Grasping the Evil

Chapter 1061: Grey-robed Immortal Emperor

The Xiqiang Grassland is one of the many grasslands in the Dabei, directly bordering the Fiendish Domain Continent. The place is rich in Spiritual Energy, grazing grass is lush, and cattle and sheep are numerous. The entire grassland has forty-four tribes, among which the most powerful is the Sala Clan.

The Sala Clan is a tribe with a Late Harmonious Spirit realm cultivator stationed, perhaps not too remarkable in the entire Dabei Clan, but in a small place like Xiqiang Grassland, Late Harmonious Spirit is already a legendary level of existence.

Old Haku, who guards the Sala Clan’s treasury, comfortably lies on a rattan chair, snoring in the sun at the treasury entrance. Occasionally, Sala tribesmen driving cattle and sheep pass by. When they see Old Haku, they respectfully bow and greet him.

Yet, Old Haku is too lazy to even open his eyes, continuing his deep sleep, ignoring everyone.

Even so, no Sala tribesmen dare to be dissatisfied with the aloof and solitary Old Haku because this unimpressive-looking elder is actually the strongest existence of the Sala, possessing the legendary Late Harmonious Spirit cultivation!

On the surface, Old Haku is basking in the sun and sleeping, but in reality, his spirit sense remains fully open, enveloping the entire Sala Clan, constantly monitoring the border between the Xiqiang Grassland and Fiendish Domain Continent.

Should anyone show disrespect and provoke the Sala, he would notice immediately.

Should any Three-Flames Cultivator invade the Xiqiang Grassland from the mainland, he would notice immediately as well.

In times of boredom, Old Haku secretly listens to the tribesmen’s conversations to pass the time. Even though he never leaves the house, spends years guarding the treasury, he is thoroughly familiar with the current affairs of the entire Dabei Clan.

"... It’s strange, recently the Heavenly Earth Lightning Force has somehow decreased slightly, making it more difficult to condense lightning power, the next lightning exchange date may be delayed by several days..."

Oh, the clan’s Ning Fan discussing. Bright Buddha of the Holy Mountain has ordered all Dabei tribes to manufacture thunder to contribute lightning power as a form of punishment. The clan’s Ning Fan is busy with this recently... Heavenly Earth Lightning Force decreasing? Probably it’s due to too many Dabei Ning Fan simultaneously absorbing it, causing this change. Old Haku yawns, showing little interest in the topic.

"... That foreign cultivator has yet to be caught, only the Blood Martial Master has been captured. Based on my years of experience, there’s over a seventy percent chance that foreign cultivator who privately destroyed the Punishing Ring already left the Holy Domain with his companion..."

Haha, seventy percent chance... It’s definitely one hundred percent. Destroying the Punishing Ring is our clan’s supreme crime, that foreign cultivator named Ning Fan must have already escaped, else why stay in the Dabei Clan waiting for death. Old Haku thinks indifferently.

"... Recently Three-Flames has been restless, it seems the Stone Flame sect of the Meng Family is having incidents. First, mysteriously, the Demon Child died, and then an Immortal Emperor of the Meng Family was severely wounded for unknown reasons..."

Haha, this is good news. Supreme Pill Sacred Domain is divided into two, one side is the Holy Mountain and its governed many Dabei grasslands, the other is the Three-Flames. Losses to Three-Flames personnel are good news for any grassland cultivator.

Old Haku is idly listening to clan’s conversations, suddenly his expression changes to horror, eyes wide open, springing up from the rattan chair, showing surprise.

There appears before him, without him knowing, a Ghost Eye silver-haired man, seeming to have just arrived, or to have... been standing here for a very long time!

Cold sweat breaks out on Old Haku’s forehead.

With his Late Harmonious Spirit cultivation, to be approached unnoticed indicates the opponent’s strength is formidable! Very likely to be... Eternal Immortal Venerable!

Is this person an Immortal Venerable from the Holy Mountain, or from Three-Flames?!

Why does this person wear a mask, hide his face, and come to the Sala Clan’s treasury!

"May I know which grassland senior retreats in, or perhaps senior has just emerged from the Holy Mountain Mausoleum..." Old Haku changes his usual arrogance, asking respectfully.

"No, I am not from any grassland under the Holy Mountain, nor from the Holy Mountain Mausoleum, to put it simply, I have just come out from the Fiendish Domain Continent." Ning Fan’s voice is calm, emotions indiscernible.

But his seemingly calm words cause Old Haku’s gaze to turn horrified, trembling in voice.

"You, you, you are Three-Flames Immortal Venerable, this is bad, our Xiqiang Grassland is invaded by Three-Flames, must, must notify Middle State immediately..."

Old Haku just about to take out a magic artifact for communication when suddenly Ning Fan’s left eye Demon Light flashes, causing Old Haku’s eyes to become dazed, slumping into the rattan chair, passing out.

Nearby some Sala tribesmen witnessing Ning Fan’s assault were shocked, but before screams erupted, were affected by Ning Fan’s Illusory Art, appearing dazed as if not witnessing anything, driving their cattle away.

"Those who provoke me, I will repay tenfold, but you have no grievances with me, I will not slaughter your tribe. I’m here today just to borrow some of your clan’s gold and silver, that’s all."

Ning Fan spoke to the unconscious Old Haku.

Unfortunately, his words were naturally unheard by the unconscious Old Haku, plus when Old Haku wakes, Ning Fan’s illusion will erase all memory of encountering him.

No one will know he visited the Sala Clan.

Ning Fan pushed open the Sala Clan’s treasury door, entered, and after a little while, left the treasury.

The treasury still piled high with various expensive pills, magical treasure, Medicine Soul Stone, along with over a hundred boxes of gold and silver neatly arranged.

Ning Fan took all the gold and silver of the Sala Clan, these gold and silver contained elements of Heavenly Dao Gold and Silver. Then he utilized a common cultivation world technique of turning stone into gold, transforming a large amount of gold and silver, though the transformed gold and silver naturally lacked elements of Heavenly Dao Gold and Silver, but with the mere Sala Clan’s foundation, it could not detect this.

Seventy-three million two thousand Dabei gold and silver, thirty-seven million seven hundred thousand Dabei silver, acquired!

Afterwards, Ning Fan left the Sala Clan, visiting another Xiqiang Tribe, shortly after, Ning Fan visited every tribe on the Xiqiang Grassland.

Upon searching, he had fifty-three million two thousand Dabei gold, twelve hundred million two thousand whites of silver.

Using the Ancient Kingdom Refining Formation would surely yield a large amount of Heavenly Dao Gold and Silver, but Ning Fan did not hasten the refining, choosing to leave Xiqiang Grassland, visiting neighboring Black Desert Grassland.

After departing Black Desert Grassland, Ning Fan visited Three Rivers Grassland.

Must say, Illusory Art is an extremely convenient ability, had Ning Fan directly seized these tribes’ gold and silver, it would definitely cause a great uproar in the Dabei Clan, perhaps even leading people to deduce him holding Ancient Kingdom Two Formation.

With Illusory Art’s help, the matter was significantly easier, without struggles or battles, usually with a flash of Illusory Art, the opponent was at Ning Fan’s mercy.

The process was undoubtedly easy.

At full speed flight, straight forward escape technique, only within one day, Ning Fan stole over seventy percent of the Dabei grassland outside of Middle State.

Remaining grasslands not visited utilized currency not in gold and silver, but stone currency made from Medicine Soul Stone; thus, these grasslands almost had no gold and silver reserve, making theft unnecessary.

Having stolen through the Dabei grasslands, Ning Fan held seventy-three million two thousand Dabei gold, fifteen billion two thousand white silver!

If these Dabei gold and silver are refined into Heavenly Dao Gold and Silver, the Heavenly Dao Gold and Silver obtained would absolutely be enough to buy a lot of good things from the Tongtian Sect!

"The gold and silver I have stolen can only be considered as the gold and silver circulating in the secular world. According to the information I have, all of the Dabei Clan’s gold and silver are produced from the three major gold mines and the five major silver mines under the jurisdiction of the Holy Mountain. These veins are the legacy of the Dabei Holy Ancestor. The locations of these gold and silver veins are extremely hidden, located beneath the grasslands in some parts of the Middle State, unreachable by spirit sense. It seems that these gold and silver mines have always been managed by the Chu Lie lineage within the Holy Mountain Sect. Unless one is a significant figure of Chu Lie, absolutely no one would know the whereabouts of these gold and silver mines..."

"The fact that the locations of the gold and silver veins are kept so secretive suggests that the powerful figures of the Holy Mountain must know something about the Heavenly Dao Gold and Silver. The reason for not using Heavenly Dao Gold and Silver but allowing it to circulate in the market must be due to the lack of one of the Two Ancient Kingdom Formations, or possibly both..."

"If I could find the locations of the gold and silver veins and directly empty all the veins, the amount of gold and silver obtained would undoubtedly be more."

"Duolan is the daughter of the former Chu Lie Emperor, perhaps she might know the locations of those gold and silver veins..."

However, since the Holy Mountain regards these gold and silver veins so highly, they must have dedicated personnel guarding them. Even if the guardian is not an Immortal Emperor, they are definitely at the level of an Immortal King or Immortal Venerable. Robbing the veins is absolutely not as easy as stealing gold and silver, there will definitely be a great battle, and it might directly incur the wrath of the Holy Mountain afterwards...

"Let’s not discuss the matter of the veins for now, I should refine the Heavenly Dao Gold and Silver I have at hand first and buy some good things."

Ning Fan once again left the Dabei Grassland, sneaked into the Fiendish Domain Continent, and found a deserted place to set up the Ancient Kingdom Refining Formation.

Refining such a quantity of gold and silver is certainly not an easy task. It took Ning Fan three whole days to complete the refining.

With the extensive refining, Ning Fan’s proficiency increased significantly, and the refining success rate rose from the initial fifty percent to seventy percent.

A total of nine hundred and twenty-eight taels of Heavenly Dao Gold and fifteen thousand four hundred taels of Heavenly Dao Silver were refined!

Again setting up the Ancient Kingdom Trading Formation, Ning Fan this time was obviously different from the last time, his purse was much fuller!

"Oh? How long has it been, and yet the Daoist friend has set up the Trading Formation again? Is it because the puppet materials purchased last time were not enough, and you need to buy some more?"

Coincidentally, the one trading with Ning Fan this time was still the disciple from the Tongtian Sect who served him last time. Last transaction, Ning Fan’s transaction volume was not low, reaching as much as seven taels of Heavenly Dao Silver, he earned more than a qian from it, which naturally made him very enthusiastic towards Ning Fan.

As the saying goes, familiarity breeds ease; last time, the disciple addressed Ning Fan as "your Excellency", but this time he directly called him "Daoist friend", with a bit more friendliness in his tone.

"Thank you for your concern, Daoist friend. This time I set up the formation not to buy puppet materials, but to buy something else. I wonder if the Wuxian Cloud in the list of your sect’s clearance goods has been sold, if not, I would like to purchase it."

"The Wuxian Cloud in the clearance goods, right... let me check... found it, is it item number seven hundred and forty-one that Daoist friend wants to purchase, the ’Ill-Fated Dark Immortal Cloud’? It has not been sold yet, does Daoist friend really want to buy it!"

"Yes."

The old man’s tone suddenly became eager.

During the last transaction, Ning Fan’s transaction volume was just seven silver, and he already earned quite a bit of commission from it.

If he closes the deal on the Wuxian Cloud this time, how much commission can he earn!

The clearance price was thirteen gold and four qian, and according to the Tongtian Sect’s disciple policy of taking one out of fifty as commission, he could earn over two taels of Heavenly Dao Silver commission!

To him, Ning Fan was definitely a major customer!

For the sake of the commission, the old man was eager to make this deal but slightly hesitated after calming down a bit, and said to Ning Fan,

"Ah, Daoist friend should... should reconsider once or twice, this Wuxian Cloud cannot be purchased. The price dropped from over three hundred gold to thirteen gold for a reason. Our sect never makes unprofitable deals, and since I am somewhat acquainted with you, I won’t hide it. Before this cloud fell into our sect’s hands, it passed through several owners, all of whom had the Immortal Emperor cultivation, yet almost without exception, they all tragically died because of this cloud’s misfortune. The ability of this cloud to taint one’s fortune is extremely strong. For us cultivators, tainted fortune means one might inevitably encounter dangers during travel..."

Ning Fan was slightly surprised, not expecting the other party to kindly advise him not to purchase this item.

This was said out of goodwill, and Ning Fan acknowledged this kindness, feeling a slight sense of gratitude towards the old man he had never met. Smiling, he said, "Thank you for the kind words, Daoist friend, but I am confident in my abilities, which should be sufficient to counteract the misfortune of this Wuxian Cloud. Please sell me this Wuxian Cloud."

"Then... since Daoist friend insists on buying it, this old man will not persuade anymore."

Ning Fan placed the sufficient gold and silver on one side of the bronze scale, and from the other side, a mass of black air flew out, revealing the true form of the Wuxian Cloud before Ning Fan.

This was an Innate Inferior Grade escape treasure, and with this treasure, Ning Fan’s ability to kill, plunder, and escape a thousand miles would undoubtedly become more convenient!

This cloud indeed carried an unimaginable amount of black fortune, with the level of black fortune reaching the Eighth Level Black Fortune, slightly stronger than Wu Laoba’s black fortune.

This meant that even cultivators like Wu Laoba who were well-versed in black fortune would be affected by the misfortune when using this cloud, encountering some accidents.

Ning Fan, however, was different. He was none other than the proud Fu Li, and although this cloud’s misfortune was exceptionally strong, it was still within Ning Fan’s control.

Satisfied, he stored the Wuxian Cloud and decided to continue with other transactions.

"Does Daoist friend need anything else?"

"I would like to buy some Nine-Star Demon Skills, may I see your sect’s list of demonic skills?"

"Of course, but since Daoist friend has already bought the Wuxian Cloud, you might not have much money left, probably not enough to buy the top tier Nine-Star Demon Skills."

Despite what he said, the old man still handed over the jade scroll of the Tongtian Sect’s demonic skills list to Ning Fan.

Ning Fan’s eyes lightly scanned over the list of demon techniques.

Nine-Star Demon Skills vary in strength, with some trashy ones available for ten or twenty silver.

But those powerful demon skills could be sold for a high price of over a hundred gold.

Ning Fan did not need to buy the very best demon skills, as he was purchasing them not for cultivation, but for reference. In terms of reference, quality was not the priority, but quantity was.

He needed more understanding of the thoughts and concepts that Immortal Emperor-level figures had when creating Nine-Star Demon Skills.

By using these as references, he could write more Chapters of magic scripture on his Dao Scripture.

"I want the demonic skill number forty-one, number fifty-seven, also number one hundred twenty-three, number two hundred forty-four, number..."

He actually bought over a hundred Nine-Star Demon Techniques in a row!

Most of these techniques were unheard of in the four heavens and nine worlds, as Ning Fan directly traded with the ancient holy sects of the True Realm. Some of the purchased techniques came from the Three Great Realms, some from the Illusionary Dream World of All Heavens and Myriads of Worlds, and many were long-lost ancient scriptures!

The old man took a deep breath, occasionally sounding the abacus as he calculated the silver required for Ning Fan’s purchase of over a hundred Demon Techniques.

Two hundred nine gold and four qian! Converted to silver is two thousand ninety-four silver!

This is an even bigger deal than the Ill-Fated Dark Immortal Cloud!

The old man became more enthusiastic towards Ning Fan!

Judging by the transaction amount alone, Ning Fan definitely ranks among the top ten customers in the old man’s records!

Ning Fan placed the equivalent amount of gold and silver on the other end of the balance, awaiting the completion of the transaction. The old man said, "Daoist friend, please hold off on the transaction. Our Tongtian Sect often offers discounts to major customers. You can receive a certain discount during purchases. Based on your financial status, you are eligible to become a fourth-tier VIP of our sect. I can register you for a VIP card, which allows you to enjoy a ten percent discount when shopping with us. Would Daoist friend require me to process this card?"

"A ten percent discount..."

Being able to save money, why spend more? Naturally, Ning Fan agreed to get the card.

Registering for this card requires very little information, not even a real name, a pseudonym suffices.

Ning Fan pondered for a moment and decided to register the Tongtian Sect’s VIP card using the "Slaughter Fox" code name he used at the Blood Martial Arena, without disclosing his realm information.

Not long after, the balance delivered a bronze card.

The card is inscribed with the registration number and the Slaughter Fox code name used by Ning Fan, with no further information recorded.

The Bronze VIP Card, the fourth-tier VIP card of the Tongtian Sect, allowed Ning Fan to enjoy a ten percent discount on Demon Techniques, saving him a full twenty gold.

His purse still full, Ning Fan naturally wanted to buy other things. Suddenly, Ning Fan remembered the troubles of his Shekong Heart Tribulation and asked tentatively about the Tongtian Sect’s vast divine skill.

"I wonder if your sect has a way to quickly summon the Heart Tribulation for Shekong Cultivators? If so, I wish to purchase such a method."

"Haha, Daoist friend seeks a quick breakthrough for your disciples’ Shekong Heart Tribulation, truly a good teacher." The old man complimented and continued, "Indeed, for Shekong cultivators, the Shekong Heart Tribulation is a big problem, causing many skilled cultivators to be stuck for life without progressing in cultivation. Some families can bypass the tribulation and advance the Shekong level using clan fortune, but relying on external forces affects future practice. I assume Daoist friend is seeking a perfect way to help disciples pass the tribulation?"

Ning Fan, unwilling to admit he seeks to break through himself, smiled lightly and said, "With your sect’s heritage, you must know many perfect, quick methods to breakthrough Shekong Heart Tribulation?"

"Haha, naturally, there are many methods. In fact, our sect’s trading range includes helping cultivators perfectly breakthrough bottlenecks. Quick breakthrough methods for Shekong Heart Tribulation, we know at least twenty, varying in content and price, here’s the list for Daoist friend to peruse."

Coming from the balance, a jade scroll landed in Ning Fan’s hand.

Ning Fan swept it with his spirit sense, drawing up a faint smile.

Indeed, as expected of the Tongtian Sect among the ancient holy sects of the True Realm, it has gathered many strange methods to aid cultivators in drawing heart tribulation quickly.

However, the methods to quickly evoke Shekong Heart Tribulation... The price is quite steep. Each method ranges from five gold to ten gold.

After all, any of these methods can benefit a clan, allowing many Shekong tribulation breakthroughs and cultivation advancements without relying on clan fortune.

Things are expensive, so Ning Fan naturally couldn’t buy them all. He chose the method most suited to him for the heart tribulation breakthrough and purchased it.

Even after the discount, it still cost him twelve gold.

[Heart Inquiry Pill Recipe].

Heart Inquiry Pill, a Ninth Transformation Silver Grade Elixir, when consumed by a Shekong cultivator, has a certain probability to provoke a heart tribulation manifestation. Required materials are as follows... Refinement steps... Special requirement, refinement needs a cultivator who has undergone a Shekong Heart Tribulation to use their own tribulation as the medicine lead, to form the pill. Refinement location is crucial, must be at an ancient dried ocean, borrowing the ancient sea’s tidal breath for refinement.

Materials needed for the Heart Inquiry Pill are rare, many being extinct ancient herbs of the four heavens and nine worlds. However, with the convenience of the Ancient Kingdom Trade Array, Ning Fan easily procured the bulk of materials for the Heart Inquiry Pill.

Simultaneously, Ning Fan directly spent eight gold to purchase eight different types of Innate Soul-Nourishing Spiritual Medicine, combined with six types he already had, enough to treat the Phoenix Emperor’s daughter, even with surplus, evidently prepared for potential errors during treatment and bought extras.

With the ease presented by the Ancient Kingdom Trade Array, his trip to the Supreme Pill Sacred Domain’s purpose was effortlessly achieved, ready to proceed with treating the Phoenix Emperor’s daughter once everything is settled.

"To refine the Heart Inquiry Pill requires Ninth Transformation Silver Grade Alchemy. My current medicine soul is only at Nine Revolutions Lead Grade, slightly insufficient for this refinement. Nuan’er’s medicine soul is sufficient, but Nuan’er is not a Shekong Cultivator, never experienced Shekong Heart Tribulation, unable to use personal tribulation for alchemy lead."

"The Dabei Clan has many Ninth Transformation Silver Grade Alchemists, lots exceeding Shekong realm, meeting the conditions for pill refinement... or perhaps, I could purchase something directly from Tongtian Sect to elevate my medicine soul to Ninth Transformation Silver Grade, refining the pill myself. After all, upgrading the medicine soul not only applies to alchemy but also significantly enhances a cultivator’s sensory ability. This method seems feasible..."

"Finding a dried ancient ocean for pill refinement appears somewhat challenging..."

In the meantime, purchasing more earthly treasures to boost the medicine soul to Ninth Transformation Silver Grade is the priority!

"I wish to purchase more items to advance my medicine soul cultivation."

"Alright, here is the list. Daoist friend, please take your time browsing and let me know if you find anything suitable."

...

One stick of incense later, Ning Fan completed his second Ancient Kingdom transaction, erasing all surrounding formation traces.

Purchased items to improve medicine soul level, mainly effective for Nine Revolutions Lead Grade medicine soul, not expensive, sufficient for Ning Fan to elevate his medicine soul to Silver Grade.

Yet items for advancing beyond Silver Grade sold at extremely high prices with scarce stock, insufficient for Ning Fan to ascend Ninth Revolution Golden Core Alchemy. According to the old trader, it seems a certain ancient sect in the True Realm has been heavily buying items to enhance medicine souls beyond Silver Grade, causing Tongtian Sect’s stock shortage.

"Daoist friend, if urgently requiring such items, you may use another private Ancient Kingdom transaction array, directly trading with cultivators across All Heavens and Myriads of Worlds. Though our sect’s inventory is limited, the world is vast, some cultivators might hold a great number of the items you need. Of course, private trader dealings incur a commission by Tongtian Sect, and avoiding the Ancient Kingdom’s balance power leads to high risks, with a third of transactions failing due to temporal chaos, resulting in loss of both assets and goods..."

The old man’s words lingered, leading Ning Fan to temporarily halt plans for becoming a Ninth Turn Golden Core Alchemist.

Alchemy isn’t urgent; just being able to refine the Heart Inquiry Pill is enough.

His Heavenly Dao Gold and Silver seemed abundant, but it was a one-time deal; having plundered the entire Dabei, it’s uncertain where he could earn more Heavenly Dao Gold and Silver next.

Money should be spent on the cutting edge.

With a flick of his hand, Ning Fan took out the Pig Face Treasure Box.

He was contemplating whether to utilize the saintly will of the treasure box to accelerate the refinement of heavenly materials, allowing the Medicine Soul to reach Ninth Revolution Silver Grade, or enter the Xuan Yin Treasure to harness the power of the Tower of Years to achieve this.

The restrictions on the Well of Worries within the Pig Face Treasure Box had long dissipated, enabling the box to be used again.

This box could reverse time within a certain range.

However, it seemed not to reverse the entire world’s time.

Ning Fan’s clearest memory was stepping out of the Fire Soul Tower and returning to the outside world, where he found that his own time did not align with the world’s time.

There was a time difference of several hours!

During those times at the depths of the Netherworld, he would die and revive repeatedly; everything around seemed to revert to earlier times, but in reality, the world’s time hadn’t retreated because of Ning Fan.

Only within the box’s coverage did time roll back.

Which resulted in the time difference.

"I have yet to precisely understand the capabilities of this box and need to study it carefully..."

As he pondered, suddenly a large number of gray clouds appeared in the distant sky deep within the Fiendish Domain!

Subsequently, a Heavenly Immortal Emperor aura stirred up storms, emanating from deep within those gray clouds, as an Immortal Emperor’s spirit sense locked onto Ning Fan!

Ning Fan, who had just been in the Ancient Kingdom Trade Array, naturally hadn’t donned his Ghost Eye Clan mask, revealing his true appearance right in front of the newcomer’s eyes!

Nor did he expect an Immortal Emperor to appear suddenly!

Despite having severed his karmic ties, how did this Immortal Emperor track him?

Or perhaps the person wasn’t tracking him, but was simply a chance encounter?

"Oh? I merely sensed something, wanting to see which rare old being was here researching the Ancient Kingdom Trade Array, but didn’t see any old being; instead, I saw an unexpected person. You, an outsider, should be fleeing from the pursuit of the Bright Buddha and escaping the Holy Domain, yet why are you still here, hmm, no trace of karmic sensing, quite skilled, shielding karmic perception; with your meager Taoist skills, how did you manage this!"

"Forget it, you seem reluctant to speak more, direct questioning seems futile, capturing and destroying this soul remnant should provide the answers I seek. Do not resent me; today’s encounter between us is proof of karmic recompense. You killed my transmigration spiritual body, shielding Loutuo’s karmic ties; me killing you fits into the cycle of karma."

Within the countless gray clouds, a gray-robed man looked indifferently at Ning Fan below, then pressed down with his five fingers.

The gray clouds sweeping across the heavens instantly condensed into a hand seal as vast as a continent, pressing down upon the continent where Ning Fan was!

Ning Fan’s gaze turned cold, and with a flash of vertical golden light, he flew out of the continent’s bounds instantly.

In the next instant, countless mountains and rivers on the entire continent turned into ashes under the gray-robed man’s press!

"Quick to escape, but futile! Great Demon Void Escape!"

The gray-robed man seemed to traverse countless distances in an instant, appearing before Ning Fan, gray light flickering at his fingertips, lifting his finger to press on Ning Fan’s brow.

The attack came too swiftly! Ning Fan couldn’t even react, only an instinctual golden glow from the God-Extinguishing Shield emerged, blocking the man’s gray finger press.

Though successfully defending, the force from his press still penetrated the shield, striking Ning Fan.

Ning Fan felt a finger pierce through his brow, forming a half-inch deep blood hole, gray energy hissing and corroding, and even with Ning Fan’s recovery ability, he couldn’t self-heal!

This gray-robed Immortal Emperor... who was he!

His words about shielding Loutuo’s karma, what did it mean!

"Capture him alive!"

Suddenly, an ancient voice sounded eerily from within the gray-robed Immortal Emperor.

The gray-robed Immortal Emperor initially had a mocking demeanor towards Ning Fan, but upon hearing the voice, he was taken aback.

This insignificant junior, could he possess such a significant secret? Otherwise, how could he attract the interest of the mighty Ancestor Flame!

Demanding capture alive!

"Yes..."

Facing Ancestor Flame’s request, even he dared not defy; waving his hand, the gray clouds transformed into a vast net, descending upon Ning Fan.

Ning Fan instinctively tried to evade the net, but found himself immobilized, as the surrounding space was constrained, the vast forces of heaven and earth under the control of the gray-robed Immortal Emperor, preventing any escape technique!

In the nick of time, Ning Fan stepped into the heavens, fiery golden flames fiercely burning, incinerating the forces binding him to ashes, escaping several continents away, narrowly avoiding the net.

The gray-robed Immortal Emperor’s gaze turned dark.

Having failed three consecutive attempts to capture merely an Immortal Venerable junior was no commendable feat for someone of his stature.

"You can’t escape!"