Grasping the Evil

Chapter 1042: A Drop of Ancient Wine, Drunk Together

The destructive power of the Flooded Bottle was immense, but it consumed more than ninety percent of Ning Fan’s mana, which could be described as terrifying.

Ning Fan swallowed a few expensive pills, meditated briefly, and regained some mana before he activated the Flooded Bottle once more, withdrawing the ocean waves that submerged the entire third layer of the Fire Soul Tower back into the bottle.

The third layer, ravaged by the Flooded Bottle, was unrecognizable. All locations marked on the map were destroyed by the waves, leaving only ruins.

A small number of contestants who entered the third layer were killed by the indiscriminate attack of the Flooded Bottle. To this, Ning Fan could only offer an apology.

The combat of cultivators with great divine abilities often affects the wider world due to the vast power of their skills. Fortunately, Ning Fan harbored no goodwill toward these contestants who found joy in humiliating the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor, so he felt no remorse for the collateral damage.

After putting away the Flooded Bottle, Ning Fan began dealing with Sha Bailou’s Spirit. This Spirit was unconscious and near death, yet clung to a single thread of life, unable to reincarnate posthumously—a result of Ning Fan’s careful calculations.

Ning Fan first closely examined Sha Bailou’s Spirit, then extracted three illusory souls from it.

These three souls were Sha Bailou’s closest kin. Once extracted, they howled in agony, tormented by Sha Bailou’s Blood God Reincarnation Technique.

These were souls that had perished countless years ago, beyond resurrection. If not for Ning Fan’s intervention, they would have been used by Sha Bailou, leading to their obliteration and loss of any chance for reincarnation.

It seemed that the so-called Blood God Reincarnation was merely a method to deprive relatives of their chance for reincarnation to gain another life for oneself.

Ning Fan reflected that no matter the circumstances, he could never bring himself to harm his closest kin. In this regard, his ruthlessness could not compare to Sha Bailou’s.

He had no desire to become like Sha Bailou.

After a moment of silence, Ning Fan extended his finger, and the three souls gradually disappeared into the heavens and the earth, returning to the cycle of reincarnation.

Having dealt with these three souls, Ning Fan was prepared to take action, ensuring that Sha Bailou couldn’t be resurrected.

Not being hasty in killing Sha Bailou, Ning Fan was interested in certain things associated with him. After setting numerous prohibitions on his Spirit, he directly destroyed this soul remnant, using the most domineering and damaging method to extract Sha Bailou’s memories, without bothering to employ the Reverse Spirit Technique.

In doing so, Sha Bailou’s divine sense shattered, reducing him to an idiot with low spirit awareness. Even if he could resurrect and reincarnate, he would only be reborn as an idiot. Of course, he had no chance for rebirth.

After searching Sha Bailou’s memories, Ning Fan frowned for a long time. The reason he was interested in Sha Bailou’s memories wasn’t for the past of killing kin for the sake of cultivation but for something else.

Sha Bailou’s escape technique was extremely mysterious, able to fly while ignoring forbidden force, which caught Ning Fan’s attention. This technique was undoubtedly a grand skill renowned throughout the realms!

Buddha’s Vast Escape!

In Sha Bailou’s memories, Ning Fan found this name, but he couldn’t find any method of practicing Buddha’s Vast Escape.

Instead, he saw a memory scene.

In the scene, Sha Bailou knelt before a giant statue on a burning continent.

Then, a flash of light appeared on the statue, revealing a phantom figure, seemingly an Immortal Emperor who had descended through the statue using a manifestation technique.

This Immortal Emperor looked ordinary and could easily blend into a crowd, unnoticeable.

The Immortal Emperor’s brows and eyes always carried a kind smile, yet ultimately imparted Buddha’s Vast Escape, Blood God Reincarnation Technique, and a series of other supreme skills to Sha Bailou, and planted a technique in Sha Bailou’s divine sense so that if anyone searched his soul, all the cultivation methods in Sha Bailou’s memories would collapse and disappear!

Ning Fan thought to himself, no wonder, because of the self-destruct technique, he couldn’t find the cultivation method of Buddha’s Vast Escape in Sha Bailou’s memory...

As for the Immortal Emperor who taught Sha Bailou the divine skills, though Ning Fan hadn’t met him, he could vaguely guess; it was most likely the creator of the Blood God Reincarnation Technique... the Empty Flame Death Emperor!

According to these memories, Sha Bailou not only became a disciple of Emperor Lou Tuo but also had a relationship with the Empty Flame Dead Emperor... Knowing this, it made sense that someone who learned the secret arts of the Empty Flame Dead Emperor couldn’t possibly have no connection with him; he should have considered this earlier.

Thinking of this, Ning Fan’s brow immediately furrowed.

Having dealt with Sha Bailou, he couldn’t tell if this would provoke the wrath of the Empty Flame Death Emperor...

Then, Ning Fan remembered the Creation Golden Lotus Root...

Creating puppets required numerous materials, one of which was the Spirit of a Master...

Although Sha Bailou’s Spirit had its intelligence abolished, it could still serve as a material, a blood sacrifice for a puppet. As a human, Sha Bailou’s strong desire for slaughter was unappealing to Ning Fan.

But as a puppet, that would be a different case... Ning Fan would very much like to have a quasi-emperor puppet that, fearless of death, would charge forward into battle, crushing all obstacles in its path...

From this perspective, Sha Bailou’s ferocious Spirit was an excellent material for crafting a puppet. Even Immortal King Spirits might not possess Sha Bailou’s intense murderous instincts, making the effect of puppet creation considerably less...

"In that case... I shall keep this Spirit for now, to use in making a puppet later!"

As for whether using Sha Bailou to craft a puppet would anger the Empty Flame Death Emperor, Ning Fan thought little of it.

Sealing Sha Bailou’s Spirit in a specially designed jade box, Ning Fan then proceeded to the passage to the fourth layer.

At the end of the passage was the sky of the fourth layer, where Emperor Butcher was half-leaning against an ancient locust tree, arms crossed, frowning as they waited.

Though she claimed not to worry about Ning Fan’s life or death, a hint of concern lingered on her face. Whether this concern stemmed from care for a companion or the planning of a grand undertaking, only she knew.

In any case, seeing Ning Fan return safely, Emperor Butcher was quite satisfied. Her gaze swept lightly over Ning Fan’s body, noting that there was no Evil Qi from killing the Eternal Immortal Venerable entangling him, then she asked,

"Did you let that boy escape again?" Clearly, she thought Ning Fan hadn’t truly killed Sha Bailou.

"No, I didn’t let him escape."

"So, you want to refine his Spirit into a puppet?" Emperor Butcher, with her sharp mind, immediately guessed what Ning Fan intended once she heard that Ning Fan captured Sha Bailou but didn’t kill him.

"Yes, Sha Bailou’s Spirit harbors a heavy killing intent, making it an excellent material for refining a killing puppet. Directly killing him would be too wasteful."

Ning Fan had no intention of hiding his plans from Emperor Butcher.

At this point, although he still retained some caution against Emperor Butcher, it was now just the normal level of caution one might have in social interactions, not as severe as when they first met.

To put it this way, although this woman’s cultivation level is high and her killing intent is strong, she seems different from those deeply scheming Immortal Emperor Old Monsters.

It’s not that this woman is without guile, it’s just... what she pursues seems to differ from what other Immortal Emperors chase.

Other Immortal Emperor Old Monsters merely pursue survival through countless calamities, growth in cultivation levels, power, prominence of their Sect, and disciples widespread across galaxies...

But this woman seeks something beyond material existence...

She simply wants to pursue an answer in her heart.

Ning Fan felt that he was very much like Emperor Butcher. While other cultivators know what they pursue, he actually had no pursuit regarding cultivation itself.

He desires power, only hoping to have enough strength to guard the nest behind him, nothing more. If one day, he no longer has enemies, maybe he will have no motivation to cultivate but choose another path instead. Content with simplicity, content with tranquility, willing to spend his days in the fields, working at sunrise, resting at sunset, enjoying every moment of peace in life.

He was an oddity in this cultivation world, and Emperor Butcher... seemed to be one as well.

Even when insulted by youngsters as a bratty girl, she still adhered to her promise with the Supreme Ox Demon and did not make a move. When Shen Ershisan was humiliated by many, only she quietly helped clean his filth without a word.

Such a person... makes it hard for Ning Fan to be wary of her, truly hard.

"What are you staring at? Do I have dirt on my face?" Emperor Butcher felt irritable being stared at by Ning Fan and said impatiently.

"Nothing, let’s hurry on with our journey."

"Oh? You finally know the value of time, very good. I took a look at your map, and this fourth layer has quite a few good things, enough to elevate your Medicine Soul level stably into the Eighth Revolution, with no chance of failure when advancing!"

"Oh? What kind of things could let me stably advance into the Eighth Revolution?"

"Carry me, and I’ll guide you on the map..."

...

On the thirteenth day, under Emperor Butcher’s guidance, Ning Fan arrived at the fourth site of the Twelve Fierce Lands on the Fourth Layer. After breaking the illusion there, they acquired an ancient medicinal wine.

According to Emperor Butcher, this is a special medicinal wine unique to the Dabei Clan. Drinking it can enhance a cultivator’s Medicine Soul level. Depending on the wine’s age, its effectiveness varies greatly.

This jar of ancient wine seems to have aged for millions of years. Not only is the medicinal effect astonishing, but its potency is incredibly strong.

"Ning Fan, be careful not to get drunk! If you pass out here, it’ll waste a lot of time! You know, my time is very precious!"

"Don’t worry, I have quite some insights into the way of alcohol, and with my current cultivation, even if my cultivation is suppressed, I can control drunkenness at will, all within a single thought..."

"Stop making it sound so mystical! Drink quickly if you’re going to drink!"

So, under Emperor Butcher’s incredulous gaze, Ning Fan downed the entire jar of ancient wine in one go!

Other than his face being slightly flushed, there was no sign of drunkenness, his behavior remained completely normal, and he naturally sat cross-legged, frantically refining the medicinal power of the wine with the help of Emperor Butcher’s Saint’s Will Secret Treasure!

His Medicine Soul level finally advanced to the Eighth Revolution and slowly approached the mid-level of the Eighth Revolution...

To see Ning Fan drink an entire jar of million-year-old ancient wine in one gulp, Emperor Butcher was truly shocked. Such aged ancient wine, even some Immortal Emperors dare not gulp it down in one go, only dare to taste it lightly...

But Ning Fan, drinking it all in one go, still appeared calm and unruffled. If this was the truth, then this alcohol tolerance already surpasses many Celestial Emperor-level powerhouses.

Does Ning Fan really have such alcohol tolerance?

Emperor Butcher didn’t believe it, secretly wondering if the mud seal on the ancient wine jar was damaged, causing all the medicinal effects and potency to dissipate? Otherwise, how could Ning Fan drink a whole jar of million-year-old ancient wine as easily as drinking water...

Emperor Butcher squatted down, extended her slender forefinger, wiped a bit of wine from the jar’s edge, and licked it.

Then... she promptly collapsed, drunk!

Because out of excessive curiosity, she had forgotten that currently, without being able to exert her cultivation, drinking such strong liquor was tantamount to courting death...

She remained drunk for three whole days before awakening groggily, and at first sight, realized she was still on Ning Fan’s back. In that time she was in slumber, Ning Fan was diligently continuing their journey.

Upon asking, she realized she had been asleep for three whole days, even with her thick-skinned nature, a faint blush appeared on her old face.

"Your alcohol tolerance is really quite poor," Ning Fan said helplessly as he watched Emperor Butcher awaken.

"Nonsense, if my skills were intact, how could this vintage wine possibly knock me down! With this kind of ancient wine, I could drink ten or eight jars in one go without any problem!" Emperor Butcher retorted, her face flushed.

"I don’t believe it."

"You don’t believe it, huh? Fine, once everything here is settled, I’ll find some top-grade ancient wine and invite you to the Blood Martial Arena for a drinking spree! I’ll let you witness my drinking capacity!"

"..."

Ning Fan was exasperated. He absolutely did not believe that Emperor Butcher, who would fall after one drop, had any drinking capacity. It was probably just bravado at best.

The usually high-and-mighty, almost omnipotent Emperor Butcher, actually had such a helpless side... Haha, it was truly amusing.

Emperor Butcher didn’t care what Ning Fan thought. She took this matter seriously, considering it a big deal. She planned on where to find some good wine after this was over to prove her drinking capacity... While pondering these issues, she inquired about what had happened to Ning Fan over the past few days.

Only then did she realize she had been drunk for three days. During her drunken slumber, Ning Fan had been traveling while carrying her, breaking through the deadly Illusions Art he encountered along the way, and seeking treasures within, with quite a good harvest.

After Emperor Butcher got drunk, naturally, she hadn’t put away the secret treasure containing the saint’s will. Once she regained consciousness, Ning Fan returned the treasure to her.

Nowadays, under Emperor Butcher’s careful explanations of the knowledge of Illusions Art, Ning Fan’s innate talent in Illusions Art was finally fully unleashed. The Taixuan Illusion Technique in the Fourth Layer was no longer able to stop his steps!

Without Emperor Butcher’s guidance, Ning Fan had broken through several dangerous areas, acquiring many good things. His Medicine Soul level had also naturally broken through again, reaching the Eighth Revolution Intermediate!

Eighth Revolution Pill Refinement Masters were numerous within the Four Heavens and were not regarded as particularly impressive. Nonetheless, the advancement of the Medicine Soul was undoubtedly a good thing, and Ning Fan was naturally very pleased.

Of course, he secretly kept some things aside, planning to bring them back for Ouyang Nuan... Unfortunately, with Emperor Butcher’s wisdom, she could easily see through Ning Fan’s little plan and promptly ordered him to take out anything hidden and consume them under her supervision, naturally advancing his Medicine Soul level significantly toward the Eighth Revolution Upper Stage.

On the eighteenth day, Ning Fan and Emperor Butcher made their way through all the dangerous places in the Fourth Layer, and the Fifth Layer’s entrance was not far away. With Emperor Butcher’s help, Ning Fan’s Medicine Soul level had truly reached the Eighth Revolution Upper Stage!

However, there was one matter that made Ning Fan subject to many complaints from Emperor Butcher.

Thanks to the convenience of the team map, Ning Fan easily discovered that at this moment, Wuxx Yan had already reached the entrance of the Fifth Layer, faster than he, who had been breaking through illusions with Emperor Butcher’s guidance!

"Tsk tsk tsk, did you see that? A mere junior of Eternity’s First Tribulation actually raced ahead of us and reached the Fifth Layer’s entrance first. Tell me, wasn’t your pace during this period too slow!" Emperor Butcher complained.

"We did not proceed in a straight line and instead detoured back many times; naturally, our speed couldn’t have been fast," Ning Fan said helplessly.

"You could have pushed a little harder, run a bit faster..."

"..."

"Oh? Interesting, there seems to be something going on up ahead..."

As soon as Emperor Butcher finished speaking, Ning Fan spread out his spirit sense towards the direction of the Fifth Layer’s entrance, and his brows furrowed.

It was over two hundred li to the Fifth Layer’s entrance, but if he sprinted wildly, it wasn’t too far.

...

At this moment, a thousand cultivators were gathered once again at the Fifth Layer’s entrance.

Wuxx Yan, along with members from the Sea Witch Sect and the Huanhai Clan, was surrounded at the center by a thousand cultivators.

The ones surrounding Wuxx Yan there were Stone of Seabed and Master Hongzang!

Stone of Seabed led his team while Master Hongzang also had a large group of people. Counting carefully, the powerful ones behind Stone of Seabed and Master Hongzang were far from limited to those in their original teams but consisted of people from dozens of different tribes!

Generally, contestants in the second round of Tomb Raiding rarely delve into the Fourth Layer’s area, very rarely.

However, it doesn’t mean none at all.

When an Eternal Immortal Venerable from eons past participated, occasionally an Eternal Immortal Venerable would try exploring the Fourth Layer, even attempting the Fifth Layer...

The higher the layer, the higher the score; therefore, those with strength kept pushing further inward.

Wuxx Yan had this very mindset and wanted to enter the Fifth Layer. The Fifth Layer was extremely dangerous, and even with her Immortal Venerable cultivation, she might not be able to protect herself. But to score higher on the Illusion Test Map, she had to make this decision.

Taking advantage of the team map sharing function, Wuxx Yan was well aware of Ning Fan’s movements during this period. Ning Fan seemed very interested in the dangerous places in the earlier layers and had visited almost all of them.

The map was frequently illuminated, but the scores in the earlier layers weren’t high. What’s more, in those earlier layers, Ning Fan seemed to be moving with a specific intention, rushing directly to the dangerous spots on each layer...

This left Wuxx Yan quite speechless. She had deduced that Ning Fan appeared more interested in exploring each dangerous place rather than lighting up the map, seemingly wasting time...

With her teammates not being much help, she could only rely on herself. Wuxx Yan decided to take a risk and enter the Fifth Layer to gain more points. Unexpectedly, the passage to the Fifth Layer was blocked by a hexagonal stone door, hindering their path!

The hexagonal stone door could not be opened; it could only be destroyed to enter the Fifth Layer. Yet, after several attempts, Wuxx Yan realized this stone door was far harder than she had imagined, likely requiring a Second Calamity Immortal Lord from Eternity’s eons to smash it open.

What cheered her up was that soon other two Eternal Immortal Venerables arrived. If they also wished to enter the Fifth Layer, they could join forces to break through this hexagonal stone door and enter together.

However, what infuriated her was that the arrival of these two Eternal Immortal Venerables was not to enter the Fifth Layer, and there was no possibility of any cooperation!

These two people were actually coming for the map in her hand!

"Daoist Wuxx Yan, though you’re an old-timer Immortal Venerable, this old monk doesn’t fear you. If you know what’s good for you, hand over the map in your hand to this old monk! Otherwise, don’t blame me for taking it by force!"

Hongcang was clearly just a newly ascended Immortal Venerable, yet when facing Wuxx Yan, he acted with an air of arrogance, which Wuxx Yan found very unpleasant.

Stone of Seabed was even more domineering, directly ordering Wuxx Yan with a commanding tone, "Hand over the map! Otherwise, don’t blame the two of us for being ruthless, we’ll kill you here first, then slaughter all your followers behind you!"

Under the overwhelming aura of Stone of Seabed as a Second Calamity Immortal Lord, many strong cultivators on Wuxx Yan’s side couldn’t withstand it, their faces turning pale with fear!

Wuxx Yan was equally tense. She never expected Hongcang to join forces with Stone of Seabed to seize the map in her hand!

One of them had already teamed up with Sha Bailou, seemingly on the same side with Sha Bailou; the other was rumored to have a life-and-death feud with Sha Bailou, like fire and water...

Such two people, it was strange enough that they weren’t fighting each other, how could they possibly join forces!

However, the other party didn’t seem to have any intention of wasting time with her, nor did they intend to explain further, it was clear they were about to take action at any moment.

In the tense atmosphere, Wuxx Yan felt as though a giant stone was suspended over her heart.

Hongcang might not be much, merely a newly ascended Immortal Venerable, but Stone of Seabed was a genuine Second Calamity Immortal Lord, and with these two joining forces, Wuxx Yan didn’t believe her single-calamity cultivation level could prevail!

The possibility of successfully protecting the map from these two was too small, far too small...

What’s more, the other party had gathered dozens of tribes’ men and horses, trapping her here. While a single Thought-Shattering Cultivator wasn’t much, if there were enough of them, they couldn’t be underestimated, especially when surrounded, making escape quite difficult...

One wrong move, and she might be killed right here!

Wuxx Yan’s inner struggle began anew; she was working for the Baihua Great Emperor, if she surrendered the Illusion Test Map, the test results would reset to zero. With just the previous brute test scores, it would be impossible to break into the top three and obtain the South Sea Spring Water!

If she couldn’t get the South Sea Spring Water... she would surely incur the wrath of the Baihua Great Emperor!

But if she didn’t hand over the map, she would face the siege of two Eternal Immortal Venerables and over a thousand Thought-Shattering Shedding Void Stage cultivators...

Surrender, or not surrender!

It was at this very moment that the positions of Ning Fan and Wuxx Yan, on their respective maps, overlapped! However, in her busy internal calculations of gains and losses, Wuxx Yan naturally didn’t notice this.

Her lack of notice didn’t mean others didn’t. She wasn’t the only one sharing the map with Ning Fan.

In the crowd behind her, the captain of the Huanhai Clan, that scar-faced burly man, noticed the change on his map.

In the instant these map positions overlapped, a flicker of light swiftly galloped across the ground, kicking up a whirlwind, sending smoke and dust everywhere!

That shadow kept approaching, only stopping as it got closer, revealing a dust-laden figure.

It was Ning Fan, rushing to this place!

The scar-faced man stared wide-eyed! On Ning Fan’s back, nestling like a small bird, was a woman who was none other than his little wife, tightly pressed against Ning Fan’s back without shame, truly a flirtatious woman!

The scar-faced man felt like the prairie on his head was vast enough for running horses. But this time, there wasn’t even a trace of anger, instead, he was overjoyed at seeing Ning Fan again!

Because Ning Fan’s arrival meant... salvation! Compared to that, what did a little humiliation matter!

Not only the scar-faced man, Ning Fan’s presence caused over a thousand strong cultivators to hold their breath. Moreover, the expressions of the three Eternal Immortal Venerables present changed.

However, Stone of Seabed and Master Hongcang frowned.

While Wuxx Yan showed a look of delight.

At this moment, thousands of strong cultivators’ gazes were fixed on Ning Fan!

At this moment, Wuxx Yan couldn’t wait any longer and spoke for the first time in a pleading tone,

"Brother Ning, please lend me a hand!"

Her voice was undeniably melodious, yet it didn’t move Ning Fan in the slightest, he looked indifferently at the scene before him, with an expression of complete indifference, as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Why have you all gathered here?" he asked expressionlessly.

He certainly hadn’t forgotten Wuxx Yan’s previous request.

Between them, private grievances were to be mutually ignored. Haha, that was Wuxx Yan’s intent. Of course, considering that if Wuxx Yan’s map was indeed taken, he would lose a lot of shared scores as well, which was indeed concerning to him, he couldn’t just sit back and ignore Wuxx Yan.

Of course, a mere coquettish plea wouldn’t spur him into action.

His fee for taking action... was very expensive, very expensive! It wasn’t that it couldn’t be cheaper, but it varied from person to person.

At least for Wuxx Yan, it wouldn’t be cheap!