novelraw Chapter 695: Severing Mortal Ties (Part 4)
Chapter 695: Severing Mortal Ties (Part 4)
Three days later, Ning Fan escorted Bai Su back to Gu Su.
After staying for another month, he returned to Yue Country alone.
He was unaware of the earth-shattering changes that had occurred in Zhongshan Country after his departure.
Countless Nascent Soul, Divinity Transformation, and even Void Refinement old monsters traveled thousands of miles to Zhongshan Country to desperately forge connections with the Green Sword Sect.
The reason? Well, Shi Ming is the ’son’ of the Nieyun Rain Emperor. Why would more reasons be needed to connect?
Looking at the numerous old monsters who were flattery toward him, the master of the Green Sword Sect could only smile bitterly.
Any one of these individuals could easily sweep across Zhongshan Country, an existence he could only look up to but never reach.
Unexpectedly...
He originally just wanted to find a good son-in-law for his daughter, unaware he had found one with such terrifyingly powerful connections.
Shi Ming stood at the peak of the Green Sword Mountain for seven days.
"Husband, don’t be sad. Father-in-law and mother-in-law will still come back to see you." Feng Qing’er leaned beside Shi Ming, comforting him.
She thought Shi Ming was missing Ning Fan and Bai Su.
"No, I’m not sad. I’m just reflecting... I’ve been chasing after that person’s footsteps, cultivating furiously, hoping to become his support one day. Only now, I’ve realized how difficult it is to catch up to his steps..." Shi Ming sighed.
"Husband..." Feng Qing’er didn’t know how to console Shi Ming, biting her lip silently.
"However, I won’t give up. I will follow his footsteps, step by step, to become as strong as him, strong enough to protect those I love, and prevent them from being hurt again... I won’t let him down!"
Shi Ming’s eyes revealed an overwhelming battle spirit, and such a gaze made Feng Qing’er captivated.
"Husband, you will definitely succeed, Qing’er believes in you..."
...
Su Yan, Gu Shiniang, and Fen Chi, the three women, have recently been busy simplifying the demon marks of the four clans, striving to make them more suitable for low-level cultivators to engrave.
Being the Devil Concubines of the Mist Horn Clan, Ghost Eye Clan, and Six-Winged Clan respectively, they are naturally proficient in the techniques of demon marks.
Feng Xueyan is also a Devil Concubine, but she’s just a freeloading layabout...
"Sister Yan, the master is about to ascend, aren’t you going to see him?" Inside the Demon Mark Hall of Seven Apricot City, Gu Shiniang looked at Su Yan compassionately.
"See him? What right do I have..." Su Yan sighed softly.
"Why wouldn’t you have the right? Among the three of us, only you have the right." Fen Chi looked at Su Yan with envy.
Though all are Devil Concubines, both Fen Chi and Gu Shiniang knew that Ning Fan never had feelings for them, only for Su Yan.
Gu Shiniang asked Ning Fan to kill the elder of Ghost Eye Clan, and Ning Fan agreed, taking her away.
Fen Chi was brought out of the Six-Winged Clan by Ning Fan.
Throughout, Ning Fan remained distant from the two, not treating them poorly but without affection, only a sense of duty and obligation.
"I...I’m not worthy..." Su Yan’s eyes were filled with self-pity.
There were so many outstanding women around Ning Fan, and she was just the insignificant one among them.
Within the Mist Horn Clan, she was saved by Ning Fan yet could never repay him.
Unable to reciprocate, when Ning Fan faced strong enemies from the Void Fragmentation Realm, she was powerless to help.
"What do you mean by ’not worthy’?" Ning Fan walked into the Demon Mark Hall with a smile, startling the three women to their feet in respectful greeting.
"No need to be so formal, you continue your work, I’ll just watch from the side and won’t disturb you."
"Yes."
The three women complied, sat back down, and continued to sketch intricate demon marks on the parchment around the jade table.
Ning Fan watched quietly, true to his word, he didn’t interrupt them.
As for the four clan’s demon marks, he hadn’t engraved them all back then, nor would he in the future.
His demon marks were Mo Luo’s devil marks, unneeded by these lower-level marks.
Nonetheless, Ning Fan had to admit, the three women’s understanding of demon marks was indeed profound.
After some improvements, even Opening Vein cultivators could engrave a portion of demon marks on their bodies, increasing physical strength.
Among the three women, Su Yan undoubtedly had the highest mastery of demon marks.
Being the former leader of the Mist Horn Clan, her knowledge and experience surpassed the other two women.
The greatest credit for the modified demon marks, none other than hers.
Gu Shiniang and Fen Chi were at a loss, unable to make any headway, uncertain how to further improve the demon marks.
Su Yan, however, had clear thoughts, her elegant hand holding the pen, slowly refining the demon marks.
Yet she was mentally exhausted, her face inadvertently pale, fine sweat beading on her delicate forehead.
She was focused entirely on designing the demon marks, when suddenly, her delicate body tensed.
Ning Fan was using a handkerchief to gently wipe away the fine sweat on her forehead.
"Don’t... don’t do this..." Su Yan was a bit flustered.
"Did I disturb you?" Ning Fan asked with a smile.
"No..."
"Hmm, then you go ahead and continue. I won’t disturb you."
Su Yan was speechless, her heart had been completely stirred by Ning Fan, she couldn’t concentrate at all, alright!
Think of him as a tree, think of him as a tree, think of him as a tree...
Su Yan silently chanted the spell in her heart, gradually putting Ning Fan out of her mind and started redesigning the magic runes.
Ning Fan had black lines all over his forehead. With the Mind Reading Technique in hand, how could he not know what Su Yan was thinking at the moment?
She had turned him into a tree...
Alright then, if a tree, then a tree it is.
Just as Su Yan was fully focused, Ning Fan quietly took Su Yan’s hand and poured mana into her body.
Su Yan’s pale face gradually turned normal and then blushed with shyness.
"Could you... could you please leave for a while..." Su Yan said helplessly.
"Did I disturb you?" Ning Fan asked with a smile.
"No..."
"Oh, then you go ahead. No need to mind me. After all, I’m just a tree."
Su Yan’s pretty face turned redder, her inner thoughts were completely seen through by him...
Feeling the mana that Ning Fan had infused, Su Yan felt a bit sweet inside.
Forget it, let him keep bothering here.
It’s not so bad...
The side of her face that was originally self-harmed now curved into a charming smile.
Though being disturbed, Su Yan found her thoughts clearer. Before dark, she finally made preliminary improvements to the magic runes.
And Ning Fan held her hand the entire day.
Su Yan gently withdrew her soft palm, stood up and stretched languidly, only to notice that Gu Shiniang and Fen Chi had already left at some unknown time.
In the dim moonlight of the magic rune hall, there was only her and Ning Fan...
"Your hands are cold, it seems you’ve been too busy lately, feeling a bit unwell. There’s no rush in improving the magic runes. This requires a lot of mental effort, you can do it slowly." Ning Fan looked at Su Yan with concern, and his gaze made Su Yan a little evasive.
"Is there nothing you want to say to me?" Ning Fan asked with a smile.
"What can I say..." Su Yan lowered her head and said nothing, like a grieving dragon girl.
Her three thousand strands of black hair cascading like a waterfall, with two exquisite jade-colored small horns on her head, were quite cute.
"Do you want to return to the Mist Horn Clan? If you wish, I can lift the suppression on the Mist Horn Clan..." Ning Fan hadn’t finished speaking before he met Su Yan’s sorrowful eyes.
"You want to drive me away, don’t you? You know very well, the Mist Horn Clan is no longer my home..."
"I’m sorry, I saw you were sad and thought you were homesick. If you don’t want to leave, then Yue Country is your home, and no one will drive you away."
Ning Fan smiled apologetically, reaching out to play with the jade-colored small horns on Su Yan’s head, making Su Yan’s pretty face blush, but she didn’t resist.
"If one day, I die in battle in the Eastern Heaven..." Ning Fan said lightly.
"You can’t die!" Su Yan suddenly said nervously.
"I haven’t finished yet. Of course, I won’t die. I mean, if one day I die in the Eastern Heaven, who would be fortunate enough to touch your little horns? Just to frequently caress these little horns, I will come back alive."
Ning Fan was obviously teasing Su Yan, very obviously!
Su Yan looked at Ning Fan with shy annoyance, what did she just say! How could she have the right to say such things! Ning Fan actually led her to say that!
"Get some rest early, these expensive pills are called Nourishing Array Pills. They have the effect of restoring mental strength. You often deplete mental strength, taking one occasionally is good for your health."
Ning Fan handed Su Yan a pill bottle, stroked Su Yan’s face, then turned and walked out of the magic rune hall.
Su Yan’s face flushed instantly, watching Ning Fan’s departing back, her gaze became dazed, unable to speak for a long time...
Recalling that year, Ning Fan held her while escaping the pursuit of demons in the White Lightning Realm, she suddenly lost herself in the memory.
The pill bottle in her hand seemed even heavier as she carefully put it away, as if it were the most precious thing.
"Remember to come home..." she murmured softly, her voice very low.
Only after Ning Fan had gone far did she dare to speak her mind.
"Okay." Ning Fan’s reply echoed back to the magic rune hall.
Su Yan’s heart skipped a beat instantly, biting her lips, she ran back to her own chamber.
Yet her face was burning hot...
Who would have thought that the dignified leader of the Mist Horn Clan would also have such a little girl-like demeanor... interesting...
Ning Fan laughed as he returned to his room, seeing a sable snuggling on his own bed.
"Did Little Black miss me?"
Ning Fan enthusiastically hugged the little sable to his chest, his hand gently stroking its soft body.
The sable immediately showed a human-like look of embarrassment and anger, its form flickered and turned into a woman without a stitch of clothing.
"Lewd!" Meichen looked at Ning Fan with embarrassment and anger.
If that’s the case, it’s better not to turn back into human form, at least she’d get taken advantage of less!
"Did Little Black have something to discuss with me?"
"Tch, what do I want with you, you stinky man?" Meichen broke free from Ning Fan’s embrace, flicked her hand, and clothes appeared on her body as she retorted angrily.
"Do you need Dao Crystals to break through realms?" Ning Fan could see that Meichen’s cultivation was still some distance from breaking through to the Fourth Heavenly Layer of Void Fragmentation, though not far.
However, with a large amount of Dao Crystals, breaking through Fragmentation Four wasn’t difficult.
Meichen blushed; she actually came to borrow Dao Crystals but felt embarrassed to ask.
She needed about 4 million Dao Crystals to break through to the Fourth Heavenly Layer of Void Fragmentation.
Although Seven Apricot City still had 70 million Dao Crystals, 4 million wasn’t a small amount, and she was embarrassed to take them.
Even though Ning Fan had already ordered that if Meichen needed them, she could take Dao Crystals directly.
"Little Black, don’t act like a stranger with me."
Ning Fan flicked his sleeve and Meichen, unable to steady herself, fell into Ning Fan’s embrace.
There was no imagined romantic affair; Ning Fan simply touched his finger, and Meichen reverted from human form back to her sable form.
Stroking the sleek fur of the sable, Ning Fan had an indistinct smile on his lips, while the sable was both embarrassed and angry.
Ning Fan’s hand was touching everywhere!
Even though she had reverted to her sable form, a sable still had its dignity and chastity!
"As a demon pet, you have the duty to accompany your master in sleep," Ning Fan said earnestly.
"Awoo!" The sable protested vehemently.
"Sleep," Ning Fan flicked his sleeve, extinguishing the candlelight in the room.
He really hugged the sable and slept through the night without doing anything improper.
Meichen first doubted her own charm; could it be that her beauty in human form was not as appealing as in sable form?
Otherwise, why would Ning Fan choose to sleep holding her sable form rather than her human form?
Nuzzling in Ning Fan’s embrace, the sable gradually let go of this issue and sniffed Ning Fan’s scent, unexpectedly sleeping soundly.
At daybreak, Ning Fan awoke, and the sable had already rolled off somewhere unknown.
After a brief silence, Ning Fan dressed and got up to look for other women.
Heading to the Eastern Heaven, his return was uncertain, and he ultimately had to give everyone an explanation.
Retrieving the jade scroll of the Sword Technique of Words from his storage pouch, Ning Fan chuckled, his figure blurred, and he disappeared from the room.
Seven Apricot City, Sword Palace.
Within a rocky seclusion cave in the Sword Palace, a woman dressed in pink was sitting cross-legged on the ground, continuously forming sword seals, her delicate brows furrowed.
She possessed the cultivation of the First Heavenly Layer of Void Fragmentation, on the verge of breaking through to the Second Heavenly Layer, yet always unable to do so.
It wasn’t due to insufficient cultivation, nor was it due to lacking sword comprehension, but due to a troubled heart.
Another attempt to overcome the bottleneck ended in failure.
Teng Xianrou opened her eyes, wiped the fragrant sweat, her gaze filled with sighs.
"Is he ascending..."
"He once said he’d return my freedom in five hundred years; I used to doubt it, but now it’s like this... He never really needed me by his side for those five hundred years. Back then, he hadn’t reached the Void Fragmentation yet, so he needed my strength. With his cultivation now, how could he need a helper at the First Heavenly Layer of Void Fragmentation... I’m of no use to him."
"That year, I even acted on the Vine Emperor’s orders to hunt him down... He never said a word, but he must hate me in his heart."
Teng Xianrou muttered to herself, suddenly a white-clothed youth appeared in front of her, startling her.
"Why are you here!"
"Why can’t I come?"
Ning Fan smiled and sat beside Teng Xianrou.
Teng Xianrou frowned, shuffled her behind to the side.
Ning Fan decisively followed.
"What are you here for?" Teng Xianrou speechless, unable to escape Ning Fan, stopped trying and let Ning Fan sit close.
"Do you remember the Sword Technique of Words?" Ning Fan asked with a smile.
At this question, Teng Xianrou felt both guilty and annoyed.
The Sword Technique of Words was something she mistakenly thought Ning Fan used during their first confrontation.
Feeling guilty because it reminded her of their past of chasing Ning Fan.
Annoyed because she later realized Ning Fan never used the Sword Technique of Words.
She even worshipped Ning Fan to extremes because of it!
Yet Ning Fan never corrected this misunderstanding, comfortably accepting her admiration.
"There’s no such thing as the Sword Technique of Words in this world..." Teng Xianrou shook her head.
"Let’s make a bet. If I truly know the Sword Technique of Words, you’ll stay forever in the Yue Country. If I don’t know it, then I’ll return your freedom, and you can leave the Rain Immortal World."
After saying that, Ning Fan flicked his sleeve, directly removing the Demon Seal in Teng Xianrou’s divine sense!
Freedom! He actually returned her freedom!
Without the joy of regaining freedom, Teng Xianrou felt a bit bitter.
She was well aware that he didn’t know the Sword Technique of Words.
This bet was likely just an excuse to chase her away.
Indeed, without value, she was nothing to him.
"Want to bet?" Ning Fan asked with a smile.
"Fine, let’s bet! The bet’s over! You don’t know the Sword Technique of Words, can I leave now?"
Leave, to where?
He was driving her out of the Rain Immortal World, where could she go?
Back to the Tree World, was that truly her home?
Just as Teng Xianrou thought to stand, Ning Fan pulled her back to sit.
"Where do you want to go? You lost; you must stay in the Rain Immortal World for life. Look, here’s the Sword Technique of Words. Slash!"
Ning Fan’s eyes suddenly turned sharp, and as he uttered one word, sound waves transformed into sword rays, shattering all four Sword-Testing Rocks within the cave!
"You lost," Ning Fan said with a smile.
"I, lost? What do you mean? Do you want me to stay in the Rain Immortal World forever?"
Teng Xianrou’s heart skipped a beat, looking incredulously at Ning Fan.
What did he mean, what on earth did he mean...
"Take it, study well; don’t you love the Sword Technique of Words? Enhance your cultivation and become my Cauldron Furnace in the future."
Ning Fan handed the jade scroll from his sleeve to Teng Xianrou, casually ruffled her long green hair, stood up, smiled, and floated away.
"He didn’t chase me away..." Teng Xianrou held the jade scroll in her hand, staring blankly.
Suddenly remembering Ning Fan’s latter half sentence, Teng Xianrou showed an embarrassed and angry look.
Cauldron Furnace... He wanted her to work hard in cultivation to become his Cauldron Furnace? Wishful thinking!
Though their divine sense had engaged in Dual Cultivation, it was out of necessity; her body was still pure.
Probably...
Yet, he actually removed her restrictions.
Was it out of trust...
Teng Xianrou softly sighed, from beginning to end, she couldn’t understand Ning Fan.
"What exactly are you pursuing..." she murmured.
...
Ning Fan went to Dark Sparrow’s Grave to see Qingdai, leaving her some puppets for research.
After leaving Dark Sparrow’s Grave, he naturally stayed at Sinister Sparrow Sect for a while.
Casually, he shared some Alchemy insights with Xue Qing, just as he had with Yang Gu on Pill Island.
Gui Quezi and Fire Cloud Ancestor were discussing Dao over drinks and Ning Fan’s arrival made it a gathering of three.
Gui Quezi was already in the Late Nascent Soul realm, Fire Cloud Ancestor was also a Late Nascent Soul Realm Master, while Ning Fan was in Void Fragmentation.
The three weren’t ordinary people and naturally wouldn’t concern themselves with cultivation level differences.
Incidentally, Gui Quezi was Ning Fan’s father-in-law, a friend of the old monster.
In terms of seniority, Ning Fan was of a lower generation than Gui Quezi.
After a night of discussing Dao, Ning Fan left them some expensive pills, Dao Fruits, and then leisurely went to other parts of Sinister Sparrow Sect.
He was still the Revered Ning of Sinister Sparrow Sect, after all.
Where he went, Naturally, to Bright Moon Pond; he knew Lan Mei and Bai Lu would surely be waiting for him there.
The evening breeze softly stroke, by the lake, two transcendently beautiful ladies, one in blue and the other in pink, each carried a slight melancholy, gazing silently at the pond’s water.
They had learned of Ning Fan’s upcoming ascension, an unknown farewell for years to come...
Scenes from memories replayed before their eyes, that year, a young boy had joined Sinister Sparrow Sect...
While thoughts were flying, Lan Mei suddenly let out a gentle cry, and Bai Lu huffed indignantly.
Next moment, the two women found themselves in a warm embrace.
"Thinking of farewell?" Ning Fan asked Lan Mei.
"Mm..." Lan Mei responded wistfully.
"Thinking of revenge?" Ning Fan asked Bai Lu.
"Of course! My bewitching technique is growing stronger; you may not be able to resist..."
Before Bai Lu could finish her sentence, the three vanished from the lakeside of Bright Moon Pond.
Where they went was unknown, seemingly to Lan Mei’s boudoir.
What they did was completely unknown.
No one knew... Probably...(To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for recommendations tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)