Grasping the Evil

Chapter 600: The Life Lantern Seals Nieli!

Teng Xianrou’s thoughts drifted further, firmly believing Ning Fan to be a Master with cultivation at the fourth or fifth layer of Void Fragmentation, hiding his true strength.

The five heavenly tribulation puppets, including Giant Zhi Huo, remained reticent and said nothing more. They watched as Ning Fan escaped Ancestral Bamboo’s body and immediately stood guard by his side, displaying utmost loyalty.

Ning Fan glanced over at the five puppets, then at Ancestral Bamboo, and sighed slightly as he closed his eyes.

Puppet techniques are indeed a cruel art.

Whether Sun Yu, the Baili King, Ling Zhuzi, or the Ming Luo Tree Spirit, they all became living puppets, willing to die for a chance at release.

Wan Chang Kong was ruthless, bloodily slaughtering countless tree clans and crafting innumerable living puppets, leaving many practitioners neither able to live nor die.

Ning Fan questioned himself, realizing he too was a ruthless person, having killed no fewer than Wan Chang Kong and showing no more mercy in subduing puppets.

"I am no saint. Although I know puppet techniques are cruel, I cannot refrain from using them. From the perspective of killing without remorse, I am much like Wan Chang Kong. But there is one difference between us..."

Despite countless slaughters and subjugation of many puppets, those he killed were either provocateurs or foes of the Great Dao, leaving him without a guilty conscience.

His willingness to help Sun Yu and others find release through death was not out of kindness.

He disliked Wan Chang Kong’s ways. If they were foes, killing was justified, but taking pleasure in killing was truly lesser.

Thinking of the Ming Luo Clan’s massacre ten thousand years ago by Wan Chang Kong, Ning Fan gradually felt an unwavering desire to kill him.

Considering being trapped in this Golden World, he would never spare Wan Chang Kong!

Within the memories of Zhu Hong, Ning Fan had learned that the Vine Emperor had deployed numerous forces, now attacking the Bamboo Hall from the outside world.

The Vine Emperor is here too!

Having been pursued by the Vine Emperor’s subordinates, Ning Fan was not without anger!

The fate of the Bamboo Hall’s survival was unrelated to Ning Fan.

But now that Ning Fan had destroyed the Ancestral Bamboo’s Tree Spirit and stood directly against Wan Chang Kong, and with past grudges against the Vine Emperor, it was impossible to avoid this catastrophe in the Eastern Tree Ocean.

Since he couldn’t avoid it, there was no point in dodging!

"Rou’er, all puppets, attack the space of this Golden World. Don’t aim to break it, just weaken the sealing power here. Once my Mana recovers, I’ll personally break the seal of this realm!"

After giving the order, Ning Fan waved his sleeve, storing the entire trunk of the Ancestral Bamboo into his storage pouch.

The Ancestral Bamboo had withered and died, with no hope of revival. If Ning Fan devoured the entire Ancestral Bamboo, his Wood Element Physique would significantly enhance!

He also possessed the Ancestral Bamboo Fruit. If he consumed it, his Rain Intent would surely advance to the first grade!

Both items were greatly beneficial to Ning Fan, but refining them was not a task completed in a day or two. Currently trapped in the Golden World, freeing himself quickly was paramount; there was no time to refine these natural treasures.

He ingested several expensive pills to restore Mana and began channeling his energy for breath regulation. Although Sovereign Xia’s Sword was formidable, it depleted all his Mana with just one strike.

Teng Xianrou and the five puppets followed Ning Fan’s orders, each taking a direction to channel Divine Skills at the spatial barriers of the Golden World.

As time passed, Ning Fan’s Mana rapidly recovered, while Teng Xianrou and others gradually weakened the spatial barriers here.

Within the Bamboo Realm, Wan Chang Kong had already unsealed two Nie Li and was urging the living puppets to hasten the unsealing of the third Nie Li.

He stood proudly atop the golden bamboo mountain, with two enormous demonic birds flying in the sky above.

Both demonic birds were Nie Li, one resembling an Immemorial Fire Phoenix with four violet flame tail feathers and just one eye; the other was an eerie spectral bird, skeletal with ominous violet-black flames.

Both Nie Li possessed cultivations at the third stage of Void Fragmentation Realm, each with a distinct appearance.

Fu Li, transformed by those who steadfastly refused to yield even in death, originally had wildly varied appearances. Hence, Fu Li had no uniform look; some resembled phoenixes or eagles, others sparrows or hawks, with no definitive form.

Nie Li, having betrayed their kin and forfeited their bloodline, naturally also bore various forms.

The single enduring trait of Fu Li and Nie Li is one!

In Immemorial times, Fu Li were envoys of the Heavenly Dao, exuding an aura of peace and good fortune.

After the great tribulation of the three clans, Fu Li became despised by the Heavenly Dao, imbued with misfortune and an ominous presence.

These two Nie Li behemoths exuded a deeply ominous aura.

Their eyes blood-red, they stood respectfully beside Wan Chang Kong, appearing utterly obedient!

Wan Chang Kong had expended a great price to forcibly subdue them and refine them as living puppets after unsealing them!

"Taking control of the first Nie Li extinguished one of my Life Lanterns. Subduing the second Nie Li extinguished my second Life Lantern... Seizing two Nie Li at the third stage of Void Fragmentation consumed just one Life Lantern each, as these Nie Li were suppressed for many years, only recently unsealed, their strength not yet fully restored, which gave me the opportunity... In the past, when this old man overstepped his bounds to subdue the Tree Spirit of Ancestral Bamboo at the third stage of Bamboo Hall, it cost me two entire Life Lanterns... That was a truly enormous price."

"Every member of the Lamenting Deceased Clan is born with seven Life Lanterns to use when subduing beyond their level. Using one means one less. This old man has three Life Lanterns left in his body; whether they’re enough to subdue the remaining two Nie Li is unknown..."

At this moment, Wan Chang Kong appeared extremely exhausted; extinguishing two Life Lanterns was no small toll.

While consuming expensive pills to meditate, allowing his complexion to recover slightly, he remained focused on the formidable formation array of the Bamboo Realm.

Time passed bit by bit, and unsealing the third Nieli proved extremely challenging.

This third Nieli had the cultivation level of the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm and was exceptionally violent in temperament.

During the unsealing process, it did not cooperate with the various Living Puppets but occasionally resisted, killing a few puppets with delight.

"Hmph! This damned beast is really ungrateful! I am aiding its escape from the seal, yet it dares to hinder my unsealing efforts! Once this beast is freed, I will definitely teach it a lesson and refine it into a Living Puppet, making it unable to live or die as it wishes!"

Void Inquiry Stage Master snorted coldly, and after waiting for his energy to fully recover, he personally took action to unseal the formidable formation array.

After Void Inquiry Stage Master personally intervened, the third Nieli gradually broke the seal, and a bloodthirsty cry resounded from within the Bamboo Realm, spreading into the Golden World and echoing throughout Jishui City!

"This is not good! The third Nieli has been unsealed! Could it be the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm..." Liu Haoyue’s gaze hardened as he fought fiercely with the Vine Emperor and Old Monster Tian Qin.

"Haha! The third Nieli has been unsealed, and it’s indeed at the cultivation level of the Fourth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm. Excellent, truly excellent! When the last Nieli is unsealed, you, Liu Haoyue, and Bamboo Sovereign will surely die!" The Vine Emperor smirked with satisfaction.

Within the Golden World, Ning Fan had recovered two to three tenths of his Mana, and was exerting full effort to activate the Wind Mist Finger to unravel the seal in this realm.

Upon hearing the cry of the third Nieli breaking free, Ning Fan’s expression turned somewhat grim.

"The third Nieli has been unsealed and it’s a Fourth Heavenly Layer Nieli!"

"This third Nieli also harbors enmity against me... I must speed up unsealing it!"

Within the Bamboo Realm, the third Nieli broke through the huge seal on the ground and soared into the sky!

It was a massive nine-headed bird, with twelve pairs of amethyst bone wings and three legs.

Upon witnessing the third Nieli breaking free and attempting to escape this realm, Void Inquiry Stage Master let out a cold laugh, raised his right hand, and summoned countless silver threads.

With his left hand, he formed a seal with one hand, extended his palm, and from the center of his palm, a black oil lamp suddenly appeared out of thin air, burning with a silver flame.

"This is my fifth Life Lantern. After using this, only two will remain! While the third Nieli has just broken free and its aura is still chaotic, I must seize it in one decisive move! If its demonic power stabilizes, capturing it without consuming two or three Life Lanterns is absolutely impossible!"

"Life Lantern, extinguish!"

The fifth Life Lantern suddenly went out, and the myriad silver threads summoned by Void Inquiry Stage Master instantly transformed into countless thick silver chains, each with barbs, which pierced into and bound the nine-headed Nieli tightly!

Having just broken free, the nine-headed Nieli, still in ecstatic joy, was suddenly ambushed by heavy silver locks, letting out a miserable cry as its Demon Soul began to dissipate and its eyes gradually turned hollow.

Void Inquiry Stage Master’s complexion swiftly turned pale as he arduously controlled the silver locks, holding the nine-headed Nieli firmly.

Half an hour passed before the nine-headed Nieli was finally completely subdued and refined into a Living Puppet by Void Inquiry Stage Master.

At this moment, Void Inquiry Stage Master was almost completely depleted of Mana, utterly exhausted.

"It’s my first time subduing a Fourth-layer Living Puppet, and it was indeed so difficult... The last Nieli is of Void Fragmentation Realm, which will certainly be even harder to subdue. With my Fragmented Realm First Level Cultivation, extinguishing just one Life Lantern might not be enough to capture the last Nieli, so it may be that I’ll have to forfeit my remaining two Life Lanterns entirely!"

"Yet it is all worth it. As long as I can subdue this last Fifth-layer Nieli, I can traverse the Tree World unimpeded with just this level-four Living Puppet. With my divine abilities and the assistance of four Nieli, even the Vine Emperor wouldn’t be my match!"

"Of course, the Vine Emperor has the colossal backing of the Three Realms Sect, so I naturally dare not provoke him. Haha, were it not for that, I wouldn’t be cooperating with him. Wouldn’t it be much more satisfying to annihilate the Three Sovereigns of the Tree World alone, ruling over the Tree World, and turning its Masters into my puppets?!"

Void Inquiry Stage Master consumed another expensive pill to recover his Mana.

Beside him, three Nieli hovered, each obediently following his orders!

A cold smile crept onto his lips as he proceeded to accelerate the unsealing of the fourth Nieli.

"Once the fourth Nieli is unsealed and subdued, even if Lu Bei possesses Hei Yue Shen Tong, he will certainly not be my match!"

"When I return to Jishui with the four Nieli and sweep through the Bamboo Hall, the honor of destroying the Bamboo Hall will surely belong to me!"

Minute by minute, Void Inquiry Stage Master eagerly recovered one or two tenths of his Mana, then couldn’t wait to personally take action and unseal the fourth Nieli.

This fourth Nieli seemed extremely docile, not ferocious like the previous three, offering no resistance or interference to the unsealing.

It quietly awaited the moment to break free, making the unsealing exceptionally smooth.

Upon seeing the final layer of seal about to be undone, allowing the fourth Nieli to be unsealed, Void Inquiry Stage Master’s face overflowed with delight.

"Heaven indeed aids me! This fourth Nieli is not a ferocious entity, and the difficulty in subduing it should be significantly reduced. Perhaps I might only need to expend one Life Lantern to subdue it!"

Void Inquiry Stage Master was envisioning the scene of using four Nieli to sweep through the Tree World, when suddenly, a giant golden rift appeared in the sky of the Bamboo Realm!

At the crack in the rift, there was a swirl of golden purple smoke that disintegrated everything in its path.

A black-clad Ning Fan stepped out from the golden space with a single stride!

(2/3) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)