Grasping the Evil

Chapter 582: Barbarian Dragon Tree, Wind-Stabilizing Pearl

Ancestor Wei Feng was merely delivering something for the Baili Clan and had no idea it was a war challenge.

Upon hearing that the jade box contained a war challenge from the Baili Clan, Ancestor Wei Feng was visibly surprised and hurriedly explained, "Daoist, don’t misunderstand. I just have some acquaintance with the Baili Clan, which is why I delivered the jade box for them. I didn’t know it contained a war challenge..."

In his heart, he cursed the entire Baili Clan, thinking they were setting him up.

In the Tree World, a war challenge is generally issued to mortal enemies. Once issued, it ends in life or death!

The Baili Clan issuing a war challenge to Ning Fan clearly harbored a deadly intent with no concealment...

He’s thinking, why did the Baili Clan make him, Wei Feng, deliver the war challenge! If Ning Fan gets displeased with this war challenge, Wei Feng would directly become a scapegoat for the Baili Clan and have to endure Ning Fan’s wrath...

If it was before, when Ancestor Wei Feng didn’t know Ning Fan’s true strength, he wouldn’t have feared Ning Fan.

But this night, Ancestor Wei Feng witnessed Ning Fan’s butterfly fire annihilating the four clans’ cultivations! That terrifying butterfly fire struck fear into Wei Feng, sending a chill to his bones...

Ning Fan’s displayed power was significantly stronger than ordinary cultivators of the Return to Origin Grand Void Realm!

Knowing Ning Fan’s true strength, Ancestor Wei Feng dared not offend him at all!

He hurriedly explained, trying to sever ties with the Baili Clan, to prevent Ning Fan’s hatred for the Baili Clan from extending to him, Wei Feng.

Seeing that Wei Feng seemed unaware of the war challenge, Ning Fan asked him several questions, all related to the Baili Clan.

At this moment, for goodwill, Wei Feng naturally did not hide anything he knew.

After some discussion, Ning Fan waved his hand, signaling Wei Feng to leave.

After all, Wei Feng was a Taixu Laozu, and usually, who would dare to call or dismiss him at will?

Now seeing Ning Fan sending him away, he felt greatly relieved and immediately clasped his fists to take his leave, unwilling to stay in this trouble-laden place any longer.

After Wei Feng left, Ning Fan gazed at the war challenge in his hand, his expression inscrutable.

"Baili Clan, what is the meaning of this action..."

Inside the war challenge, there was only one word, written in Blood Ink, a single word ’Death’, brimming with endless murderous intent, as if they vowed not to rest until Ning Fan was dead!

This war challenge was personally issued by the Baili Clan Leader!

The delivery of this war challenge by the Baili Clan seemed to explicitly convey to Ning Fan that they intended to kill him!

It appeared that the Baili Clan was truly arrogant and audacious, wanting to kill a person and directly telling them, without concealing their killing intent...

Ning Fan frowned. The Baili Clan specifically sent someone to deliver a war challenge; was it really just to show off...

Or was this war challenge a warning, warning Ning Fan not to assist the Fusang Clan in competing for the position of the Eighth Elder?

Ning Fan’s mind was turning rapidly. Since the Baili Clan harbored a murderous intent towards him, there must be a reason.

He had never had any dealings with the Baili Clan, so the reasons for their resentment could only be twofold.

Firstly, the Baili Clan might have somehow learned that the Fusang Old Demon had sought him out...

Alternatively, it could be that the Fusang Old Demon deliberately spread the news, inciting the Baili Clan’s enmity towards him, forcing him to accept the nomination and participate in the election for the Eighth Elder.

Secondly, the Baili Clan had old grievances with the Min Luo Race, and upon learning of his connection with the Min Luo Race, they harbored murderous intent towards him.

Both reasons made sense, but the specific delivery of the war challenge still raised suspicions...

"Why did the Baili Clan specifically ask the Weizi Clan to deliver the war challenge, as if implying something?"

"The Baili Clan Leader is the top individual under the Void Fragmentation realm in the Eastern Tree Ocean... I inquired about this person’s character from Wei Feng. According to Wei Feng, this person is cold-blooded and, if they hate someone, they never show mercy and must kill them... Moreover, this person kills decisively, never having a habit of sending a war challenge beforehand, nor being arrogant and brainless... If they wanted to kill me, logically, they wouldn’t specifically issue a war challenge. This is unusual..."

Ning Fan put away the war challenge and the jade box, his expression serious.

"Perhaps the Baili Clan Leader acted on a whim, abnormally issuing a war challenge to me, with the reason for wanting to kill me being one of those two reasons..."

"Perhaps there’s more to this matter..."

"In any case, since the Baili Clan has issued a war challenge, a confrontation between me and the Baili Clan is unavoidable."

"I must inevitably go to the Bamboo Hall, and when the time comes, it will surely lead to a confrontation with the Baili Clan!"

"Before clashing with the Baili Clan, I must repair the puppets and enhance my cultivation to ensure complete preparedness!"

If an ordinary cultivator suddenly received a war challenge, they would either feel fear or anger.

Ning Fan, however, thought a bit more and sensed a strange atmosphere, becoming wary.

He temporarily put aside thoughts of the Baili Clan, tapped his storage pouch, and took out thirty massive voyage ships, all of which came from years of killing and treasure hunting.

"Min Luo Race members, heed my command, follow me to war against the Hancang Kingdom, and annihilate the four clans!"

Ning Fan intended to lead thirty-two thousand members of the Min Luo Race to flatten the Cedar Clan and the other three clans, eradicating them mercilessly!

At the same time, he planned to plunder countless years of accumulations from the four clans. Using the deep heritage of the four Great Void Sects spanning hundreds of generations, he aimed to enhance his cultivation alone!

Upon hearing Ning Fan’s command, countless members of the Min Luo Race were filled with enthusiasm, transforming into escape lights and boarding the voyage ships!

They had long endured oppression, and although they didn’t resist, it didn’t mean they didn’t harbor resentment.

Years ago, the Cedar Clan arrived aggressively, killing the then High Priest, Qingdai’s mother, and many members of the Min Luo Race.

This hatred had not been forgotten by the Min Luo Race!

Now with Ning Fan backing the Min Luo Race, who in the entire Hancang Kingdom dared to offend them!

Thirty voyage ships carrying thirty-two thousand Min Luo Race members departed under the cover of night, returning at dawn!

By the time everyone returned, the Cedar Clan, Thunder Cypress Clan, Stone Tree Clan, and Shenqiao Clan had been utterly annihilated!

This news spread overnight across the Hancang Kingdom, plunging it into a state of terror!

Lu Bei, who was hunted by the Vine Emperor, was actually in the Hancang Kingdom, vigorously protecting the Min Luo Race!

The four Great Void Sects that intended to massacre the Min Luo Race were destroyed overnight by Lu Bei alone!

Thirty Void Refinement Realm cultivators from the four clans, including six from the Void Fragmentation realm, all perished at Lu Bei’s hands!

Numerous forces spread the word with deep fear.

"Quickly notify all clan cultivators; the situation is tense now, and if unnecessary, do not leave the clan! Even if you leave the clan, do not provoke the Min Luo Race at any cost!"

"The Min Luo Race... is no longer a second-rate tree clan to be bullied at will!"

...

The Cedar Four Clans are old tree clans in the Hancang Kingdom, with incomparably deep foundations.

After dismantling the lairs of the Four Clans, the spoils Ning Fan acquired were astonishing.

He obtained all sorts of mystical items, expensive pills, cultivation techniques, secret techniques, and puppets!

There were six Void Glimpse Stage spiritual puppets alone, and three Void Inquiry puppets, all of which Ning Fan sent to Qingdai for the protection of the Min Luo Race.

For Ning Fan, most of the low-grade items were useless, so he left them all to the Min Luo people.

He took with him 220 billion immortal jade, 12,000 Dao Crystals, nine Void Refinement Realm Dao Fruit, one Void Fragmentation Realm Dao Fruit, and 42 six-revolution pill recipes unique to the Tree World.

He also took all the expensive pills that could enhance Void Inquiry mana and Golden Body physical defense, as well as all the Spiritual Medicine over fifty thousand years old.

The middle-ranked Six-Revolution Quiet Grass Pill, each capable of enhancing a Void Inquiry Realm cultivator’s magic power by two thousand Jiazi, came in 20 bottles, each bottle containing ten pills.

The high-grade Six-Revolution Divine Bamboo Pill, each capable of enhancing a Void Pierce Stage expert’s magic power by ten thousand Jiazi, came in 12 bottles, each bottle containing ten pills!

The high-grade Six-Revolution Green Bone Pill significantly enhanced the Body Cultivation of those in the Third Level of the Golden Body Realm, with five bottles, each containing ten pills!

One Barbarian Dragon Tree, nine Barbarian Dragon Fruits!

This Barbarian Dragon Tree was the most important treasure of the Cedar Clan. It flowers once every five hundred years and bears fruit once every five hundred years, yielding 12 Barbarian Dragon Fruits each time.

Each Barbarian Dragon Fruit can greatly enhance the Body Refinement of those in the Golden Body Refining Realm.

Based on Ning Fan’s estimate, devouring one Barbarian Dragon Fruit could increase one’s essence by at least a hundred thousand Jiazi!

If recklessly consumed, devouring the entire Barbarian Dragon Tree could directly enhance one’s essence by a million Jiazi!

The last time the Barbarian Dragon Tree bore fruit was approximately a hundred years ago, and it would be another nine hundred years until it did so again.

Ning Fan did not have the time to wait for the tree to bear fruit again; he had already decided to refine the entire tree!

According to Ning Fan’s estimate, with the resources of the four major Great Void Sect powers, breaking through to the Void Pierce Stage and Late Reckless Devil Realm was more than enough.

As for breaking through to the Void Fragmentation Realm, he still lacked a lot of mana, so he wasn’t planning on doing it for now.

This time, he had established his might in Hancang Kingdom, so there should be no more fools daring to provoke the Min Luo Race there.

He had decided to head to Bamboo Hall to seek out the Tree Ancestor Fruit and break through to first grade Divine Intent.

However, before leaving, he found it necessary to repair the puppets and break through to the Void Pierce Stage.

Time flashed by, and half a month passed.

Ning Fan entered the Yuan Yao World alone, sitting within the Dark Golden Pagoda, using immortal jade and Spirit Ores to craft one Mortal Void Array Plate after another in preparation for the Heavenly Tribulation.

Meanwhile, Qingdai silently left Siluo City after handling various mundane affairs of the Min Luo Race, to seek out the final twelve materials needed to repair the puppets for Ning Fan.

She planned to find her master, who was hiding in the Siluo Bamboo Sea.

Ning Fan did not monitor Qingdai nor did he intend to uncover the secrets of her master.

The external half month equated to five years on the seventh floor of the pagoda.

In those five years, Ning Fan exhausted over 200 billion immortal jade to create 500 Mortal Void Array Plates!

Among them, nearly a hundred array plates were set up to counter the Heavenly Tribulation with high-grade formation light—the Heaven Fire Thunder Defense Array.

Nearly a hundred more array plates were set up to counter the Heavenly Tribulation with high-grade formation light—the Profound Ice Fire Defense Array.

The remaining 300 or so array plates were all set up with peak Mortal Void formation light to counter the Wind Calamity—the Divine Gang Wind Extinguishing Array.

Below the Void Fragmentation realm, there were three forms of Heavenly Tribulation: Lightning Tribulation, Fire Tribulation, and Wind Calamity.

Ning Fan possessed the Stele of Sun and Moon and had condensed the Tai Su Lightning Star, so he was not afraid of the Lightning Tribulation or Fire Tribulation.

It was the Wind Calamity that he found hardest to fend off.

The Tribulation of Yin Wind from back when the Pill Emperor’s tribulation was drawn down had given Ning Fan a firsthand experience of its terror.

He highly suspected that the Heavenly Tribulation descending with this breakthrough to Void Pierce would be the Tribulation of Yin Wind. Therefore, most of his array plates were set up for defending against it.

In addition, he spent considerable time refining a defensive magical treasure: the Wind-Stabilizing Pearl with a single embellishment!

The materials for refining the Wind-Stabilizing Pearl were looted from the lairs of the four major Great Void Sect powers.

The Wind-Stabilizing Pearl is a one-time-use magical treasure with extremely precious materials, providing immense help against the Tribulation of Yin Wind and is greatly sought after by many old monsters of the Void Fragmentation realm.

The Wind-Stabilizing Pearl has a minimum of one embellishment and a maximum of nine. A Wind-Stabilizing Pearl with one embellishment can largely offset the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm’s Yin Wind Calamity, valued over 50 billion.

A two-embellishment Wind-Stabilizing Pearl is extremely rare; even Ning Fan couldn’t find the materials to refine one.

It is said that within the nine worlds, a three-embellishment Wind-Stabilizing Pearl was once auctioned in the Earth Immortal World, causing old monsters to scramble for it.

Eventually, that three-embellishment Wind-Stabilizing Pearl was sold to a Fragmentation Expert from the Mountain World for 3100 billion immortal jade.

However, as soon as that Mountain World Fragmentation Expert left the auction house, they were ambushed and killed by several Fragmentations, who seized the three-embellishment Wind-Stabilizing Pearl...

Ning Fan took a deep breath, knowing that the preparations he made for the Heavenly Tribulation this time were extremely thorough.

Even if he genuinely faced the Tribulation of Yin Wind, he was confident enough to surpass the Heavenly Tribulation!

All that remained was to wait for Qingdai to return with the puppet materials to restore the two Void Fragmentation Realm puppets!

Ding ling ling...

From within the storage pouch, a light cyan Sound Lute emitted a clear sound.

This was a common sound-transmitting magical treasure in the Tree World.

Ning Fan took out the Sound Lute and with a point of the magic seal, Qingdai’s melodious voice, as crisp as pearls dropping on a jade plate, resonated from it.

"Brother Lu, I have found the last twelve puppet materials... but... but..."

"But what?" Ning Fan asked with a smile.

"It’s just that there’s something I’ve been hiding from you... Actually, I have a master, and all these puppet materials are from my master. That, that..."

On the other end of the Sound Lute, Qingdai’s voice stuttered nervously, like a child caught in wrongdoing.

"My master wants to meet you, she says she has a favor to ask of you, and if you can fulfill it, she will gift you with an immense opportunity..."

"Oh? Your master wants to see me? Very well, I too wish to see what kind of master could have produced such an outstanding puppet master like you."

Ning Fan put away the Sound Lute, collected the array plates scattered on the ground into his storage pouch, and with a flicker of his figure, departed from the Yuan Yao World.

Outside, Qingdai had just put away the Sound Lute when a gentle breeze blew beside her, revealing Ning Fan’s figure clad in white.

"Let’s go, take me to meet your master." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)