novelraw Chapter 616: Thousand Mountains Orchid Snow Painting
Chapter 616: Thousand Mountains Orchid Snow Painting
Ning Fan’s arrival was completely beyond the Rain World’s expectations.
The Rain World squinted, not expecting Ning Fan to have returned from the Tree World.
The old monsters of the Rain Palace didn’t know about Ning Fan’s deeds in the Tree World, and they were all shocked to find that Ning Fan had broken through to the Return to Origin Grand Void Realm in just a few years.
And after Ning Fan’s Return to Origin, his momentum was actually stronger than that of King Lan Ling, who was in the Void Fragmentation realm. This was truly incredible.
"Ning Fan!"
King Lan Ling’s eyes, as bright as stars, suppressed deep anger. From the vermilion mark on his forehead, a murderous blood light shot out.
No one knew how deep his hatred for Ning Fan went.
Back in those days, his own main body failed at Void Fragmentation and suffered huge backlash, so he dispatched his second Primordial Spirit to the Endless Sea, intending to seize the Devil Statue Slate from the Four Great Demon Clans of the Endless Sea to use its power to heal his injuries.
Unexpectedly, the second Primordial Spirit suffered repeated setbacks in the Endless Sea, failing to obtain all the slates, and ultimately died at Ning Fan’s hands!
The fall of the second Primordial Spirit made King Lan Ling’s injuries even more severe, almost to the brink of death.
If there was no way to heal his injuries, King Lan Ling would surely die!
In despair, King Lan Ling had no choice but to use the Shedding Orchid Sect’s secret ancestral technique, the Seven Orchids Technique, to secretly massacre millions of cultivators and mortals, consuming the vitality of all the deceased to forcibly heal his injuries and successfully fragment the void.
But overusing the Seven Orchids Technique also left King Lan Ling with severe hidden injuries, suffering the backlash of this technique.
Although he succeeded in Fragmenting the Void, in this life he can never hope to break into the Second Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm.
He hated Ning Fan, hated him to the bone!
He was a cultivation genius on par with any level of the Heaven Separation Sect, the top master in the Rain Palace before Fragmenting the Void.
He originally had a bright future and hoped to reach higher realms.
If Ning Fan hadn’t slain his second Primordial Spirit and worsened his injuries, he wouldn’t have used the Seven Orchids Technique for healing, and wouldn’t have ended up like this.
His cultivation, this life, will be stuck at the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm.
His entire future was destroyed by Ning Fan!
King Lan Ling stared at Ning Fan, his eyes growing colder.
He didn’t know how Ning Fan had broken through to the Return to Origin Realm in just a few years, nor why Ning Fan’s momentum was so formidable.
He only knew one thing: he wanted to kill Ning Fan to vent his resentment!
Even knowing that the Rain World was biased toward Ning Fan, he still wanted to kill Ning Fan!
Even knowing that Yue Country had Void Fragmentation sitting in town, he still wanted to kill Ning Fan!
He was already driven to madness!
Ning Fan’s gaze faintly swept over King Lan Ling, feeling a bit of pity for him at that moment. He saw the deep madness and murderous intent hidden in King Lan Ling’s eyes.
Moving his gaze away from King Lan Ling, he glanced toward the Rain World, scanning over each of the old monsters present in the Rain Palace.
The Rain World smiled, but there was a hint of coldness in their eyes.
Ning Fan felt a chill in his heart, realizing that his slaying of the Vine Emperor had aroused the Rain World’s vigilance, possibly even a murderous intent.
Bright Sparrow was happily winking at Ning Fan, while Meichen rolled her eyes at him.
Upon seeing that Bright Sparrow was unharmed, Ning Fan felt slightly relieved. Further, seeing Meichen’s injuries were healed and her cultivation restored, Ning Fan was secretly astonished.
According to his knowledge, Meichen’s injuries were very serious and would have required high-grade Seventh Revolution Healing Pills to recover...
"Something is odd... Although Bright Sparrow has heavenly aptitude, the high-grade pills needed to fragment the void in just a few years would be no small sum... Little Black needed a high-grade Seventh Revolution vulnerary for her injuries to heal... Where did they get the pills for cultivation improvement and healing? Was it given by her..."
Ning Fan’s gaze finally settled on the mysterious cloaked figure, meeting the figure’s clear, black-gem-like eyes.
He instantly saw that this cloaked figure was a woman, and those eyes gave him a feeling of familiarity, something cunning, something deja vu, yet he couldn’t recall where he had seen them before.
The black cloak she wore was an extremely potent piece of hidden spirit equipment. Even Ning Fan couldn’t discern the woman’s appearance beneath it.
Her cultivation was erratic, making it impossible to judge its depth. Ning Fan could only discern that she was in the Void Fragmentation realm, but couldn’t accurately determine which layer of fragmentation she had reached.
"Hehe, why are you staring at me? Indeed, I gave them the pills they consumed. Why, has Brother Ning forgotten about me? Oh dear, I’m a little heartbroken." The cloaked woman suddenly said to Ning Fan in a teasing tone through telepathic messaging.
"It’s her!" As Ning Fan heard that voice, memories of past events surged in his mind. His heart felt a moment of surprise, yet his expression remained unchanged, already guessing who this woman was.
To think it was her, to think she would return to the Rain Palace... If it were her, everything would have a reasonable explanation.
With her identity, obtaining high-grade Seventh Revolution Pills to help Little Black heal wasn’t difficult, nor was acquiring a large number of high-level pills to aid Bright Sparrow in fragmenting the void.
There was just one thing Ning Fan couldn’t understand, why would she help Bright Sparrow fragment the void, and heal Little Black’s injuries.
What were her motives...
"Ning Fan, do you dare to sign a life-and-death agreement with this king and fight to the death!" King Lan Ling looked provocatively at Ning Fan, his tone somewhat caustic.
Ning Fan’s gaze turned cold. Though he found King Lan Ling pitiful, he felt no sympathy for this person.
If King Lan Ling sought his own death, Ning Fan wouldn’t mind sending him to it.
Before he could say anything, two voices simultaneously rose in his defense.
"Lan Ling, stand down!" The Pill Emperor abruptly stood and said with authority.
"Daoist Lan Ling, challenging a junior in the Void Refinement realm seems a bit like the strong bullying the weak, doesn’t it?" This sarcastic voice came from Yun Bushu.
Other than the Rain World, no one knew how powerful Ning Fan really was.
In the eyes of everyone, King Lan Ling as a Void Fragmentation cultivator, was stronger than Ning Fan.
Even those familiar with Ning Fan’s capabilities didn’t believe he could defeat King Lan Ling.
The Pill Emperor and Yun Bushu both intended to protect Ning Fan, naturally wanting to stop this duel and not give Lan Ling King the chance to kill Ning Fan.
Bright Sparrow had an eager expression, hoping Ning Fan would accept the duel and teach Lan Ling King a lesson.
In her impression, Ning Fan was an unbeatable and omnipotent Cookie Brother, who would not lose to anyone.
Meichen pouted and lightly muttered, "Could it be that this damn man snatched Lan Ling King’s Dao Companion, otherwise why would Lan Ling King be so... against him."
Even as she complained silently, she decided in her heart that, no matter what, she would not let Ning Fan be in any danger today.
The cloaked woman looked at Ning Fan with a half-smiling, half-mocking expression, saying nothing.
There were those who protected Ning Fan, and those who supported Lan Ling King as well.
Seeing the Pill Emperor and Yun Bushu speak up for Ning Fan, Yun Jinghong couldn’t sit still.
He exchanged a glance with Yun Zhongyan, both standing up simultaneously, speaking in a deep voice, "Isn’t the Pill Emperor and Third Brother overreaching, whether the White Marquis agrees to the duel with Lan Ling King is their private matter, and we as outsiders should not interfere."
By saying this, it was clear that these two stood on Lan Ling King’s side.
Yun Jinghong continuously signaled Yun Youmu with his eyes, indicating for him to stand up and speak on behalf of Lan Ling King.
However, Yun Youmu seemed not to see it, merely playing with the wine cup in front of him, and remained silent.
On the jade platform were thousands of cultivators, each a renowned old monster from the Middle State.
Upon seeing this scene, they all started to discuss.
"Sit down! The duel shall not be brought up again!" The Rain World Heavenly King ordered the cultivators.
The Rain World Heavenly King received news that Ning Fan had subdued a Sin Separation of the Fifth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm in the Tree World, and with that divine skill, it was certain he had killed the Vine Emperor.
In the eyes of the Rain World Heavenly King, Ning Fan could even kill the Vine Emperor, so if he were to duel Lan Ling King, he could easily kill Lan Ling with a wave of his hand.
He naturally did not want such a thing to happen.
Lan Ling King, seeing that even the Rain World Heavenly King himself was preventing a duel between him and Ning Fan, his gaze turned cold, and he became very angry.
He knew well that Ning Fan held value to the Rain World Heavenly King, who was always partial to Ning Fan.
But Lan Ling King never thought the Rain World Heavenly King would be biased to such an extent.
In Lan Ling King’s eyes, the Rain World Heavenly King did not want him to duel Ning Fan for fear that Ning Fan would die at his hands.
He had no idea that the Rain World Heavenly King was actually protecting him, fearing he would die at Ning Fan’s hands.
Bang!
Lan Ling King suddenly knelt halfway to the ground, bowed to the Rain World Heavenly King, and said with words heavy as a thousand pounds,
"I have an irreconcilable feud with Ning Fan, please, Your Majesty, allow us to duel to the death!"
"Foolish!"
The Rain World Heavenly King’s face instantly collapsed. He also wanted to kill Ning Fan, but the problem was that he, a dignified Divine Emperor of the Rain Immortal World, couldn’t kill Ning Fan. How could Lan Ling King, with his feeble Fragmented Realm First Level Cultivation, be Ning Fan’s match?
Who could rival Ning Fan’s Sin Separation in the Rain Immortal World?
The Rain World Heavenly King really wanted to tell Lan Ling King the truth, but could not bring himself to speak.
Ning Fan was put into the Tree World by him, and Ning Fan killing the Vine Emperor was also somewhat related to him.
The fewer people who knew about this, the better.
"Father, I have a proposal, and I hope you will consider it." Yun Youmu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
"What proposal?"
"Father, why not allow the duel between Lan Ling King and the White Marquis, but with one condition: this duel shall not end in life or death, and must be stopped in time," Yun Youmu suggested confidently.
The Rain World Heavenly King nodded, somewhat moved.
Since Lan Ling King was insistent on dueling Ning Fan, granting this duel would be harmless.
Except, this duel must be stopped before it becomes deadly. Presently, the Rain World Heavenly King sees Ning Fan as an enemy and does not want Lan Ling King to die at Ning Fan’s hands.
"This proposal is excellent. Lan Ling, this Emperor permits you to duel with the White Marquis, but this duel must not end in life or death, and it must be stopped in time, you must remember this!"
The Rain World Heavenly King made the decision with finality, not giving Ning Fan any chance to refuse, directly settling the matter of the duel between the two.
Since it’s not a life-or-death duel, the Rain World Heavenly King has no worries.
He also wanted to witness Ning Fan’s Sin Separation at the Fifth Heavenly Layer through this duel.
In the Rain World Heavenly King’s eyes, Ning Fan himself was merely a Return to Origin Grand Void Realm cultivator, not should be feared. Ning Fan’s strength lay in the Sin Separation.
If Ning Fan wanted to defeat Lan Ling King, he would have to summon the Sin Separation. This duel was the perfect opportunity to observe the Sin Separation closely.
"Yes!"
Lan Ling King stood up, his face expressionless, but his heart was filled with even more resentment for the Rain World Heavenly King’s favoritism.
"This duel cannot result in life or death, is that so... Hmph! In this battle, I will deliberately take Ning Fan’s life!"
Lan Ling King’s figure flickered, transforming into countless pale purple orchids scattered around.
The next moment, in the vast ocean of clouds above the jade platform, countless pale purple orchids condensed, revealing Lan Ling King’s figure, looking down from above at Ning Fan below.
In Lan Ling King’s view, he was already a Void Fragmentation cultivator, while Ning Fan was still a mere Void Refinement ant.
He was convinced that the difference between himself and Ning Fan was like clouds and mud, believing he had the power to crush Ning Fan.
The last time, his second Primordial Spirit died at Ning Fan’s hands.
This time, he intended to make a move himself, and his true form had even broken through to the Void Fragmentation realm, bringing with him the Lan Ling Sect’s treasured artifact.
This time, he absolutely could not lose to Ning Fan!
"Ning Fan, come up to the ocean of clouds and fight me!"
King Lan Ling, dressed in a purple robe embroidered with a python, wore an imperial crown, exuding the majesty of ancient emperors.
His cold shout was like a purple thunder exploding, as the yuan magic power expanded, causing the ocean of clouds to suddenly fill with pale purple orchids.
This aura of yuan magic power descended upon Yu Tai Town below, causing each of the renowned old monsters in Middle State to have chaotic breaths under this aura.
Those with weaker cultivations were directly suppressed to the ground by King Lan Ling’s aura!
Each of the old monsters from the Rain Immortal World looked at King Lan Ling with deep reverence in their eyes.
Under the Void Fragmentation Realm, all are ants! Is this the intimidation of a Void Fragmentation cultivator? Truly terrifying!
After experiencing King Lan Ling’s intimidation, these old monsters couldn’t help but have a sense of pity in their gaze towards Ning Fan.
"The White Marquis is indeed formidable, but ultimately he has not broken into the Void Fragmentation Realm. I fear he is no match for King Lan Ling."
"Indeed, under the Void Fragmentation Realm, all are ants. When has there ever been a precedent in the Rain Immortal World of a Void Refinement defeating a Void Fragmentation? In my opinion, the White Marquis is bound to lose."
"This battle needs no watching, the White Marquis has no chance of winning."
Yun Qingge listened to the discussions of the old monsters, frowning elegantly.
Her obedient disciple, Yu Chong’er, was so angry that her small face turned red.
What do they mean Ning Fan is destined to lose? She, Yu Chong’er, firmly believed Ning Fan was a thousand times stronger than King Lan Ling.
She felt she must be ill, and severely so.
Normally, she would be cautious around these senior old monsters, but today, she surprisingly had the courage to go against them, to provoke them.
"Ning Fan will not lose! He will win!" shouted Yu Chong’er.
Others whispered in discussion, but she spoke loudly, causing all present old monsters, with their sharp hearing, to hear Yu Chong’er’s voice.
Yun Qingge shook her head and sighed lightly, knowing that her disciple must be deeply in love with Ning Fan.
Bright Sparrow and Meichen glanced at Yu Chong’er, secretly pondering if this girl was one of Ning Fan’s beloveds.
Ning Fan also heard Yu Chong’er’s voice. He gave her a deep look and returned her a smile, causing Yu Chong’er’s face to instantly flush red, lowering her head in embarrassment like an ostrich.
"Haha! This little girl is amusing, to say the White Marquis will surely win."
"In my view, if the White Marquis can withstand three moves from King Lan Ling, it would be enough to boast of. There are rarely any Return to Origin Grand Voids that can withstand three moves from a Void Fragmentation."
All around the jade platform, laughter erupted at once.
Yu Chong’er’s embarrassment dissipated, replaced with even greater anger.
What? Someone dared to say Ning Fan couldn’t withstand three moves from King Lan Ling? Infuriating, who said that!
In her agitation, Yu Chong’er misspoke.
"Who says Ning Fan can’t withstand three moves from King Lan Ling? I say, it’s King Lan Ling who can’t withstand three moves from Ning Fan!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she regretted it.
Even she felt what she said was too unreliable; how could the dignified King Lan Ling, an old monster of the Void Fragmentation Realm, fail to withstand three moves from Ning Fan?
Just as she wanted to take back her words, mocking laughter erupted from all around.
Ridiculous, truly ridiculous!
How could anyone believe that a Void Fragmentation old crow couldn’t withstand three moves from a Void Refinement cultivator? Absurdity!
Ning Fan’s gaze was like cold lightning, suddenly sweeping across the area. Each old monster caught under Ning Fan’s gaze felt a stabbing pain in their divine sense, silenced in horror.
Indeed, they did not believe Ning Fan could defeat King Lan Ling, but none dared to provoke Ning Fan either.
The White Marquis’s fierce reputation was too great, having swept through Immortal Clouds during his Void Inquiry; now, having cultivated to the Return to Origin Grand Void Realm, he was likely the most powerful beneath the Void Fragmentation Realm...
No matter the outcome of this battle, Ning Fan was not a figure they could mock!
"Three moves, huh..."
Ning Fan murmured, his figure swaying, transforming into the shadow of a butterfly and vanishing.
In the next moment, the butterfly shadow flickered, and Ning Fan appeared a million feet above the ocean of clouds, standing ten thousand feet apart from King Lan Ling.
"Today, you must die! I, the King, will kill you like killing an ant!" King Lan Ling transmitted a sneer to Ning Fan, not wanting the Rain Emperor to hear, fearing the Rain Emperor would step in to protect Ning Fan.
Above the ocean of clouds, orchids danced around King Lan Ling, ethereally beautiful. With an extraordinary bearing, he resembled a celestial offspring.
As soon as he finished his words, he suddenly raised his hand and pointed towards Ning Fan. As he pointed out, all the purple orchids transformed into white orchids.
And a dazzling white sword light emerged from his finger, splitting once into ten, ten into a hundred, and suddenly fracturing into tens of millions of sword lights.
All sword lights carried a shadow of an orchid.
This particular divine skill was none other than the White Orchid Sword Finger, which King Lan Ling had displayed in the Endless Sea years ago.
Back then, Ning Fan had countered the White Orchid Sword Finger with the Sword Finger, Heaven Breaker.
Now, Ning Fan no longer needed to go through such great lengths.
At present, merely in terms of mana, Ning Fan’s strength surpassed that of King Lan Ling’s by several degrees!
"Perish!"
Ning Fan casually flicked his sleeve, and the abundant yuan magic power instantly transformed into countless black butterflies dancing in the sky.
As the sleeve wind swept, the white orchid sword lights crumbled one by one, the orchids withering!
The sleeve wind reached King Lan Ling, suddenly transforming into a massive sleeve shadow.
As the sleeve swept towards King Lan Ling, though he remained unhurt, the sleeve wind directly swept him a thousand miles away, leaving him tremendously disheveled!
The higher and lower are instantly judged!
"How is this possible! The esteemed King Lan Ling of the Void Fragmentation realm was actually blown away by the White Marquis with just a sleeve!"
"This... this sleeve technique can actually repel Void Fragmentation cultivators across levels, could it be the Sleeve Universe Technique of the Barefoot Taoist of the Demon Realm?"
"Nonsense! The White Marquis clearly didn’t use any spells or divine skills. He just used the wind of his mana to blow away King Lan Ling!"
One by one, the old monsters of the Rain Immortal World displayed expressions of disbelief.
The Void Fragmentation cultivators of the Rain Palace were equally shocked.
Even the Rain Emperor showed a look of shock.
The Rain Emperor only knew that Ning Fan’s Sin Separation was formidable, but who knew Ning Fan’s own strength was also this formidable.
To blow away King Lan Ling with a single sleeve, even the several princes of the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm here could not do it.
Ning Fan’s individual strength was clearly already above ordinary Void Fragmentation cultivators!
"This is impossible!!!"
King Lan Ling finally steadied himself, his handsome face flushed purple with anger and shame.
Ning Fan actually repelled him with just mana. How is this possible?
He didn’t believe it, absolutely didn’t believe it!
He, Lan Ling, was a prodigy of the Heaven Separation Sect rank, how could he be blown away by a mere Void Refinement junior!
It must be that Ning Fan used some unknown means, it must be so!
He wanted to kill Ning Fan to vent his anger!
"Seven Orchids Technique!"
King Lan Ling steadied his mind, his eyes filled with killing intent.
This Seven Orchids Technique was infinitely powerful, his second Primordial Spirit could only display a fringe of its power.
But his true self could defeat Void Fragmentation princes like Yun Jinghong and Yun Zhongyan with just the Seven Orchids Technique.
He did not believe Ning Fan could withstand the Seven Orchids Technique executed by his true self.
Ning Fan looked at the seven orchids gradually condensing in the sky, his eyes slightly focused.
Back then, he could use the Mutual Death Technique to ingeniously break this technique, but now he couldn’t.
The reason was simple, his lifespan was only a hundred years left and he couldn’t squander it recklessly.
And now, he didn’t need to rely on trickery for victory.
"Soul Extraction!"
He raised his hand, extracting and swallowing souls from the earth and void.
In an instant, his momentum surged, almost comparable to a peak First Heavenly Layer cultivator.
"Break!"
He raised a finger, and a million Minor Void Swords slashed through, shattering the Seven Orchids!
With the Seven Orchids shattered, King Lan Ling spat out blood, severely wounded by Ning Fan’s strike.
"How could this be!" His breath was chaotic, and his gaze at Ning Fan was full of shock.
His strongest divine skill, the Seven Orchids Technique, was directly broken by Ning Fan without any unnecessary moves!
He didn’t want to admit it, but had to admit that at this moment, Ning Fan was not someone he could fight against!
"Two moves already!" Yu Chong’er exclaimed excitedly from the jade platform.
She said Ning Fan could defeat King Lan Ling in three moves, which was nonsense, but now she vaguely felt Ning Fan could do it.
The old monsters of the Rain Immortal World were all stunned, realizing that Ning Fan’s strength far exceeded King Lan Ling.
"Only using the sect’s treasure will do..." King Lan Ling gritted his teeth, realizing that today he might only be able to kill Ning Fan using this item.
He slapped his storage pouch, taking out a treasure that instantly changed the sky’s color, filling the ocean of clouds with orchid fragrance.
It was a painting scroll, which, when opened, revealed its contents. The painting depicted vast snow-covered mountains and icy rivers, with a blood-red radiant orchid growing on the riverbank.
"The orchid is supreme, and because of the orchid, one becomes enlightened; forsaking the orchid leads to deviating from the Tao... Snow Orchid Painting!"
As this painting emerged, some knowledgeable Rain Immortal World old monsters were greatly alarmed.
Even the usually calm Yun Youmu suddenly showed a strange light in his eyes, yet gradually disdainful.
"Snow Orchid Painting... This is the Lan Ling Sect’s treasure, but it’s just a replica of the Shedding Orchid Sect’s Immemorial Fisherman’s Raincoat Painting..."
"A mere replica, its power is decent, but that’s all, not worth mentioning."
Sizzle, sizzle!
As the Snow Orchid Painting unfurled, the skies of clouds suddenly began to fall with dense, fluffy snow.
Every flake of snow contained a lethal intent to kill...
"Fellow Daoists, help this emperor seal the firmament!" The Rain Emperor’s eyes sank, needing to unite everyone’s power to seal this heavy snow in the air, preventing it from falling.
Every snowflake contained the meaning of life and death, a massive killing weapon.
Cultivators below the Void Fragmentation could not withstand the power of this treasure, touch the snow, and die!
"Lan Ling, are you mad! Using this treasure, do you intend to defy my command and fight Ning Fan to the death!" The Rain Emperor’s heart was filled with rage. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes, monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)