Grasping the Evil

Chapter 1221: Man-Eating Gourd

The True Spirit is renowned for being difficult to kill. Of course, with Ning Fan’s current mana, refining an ordinary True Spirit to death is not too difficult a task.

The truly difficult ones to kill are Exotic True Spirits. These True Spirits often require special means to be eliminated and are extremely troublesome.

Ning Fan once encountered an Exotic True Spirit of the Dragon-Horse Clan. At that time, the sixteen Dragon-Horse princes shared a heart, and it required capturing all of them before they could be refined and killed; while a single Dragon-Horse True Spirit, astonishingly, could not be extinguished even by the Refining God Cauldron.

To deal with the Dragon-Horse True Spirit, Ning Fan had no choice but to buy a copy of "The Complete Analysis of Chaotic True Spirits" from the Tongtian Sect, from which he found a strategy and finally refined the Sixteenth Prince into a pill to swallow, greatly advancing his cultivation.

Exotic True Spirits are extremely rare, and up to now, Ning Fan has only seen them once, and today he has seen them for the second time.

From the beginning, Ning Fan had seen through the nature of the Old Turtle Zhenwu; the true spirit it cultivated was indeed an Exotic True Spirit, causing the number of true spirits to be so numerous.

Parent-Child True Spirits!

According to "The Complete Analysis of Chaotic True Spirits", a demon cultivating this True Spirit must first cultivate a powerful Mother Spirit, then use the Mother Spirit to give birth to thousands upon thousands of Child Spirits. When successfully achieved, if the Child Spirits are not completely killed, the Mother Spirit will be indestructible; if the Mother Spirit is not extinguished, even if the Child Spirits fall, they will not truly die and can return to their original form, reviving through lengthy cultivation.

The Old Turtle Zhenwu came with only its spirit sense; the Mother Spirit did not arrive, carrying only a few thousand Child Spirits. With Ning Fan’s current mana, refining these few thousand Child Spirits to death is not impossible, but it will not be easy and would take at least several hundred years, which is quite troublesome; moreover, these Child Spirits will not truly die, even if all are refined to death, not a single drop of Blood of Ten Thousand Spirits can be extracted.

Spending several hundred years and gaining nothing, such a losing deal, Ning Fan naturally would not undertake. It would be more practical to let this turtle go in exchange for something useful.

Life is like a play, all depends on acting skills.

Ning Fan acted in front of the giant tortoise, consecutively refining to death the Beihai and Shuiyan spirit senses, just to scare the tortoise; in reality, he had no way to deal with the giant tortoise; it was amusing that the giant tortoise, not knowing the details of the Refining God Cauldron, was so frightened, amusing Ning Fan and reducing his dislike for the tortoise.

"If I could take this Old Turtle as a pet, it would match Wu Laoba well. Hehe, forget it. The true form of this Old Turtle is too strong, and since the true form is not here; even if the true form were to come, with my current self, I couldn’t manage..." Ning Fan’s thoughts drifted, his gaze on the giant tortoise now with a trace of amusement.

The giant tortoise, for no reason, felt its shell grow cold, always feeling Ning Fan’s smile carried some ill intentions, determined inwardly: As long as I can escape today, I will avoid this little thief in the future, his Mu Chi is simply too terrifying, not something a Water Cultivator can defeat...

...

After the giant tortoise paid numerous prices, Ning Fan finally opened the wooden cage and released the tortoise’s spirit sense.

Watching the giant tortoise awkwardly running away, Ning Fan’s eyes held more amusement, and the Eight Cold Hells Buddha shared in this amusement as well.

If Ning Fan had also killed the Old Turtle Zhenwu, he would have seriously mistaken Ning Fan for an evil sect. Thankfully, Ning Fan finally had a moment of conscience and let the old tortoise go. The bitter sea is boundless; turning back is the shore; laying down the Slaughter Blade, the immediate path to a Buddha... this Immortal Emperor seems salvageable?

"Now that this matter is resolved, it is time for this disciple to take his leave..." As the giant tortoise left with its forepaws, the Eight Cold Buddha bid farewell to Ning Fan, and before leaving, he returned the three treasures he was looking after for Ning Fan, as he promised.

Ning Fan was speechless, "What does this mean, Daoist friend? I did say beforehand, besides the Jade Liquor Pot, the other two items are all yours."

"In today’s battle, this disciple contributed very little and already felt ashamed; if I were to accept the rewards from the Immortal Emperor, I would truly have no face to return to the Western Heaven. If the Immortal Emperor truly feels guilty towards this disciple, why not visit the Western Heaven someday and tell this disciple about the superior Buddhist teachings of the Hunkun Holy Sect."

The Eight Cold Buddha suddenly shifted the topic and made a request.

Upon hearing this, Ning Fan smiled wryly, "Hunkun superior Buddhist teachings? To be honest, I know nothing about Buddhism, let alone the superior Buddhist teachings of Hunkun..."

"Hehe, the Immortal Emperor is too modest."

The Eight Cold Buddha did not care whether Ning Fan truly understood Buddhism or not.

It didn’t matter if Ning Fan didn’t understand, he understood! The next time Ning Fan kept his word and visited the Western Heaven, he would surely rescue Ning Fan, using supreme Buddhist teachings to guide him back to the right path.

No matter what, he could not let a Mixed Kun Immortal fall into the abyss of the Devil Dao!

Without giving Ning Fan a chance to refuse, after the Eight Cold Buddha bid farewell again, he tore the void and left, departing from the Heavenly Map World.

"This..."

As the situation developed to this point, Ning Fan was quite troubled; he would rather offer the Eight Cold Buddha two thank-you gifts than go to the Western Heaven to speak of Buddhism.

He’s a proper demon cultivator, talking about Buddhism? Better not end up with a damaged Heart Demon halfway through instead of finishing the Buddhist talk, that would truly be a big loss.

But by coincidence, the Eight Cold Buddha gave him no chance to refuse; isn’t this imposing difficulties on someone?

After all, these were unilateral agreements of the Eight Cold Buddha, Ning Fan didn’t agree to anything, so he wasn’t obligated to do so.

"Whatever, if there’s a chance to go to the Western Heaven, I’ll seek something else to give this person, to conclude today’s cause and effect. No need to speak of Buddhism..."

Ning Fan sighed, then continued to survey the Heavenly Map World.

With everyone’s spirit sense either dead or gone, only Ning Fan remained in this world.

The three treasures were already in hand, and logically, there was no reason for Ning Fan to remain here anymore.

He did not rush to leave; instead, he sat cross-legged amidst the heaven and earth, casually beginning his cultivation.

Days passed.

A virtual star appeared in Ning Fan’s right eye, cultivated from the power of the Water Control Position swallowed from Emperor Shuiyan, officially starting the cultivation of Water Yin Yang.

Water Yin Yang was categorized into the Magic Yin Yang of his right eye.

Since this was not conventional cultivation, the condensation of Water Yin Yang was incomplete, requiring a large amount of Fierce Origin Crystal to truly cultivate Water Yin Yang.

More days passed.

A virtual star reappeared in Ning Fan’s left eye, cultivated from the fragments of the True Martial Title, creating True Martial Yin Yang. Similarly, it was incomplete, needing extensive cultivation afterwards to solidify.

Another ten days passed.

Ning Fan absorbed the slight power of the Rain Master Title he had swallowed, and drank all the Immortal Wine from the Jade Liquor Pot.

After accomplishing these tasks, Ning Fan’s Rain Control Position power surged by no less than fifty percent, completely unlike the strength a newly initiated holder of the Rain Control Position should possess!

The Rain Dragon lay prone before Ning Fan, not daring to breathe! Ning Fan’s Rain Control Position was formidable; Rain Dragon felt an oppressive force comparable to that of its master, Beihai True Lord, for the first time!

This unfortunate Rain Dragon was the one captured by Ning Fan himself. To truly subdue the Rain Dragon, Ning Fan released it.

Hence, beside Ning Fan, the Rain Dragon could clearly sense Ning Fan’s ever-elevating powerful Rain Intent!

It instinctively wanted to submit to Ning Fan’s strength, yet its loyalty to Beihai True Lord prevented it!

"Are you willing to follow me?"

One day, Ning Fan spoke, questioning the Rain Dragon.

The Rain Dragon trembled, hesitated; it knew that nodding would mean survival, yet it could not bring itself to nod under any circumstances.

Survival?

Such a thing was honestly unimportant to it, for it was not truly alive; it was merely a segment of Beihai True Lord’s Divine Skill. Life and death had never been significant to it.

Only its master mattered; nothing but... its master.

Roar!

The Rain Dragon answered Ning Fan through actions!

With its rain dragon horn, its Divine Skills fully activated, it charged straight at Ning Fan!

Launching a sneak attack!

Taking advantage of Ning Fan’s momentary distraction while asking, it finally mustered the courage to assault Ning Fan, hoping to kill him in one strike.

"Is that your answer then..."

Ning Fan’s eyes showed no anger at being ambushed, only regret and pity.

Eventually, all regret and pity transformed into ruthlessness.

He effortlessly blocked the Rain Dragon’s sneak attack, once again binding the Rain Dragon with the Divine Wood Status.

This time, he showed no mercy but activated the power of the Divine Status, thoroughly swallowing and exterminating the Rain Dragon.

The entire eradication process lasted three days. After three days, Ning Fan spread his hand, urging Rain Control Position, instantly gathering the Rain Intent of heaven and earth, transforming into a virtual Rain Dragon in his palm.

This was not Beihai True Lord’s Rain Dragon, but Ning Fan’s own Rain Dragon cultivated from swallowing the other dragon. It wasn’t a living being, but a Divine Skill.

"What a pity... you chose the wrong master."

Looking at the Rain Dragon in his hand, Ning Fan sighed slightly. That dragon’s loyalty was admirable, yet ultimately, it could not serve him.

With a grasp of his palm, the Rain Dragon dissolved into rainwater, flowing between his fingers.

A tap on the storage pouch sent a tortoise and serpent, two virtual shadows, abruptly flying out from the pouch, spiraling around Ning Fan.

The tortoise and serpent shadows transformed, metamorphosing into two Bone-tooth Flying Swords emanating the aura of rivers and seas!

These two Bone-tooth Swords are extremely powerful treasure swords among innate mid-grade magical treasures. Together, they can rival an innate superior magical treasure, incredibly formidable!

These are the Turtle-Snake Twin Swords snatched from the giant tortoise. No, calling them Turtle-Snake Twin Swords isn’t accurate; these twin swords are actually the Titled Artifact of a True Martial titled cultivator — [True Martial Broken Sword]!

Ning Fan doesn’t particularly value magical treasures, but if a treasure reaches the power of an innate superior treasure, it’s an exception.

This level of treasure can greatly enhance Ning Fan’s combat power. With this treasure, even when facing the true body of a Second-Grade Quasi-Saint, Ning Fan would have a bit of confidence!

"Good swords! Just a bit timid in character, a bit too slick, much like your previous master, which isn’t good, really isn’t good..." Ning Fan praised the True Martial Broken Sword, then criticized it.

Turtle Sword: [The master’s criticism is right!]

Snake Sword: [The master’s criticism is reasonable!]

Turtle Sword: [May my master enjoy eternal fortune!]

Snake Sword: [May my master’s lifespan match the heavens!]

With the Communication with All Things activated, Ning Fan easily heard the flattering words of the True Martial Broken Sword. These twin swords are really interesting; they actually flatter their master, indeed very intelligent...

"From today onwards, you will be my swords. For magical treasures to change owners is a common affair in the cultivation world. Having followed me, you should forget your former master," Ning Fan said.

Turtle Sword: [Former master? That timid old tortoise is not the maidservant’s master!]

Snake Sword: [From today, the maidservant acknowledges only Ning Fan as master!]

Turtle Sword: [Master is so handsome! The most handsome of True Martial titles in history!]

Snake Sword: [Ah, master looked at me, he’s looking at me! He must like me!]

Turtle Sword: [Nonsense! Master likes me!]

Snake Sword: [How dare you compete with me for master!]

Turtle Sword: [Cut you!]

Snake Sword: [Slice you!]

Clang clang clang, ding ding dong!

The Turtle Sword and Snake Sword actually started fighting each other for Ning Fan.

"..." Ning Fan was so awkward he was speechless.

Was he being adored by two female flying swords to the point where the two sister swords were vying and getting jealous, turning against each other?

Cough cough cough...

Why did no one tell him these two swords were both female swords? Aren’t normal twin swords supposed to be one male and one female...

Ning Fan waved his hand, stopping the fight between the twin swords. Initially, he found these two swords with high intelligence very amusing, but now he was starting to find them a bit of a headache.

If, in future battles, these two swords suddenly ignore the enemy and start fighting each other, Ning Fan would be in real danger.

It seems these two swords need some tempering before they can be genuinely useful...

Ning Fan put away the twin swords and started searching through the other two rewards from the Heavenly Map.

Among the three Heavenly Map rewards, the Immortal Wine in the Jade Liquor Pot had already been drunk, leaving only the Heaven’s Dao Box and the Blueprint Pouch unopened.

Ning Fan first opened the Blueprint Pouch.

Inside was a beast hide blueprint, the paper yellowed by age, its existence unknown for how many years, yet the faint fragrance of ink still wafted around.

Amidst the ink marks, there was demonic energy emanating from the third step. Clearly, this blueprint was drawn by an unknown demon race saint.

The writing on the blueprint, Ning Fan recognized, was ancient demon characters. Under the words, there was a depiction of a large fish skeleton. Upon the fish bones, countless celestial materials were melted and forged, forcibly turning fragile fish bones into a powerful magical treasure, each fish spine seemingly becoming an innate treasure sword.

"So it’s the blueprint for the Bone Sword of the Flying Thorn Clan. This fish demon clan likes to forge their fish bones into innate flying swords. In combat, all the bone swords are extremely formidable. Unfortunately, you’re not a fish demon, so this blueprint is useless to you." Upon seeing Ning Fan open something useless, the Ant Lord was exceedingly delighted.

"..." Ning Fan was speechless for a moment, having forgotten to block out the Ant Lord’s noisy voice, and now this one was causing a racket again, really annoying.

Seeing the blueprint was of no use, Ning Fan casually put it away and opened the Heaven’s Dao Box. As soon as it was opened, the flashing blessings of light inside were so dazzling that he couldn’t keep his eyes open.

After a long time, the blessing’s light faded a bit. Ning Fan then clearly saw that inside the box was a purple ore engraved with heavenly dao patterns, shaped like a meditating infant.

"What kind of ore is this?" Ning Fan asked the Ant Lord, since the Ant Lord was a saint with vast knowledge, right?

"It’s actually the [Primordial Fusion Stone]! You, little ant, are quite lucky." The Ant Lord unwillingly gritted its silver teeth, its tone dripping with sourness. For once, Ning Fan was lucky, and it made her unhappy.

"Primordial Fusion Stone?"

Ning Fan raised his eyebrow but didn’t inquire further about what it was from the Ant Lord.

He and the Ant Lord were connected in spirit. As soon as the Ant Lord thought of this item, Ning Fan could see all its information from the Ant Lord’s inner thoughts.

Primordial Fusion Stone! Among the exotic ores in the true realm, it ranks 39th! It’s the key material for synthesizing innate superior magical treasures!

In the true realm, attempting to refine an innate superior magical treasure is as hard as ascending to the heavens. Even third-step artifact refiners have a success rate of less than one in a thousand.

In other words, an innate superior magical treasure requires more than a thousand refining attempts for a lucky success once, and this is with top-notch refining masters!

Refining an innate superior magical treasure requires consuming countless immortal materials and endless years. When such consumption is magnified a thousandfold, even saints would hesitate to try.

This is why innate superior magical treasures are rare.

Through refining, obtaining an innate superior magical treasure is too difficult, so true realm cultivators found other ways to obtain such items.

That way is synthesis!

Through special synthesis formations and utilizing materials like Primordial Fusion Stone, true realm cultivators can merge several innate mid-grade magical treasures into one innate superior magical treasure — of course, synthesis carries a low failure rate!

Similarly, if one possesses multiple innate superior magical treasures, they can attempt to synthesize a top-grade innate treasure, but its failure rate is even more terrifying, and more Primordial Fusion Stones are needed.

"Can this stone help me synthesize a top-grade innate magical treasure?" Ning Fan was very excited. Owning a top-grade innate magical treasure, he might even dare to challenge an ancient great cultivator directly!

"Daydreaming! You only have one Fusion Stone, not enough to synthesize a top-grade innate, okay! One Fusion Stone is only enough to synthesize a superior innate." The Ant Lord mocked.

"Synthesizing an innate superior magical treasure is still good. I already have the True Martial Broken Sword, comparable to an innate superior treasure. By synthesizing another, with two innate superior treasures in combat, I’d stand a great chance even against the true form of the Rain Master!" Ning Fan was quite optimistic.

"I’m not trying to dampen your spirits, but you’re oversimplifying synthesis. Not to mention the high failure rate for synthesis, the right time, location, fortune, and manpower are all indispensable. Not to mention the [Innate Synthesis Formation], you can’t get that; it’s a secret array of the ancient holy sect in the true realm! Even in the ancient holy sect, not everyone qualifies to know this formation. You don’t even know the synthesis formation, yet you dream of synthesizing a treasure. Truly wishful thinking!"

"I don’t know the formation, but you do, and that’s enough. As a saint of the Hongjun Holy Sect, you must know the formation," Ning Fan smiled.

"Of course, I know, but why would I... damn!" The Ant Lord was so angry she gritted her teeth. She really hated this heart-to-heart connection.

Why does it matter if she tells Ning Fan the formation?

He can know everything from her heart directly, no need for her to willingly disclose!

"Great, I’ve memorized the formation." In just over ten breaths, Ning Fan had memorized the complex innate synthesis formation, without a single mistake.

This shocked the Ant Lord; such a complex formation took her a whole day to remember, yet Ning Fan remembered it too quickly!

"Even if you know the formation, you can’t gather the synthesis materials. Though luckily you got the primary material, the Primordial Fusion Stone, you still lack several auxiliary materials, all rare items, only found in the true realm..." The Ant Lord, still unwilling to concede, mocked.

"If it’s not available, it can be bought."

"From whom!"

"From the Tongtian Sect."

"Damn! If my Third Brother knows I’m being bullied by you, he won’t sell you anything!" The Ant Lord’s anger boiled. The leader of the Tongtian Sect, wasn’t he her Third Brother...

"Hehe, then don’t let him know."

Ning Fan stopped arguing with the Ant Lord and began arranging an Ancient Kingdom Trade Array in the Heavenly Map World.

This time, what he wanted to buy was quite a lot, besides the materials needed for synthesizing an innate superior magical treasure, there were also a few things mentioned by the giant tortoise...

Thinking about the secrets disclosed by the giant tortoise, Ning Fan couldn’t help but raise his head, glancing at the Heavenly Map World.

This glance didn’t seem like looking at the world itself, but seeing it as some kind of delicacy.

The Ant Lord, connected in spirit with Ning Fan, became uneasy. Connected as they were, she naturally knew what Ning Fan intended to do.

Ning Fan, having heard the nonsense of the giant tortoise, had developed an appetite for this Heavenly Map World...

"Hey! Small Ant Ning! Don’t trust that turtle demon! Even I, a venerable saint, have never heard of the Heavenly Map World being edible. How can you believe that turtle demon’s words? If you’re stubborn, be careful not to end up killing yourself, and drag my scattered soul down with you..."

"Hehe, just because you haven’t heard of it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You’ve seen it yourself, that old turtle did eat a large portion of the Heavenly Map World, so there’s a degree of credibility to his words..."

Ning Fan naturally would not heed the Ant Lord’s dissuasion; he had his own judgment.

After activating the Trading Formation, Ning Fan didn’t rush to buy anything but instead sent several contact signals to Mistress Qiuling of the Little Mountain Realm.

Unfortunately, the other party hadn’t activated the Ancient Kingdom Trade Array at the moment, thus Ning Fan’s contact request wasn’t received.

Ning Fan smiled and shook his head. To communicate using the Ancient Kingdom Trade Array, both parties need to activate it simultaneously.

The probability is very low, so Ning Fan simply tried it casually, prepared for the failure of communication.

"I wonder if she’s recovered the Primordial Qi she lost before..."

Ning Fan shook his head, swept away the distractions from his mind, and connected the Ancient Kingdom Trade Array to the Tongtian Sect, soon purchasing the necessary items.

It had to be said that Ning Fan was fortunate; among the materials for synthesizing the Innate Treasures, the Primordial Fusion Stone was the most precious, listed as prohibited for sale by the Tongtian Sect. If Ning Fan had lacked the Primordial Fusion Stone, it would have been impossible to purchase.

With the materials prepared, Ning Fan did not immediately proceed to synthesize the Innate Superior Treasure.

Firstly, synthesizing the Innate Superior Treasure requires preparing multiple Innate Mid-grade Treasures. These Mid-grade Treasures have primary and secondary roles. What type of Superior Treasure will be synthesized is closely related to the Mid-grade Treasure used as the primary material.

Ning Fan hadn’t decided which treasure to use as the primary material. Moreover, the success rate of treasure synthesis is extremely low; only when timing, location, fortune, and manpower all align perfectly can the highest success rate be reached.

Obviously, now isn’t the best place for synthesis, and the timing is off; detailed analysis to find an auspicious time is required.

Thus, Ning Fan set the treasure synthesis aside and instead took out several Immortal Materials and expensive pills mentioned by the giant tortoise.

In his mind, he carefully recalled the words of the giant tortoise, fearing he might miss something.

[Young friend asked the secret of my immense vitality? Heh, it’s actually related to devouring the Heavenly Map. I became energetically vital by consuming the Heavenly Map.]

[You say the Heavenly Map can’t be eaten? Nonsense! I ate the Heavenly Map and remained well!]

[Secret? Of course, there’s a trick to eating the Heavenly Map, apart from using the power of the True Martial Seal, some preparations are needed! Initially, my vitality was very weak, and so was the power of the Seal. Eating the Heavenly Map then required intricate preparations, daring not to devour it raw...]

[You ask why I ate the Heavenly Map? Well, it’s tied to my dreams, and I don’t want to explain; you shouldn’t ask. Just remember, I’m a tortoise with secrets, secrets heavier than life...]

Ning Fan was utterly uninterested in the dreams of Old Turtle Zhenwu.

He only cared whether the method described by Old Turtle Zhenwu was genuine.

Despite Old Turtle Zhenwu swearing by his method’s efficacy, without personally trying it, Ning Fan couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

[Inside the Control Positions Sky Map lies the Blood of the Great Dao, absolutely delicious. Once tasted, you’ll surely be addicted! I am the world’s most honest turtle, never deceiving anyone! Don’t blame me for not warning you! Though the Blood of the Great Dao is delectable, consuming too much sullies your fortune irreparably, dooming one to endless cyclical misfortune throughout reincarnation. Even True Realm Heretic Saints dare not consume it recklessly, strictly prohibiting it from spreading. But I don’t fear! Even facing disasters and black fortune endlessly, I’m unfazed! This lifetime, I must shatter the firmament and drain the Blood of the Dao, to finally escape this world and return to my home, the large water jar at Weituo Temple...]

A turtle with a dream...

A turtle yearning to return home...

In his trance, Ning Fan felt an inexplicable familiarity with the True Martial Old Turtle, yet after familiarity comes strangeness.

Something about this Heavenly Map World battle seemed strangely familiar, as if seen before.

That’s it, indeed...

A familiar setting indeed existed: the unfortunate Emperor Shuiyan was bullied twice by the turtle.

Long ago, when Wu Laoba first practiced the Flooded Bottle, a water-immersed spirit sense was slain.

This time, Old Turtle Zhenwu sprayed out a water prison, again imprisoning a water-immersed spirit sense.

Emperor Shuiyan certainly clashed with the turtle...

Ning Fan’s eyes suddenly sharpened before relaxing as if thinking of something or merely daydreaming.

"Is it coincidence...? Or perhaps, not... If truly so, a sense of compassion towards this old turtle would make sense... Otherwise, despite the effort to kill his spirit sense, I’d somewhat plot against him as a lesson... If everything is truly so, does the old turtle’s homeland lie in my future or my... past..."

Ning Fan muttered to himself, his words seeming oddly vague.

Soon, Ning Fan dismissed his thoughts and, utilizing the method taught by Old Turtle Zhenwu, began cooking a hotpot with various Spiritual Medicine.

The pot was temporarily refined from special immortal ores.

The Spiritual Medicine, the broth, filled the air with steam, emitting a peculiar fragrance.

When the broth boiled, Ning Fan cautiously stripped a fragment of the Heavenly Map World and tossed it into the pot.

Curiously.

As the fragment entered the pot, it turned into a blood clot and gradually cooked in the broth.

Such cooking destroyed the blood clots’ essence of the Blood of the Great Dao, harming their nutritional value.

But there was no alternative; without special treatment, Ning Fan, not being a vitality monster, would explode by directly consuming the Blood of the Great Dao.

Powerful like Old Turtle Zhenwu, initially, he also consumed cautiously.

Despite severe nutrient loss, upon swallowing the blood clot, Ning Fan felt his organs ablaze!

Fortunately, the backlash was within Ning Fan’s control, and soon, he digested the blood clot, enhancing his vitality considerably!

"The Control Position Heavenly Map can be eaten!" the Ant Lord was so startled that she couldn’t close her mouth; this completely contradicted her knowledge. Had everything she learned been wrong?

"Hmm? This is..."

Upon swallowing the blood clot, black gases surged around Ning Fan!

This was not generic substance; it was indeed Black Fortune!

Consuming the Control Position Heavenly Map and refining the Blood of the Great Dao defies heaven too greatly, naturally attracting infinite Black Fortune.

No doubt, the turtle who consumed years of Heavenly Maps is surely a Black Fortune Turtle.

The question arises: having eaten the Heavenly Map now, will Ning Fan become a Cultivator of Dark Fate?

Hehe, hasn’t he always been a Cultivator of Dark Fate? Just his blackness wasn’t apparent; deep down, it seemed abnormal.

In truth, he wasn’t.

He belongs to the Fu Li race, the group with the dirtiest fortunes!

No matter how many colors are added to his fortune umbrella, its nature remains the extremity of black.

Thus, the question arises.

Does increasing Black Fortune scare a Demon Ancestor of the Fu Li race like Ning Fan?

Why would it! The more Black Fortune, the stronger the fortune, it’s something desired!

Originally Ning Fan was at the seventh color of Immortal Fate; now, with increased fortune, the eighth color is beginning to emerge, albeit with only a hint. Fully gathering the eighth color of Immortal Fate is still a long way off.

Not enough, still not enough...

Achieving the eighth color of Immortal Fate demands immense fortune; such an increase of Black Fortune is merely a drop in the ocean...

"I wonder if consuming this entire Heavenly Map World will increase my fortune to the eighth color of Immortal Fate... If so, it’d be an unexpected gain."

"There’s one thing I disagree with. That old turtle boasts about how delicious the Heavenly Map World is, but when tasted, it’s no different in flavor from boiled duck blood from the mortal realm... Just average."

Of course, compared to the feces-flavored Ant Species Soup, this boiled blood clot surely qualifies as haute cuisine.

Ning Fan could drink the Ant Species Soup by the bowlful, so why would consuming boiled duck blood pose a challenge?

Impossible.

In Ning Fan’s devouring, the Heavenly Map World finally met its collapse...

...

In Beitian, within the Northern Abyssal Star Domain.

A star sea coursed through the starry sky in the Northern Abyssal Star Domain, and given it contained the endless power of time, Beitian cultivators named it the Sea of Ages.

The Yishi Palace was established deep within the Sea of Ages.

There were also several floating immortal islands built with Lost World Towers, drifting above the Sea of Ages.

As the second round of the Yishi Palace competition drew closer every day, more and more cultivators arrived at the Sea of Ages. On this day, a young man in white quietly arrived, riding a small dragon formed from rainwater.

The rain dragon was too small, only three zhang long, appearing utterly unremarkable.

The young man seemed to be a Rain Cultivator, yet his Rain Intent also appeared equally ordinary, as if he was not some expert.

Clouds of Qi were faintly present around the young man, and perhaps it was these clouds that obscured him, making him look so unremarkable.

He sat atop the rain dragon, flying just above the surface of the Sea of Ages. He was flipping through a tattered ancient tome, reading with intense concentration, deeply engrossed in its contents.

"Traces, Control Positions, Source Stream of Dao, Daoist Lineage... So it turns out my Divine Status is even more advanced than Taoist lineages, no wonder I could easily crush those Water Cultivators... Born with Five Spirits, Fiendgod, Demon, Spirit, Ghost, Immortal; God is the beginning of the Five Spirits, Immortal Spirits come second, Devil Spirits, Demon Spirits, Ghost Spirits come next..."

This young man was Ning Fan, and the old book he was reading was the Faux Dao Sutra handed to him by the Slime Monster.

Though it was only a Faux Dao Sutra, its content encompassed nearly the entire framework of cultivation, a great theoretical work. As Ning Fan progressed rapidly, his cultivation was rough, often like crossing a river by feeling the stones, careful with every step.

Not until reading this book did Ning Fan realize how many detours he had taken before.

He recalled that his Heart Demon was a paper crane, that during Core Formation, in order not to slash away the affection and sentiment, he even caused a scene of tearful separation...

[Silly girl, how could I bear to hurt you, even if you are my Heart Demon, even if with a mere wave of my hand, I could slash you away and form my core, but I cannot bear to...]

[But this Heart Demon, ultimately needs to be slashed, do you understand...]

[To exchange for ten years of your innocence, I am willing to overturn the heavens, do you understand...]

[To keep your heart untouched by dust, I am willing to sweep away the dust of heaven and earth, do you understand...]

[To let your Heart Demon not die, I am willing to dissolve affection, slash intent, renounce the heart, eradicate thoughts... willing to defy the heavens, fight against the Vault! Emulate that ancient overturner, be at odds with the heavens! Never retreat in death, unyielding to ten thousand enemies! Do you understand!]

[I, I do not understand... Have I seen you before...]

[You need not understand... because you are the Heart Demon I cannot slash away...]

Cough cough cough...

Recalling the embarrassing love words of youth, Ning Fan suddenly turned red-faced, awkwardly coughing.

Back then, I was also so naïve...

To think, this Faux Dao Sutra records over a thousand ways to preserve the Heart Demon and easily form one’s core.

If I had read this book back then, I wouldn’t have needed to commit so many defiant acts; I could have formed my core in no time...

After his embarrassment, Ning Fan suddenly shook his head and laughed.

Actually, there’s no need to feel embarrassed.

Not having been frivolous in one’s youth is a loss; what seems frivolous now was a genuine sentiment and decision back then. In that case, how can one use today’s mature perspective to negate a youth’s resolve...

Ning Fan brushed aside miscellaneous thoughts, put away the Faux Dao Sutra, and took out another ancient jade scroll, immersing his spirit sense into it to read attentively.

This was something given to him by the All-Knowing Elder upon leaving Earth Abyss, the jade scroll containing all the ultimate Divine Skills of the Liangyi Sect...

The All-Knowing Elder initially intended to help Ning Fan cultivate these ultimate skills, but since Ning Fan had to leave Earth Abyss, the All-Knowing Elder simply left it for Ning Fan to explore and cultivate on his own.

While reading attentively, suddenly, in the distance over the sea, a flash of firelight surged through the waves.

The firelight was not anything else, it was surprisingly a Fire Gourd with the Acquired Five Nirvana.

Everyone knew that Ning Fan was very fond of Gourd Magical Treasures, and seeing that this treasure was a Gourd Magical Treasure, he took an extra glance.

He then retracted his gaze.

This treasure was not the Vital Essence Gourd he had been searching for so diligently...

Interestingly enough, upon seeing Ning Fan’s glance, the Fire Gourd felt displeased, suddenly veered in a turn, and launched itself toward Ning Fan, as if intending to give him a lesson.

It turned out this was a Fire Gourd with an Artifact Spirit, and its Artifact Spirit had a rather bad temper, hating it when others looked at it askew.

Behind the Fire Gourd, there was a gasping scholar-cultivator, desperately chasing after it but unable to keep up no matter what.

Upon seeing the gourd attack Ning Fan, the scholar cultivator was immediately anxious, "Grandpa Gourd, please, I’m begging you, don’t hurt people anymore! I can’t afford the medicine expenses!"

"Hmph!" The gourd snorted arrogantly, treating the scholar’s words as mere wind by the ear.

Then, the gourd, blazing with fierce flames, charged powerfully at Ning Fan.

And then...

It was caught effortlessly by Ning Fan, instantly extinguishing all its flames.

"Hiss! So strong!" The scholar’s face changed, seemingly shocked by Ning Fan’s terrifying cultivation.

It’s known that this fire gourd is not an ordinary magical treasure; even an elder at the Initiate Realm of Shekong wouldn’t dare to take a hit from it barehanded, let alone extinguish its Immortal Flames on a whim.

Ning Fan being able to accomplish this feat meant he was stronger than an Initiate Realm of Shekong, at least Late Stage of Shekong!

"Hmm? This gourd..." Ning Fan suddenly frowned; logically, a mere Postnatal Five Nirvana Treasure shouldn’t interest him at all.

Yet this gourd contained an aura, making him uncomfortable, yet extremely familiar!

It was the aura of the Emperor of Fate; this aura was impossible for Ning Fan to forget!

Ning Fan gazed deeply at the gourd in his hand, then glanced at the approaching scholar, understanding.

It turned out that this scholar was being used by the Emperor of Fate; hence, there was an almost undetectable aura of fate in his body...

Among the Four Heavens, the Emperor of Fate schemed against countless people, so it wasn’t surprising someone from Beitian would be targeted.

Ning Fan wasn’t one to meddle in others’ affairs, nor was he kind-hearted enough to help a stranger break free from manipulation. What piqued his curiosity was whether the appearance of someone schemed by the Emperor of Fate at the grand competition of the Yishi Palace was merely coincidental?

Or did it mean that the Emperor of Fate, far in the Southern Heaven, was actually paying attention to the grand competition of the Yishi Palace, perhaps even laying out plans there?

"Younger Sun Liang, greets Senior. I’m not afraid of Senior’s ridicule; my gourd is somewhat disobedient, always wanting to run off and hurt people. It’s fortunate that Senior is unharmed; otherwise, I would truly be embarrassed. Please forgive me for any offense." The scholar said fearfully, as he was only at the Initial Stage of Crossing Truth, he had to be incredibly cautious facing someone like Ning Fan, a ’Shekong Ancestor,’ not to mention he had almost hurt Ning Fan just now, fearing Ning Fan would seek retribution.

"A disobedient gourd? Heh, interesting. If so, remember to keep an eye on your magical treasure next time to avoid ’accidentally harming’ others again."

Ning Fan looked at the scholar with a faint smile, emphasizing the words ’accidentally harming,’ as if implying something.

Upon hearing this, the scholar’s face immediately changed; he was about to defend himself when Ning Fan suddenly began talking gibberish to the gourd, then tossed it back to the scholar.

"Sun Liang, right? Take care of yourself."

Under the scholar’s gloomy gaze, Ning Fan casually warned him before riding his dragon away.

"Am I overthinking it? If this person had seen through my scheme, he wouldn’t have let me go, nor would he have returned the gourd..."

The scholar secretly felt uneasy, suddenly recalling something, letting out a cold laugh before scolding the gourd once Ning Fan had gone far, "You knew how powerful that person was, didn’t you! I clearly told you to only attack cultivators below Crossing Truth, yet you attacked him, almost causing trouble for me! I should have advised you to be patient and control your appetite!"

"Hmph!" The gourd seemed capable only of snorting arrogantly, completely ignoring the scholar.

Seeing this, the scholar felt a headache, trying again to persuade the gourd kindly, "Grandpa Gourd, I know you’re hungry and want to eat some powerful cultivators, but you must be patient, understand patience? If you disobey, I won’t be able to help you advance to a higher level. Don’t you want to return to being the ’Man-Eating Gourd’ that dominated the Southern Heaven! Listen to me, start by eating some lower-leveled cultivators, silently and without fuss. Once you’ve regained some level, then you can target those Shekong and Fragmented Thought Elders, gradually, step by step, don’t rush."

"...Alright." The gourd remained silent for a long time before finally humming in agreement, seemingly convinced by the scholar.

Seeing that he had persuaded the gourd, the scholar sighed in relief and continued on to find the next lone prey with the gourd...

...

"A Man-Eating Gourd, huh... So the gourd wasn’t trying to attack me, but rather wanted to eat me, heh, quite audacious."

On the distant rain dragon, Ning Fan’s gaze turned cold for a brief moment before retracting the chill.

Had it not been for his interest in the aura of the Emperor of Fate and his curiosity about the subsequent developments, he might have just killed Sun Liang outright.

Of course, even if he didn’t strike, Sun Liang wouldn’t live long anyway.

With Ning Fan’s skill in divination, it wasn’t difficult to see through the fate of a cultivator in the Crossing Truth Realm; he could tell at a glance that Sun Liang bore the visage of death, destined to die within a month.

Sun Liang was on a path to being manipulated to death by the Emperor of Fate...

He just didn’t know what benefit the Emperor of Fate could gain from this; whether it had anything to do with the grand competition of the Yishi Palace...

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