novelraw Chapter 692: Severing Mortal Bonds (Part 1)
Chapter 692: Severing Mortal Bonds (Part 1)
Beside Sword Lake, Little Dugu hugged her knees, sitting on the soft mossy grass, smiling faintly, teasing the blade of grass in front of her.
Ning Fan sat next to her, quietly observing her profile. The genuine smile made Ning Fan feel momentarily lost.
That smile truly resembled the one of the sword ancestor in ancient paintings.
"Could it really be such a coincidence..." Ning Fan chuckled, shaking his head, reaching out to stroke Dugu’s waterfall-like black hair.
Today, Dugu did not resist any intimate gestures from Ning Fan.
Instead, she leaned her body, resting against Ning Fan.
The subtle fragrance of a maiden wafted into his nose, causing Ning Fan’s breath to catch.
Uncontrollably, his hand caressed Little Dugu’s soft waist, feeling the softness through her thin shirt.
His hand gradually moved upwards, slightly touching Dugu’s proud softness.
Dugu remained unresponsive, only emitting soft breathing sounds.
Fallen asleep again...
Ning Fan withdrew his mischievous hand, chuckling and shaking his head.
He knew, Dugu must trust him deeply, to rest so assuredly in his arms, sleeping twice.
"Sleep well..." Ning Fan played with Dugu’s full head of black hair, recalling the memories of their acquaintance.
In the end, he was not a good person.
Therefore, he could protect her.
In a world of chaos, a good person cannot protect anything.
But, if it could make her happy, Ning Fan was willing to momentarily act as the good person she imagines, in front of her.
Perhaps from a certain viewpoint, I might be considered a good person.
Ning Fan pondered.
People have their own criteria for judging good and bad.
Suddenly, Ning Fan found his own criteria.
What defines a good person?
Good, when broken down, is woman and child.
In a world of chaos, not abandoning one’s wife or child, that’s a good person.
This thought was quickly forgotten by Ning Fan; he already had his own ways and was not interested in the notion of good or bad people.
The world thought, given Ning Fan’s ruthless nature, once he had the power to sweep the nine worlds, he would inevitably unleash slaughter across them.
They did not understand Ning Fan; they did not know what he truly wanted.
Regarding the control of the nine worlds, Ning Fan had no interest; he disliked slaughter, disliked conflict, disliked all disputes within the cultivation realm.
He had already told Rain Emperor that he had no interest in Rain Immortal World, though Rain Emperor did not believe him.
His ambitions lay above the four heavens, for only by ascending there could he become stronger.
Only then could he protect the warmth behind him...
...
Much later, Sovereign Xia and Mengx Bingyun came to find Ning Fan and Dugu.
Mengx Bingyun appeared much better in health, her residual soul had stabilized completely, while Sovereign Xia looked worn and depleted.
No need to ask; Sovereign Xia must have paid a great price to stabilize Mengx Bingyun’s residual soul.
With Sovereign Xia’s abilities, though she could not revive Mengx Bingyun, they could at least remain together from now on.
"Sister Mengx..." Little Dugu woke at the perfect moment, stood up, and gave Mengx Bingyun a gentle smile.
Mengx Bingyun looked at Little Dugu with deep affection and said warmly, "Little Sister Dugu, thank you, thank you."
Dugu naturally understood what Mengx Bingyun was thanking her for.
The two women shared a close bond, while Sovereign Xia looked gratefully at Ning Fan, not knowing what to say.
After a long while, Sovereign Xia suddenly bowed deeply to Ning Fan, full of gratitude, yet did not utter a word of thanks.
Great kindness goes beyond words, and Sovereign Xia understood this principle.
Sovereign Xia gifted Ning Fan and Dugu with several cross-realm transmission jade talismans before returning to Tianjiang with Mengx Bingyun to reside in the old site of Xia Kingdom.
Before departing, Sovereign Xia handed Ning Fan over ten cross-realm transmission jade talismans.
Any one of these jade talismans could transmit messages across the lower realms to request Sovereign Xia’s aid.
Should Sovereign Xia receive the message, he would immediately appear in Rain Immortal World to annihilate any invading enemies.
With Sovereign Xia around, even if Ning Fan ascended, Rain Immortal World would face no threats.
Indeed, it was right to visit Xia Kingdom’s Secret Ground.
Time flew by like water, and a year passed.
Ning Fan resided in Sword World for a year, spending every moment with Little Dugu; it was indeed a delightful time.
A tranquil life, far from slaughter, far from cultivation.
He was here waiting for the old monster, who was still sowing Dao seeds.
A year later, the old monster finally appeared in Ice Snow Sword City.
The old monster had crafted a small chiliocosm, and that acre of Dao Soil was within it.
It took an entire year for the old monster to perfectly plant the Dao seeds, making him quite pleased.
Though he would have to wait several hundred more years for the seeds to blossom and bear fruit, the old monster remained in good spirits.
He went to check on Little Mei’s slumber, and returned humming an inexplicable tune.
"You’re my little Dao fruit, no amount of cultivation is too much..."
Boasting all the way home, the old monster froze upon seeing Ning Fan, then quickly restrained himself, adopting a strict teacher’s demeanor.
Not having seen each other for a year, the old monster’s cultivation had recovered to Fate Immortal peak, though a return to True Immortal would still require several hundred years.
He sealed his cultivation, leaving only rogue immortal level, otherwise he could not remain in the lower realms.
Within the nine worlds, there existed a law that did not permit Fate Immortal cultivators within.
"Master seems in good spirits; have the Dao seeds been sown?" Ning Fan asked with a smile.
"Planted, planted! In three hundred years, no, two hundred years, Little Mei will awaken, and my spear is already aflame with thirst!" the old monster laughed frivolously, leaving Ning Fan speechless.
What nonsense does the old monster have in his head... striving so hard to save his beloved wife just to... satisfy lust?
Ning Fan certainly would not take the old monster’s mad words seriously; if the old monster were truly a lustful person, given his cultivation level, what kind of woman would he be unable to acquire?
Outwardly unrestrained people are often deeply emotional, Ning Fan understood this well.
"Little Brat Ning, do you have something to say?" The old monster suddenly became serious, sensing Ning Fan had important matters to discuss.
Ning Fan nodded, informing the old monster about the Rain Immortal World ascension passage, then asked,
"Master, do you think, should I ascend, should I go to Eastern Heaven or Northern Heaven?"
"Nonsense, of course head to Eastern Heaven!" The old monster’s answer surprised Ning Fan.
"Three reasons!" The old monster held up three fingers, speaking solemnly.
"First reason, there’s no freedom restriction on ascending to Eastern Heaven. If you ascend to Northern Heaven, you’ll need to accept a place in the Lost World Palace and be bound to serve it... dammit! My disciple, why should you serve the Lost World Palace! Since you’ve found a free passage to ascend to Eastern Heaven, definitely go there. From there, if you wish to head to Northern Heaven, simply transport through the Heavenly Gate from Eastern Heaven, though it would cost some Dao crystals."
"Of course, you could also choose to cultivate to Immortal Position and shatter the void to ascend, which is the second reason. Spiritual energy is scarce in the lower realms; cultivation resources are lacking. Though you now have Sixth Sure fracture cultivation, achieving Fate Immortal in the lower realms, even with all your accelerated cultivation techniques considered, is impossible in less than a millennium! Since you’ve found a free ascension passage, why not ascend? Once in Four Heavens, if lacking resources, simply snatch them; with your abilities, you could achieve immortality in a few hundred years."
"Third reason... someone in Eastern Heaven owes me money, to the tune of ten billion Dao crystals; you’ll go there and collect what’s owed! Damn it, only I’ve owed people money in the past; when have others owed me!"
The old monster’s face flushed with anger, pulling out a crumpled yellow promissory note, tossing it to Ning Fan.
Ning Fan remained speechless, feeling the old monster directing him to ascend to Eastern Heaven purely for the third reason, with the other two reasons being nonsense...
He looked at the note in his hand, then stored it away.
The person who wrote the promissory note was named Wei Wuzhi, unknown to Ning Fan, and he did not dwell on it.
Ning Fan carefully considered for a moment; the old monster’s words indeed made sense.
With a free ascension passage to Eastern Heaven, why hesitate to go?
Should he desire to visit Northern Heaven later, he could transport there; the extra travel cost is little, but it avoids being bound.
However, if utilizing the Blood Slave Garden’s ascension passage to ascend from Eastern Heaven, does it mean his remaining days in the lower realms are limited?
If he wished, he could immediately return to Rain Immortal World to find the Blood Slave Garden’s entrance and locate the ascension passage to ascend.
He could leave the nine worlds now... but once he left, who knows when he could return.
Perhaps staying in Rain Immortal World for a decade longer to accompany the women would be more fitting...
"Have you decided? As a man, you should definitely ascend to Eastern Heaven! Understand? Eastern Heaven is rife with wars; that’s the battlefield for real men! You know, my greatest regret in life was being born in Northern Heaven, not in Eastern Heaven! Ah, what a damn regret."
The old monster seems willing to abandon his principles for debt collection, making it appear as if Ning Fan’s ascent to Eastern Heaven validates his manhood.
"Isn’t it just ten billion Dao Crystals? I never knew, master, that you were so greedy for worldly possessions," Ning Fan said speechlessly.
"Nonsense! Am I the kind of person who’s greedy for wealth? Would I ever force my disciple to ascend to Eastern Heaven for mere ten billion Dao Crystals? Am I so shameless?"
The old monster snorted coldly, showing a disdainful expression towards money.
Ning Fan was speechless, too lazy to argue with the old monster, and said lightly, "Alright, disciple has decided, to ascend to Eastern Heaven. Three days later, I will leave the Sword World..."
"Good disciple! Remember, after ascending to Eastern Heaven, go and get the debt from Old Man Wei! Humph, dares to owe me money!" The old monster’s old face bloomed like a chrysanthemum with a smile, and after pondering, he took out a jade scroll from his storage pouch and handed it to Ning Fan.
Upon seeing the contents of the jade scroll, Ning Fan’s eyes flickered slightly.
The jade scroll recorded the follow-up Cultivation Technique of the Black Evil Law, along with one secret technique and one divine skill.
The secret technique was called ’Reversal Fire Immortal Cultivation Technique’. When impacting the Fate Immortal bottleneck, if the Reversal Fire enters the spirit, it can increase the probability of becoming an Immortal by about five percent.
However, the prerequisite for using this secret technique is to cultivate the Cultivation Technique of the Black Evil Law to the peak of the seventh layer.
The divine skill was a middle-ranked Immortal Technique, but its power was close to high-grade Immortal Techniques, called ’Black Demon Escape Technique’.
This is an Immortal Technique for escape. Even a Fate Immortal can only use it a few times, and for Ning Fan, with Shattered Sixth Rank cultivation, he can manage at most once.
The Black Demon Escape Technique can relocate a hundred billion miles with one use, enough to exhaust all of Ning Fan’s Mana.
This indeed was the old monster’s lifesaving technique!
Stealing something from others, being chased by a bunch of Fate Immortals, escape a hundred billion miles in one go, vanishing instantly without a trace...
Without this technique to rely on, how would the old monster dare to rob others?
This technique contains a trace of the profound meaning of shrinking the ground into an inch. If one learns this technique, the chance of comprehending shrinking the ground into an inch in the future would be high.
After putting away the jade scroll, Ning Fan looked at the old monster, suddenly knelt down.
The old monster’s nose suddenly felt a bit sour. He did not avoid this kneel, sighed, and said, "After ascending, take good care of yourself. I’m here in the Sword World. If the Rain Immortal World is in trouble, I’ll use shrinking the ground into an inch to get there in no time, don’t worry..."
"Go now."
The old monster turned his back, Ning Fan got up, stared at the old monster’s back for a long time, then turned and left.
Perhaps to Ning Fan, the old monster was more like a father.
The first warmth he ever felt was at the Seven Apricot, given by the old monster and the paper crane.
Three days later, Ning Fan left the Sword World, and the old monster did not see him off.
Only Little Dugu stood alone in the wind and snow, silently watching Ning Fan step into the Key to the Main Gate.
From today on, she was called Ning Dugu.
Ladies of the Sword World bear no father’s surname, only that of their husband.
She watched Ning Fan leave, feeling a knot in her heart, knowing that this departure for Ning Fan meant ascending to Eastern Heaven, with no news from afar.
She knew why Ning Fan did not bring her along to ascend.
Above Eastern Heaven, strong enemies still existed, and Ning Fan might not return alive.
Why were Ning Fan’s women rarely jealous?
Because they didn’t know if Ning Fan would ever live to that day when he could create a world of peace for them, where they didn’t need to worry about day-to-day survival and could focus entirely on inner conflicts.
It’s not that they didn’t care, but no one knew when they might die.
This is the cultivation world, a world so insecure.
At the moment of stepping into the Key to the Main Gate, Ning Fan suddenly looked back, gazing deeply at Dugu, but did not say much.
In his heart, a new ideal suddenly sprouted, starting to grow.
Perhaps he could learn from the Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign, to create a world with no strife, allowing the women he loved to live without worries...
"Wait for me!"
He said softly, Dugu silently nodded.
Dugu didn’t know, what Ning Fan meant wasn’t just waiting for him to return, but waiting for something else.
Waiting for a world with no strife.
...
Before returning to the Rain Immortal World, Ning Fan went to the Demon World and the Tree World.
He left an Across-Realm Transmission Jade Talisman for the Earth Yuan Palace, and also left a Sound Transmission Jade Gui for Liu Haoyue.
If Earth Yuan Palace or Liu Hall were in trouble, they could seek help from Sovereign Xia as well.
After all, Sovereign Xia could traverse an interface with a few breaths, incredibly fast.
That was the cultivation speed and strength of the Crossing Truth Realm. To a True Immortal, the nine worlds are merely like a backyard, capable of traversing in just a few steps.
Ning Fan finally returned to the Rain Immortal World, but Red Long Dress had already left with people to the Endless Sea.
She stayed in the Yue Country only to protect Ning Fan’s home. Now with many strong slaves of Ning Fan, she no longer needed to stay as protection.
Xudaozi immediately returned to the Rain Immortal World.
The highly respected among the three rogue immortals in the Four Heaven’s immortal worlds ended up becoming Ning Fan’s slave; this shocked the nine worlds, and almost everyone was in fear of Ning Fan’s demonic fame.
Apart from the Old Yuan Emperor, Xudaozi was almost the strongest person in the nine worlds, yet was captured alive by Ning Fan and forced into servitude.
No one dared to oppose Ning Fan. Those who did were either killed or enslaved, with dismal ends.
After Taiwu paid a huge price, Mu Luo was released from his tree form, regaining his mobility.
The residual soul of Youhuang was also stabilized, freeing her from being trapped in the Siluo Bamboo Sea.
When Mu Luo appeared in Yue Country as a rogue devil cultivation, it once again stirred the nine worlds.
Another rogue devil had appeared in the Rain Immortal World...
After a deep conversation, Ning Fan handed over the Restrictive Spells of Xudaozi, Lux Xiu, and all other masters to Mu Luo.
Even the Restrictive Spell of the large skull was handed to Mu Luo alongside.
Mu Luo, Xudaozi, and the large skull, the three rogue immortal-level experts stationed in the Rain Immortal World, so even if Ning Fan ascends, no one in the nine worlds would dare provoke the Rain Immortal World.
With Sovereign Xia present, visitors from the Four Heavens were not a concern either.
Therefore, the Rain Immortal World could finally be stable.
Thus, Ning Fan could ascend with peace of mind.
He left nearly 70 million Dao Crystals in Yue Country, and with these Dao Crystals, the old monsters stuck in the Fracture First Realm in the Rain Immortal World could continuously break through to the Second Heavenly Layer of Void Fragmentation Realm and the three traces.
Of course, not everyone was qualified to use these Dao Crystals; at the very least, the sons of the Rain World were not qualified.
Only a few people could use them.
All the useless expensive pills, magical treasures, Cultivation Techniques on him were left behind.
Ning Fan stood in the wind and snow of Seven Apricot, recalling the past, and murmured softly, "Ascension..."
Ascension was not urgent in these few years.
Over the years, he had owed too much to his women, and he wanted to stay for a while to accompany them.
He had no intention of taking his women on the journey; staying in the lower realms was safer.
Following him was too dangerous. Ning Fan was a person who loved adventure; if he died, the women he brought with him would die together too...
Many people dreamed of ascending to the Four Heavens, but Ning Fan knew that the Four Heavens were not a paradise!
The battles there would only be more frequent, and the enemies there would only be more terrifying...
"Little cucumber, I want to return to Divine Space Island..." a woman walked up behind Ning Fan casually.
"Okay, I’ll take you back!"
Ning Fan smiled, embracing Yue Lingkong, a circle of fiery ripples slowly emerged beneath his feet.
With a step forward, Ning Fan seemed to merge with the entire world, his Mana quickly evaporating, draining in an instant.
And he instantly crossed a hundred billion miles, appearing at the ruins of Divine Space Island in the Endless Sea!
"Li...li...little cucumber, what kind of divine skill is this, so abnormal! You reached Divine Space Island in just one step!" Yue Lingkong was so surprised she couldn’t close her mouth.
Ning Fan’s face was pale, but his heart was extremely pleased with this Black Demon Escape Technique.
One step, Mana exhausted, yet a hundred billion miles leap.
If truly pursued by some Fate Immortal, one step and he’d be out of sight, nothing to fear.
"Want to learn?" Ning Fan teased.
"I wan... hmm..."
With a wave of his sleeve, Ning Fan instantly erected a magnificent palace in the empty ruins of Divine Space Island.
He laid Yue Lingkong on the couch, slowly lowered his lips.
Yue Lingkong was furious, being suddenly attacked by the little cucumber. What was the meaning of this!
With a flip, Yue Lingkong pressed Ning Fan down, beginning to peel off Ning Fan’s clothes like peeling an egg.
"Hahaha, finally waiting for this day! Little cucumber, tremble as much as you want tonight, I will make you feel it! Let you know how fierce I am!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote with your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)