novelraw Chapter 668: The Trial of Life and Death! (Part 1)
Chapter 668: The Trial of Life and Death! (Part 1)
(Absorbing the Qingyang Xuan Yin Realm should have improved, in the fourth trial the protagonist said he could only stay for a month, which is a mistake.)
By absorbing the spirit of Qingyang, one can stay in the Xuan Yin Realm for three months at a time.
Every three months spent in the Xuan Yin Realm, Ning Fan has to stay outside for three days.
His current mana is 127,000 yuanhui, still 73,000 short of the Third Realm of Fracture.
Even with the help of the Xuan Yin Realm, Ning Fan’s speed of refining Dao Crystals is only 60,000 pieces a month.
After the Second Realm of Fracture, even for a One Orifice Ancient God, ten Dao Crystals are required to increase magic power by 1 yuanhui.
After three months, Ning Fan’s mana reached 145,000 yuanhui.
Forced to leave the Xuan Yin Realm, Ning Fan glanced at the ice bed, slightly surprised.
Both the lady in red and the little demoness have not awakened yet...
Logically, even with severe injuries, the two should have awoken.
Ning Fan looked closely and found that although the two were in slumber, the Lifedeath Dao Patterns within them seemed to be gradually increasing.
Their injuries seemed to be 70-80% healed, and their complexions looked very rosy.
Looking again at the ice bed, Ning Fan’s brows furrowed.
At first he didn’t look closely, but upon closer inspection he noticed that the ice bed contained a dreamlike power that seemed to enlighten life and death... what exactly this power was, Ning Fan did not know.
The two women were unable to awaken because of this power, still in a state of slumber.
Though in slumber, the benefits they received were immense, this slumber slightly enhancing their comprehension of life and death thanks to the ice bed.
"Since I still have years to cultivate here, let them slumber temporarily; this slumber is greatly beneficial to them."
"This ice bed is indeed a treasure, allowing master enlightenment of life and death within dreams. I wonder if I can take it with me before leaving this place."
This ice bed is connected to the stone chamber, seemingly as one. Whether it can be taken, Ning Fan is not sure.
He remained silent for a while, sitting cross-legged in the stone chamber to adjust his breath.
After three days, his form flickered as he returned to the Xuan Yin Realm to cultivate again.
Dao Crystals gradually decreased, and after refining 730,000, Ning Fan’s mana reached 200,000 yuanhui.
He could at any time impact the bottleneck of the Third Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm.
Confined in the stone chamber, it had already been a year.
In the Xuan Yin Realm, Ning Fan consumed two Space-breaking Pills, then began to strike at the bottleneck of the Third Realm of Fracture.
At the moment the bottleneck was breached, Ning Fan’s mana increased by 15,000 yuanhui, and he faced the Emperor Lightning Tribulation and the Tribulation of Yin Wind.
The Emperor Lightning Tribulation was merely nourishment for the Imperial Qi Flying Dragon, and the Tribulation of Yin Wind was not to be feared.
After Ning Fan easily dispelled the two tribulations, a soft pink undergarment suddenly fell from the sky, carrying the fragrance of a young girl.
"Uh... is this another gesture of goodwill from the Heavenly Dao..." Ning Fan put the undergarment away and continued cultivating.
He did not know that in some space, a little girl bathing naked in a lake was crying in shame and indignation.
This time, she no longer wanted to care about Ning Fan’s tribulation.
It hadn’t been long since Ning Fan broke through the Third Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm again; she was numb, knowing he would easily pass the lightning and wind tribulations.
Ning Fan undergoing tribulation while she played in the lake, they were unrelated, yet an unintentional slip of the hand sent her undergarment sinking to the lake bottom and falling into Ning Fan’s hands...
She no longer wanted to live!
A girl’s undergarment, how could it be casually given to someone, how could it!
"Stupid Ning Fan, you bullied me again, wah!"
...
After breaking through the Third Realm of Fracture, the effect of absorbing Dao Crystals halved again; now it took 20 Dao Crystals to increase mana by 1 yuanhui.
However, Ning Fan’s speed of refining Dao Crystals significantly increased, in the Xuan Yin Realm, 100,000 Dao Crystals could be refined in a month.
In the outside world, it would take 8 years to refine 100,000 Dao Crystals.
Ning Fan tried with his cultivation at the Third Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm, it was still insufficient to refine seven Life and Death Crystals.
Finding no solution, he could only continue to cultivate.
As Dao Crystals rapidly decreased, after refining 3.7 million, Ning Fan’s mana reached 400,000 yuanhui, allowing him to approach the breakthrough to the Fourth Realm of Fracture.
Confined within the stone chamber, it had been four years.
With the help of Space-breaking Pills, Ning Fan started impacting the bottleneck of the Fourth Realm of Fracture. This bottleneck was clearly harder to break than Ning Fan had imagined.
After three months in the Xuan Yin Realm, Ning Fan had not breached this bottleneck.
Forced to leave the Xuan Yin Realm, Ning Fan simply attempted to break through the bottleneck within the stone chamber.
This attempt took three years!
In the seventh year confined in the stone chamber, Ning Fan entered the Xuan Yin Realm, officially breaking through the Fourth Realm of Fracture.
Emperor Lightning Tribulation, Tribulation of Yin Wind... and then, a hidden weapon fell from the sky, a plush bear...
This plush bear was covered with drool marks, and carried a faint fragrance of a young girl, as if it was frequently hugged to sleep by one.
"This... is also a show of goodwill?"
Ning Fan was speechless, he had received so many chaotic and random things that he was already quite used to it.
Putting away the cloth bear, Ning Fan tried to refine the Lifedeath Crystal but found that his cultivation level was still insufficient to refine the crystal.
Can only continue cultivating...
In a certain space, a small girl looked at the lake with grievance, watching Ning Fan, her eyes crying into peaches.
"Give back my little darling, that’s my little darling... boohoohoo..."
She really wanted to chop off her hand, why did she always drop things whenever Ning Fan faced tribulations...
"Boohoohoo, I won’t lower tribulations to the lower realms anymore, I want the Empress Dao Monarch to appoint someone else, I never want to see Ning Fan again, boohoohoo..."
She ran to the Palace of Controlling Tribulations, complained, and temporarily replaced the Heavenly Dao Spirit for the lower realms, she finally didn’t have to lower tribulations to Ning Fan anymore.
...
After breaking through the Fourth Realm of Fracture, Ning Fan’s magic force increased by 20,000 yuan magical power, reaching 42,000 yuan magical power.
Then he began to work on breaking through the Fifth Realm of Fracture.
There were still 6.67 million Dao Crystals left, Ning Fan spent five years refining this large number of Dao Crystals.
His magic force reached more than 68,000 yuan magical power, but the Dao Crystals were exhausted.
To break through the Fifth Realm of Fracture requires 100,000 yuan magical power.
Fortunately, Ning Fan still had quite a few expensive pills in hand, all stolen, which could increase Void Fragmentation magic power.
But after consuming them, his magic force barely reached 70,000 yuan magical power.
Trapped in the stone chamber for twelve years.
Spent one year refining the ten pieces of golden crystal from the Ancient God Incense within his body, his magic force increased to 74,000 yuan magical power.
Ning Fan had 581 dragon souls in his possession, a ninth-grade dragon soul can increase magic power by 1,000 Jiazi, a first-grade by 10,000 Jiazi.
dragon souls were treasures for lower level Masters, but for him, the effect was negligible.
He pondered for a moment, put away the Sealing Pot, without using it to devour the dragon souls.
These dragon souls should be left for the paper crane and other women to slowly devour. With these dragon souls, even Bai Su, a mortal entering the path, could easily achieve Divinity Transformation.
After all, breaking through the Transformation God Mortal Severance requires only 10,000 magic power, one first-grade dragon soul is enough.
He had 68 dragon balls in hand, including two Yin-Yang Dragon Pearls, 3 first-grade Dragon Pearls, the rest were below second-grade.
Altogether, these dragon balls could increase nearly 250,000 yuan magical power.
Of course, Ning Fan is a One Orifice Ancient God, the effect doubles when he devours dragon balls.
"Refining these dragon balls can allow me to impact the Fifth Realm of Fracture. Not sure if with the Fifth Realm cultivation I can refine the Lifedeath Crystal, if not..."
Another six years passed, Ning Fan refined all the dragon balls, his magic power soared to 118,000 yuan magical power.
After consuming the last five Space-breaking Pills, Ning Fan left the Xuan Yin Treasure, sitting cross-legged in the stone chamber, began wholeheartedly attacking the bottleneck of the Fifth Realm of Fracture.
This attack on the bottleneck took four years.
At the moment of breaking through the bottleneck, Ning Fan shook and entered the Xuan Yin Treasure to face tribulations.
Emperor Lightning Tribulation, Tribulation of Yin Wind... thereafter, there was no longer any "reward" from the Heavenly Dao.
"That little girl seems to be gone..." Ning Fan gazed at the huge black and white circle shadow in the sky and murmured.
After breaking through the Fifth Realm of Fracture, Ning Fan’s magic force increased by 30,000 yuan magical power, reaching 121,000 yuan magical power.
Trapped in the stone chamber, it has been 23 years.
With his cultivation at this level, Ning Fan now had the strength to battle the Moksha Emperor.
He tried refining the Lifedeath Crystal within his body, but helplessly found that he was still a bit short in cultivation to refine the crystal.
If Ning Fan could break through the Sixth Realm of Fracture, this small gap would no longer exist.
"Should I resort to consuming the Feather Ascension Pill?" Ning Fan sighed slightly.
The Feather Ascension Pill has a very small chance of helping a Void Fragmentation cultivator to become an Immortal in one step and can guarantee a direct one realm ascension for Void Fragmentation cultivators.
Ning Fan didn’t hope for that small probable event to occur; to him, one Feather Ascension Pill means one realm.
Consume it at Fragmentation Five to break through Six.
Consume it at Fragmentation Eight to break through Nine.
Consume it at Fragmentation Nine to instantly reach the peak of Fragmentation Ninth, setting the stage to become Immortal.
This pill is naturally best consumed at the end.
But now there is no other way, to leave this place, only by consuming a Feather Ascension Pill to increase cultivation.
Refining the Feather Ascension Pill took Ning Fan a total of ten years, without the help of the Xuan Yin Treasure, he would need a thousand years to refine this pill.
For others, fearing it would take several thousand years.
Refining in the Xuan Yin Treasure for three months, refining outside for three days, and repeating this cycle.
His magic force gradually increased towards 300,000 yuan magical power.
At the moment he refined the Feather Ascension Pill, Ning Fan effortlessly broke through the bottleneck of the Sixth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm.
As he broke through the bottleneck, his body began to transcend, with a tendency to ascend as an immortal!
He unexpectedly triggered the extremely small chance of becoming immortal from the Feather Ascension Pill!
If this news spread, countless old monsters across the nine worlds would be envious!
In the Xuan Yin Realm, Ning Fan sat cross-legged on the ground, looking up at the sky.
He was indeed surprised to have triggered the immortality chance of the Feather Ascension Pill, but upon further thought, he felt it was all quite natural.
His physique was considered perfect, cultivating both Divine and Demonic paths, mastering both martial and spiritual cultivation, awakening the bodies of Fiendgods and Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor, and achieving a complete Minor Five Elements Constitution.
With such a perfect physique, he possessed the most superior cultivation talent; it was not surprising that the Feather Ascension Pill could make him immortal directly.
But Ning Fan frowned tightly.
He tested refining the Lifedeath Crystal within his body and found that after breaking through the sixth fragmentation, he was already capable of breaking free.
The immortal path was right at his feet, and if he wished, he could become immortal at once by leveraging the power of the Feather Ascension Pill!
But he was unwilling.
His Comprehension of the Dao of Life and Death was not yet complete; even if he could become immortal now, it would just mean forcefully boosting his cultivation with pills.
Though he would become immortal, he would lack the vital link of understanding life and death, and if he truly became immortal, he might remain at the Life Immortal Realm forever.
Ning Fan’s enemies were not limited to Life Immortals alone. If his cultivation stopped there in this life, he would regret it in the future.
Taking a deep breath, Ning Fan slowly dispersed the tendency to physically ascend to immortality, and his gaze gradually cleared.
This opportunity for becoming immortal that everyone yearned for, he didn’t care for.
He stood up, his aura of the Fracture Sixth Layer soaring, and he traversed the Emperor Lightning Tribulation, then broke the Tribulation of Yin Wind.
His magical power finally stabilized at 3.05 million Yuanhui of Magical Power.
His spirit sense barely broke through to the Crumbled Void Seventh Layer.
If he transformed into a clone and used the Soul Extraction Technique, he could momentarily elevate his cultivation to the Peak of the Seventh Realm of Fracture!
The Mountain World, not worth fearing! The Three Realms Sect, also not worth fearing! As for the Moksha Emperor... even less worth fearing!
There was just one small imperfection.
Confined in a stone chamber for 33 years, Ning Fan enhanced his cultivation using various heavenly materials and treasures. While his realms grew rapidly, his magical power was rather unstable.
Only through real battles and killings could his magical power solidify again.
Continuously experiencing four Emperor Lightning Tribulations, Ning Fan’s Imperial Qi Flying Dragon had grown six zhang long.
This Imperial Qi Flying Dragon contained an emperor’s aura equivalent to the combined force of sixty strands of Emperor Qi.
Even if sixty Rain World emperors stood together, they wouldn’t surpass Ning Fan in emperor’s might.
Having not returned his ancient demon cultivation to origin... Ning Fan had spent too much time here and didn’t want to spend any more.
Calculating the time, it was only a few years until the opening of the Ancient Heavenly Court.
How was the situation in Seven Apricot City, in Yue Country, in the Rain Immortal World...
Ning Fan exited the temporary cave abode, and the Ancient Golden Sword had long absorbed the power of the Xuan Huang Crystal, greatly enhancing its flying speed.
If this ancient sword went at full speed, even an ordinary Immortal couldn’t catch up with Ning Fan.
Retrieving the ancient sword, Ning Fan went to see Luo You. Luo You had long since refined the power of the Demon God Pill and was always watching Ning Fan’s cultivation.
After refining the Demon God Pill, Luo You recovered her cultivation to the Sixth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm.
She looked at Ning Fan with a smile that was not quite a smile, her eyes glimmering.
"Little brother, you’re really impressive; you’re already in the Sixth Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm. Hehe, with your current cultivation, if you go to the Ancient Heavenly Court, who knows if the Moksha Emperor will avoid battle and flee... You must know, back then, he bullied you quite miserably in Seven Apricot City."
"The Moksha Emperor is nothing to fear. But you... your cultivation hasn’t returned to the Peak of the Ninth Realm of Fracture, and I haven’t yet found you a sufficiently powerful physical body for true revival, so we may need more time." Ning Fan said apologetically.
"Hehe, no hurry, really, sister is not in a hurry at all... or are you eager to send me off?" Luo You looked at Ning Fan with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
"If you like, you can stay in the Mysterious Yin World for a lifetime, and I will never drive you away."
Ning Fan sighed, shook his form, and left the Mysterious Yin World.
He knew that Luo You would eventually leave, for that unforgotten hatred.
The reason Luo You didn’t tell him who her enemies were was because he was still too weak...
He could roam freely in the lower realms, but if he went to the higher realms, he would most likely be nothing but an insignificant speck of dust.
At her peak, Luo You was at the Shedding Void Realm; even with such a powerful realm, she continued to search for the Yin Yang Locket to find a way to enhance her power.
This was enough to show that her enemies far surpassed the Shedding Void... perhaps an Immortal Emperor, or maybe even stronger than an Immortal Emperor...
Ning Fan returned to the outside world, sitting cross-legged at the corner of the ice bed where the two women were in slumber, and began refining the seven Lifedeath Crystals.
After breaking through the sixth fragmentation, he could clearly feel that the strong energy and mana contained in these crystals were the purest Dao power, not containing any magic power.
Refining Dao power made no difference whether in the Mysterious Yin World or elsewhere; the Mysterious Yin World could accelerate mana operation, but it couldn’t hasten a cultivator’s comprehension of Dao power.
This ice bed could help people comprehend life and death, making it more effective to refine the Lifedeath Crystals here than in the Mysterious Yin World.
In the first year, Ning Fan refined the first Lifedeath Crystal, adding one hundred Lifedeath Dao Patterns.
In the second year, Ning Fan refined the second Lifedeath Crystal.
The third year, the fourth year, the fifth year...
By the seventh year, Ning Fan had refined the last Lifedeath Crystal, and the Lifedeath Dao Patterns on his Spirit had reached 1220!
At the instant he refined all the Lifedeath Crystals, Ning Fan lost his Heart Spirit, plunging into an illusory dream.
In the Xuan Yin Treasure, Luo You’s expression changed, revealing rare shock.
"The Life and Death Trial! He actually triggered the Life and Death Trial! This is the great tribulation that ancient Masters underwent when becoming an Immortal!"
"Within this tribulation lies a heaven-sent opportunity! Could it be that those seven Lifedeath Crystals helped him trigger the Life and Death Trial?"
After a hundred years of cultivation, Ning Fan dreamt to glimpse life and death. To the outside world, the dream lasted but three days, yet within the Life and Death Trial, he experienced three lifetimes!
These were three seemingly illusory dreams!
...
On a Cultivation Star named Vermilion Bird Star, within a cultivation kingdom, inside a tavern on the outskirts of a city, a scholar in white suddenly awakened from a deep slumber at the table.
The tavern was filled with many patrons, with threads of wine aroma and a hint of yellow millet rice fragrance.
"I... who am I...?"
The scholar in white looked bewildered, unable to recall that he was Ning Fan.
This is the Life and Death Trial, where within it, no one remembers who they are.
And upon remembering, one can break the trial.
"Brother Lu, could you have slept yourself silly? You and I were heading to the capital for the imperial exams, weary from the long journey, resting here for a brief pause. How is it you no longer remember who you are after just one nap?" Nearby, a scholar in a blue robe, Zhang Sheng, shook his head with a smile at Ning Fan.
"My surname is Lu? I’m going to the capital for an exam? An exam, why take the exam? Why do people live, why do they die..." Ning Fan’s eyes were lost as he spoke.
"The purpose of the exam is to attain rank and honor, to secure a wealthy future, to shelter your descendants, to glorify your ancestors!" Zhang Sheng chuckled.
"Wealth, future... What use are they? People will die, what are these for? Compared to gaining wealth, I more want to know who I am, I want to understand what life and death are..." Ning Fan spoke with utmost seriousness, not seeming as though he was joking.
Zhang Sheng’s pleasant expression faltered. He had thought Ning Fan was merely joking, but now it seemed Ning Fan really had no aspirations for rank and honor.
"Since Brother Lu holds worldly wealth in such low esteem, I assume you don’t plan to head to the capital with Zhang Sheng for the exams?"
"Mm, I do not wish to seek rank and honor." Ning Fan nodded.
"In that case, you are no longer my friend, the camaraderie of old classmates comes to an end today!"
Zhang Sheng snorted coldly, shouldering his book bag, untying a green colt tied to a willow tree outside the tavern, and strode away.
Ning Fan watched Zhang Sheng leave without any sign of disappointment.
Indeed, he was not Zhang Sheng’s friend, nor was Zhang Sheng his. Their paths were different, and they could not walk together.
"Haha, this young man is quite amusing, just moments ago he was full of passion about making the list and honoring his ancestry, yet after a dream at the tavern’s side, he decides not to go to the capital for the exams. Could it be he knows he won’t earn rank and instead plans to go home and farm?" A patron laughed.
"Farming... that seems like a good choice, in the wilderness often lies the great Dao, yet now, I don’t want to farm, I just want to comprehend life and understand death."
Ning Fan stood up, glanced at the bundle, and frowned slightly, not intending to retrieve it.
Within the bundle were a piece of cotton clothing, a cloth garment, ten taels of striped silver, a pass, and over ten scrolls.
"I no longer need these; they can all count as wine payment. Give me some good wine, I don’t need my horse either, exchange it all for wine..."
The tavern shopkeeper was momentarily stunned, then piled on a smile, took seven jars of hundred-year-old vintage from the cellar, and handed them to Ning Fan.
The other things were trivial compared to the good horse and ten taels of silver, which were no small expenses; the shopkeeper was naturally happy to make this deal with Ning Fan.
"These wines are quite heavy, I wonder if you have any footmen to carry them... Also, the pass—it’s not wise to discard it; without it, you’ll face much trouble..."
"I need neither footmen nor pass. Though I don’t remember who I am, carrying these wine jars is easy."
Ning Fan brushed his sleeve, storing the seven jars of vintage within.
With a shimmer of his figure, he was already out of sight, drifting away.
Clang!
Countless patrons’ wine bowls fell to the ground.
The tavern shopkeeper was left dumbstruck.
The next moment, countless people kneeled on the ground, bowing reverently in the direction Ning Fan had departed, their expressions profoundly respectful.
"Immortal Master! Who knew that scholar was actually an Immortal Master, no wonder he scorned the pursuit of rank and honor, for what use is it to an Immortal Master!"
"Oh no, I was just laughing at that Immortal Master, I wonder if I’ll be sentenced to death by him... I’m so scared!" The patron who had mocked Ning Fan earlier was now pale with fright.
Little did he know, Ning Fan couldn’t care less about bullying a mortal with his power.
Ning Fan continued his flight, traversing through numerous cultivation kingdoms.
His eyes were blank, still unable to recall who he was.
The sky slowly began to drizzle as night fell.
Within the rainy night, up ahead was a broken temple where countless travelers sheltered from the rain...
(The first trial of the Life and Death Trial is "Against the Gods"!) (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it at qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)