Grasping the Evil

Chapter 1051: Three Lives, One Hundred and Eight Afflictions

"That dried-up well, is it really as terrifying as you say?" Emperor Butcher rejoiced.

"Yes. At the moment when the well erupted with Extreme Yang, I actually sensed it in advance and used all possible defensive measures while retreating. However, the result was that I only managed to hold for an instant before being burned into ashes by the Extreme Yang from the well... I wasn’t careless at all; the power that erupted during the Extreme Yang is likely already at the Third Step..."

"Power at the Third Step! I never expected a simple, abandoned [One Hundred and Eight Sorrows Well] to still possess such terrifying power; this aligns extremely well with what I saw in my dreams. Good! So good! If the well’s power had completely dissipated, I would be worried!"

"One Hundred and Eight Sorrows Well? Is this the name of the dried-up well? That’s truly an odd name... It seems your objective isn’t actually the Extreme Yang Power within the well, right?" Seeing Emperor Butcher not alarmed but pleased, Ning Fan couldn’t help but speculate and asked.

"Of course not! This well has always been a place of great danger, a place where even Saints dare not act rashly. Even if this Sorrows Well has been abandoned for many years, its power not as strong as before, I absolutely cannot allow you to forcefully take the [Extreme Yang Water] from within! Finding the well is the easy part; next, just follow my instructions regarding the Sorrows Well like this..."

...

Ning Fan leapt into the Yellow Springs Great Sea for the fourth time, following the previous method, entering all the way into the palace of the Secluded Palace.

At the palace’s center lay the lifeless dried-up well. Having experienced a direct fall last time, Ning Fan didn’t get too close to the well this time. Instead, he stopped ten steps away from the well, recited an incantation, and used a Water Repelling Technique to disperse the seawater in the palace to the outside.

The Secluded Palace, originally immersed in seawater, for the first time in countless years, returned to a dry environment.

After dispersing the seawater, Ning Fan followed Emperor Butcher’s instructions, squatted on the ground, rubbed the patterns on the palace floor with his hand, Emperor Butcher’s instructions echoing in his ears.

"...The Yellow Springs here is not a complete Yellow Springs, it’s just a part separated from the complete Yellow Springs in the Real Realms, for some unknown reason, abandoned deep within the Fire Soul Tower. The origins of the Fire Soul Tower are extremely mysterious, no one knows why it stands here at the crossroads of the two realms in Middle State. Few know that part of the Yellow Springs exists within the tower. Supreme Ox Demon once served our clan’s Saint Ancestor, having lived from ancient times to this day, but even he couldn’t discern the significance of this tower standing here, only speculating that the Saint Ancestor established it here, likely related to constructing a complete reincarnation world..."

"...The abandoned Secluded Palace, with the [Well-Control Formation] within the hall certainly having lost its spirit as well, your first task upon entering the Yellow Springs is not to approach the Sorrows Well, but to repair the hall’s formation. This is an essential prerequisite for properly using the One Hundred and Eight Sorrows Well, which can prevent the chaotic attacks of Extreme Yang Water from the well on whoever approaches. Your cultivation in the Dao of formations is not weak, and your understanding of grand momentum is profound. If I add this [Ancient Jiuyou Well-Controlling Formation Diagram] to your hand, repairing the Secluded Palace’s Well-Control Formation isn’t an impossible task. Here, take the map, along with these materials that might be needed for the repair, use them. Whatever remains, you don’t need to return it; keep it for yourself..."

Following the words, Ning Fan examined the patterns on the floor, finding them apparently mere decorations but actually unimaginably complex formation patterns. Due to the passage of time and lack of repair, these patterns had already faded and become incomplete. Without repair, they would never be usable again.

The formation here didn’t possess any destructive or protective abilities, it was merely an operational formation, meant to operate the dried-up well within the hall normally.

In Ning Fan’s understanding, any operational formations generally had simple principles, and the formation’s eye was typically singular, often being merely the thing controlled by the formation. The movement of grand momentum basically operated along a straight line, merely repeating between the controller and the formation’s eye. Such formations were never associated with complexity. However, the Well-Control Formation here shattered this understanding.

The Well-Control Array here was unimaginably complex! Within the hundred-zhang space of the hall, there were hundreds of millions of formation eyes! It must be known that the number of formation eyes directly reflects the level of the formation! The complexity of the formation here was almost the most Ning Fan had ever seen in his life, even far surpassing the complexity of the corner of the Saint Pattern Formation by the Eye Orb Monster back then!

To find a similarly leveled formation, perhaps only the strongest formation Ning Fan had ever seen—the Primordial Inversion Dust Formation once used for blood sacrifice in the Barbarian Wilderness Ancient Domain—could compete.

Yet the Primordial Inversion Dust Formation was bestowed by the Master of Calamity Thought to the ancient Barbarian Fan family; its immense destructive power justified its complexity.

This formation here was merely an operational formation... Did it have to be laid out so complexly?

Or perhaps, this indirectly implied that controlling the One Hundred and Eight Sorrows Well was far more challenging than sacrificing the entire Barbarian Wilderness Ancient Domain...

If Emperor Butcher had not provided any assistance, Ning Fan estimated it would take him millions of years of study here just to understand the formation’s veins. Fortunately, Emperor Butcher had given the formation diagram, making it not so difficult for him to comprehend the formation here.

[Ancient Jiuyou Well-Controlling Formation Diagram]!

The name of the diagram caught Ning Fan’s attention momentarily, Nine You Ancient Kingdom... But it was merely attention, as the meaning behind the name was completely unclear, and Ning Fan didn’t intend to delve deeper. It was only because his God-Extinguishing Shield also had the ’Ancient Kingdom’ prefix that he slightly paid it attention.

The Ancient Kingdom referred to by the God-Extinguishing Shield was a specific nation. As for the Nine You Ancient Kingdom... Could it be a country that once existed? Or is the ’Ancient’ merely an adjective rather than a name...

It took Ning Fan about two hours to roughly go through the diagram; merely browsing it wore down much of his energy, leaving him slightly dizzy, and gave him a remarkably clear understanding of the formation’s complexity.

Even with the formation diagram at hand, Ning Fan didn’t believe he could comprehend this formation in a short time!

Completely unfathomable! Moreover, ungraspable! But this didn’t hinder Ning Fan from progressing step-by-step in repairing the formation according to the diagram.

This was much like in the cultivation world, where major sects needed formation masters to establish their Sect Protection Arrays, but for maintaining and operating the formations, it sufficed for disciples to follow instructions on a map.

Understanding or not, it was not important! Having enough formation expertise to operate by the diagram was sufficient!

Firstly, the faded formation patterns needed to be redrawn...

The formation spans less than a hundred zhang, yet the materials required for engraving the formation patterns exceed three thousand types, all of which are rare materials. Fortunately, Ning Fan received more than enough repair materials from the Emperor Butcher, and occasionally, when certain materials were scarce, similar ones could be found to substitute, making the process of re-engraving the formation patterns quite smooth.

Two hours later, the formation patterns were successfully restored.

Subsequently, Ning Fan needed to open the formation’s void eye in sequence and place various immortal materials within the eye as the source of power for the formation.

Such a profound formation, the formation’s eye has long been made difficult to find, not located within the present space but elsewhere in a void, serving as the eye.

The hundred-zhang palace unexpectedly opened up over a billion void eyes; if Ning Fan were to search for them one by one, it would take countless years. However, Ning Fan had the array map. With the map in hand, Ning Fan’s hands moved swiftly, slicing through voids in various locations and placing the corresponding materials within them. Thus, after a day, Ning Fan completed the powering of the formation’s eye.

Finally, Ning Fan spent another half day, activating the Momentum Character Secret, slightly altering the area’s momentum so that it corresponded with the flow of the formation.

With that, the Well-Controlling Formation could be considered truly repaired.

Following the repair of this formation, the formerly lifeless dry well suddenly showed signs of change!

As time passed, the dry well began to emit the respiration of a living being, and the bricks on the well wall started to pulsate like the flesh and blood of a living creature, creating an extremely eerie scene.

Moreover, the chaotic extreme yang accumulated in the well gradually calmed down and transformed from massive flames into golden well water. Although the well water still emanated a scorching and terrifying temperature, it no longer attacked randomly due to the proximity of others.

Soon after, the palace was filled with an ancient voice echoing incessantly, emanating from the normally functioning Hundred and Eight Sorrows Well, with a cold tone.

"You who handle the well, you have awakened me without authorization. Which sect’s immortal decree do you bear? Quickly present your immortal decree to prove your identity. If there is no immortal decree, you will be regarded as intruding on Jiuyou without permission, and your cultivation must be abolished, your soul eternally imprisoned in the Netherworld, with no mercy!"

The voice was not loud, yet in Ning Fan’s ears, it carried an unimaginable might, continuously reverberating!

Ning Fan only felt intense pain in his eardrums, as if he was facing not a dry well, but a living Third Step Saint! Of course, due to the well’s abandonment for many years, its might reached the Third Step yet was extremely weak, otherwise, Ning Fan would not just suffer from eardrum pain but would have difficulty even standing.

"...Be aware that once the formation is successfully restored, the Hundred and Eight Sorrows Well will awaken. This well is not a lifeless object; it is akin to an Ancient Deity existence. Uh, don’t look at me with skepticism; I’m unsure of what an Ancient Deity is. During my countless dream travels through the Real Realm, I rarely heard anything related to Ancient Deities. It seems their existence predates the Real Realm itself... Whatever, you wouldn’t understand if I continued. Just remember that this Well of Worries is not a lifeless entity; treat it as an ancient senior with utmost respect!"

"...What you need to do next will be highly risky. You must impersonate an identity to use the Hundred and Eight Sorrows Well... This well has slumbered for a long time, awakened just now, so its intellect is unlikely to be clear. With my skill in Illusory Art combined with some special methods, let’s attempt to deceive this well..."

"If successful, proceed with the next steps. If failure, if it recognizes your deception, then our entire planning ends here. Don’t concern yourself further, just escape! You mustn’t be killed by the Well of Worries! The well’s ability likely surpasses the time-reversing capability of your treasure box; do you understand?"

If killed by the awakened Well of Worries, the lack of time reversal is what it means, right...

The Emperor Butcher’s words lingered in Ning Fan’s ears, making his complexion unchanged but his spirit extraordinarily focused and cautious.

Next, he must impersonate a disciple of a prominent Real Realm faction to utilize the Well of Worries. If the impersonation fails, he must immediately flee...

The Emperor Butcher, being an Immortal Emperor of Illusionary Control Position, could her Illusory Art deceive the freshly awakened Well of Worries...

"Young one, swiftly present the immortal decree you bear for me to see!" the Well of Worries prompted once more, with even greater pressure than before.

"Here is the immortal decree!"

Ning Fan took a slight step sideways, leaving a footprint of burning golden flames on the ground, using the Secret Art of Prestige to counteract the pressure of the Well of Worries’ words.

He then flipped his hand, immediately causing a golden book to appear, which he gently tossed, using mana to propel it above the Well of Worries. Naturally, this golden book was fake, created through the Illusory Art of the Emperor Butcher. Had the Well of Worries been in peak condition, it wouldn’t have been deceived by such simple illusion techniques, but now, the Well was no longer at its peak, granting a slight possibility of success...

Simultaneously, a hand emerged from the golden well water, neither wholly human nor entirely beast, grasped the golden book and pulled it into the well water.

Dozens of breaths later, the Well of Worries’ voice resumed, yet the golden book wasn’t returned to Ning Fan. This time, its voice bore a touch of courtesy,

"So the revered messenger is a disciple of the Worship Spirit Sect. The well servant previously behaved disrespectfully, and hopes the revered messenger won’t take offense! I didn’t anticipate that despite my abandonment for many years, even drifting to the Dreamland Realm, the upper sect still deemed me useful, coming across worlds to awaken me. This is indeed the well servant’s honor, but there’s one matter I must inform the revered messenger of first."

"Due to abandonment, the remaining quantity of extreme yang water in the well servant’s possession is less than one ten-thousandth of its prime, coupled with the reincarnation limitation of this Dreamland Realm restricting the well servant greatly. In this way, if the revered messenger wishes to view the Third Circle of Heavenly Dao’s reincarnation from the well servant, they may be disappointed. The well servant’s current strength is barely enough to view the Second Circle of Heavenly Dao’s reincarnation, and even so, only a small portion... I hope the revered messenger understands!"

"If the revered messenger wishes to view reincarnation, please do so at leisure. The well servant has just awakened and needs to rest briefly, thus cannot serve the revered messenger nearby. I trust the revered messenger will understand!"

As he finished speaking, the bricks of the Well of Worries wriggled and disappeared, and the aura of life was concealed. The entire palace returned to silence, leaving only the extremely subtle sounds of formations operating.

Seeing that the Well of Worries believed his identity, Ning Fan internally let out a sigh of relief. Good, this step was successful. Next, he could use the power of the Well of Worries to see what the Emperor Butcher wanted to see about the past, present, and future.

Hehe, it’s shameful to say, even though the Emperor Butcher told him so many principles, he only understood the sentence ’this well can see the past, present, and future’...

"...The complete Six Paths of Reincarnation should include Twelve Yin Mountains, Fourteen Yin Rivers, Ten Directions’ Ghost Gate Pass, Rivers of Reverse Oblivion, Jiuyou Yellow Spring Sea, Gates of Reincarnation, Transcendence Mountain and many other components. The Six Paths of Reincarnation is the largest [Reincarnation Connection Point] in the world, where you can learn everything you wish to know...the Well of One Hundred and Eight Sorrows is one of the reincarnation connection points, but compared to the Rivers of Reverse Oblivion, its level is actually much lower, and its deduction power is far inferior..."

"Speaking of the Well of Worries, we have to talk about its name origins. It is apparent you haven’t studied much Buddhist scripture. Don’t you know, in our Buddhist sect, there’s a saying of one hundred and eight sorrows? Regarding one hundred and eight sorrows, we first have to discuss the six roots of man, which have good, evil, and neutral distinctions, as well as pure and tainted divisions, combining into thirty-six sorrows. Throughout a lifetime, one encounters thirty-six sorrows, and if considering the past, present, and future lives, one would encounter one hundred and eight, hence one hundred and eight sorrows. This is also why the temple bells often toll one hundred and eight times..."

He couldn’t understand what the Emperor Butcher was referring to, with place names and things about reincarnation connection points; he couldn’t understand at all...

"...You ask me what reincarnation connection points are? Of course, they refer to the places connected by many reincarnation points! What, still don’t understand? It’s really a headache, how can I explain it to you, I’m the worst at teaching with words..."

"...Reincarnation is a very mysterious thing, it’s not just one layer, but layer upon layer; each layer of reincarnation, like parallel universes, allows each person to extend from that parallel universe, having countless pasts and countless futures... You can understand reincarnation connection points as the boundaries of different parallel universes. Your past is not necessarily what you’ve experienced in this life; your future is not necessarily what you’ll encounter in this life. Do you understand?"

"You still don’t understand! Let me put it this way, the so-called reincarnation connection point is the place that allows you to see your own past, present, and future. By saying this, you surely understand, right? The Well of One Hundred and Eight Sorrows can show you your past and future; such a place is called a reincarnation connection point."

"...Oh, interesting, you say you encountered a lake located in one of the lower realms of the Four Heavens and Nine Worlds? It can reflect the past? Yes, that lake is a reincarnation connection point! However, a complete connection point can reflect both the past and the future simultaneously; the one you encountered should be incomplete, rather than complete... Also, reincarnation connection points have grades, the higher-grade connection points can see more, certain pasts and futures related to the Great Secret of Heaven and Earth can only be seen by the highest-grade reincarnation connection points..."

"If you don’t understand what I’m saying, just remember it! These are the great lessons I learned from listening to the Saints talk Daos in dreams, remember them, slowly digest and understand, only beneficial, no harm."

Do you understand...

No, not at all...

It was the first time Ning Fan found out there was such a huge generation gap between him and the Emperor Butcher, the reincarnation knowledge the Emperor Butcher spoke of, he couldn’t... understand any of it!

What countless reincarnation connections... What layer upon layer... What past is not the past, the future is not the future... What parallel universe...

He couldn’t understand, not at all...

The Emperor Butcher often dreamed of the Real Realms, often hearing Saints preaching Daos in dreams, thus her comprehension consisted of knowledge only Third Step Saints could understand, certainly not what Ning Fan could comprehend in a few words.

Of course, not being able to understand is not a problem, Ning Fan only needs to know what to do at this moment.

He slowly approached the edge of the well, leaning over to peer into the well water, this time, naturally there would no longer be any attack from the Extreme Yang Power in the well. However, according to the Emperor Butcher, if he dared to attempt seizing the Extreme Yang of this well, he would still be attacked... This kind of greedy thought must be suppressed!

The ancient well was still, yet it reflected countless images. Those images were none other than the past and future events of many Masters.

Too many, too many. The images reflected in the well water were too many, making it impossible for Ning Fan to clearly see any one scene. Only by using the correct method could he see what he wanted to know from the well.

Once, Ning Fan had visited Sword Lake of Heart Inquiry in the Sword World and saw in the reflection of the lake water his many past lives as a butterfly.

According to the Emperor Butcher, Sword Lake of Heart Inquiry belonged to an incomplete reincarnation connection point, only able to see the past, not the future. Furthermore, Sword Lake of Heart Inquiry could only reveal one’s own past...

The Well of One Hundred and Eight Sorrows was different, according to the Emperor Butcher, this well could not only view one’s own past and future but also examine the past and future of others.

The Emperor Butcher tasked Ning Fan with checking a certain segment of her past.

She harbored a huge doubt in her heart, suspecting that her memory had been altered by a powerful being!

She needed information from the Well of One Hundred and Eight Sorrows to confirm whether the past it reflected matched the segment of memory she had!

"Ning Fan, do you know, there was once a woman who told me something, she said I’m not really me, and only when I am not myself, then I am truly me..."

"You don’t understand again, huh, it’s really hard talking to you."

"That woman said she altered my memory, but I don’t believe it. If you can fool the Well of Worries, then take my left eye and help me see my past."

"The past illuminated by the Well of Worries is real, so real that even a Fourth Step Immortal Emperor cannot alter it in the slightest. No matter how strong that woman is, she cannot reach to the Yellow Springs Sea Bottom, nor can she alter such reality."

"She is the Ten Bees Supreme, one of the five Supremes of my clan, other than Supreme Ox Demon, she ranks fifth in strength among the five Supremes, while Supreme Ox Demon is fourth... She has lived countless years in Zhongzhou Liuli City, yet everyone was deceived by her Illusory Art, everyone thought she was just a newly arrived courtesan singer at Xiu Fang... Everyone called her Afeng."

"She can transform into thousands of different appearances at will, but the one she uses most often is the face of Afeng. According to her, when she tampered with my memory back then, she used this face."

"Go and see if this face appears in my past..."

The words of the Emperor Butcher echoed in his ears, containing an indescribable sense of helplessness and nervousness, completely different from her previous overbearing persona.

Ning Fan fell silent for a moment, took out a scroll, and slowly unfurled it.

On the canvas was a woman incredibly familiar to Ning Fan, at a glance appearing to be Dugu, but upon closer inspection having slight differences.

The woman in the portrait possessed a visage remarkably similar to Dugu but wore the attire of a courtesan... Not Dugu, totally different in aura!

The woman in the painting was the peculiar woman he encountered on the way to rescue Wu Laoba that day! The eerie woman resembling Dugu!

[Vast Expanse Butterfly, do you need help?]

[Seems, my lord does not recognize me...]

[I am Afeng, Afeng of Xiu Fang, the little turtle you are looking for is at Nan Yao Temple outside the east gate.]

It was that woman who claimed to be named Afeng!

That day, Ning Fan felt the eerie woman’s cultivation was unfathomable, but never expected this inexplicable woman to also be one of the five Supremes of the Dabei Clan!

Her true identity was Ten Bees Supreme!

Why did this woman resemble Dugu so much...

Why did this woman know he was a butterfly...

Why did this woman speak the words ’my lord does not recognize me’...

Was this not the phrase he had heard at the stone door on the last level of the Scriptures Tower gifted by the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor...

Is it a coincidence...

But when so many coincidences are put together, something seems amiss...

"My task is to use the power of the Well of One Hundred and Eight Sorrows to explore the Emperor Butcher’s past... to see if this person appeared! Afterward, inscribe what I saw on the Emperor Butcher’s left eye..."

"Upon helping the Emperor Butcher, if I too have doubts in my heart, I can naturally also use this well to examine my past and future. I’ve seen my past, the life experiences of those lives as a butterfly, as for the future... Is the future something that can really be seen so easily, hehe, interesting."

What will my future be like...

Or perhaps, the future of a Holder Cultivator cannot be seen in the well water at all, considering the path of a Holder Cultivator is cut off by the heavens, it would not be surprising to see nothing of the future.

Ning Fan rolled up the painting, then took out the Emperor Butcher’s left eye with a turn of his hand. To glimpse others’ past and future requires some medium, so he drew a wisp of aura from the Emperor Butcher’s left eye and cast it into the golden well water, instantly, the countless images reflected in the well water began to decrease.

Before long, the remaining images in the well water showed only the Emperor Butcher alone.

Among those images were the Emperor Butcher’s past as a young shepherd girl, her present frown waiting on the voyage ship, and a future of bloody crimson...

A future filled with bloodshed—what kind of calamity is this...

Ning Fan frowned; although the Emperor Butcher didn’t instruct him to scrutinize the future, he inadvertently saw it. It seemed the future of the Emperor Butcher would face a great catastrophe...