Grasping Evil

"May I ask the Country Lord—what is a corpse puppet of the Min Luo Race...!"

A cold glint flashed through Ning Fan's eyes. He had not expected that corpses of the Min Luo Tree Race would be refined into puppets and issued as mission rewards.

Before coming to the Tree World, he had promised Treant Min Luo that he would seek the Min Luo Tree Race in the Tree World and help them if needed.

Now, before Ning Fan had even begun searching for the Min Luo Tree Race, he had first seen this kind of mission reward, and his heart sank.

Could the Min Luo Tree Race be in the Eastern Tree Ocean?

Could the Min Luo Tree Race have already declined so far that others could bully them at will, seize their clansmen, refine them into puppets, and use them as mission rewards?

Who had refined Min Luo Tree Race members into puppets—was it the Bamboo Sovereign?

If that were truly so, Ning Fan might have no choice but to stand with the Min Luo Tree Race and become the Bamboo Sovereign's enemy. After all, by the measure of righteousness, Treant Min Luo had guarded Yue Country for him; he had a duty to protect the Min Luo Race in turn!

In the instant that cold light flashed in Ning Fan's eyes, even Absolute Void Stage Tang Xiong felt a chill pierce his heart and turned pale with shock.

Tang Xiong had thought Ning Fan was only an ordinary Void Inquiry cultivator. Now, from Ning Fan's gaze, he sensed extreme danger!

That single look held world-shaking baleful qi—so powerful it was unimaginable!

Under Ning Fan's cold stare, Tang Xiong's Sea of Consciousness ached, and layers of illusions rose before his eyes!

They were scenes of seas of blood—the boundless seas of blood Ning Fan had waded through!

In those seas of blood the dead were beyond counting. Even Void Refinement experts had died without number, and there were even Void Fragmentation cultivators who had fallen to Ning Fan's hand!

"Has this boy killed V-Void Fragmentation cultivators before?! But how is that possible! No matter how heaven-defying a Void Inquiry cultivator's divine abilities, he cannot slay Void Fragmentation!"

"Yet this baleful qi absolutely cannot be faked... This old man has read countless people in his life and seen many devil lords, but never one with baleful qi so terrifying! One glance alone threw this old man's mind into chaos!"

In that instant Tang Xiong even had an illusion... that though Ning Fan was a Void Inquiry cultivator, killing Tang Xiong would be as easy as taking something from a bag!

Tang Xiong's heart tightened to the utmost. Only now did he know how dangerous a figure Ning Fan was!

That single look was something even Yun Jinghong could not endure—how could Tang Xiong endure it!

Tang Xiong forced himself to steady his mind. He knew Ning Fan's gaze had suddenly turned cold because he had grown angry.

Carefully weighing Ning Fan's question and thinking why Ning Fan was angry, he at once realized the cause: the Bamboo Sovereign was using Min Luo puppets as the reward for a five-star mission...

"Could this Lu Bei have some connection to the Min Luo Tree Race—or is he himself a Min Luo tree demon? That is why seeing his clansmen refined into puppets made him so furious? Yes—it must be so!"

"This man's baleful qi shakes the heavens; he has absolutely killed Void Fragmentation cultivators... No wonder he dares offend the Vine Sovereign—he has something to rely on! This old man is no match for him in a single exchange! Regarding the origin of these Min Luo puppets, this old man must explain clearly and leave him no misunderstanding! If he grows angry and kills this old man by mistake, this old man's death would be far too unjust..."

Thoughts racing, Tang Xiong gave a dry laugh and explained with a placating smile. "Fellow Daoist, calm your anger! Do not misunderstand. These Min Luo puppets were entrusted to this old man by the Bamboo Sovereign, and it was this old man's own decision to offer them as mission rewards—but these Min Luo puppets were not refined by the Bamboo Sovereign! This old man bears the Min Luo Tree Race no malice, no malice..."

Hearing that the refiner was not the Bamboo Sovereign, the cold glint in Ning Fan's eyes lessened slightly.

Seeing Ning Fan's expression ease, Tang Xiong thought to himself that he had guessed right—Ning Fan was most likely a Min Luo tree demon, which was why one look at Min Luo puppets had angered him.

Thinking thus, Tang Xiong asked,

"May I ask—is Fellow Daoist Lu a survivor of the Min Luo Tree Race from ten thousand years ago?" Tang Xiong could not see through Ning Fan's foundation or discern his demon blood, and so asked this.

"Survivor?" Ning Fan did not answer Tang Xiong's question, yet was stirred by the word "survivor."

From Tang Xiong's tone, ten thousand years ago the Min Luo Tree Race seemed to have suffered some great disaster—hence those Min Luo who still lived were all survivors...

"It seems Fellow Daoist does not know of the Min Luo Tree Race's great calamity..." Tang Xiong was secretly surprised. The cataclysm of the Min Luo Tree Race was something many Tree World cultivators had heard of; he had not expected Ning Fan to know nothing of it...

Tang Xiong did not dig into why Ning Fan was ignorant of that cataclysm. He merely cleared his throat, showed a look of recollection, and explained to Ning Fan.

"Ten thousand years ago, a cataclysm struck the Tree World... A Void Fragmentation puppet master of the Western Tree Ocean slipped into the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Tree Oceans, slaughtered more than thirty tree races, and refined puppets from the corpses of countless tree race members. The Min Luo Tree Race lay in the Eastern Tree Ocean and was among those he butchered... Legend says the Min Luo Tree Race once produced a Tree Sovereign and was a top-tier force of the Tree World, but after a certain generation's Tree Sovereign vanished, the race gradually declined and never again produced any Void Fragmentation expert..."

"Up until ten thousand years ago, the Min Luo Tree Race still had ten Void Refinement experts standing guard and could rank among the first-rate forces of the Tree World. Yet in that cataclysm, all ten Void Refinement experts of the Min Luo Tree Race fell, and the clansmen nearly died out... Survivors of the Min Luo Tree Race still remain, clinging to a corner of the Eastern Tree Ocean, but it is said the clan no longer has any Void Refinement expert in residence, and even Divine Transformation cultivators are few—they have declined into a second-rate force..."

"These ten Void Glimpse grade Min Luo puppets were all refined by that Void Fragmentation puppet master back then. After succeeding, he meant to take them out of the Eastern Tree Ocean, but the Bamboo Sovereign intercepted him and seized this batch of puppets... Only, the Bamboo Sovereign did not return these puppets to the Min Luo Race, but kept them at his side..."

Listening to Tang Xiong's explanations one by one, Ning Fan's cold glint finally faded; his eyes grew deep.

From the Bamboo Sovereign's standpoint, using ten Min Luo puppets as mission rewards was no great fault.

The Bamboo Sovereign had seized the puppets from that Void Fragmentation puppet master; those puppets naturally belonged to the Bamboo Sovereign.

The Min Luo Tree Race had declined; the Bamboo Sovereign naturally would not return the puppets. He had no need to curry favor with a fallen second-rate force.

In this matter the Bamboo Sovereign had committed no great wrong. The one who had greatly wronged the Min Luo Race should be that Void Fragmentation puppet master.

Ning Fan's eyes chilled. Treant Min Luo had helped him guard Yue Country; he thus had a duty to help Treant Min Luo protect the Min Luo Tree Race.

Whatever else, the Min Luo puppets used here as mission rewards must all fall into his hands, to be returned to the Min Luo Tree Race for burial...

These were Treant Min Luo's clansmen. If he knew that because of his disappearance the Min Luo Tree Race had declined, been slaughtered, and refined into puppets, he would surely be filled with regret and grief.

Ning Fan meant to take the Min Luo clansmen's corpses away and send them home—merely to repay Treant Min Luo's kindness.

"Those who slaughtered the Min Luo Race were not a force of the Eastern Tree Ocean. This matter cannot be blamed on the Eastern Tree Ocean." Tang Xiong advised.

"...Who was the Void Fragmentation puppet master who slaughtered the Min Luo Race?" Ning Fan suddenly asked.

"That man is one of the three Void Fragmentation experts under the Vine Sovereign, named Wan Changkong. Though only a First Heavenly Layer Void Fragmentation cultivator, his puppet arts are extremely astonishing. In his life he has created more than a thousand Void Refinement puppets, most of them offered to the Vine Sovereign, while he himself retains two hundred Void Inquiry puppets. When fighting others, he need only summon those two hundred Void Inquiry puppets, and even a Second Heavenly Layer Void Fragmentation cultivator must yield... He is cruel by nature; for refining puppets he can slaughter a million without blinking..."

"Wan Changkong, is it..."

Ning Fan memorized the name, crooked his palm, and drew the jade slip for the Tree King-killing mission into his hand. He said to Tang Xiong, "I will take this mission—but I hope to take the entire mission alone. Killing two Tree Kings needs no help from others. As for all the Min Luo puppets in the mission reward—they all go to me!"

Ning Fan had not meant to accept this five-star mission; now he was resolved to take it.

He had no other purpose—only to bury Treant Min Luo's clansmen for him.

Tang Xiong of course understood Ning Fan's motive for accepting. Having witnessed Ning Fan's terrifying baleful qi, he did not doubt that Ning Fan had the strength to kill two Tree Kings.

Though both Tree Kings were Return to Origin Absolute Void, Ning Fan had even killed Void Fragmentation experts...

Nine people had already accepted this mission before; Ning Fan was the tenth.

By the rules, as the last to accept, Ning Fan could not kick the other nine out, complete the mission alone, and monopolize the reward.

But rules were made for people. In Tang Xiong's heart, Ning Fan mattered far more than the other nine Void Refinement cultivators who had accepted the mission.

He dared offend those other nine; he absolutely dared not offend Ning Fan.

"Since Fellow Daoist has spoken, this old man will say no more. This mission shall be left for Fellow Daoist alone to complete. As for the other nine Void Refinement Fellow Daoists, this old man will speak with them and have them give up the mission... Even if they do nothing, they will still be allowed through the Realm Gate—an exception, as it were..."

Tang Xiong's words had barely fallen when seven or eight sneering laughs suddenly came from beyond the palace doors.

"Hmph! We accepted the mission first—by what right must we give it up so this man alone monopolizes the reward of ten Min Luo puppets!"

"Those are puppets refined by Master Wan Changkong! They contain the Master's puppet secret arts! We are all puppet masters. We did not accept this mission to pass the Realm Gate, but for the puppets!"

"These puppets cannot be given to you alone!"

Moments later, nine Void Refinement cultivators flashed into the main hall in escape light—men and women alike.

All nine were Void Refinement cultivators: one Void Glimpse, no Void Inquiry, four Void Pierce, four Absolute Void!

Among the four Absolute Void, none was Return to Origin Absolute Void.

The strongest among the four Absolute Void was a white-eyed old man whose pupils held not a scrap of black. He sneered at Ning Fan.

"This old man and the others have already accepted the mission to kill the Tree Kings. You, a mere Void Inquiry junior, actually dare try to monopolize the mission—truly arrogant to the extreme! Do you think that with your strength alone you can match two Tree Kings—or that with your strength alone... you can defeat us nine Void Refinement puppet masters!"

Ning Fan's gaze swept lightly. Most of the nine Void Refinement cultivators before him were puppet masters, thick with puppet aura.

Their reason for contending over this mission needed no saying—they wanted those Min Luo puppets!

Not because Void Glimpse grade Min Luo puppets were formidable, but because these puppets had been refined by a Void Fragmentation puppet master!

These people most likely hoped to raise their puppet arts by comprehending these Min Luo puppets...

The only thing that puzzled Ning Fan was that among these nine there was actually one Void Glimpse cultivator.

She was a young woman in green robes, merely at Void Glimpse, yet she had mixed herself into this mission.

Was hunting Return to Origin Absolute Void Tree Kings something a Void Glimpse cultivator could meddle in?

"Lu Bei! Do not think you can monopolize this mission alone! The Min Luo puppets—this old man is set on having them!" The white-eyed old man sneered without cease.