Grasping Evil

Chapter 419: Immortal Emperor’s Finger Bone

Translator: GE_Team Editor: GE_Team

The might of the Tai Su Lightning that Ning Fan displayed just now filled Chu Nanfeng and the other four old monsters who were undead spirits of the lightning element with intense fear towards him.

Their expressions also carried a hint of solemnity. As they guided Ning Fan to take a look around the treasure house, they also became more vigilant and alert than before, worrying that he would try to rob the treasure house.

Ning Fan did not care about what the five of them felt. He stepped into the formation light and swept his eyes across the first level of the treasure house.

The first level of the treasure house was an extremely large and empty great hall. And on the four walls of the hall, space for items had been created. Each of them contained different kinds of treasures. All of these treasures were being protected by the formation light. Without the token, no one would be able to take them away.

The treasure house had four floors. The items displayed on the first floor were items which Void Glimpse Stage experts would normally use.

Ning Fan's eyes scanned around the four walls and was gradually filled with amazement. There were quite a lot of excellent items stored inside this Myriad Treasure Pavilion.

There were Low Grade Mortal Void magic treasures, Low Grade Mortal Void cultivation methods and magic techniques and even Low Grade Sixth Revolution pills and pill recipes!

Unfortunately, most of the magic treasures here had lost their power. Besides, most of the cultivation methods and magic techniques were also incomplete. There were a few of them that still remained intact and complete but they were meant for undead spirits to cultivate. Living cultivators were unable to practice them.

As for the Sixth Revolution pills… Ning Fan did not expect that there were actually such high grade pills in this place. Unfortunately, each of these pills had already been stored here for countless years. The loss of the medicinal power in them was severe. Moreover, some of them had already turned bad. If one consumes them, not only would the medicinal effect be extremely weak, but it would also cause harm to the one who consumes it.

The Black Lightning Tower was a tower of undead spirits. Rumor has it that the undead spirits in this tower were the dead cultivators from a certain place and a certain era.

There were also some undead spirits which were formed from the dead ferocious lightning beasts of the later ages.

Most of the magic treasures and pills in the tower originated from a distant ancient time. Thus, it was difficult to put them to use again.

Besides, there was also no method to bring the undead spirits in the tower to the outside world. They could only continue living in this place in an unnatural state.

All of a sudden, Ning Fan appeared to be thinking of something.

The abnormal state of existence of the undead spirits in this Black Lightning Tower…

He realized that he seemed to have heard of a similar situation from somewhere.

"Yes… I remember it now… Old Ancestor Dong Xu had once said that Thunder Sovereign Bu Zhou had created the Thunder Sovereign's Tomb using the White Lightning Treasure of the Cosmos. Apparently, there are also undead spirits in that realm which are eternal and indestructible. As for the thunder sovereign himself, he seemed to have also become one of the undead spirits and continued to exist in a state that is neither dead nor alive… Perhaps the Sovereign's Tomb that Thunder Sovereign Bu Zhou had created is based on the concept and idea of this Black lightning Tower and he imitated the way to create the undead spirits in this place. Speaking of which, Hong Yi had also said that the Void Pierce Stage ferocious beasts which were guarding the entrance of the Black Lightning Realm had been arranged by the thunder sovereign… In other words, the thunder sovereign has indeed come to this Black Lightning Tower before."

"The thunder sovereign had probably faced the stages of the Tai Su's Three Questions in the past as well. However, he certainly failed to complete all of the stages. I suppose that at best, he passed through the second stage… In the inheritance of the Tai Su Lightning Star, I am able to tell that I am the first person who managed to completely condense this star after Lightning Emperor Tai Su… In a sense, my potential in the cultivation of the Dao of Lightning is slightly higher than that of the thunder sovereign in the past."

Ning Fan then dismissed his thoughts and scanned through the Sixth Revolution pills once more. These pills had lost much of their medicinal power. Hence, they would certainly not pique his interest at all.

The Sixth Revolution pill recipes, however, made his eyes sparkle!

It was rare to find an undead spirit who knew pill refinement in the Black Lightning Tower, much less a Sixth Revolution Pill Master.

Therefore, most of these Sixth Revolution pill recipes remained good as new. There was no sign of people fighting over them at all. Evidently, no one had ever tried to seize these recipes.

Other than a few of them missing some parts, there were still twelve pill recipes which were well-preserved!

The marked prices of these pill recipes were pathetically low. All it needed was a single lightning jade to buy one of them but no undead spirit would want to purchase them.

If these pill recipes were to be brought out to the Rain World, they would definitely be fetch sky-high prices!

"Floating Life Pill, a Low Grade Sixth Revolution Pill! 'Life passes like a floating dream and the Heavenly Dao exists like smoke.' This pill which can be categorized as a Low Grade Sixth Revolution Pill can conceal one's qi, deceive the Heavenly Dao and hide one's self from the heavenly tribulation! By consuming a single pellet, a cultivator will not be disturbed by the heavenly tribulation after breaking through to the Void Glimpse Stage!"

"Life Extending Pill, another Low Grade Sixth Revolution Pill! 'A single pill prolongs one's life, increases lifespan by a thousand years.' This pill can increase a Void Refinement Realm old monster's lifespan by one thousand years! This pill is extremely good. The strongest lifespan extending pill that I've ever seen could only extend one's life as much as 300 years… If I manage to refine this pill, not just the Void Refinement Realm experts of the Rain World, but even Void Fragmentations Realm experts would also try to ask for a single pellet from me. A thousand years of lifespan can change too many things in a person's lifetime!"

"Void Glimpse Pill, a Low Grade Sixth Revolution Pill! 'The void is hazy as if it is veiled; one shall see through it with a single pill'. This pill can aid a cultivator in glimpsing a trace of void power. Their chances of breaking through to the Void Refinement Realm will rise by at least ten percent after consuming this pill! Even I need such a pill recipe!"

Ning Fan's heart was filled with excitement but his eyes remained calm as usual.

After briefly browsing through the other magic treasures, he returned to the pill recipes section and purchased all of the complete pill recipes in an arbitrary manner.

Ning Fan made another huge gain by using a dozen pieces of useless silver grade lightning jades to purchase a dozen types of priceless pill recipes of immeasurable value.

Of course, in the eyes of Chu Nanfeng and the other undead spirits, Ning Fan was just being wasteful of his wealth.

They had, of course, discovered that Ning Fan was not a Sixth Revolution Pill Master. Besides, even if Ning Fan was really talented enough to possess Sixth Revolution pill refinement techniques, he was just an undead spirit who could only stay in the Black Lightning Tower and could not go to the outside world. There weren't a lot of precious spiritual herbs in this place at all. Thus, it was also impossible for him to successfully refine Sixth Revolution Pills.

What bloody use does these pills recipes have?

Could it be that this young man really likes buying trash?

The five old monsters began to criticize Ning Fan internally. They had the same thought as Lei Shiyi in the past when he first met him.

"This is the end of the first level. Would Fellow Daoist like to go up the second level and have a look?" After witnessing Ning Fan's capabilities, Chu Nanfeng's tone became more courteous than before and he even addressed Ning Fan as 'Fellow Daoist'. Vaguely, it reflected that he had already seen him as an equal.

"Of course."

Ning Fan nodded his head and followed the five old monsters to climb the stairs and go up to the second level.

The formation light of the second level was at the Mid Grade Mortal Void Realm. Its power was more than a few times stronger than that of the formation light on the first level. Even Chu Nanfeng and the other Void Glimpse Stage experts had to consume some body protection pills.

If they do not consume the pills and recklessly enter the second level, ninety percent of their magic power or probably even more would be suppressed by the formation light!

In the face of such a strong and fierce individual like Ning Fan, if that happens, all five of them would not have the strength to resist him at all once he turns aggressive against them…

Even though the group of five experts had consumed the body protection pills, they still could not avoid having difficulty in using their magic power after entering the second level.

Ning Fan, on the other hand, secretly activated his Tai Su Lightning Star. When he entered the second level, he just gave the lightning rays a cold stare and none of them dared to strike him.

The five Void Glimpse Stage old monsters felt even more astonished this time.

They could still accept the fact that Ning Fan could regard the formation light of the first level as nothing. After all, Void Inquiry Stage old monsters on the same level as Lei Shiyi were also immune to the formation light of the first level.

However, even Lei Shiyi would have much of his magic power restrained by the formation light after entering the second level.

As for Ning Fan, he was not affected by the formation light at all… Perhaps only beings on the same level as King Ying Long and the old monsters who are on the verge of breaking through to the Void Pierce Stage can do something like this.

Could it be that this Zhou Ming has been hiding his true strength all this time?! Could it be that he is an expert who is strong enough to rival King Ying Long?!"

This speculation surfaced in the hearts of the five old monsters at the same time. It was a thought that was hard to erase.

They had heard of the rumors about Ning Fan. He had wiped out the first ten floors of the lightning tower all on his own. He had eliminated Xu Longzi, the younger brother of King Ying Long. This had thoroughly provoked King Ying Long who had sent out experts from all twenty-four floors to pursue him and hunt him down.

At first, when they heard the news they just dismissed it with a laugh thinking that Ning Fan who was an inexperienced and newly-promoted expert would certainly die for rashly offending King Ying Long.

Unexpectedly, after meeting Ning Fan in person today, only then did they think Ning Fan had exceptional capabilities and techniques.

Perhaps Ning Fan had really been withholding his true strength!

Perhaps Ning Fan was actually strong enough to match King Ying Long!

Perhaps Ning Fan was truly a Void Inquiry Stage old monster or even an expert who had attained the Void Pierce Stage!

A Void Pierce Stage old monster was a respectful title for Late Void Refinement Realm experts.

It was definitely not difficult for an expert at the Void Pierce Stage to fight ten Void Inquiry Stage experts alone!

If this Zhou Ming is a Void Pierce Stage old monster, it won't be difficult for him to annihilate our Myriad Treasure Pavilion by himself! Even if he isn't a Void Pierce Stage expert, I'm afraid that he is currently not that far from achieving the Void Pierce Stage! That's why the pavilion lord had been so respectful and careful when dealing with him. We must not provoke this man at all costs!

When Chu Nanfeng thought of the rude words he had said to Ning Fan earlier and his actions which might have offended him, his head was instantly covered with sweat.

Whether Ning Fan was a Void Inquiry Stage expert or a Void Pierce Stage old monster, he certainly was not a person that Chu Nanfeng could afford to mess with!

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, I hope you can forgive me for the words that I have said or the things that I have done which might have displeased you earlier!" Chu Nanfeng suddenly took a step towards Ning Fan and cupped his fists to apologize. Indistinctly, his expression looked somewhat fearful.

"Fellow Daoist must be joking. Those were just some trivial matters. There's no need to take them to heart."

With Ning Fan's shrewdness, he had already seen through the reason why Chu Nanfeng began to feel afraid of him and it was probably because he was immune to the lightning formation and that old monster had misjudged his strength because of that.

Ning Fan did not give any explanation and he also did not have the intention to incur the enmity of the Myriad Treasure Pavilion.

He just casually waved his hands to extinguish Chu Nanfeng's fear towards him. Then, his eyes began to look around the second level again.

Seeing that Ning Fan did not intend to hold him responsible for the previous matters, Chu Nanfeng heaved a deep sigh of relief. Then, he became even more enthusiastic in introducing the treasures and items they collected and were displayed on the second level to Ning Fan.

The second level of the treasure house was different from the first level. The hall on the second level was just one-third the size of the hall of the previous level. The items here were also much fewer.

Even so, all of the items and treasures that were stored on this level were much more precious than those on the first level.

Each and every one of the magic treasures that were kept on this level was at the Mid Grade Mortal Void Realm. Aside from that, there were also a few magic treasures which were in excellent condition without any damage!

Ning Fan was rather attracted by these magic treasures but he did not purchase them.

To undead spirits, magic treasures in good condition were items sold at a high price. A single intact magic treasure was priced at 500 silver jades or 5 pieces of golden jades!

Ning Fan was not prepared to spend his money on magic treasures. He did not lack magic treasures anyway. Furthermore, he already had an Immemorial Divine Weapon. As long as opportunities arrive, it would not be difficult for those divine weapons to advance to the next grade.

Additionally, with his current magic power, he was still unable to wield Mid Grade Mortal Void Realm magic treasures.

Hence, he just took a look at those items without paying too much attention.

What aroused his interest even more was some of the cultivation methods and magic techniques in this place.

Among the few complete sets of magic techniques, one of them was a Mid Grade Mortal Void Realm body technique. If Ning Fan manages to learn it, with his body refinement realm, he would be able to defeat Void Glimpse Stage old monsters and even kill them with his physical body!

Unfortunately, this body technique was extremely difficult to cultivate. Besides, it placed great emphasis on the practitioner's foundations. One would need to progress steadily and gradually to establish a strong foundation and it would take a long period of time to cultivate this technique to the highest level.

Ning Fan made a rough estimation in his mind. With his potential, he would need at least one hundred years in the outside world to finish cultivating this technique.

If he makes use of the accelerated cultivation speed in the Profound Yin World, he will still need approximately one full year to complete this set of cultivation method. He did not have that much time to spend solely on a single body technique.

He shook his head and did not purchase this body technique. Then, his eyes scanned across the section of pills and pill recipes.

Still, the pills had all gone bad. As for the pill recipes, there was only one type of Mid Grade Sixth Revolution vulnerary pill. It was known as the Bian Que¹ Pill.

This pill recipe was invented by a pill master from ancient times. It had a magical effect of healing the wounds on the texture of muscles, the skin, the five viscera and the bones. As long as a Void Inquiry Stage cultivator was still alive after suffering grievous injuries, this pill could heal all of their injuries!

Even though Ning Fan's pill refinement technique was extremely far from attaining the Mid Grade Sixth Revolution, he would, of course, not miss out on such a good pill recipe when he met one.

Very quickly, Ning Fan finished browsing through the second level. After that, he followed the five old monsters to climb the stairs again and went to the third level.

The formation light on the third level of the treasure house was already at the High Grade Mortal Void Realm. The group of five old monsters had nearly activated all of their means for defense before they dared to enter that floor. Despite that, they still could not avoid having ninety percent of their magic power restrained by the formation light!

This time, even Ning Fan could no longer enter this level in a relaxed manner.

The Tai Su Lightning Star could make the user immune to damage from the lightning power of the same level as them.

However, the lightning power of the formation light on this level was obviously far greater than Ning Fan's level.

Even with the help of the Tai Su Lightning Star, Ning Fan was also unable to withstand against an old monster of the Void Pierce Stage. Thus, he certainly could not withstand the formation light of this place with composure.

With Ning Fan's cultivation base, thirty percent of his magic power was suppressed by the formation light after entering this level!

Even so, Chu Nanfeng and the other old monsters were already extremely impressed.

"Judging from how much of his qi has been weakened, this Zhou Ming only suffered a thirty percent restriction on his magic power… Is he really a Void Pierce Stage old monster?! Even if King Ying Long himself was the one who came here, approximately fifty percent of his magic power or above will be suppressed by the formation light! King Ying Long is already the strongest being among all the Void Inquiry Stage experts in this tower. If this young man is stronger than King Ying Long, what stage will he be if not the Void Pierce Stage?!"

Disbelief and astonishment filled the hearts of the five experts.

The respect that they had for Ning Fan also increased to the maximum.

Ning Fan, on the other hand, did not bother thinking about them. His attention was completely attracted by the collected treasures on the third floor.

The treasures kept here were far too precious! There were even a few Immemorial Divine Weapons and some Immemorial Star Iron.

There were also many fiendgod cultivation methods in this place!

Most of the fiendgod cultivation methods here were passed down from the weaker fiendgods in ancient times. They were not as profound as Ning Fan's Yin Yang Transformation and Fu Li cultivation method. Without a doubt, he was not interested in these cultivation methods.

However, when he scanned past the divine weapons and star iron, he suddenly felt like his horizons had been widened.

The Immemorial Divine Weapons on display were labelled as 'One-Star Divine Weapon'.

However, one of the Immemorial Star Iron that was for sale was labelled as 'Two-Star Divine Iron'.

Ning Fan suddenly realized that the Immemorial Star was also categorized into different grades!

The star power contained within the Immemorial Star Iron labelled as 'two-star' was evidently higher than the one-star Immemorial Star Iron. Its hardness was far greater than the one-star divine iron!

Ning Fan examined his Sea of Consciousness internally and discovered that all of his four Immemorial Divine Weapons that were being kept and nurtured in his divine star were one-star divine weapons. Only his Separation Slayer Sword was a little different as part of its star iron had attained the standard of two-star divine iron.

The tiny bit of two-star divine iron was probably the one he obtained from Si Wuxie.

As for the rest of the Immemorial Star Iron, all of them belonged to one-star divine iron.

One-star divine weapons could be said to be indestructible in battles below the Divine Transformation Realm. However, when one attains the Void Refinement Realm, all the magic techniques and divine abilities have strong destructive power that could shatter heaven and earth and even crush stars. Thus, there was no guarantee that one-star divine weapons would remain indestructible upon receiving damage from those.

Only two-star divine weapons could remain intact in fights between Void Refinement Realm experts.

Ning Fan's eyes locked onto that piece of two-star divine iron and then slowly burned with excitement.

If he purchases this piece of divine iron and refines it into his magic treasure, he definitely could greatly improve the might of his Immemorial Divine Weapons.

In the Black Lightning Tower, undead spirits were unable to cultivate Immemorial Divine or Devil Veins. Hence, the Immemorial Divine Weapons and cultivation methods were extremely cheap. Each of them only cost around ten pieces of silver grade lightning jades.

Ning Fan no longer hesitated. He decided to buy all of the Immemorial Divine Weapons, fiendgod cultivation methods including that piece of two-star divine iron. In total, he spent 200 silver jades.

Even though the one-star divine weapons and ordinary fiendgod cultivation methods were not necessities to Ning Fan, these items were worth a great amount of money in the outside world. Buying them would naturally not make him suffer losses.

Seeing Ning Fan spend a great sum of money to buy a pile of trash, Chu Nanfeng and the other old monsters could not help but praise him for his generosity.

They had recognized Ning Fan as a Void Pierce Stage old monster who possessed a vast amount of wealth.

Therefore, no one dared to criticize Ning Fan for being wasteful in spending his money.

The two-star divine iron which was as large as his palm was probably just enough to refine the iron composition of his Separation Slayer Sword and upgrade it. Even so, Ning Fan's mood was not bad.

However, after he finished browsing the third level, his heart felt a hint of disappointment.

There were only two to three types of High Grade Sixth Revolution pill recipes on the third level. Besides, all of them were incomplete and there was no point in buying them.

Other than the two-star divine iron, Ning Fan did not seem to have any other gains on the third level.

He intended to go to the fourth level but Chu Nanfeng and the others did not dare to enter that level.

The formation light of the fourth level was at the Peak Grade Mortal Void Realm. With their current cultivation bases, they would either be injured or dead after entering the formation light!

Keeping an eye on Ning Fan? Hehe. The five of them were merely Void Glimpse Stage experts. What qualifications do they have to watch over a Void Pierce Stage expert?

Eliminating the whole Myriad Treasure Pavilion was as easy as raising one's hands to a Void Pierce Stage expert. It would be similar to blowing off dust to ask them to wipe out the twenty-four floors.

Even if Ning Fan insists on robbing the treasure house, who would dare stop him?

No. Ning Fan already had the strength of the Void Pierce Stage, why would he even need to rob them? All he needed was just to open his mouth and request for the things he wanted. Even Lei Shiyi would also have to give him face.

The reason why Lei Shiyi dared not to give King Ying Long some face was because the latter had yet to attain the Void Pierce Stage.

If he is a Void Pierce Stage old monster, would Lei Shiyi be bold enough to mess with him?

"Our cultivation bases are weak. We reckon that it's better that we don't enter the fourth level. Since the fourth level is not very large, Fellow Daoist can enter on your own. We'll just stand outside and look." Chu Nanfeng said with an awkward smile.

"Alright."

Ning Fan could tell how powerful the formation light of the fourth level was. Thus, he also did not force the five of them to enter.

When he took a step into the fourth level, seventy percent of his magic power was suppressed by the formation despite the ability of his lightning star.

The fourth level was also the highest level of the treasure house. It was just tens of zhang* (3.33m per zhang) wide.

There were no magic treasures, cultivation methods, pills and pill recipes displayed on this level. In contrast, this level exhibited some other excellent items.

On Ning Fan's left, there was a piece of lightning jade which carried a tinge of black within its gold color. A black grade lightning jade could only be obtained after a Void Fragmentation Realm undead spirit died. However, there was never a Void Fragmentation Realm being in the lightning tower. The highest cultivation realm among the undead spirits of this tower was just at the Peak Void Refinement Realm which was also regarded as the Absolute Void Stage. After an old monster of the Absolute Void Stage dies, the lightning jade it would leave behind would carry a tinge of black on its golden surface.

This piece of lightning jade was priced at twenty gold jades. Ning Fan could not afford it and neither would he decide to buy it.

He was not an undead spirit. A half-black lightning jade had no use to him.

His gaze shifted to his right. All of a sudden, he was slightly stunned.

The things that were placed on his right were all Crystals of Inheritance. There were fourteen of them in total!

These Crystals of Inheritance were perfectly sealed. Perhaps they were left behind by an expert before perishing.

However, there was a drawback in these Crystals of Inheritance. Undead spirits were unable to use them but no one knew what kind of inheritance was inside those crystals.

Even so, the marked price was not cheap as well. A single Crystal of Inheritance cost 50 silver jades!

Buying all of these memory crystals were equivalent to a gamble. You don't know what they contained. Perhaps they just contained the final words of an old monster before breathing his last breath and there was no cultivation method inheritance.

But since the lightning jades were useless to Ning Fan, he was rather pleased to buy all of these crystals and check out what messages and inheritances were inside them.

He reached out one of his hands and intended to obtain those crystals. Suddenly, a strange and enigmatic voice echoed from behind him.

"Little Friend, you are indeed a living person… You are just like that Thunder Sovereign Bu Zou. You are a cultivator from the outside world who came into this lightning tower, aren't you?"

Ning Fan turned around and saw Lei Shiyi right behind him. He held a jade box which was tightly sealed. His face formed a broad meaningful smile, revealing his yellow teeth.

"I have really underestimated Fellow Daoist's insight… Precisely. I am indeed a living person. Compared to undead spirits like you, I am not one of your kind. So are you going to act against me and eliminate me?"

The atmosphere turned serious all of a sudden, as if both of them were about to fight.

But at the next moment, Lei Shiyi let out a hearty laughter.

"Whether you are living or undead, what does it have to do with me? When I do business, I just look at money. That's it. However, if you are a living person, that's even better. I have gone to take an item just now. To undead spirits, only a few of my kind can possibly use it. To living people, however… This is a priceless treasure! I suppose Fellow Daoist would want it very much."

As Lei Shiyi finished speaking, he gradually opened the jade box in his hand.

Suddenly, a terrifying lightning might spread out from within the jade box. Just a trace of its aura was as heavy as one thousand mountains. It nearly caused heaven and earth to collapse!

There was only a finger bone in the jade box.

This finger bone was priceless!

"This is… The Immortal Emperor's Finger Bone!"

Ning Fan's eyes revealed a look of utter surprise for the first time.

Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel

1. 1. Bian Que (Chinese: 扁䳍; pinyin: Biǎn Què) (also pronounced Pien Chueh) was, according to legend, the earliest known Chinese physician. His real name is said to be Qin Yueren (秦越人), but his medical skills were so amazing that the people gave him the same name as the legendary doctor Bian Que, from the time of the Yellow Emperor. (Source: Wikipedia)