Grasping Evil

Chapter 421: Chapter 421: Black Primordial Spirit

Crystals of Inheritance were extremely precious items. Only experts like the Rain Sovereigns of the previous generations could get them.

Ning Fan was pretty sure that all of the experts who left these fourteen crystals were experts at the same level as the former Rain Sovereigns.

Ning Fan could not help but feel curious about the things that one could inherit from these crystals.

He then spread his spirit sense and dived into the crystals one after another. Sometimes, Ning Fan’s face would reveal a look of surprise and sometimes, disappointment would fill his face. His expression was rather erratic.

As expected, the ones who left these fourteen crystals were fourteen Void Fragmentation Realm old monsters and all of them had different backgrounds.

Of all the fourteen crystals, there were five of them which contained messages like the final words and memories of the experts before they breathed their last breath and these messages were not helpful in increasing a cultivator’s strength. Hence, Ning Fan put this kind of crystals back to his storage pouch disappointedly.

As for the remaining nine crystals, four of them contained inheritance of cultivation methods. The other two of contained information like the location of a historic heavenly dwelling and treasure map. As for the last three crystals, they passed down information about magic techniques.

Ning Fan did not need Void Fragmentation Realm cultivation methods.

In regards to the treasure map and the location of the historic heavenly dwelling, he did not know on which year those items were left. Besides, the place that stored the treasures did not seem to be in the Rain World. The items that were hidden there were just the leftover of a Void Fragmentation Realm expert. Ning Fan was not really interested in them, much less spend his time and effort to search for them.

Among the three magic techniques, two of them were useless. Only one of them was an incomplete body technique which would be somewhat useful to Ning Fan.

This incomplete body technique was named as ‘Four Reified Concepts of Existence’. It seemed to be a secret technique of the Buddha Sect.

The Four Reified Concepts of Existence consisted of the Concept of Self, the Concept of Humans, the Concept of All Beings and the Concept of Longevity.

In the Buddha Sect, those who were obsessed about these four concepts were difficult to attain Buddhahood.

However, there were also cultivators with great divine abilities who could reverse the logic and obtain Buddhahood with an obsessive heart by integrating the four concepts of the Buddha Sect.

“The hollow space of the whole four dimensions in the east, west, south and north is immeasurable. All phenomena and perceptions are illusions. If one sees through them, one will see tathagata[1]. Transcend above the four reified concepts and one shall attain nirvana. If one accomplishes the four concepts, one shall be liberated from the karmic bondage and the cycle of reincarnation. One shall gain immeasurable strength and one’s immortal body shall be indestructible and imperishable!”

Ning Fan gently frowned. Apparently, this technique which was called the Four Reified Concepts of Existence had a significant origin.

However, the Void Fragmentation Realm expert who left this crystal only knew one of the four concepts. It seemed like it was already rare to pass down one of these concepts.

The concept of that crystal contained was the Concept of Self. It was the weakest concept of the four. However, if Ning Fan successfully learns this concept, it would not be weaker than any ordinary Low Grade Mortal Void Realm body techniques.

To Ning Fan who only knew the Ice Smash Body Technique, despite having the inheritance of just one part of this body technique, it was still undeniably a considerable gain. Thus, he was not concerned about whether this secret technique was complete or not.

He kept all of these crystals into his pouch and then spent the other half of the day mastering the diverse parts of the Concept of Self.

There were still two days left.

In the remaining two days, there was only one thing that Ning Fan was left to do.

His eyes began to turn solemn. He patted his storage pouch and took out a jade box. A hesitated expression appeared on his face for the first time.

“Should I devour or not?!”

This finger bone belonged to an immortal emperor. “Terrifying” was definitely the appropriate word to describe the power it contained.

Ning Fan did not know what would happen once he devoured this finger bone and refined it into his body.

However, this could be a massive opportunity to him!

He gently closed his eyes and pondered, trying to make up his mind.

Just as he was contemplating whether to devour this finger bone o0r not, the devil marks on his back suddenly became scorching hot.

Indistinctly, there were feelings of resistance and fear coming out from the devil marks.

Surprisingly, the devil eye on the pattern which used to be tightly shut was slowly opening.

*Bang*

In the next moment, a rush of devil qi surged within his body, flooding him in every part.

That devil qi was boundless like the ocean. It completely drowned Ning Fan’s state of mind which seemed to be just as insignificant as a skiff on the ocean.

As the devil qi flowed throughout his body, he had nearly lost the control over his body parts!

In the realm within his state of mind, the figure of a devil in black robes gradually took form.

It would still need a great amount of time for that devilish figure to be completely condensed. Today, however, the devilish figure sensed that there would be a great danger against him. He could not wait any longer without doing anything!

He forcibly condensed his existence in Ning Fan’s body by gradually forming a second primordial spirit in his dantian. But this second primordial spirit was black in color and it exuded a massive devil qi.

He had the exact same appearance as Ning Fan but his personality was completely different.

That devilish figure was attempting to seize Ning Fan’s body by devouring his first primordial spirit!

Ning Fan’s expression changed greatly. He had never cultivated any technique relating to the second primordial spirit!

He was extremely certain that this black primordial spirit only condensed itself by force after he had taken out the jade box. Before that, it definitely did not exist!

Could this black primordial spirit be that huge hidden danger of the Evil Luo Inheritance?!

“Who are you?! Why did you hide inside my body?!” Ning Fan’s eyes flashed with cold light.

“Who am I? I am you! No. To be more accurate, I am your Devil Heart. Each time you killed someone, you would accumulate a trace of devil qi into your devil marks. That devil qi would extract the power of your primordial spirit traces by traces. As for me, I am formed from the accumulation of those traces of primordial power. Today is the first day of my birth! I am you, Ning Fan! However, I am different from you. From the moment I am born, I kill for no one. Not for our master, not for Zhihe… I only live for Evil Luo and I will contribute my entire life for him! My ultimate goal is to become the slave of Evil Luo!” The black primordial spirit laughed viciously.

“The slave of Evil Luo?” Ning Fan’s eyes became even more grim.

He began to understand that the person who passed down the devil marks was very likely to be Evil Luo himself.

Evil Luo must be a significant being among the devil race in ancient times.

The reason why he invented the devil marks was to nurture thousands and thousands of slaves.

Each individual who cultivated the devil marks would gain a sharp boost in their strength at the beginning. However, they would constantly be influenced by the devil marks and gradually became bloodthirsty and violent.

Each time they take another’s life, they would then accumulate a trace of Devil Heart.

When the Devil Heart has sufficient strength, it would then condense into a black primordial spirit and devour the owner.

In a sense, this technique of condensing the primordial spirit was no different from forming a second primordial spirit in the owner’s body. That Devil Heart was indeed the second Ning Fan.

However, this second Ning Fan had already decided to enslave himself to Evil Luo from the moment he was born.

If this black primordial spirit gains control over the body, he would certainly devour Ning Fan’s original primordial spirit and occupy his consciousness. Then, he would command Ning Fan to become a slave to Evil Luo.

He was Ning Fan but he was no longer the true Ning Fan!

“It’s really a cruel and vicious technique! I’m afraid the devil marks have entrapped countless cultivators in ancient times and turned them into the inventor’s slave… However, something isn’t right. This black primordial spirit is clearly not completed yet. It seems like the reason why he emerged today was just because he sensed danger. That’s why he forcibly condensed himself to confront me. He is afraid of something!”

Ning Fan’s gaze fell upon the jade box in his hands and he seemed to have understood the reason behind all this.

“He is afraid that I will gain the strength to suppress his existence after devouring the Immortal Emperor’s Finger Bone! Therefore, he wants to destroy my primordial spirit before I can devour it and then occupy me body to turn me, a dignified eight chi* (30.7cm per chi) tall man, into a slave for that Evil Luo!”

“You cunning little creature! Don’t ever think that you can get what you want!”

Ning Fan’s eyes were filled with rage. He would never be a slave to anyone! Never!

At first, he was hesitant to devour the Immortal Emperor’s Finger Bone. Now, however, in order to suppress the black primordial spirit, all his hesitation faded away!

He must not be devoured by the black primordial spirit. He wanted to devour the emperor bone and borrow the might of that immortal emperor to kill this black primordial spirit. After that, he would devour him in return!

“Refine!”

While he still had the last bit of control over his body, Ning Fan hastily broke the jade box with his palm and took in the emperor bone without considering the intensity of the magic power that the bone contained!

In the next moment, the black primordial spirit let out an extremely wrathful roar.

“You can’t destroy me! I am you!”

“No. You are not!”

Ning Fan’s eyes flashed with ferocity. Even though the black primordial spirit was another him, he would also be not hesitant to kill the other him to keep his original self!

“Since you dare to harm me, I will fight to death against it! Devil Filling Technique!”

The black primordial spirit’s eyes flinted with madness. The madness he had was just the same as Ning Fan. When he was in a plight with no way out, he would just fight to death.

After the black primordial spirit formed a series of hand seals using his tiny hands, the devil qi in Ning Fan’s body was boosted by several ten times in an instant.

At this moment, he finally lost control over his body completely.

His physical body dyed black by devil qi. Inside the Profound Yin World, he literally transformed into a five thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) tall giant wearing black armour.

That black-armor giant had two horns on his head. Those horns were the features of Lan Jiao[2]!

Turning in a giant and having strong fists that could crush mountains were the characteristics of Ju Mo[3]!

Besides, six black wings grew on his back and they resembled the form of Liu Yi[4]!

Finally, a black vertical eye emerged on his glabella. It was the feature of Gui Mu[5]!

“Ju Mo, Lan Jiao, Liu Yi and Gui Mu were all slaves to Evil Luo! Humph! You still think that you could head to the Giant Devil Sect to eliminate the hidden danger of your devil marks? It’s a vain attempt! Originally, I planned to devour you once you arrive at the Giant Devil Sect. Today, however, I have no other choice but to deviate from my original plan to devour you earlier. You must die!”

The demonized giant revealed a vicious smile. However, at the next moment, his eyes turned extremely cold.

He thought that he had successfully devoured Ning Fan.

But when he lowered his head and looked, a section of the finger bone on his index finger still glowed with lightning. It could not be completely demonized!

Ning Fan’s whole primordial spirit gathered within that finger bone and it was not engulfed by the devil qi at all!

However, in his current state, he certainly was not in a favorable situation.

Even though his primordial spirit was not devoured by the devil qi, he had fallen into a state of slumber after being struck by the devil qi.

Ning Fan just felt like he had fallen into a dream.

In his dream, he stood before a colossal evil mountain. A massive rush of aura force pressed against his shoulders, forcing him to fall to his knees and worship the evil mountain.

At the summit of the mountain, a middle-aged man in black robes looked at him with a frosty expression and said with a deep voice.

“I am Evil Luo. Kowtow to my evil mountain and become my slave. You will be immortal just like me!”

“Don’t ever think I will do that!” Ning Fan’s eyes flashed with determination. He was not going to kneel down!

…

In the thatched cottage of the Profound Yin World.

Luo You who was pretending to be asleep all this while had sensed the drastic changes outside. Her beautiful eyes were filled with shock and worries. Her heart was chaotic.

“Evil Luo, one of the nine ancient devil ancestors! How did he…?! How did this stinky brat get himself in such a huge trouble?!”

The idea to continue pretending to be asleep immediately vanished.

She hurriedly left the thatched cottage with airy steps. Looking at that black-armored giant who was as huge as a mountain, she felt a sharp pain in her heart. Somehow, tears trickled down her face without her control.

“Dead. He’s dead… His dantian is only left with the enslaved primordial spirit. His original primordial spirit is already dead…”

Hatred filled her heart. She hated herself for not discovering the hidden danger of Evil Luo in Ning Fan’s body in the past. If she had known, she would certainly do her best like before to help him get rid of that danger.

She hated herself for being so powerless. She did not even have a chance to save Ning Fan from dying.

Rumor has it that Ancestor Evil Luo had a type of technique that could enslave immortals in ancient times. Once an individual was filled up by devil qi, there was no longer any chance in saving that person.

He is really dead now…

He does not even know that I have already woken up…

“No. He isn’t dead yet!”

Luo You’s bright eyes flashed. She immediately wiped off the tears from her face and wore a surprised smile.

She had noticed that the section of finger bone on the demonized giant was still yet to be affected.

“That is… Immortal Emperor’s Finger Bone! Where did he get such a precious treasure that has actually resisted the enslavement from Evil Luo!”

“With this finger bone, he has the hope to defeat the enslaved primordial spirit. However, his original primordial spirit is already in the state of slumber. Has he been knocked unconscious by the devil qi…?”

“I have to help him!”

Luo You’s eyes which were soft and weak like water glinted with determination. Suddenly, an extremely vigorous aura force rose around her who was dressed in a set of snow-white robes.

“Even if the process will harm me, I will still help him no matter what…”

“Consider it as returning him the favor for waking me up!”

Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel

[1] The title Tathagata / Tathāgata (如来 rúlái) roughly means “one who has thus come” or “one who has thus gone”. It refers to Buddhas and their transcendent nature (being part of the world and yet also being beyond it). (Source: Immortal Mountain)

[2] Lan Jiao (Chinese: 岚角 ) It literally means “mist horn”. In my opinion, it is related to the Mist Horn Clan and this might be the name of the original patriarch of the Mist Horn Clan.

[3] Ju Mo (Chinese: 巨魔) It literally means “giant devil”. In my opinion, it is related to the Giant Devil Sect and this might be the name of the original patriarch of the Giant Devil Clan.

[4] Liu Yi (Chinese: 六翼) It literally means “six wings”. It is related to the Six-Winged Clan and this might be the name of the original patriarch of the Six-Winged Clan.

[5] Gui Mu (Chinese: 鬼目) It literally means “ghost eye”. It is related to the Ghost Eye Clan and this might be the name of the original patriarch of the Ghost Eye Clan.