novelraw Chapter 713: Another Old Friend Returns
Chapter 713: Another Old Friend Returns
Ning Fan’s eyes turned sharp as he pulled Ouyang Nuan slightly back, half a step, and looked at the Ghost-faced Pavilion Master with extreme vigilance.
This Ghost-faced Pavilion Master’s cultivation was sky-high, just a step away from the Crossing Truth Realm.
This person was smiling, why is he smiling!
Why did he make a soft sound of surprise, could it be that he’s discovered the Elder’s Token on me?!
Even before entering the Immortal Soul Star, Ning Fan had already placed the Slaughter Hall Elder’s Token inside the Xuan Yin Treasure.
Logically, even an Immortal Emperor wouldn’t necessarily be able to detect the presence of the Elder’s Token through an Emperor-grade treasure.
But there are exceptions to everything; Ning Fan couldn’t be sure if the immortal-level experts of the Slaughter Hall had secret techniques that could sense the presence of the Elder’s Token.
After the ’betrayal’ incident with Wei Qi, Ning Fan became even more cautious than before.
If this Ghost-faced Pavilion Master truly discovered his Elder’s Token and intended to attack him, he would immediately use the Black Demon Escape Technique to flee this place, and in the starry sky, set up an absolute killing formation pattern of a corner of the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor, to fight with this person to the death!
In the Slaughter Pavilion, the air seemed to stagnate in an instant.
Ouyang Nuan was also a bit nervous. She had heard that the master of this Slaughter Pavilion is the most capricious in temperament, usually cold as ice, unsmiling, and once he smiles, he is bound to kill...
Is this Ghost-faced Pavilion Master intending to kill Ning Fan? Why!
She is not afraid of death, but she doesn’t want Ning Fan to die... she won’t allow Ning Fan to die!
Clenching her teeth slightly, Ouyang Nuan boldly took a light step, half blocking in front of Ning Fan, mustering her courage, she looked at the Ghost-faced Pavilion Master.
"I am a disciple of the Medicine Sect’s Sect Master, Ouyang Nuan. He is my husband. If you hurt him, although the Medicine Sect is not as powerful as the Slaughter Hall, we will certainly not let it go!"
"What! People from the Medicine Sect!" Old Demon Heishe and his group of bandits all changed their expressions at the mention of the Medicine Sect.
The Medicine Sect may not be as formidable as the Slaughter Hall, but it is the top Alchemy Sect in Eastern Heaven, and even quite a number of Eternal Immortal Venerables occasionally visit the Medicine Sect to request pills...
Even this group of lawless bandits would never dare provoke such a colossal entity like the Medicine Sect.
They had also heard of the reputation of Ouyang Nuan, the disciple of the Medicine Sect’s Sect Master.
It’s said that the Sect Master of the Medicine Sect is extremely stingy by nature, and treats people with extreme indifference, yet is extremely doting and generous to this disciple.
If someone offends the Sect Master of the Medicine Sect, they might be able to quell the Sect Master’s anger by paying a significant amount of Dao Crystals, as the Sect Master is known to value wealth immensely.
But if someone offends Ouyang Nuan, the Sect Master of the Medicine Sect will never spare them, and will certainly crush their bones and scatter their ashes, displaying extremely cold-blooded means.
Old Demon Heishe and the others swallowed their saliva. If the woman before them truly was Ouyang Nuan, the one most valued by the Sect Master of the Medicine Sect, they absolutely wouldn’t dare provoke her.
Even the Ghost-faced Pavilion Master, who is a half-step True Immortal, would probably have to fear the might of the Medicine Sect a bit...
But is this woman really Ouyang Nuan?
Old Demon Heishe and the others scrutinized Ouyang Nuan carefully.
At this moment, Ouyang Nuan was adorned with purple jade stones, and her appearance couldn’t be called old, nor could it be called too young or too beautiful. Her full head of white hair was quite unsightly, and her small frame was too thin, neither curvy nor shapely.
Could such a woman be the number one beauty of the Medicine Sect?
It’s said that Ouyang Nuan, the chief disciple of the Medicine Sect, is an unrivaled beauty, considered among the top-tier beauties in the entire Eastern Heaven.
How could the woman before them be considered a beauty? This woman cannot be Ouyang Nuan!
"Scared me to death! I thought this woman was truly the chief disciple of the Medicine Sect... If she truly were, she would surely have unparalleled looks and would certainly be accompanied by one of the nineteen Medicine Guardians of the Sect. Hmph, this woman is not Ouyang Nuan at all!" Old Demon Heishe sneered disdainfully.
Ouyang Nuan’s visage underneath the light gauze was even paler, with a self-mocking smile.
Indeed, she no longer had her unparalleled beauty, nor did she have Wei Qi’s protection by her side. Who would believe she is Ouyang Nuan, the chief disciple of the Medicine Sect...
Ning Fan’s gaze coldly swept across Old Demon Heishe and the others without saying much, quietly pulling Ouyang Nuan back behind him.
In his heart, a warm current flowed quietly.
This woman couldn’t even protect herself, yet she still wanted to protect him, foolish...
"Interesting, the chief disciple of the Medicine Sect... Interesting... Dare to threaten me..."
Swish!
The Ghost-faced Pavilion Master’s figure swayed, suddenly disappearing from where he stood. In the next instant, he appeared in front of Ning Fan, raising a finger, aiming to press downward towards Ning Fan’s heart!
Ouyang Nuan was greatly alarmed, while Old Demon Heishe and his group sneered coldly.
They all thought the Ghost-faced Pavilion Master was about to kill in anger.
Ning Fan felt a jolt of surprise in his heart. This Ghost-faced Pavilion Master’s move was too fast, so fast that he barely had time to defend, even if escaping with the Black Demon Escape Technique, he would most likely be affected by this finger’s force!
This person might not have broken through to be a True Immortal, but their strength is probably stronger than some True Immortals!
Clenching his teeth, just as he was about to use the Black Demon Escape Technique to flee, suddenly, Ning Fan paused, his eyes filled with confusion.
He realized that although the Ghost-faced Pavilion Master’s finger strike was extremely fierce, it was not to kill him, but... to help him!
The force in that finger contained some kind of extremely mysterious Evil Qi Divine Skill, which seemed capable of suppressing demon thoughts...
"Could it be that this person intends to help me suppress my demon thoughts, but why would he want to help me..."
In a split second, Ning Fan hesitated slightly, choosing not to flee but to take the Ghost-faced Pavilion Master’s finger strike head-on.
The finger struck his chest, and Ning Fan felt intense pain in his heart, coughing up a mouthful of black blood, yet his eyes revealed an expression of gratitude.
The Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master pointed a finger, injecting Evil Qi into Ning Fan’s chest, merging with his inner demon.
At that moment, Ning Fan was incredibly surprised to discover that he could actually suppress the inner demon using his own Evil Qi, even controlling the inner demon within him!
If he ever faced another attack from the inner demon, he could simply protect his core with Evil Qi, and never lose himself again!
"Ning...husband, are you okay! Are you hurt! Don’t scare Nuan’er!" Ouyang Nuan saw Ning Fan spitting blood from his middle finger, it felt like her heart was being sliced by a knife—so painful...
She lifted her cold eyes, staring at the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master, hating her own weakness, hating that she couldn’t tear him apart!
For the first time in her life, Ouyang Nuan felt a murderous intent towards someone!
"Don’t be afraid, I’m not dead...this senior bears me no ill will, he just helped me control the inner demon within me..." Ning Fan smiled at Ouyang Nuan and transmitted his voice.
"Really? How is that possible! People from the Slaughter Hall only know how to kill, they never save people. Why would he, a dignified half-step True Immortal, help you control the inner demon! And the inner demon within you, even my teacher...even Senior Qian couldn’t completely suppress it, what makes him capable of helping you control the inner demon!"
Ouyang Nuan’s small face was full of disbelief, transmitting her voice. Regardless, upon hearing Ning Fan was unscathed, the stone in her heart finally eased.
At that moment, she was truly afraid Ning Fan would die at the hands of this Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master.
"Thank you!"
Ning Fan cupped his fist in gratitude to the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master. Although he took a hit, he was not only unharmed but felt more energetic than before.
The black blood he spat out was probably the part of the inner demon that was hard to control.
Without these elements, the inner demon had become a force within Ning Fan, a strength-enhancing force!
Ning Fan was also quite surprised, considering that even Almost Emperor Taiwu couldn’t help him master the inner demon, and Qian Kaiyan, a dignified True Immortal, failed as well.
However, the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master, a half-step True Immortal, succeeded.
It wasn’t because his cultivation was higher than Almost Emperor Taiwu, but because the profoundness of that finger of divine skill seemed to restrain Evil Qi and inner demons...
That finger of divine skill was undoubtedly a divine skill from the Slaughter Hall.
Ning Fan’s mind raced. Perhaps the divine skills of the Slaughter Hall were based on Evil Qi and inner demons, hence they could easily master them.
If that was the case, joining the Slaughter Hall would mean the inner demon not only needs not be removed but could become a powerful killing tool...
"Hmm."
The Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master merely responded faintly to Ning Fan’s thanks, his figure flickered, returning to the other side of the counter.
Old Demon Heishe and others looked at Ning Fan puzzled, not understanding why the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master didn’t kill Ning Fan, merely ’injuring’ him with a point...
Could it be that the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master was in a good mood today, being merciful and spared Ning Fan’s life?
Is that why Ning Fan expressed his gratitude...
"What a lucky boy..." Old Demon Heishe sighed.
"These seven heads are worth fifty million Dao Crystals, deducting twenty percent, you get forty million."
The Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master brushed his sleeve and collected the seven heads, pointing a finger, and a storage pouch appeared on the counter, containing forty million Dao Crystals.
Old Demon Heishe picked up the storage pouch, saluted the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master respectfully without saying a word, and swiftly left the Slaughter Pavilion with his group, not daring to linger here.
As Old Demon Heishe’s figure hurried away, Ning Fan’s gaze flickered slightly.
He naturally noticed that the left arm of every one of these bandits bore a black snake tattoo, all members of the Black Snake Bandits.
"That black-robed Immortal elder is the leader of the Black Snake Bandits—Old Demon Heishe...this person is overly protective, if he finds out after returning that four of his subordinates died at your hands, he will surely bring people to seek revenge on you." Ouyang Nuan transmitted her voice to remind him.
"Don’t worry, your husband is quite powerful, even if the Black Snake Bandits come here, they’re not to be feared." Ning Fan replied with a smile through voice transmission.
"Don’t say such things! Claiming you as my husband just now was merely a means to an end!" Ouyang Nuan retorted in annoyance.
"I actually think that title is quite nice." Ning Fan smiled, lifting his head, his smile fading as he looked gravely at the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master.
Why did this person help him, was there an ulterior motive, or was it just a moment of kindness...
Is this person a friend or foe...
"Little friend Qiānqiū need not worry, this seat helped you without any ill intentions or ulterior motives, merely on a whim. This seat heard from the Pavilion Master of Shaoze Star that you are an excellent candidate for the Path of Killing, and today, seeing you, it is true. You managed to cultivate so many inner demons at the Void Fragmentation stage, if you joined our Path of Killing, you are sure to be a talent to be nurtured." The Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master seemed to see through Ning Fan’s concerns, explaining in an extremely calm tone.
"I see..."
Ning Fan nodded, appearing to accept this explanation.
If this Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master had indeed heard of him from Zhu, the Pavilion Master of Shaoze Star’s Slaughter Pavilion, and decided to help him out of appreciation for his talent, then everything made sense...
But, is that really the case.
Ning Fan had a vague feeling that there were other reasons for this person’s help.
Masters at the second step of cultivation also love spirit attire.
Above Divine grade, spirit attire is divided into three levels: Immortal Grade, True Grade, Emperor Grade.
The ghost face worn by the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master was a True Grade spirit attire, capable of concealing one’s aura without revealing a trace, making it impossible for ordinary True Immortals to detect this person’s aura or appearance.
The Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master emitted not even a hint of aura, yet Ning Fan still felt a sense of familiarity from him.
The robust figure of this person was incredibly familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere before...
This sense of familiarity came quickly and left swiftly. When Ning Fan examined the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master again, the robust build seemed so common in the Void Fragmentation Realm...
Is that familiar feeling just an illusion...
Forget it, regardless of whether this person is friend or foe, Ning Fan decides to keep a wary eye on him.
The matter with Wei Qi makes Ning Fan vigilant.
"I have come here today to deliver on a bounty mission and purchase some information."
Collecting his thoughts, Ning Fan pats his storage pouch and retrieves 17 sealed heads, all of the bounty demons he had previously slain.
The Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master scans the heads indifferently, speaking in a bland tone, "These seventeen heads are worth one hundred and forty million Dao Crystals, after deducting 20%, you get one hundred and twelve million. Additionally, the total bounty for the demons you slew exceeds thirty million, so there won’t be any disciple attacks from within the Slaughter Hall."
After speaking, the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master waves his sleeve, taking away the 17 heads, then retrieves a storage pouch and places it on the counter.
Ning Fan doesn’t rush to take the storage pouch but instead asks, "I would like to purchase some information from the Pavilion Master, what would the price be?"
"Each piece of information has a price. Tell me which information you seek, and I’ll name the price. Pay, and I’ll give you the jade slip with the information."
The Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master reveals a meaningful smile again, changing his address from "this seat" to "I," speaking with a certain closeness...
"Ning Fan, he really harbors no malice towards you, only kindness. My Five-Color Medicine Soul can sense people’s hearts...but why..." Ouyang Nuan wonders through voice transmission.
"I don’t know, don’t overly trust the Medicine Soul’s perception, people’s hearts are hard to fathom..." Ning Fan replies through voice transmission.
After a brief silence, still in a detached tone, Ning Fan asks the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master, "I need some Immortal Soul Grass, do you know where I can find it?"
The Immortal Soul Grass originally grows on the Immortal Soul Star, but now the Immortal Soul Star is barren and desolate, with not a blade of grass growing, let alone Immortal Soul Grass...
"Information about the Immortal Soul Grass? The price is two hundred million Dao Crystals."
"Two hundred million for a piece of information..." Ning Fan sighs lightly, then retrieves eighty-eight million Dao Crystals from his storage pouch, placing them in another storage pouch, and sets it on the counter.
Adding the previous bounty, it precisely totals two hundred million...
"Here’s the information you wanted."
The Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master accepts the Dao Crystals, retrieves a blood-colored jade slip, and hands it to Ning Fan.
Ning Fan takes the jade slip and uses his spirit sense to scan its contents, his expression immediately becomes indecisive.
The information consists of just a few simple sentences.
"Ever since the fall of the Immortal Soul Star, Immortal Soul Grass no longer exists in the world. However, there are still a few seeds of Immortal Soul Grass existing, as well as a small number of descendants of the Soul Clan surviving in the world who possess the secret technique to cultivate Immortal Soul Grass... Immortal Soul Grass cannot be cultivated without the Soul Clan’s secret technique."
Ning Fan spent two hundred million Dao Crystals for a piece of information that proves largely useless...
"I also have information about Immortal Soul Grass seeds and the cultivation secret technique, would you like to buy them?" the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master asks with a smile.
Ning Fan is slightly startled, then his expression becomes odd.
He thinks this Slaughter Pavilion is too good at making money, even breaking down information about Immortal Soul Grass to sell separately.
He is determined to obtain the Immortal Soul Grass.
Since the grass no longer exists, he can only seek out the seeds and cultivation secret techniques to plant it himself.
He must buy these two pieces of information.
"How much do these two pieces of information cost?" Ning Fan asks.
"Seed information costs two hundred million Dao Crystals, secret technique information costs three hundred million Dao Crystals."
"Five hundred million..." Ning Fan uses his spirit sense to scan his storage pouch, finding that it now contains four hundred and fifty million Dao Crystals.
Unexpectedly, the Slaughter Pavilion’s information is so expensive, and despite being quite wealthy within Void Fragmentation Realm, he cannot afford several pieces of information.
"Husband, this is for you..." Ouyang Nuan sees Ning Fan’s embarrassed demeanor, feeling amused, she hands over her own storage pouch to Ning Fan.
Ning Fan may be short of money, but she never is.
She can see that the information about Immortal Soul Grass is very important to Ning Fan, and since Ning Fan cannot afford it, she will help him purchase it.
"This is your money, how could I use it..." Ning Fan looks slightly embarrassed.
"I even gave you my life, what’s the harm in giving you some material possessions? I gift my storage pouch to you, don’t you think seeking Eternal Jade doesn’t require money? Between you and I, there’s no need for such reserve..." Ouyang Nuan says cheerfully, holding the little Maoqiu.
"Awoo? Awoo?" The little Maoqiu looks at Ning Fan in confusion.
It doesn’t understand why ’dad’ feels ashamed to spend ’mom’s’ money...
"...I have been too concerned with trivial matters." Ning Fan collects his emotions and calmly accepts Ouyang Nuan’s storage pouch.
Taking out five hundred million Dao Crystals from it, he pays the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master and buys two pieces of information.
Ning Fan must admit, Ouyang Nuan is much wealthier than him.
The little storage pouch astonishingly contains over fifty billion Dao Crystals.
There are more than twenty stocks of one-million-year-old spiritual herbs, seven Nine-Transformation Healing Pills, and one hundred and fifty Eight-Transformation Healing Pills...
And that Three-Thousand-Year Pan Peach Tree, various rare ancient medicines...all the items in this storage pouch are worth at least a trillion Dao Crystals.
Using spirit sense to scan the two pieces of information, Ning Fan’s expression becomes uncertain again.
The cultivation secret technique for Immortal Soul Grass is held by Soul Heaven Lord, one of the Guchen Ten Heavenly Lords.
Soul Heaven Lord is a descendant of the Soul Clan and possesses a copy of the "Spirit Planting Scripture" that records the cultivation secret techniques for Immortal Soul Grass.
The Spirit Planting Scripture is stored in the treasure vault of the Soul Heaven Lord. If you want this scripture, you can only steal or rob it.
The Soul Heaven Lord is naturally cold-blooded and cruel, a born bandit. It’s absolutely impossible to buy the Spirit Planting Scripture from him.
The above is the intelligence on the secret technique for planting Immortal Soul Grass, which is very useful to Ning Fan.
The three hundred million Dao Crystals spent on it are not a loss.
But buying the intelligence on Immortal Soul Grass seeds was a huge loss.
This intelligence is only one sentence:
"I happen to have a small packet of Immortal Soul Grass seeds. Do you want them?"
Ning Fan speechlessly looked at the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master, "Does Senior really have the seeds of Immortal Soul Grass..."
"Of course, I do," the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master said earnestly.
"..."
Ning Fan fell silent, unable to make sense of the situation.
Is this Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master deliberately deceiving him for Dao Crystals?
This man intentionally sells the intelligence separately, clearly possessing the seeds of Immortal Soul Grass, yet not selling them directly, instead earning extra from intelligence sales before revealing he has the seeds.
Would a half-step True Immortal really covet Ning Fan’s few billion Dao Crystals?
With the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master’s strength, directly robbing the fifty billion Dao Crystals from Ning Fan’s hand is a faster way to make money, isn’t it?
Ning Fan couldn’t understand, if this person is not driven by greed, then he must be deliberately teasing him.
What exactly is this person’s scheme, doing so many illogical things!
"Haha, Wu really has no ulterior motives, just wanted to play a little joke on an old friend! Brother Ning, why so tense?"
The Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer and burst into laughter.
Ning Fan was stunned, suddenly realizing something and looking at the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master in disbelief.
"It’s you!"
"Yes, it’s me! Brother Ning, I hope you’ve been well!"
The Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master laughed heartily, wiped his face, put away the Ghost-Faced Spirit Attire, and revealed his true face.
Looking at Ning Fan, there was an earnest smile in his eyes!
"How... how is this possible! A Ghost-faced Assassin from the Slaughter Hall would actually reveal his true face!" Ouyang Nuan looked at Ning Fan in disbelief.
In the Slaughter Hall, not everyone has a ghost face; only a few strong ones, favored by the Slaughter Emperor, are granted Ghost-Faced Spirit Attire.
Even within the Slaughter Hall, people often know little about whether others have ghost faces or what kind of ghost face they have.
Unexpectedly, the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master of this place would meet Ning Fan with his true face, and apparently, he is an old acquaintance of Ning Fan...
"Husband, who is he..." Ouyang Nuan asked in great bewilderment.
No wonder the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master helped Ning Fan suppress his troubled thoughts before. It turns out he is Ning Fan’s friend.
However, this friend is too unkind, not revealing his identity earlier, causing her to worry for half the day.
Before Ning Fan could introduce him, the Ghost-Faced Pavilion Master laughed and introduced himself.
"I am Wu Chen, lawless Wu, slaughtering cities Chen. Previously, it was inconvenient to reveal my identity with outsiders present. Please, younger sister, forgive the offense!"
"Younger sister..." Ouyang Nuan blushed and was at a loss for words.
Wu Chen suddenly stopped smiling, took out a small blue pouch, and handed it to Ning Fan.
"I played a little joke on Brother Ning earlier, so please don’t mind. This is the Immortal Soul Grass seeds I obtained by chance. If Brother Ning needs them, just take them. As for the secret technique for planting the Immortal Soul Grass, I will accompany Brother Ning in person later to find the Soul Heaven Lord and make him hand over the secret technique!"
"Thank you!" Ning Fan cupped his fist in thanks, naturally not minding Wu Chen’s teasing.
Wu Chen waved his hand, indicating that Ning Fan need not be polite, then glanced again at Ouyang Nuan, frowned slightly, and said to Ning Fan,
"Your wife’s condition seems to be a bit troubling. Brother Ning, did you come here today to inquire about other intelligence?"
"Yes, besides the Immortal Soul Grass intelligence, I also want to inquire about the Eternal Jade. I plan to join the Slaughter Hall, make great contributions, and then request the Slaughter Emperor to bestow the Eternal Jade upon me!"
Facing Wu Chen, Ning Fan found no need to lie. He doesn’t have many friends, and Wu Chen is among them.
"You want that piece of Eternal Jade from the Slaughter Emperor!" Wu Chen’s face suddenly changed.
After taking a deep breath, Wu Chen’s expression became unprecedentedly serious and advised, "The Slaughter Emperor’s possession must not be coveted by anyone. Even if you join the Slaughter Hall, become a disciple, and make monumental merits, it will be very difficult to obtain that Eternal Jade. From what I know, the Slaughter Emperor values this object greatly, seemingly with special significance... He won’t bestow the jade to anyone! If you ask for the jade, he might get angry and directly sentence you to death!"
"Even if I offer the Elder Command, is it still impossible! I must obtain the Eternal Jade! Even knowing the chances are slim, I will still go to the Slaughter Hall to try! Without this jade..." Ning Fan clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and looked at Ouyang Nuan beside him.
Without the Eternal Jade, Ouyang Nuan will undoubtedly die in 20 years...
A surge of emotions stifled his chest, making Ning Fan feel uneasy.
He can’t bear to watch Ouyang Nuan die before his eyes! He must do something!
"Elder Command! Could it be Linglong Elder’s Elder Command! How is that possible! The elder command that the Slaughter Emperor couldn’t find, how could it be in your hand!" Wu Chen exclaimed in disbelief. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)