novelraw Chapter 719: Three Petals Bloom
Chapter 719: Three Petals Bloom
Mid-Level Star Domain, Falling Wood Star Domain.
In the tranquil starry sky, bounty hunters could occasionally be seen coming and going in haste.
They were all holding the same bounty order, which had now spread throughout Eastern Heaven!
Suddenly, a giant Star Gate appeared in the starry sky.
Countless bounty hunters nearby immediately rushed over and surrounded the Star Gate.
The faces of each old monster were extremely cold and solemn as they stared hard at the Star Gate.
When they saw a middle-aged dao couple emerge from the Star Gate, everyone started breathing heavily.
"Quick, check if this person is the fat sheep!"
Numerous spirit senses immediately swept toward the middle-aged man outside the Star Gate.
He was a man in white, with a burly build and a face covered in knife scars, looking extremely ferocious.
Beside the man in white stood a white-haired beautiful woman, not exactly stunning, but with gentle features.
She held a black furry ball in her arms, its bloodline very impure, making it impossible to discern its breed.
"It’s not Daoist Qianqiu!"
"There is no white-haired ugly woman!"
"No True Blood Spirit Select!"
"No Golden Sword Shadow!"
"No disguise!"
"Alright, they’re not the fat sheep, let them go!"
After checking, the group of people shook their heads in disappointment and sighed heavily.
Suddenly, another Star Gate opened in the far distance.
The group of old monsters immediately ran over to the Star Gate and surrounded it.
From the Star Gate emerged a thin young man, dressed in white.
As soon as the young man stepped out of the Star Gate, he found himself surrounded by countless people and immediately began to tremble all over.
"What do you want!"
"Kill! There are traces of disguise on his face, he might be the fat sheep, better to kill by mistake than to let go!" the group of old monsters sneered and, without another word, chopped the young man in white into mince, leaving only a head with residual spirit sealed inside.
An old monster skilled in disguise techniques changed his spirit sense, lifted his hand to wipe the face of the head, and his expression immediately became extremely ugly.
"Wrong kill! Damn it! He’s not the fat sheep!"
"To hell with it, really unlucky, we killed seventeen or eighteen by mistake today!"
Boom!
Another Star Gate opened in the far distance, and a group of old monsters hurriedly rushed over...
Back where they were, the middle-aged man’s gaze gradually grew extremely gloomy, while the beautiful middle-aged woman beside him suddenly chuckled, her laughter crisp and pleasant, like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl.
"Maoqiu’s dad, you’ve harmed another innocent life." Ouyang Nuan, disguised as the beautiful middle-aged woman, laughed with her branches shaking.
"Innocent... An innocent person wouldn’t go out in disguise, and besides, I’m the one who’s inexplicably being targeted with a billion bounty by the Seven Fiends Sect, isn’t that unjust. The Seven Fiends Sect, a mere force with a Human Profound Middle Stage supervising it, offering a billion bounty on me is already much, how could they produce a hundred billion... Clearly, they can’t come up with a hundred billion Dao Crystals..."
Ning Fan, disguised as the middle-aged man, had an extremely cold expression.
He was eager to know who instructed the Seven Fiends Sect to raise his bounty to a hundred billion.
To spend a hundred billion Dao Crystals just to kill a Void Fragmentation, how much hatred could that person have for him...
"Could it be the Pill Sect..." Ouyang Nuan rubbed her forehead, her beautiful eyes momentarily cold.
She didn’t truly gloat like she showed, in fact, she was very worried about Ning Fan, which is why she used two expensive pills at the peak of Eighth Revolution to forcibly disguise herself and Ning Fan.
"Most likely. Apart from the Pill Sect, I can’t imagine any other major force hating me so much!"
"I’m sorry... It’s because of me that you’re implicated, the Pill Sect originally only wanted to kill me..."
"No problem, the enmity between me and the Pill Sect is already irreconcilable, the Sect Master of the Pill Sect is it..."
Ning Fan patted his storage pouch and took out a Compass, a faint killing intent flashed in his eyes before quietly receding.
This Compass could be used to trace back the whereabouts of the Sect Master of the Pill Sect.
One day, Ning Fan would use this Compass to chase the Sect Master of the Pill Sect across Eastern Heaven!
"Ow, ow..." Little Maoqiu wanted to cry pathetically.
She was so white, yet her cruel father had painted her black.
The Spirits all loved white, didn’t the bad dad know!
Bad dad, bad dad, bad dad...
She cried ow ow continuously, her voice pitifully pathetic.
In fact, she had been more wronged before, but after Ning Fan fed her a trace of dark purple Demon Bloodline, she stayed quiet for several days, neither crying nor causing trouble.
Now, she started throwing a tantrum again...
"Maoqiu’s dad, give Little Maoqiu another trace of your black demon blood, she’s about to cry again..." Ouyang Nuan patted Little Maoqiu, her heart aching.
She didn’t know what that Demon Bloodline represented, if she knew, she would never encourage Ning Fan to feed it to Little Maoqiu.
That was Fu Li ancestor blood, although it was just a tiny, tiny trace...
"Little thing, did I owe you in a past life..."
Ning Fan resignedly forced out a tiny trace of Fu Li ancestor blood and fed it to Little Maoqiu.
Little Maoqiu immediately felt immensely happy, she thought she must be the happiest Spirit in the world, being fed ancestor-level demon blood by her dad...
Instantly, she no longer felt miserable about being painted black, comfortably nestling in Ouyang Nuan’s arms, beginning to sleep soundly.
Ning Fan then deployed a mana barrier, protecting Ouyang Nuan and this ugly little thing from the void wind.
"Are we going to challenge the Slaughter Pavilion of Falling Wood Star? This Falling Wood Star is a major trading star, with quite a few Life Immortals within..." Ouyang Nuan spoke worriedly.
"Yes, we have to go. Your expensive pills are very effective, even a Crossing Truth True Immortal would find it hard to see through my disguise. If I can obtain a Silver Badge from Falling Wood Star, I will have the fifth badge. Also, my cultivation of secret techniques requires purchasing a large quantity of one-million-year-old spiritual herbs, um, using your money to buy herbs, you won’t mind, right?"
"Certainly not..." Ouyang Nuan smiled faintly.
"Good. Let’s go, the Golden Sword Shadow can’t be used, it has almost become my trademark, fortunately, I’ve made great progress in cultivations now, the cultivation speed isn’t weaker than the ancient sword, just needs more mana..."
Ning Fan naturally wrapped his arms around Ouyang Nuan’s soft waist, flying towards a Lower-Level Cultivation Star.
After ’borrowing’ an Inlaid Star Compass from the star’s Star Lord, Ning Fan made his way to Falling Wood Star.
On this star, Ning Fan slightly restrained his power, as if he’d been through a bitter battle before finally defeating the rogue immortal Pavilion Master of this Slaughter Pavilion.
He spent 10 billion Dao Crystals on this star, purchasing four one-million-year-old spiritual herbs, then went to a casino and ’cut’ two one-million-year-old spiritual herbs with Ouyang Nuan, without cutting more to avoid causing more trouble.
Even so, after leaving Falling Wood Star, Ning Fan and Ouyang Nuan were still tailed by someone.
The ones trailing Ning Fan were two Life Immortals of the Early Human Profound stage.
They didn’t act because they realized Ning Fan’s true identity, but rather because they saw that Ning Fan had plenty of Dao Crystals, making him a tempting target...
The two were very cautious; when Ning Fan opened a Star Gate, they opened one too.
After tailing Ning Fan across half a star domain, they finally revealed themselves, blocking the path of Ning Fan and Ouyang Nuan.
That day, amidst the starry sky, a bloody glow illuminated the world, accompanied by the eerie cries of sinister mystical birds echoing through the cosmos.
Several abandoned stars near the battlefield were blasted apart.
Ever since that day, there have been no further reports of those two Life Immortals...
Spring passed, autumn came; a year flew by.
Ning Fan and Ouyang Nuan had crossed hundreds of lower star domains, over 30 mid-level star domains, and 2 upper-level star domains.
This year was fraught with danger, and Ning Fan was incredibly cautious, never revealing his identity publicly, making his whereabouts unknown to all.
The second year, the third year, the fourth year...
In the blink of an eye, eight years had passed.
Ning Fan now had nearly 200 Silver Badges; not every Pavilion Master of the Slaughter Pavilion could he defeat.
Some Pavilion Masters were at the Human Profound Middle Stage, while others were at the Late Stage, beyond Ning Fan’s current capabilities.
On an abandoned star, Ning Fan meditated cross-legged, using the harmonized one-million-year-old spiritual herb to practice the secret art of Gathering Three Flowers at the Top.
Over the eight years, Ning Fan would discreetly flaunt his wealth whenever at a trading star, purchase a few one-million-year-old spiritual herbs, and kill one or two early Human Profound Life Immortals to replenish his Dao Crystals.
His practice of secret techniques had consumed nearly 300 one-million-year-old spiritual herbs, valued at over 60 billion Dao Crystals.
Through plunder, he still had about 15 billion Dao Crystals on hand, not exactly poor.
Eight years of arduous cultivation, yet the first flower of the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top only revealed the second petal of the lead flower.
After crossing two more mid-level star domains and one upper-level star domain, he would reach the Blood Sea Star Domain.
Ning Fan hoped to cultivate the third lead flower before entering the Blood Sea Star Domain!
If he could cultivate the third lead flower, his Art of Gathering Three Flowers at the Top would be enough to defend against ordinary attacks from Human Profound Middle Stage opponents!
With this art active, no early Human Profound Life Immortal could ever harm Ning Fan!
On the abandoned star, Ning Fan set up a temporary cave abode, where he secluded himself for cultivation.
Meanwhile, Ouyang Nuan, as usual, remained inside the Yuan Yao World, quietly observing Ning Fan with the Five-Color Medicine Soul when he was unable to spare attention to protect her.
Eight years for a Master seemed fleeting, but she was content.
These eight years, for her, were never to be repeated.
Within this eight-year span, her master visited secretly once.
Upon seeing Ouyang Nuan’s blissful smile, her master sighed quietly and left on his own.
His visit was unknown to Ning Fan; only Ouyang Nuan was aware.
Her master’s presence, even thoroughly concealed, she could sense it.
Inside the cave abode, Ning Fan sat as if in deep meditation, eyes closed, fingers elegantly poised.
He delicately held a lotus flower.
On the lotus, two petals had already turned into a lead color, and the third was gradually being dyed lead.
As moments passed, the third petal fully transformed into lead.
Upon completion of the third lead petal, the lotus grew denser and heavier.
After a long time, the lotus disintegrated into silvery shadows that dispersed, prompting Ning Fan to open his eyes and breathe deeply.
With a wave of his sleeve, he summoned Ouyang Nuan and smiled faintly.
"It is finished. With this Divine Skill, my chances of obtaining first place in the competition of this realm are much higher. And it allows me to address another issue before entering the Blood Sea Star Domain."
"The problem concerning hundreds of billions of Dao Crystals?" Ouyang Nuan asked worriedly.
"Indeed. Before participating in the recruitment competition, I need to hunt enough bounty demons—at least reaching a bounty of hundreds of billions of Dao Crystals—so that after entering the Blood Sea Star Domain, I won’t be attacked by Slaughter Hall hitmen. Others may seek my life, and I can escape, dodge, and deceive. But if I want to join the Slaughter Hall, I must reveal my true identity. Along the journey, I have killed multiple Void Fragmentation and Life Immortal bounty demons, with a total bounty of over 70 billion; I only need to kill two or three more Life Immortal demons to reach the bounty of over hundreds of billions..."
"Crossing two mid-level star domains and one upper star domain leads to the Blood Sea Star Domain. With the approaching grand ceremony, numerous masters gather here; if anything happens, it would be difficult for me to protect you, so for now, you should stay inside the Yuan Yao World..."
"Alright, but if something befalls you, I wouldn’t live alone either."
Ouyang Nuan expressed plainly.
Without an overly sentimental expression, her tone was simple.
She stayed in the Yuan Yao World not out of fear of death, but to avoid burdening Ning Fan.
Approaching the Blood Sea Star Domain, with too many Life Immortals and True Immortals around, someone might recognize Ning Fan’s true identity and go after him, aiming for the bounty of hundreds of billions.
If such an event occurred, staying outside would definitely drag Ning Fan down.
She did not wish to harm him.
"Don’t worry. Quickly enter the Yuan Yao World; someone is approaching!"
Ning Fan’s gaze changed sharply as he swiftly stored Ouyang Nuan and Maoqiu into the Yuan Yao World, stood up, and deployed the Black Demon Escape Technique, retreating billions of miles.
The reason for such rapid escape was that previously, a dozen or so Life Immortal-level escape lights were headed straight for the abandoned star.
Those dozen or so escape lights, though matching Life Immortal speed, were not all Life Immortals.
From Ning Fan’s brief sensing glance, it appeared nine genuine Life Immortals were pursuing four cultivators.
Among the pursued four masters, only one had broken through to the Life Immortal Realm, while the other three were of rogue immortal cultivations.
Those three had yet to become Immortal, yet their prowess equaled that of Life Immortals; with bone ages less than thirty thousand years, they were exceptionally rare young prodigies.
And the one early Human Profound Life Immortal had a bone age of only twenty-five thousand years, with extremely high potential, outperforming most peers of similar cultivation.
"Ridiculous! That guy left us in danger and ran off alone!" Among the four chased youths, three were male, one female.
At that moment, the woman bitterly cursed the untrustworthy Ning Fan.
"Hmph, Miss Qux, you’re mistaken! The Void Fragmentation Realm is inherently indifferent; who can care for anyone else? If not for being pursued over the competition, you and I wouldn’t be teaming up temporarily! That guy probably doesn’t know the situation; that’s why he fled. If he understood that the next mid-level star domain is completely sealed, the competitors will be hunted unless one surrenders some badges, I wonder if he would still leave fellow competitors high and dry!" Another pale-faced, ghostly thin black-clad youth sneered.
"Hmph! That guy may flee swiftly, but judging by his aura, he hasn’t reached the Life Immortal level. Even if he helps us resist the enemy, he’s merely an additional companion on the run. He cannot help us much!" One of the four, a chubby youth dismissed.
"No, that guy is very strong... He seemed to be practicing a secret technique earlier, and it was powerful... He’s not simple; bone age is young, cultivation hasn’t broken through the Life Immortal level. Most likely he’s here for the recruitment competition... If he learns about our plight, he would surely join forces with us to traverse the mid-level star domain. With his help, we would likely repel these troublesome foes behind us!"
Among the four, the leading red-robed youth calmly stated.
With his cultivation, he could handle three foes alone, while the other three could each take on one.
The red-robed youth sensed Ning Fan’s abrupt departure didn’t indicate weakness; rather, he could likely take on three foes as well.
If enlisted, Ning Fan could temporarily match against the nine pursuing Human Profound Life Immortals until reinforcements arrived...
"We must pursue him, convince him to join us in resisting the enemy!" The red-robed youth smiled slyly.
All four pursued in the direction Ning Fan had fled.
Having fled a billion miles, Ning Fan sensed the thirteen pursuing escape lights in the distance, his gaze turning icy cold.
While he preferred not meddling in others’ affairs, those four fleeing masters aimed to drag him into their trouble, which was truly too much! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)