treasure!

This was a magic treasure once used by the Chaotic Ancient Great Emperor. How could something so powerful be suppressed by a Treasure-Destroying Great Formation?

The Treasure-Destroying Great Formation could extinguish Void Fragmentation magic treasures, yet it could not extinguish an Immortal Emperor magic treasure—even if that Immortal Emperor magic treasure had not yet unleashed its full might!

Ning Fan took a step forward and suddenly offered up the Sun Moon Monument, his two hands flying as his finger seals shifted.

Just now he had not displayed the true divine ability of the One Spirit Sun Moon Monument. Now he meant to display it.

The Sun Moon Monument flashed and vanished. Another flash, and it appeared above the Vine-Armor Giant, transforming to a hundred thousand zhang, intending to smash toward the giant's crown aperture.

Seeing the Sun Moon Monument approach, the Vine-Armor Giant and the others all showed dismissive expressions.

In their view, the Immortal Void-rank Treasure-Destroying Great Formation had already opened. No magic treasure could be used within the formation, and the Sun Moon Monument was certainly no exception.

"This treasure's might has already been suppressed, yet this youth still insists on using it to attack. Truly foolish to the extreme! Very well. This old man will take this treasure and present it to Lord Vine Sovereign. This treasure has rather profound mysteries. Lord Vine Sovereign will surely be very fond of it! You need not act. This old man alone is enough to seize this fire monument!"

The Vine-Armor Giant strode forward to meet the Sun Moon Monument and raised a hand to block those behind him who were eager to move, indicating the others need not act—he alone was enough.

He had absolute confidence that he could raise a hand and seize the Sun Moon Monument without anyone's help.

He too bore the Vine surname and was of the Vine Sovereign's clan. Though he was not the highest in cultivation among the four, his words carried considerable weight.

Seeing this, the others dismissed the thought of helping the Vine-Armor Giant.

In their view, with the Vine-Armor Giant's Absolute Void cultivation, seizing a fire monument whose might had been completely lost was an utterly easy matter.

Seizing the Sun Moon Monument was a merit, yet if the Vine-Armor Giant wished to monopolize that merit, the others naturally dared not snatch it.

Ning Fan's gaze flicked toward the Vine-Armor Giant. Killing intent had already stirred.

His finger seals flew as he formed abstruse seals. Upon the Sun Moon Monument racing through the sky, a peculiar halo immediately radiated.

It was as if sunlight blazed dazzlingly, and as if moonlight was hazy and soft. Amid the radiance of sun and moon, a strand of Yin-Yang force fused and transmitted the Brahman sound of the Great Dao.

In an instant, a vast presence erupted from the Sun Moon Monument. The Treasure-Destroying Formation light within a hundred thousand li shuddered violently—and shattered at the sound!

The Vine-Armor Giant's eyes suddenly tightened. Only then did he discover that the Sun Moon Monument's might had never been sealed by the great formation at all!

This great formation could not seal the Sun Moon Monument. On the contrary, it was destroyed by the magic treasure's pressure!

"Impossible! The Treasure-Destroying Great Formation can even seal Low-Grade Immortal Void magic treasures! What rank is this fire monument, that it can ignore the seal and shatter the Treasure-Destroying Formation light!"

Great shock rose in the Vine-Armor Giant's heart, yet he also deeply knew how formidable the Sun Moon Monument was. Even the Tree-Crown Giant's fleshly body had been destroyed by a single smash of the Sun Moon Monument. He would naturally fare no better.

Since the Sun Moon Monument had not been sealed, he naturally dared not face it alone.

He opened his mouth and spat out a small cyan-light shield, attempting to block the Sun Moon Monument for a moment. Then he immediately withdrew and fled, trying to avoid the Sun Moon Monument's strike.

"I was careless!"

He gritted his teeth hard. Had he known earlier that the Sun Moon Monument was not sealed, he absolutely would not have been so arrogant as to face it alone.

In that moment, Ning Fan suddenly stopped.

In that moment, Ning Fan's eyes were as bright as sun and moon!

"One Spirit Monument Technique, Sun Sinks Moon Falls!"

As Ning Fan spoke, a tremendous roar erupted from the Sun Moon Monument—like the vast boom of stars changing their courses, like the shifting of the Great Dao—making mountains and rivers tremble for tens of thousands of li!

One Sun Moon Monument shadow split into ten, and ten into a hundred!

Of the hundred monument shadows, half became falling giant suns, half became crashing giant moons.

Fifty giant blazing suns and fifty giant cold moons all smashed toward the Vine-Armor Giant.

A sense of certain death rose in the Vine-Armor Giant's heart!

After differentiating into sun and moon shadows, this Sun Moon Monument strike approached without limit the force of a Second Heavenly Layer Void Fragmentation blow!

"This is bad! I cannot evade it!" the Vine-Armor Giant cried out. In the next breath his voice was drowned by the tremendous roar of the falling sun and moon.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Sun and moon smashed down. Heaven and earth overturned!

Though this strike targeted the Vine-Armor Giant, the other three were all caught in the aftermath.

The smoke and dust gradually cleared, revealing ruins spanning tens of thousands of li!

A domain of hundreds of thousands of li had been leveled by a single strike of the Sun Moon Monument!

And the formerly arrogant Vine-Armor Giant had been smashed into flesh paste by the Sun Moon Monument, fallen upon the wreckage of the earth.

The Thousand-Hand and Wooden-Wing Giants had both been caught in the attack and each suffered some light wounds. Seeing the Sun Moon Monument's terrifying power, every one of them was filled with extreme terror!

As for the Tree-Crown Giant's primordial spirit, already heavily wounded and on the brink of death, it too was caught in the Sun Moon Monument's aftermath and likewise perished in the residual waves of the attack!

One strike had slain two Absolute Void cultivators!

The gazes of Thousand-Hand and Wooden-Wing toward Ning Fan carried deep dread.

"This treasure is too formidable. We cannot withstand it. Only Return to Origin Absolute Void acting can possibly take down Lu Bei! We must flee. The two of us must flee!"

Their figures flickered as they withdrew from their giant forms, then turned into two long cyan rainbows and fled into the distance without regard for anything!

They had been terrified by the Sun Moon Monument's assault!

Ning Fan's black robe snapped in the wind. A trace of scorn showed in his eyes.

"Wanting to leave now—don't you think it is a bit late!"

He abruptly slapped his storage bag, took out the ancient golden sword, and scattered immortal jades to drive it.

With a wave he collected the storage bags of the Tree-Crown and Vine-Armor Giants. Then, stepping upon the ancient sword and holding the giant monument aloft, he gave chase all the way!

Of these two, not one would be allowed to escape!