Grasping Evil

Si Fan Palace was a restricted area. But today, these Harmonious Spirit cultivators forced their way in to it.

If it weren’t for him sensing that Old Devil was not harmed, he would’ve immediately used sword sense to kill these cultivators!

He had practiced Dao for two years and was rarely infuriated… However this did not mean that he did not have a reverse scale.

Seven Apricot was his reverse scale!

The grave digging cultivators were still in shock. They saw a black light shining above the sky of Si Fan Palace. The next moment, a teenager emerged in mid-air  under the snow apricot tree.

This teenager had a cold expression, his glabella had a starshine and his eyes had a raging sword qi.

The teenager seemed to be not human, but a sword! A dominating devil sword that could execute countless Gods and Buddhas!

This was how an average cultivator viewed Ning Fan!

The Harmonious Spirit cultivators with higher cultivation base could better gauge the sword qi of the teenager. These cultivators wore a grey sword robe embroidered with a sword mark, and each of them carried four flying swords in their back.

A pale youngster stood behind the group of the burly grave diggers. He looked like 25 or 26 years old, and he was a late Harmonious Spirit. Those who had such a cultivation in their twenties were considered to have monstrous talent. This teenager looked like the leader of the gang. Instead of having only four flying swords, he had six.

The terrifying qi that Ning Fan emitted had made the pale youngster frown slightly, but he did not falter. He made his way through the crowd towards Ning Fan’s front. Then, he lightly clasped his hand and spoke with a hint of arrogance:

“Fellow daoist, we are sword guards from the Sword World and are here on a private business. Please do not interfere and leave immediately.”

“Sword World?”

Ning Fan’s gaze turned slightly stern. He now recalled that the Old Devil and the Sword World did have some grudges. The old man’s Dao Mate seemed to be the beloved daughter of some big shot in the Sword World, and the little Dugu who had been buried here seemed to have the same identity.

Could these grave diggers be little Dugu’s family members?

They would not be able to enter the Rain Immortal World if they did not have a strong background… One should know that each of the immortal worlds had a strict control of their borders, restricting the access of outsiders in their respective realms. If this group of cultivators really had a powerful background in the Sword World, then they would be able to get around the restrictions and enter Rain World. Also, the fact that all of them only had Harmonious Spirit cultivation was an act in accordance to the law set by the Rain World, so experts of higher level wouldn’t dare to come here.

If that was the case, Ning Fan could understand why… But why didn’t the Old Devil stop these people from entering Si Fan Palace or express his anger at them? Given the character of the Old Devil… he would have risked his life to stop these people from entering the palace even though he had lost all of his cultivation. After all, this was the place where he and his Dao companion shared their moments in life.

The pale youngster seemed pleased when Ning Fan became silent after hearing the name of Sword World.

Nascent Soul cultivator, so what? A Nascent Soul were only a country’s old ancestor in a deserted place like Yue Country. But in the Sword World, and especially in the clan of this pale youngster, Nascent Cultivators were merely considered average.

“Since you now know that this is a private business of the Sword World, scram!” The youngster spoke as if he had found back his pride. Yet the only reply he received was Ning Fan’s cold stare.

“Hmph, so what if you are from the Sword World?!”

Followed by Ning Fan’s concentrated gaze, his sword sense swept across silently. The youngster and his group had a sure-death premonition raised within their heart!

The youngster instantly lost all of his arrogance, and his expression was now filled with fear and disbelief!

“Sword… sword consciousness and sword sense… You… You…”

He couldn’t help but feel shocked. A Nascent Soul cultivator was only an average joe in the Sword World, but a sword cultivator who had sword consciousness and sword sense was extremely rare and each of them was Sword Emperor of Void Fragmentation realm.

A mere Void Fragmentation Sword Cultivator did not have the qualification to be called a Sword Emperor! The people who were named ‘Emperor’, like the Ghost Emperor, Demon Emperor, Sword Emperor… were invincible existences!

The Sword World was one of the strongest Immortal Worlds, just below the Devil World, Demon World and the Heaven Immortal World. Every sword emperor ancestor could use the sword qi of their sword sense to easily massacre infinite number of low level cultivators with just a single thought.

The youngster could not believe that Ning Fan was a genius sword cultivator that had the talent to become a Sword Emperor!

Also, the sword qi within Ning Fan’s sword sense had a weak yet dominating sword qi that could easily kill all cultivators who were under early Gold Core!

The youngster could not believe it when Ning Fan dared to try attacking them even though Ning Fan knew that he and his group of people came from a large and powerful background… Ning Fan would kill them all, even if it meant offending some Sword Emperor Ancestor of the Sword World!

He must be a madman!

Suddenly, voices could be heard from outside the courtyard and the grave mound when he was about to kill them.

“Ning Fan, abstain from killing!”

“Fan’er, stop!”

Just after the voices were heard, a female ghost gently flew out of the grave mound, and stood below the Apricot tree. Whereas the black robed old man walked limply into the courtyard.

The ghost was a skinny girl and wore a white robe. She had a thick long hair and a slender waist. She had an apricot flower at the temple of her hair. She stood upon the blizzard like a branch of apricot that was graceful and lonely. Her eyes were lonely and had a shred of Sorrowful Sword Sense. Ning Fan who had comprehended the Divine Rain Intent could faintly sense that the fierce Sword Intent within her eyes was unique, just like a Divine Intent… It could be an intent realm that must be comprehended by the Sword World’s Spirit Severing sword cultivators.

Could little Dugu be a Spirit Severing cultivator when she was alive?

Looking at the Old Devil, he still wore a black robe. But his gaze that was once wild had now become tranquil and his black hair became gray white. These two years must have not been easy for him.

Ning Fan felt slightly sad and sighed lightly. His hostility towards Emperor Moksha became stronger.

The Old Devil could have been a True Immortal and wandered about leisurely in the Four Heaven Immortal Worlds, if it wasn’t because of Emperor Moksha. The Old Devil could’ve had his cultivation recovered, and stomped freely across the Rain World, if it weren’t for Emperor Moksha…

It had been two years and things in Seven Apricot City remained the same except for the people.

Both the Old Devil and Dugu were assessing Ning Fan, while Ning Fan was also observing the both of them.

When Ning Fan had just returned, little Dugu’s eyes had a trace of joy that could not easily be detected. Little Dugu was surprised for a while when she sensed that Ning Fan had the qi of a Nascent Soul, and with both the sword consciousness and sword sense. Ning Fan had an unknown sword sense that made Dugu, who had comprehended her own Sword Intent, to feel slightly fearful…

The average cultivators could understand Sword Intent… But that was just the tip of the iceberg of the sword qi, and not the true Sword Intent… The real Sword Intentcould only be comprehended by Spirit Severing cultivators. Little Dugu, who comprehended her own Sword Intent before reaching Spirit Severing, was renowned as one of the “Sword World’s Three Brave Ones”.

But even she did not have the sword consciousness and sword sense when she was a Nascent Soul. Little Dugu felt for the first time that she could not read Ning Fan… Not just his disposition, but also his cultivation was much harder to read… as if it was hidden inside a great fog.

He had become one of the greatest experts in this generation in less than two years…

Little Dugu sighed a little heavier, thinking why did Ning Fan choose devil cultivation with his superior talent… Her family was one of the three royal families in the Sword World, and her father (the emperor) hated devil cultivators. The Old Devil and her older sister were a tragedy. It would have been great if Ning Fan was not a devil cultivator…

Her heart was running wild with imagination. In the end, she recalled something important after she ran through her thoughts!

“Oh no! This Little Devil Ning once said that he’ll come and take away my third sword qi after he reached Nascent Soul… If it was any other day, I wouldn’t be bothered. He would be in big trouble if he took the sword qi away under the eyes of Sword World’s people! ”

Little Dugu was much more worried about the safety of Little Devil Ning  compared to her marriage with him.

The Old Devil had a silent expression while he was sizing up Ning Fan. But for the first time, he showed a happy expression.

“Little brat, your incarnation is something… I heard that you wanted to go to the Endless Sea. I was quite worried at first, but seeing you with such strength now, this old man could finally relax and leave with ease…”

Immediately, Ning Fan caught the meaning behind the Old Devil’s words.

“Where do you want to go?! Your current cultivation base is only…” He stopped his sentence halfway, and his eyes swept towards the people from the Sword World on the side. Some words were not meant to be spoken in front of these people.

“Han Yuanji will naturally have to follow us and return to the Sword World! The emperor had heard about the matter regarding Emperor Moksha. This trip’s objective was to escort the two ladies back… Of course, if Han Yuanji is really brazen enough to follow us back, the emperor would slightly protect him for the ladies. With the emperor’s presence, even Emperor Moksha would not dare to do anything against Han Yuanji…”

With the support of the Old Devil and after confirming that Ning Fan would not dare to kill him, the youngster’s expression regained its arrogance.

Ning Fan heard the words of the pale youngster but he did not bother to debate, instead he closed his eyes lightly.

With the Old Devil’s character, he certainly wouldn’t beg. If he had decided to stay, these mere Harmonious Spirit sword cultivators wouldn’t be able to stop him.

Was he really afraid of Emperor Moksha? Did he fear that his life would be taken by Emperor Moksha after a hundred years?

He wouldn’t have stayed in the Rain World if he was scared. He could have had lot of chances to beg towards the Sword World’s three emperors…

The Old Devil’s decision to return was probably because he was worried about my safety…

If the Old Devil were to go to the Sword World, Emperor Moksha would not come to the Rain World one hundred years later and seek vengeance. Perhaps, he would descend upon the Sword World…

The Old Devil was protecting me…

“Why do you choose to suffer so…” Ning Fan opened his eyes and felt disturbed.

“Haha, this old man is fine. How about you? Always thinking about reaching the Void Fragmentation within a hundred years… That is bad, a cultivator must have perseverance and a little dedication. It will allow you to not lose yourself in the sea of blood. However, if that dedication changes to obsession, and that obsession becomes your heart devil… With your talent, you would certainly reach Void Fragmentation in a thousand years. Do not give yourself so much pressure or it will destroy you.” The Old Devil laughed, and for the first time, tapped Ning Fan’s shoulder.

“Are you worried that I would not be able to stand against Emperor Moksha if he were to come back?”

“Yes, this old man is very afraid… not of death, but something else. You are my only hope in saving her. I can die, but you cannot! This old man had an agenda when I took you in as a disciple back then. You can hate me the moment you knew about it… ”

“I would have felt weird if you didn’t have an agenda when you took me in, that would not be your character. If not for you, I would not be who I am today. Perhaps I might have died in an unknown place without anyone finding out after I ran away from All Pleasure Sect. No matter what reasons you had when you took me in, your grace has already been sown in me. If you have any request, I will not reject it,” Ning Fan solemnly said.

This pair of master and disciple did not have much affection. The reason they had ties was purely due to profits and gains. The reason the Old Devil took Ning Fan in was the hope that he could save someone someday. Whereas Ning Fan was forced to become the Old Devil’s disciple as he was threatened by death.

But later on, they found out that both of their characteristics are compatible. Thus, slowly, the master-and-disciple relationship began to grow.

It was the Old Devil that had given Ning Fan an objective for his devil cultivation.

Whereas Ning Fan had given the Old Devil hope to finally cure his lover.

He would never reject the Old Devil’s request even though he hadn’t asked what the Old Devil’s real intention was. However, he could see that it was an extremely important matter to his master. It must be related to the woman that he had once loved.

“This old man will go to the Sword World and will not die! You do not have to give yourself so much pressure. The ruins of the Ancient Heavenly Court will be opened after a hundred years, sneak into the ruins, search for your own fortune and do not stand against Emperor Moksha. You may not be able to win against him, but you should be able to protect yourself with your abilities. As for this old man’s request, it is very simple. Do you accept?! ”

“Do I have a reason to reject?” Ning Fan smiled faintly and the Old Devil laughed loudly.

On the side, the arrogant youngster felt that he was ignored. This had hurt his pride tremendously.

He would not dare to do anything against Ning Fan. So… he shall punish the Old Devil during their trip back to the Sword World!

“Men! Request the second lady’s soul and first lady to return to the Sword World! As per the oath between the Sword Emperor and the second lady regarding the ‘Bluestone’s Sword Qi’, the second lady could reject her marriage with the grandson of the Divine Emperor, and marry the person who could take away the three sword qi. But it looks like, there’s still one left of the three sword qi. Hence, second lady had lost the bet…”

The pale youngster was exhorted before he came. It was as if the Emperor Ancestor valued the oath with Little Dugu with utmost importance.

Little Dugu’s face immediately paled after she heard those words, and then a face of extreme disgust was plastered on her face. “Even if I lost the bet, I would not marry that person…”

“Hehe,  This is not something I could decide. Men! Go and erase the sword qi on the bluestone! This is the secret sword of the Sword Emperor. It must not be leaked to outsiders!”

Several strong Harmonious Spirit cultivators walked out with heavy equipment under the orders of the youngster. They wanted to destroy the bluestone and the sword qi within.

The secret sword of the Sword Emperor was extremely unique, outsiders could not comprehend the secrets using ordinary techniques. Only after a shred of sword qi was obtained, and by utilizing the sword qi to comprehend the secret sword would there be a chance to understand the secret sword qi.

The three sword qi was bestowed on the oath between the Sword Emperor and Little Dugu in the past. However she stayed within Si Fan Palace that did not allow outsiders to enter and did not allow others to touch the sword qi. Hence, it was impossible for others to take away the sword qi. However, contrary to expectation, Ning Fan consecutively took away two sword qi, which had almost completed the oath.

Little Dugu would have no choice but to marry Ning Fan if he took away the third sword qi. The Sword Emperor would not easily allow Little Dugu to leave the Sword Realm, if not for her taking on the Great Oath of Heart Devil. Even if Little Dugu was one of the daughters of the Sword Emperor, she wouldn’t certainly be allowed to leave!

Little Dugu felt unwilling when she saw the bluestone about to be destroyed and her oath dissipate. However she also felt slightly relieved.

The reason she was able to learn the secret sword of the Sword Emperor was because it was bestowed by the Sword Emperor. If the Sword World knew that there were outsiders who practiced it, that person would surely be eliminated.

Ning Fan must not take this sword qi in the face of the people of the Sword World.  If not… in addition to the matter of Emperor Moksha having been not yet resolved, the Sword Emperor of the Sword World would be offended too…

The Old Devil laughed coldly with a “hehe” while she was deep in thought.

“Little brat, what do you think about the power of the bluestone’s sword qi?”

“There is divine sense inside that sword qi. If this sword is mastered, even if it is a Nascent Soul who wield such sword qi, early Nascent Souls would not be able to rival it. Intermediate Nascent Souls would also have difficulty defending it. Once my cultivation base reached Nascent Soul, I could use this sword and be unrivalled below intermediate Nascent Soul… ”

“Why are you not taking it! That is a great item!”

“ You are right! I have already decided to take away that sword qi when I came back here!”

Ning Fan’s gaze swept towards the Old Devil, Little Dugu and the Sword World’s cultivator. Ning Fan could vaguely guess from the words of the pale youngster that the sword qi was an important matter… hence, he did not immediately take it.

However, right now,  he could feel that the Old Devil really wanted him to take the sword qi. Even though this act may end up offending a big shot in the Sword World…

Nevertheless, he would still take away the sword qi, the Old Devil was obviously happy and even do Little Dugu a big favor…

“This sword is mine now! ” He shook his sleeve and the Harmonious Spirit cultivators were blown apart.  He patted his storage bag and took out an empty scabbard. The third sword qi from the bluestone was suck within the scabbard!

This was a Nascent Soul sword qi—Heart Drawing Sword!

The youngster’s expression changed drastically and roared when the sword qi was taken away.

“You dare to take away the sword qi! Do you not fear offending 70 thousand sword cultivators from my world?!”

“Since I am not going to your world, why would I fear them…” Ning Fan smiled faintly, but his gaze went cold immediately and said.

“If I went to the Sword World, no one would still dare to touch me. Not even the Divine Emperor of the Sword World! I have nothing to fear! ”

The youngster backed off continuously under Ning Fan’s murderous intent. His face became pale white, and did not dare to speak another word!

He would certainly bear a serious consequence since he had lost the sword qi; but, he would surely die here if he offended Ning Fan!

Ning Fan was a madman. Although he knew that he would offend some powerful people if he took the sword qi, he still took it…

Perhaps this time, when the pale youngster went back to the Sword World, he could, in a sense, finish the mission that was given by Little Dugu’s clan. But he might not be able to complete the mission given by the Sword Palace…

What to do…?

“…”

While the youngster’s face changed drastically, Little Dugu who was at the side was both ashamed and angry that she stomped her feet.

Cursed this Old Devil! He knew the oath behind the sword qi, yet he enticed Ning Fan to take the sword qi away!

And that accursed Little Devil Ning really took it… Doesn’t that mean…

“By the way, does taking away the sword qi have any special meaning…” Ning Fan asked after he noticed that something was off.

“There is no special meaning… But, she is now your… ” The Old Devil pointed at little Dugu light-heartedly.

“Er… Wait a minute, this joke is not funny…”

Ning Fan became confused. It’s just like how the Old Devil was in the past.

Immediately, he realized why Little Dugu felt like her life was threatened when he tried to take away the bluestone’s sword qi in the past….