Grasping the Evil

Chapter 1045: Six Paths Reincarnation Without You...

In general, there are two sources of Dao Fruit. One is obtained through killing, and the other is through cultivation. The former’s probability is too low; the higher the Dao Fruit level, the lower the chance of its condensation after death.

The latter’s probability of obtaining Dao Fruit is much higher. As long as it’s cultivated properly, it’s almost certain to yield harvests.

There are various ways to cultivate Dao Fruit: some plant the Dao like farmers sowing seeds; some nurture the Dao like fishermen raising fish; some set up Spirit Gathering Arrays, gathering the mighty force of nature to condense into Dao Fruits... The methods are countless.

But in reality, there is a third type of Dao Fruit in this world.

There is a type of Dao Fruit that is naturally nurtured by heaven and earth, rooted in trees, requiring no human cultivation. It experiences the changes of seasons and can naturally bear fruit.

The Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit is one such instance.

The Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit is neither cultivated by humans nor obtained by killing, but is a fruit borne by an innate ancient tree.

This tree is called the Ancient Buddha Tree, growing atop the Holy Mountain, said to be left by a Saint. This tree bears fruit once every thousand years, and each time, the number of fruits is limited to just a hundred or so. Most of these fruits are distributed to the various sects on the Holy Mountain for consumption, leaving only about twenty to hold the Ancient Buddha Assembly.

The entry threshold for the Ancient Buddha Assembly is extremely high. Generally speaking, those who are not Immortal Venerable Cultivators are unable to participate, and there are many other restrictions. Even so, each session of the Ancient Buddha Assembly attracts powerful figures from all directions, many of whom are drawn to taste a bite of the Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit, ensuring that the number of participants at each Assembly has never been fewer than a hundred.

With over a hundred people sharing twenty or so Ancient Buddha Dao Fruits, it’s naturally insufficient. With more monks than porridge, a Dao Fruit often needs to be cut into several pieces for multiple people to taste together.

The amount of Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit each person can consume is not much.

Emperor Butcher initially thought that even if Ning Fan seized any Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit, it would likely just be one. If shared equally, each would have half.

However, when Ning Fan continually took out six Ancient Buddha Dao Fruits, even with Emperor Butcher’s experience, he couldn’t help but be somewhat surprised. After the surprise, he frowned and asked.

"You said this Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit was obtained from Hongcang’s storage pouch?"

"Yes, it’s from Hongcang’s storage pouch."

"The Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit is of great value, and with Hongcang’s status, he doesn’t have the qualification to possess six Dao Fruits. Do you understand what I mean?"

Emperor Butcher thought Ning Fan might not know the rarity of the Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit, so he explained its origins to Ning Fan.

After hearing this, Ning Fan immediately frowned.

"You mean to say that this Dao Fruit does not belong to Hongcang himself, but was given to him by some immensely powerful entity?"

"Yes, it would have to be someone of at least the level of the Five Emperors of the Central Continent to simultaneously take out six Ancient Buddha Dao Fruits, and even a Zhongzhou Immortal Emperor would likely have to accumulate for many years to have such inventory. After all, the share each Zhongzhou Immortal Emperor receives from the Holy Mountain is only one every thousand years..."

"Could Hongcang be someone of the Great Emperor of Zhongzhou?"

"His backer might be a Great Emperor of Zhongzhou, or someone from the Holy Mountain, but these are just guesses. If these guesses are true and you killed Hongcang and took the Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit, you might have offended some Immortal Emperor-level figure."

"...If this is true, who would be the person behind Hongcang?"

"...You’re asking me? How would I know? To me, the affiliations of a newly ascended Immortal Venerable are just trifles; I wouldn’t normally pay attention to such things." Emperor Butcher yawned, using the gesture to silently indicate that she was no longer interested in the topic of Hongcang.

Ning Fan felt once again that it was a mistake to not perform a Soul Search on Hongcang but instead cleave him with a single sword. As a result, he had no idea who was behind Hongcang and was unaware of which Immortal Emperor he might have offended... Though not scared, he found it rather troublesome.

Fortunately, Masters have the ability to remember things surpassingly accurately. Ning Fan recalled scenes from when Hongcang was exhibiting his Divine Skills. Almost all Immortal Emperors showed surprise, appearing unfamiliar with Hongcang. Only Emperor Foqi seemed to know him well, appearing well-prepared...

Could Hongcang be aligned with Emperor Foqi?

Reflecting on previous events, Hongcang seemed to want to ally with the Stone of Seabed to snatch Wuxx Yan’s map and seize his own map. Both Ning Fan and Wuxx Yan were under the Baihua Great Emperor, and Hongcang seemed to want to destroy their Illusory Art results, possibly targeting the Baihua Great Emperor...

For an Immortal Venerable to target an Immortal Emperor, if not instructed by some Immortal Emperor, Hongcang wouldn’t dare to do such a thing even with a thousand lives.

If it truly is Emperor Foqi... does this mean that Emperor Foqi does not wish for the Baihua Great Emperor’s injuries to heal perfectly and therefore wishes to prevent him from obtaining South Sea Spring Water...

"The grievances among the Five Emperors of the Central Continent are indeed complex..." Ning Fan sighed.

"That’s natural; the Central Continent is different from Sanyan and the Holy Mountain. The cultivation resources here are limited, and with five Immortal Emperors co-existing, disputes frequently arise amongst them, with constant secret planning against each other. None of these five are truly friends with one another... Enough of the nonsense, let’s quickly consume the Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit! I’ll teach you the method of consumption."

Consuming the Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit requires a very solemn ritual, including fasting, bathing, and offering incense.

Fasting and bathing are just formalities, but the burning of incense is a crucial step. It requires the fragrance of special Buddha incense to seal the medicinal power of the Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit to prevent it from leaking away and it’s not just a formality. This step is very important; otherwise, a lot of the medicinal power of the consumed Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit will be wasted due to leakage.

Emperor Butcher explained to Ning Fan briefly, then took out numerous items from his storage pouch, setting up an incense table and offerings on the spacious ground and began to burn incense and light candles, praying devoutly.

It was the first time Ning Fan had seen Emperor Butcher in such a devout posture, with hands clasped, eyes slightly closed, and beneath bangs and eyelashes was a face of immense tranquility and peace.

At this moment, Emperor Butcher’s demeanor was like the most devout believers in the world.

"You should also light an incense stick." Emperor Butcher finished his prayer, opened his eyes, and spoke to Ning Fan.

"Haven’t you already lit incense? Isn’t it enough to seal the medicinal power of the Ancient Buddha Dao Fruits from dissipating?"

"It’s sufficient, but since you consumed the fruit left by the Saint Ancestor, shouldn’t you offer incense to him as a return?"

"Are you worshipping the Saint Ancestor of your Dabei Clan?"

"Of course. The Saint Ancestor left the Ancient Buddha Tree, which is the cause; you and I consumed the Ancient Buddha Fruits, which is the effect. This burning incense is not just to seal the loss of medicinal power but also to repay the cause and effect. Heh, you are still young and don’t understand; a Saint’s cause and effect should not be casually touched... Of course, even if only out of admiration for ancestors, lighting this incense stick is appropriate."

Ning Fan naturally did not possess reverence for Saint Nan Yao. However, since Emperor Butcher mentioned the cause and effect of a Saint, Ning Fan did not mind burning a stick of incense.

To repay fruit with incense is quite reasonable. Cultivators should act as such.

After the ceremony, the two finally began sharing the fruit; six Dao Fruits, three each.

Emperor Butcher’s spirit sense was already very strong. Consuming the Ancient Buddha Dao Fruits was naturally effortless and he quickly absorbed the medicinal power. Ning Fan was different; he refined the medicinal power slowly, leisurely, as if savoring, or perhaps contemplating something.

His spirit sense was not weak, but not particularly strong either, approximately mid-level among Immortal Venerables.

Among the four bloodlines, the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor was the least skilled in cultivating spirit sense, and the qualification for spirit sense of the Taicang Calamity Spirit was average; what this clan cultivated was more Calamity Thought than spirit sense.

Ironically, Ning Fan’s two strongest bloodlines were precisely Blood Lightning and Ancient Chaos, so even with the overlap of four types of bloodlines, Ning Fan’s spirit sense was only considered ordinary and not outstanding.

Of course, this was the result without leveraging the Ice Rain Technique’s power.

If the Ice Rain Technique was deployed, Ning Fan’s spirit sense could instantly be elevated to an extremely terrifying realm. But this only showcases the Ice Rain Technique’s prowess and does not necessarily imply Ning Fan’s spirit sense strength.

Beyond Immortal Venerables, enhancing spirit sense requires not just an increase in total volume, but a certain qualitative change. Ning Fan did not know this before, but at this moment, after consuming the Ancient Buddha Dao Fruits, he was astonished to discover that while his spirit sense increased drastically, a qualitative change was also emerging!

After all, consuming three Ancient Buddha Dao Fruits at once unexpectedly brought immense benefits to his spirit sense cultivation!

"Oh? This kid hasn’t become an Immortal King yet, but he’s already touched the bottleneck of the ’Eternal Four Thoughts Realm’..." Emperor Butcher beside him showed a slightly surprised expression.

The Eternal Four Thoughts Realm is a spirit sense realm only strong individuals above Immortal King have the opportunity to reach. Of course, only an opportunity, as many cannot reach even the first stage of the four thoughts realm. This boy touching the bottleneck of the first stage before becoming an Immortal King is quite impressive.

The Eternal Four Thoughts Realm refers to the four profound stages of spirit sense: from low to high, they are [Mind Like a Waterfall], [Mind Like a Stream], [Mind Like Dripping Water from the Eaves], [Mind Like a Clear Sky for Thousands of Miles].

If one cultivates to Mind Like a Waterfall, the spirit sense of an Immortal King cultivator will surge like a waterfall, increasing several times over!

Cultivating to Mind Like a Stream elevates a cultivator’s control over spirit sense to an inconceivable realm.

As for the specific mystical effects of the latter two realms, Emperor Butcher does not know, for she has not yet cultivated to Mind Like Dripping Water from the Eaves.

For Immortal Kings, those who cultivate to Mind Like a Waterfall are rare.

For Immortal Emperors, those who cultivate to the second stage are often nearly invincible among peers and are extremely powerful Immortal Emperors.

Due to the difficulty in cultivating the Four Thoughts Realm, Emperor Butcher was astonished that Ning Fan touched the bottleneck of the four thoughts realm without having yet become an Immortal King. This is not a realm that can be attained merely by consuming three Ancient Buddha Dao Fruits! Absolutely not!

"This boy’s spirit sense might have been at a critical point for transformation... These three Ancient Buddha Dao Fruits should merely be a catalyst..." Emperor Butcher pondered internally, reaching a conclusion.

Her assumption was correct. Ning Fan’s four series cultivation means his spirit sense is not just a fusion of four series in quantity, but through accumulating quantity, facilitates a qualitative change.

Previously, the total spirit sense of the four series was insufficient, so the qualitative change could not occur.

Yet at this moment, the three Ancient Buddha Dao Fruits completed the lacking quantity for Ning Fan, and this qualitative change finally showed signs!

Mind Like a Waterfall!

Ning Fan’s face showed slight pain, within his divine sense, a continuous shattering pain occurred as his spirit sense surged like a waterfall torrent, violently flowing within!

Before consuming the Ancient Buddha Dao Fruits, Ning Fan’s spirit sense was at mid-level among Immortal Venerables.

The medicinal power of three Ancient Buddha Dao Fruits directly caused Ning Fan’s spirit sense to rise from the middle of the Immortal Venerable level all the way to the limit of an Immortal Venerable!

Beyond the limit, Ning Fan’s divine sense showed signs of splitting and restructuring, as if an invisible large hand was tearing apart his divine sense piece by piece, then reassembling it.

The process of tearing naturally could not be without pain. Because the divine sense is the most sensitive area for a cultivator’s perception, even a tiny bit of pain here would be magnified hundreds, thousands of times by sensitive perception. Even with Ning Fan’s strong will, he couldn’t help but take a sharp breath.

Yet the benefits brought by this tearing were extremely great! Ning Fan’s spirit sense had already reached the limit of the Immortal Venerable level, but now, with each tear and restructure, this limit increased slightly!

With the accumulation of tearing times, the enhancement of the divine sense limit gradually reached a terrifying degree.

Double!

Triple!!

Five times!

Ten times!!

Ning Fan was shocked in his heart, according to his estimation, if the divine sense restructure succeeded, his spirit sense would once again surge tenfold on the basis of the Immortal Venerable limit!

The spirit sense at the Immortal Venerable limit could rival that of some weaker Immortal Kings.

If it surged ten times on this basis, then the strength of Ning Fan’s spirit sense could definitely surpass most Immortal Kings!

But unfortunately... the divine sense restructure failed halfway through. The originally increasing divine sense limit gradually... shrank back with the failure of the restructure.

Ning Fan opened his eyes slightly disappointed, releasing a long breath of turbid air. This was the chance for a tenfold surge in spirit sense, yet it failed like this... even with his firm will, seeing the duck right in hand fly away, some negative emotions still sprouted. Fortunately, with his cultivation of mindset, these negative emotions were easily dispelled.

"What a pity, Mind Like a Waterfall is indeed too early for you... Don’t be discouraged, there will be opportunities in the future, you can slowly break through. With my qualifications, I failed more than a hundred times when breaking through Mind Like a Waterfall back then, if you succeeded in one go, I would have no face to live." Emperor Butcher comforted in a tone of early anticipation.

"Mind Like a Waterfall?" Ning Fan was slightly surprised, it was the first time he heard this term, did it refer to the divine sense restructure he almost completed just now?

"Haven’t you heard of the Eternal Four Thoughts Realm? Interesting, truly interesting, without even having heard of the Four Thoughts Realm, yet you can touch the bottleneck of Mind Like a Waterfall, you’re truly a freak." Emperor Butcher clicked his tongue in admiration.

Those Immortal Kings who cultivated to Mind Like a Waterfall, which one hasn’t painstakingly prepared for years before achieving this?

Emperor Butcher originally thought Ning Fan had also prepared for years, to take advantage of the Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit catalyst, naturally leading to a qualitative change in spirit sense cultivation. But now it seems, this boy seems to be completely unprepared for this Four Thoughts Realm cultivation...

Ha ha, if he could break through like this, he’d truly be seeing ghosts! Do you really think breaking through the Four Thoughts Realm is child’s play!

Emperor Butcher briefly explained the matters concerning the Eternal Four Thoughts Realm, while Ning Fan listened with sighs.

Mind Like a Waterfall...

A realm that most Immortal Kings couldn’t touch in their lifetime...

He hasn’t yet entered the Immortal King level, and yet he already touched it! Could this be the benefit brought by Yin Yang Transformation? After all, according to his newest understanding, the essence of Yin Yang Transformation, summarized in one sentence, is millions of streams forming an ocean, a peerless study of... transforming quantity into quality. This qualitative change came suddenly, but it seems... related closely to the elevation in the comprehension of Yin Yang Transformation.

Thinking of this, Ning Fan couldn’t help showing a contemplative expression.

On further thought, even those Immortal Kings who prepared for years often failed many times before breaking through this spirit sense realm. Failing once or twice really shouldn’t make him sigh and complain.

There will be opportunities in the future, when he is fully prepared, he will break through! Mind Like a Waterfall, tenfold spirit sense! Regardless of the reason, since the opportunity for qualitative change in spirit sense had appeared, once this matter is done, he will seize the opportunity, to truly break through in spirit sense!

Calculating the time, Ning Fan refined the Ancient Buddha Dao Fruit, spending another half day. Now it was already the twenty-fifth day since the start of the illusion trial, there’s not much time left.

The two rested in this place for a while, then set off into the sixth layer, still Ning Fan carrying Emperor Butcher as they went.

Although Ning Fan failed to break through Mind Like a Waterfall, his spirit sense cultivation nevertheless improved significantly, from the middle of the Immortal Venerable level reaching the limit of Immortal Venerable, it was considered a terrifying advancement.

The sixth layer was different from the fifth layer, there were no guards present, but there were vast numbers of illusion traps spread all around, every flower and grass could be an illusion, with one careless move, it would trigger a trap, change the scenery ahead, and fall into illusion attacks.

It was also these illusion traps that made Ning Fan clearly feel the benefits of his spirit sense advancement. Many of these illusion traps were of the lower-grade Tai Xuan level, without spirit sense enhancement, Ning Fan could at most discern three or four tenths of the illusion traps here.

Now with enhanced spirit sense, he could break nine-tenths of the illusion traps here!

The remaining tenth were usually those of the middle-grade Tai Xuan level! Middle-grade Tai Xuan Illusion Techniques could almost be compared with the arts of the Ancient Great Cultivators, and because this place was the Fire Soul Tower, even in switching with the Central Continent Five Emperors here, it was the same situation, impossible to completely discern!

"There are three hundred and sixty dangerous places on the sixth layer, where should we go?" Ning Fan asked cautiously as he advanced with care.

"Not going anywhere else. The treasures of the sixth level were taken by the strong ones of the Holy Mountain countless years ago, so it’s not our turn to take them. What remains for the competitors are only the treasures from the first five levels. Our destination is just one place, we are going to the Six Paths Yellow Springs!"

"Six Paths Yellow Springs? Is there such a mark on the map?" Ning Fan asked in surprise.

"This place is not marked on the map, nor is it known to most of the Holy Mountain’s strong ones. Without a certain level of cultivation, it’s impossible to understand the existence of this place, just as one cannot comprehend the existence of the Five Supremes."

"What kind of place is that?"

"That is a place... between reality and illusion."

"You’re speaking too mystically. Oh well... what can I do for you? If it’s something too dangerous..."

"If it’s too dangerous, you won’t help me? There are tremendous benefits here, have you heard of the Quasi-Saint’s Eye Opening?"

"Eye Opening! Are you saying that the Six Paths Yellow Springs can actually help a Quasi-Saint open their eyes, advancing their cultivation greatly!" Ning Fan was instantly moved.

The legend about Eye Opening was something he heard from Daoist Wood Pine, during his visit to Mu Island. Although he initiated the Origin Bridge, he ultimately did not open his eyes.

Drip, drip, drip...

In Ning Fan’s ears, it seemed like the dripping sounds he heard back then were still echoing, along with the gentle voice of that mysterious woman.

’Little butterfly, don’t sleep, wake up.’

’Little butterfly, don’t sleep, don’t sleep.’

’If you sleep any longer, you’ll miss the once-a-decade Chao Yue of Primeval Mountain...’

If he had opened his eyes back then, perhaps he could have figured out what these things represented.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t accomplish it... after all, eye opening is too difficult, and many Quasi-Saints can’t achieve it. Being a Holder Cultivator of the Dreamland Realm’s Netherworld, Ning Fan’s difficulty in eye opening was much higher, making it reasonable that he couldn’t achieve it.

This matter ultimately remained a major confusion in his heart...

Wait a minute, could it be... Emperor Butcher’s inner confusion is something similar!

Is it also a mystery that can only be solved by opening one’s eyes?

Ning Fan opened his mouth, wanting to ask about it, but then felt it might be inappropriate. Emperor Butcher was unwilling to talk more about his inner confusion, surely it involves some secrets, otherwise he would have explained it a bit to him. If Emperor Butcher didn’t want to talk, there’s no need for him to ask.

"Oh? You actually know about the Eye Opening, alright, this saves me the trouble of further introduction. This place is named Six Paths Yellow Springs, according to Supreme Ox Demon, it seems to have separated from the true Six Paths Yellow Springs, and is the boundary of all life and death, illusion. When I first traded with Supreme Ox Demon, he brought me there, he seems to be a regular there. Over there, there are six ancient mountains, floating above the Yellow Springs, said to be left by ancient beings who transformed their Dao. Let me remind you, one of the ancient mountains is extremely dangerous because there are terrifying words inscribed on it... ’Six Paths Yellow Springs Without You,’ hehe, just six words, yet the pressure has endured eternally, passed down to this day, indicating that the one who left the words is no ordinary person, perhaps a Third Step Cultivator... don’t go near that mountain within a thousand zhang, otherwise, you’ll die!"

Ning Fan, upon hearing ’Six Paths Yellow Springs Without You,’ his expression froze slightly.

Six Paths Yellow Springs Without You...

Six Paths Yellow Springs... without you...

This seemingly ordinary phrase, for some reason, Ning Fan heard it with a sense of heartache, bitterness, despair.

Instead, the reminder from Emperor Butcher was almost ignored by the distracted Ning Fan, so Emperor Butcher reminded him again, seeing that Ning Fan really remembered this warning, he felt slightly relieved.

She certainly didn’t want her companion to be killed by ancient words upon entering the Six Paths Yellow Springs...

"... Six Paths Yellow Springs aids Quasi-Saint Cultivators in opening their eyes because that place possesses pure Yang. The Yin energy there is extremely terrifying, almost reaching the limit that the Supreme Pill Sacred Domain can bear, thus Yin’s extreme transformation has instead birthed a small amount of pure Yang. However, don’t be deluded into thinking you can harvest too much pure Yang from there, the bulk has been taken by the Five Supremes, as pure Yang is crucial for a Quasi-Saint’s eye opening. You, at most, can only find some scraps there, and whether you succeed in acquiring it depends on your ability..."

"As for me... I’m here not for pure Yang. I want you to assist me, to enter the end of illusion..."

Ning Fan remarked with exasperation, "The end of illusion... isn’t this expression overly poetic."

"No, this isn’t a metaphor, but a narration. That place is truly the end of all illusion, you’ll know once you go there... of course, if you also have inner confusion, perhaps you can see the real behind the illusion there, and find the answer. The power of the Six Paths Yellow Springs can deduce all ancient and modern futures..."

Saying this, Emperor Butcher took a deep breath, her hand clenched into a fist, nails piercing into her flesh, causing sharp pain.

Her delicate body quivered slightly, as if she was afraid... afraid of the answer that was within reach.

"You can withstand the power of the Five Finger Illusion, your cultivation has not surpassed the limits of the Six Paths Yellow Springs, if it’s you... you can certainly enter the depths of the Yellow Springs, definitely help me find the answer! Ning Fan, please lend me your help!"