novelraw Chapter 684: Incense Flame Demon Puppet
Chapter 684: Incense Flame Demon Puppet
Bright Sparrow tilted her small face up, smiling as she looked at Ning Fan, her face full of the expression ’quickly praise me’.
Ning Fan gently patted Bright Sparrow’s little head, accepted the storage pouch, and without any pretense with Bright Sparrow, softly said, "You’re really good."
Since he’s able to get a Quasi-Emperor’s storage pouch for free, how could Ning Fan possibly refuse to take it?
These items might be extremely precious to him, but they were of little significance to Taiwu.
Ning Fan scanned the storage pouch with his spirit sense, and his gaze immediately became serious.
The contents of the storage pouch were not many. Taiwu, during this outing, brought only a few things, ’a small amount’ of Dao Crystals, before leaving the Immemorial Dark Sparrow Clan.
Along the way, he passed several relics and found many spiritual medicines.
All the spiritual medicines Taiwu had previously given Bright Sparrow were picked up along the way.
These spiritual medicines all had extremely high ages, but in terms of medicinal efficacy, there were very few useful to Ning Fan.
Currently, Ning Fan has no time to improve his dan refinement skills and has no use for these spiritual medicines.
Within the storage pouch, there are fifty million Dao Crystals... to Taiwu, it’s just pocket change, kept for casual use in formations.
For Ning Fan, however, it’s a huge fortune.
There are ten bottles of Eighth Revolution pills, and three Ninth Revolution pills, all healing pills.
These healing pills have miraculous effects for treating physical injuries, Spirit, or Demon Soul.
Ning Fan’s eyes flickered, now he has enough pills to repair Luo You’s Spirit!
Unfortunately, the storage pouch contains no pills to enhance cultivation levels. After all, Taiwu was just on an outing, only bringing some vulnerary medicine as backup, what’s the use of pills for advancing levels?
And even if he did bring, Taiwu would bring pills for boosting the Quasi-Emperor cultivation level, not for enhancing Void Fragmentation cultivation...
"Hmm, this is... Realm Creation Stones, so many!"
Ning Fan’s gaze suddenly shocked, in one corner of the storage pouch, he saw a small pile of Realm Creation Stones.
Not just one, a whole pile!
A pile of Realm Creation Stones, counted separately, there are a total of 37 pieces!
Realm Creation Stones can create 37 small chiliocosm treasures!
Back then, Ning Fan got a Realm Creation Stone from the Thunder Emperor Bu Zhou and upgraded the Cauldron Ring into a chiliocosm.
These Realm Creation Stones are undoubtedly the best materials for practicing the Swirling Void Technique!
"So many Realm Creation Stones, where did Senior get them?" Ning Fan paused for a moment before asking.
If Taiwu got the Realm Creation Stones from a certain place in the nine worlds, Ning Fan would want to know the location and try to search for it, aiming to practice the Swirling Void Technique to the Perfect Spiral Void Realm.
"These Realm Creation Stones were taken by this old man from the Di Jiang Clan Leader during a dispute after leaving the Immemorial Dark Sparrow Clan. It’s only natural for the Di Jiang Clan, who practice space powers, to have a Clan Leader possessing Realm Creation Stones."
Taiwu smiled lightly in a casual manner.
As if snatching something from the Di Jiang Clan was a matter of course and easy.
"I see..." Ning Fan nodded slightly and said no more.
The contents of the storage pouch have been entirely examined by Ning Fan.
He was about to retract his spirit sense when suddenly, his gaze shook and he revealed a look of disbelief!
"This is?! "
With a flick of his hand, Ning Fan took out a strangely shaped clay doll from the storage pouch.
The clay doll depicted a half-human, half-snake woman.
On the clay doll rested a profound power, Ning Fan vaguely remembered that this power was Incense Flame power.
The clay doll had many cracks, appearing significantly damaged.
Even in such a state, the clay doll is absolutely extraordinary!
Because during Ning Fan’s first search of the storage pouch, he hadn’t seen this clay doll, it had simply sat there without any trace of aura, making Ning Fan overlook it!
Ning Fan had a premonition that this treasure was the most precious item within this storage pouch!
Seeing Ning Fan take out the clay doll, Taiwu’s eyes lit with eagerness, almost impulsively wanting to snatch the clay doll back.
Just being glared at lightly by Bright Sparrow, he immediately calmed down, smiling sheepishly.
"May I ask Senior, what exactly is this item?" Ning Fan knew this item was extraordinary yet couldn’t see through its divine powers.
"To be frank, young friend, this item is precisely the cause of dispute between this old man and the Di Jiang Clan Leader... This item is called the ’Incense Fire Demon Doll’, a treasure created by some ancient Demoness Saint, capable of forcibly taking another’s Incense Flame power..."
Taiwu sighed repeatedly, as this item is extremely precious; if not for Bright Sparrow’s orders, he wouldn’t have willingly handed it over.
"Demoness Saint! Stealing someone’s Incense Flame!"
Ning Fan’s gaze shook.
The title "Saint" is a respectful term for a Third Step strong, high-level practitioner! Whether Saints still exist in the four heavens and nine worlds, no one knows.
Incense Flame power is one of the methods used by Second Step Celestial Cultivators to improve their cultivation levels; it can be used to enhance cultivation, as well as in duels and refining treasures.
Incense Flame is a form of belief, a power generated by the worship of all beings.
Generally speaking, your Incense Flame power cannot be taken by others.
This Incense Flame Demon Puppet can actually seize others’ Incense Flame power, which is quite shocking.
If this is true, Ning Fan can simply hold this puppet, sneak into a great master’s shrine, and steal the Incense Flame power painstakingly accumulated from countless disciples...
If this is true, in the future, when Ning Fan encounters a powerful Immortal enemy using Incense Flame techniques, he can easily break their technique by taking out this puppet...
However, this treasure seems to be severely damaged, and it’s unknown how much power remains...
As if seeing through Ning Fan’s thoughts, Taiwu sighed with regret,
"This Incense Flame Demon Puppet is severely damaged, it can at most seize the Incense Flame power of a Crossing Truth Realm True Immortal... What a pity, the methods to create or repair this treasure have long been lost to time. If it could be repaired, even an Immortal Emperor’s Incense Flame power could be snatched away!"
To seize an Immortal Emperor’s Incense Flame power means that if an Immortal Emperor uses their great Incense Flame powers, this clay puppet can easily disrupt their divine skills.
What a pity, what a pity... this clay puppet is too severely damaged.
Ning Fan, on the other hand, took it lightly. Acquiring such a treasure for free, one that can even seize the Incense Flame power of a Crossing Truth Realm True Immortal, is already a huge gain, why lament?
He put away the expensive pills, Dao Crystals, and the Incense Flame clay puppet, thought for a moment, and handed over the Spiritual Medicine in the storage pouch to the Bright Sparrow, untouched.
"These are for you to eat."
"Really! All for me!" The little girl immediately drooled happily, and with a sweet and innocent smile, she accepted the storage pouch.
She, of course, wouldn’t be polite with Ning Fan.
"For now, we wait in the Heavenly Court for Brother Liu. After I bid him farewell, I’ll return to the Rain Immortal World."
Ning Fan flicked his sleeve, summoning Wuxie, Mu Weiliang, and many servants from the Yuan Yao World.
Taiwu donned his cloak again, sealed his cultivation, and stood respectfully behind the Bright Sparrow.
The Bright Sparrow clutched the Spiritual Medicine and gnawed away while Mu Weiliang, seeing how energetically the Bright Sparrow ate, also took a piece of one hundred thousand years old spiritual medicine and began eating it raw.
She, too, seemed unfazed by the power of the Spiritual Medicine!
Ning Fan’s eyes narrowed slightly, only now did he notice that after her resurrection, Mu Weiliang had no mana, but her physical defense was comparable to a Nirvana realm ninefold expert.
Though she resurrected, she retained the powerful corpse devil physique, and in this resurrection, has completed the third transformation of the corpse demon body, granting her endless longevity!
"It doesn’t taste good..." The six-year-old Mu Weiliang pouted and handed the half-eaten Spiritual Medicine back to the Bright Sparrow.
"I think it tastes fine?" The Bright Sparrow took back the Spiritual Medicine and gnawed on it, finding it quite delicious.
Nearby, Lux Xiu and others were taken aback by the sight of Mu Weiliang eating one hundred thousand-year-old Spiritual Medicine directly.
The women around the master are all extraordinary, each one so impressive...
Gu Zang’s corpse was given to Nieli to consume.
Ning Fan waved his large hand, sending the Eighth and Ninth Revolution vulnerary obtained from Taiwu to the Xuan Yin Treasure, to be handed to Luo You.
He believed these pills were enough for Luo You to recover to the peak of the Void Fragmentation Ninefold, even possibly restoring her Fate Immortal cultivations.
At this moment, Ning Fan suppressed his demonic thoughts, eliminated his seven emotions, and stabilized his injuries.
Yet on the outside, it was hard to tell if he was different from before.
Wuxie looked at the innocent Mu Weiliang, a gentle smile unconsciously appeared beneath the veil at her lips.
"Thank you. My wish is fulfilled; from now on, I am myself, no longer her."
She looked at Ning Fan and softly smiled.
This was her first time revealing a genuine, heartfelt smile to Ning Fan as the Jade Lake Saintess.
Mu Weiliang’s souls reshaped, she was no longer the Seven Souls, but just herself.
The past was resolved, she could finally let go of the knots in her heart and live comfortably in the present.
"I willingly saved her, why do you need to thank me?" Ning Fan shook his head with a smile.
Wuxie frowned slightly, sighing quietly.
She could discern that Ning Fan’s heart wasn’t truly smiling; it was desolate... He had lost his seven emotions and only forced a smile to prevent his loved ones from worrying.
The smile didn’t reach his eyes or heart, yet it wasn’t necessarily insincere.
"Who suppressed your demonic thoughts? Was it someone so skilled they could even seal demonic thoughts? The Fate Immortal chasing you, is he really dead, who killed him..."?
Wuxie glanced at Ning Fan with slight concern and subtly cast a glance at Taiwu.
Her intuition told her that this elusive old man was no simple character...
Ning Fan had merely told her briefly that he was out of danger, without mentioning specifics.
The matter involved the Immemorial Dark Sparrow and the Bright Sparrow’s identity, thus it was inappropriate to elaborate.
"Don’t worry about me, he’s one of our own. It’s all over, everything has passed." Ning Fan looked at the Immemorial Golden Crow and smiled.
He didn’t explain how Gu Zang fell or how the demonic thoughts were sealed. No further words were needed, Wuxie understood.
"I’m not worrying about you! Forget it; talking about this is pointless..." Realizing her explanation was weak, Wuxie didn’t bother to argue.
She was indeed worried about him, and in the end, all the entangled emotions just left a tumultuous heart that couldn’t find peace.
"I will return to the Jade Lake now. Since your demonic thoughts are temporarily restrained, remember not to venture into the Western Heaven Immortal World without sufficient cultivation... The Black Buddha Sect shows no mercy to Ancient Chaos." Wuxie reminded once more.
"Sisi, be careful." Ning Fan could see that Wuxie’s clone was nearing collapse, indicating that her true body must be undergoing significant changes.
Perhaps letting Wuxie reclaim her clone early would benefit her true body somewhat.
"I know, you be careful too. If one day you truly arrive at the Four Heavens and are attacked by the Black Buddha Sect... I will help you."
No more words were exchanged, and Wuxie dissolved her clone, vanishing like starlight.
In the Western Heaven Immortal World, amidst the Kunlun Jade Pool, a woman dressed in plain white was arduously confronting the Heavenly Tribulation of the Shedding Void Stage over a vast lotus pond.
The tribulation clouds roared; her strength was exhausted, and her body was covered with wounds. Yet, she still devoted half her mana to maintain her clone in the lower realm.
Suddenly, strands of starlight flew from the lower realm and entered her body.
Her bright eyes relaxed, reading the memories of her clone, a gentle smile appearing at the corners of her lips.
When she looked up again at the Heavenly Tribulation, there was no fear left.
"He... is really good..."
Amidst the thunderous Heavenly Tribulation, her voice was very light, heard by no one.
...
After Wuxie left, Ning Fan was momentarily dazed, then began to examine the other gains of this journey.
He fought his way through the thirty-three heavens, transformed into a Blood Devil, slaughtered the entire Burial Immortal Clan, and although he hadn’t collected many storage pouches or Dao Fruits, the gains were undoubtedly significant.
Twelve Void Fragmentation Realm Dao Fruits, over two hundred Void Refinement Realm Dao Fruits, countless spiritual herbs aged between fifty thousand and a hundred thousand years, and a considerable amount over a hundred thousand years old were obtained.
He confiscated more than ten million Dao Crystals, bringing his total to seventy million.
Through his path of slaughter, the corpses’ Qi within Ning Fan had reached a bottleneck. With just a catalyst, he could complete the third Corpse Transformation and attain boundless longevity!
From the strong of the Burial Immortal Clan, Ning Fan acquired countless Corpse Path Secret Arts, including many Immortal Techniques.
Ning Fan did not plan to cultivate these Corpse Path Secret Arts for the time being; perhaps he would start upon completing the third Corpse Transformation.
He also obtained the formation method of the Corpse Dissolution Great Array, which had a tiny chance of helping a corpse cultivator achieve immortality. However, the probability was too small for Ning Fan to decide to use this array to become immortal.
The storage pouch of Chang Shan intrigued Ning Fan the most.
Chang Shan was from the Dan Sect and himself a Seventh Revolution Pill Master, with numerous dan refinement formulas, spiritual medicines, and secret technique pills in his storage pouch.
On this trip to the ghost land, he obtained nine prayer beads from the destinies of Immortal Spirits.
These nine prayer beads could significantly enhance a master’s spirit sense!
There were specific pills in Chang Shan’s storage pouch that could harmonize with the prayer beads’ power to absorb their Telekinesis!
"These are excellent!" Ning Fan’s eyes lit up. If he swallowed these nine prayer beads, his spirit sense could be greatly enhanced!
During the days waiting for the Heavenly Court to close, Ning Fan entered the Xuan Yin Treasure, using Chang Shan’s dan refinement pill to harmonize one of the prayer beads, refining each Immortal Spirit prayer bead one by one.
Upon refining the first Immortal Spirit prayer bead, Ning Fan’s spirit sense cultivation reached the peak of the Seventh Realm of Fracture.
Upon taking the second prayer bead, his spirit sense cultivation naturally broke through to the Fragmentation Realm Eight.
By the time he consumed the seventh prayer bead, Ning Fan’s spirit sense had broken through the Fragmentation Nine Realm.
After consuming the last two prayer beads, his spirit sense cultivation stabilized in the mid Fragmentation Nine Realm.
Nine Immortal Spirit prayer beads took Ning Fan three months to fully refine.
After three months, Ning Fan returned to the outside of the Heavenly Court, his injuries long healed under the black star Demon Starfall.
Though his cultivation had not advanced, the enhancement of his spirit sense had vastly increased Ning Fan’s combat strength.
If he were to perform the clone and Soul Extraction techniques now, Ning Fan’s mana would not be much weaker than that of rogue immortals...
Upon Ning Fan’s return to the outside world, Lux Xiu and others seemed to sense a change in their master, as if he had become more formidable, though they had no concrete idea how.
Bright Sparrow and Mu Weiliang, chatting cheerfully while eating spiritual herbs, large and small, enjoyed themselves. Seeing Ning Fan come out, they immediately welcomed him.
Deeply, Taiwu gazed at Ning Fan, naturally discerning the significant increase in Ning Fan’s spirit sense.
In awe, he quietly transmitted a reminder to Ning Fan,
"Although your spirit sense has improved, young friend, it is not yet solid. You must stabilize it well."
"Thank you for the reminder, senior," Ning Fan nodded and agreed.
More than another month passed, and the Ninth Realm Fragmented Void began to return to the outside world one after another, each with a look of lingering fear.
When these people saw Ning Fan, they all approached to clasp their fists in gratitude.
"Thank you, Rain Emperor, for your heroic assistance. Without your intervention, we would have died at the hands of that Fate Immortal! Words cannot convey our gratitude!" Those low-level Void Fragmentation masters gratefully clasped their fists, looking at Ning Fan with more reverence.
No one inquired about where the white-haired Fate Immortal had gone... Since Ning Fan was alive, the white-haired Fate Immortal was likely dead.
How Ning Fan managed to kill a Fate Immortal was a secret they preferred not to know.
"This journey truly leaves this old man and the others sighing..." The three rogue devil ancestors from the Demon World sighed.
Originally, there were four rogue devil ancestors in the Demon World; now, one had been eaten alive by the white-haired Fate Immortal, a thought still chilling to remember.
After sighing, the three of them clasped their fists toward Ning Fan, earnestly saying, "The debt of saving our lives will be remembered forever! As long as we three live, the Demon World will never offend the Rain Immortal World, forever allies!"
Hearing these words from the three ancestors, other demon practitioners’ expressions changed, but none dared to interrupt.
The three old ancestors are going to form an alliance with the Rain Immortal World!
For the Demon World of the Upper Three Worlds to ally with the Rain Immortal World of the Lower Three Worlds, it is something unseen for many years.
However, everyone understands that the reason the three ancestors are befriending the Rain Immortal World is first to repay Ning Fan for saving their lives, second for fear of Ning Fan’s strength.
That day, Ning Fan transformed into a Blood Demon, sweeping across the skies, confronting the white-haired Fate Immortal. That scene, none dare forget, none can forget!
If Ning Fan wishes, he can easily annihilate rogue immortals. With him around, who would dare provoke the Rain Immortal World!
"Hehe, my Demon World also wishes to ally with the Rain Immortal World," the Old Red Emperor and the Old Fox Emperor laughed.
"Naturally, my Four Heaven’s Immortal Worlds also wish to befriend the Rain Immortal World," the Loose Immortal Ancestor of the Immortal Realm clasped his fists towards Ning Fan.
The other masters from various realms, whose cultivation levels were insufficient, could not represent their realms and naturally did not dare speak recklessly.
But these people knew very well that the current Rain Immortal World was not an existence they could afford to provoke.
Some people have noticed that beside Ning Fan stood Lux Xiu and 17 old monsters of the Void Fragmentation realm, along with a Toad Beast.
Among the 17 Void Fragmentation, there were 2 at Fracture Eighth, 5 at Seven Apricot.
The Toad was actually at the peak cultivation level of Fracture Eighth.
The eyes with which these powerful beings looked upon Ning Fan were unmistakably those of looking upon a master.
The aura of these people was clearly that of Burial Immortal Clan’s strong aura.
No need to ask, all of them were servants Ning Fan subdued from the Heavenly Court.
Such a large number of powerful beings was enough to easily sweep the Lower Three Worlds and Middle Three Worlds!
And Ning Fan alone seemed to be enough to walk proudly in the Upper Three Worlds...
Nowadays, the Rain Immortal World is known as the weakest of the nine worlds, but discerning people know very well that now, calling it the strongest among the nine worlds would not be too much.
"Brother Ning, you really are alright! I knew you wouldn’t be in any trouble!" Liu Haoyue laughed heartily, stepping out from the crowd, the worry in his eyes quietly dissipating.
"Brother Liu." Ning Fan nodded to Liu Haoyue, who he knew was worried for him.
No extra words were exchanged, no mention of life-risking rescue.
Some words need not be spoken, as long as they are kept in the heart.
Liu Haoyue also uttered no more words, merely took out two jars of Spiritual Wine, tossing one to Ning Fan.
Without a word, he lifted the jar and drank deep.
Ning Fan also said nothing more, tilted his head back and drank until not a drop remained.
To drink together, was an acknowledgment of this friendship.
"Brother Ning, are you returning to the Rain Immortal World now?" Liu Haoyue asked with a smile.
"Yes!"
"Not escorting you!"
"Stay safe!"
Ning Fan clasped his fists toward Liu Haoyue, took out the Ancient Golden Sword, and led the group flying toward the Rain Immortal World’s gate in the lower layer of the Fragmented Domain.
The gates of the ancient Heavenly Court were slowly closing, and the other old monsters had no mind to linger, so they all returned to their respective realms after a brief rest.
This trip to the ancient Heavenly Court was not long, yet so many major events transpired.
One shocking news after another spread throughout the nine worlds!
The Moksha Emperor’s fall, the Serpent Emperor’s fall, the Ape Emperor’s fall... even the loose devils of the Demon World fell!
If it weren’t for Ning Fan’s rescue, all nine worlds masters who entered the Heavenly Court would have perished completely!
Ning Fan returned from the ancient Heavenly Court bringing 17 old monsters of the Void Fragmentation realm, and a demonic beast at the peak of Fracture eighth.
With all-out effort by Ning Fan, even loose immortals could be slain!
The Upper Three Worlds completely announced alliances with the Rain Immortal World!
The Middle Three Worlds, Lower Three Worlds completely announced goodwill with the Rain Immortal World!
No one dares offend the Rain Immortal World!
Within the Rain Immortal World, Li Cangtian looked incredulously at the information in his hand, and at the powerful supporters behind Ning Fan.
Hundreds of Void Fragmentation old monsters, after safely returning to their realms, sent people into the Rain Immortal World, bringing gifts to Ning Fan, thanking him for saving their lives.
The powerful beings Ning Fan brought back, each was enough to sweep through the Rain Immortal World governed by Yun Zongxuan...
"Little brat Ning, can’t you tell this old man thoroughly what major events occurred within the ancient Heavenly Court..." Li Cangtian chuckled bitterly.
He always knew Ning Fan could stir trouble, but he didn’t realize Ning Fan could, by himself, intimidate the nine worlds, to the point where even the Upper Three Worlds voluntarily sought an alliance with the Rain Immortal World.
"Since Senior Li brought it up, junior will naturally speak openly, but before doing so, junior has something he’d like to discuss with Senior."
"What is it?"
"Junior plans to head to the Sword World."
"What? You just returned from the ancient Heavenly Court, and now you want to go to the Sword World?" (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivator. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)