Grasping the Evil-Chapter 872: She Is Not the Red Long Dress

Frightened by Ning Fan’s supernatural abilities, the old enforcer dared not attack Ning Fan again.

Not only did he not dare to attack, but the old enforcer also showed a look of terror, immediately flew from the summit of Li Mountain, landed in front of Ning Fan, and half knelt on the ground, bowing three times and nine times to Ning Fan, saying,

"Fan family’s enforcer Fan Lianyun, unaware of the identity of the upper realm tribulation sovereign, acted recklessly and offended the tribulation sovereign, please forgive me!"

Even though Ning Fan’s current appearance was just a barbarian ox, the old enforcer did not dare to offend Ning Fan in the slightest.

Ning Fan’s strength made him fearful, but what terrified him more was Ning Fan’s identity as the Taicang Calamity Spirit...

In Fan Lianyun’s eyes, Ning Fan, with his calamity blood, was the Taicang Calamity Spirit, an existence he could not afford to offend no matter what!

"Fan family enforcer... upper realm tribulation sovereign..."

Ning Fan pondered over the message in the old enforcer’s words, lost in thought.

He had been pulled into the Mind’s Illusory Realm by the Heavenly Dao Purple Lock, and the people or things in this illusion were all projections and transformations of the ancient barbaric wilds by the Heavenly Dao, not real existences.

This old enforcer named Fan Lianyun was probably an ancient cultivator from the ancient barbaric wilds...

Everything before him was an illusion. Though it was an illusion, it contained some ancient secrets...

"What is the upper realm tribulation sovereign? What is the Fan family? What is an enforcer?" Ning Fan asked expressionlessly, attempting to extract some ancient secrets from Fan Lianyun’s mouth.

"The tribulation sovereign seems to have just awakened the calamity blood and must have many confusions about the barbaric wilds. In the barbaric wilds, any creature that awakens the calamity blood is a Taicang Calamity Spirit and once ascended to the upper realm, becomes an upper realm tribulation sovereign. The Fan family is the largest clan in the barbaric wilds, following the orders of the upper realm tribulation sovereign to lead the barbaric wilds. The creatures of the barbaric wilds are born as slaves, and we, the Fan family cultivators, are all lower realm enforcers, practicing the art of calamity thought, responsible for raising barbaric slaves, and executing punishment... Our Fan family head is the Barbarian Ancestor, who has practiced the calamity technique for a million years, and soon will be able to cultivate calamity blood and become an upper realm tribulation sovereign!" Fan Lianyun replied respectfully.

Ning Fan was slightly silent, his thoughts racing.

"The Barbarian Wilderness Ancient Domain, was it a place where the upper realm Taicang Calamity Spirit raised barbaric slaves? No wonder this Barbarian Wilderness Ancient Domain is associated with calamities everywhere, yet seems paradoxical..."

"The Fan family head, is the Barbarian Ancestor, and every sentence in the Barbarian Ancestor Scripture advises the barbarians to be docile, it seems only to raise a batch of docile barbaric slaves for the Taicang Calamity Spirit..."

"Now the Barbarian Wilderness Ancient Domain has no enforcers or Fan family... Why is this all..."

Ning Fan turned his head, intending to ask Fan Lianyun some more questions, only to see Fan Lianyun’s illusory form suddenly disperse little by little, turning into points of light and disappearing...

The Heavenly Dao created the illusion of the ancient barbaric wilds merely to imprison Ning Fan’s spirit, to prevent Ning Fan from unraveling the Stone Bridge Path Illusion, and was unwilling for Ning Fan to learn too many ancient secrets.

This was perhaps a kind of protection from the Heavenly Dao for later cultivators... some ancient secrets, if heard by those who haven’t reached Enlightenment, would certainly lead to death. Without the corresponding strength, there is simply no qualification to know.

From this moment, it became challenging for Ning Fan to probe ancient secrets from the illusion, any ancient being he asked about secrets would have their phantom body dissipate...

"Forget it, first head north to the Yellow River, dissolve the Purple Lock with the Huanghe water and then talk!"

"Once the Purple Lock is dissolved, I can leave this Mind’s Illusory Realm..."

Ning Fan lowered his ox head, bearing the Heavenly Dao Purple Lock as heavy as Li Mountain, step by step, heading north.

At his slow pace, he could only cover half a league a day, less than two hundred leagues a year.

From Li Mountain to the Yellow River, there is a distance of ten thousand leagues. With Ning Fan’s barbarian ox body, bearing the weight of the Purple Lock, it’s unknown in which year or month he would reach it.

Ning Fan could sense that although the days and nights alternated in the illusion and time passed, only a moment had passed outside...

Under the scorching sun, he moved forward; in the howling north wind, he moved forward; through the alternation of day and night, his steps never stopped.

Outside, only a moment passed, but in the illusion, Ning Fan walked for fifty years!

After fifty years of trekking, Ning Fan finally arrived at the edge of the Yellow River, staring at the muddy, dragon-like rushing river, frowning without speaking.

It’s said that if one could draw a liter of clear water from the Yellow River, the Heavenly Dao Purple Lock could be dissolved. However, in this massive river filled with sediment, where was there any clear water to extract...

A flash of azure light appeared in Ning Fan’s eyes, and it seemed that the turbidity of the Yellow River was not just due to sediment.

The river water seemed to contain a will to pollute all beings, and it was this will that attracted the sediment, muddying the Yellow River...

"Hmm? There’s someone cultivating beneath the river..."

A glint appeared in Ning Fan’s eyes as he lifted his ox hoof high and stomped down heavily.

With his strength, a stomp from his transformed barbarian ox form was enough to turn a million leagues of mountains and rivers into ruins. However, the Yellow River water, protected by that will, offset Ning Fan’s stomping force entirely.

This stomp merely redirected the Yellow River’s current...

"Those cultivating beneath the water, come see me!" Ning Fan said in a deep voice.

In the dragon palace beneath the Yellow River, a barbarian dragon who was in closed cultivation was startled when the river’s course was altered and immediately broke through the water, transforming into the appearance of a white-bearded old man, descending in front of Ning Fan, with mid-stage Enlightenment cultivation.

He was also a Fan family enforcer, and his duty was to guard the Yellow River.

In his eyes there was originally a burning anger, anger at a creature of the barbaric wild stepping on the Yellow River, causing it to change course!

But when the white-bearded old man discovered it was Ning Fan who made the move, he was immediately taken aback, showing a look of terror.

From Ning Fan, the white-bearded old man felt a suffocating sense of oppression. That pressure came from the calamity blood within Ning Fan!

"This Barbarian Ox is actually a Taicang Calamity Spirit!"

The white-bearded elder swallowed his saliva, trembling with fear as he knelt on the ground, not daring to meet Ning Fan’s gaze.

"Fan Family Tribulation Envoy, Fan Yuqi, has met the High Realm Robber! I wonder what instructions the Calamity Lord has for this humble one upon summoning."

"I ask you, how can one make this Yellow River run clear!"

"Uh... Does the Calamity Lord wish to obtain the clean water from the Yellow River to dissolve the shackles?" The white-bearded elder hesitated slightly and then chuckled bitterly,

"If the Calamity Lord has come for this matter, I must inform you of bad news: the unclear water is useless... and the Yellow River’s water will never become clear..."

"Why?"

"Because this Yellow River is transformed from a trace of Calamity Thought from that master, possessing the will to pollute everything. As long as the will is not extinguished, the Yellow River will not be clear..."

Upon mentioning ’that master’, Fan Yuqi’s face immediately turned to terror. Fortunately, this is just a Mirage; otherwise, with his cultivation, merely thinking of that master would result in instant death...

Ning Fan’s gaze changed instantly. Who else could inspire such fear apart from that Master of Calamity Thought...

Within the river water lies the will of the Master of Calamity Thought to pollute everything.

Ning Fan’s Heavenly Dao Purple Lock carries the will of the Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign...

"Actually, the Yellow River does have clear water. It is said that at the source of the Yellow River, the water is as clear as a mirror... But it is extremely far away, even if I exert all my strength to fly, it would take months to reach the source. The Calamity Lord, burdened with heavy shackles now, would find it impossible to reach there anytime soon... Moreover, it is said that at the Yellow River’s source, the will left by that master is incredibly strong, ordinary beings cannot approach the source at all..." The white-bearded elder added.

Ning Fan was silent for a moment, dismissed the white-bearded elder, and began to walk alone along the Yellow River, step by step, tracing the source against the current.

The source of the Yellow River is extremely distant, as a cultivator at mid-stage Enlightenment, flying with all his strength, would take months to arrive.

If it’s a burdened Ning Fan with the Purple Lock, it would take thousands or millions of years to even reach the source.

Luckily, this is a Mirage; even if a million years are spent here, only an instant passes outside.

Here, Ning Fan need not worry about time consumption but cannot cultivate within the Mirage.

He lowered his bull-like head, making heavy steps, tracing the river.

A year passed, covering no more than two hundred miles.

A century passed, covering no more than twenty thousand miles.

A million years of trekking, traversing only two million miles.

Ning Fan forgot how long he walked, forgot how much blood and sweat he left behind, forgot how many springs and autumns he passed.

The passage of time in the Mirage holds no meaning for cultivation advancement.

After a lonely journey of a hundred thousand years, Ning Fan still did not see the Yellow River source.

After a million years of hardship, Ning Fan still did not see the Yellow River source.

Five million years later, in front of Ning Fan’s eyes finally appeared a massive range of snowy mountains.

The source of the Yellow River is within the snowy valley that these snowy mountains encircle!

Outside the snowy valley, there’s a powerful will that prevents anyone from entering the valley to seek the source of the Yellow River.

If Ning Fan were his former self, he certainly couldn’t withstand such a formidable will.

But within the Mirage, Ning Fan transformed into a Barbarian Ox, shouldering heavy chains, painstakingly traversing five million years.

The trials of five million years did not bring Ning Fan any cultivation improvement but constantly honed Ning Fan’s unyielding will.

He used his bull horns to collide against the invisible barrier of will outside the snowy valley.

His steps slowed even more, his march became harder, and as the wills of both the Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign and Master of Calamity Thought suppressed him, even breathing became difficult.

Yet his footsteps did not cease; the obsession in his eyes, forged through five million years of hardship, was indestructible!

"I must enter the valley!"

Braving the force of two peerless strong wills, Ning Fan stepped onto the knee-deep snow, gritting his teeth, clenching his bones, and walked into the snowy valley!

In sight is a chilling ice lake; this ice lake is the source of the Yellow River!

The ice lake is clear and cold, yet the chill of the lake water made Ning Fan shiver involuntarily.

As Ning Fan approached the lakeside, nearing the lake water, a shocked expression emerged.

In the center of the ice lake, he saw a tree, a tree rooted at the bottom of the ice lake!

The tree of ice resembles a Bodhi, yet not quite alike. Its branches are covered with hexagonal white flowers, emitting a clear cold fragrance.

Just by inhaling some of the floral scent, Ning Fan’s Tianren Green Qi within his body unexpectedly increased slightly!

The cultivation of Unity of Heaven and Man... has improved!

This growth is false, an illusion within the Mirage, and if one were to leave this Mirage, the Tianren Green Qi would still be the same as before, with no increase at all.

Even so, Ning Fan was secretly startled. He silently speculated that this ice tree was likely the great opportunity that Sparrow God Kidd mentioned that day... an opportunity to enhance Tianren cultivation!

Unexpectedly, Ning Fan could transform into a Barbarian Ox within this illusion and meet this tree...

"Hmm? A Barbarian Ox from the lower realms can actually withstand the will of a Calamity Master and come before the Dust Tree..."

A somewhat unfamiliar, yet somewhat familiar female voice suddenly came from behind Ning Fan.

The voice carried a coldness that kept others at a distance, yet without hostility.

Ning Fan’s heart skipped a beat for no reason, and he turned around to look at the source of the voice.

He saw by the ice lake, on the snow-covered ground, an unknown woman in a red dress had appeared.

The aura of this woman was extremely strong, stronger than Xiang Mingzi by a fraction, with red lightning crackling around her!

Her eyes were blood-red, her lips were blood-red as well, and she wore a red dress, standing amidst the snow like a dazzling red plum blossom.

The woman bore a resemblance to Hong Yi, yet seemed somewhat different...

"Hmm? You have Blood Lightning within you as well... Are you too a Taicang Calamity Spirit?"

The woman in red noticed the Blood Lightning within Ning Fan, showing a look of interest.

"Interesting... To think there’s another Taicang Calamity Spirit besides me, intent on betraying the Calamity Master to steal the Dust Flower... You, little ox, are quite interesting..."

The woman in red approached Ning Fan, extending her icy, smooth hand to stroke Ning Fan’s ox back.

Ning Fan looked at the woman in red incredulously, her appearance gradually overlapping with the Hong Yi in his mind...

"Are you Hong Yi?!"

"Hong Yi? No, I am not Hong Yi, I am Red Yaksha... However, the name Hong Yi isn’t bad..."

The woman in red smiled seductively, her toes lightly touching the snow, like a red butterfly, lightly landing beneath the ice tree in the lake’s center.

"The nourishment of the Dust Tree is the ephemeral attachments of all beings; the Dust Flower blooms once every five million years, wilting three moments after it blooms... I am close to opening the Second Gate of Tianren and need this flower, I’m afraid I can’t give it to you, little Barbarian Ox..."

"Speaking of which, even if I give you these Dust Flowers, you cannot take them... You haven’t followed the Calamity Master, and do not know that plucking the Dust Flowers requires special Immortal Secret Arts... Without knowing these Secret Arts, it’s impossible to pluck the Dust Flowers from the Dust Tree..."

"The Dust Flower belongs to me, the water in this ice lake all belongs to you... Originally I intended to take this lake water as well, but looking at your appearance, you seem to need the lake water to dissolve locks desperately... So, I’ll give it to you."

With that, the woman in red no longer gave Ning Fan a glance, her slender hand guiding the power of Calamity Thought, forming one mysterious hand seal after another.

After finishing several hundred hand seals, the woman in red carefully extended her hand, picking the six-petaled white flowers and consuming them.

After consuming all the white flowers, the woman in red giggled, flying away.

However, before leaving, the woman in red gave Ning Fan an interested glance. She was quite intrigued by this little Barbarian Ox who had dared to invade the snowy valley...

After the woman in red left, she did not realize that the hand seals she used to pluck the Dust Flowers were all memorized by Ning Fan.

In the future, if Ning Fan truly follows Sparrow God Kidd to the Dust Tree to pluck Dust Flowers, he will definitely use these hand seals.

"She is not Hong Yi; she is the Red Yaksha... The Red Yaksha, back then, the Innate Thunder Spirit I killed once said that I was a slave to the Red Yaksha, said that both I and the Red Yaksha were traitors of the Taicang Calamity Spirits..."

"Could it be that what I just witnessed was the scene of the Red Yaksha betraying the Taicang Calamity Spirits..."

"The Red Yaksha... She must have some connection with Hong Yi..."

After the woman in red left, Ning Fan suddenly leaped, diving into the ice lake.

The lake’s water was bone-chilling cold, like needles piercing, causing Ning Fan to shiver uncontrollably.

There was the willpower of the Master of Calamity Thought left within the ice lake’s water, turned into chilling ice, eroding Ning Fan’s spirit sense.

Fortunately, Ning Fan carried the Will Path Lock of the Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign. The two wills began to clash at this moment, colliding with each other.

The will in the ice lake was continuously weakened, and the Purple Lock’s will on Ning Fan’s back was also being gradually eroded.

After an unknown amount of time, the Purple Lock on Ning Fan’s back completely dissolved and crumbled, while the will in the ice lake also completely dissipated...

At the moment the Purple Lock crumbled, Ning Fan’s spirit returned, breaking free from the Mirage, opening his eyes beside the Zhenhuan River.

The Heavenly Dao Purple Lock binding him unexpectedly collapsed, and the waters of the Zhenhuan River reversed at that moment!

The Immortal Emperor’s will lingering in the river was disrupted by Ning Fan’s action of breaking the lock!

The oppressive force suppressing Ning Fan lifted instantly. Seizing the opportunity, a flash of azure sparkled in Ning Fan’s eyes, without a word he began stripping away the Stone Bridge Path Illusion.

The process of peeling away lasted a whole day, and after a day, Ning Fan had stripped away a third of the Stone Bridge Path Illusion. A third of the Stone Bridge transformed into the True Bridge!

After a day, the willed force of the Zhenhuan River returned to its original state, the heavy pressure once again pressed down on Ning Fan, not allowing him to continue peeling away the Path Illusion.

"This son actually created a third of the True Bridge!"

Beneath the True-illusion river, the eyes of the River Demon suddenly shook, witnessing for the first time someone constructing one-third of the True Bridge upon the True-illusion river!

He originally doubted anyone could build a bridge on the True-illusion river, but at this moment, he gained a shred of belief in Ning Fan’s bridge-building act.

"This child might set a precedent in the Dreamland Realm, creating a True Bridge on the True-illusion river..."

The waters of the True-illusion river gradually restored to their original state, and slowly, a second Purple Gold Vortex emerged in the river’s center.

From within the vortex, a Purple Gold Hand Seal suddenly flew out, forcefully striking towards Ning Fan.

The power of that hand seal’s strike had infinitely approached a Shedding Void Stage strike!

Moreover, within the hand seal, there existed a will that overrides everything, refusing any defiance.

Ordinary masters naturally find it difficult to contend against the hand seal, even more so against the will within the hand seal.

Yet, Ning Fan had endured five million years of arduous toil within the Mirage, persistently performing the same foolish action... his will has become indomitable.

With his abilities, blocking a Shedding Void Stage hand seal isn’t entirely impossible!

"Rain Yin Yang, unleash!"

"War Yin Yang, unleash!"

Ning Fan’s ten fingers formed a spirit sense, and in an instant, his entire aura reached the peak of the Crossing Truth Realm!

Initially mastering Rain Yin Yang endowed Ning Fan with the ability to control the rain of heaven and earth.

Initially mastering War Yin Yang, in turn, bestowed Ning Fan with the ability to command the battle intent of heaven and earth.

In the moment Ning Fan unleashed War Yin Yang, the River Demon’s expression suddenly changed, clearly sensing a power within him vanishing into thin air. Upon careful examination, he couldn’t discover any lost powers.

He did not know that the vanished power was named battle intent, seized by Ning Fan.

This was a weakening on the level of will! He naturally did not understand!

Originally, within the hand seal, there was willpower left by the Immortal Emperor, but as Ning Fan unleashed War Yin Yang, the willpower within the hand seal was similarly weakened.

With a flip of his hand, Ning Fan greeted that Purple Gold Hand Seal with a palm strike.

Under the clash of palm seals, Ning Fan immediately resembled a broken kite, spewing blood and flying backward. As for the Purple Gold Hand Seal, it completely crumbled!

As the hand seal shattered, waves of illusion mist instantly rolled toward Ning Fan.

Ning Fan’s expression slightly changed, attempting to evade these mists, yet he was still a step too slow, these illusion mists invaded his heart mind.

"Second Illusion!"

From the illusion mist, a voice as indifferent as the heavenly Dao resonated. It was the voice issued by the Heavenly Dao itself.

At the moment this voice fell, Ning Fan’s heart mind was unexpectedly ensnared again, trapped within the Mind’s Illusory Realm.

Upon sight, it remained the world of ancient barbaric wilds, but this time, Ning Fan was not a Barbarian Ox, but a Barbarian Fish.

He was a Barbarian Fish, a fish raised within the Taicang Calamity Pool.

Within the Calamity Pool, not only was there one Barbarian Fish, thousands upon thousands of Barbarian Fish, all bearing purple-gold scales, grew there.

The Calamity Pool was heavily restricted, allowing no Barbarian Fish to escape.

By the pool, a dozen Calamity Envoy masters guarded the pool, each possessing cultivations beyond Crossing Truth.

"Hehe, what gall the Barbarian Fish tribe has, daring to offend the High Realm Robber, afraid they won’t live much longer."

"Every day, the Calamity Pool Formation will slaughter a thousand Barbarian Fish, offering the fish souls as a sacrifice for the Robber of the High Realm... It’s said that the souls of Barbarian Fish are an exquisite delicacy, unfortunately, we rank too low to enjoy it..."

The words of those Calamity Envoy masters spread into the Calamity Pool, listened to by countless expressionless Barbarian Fish.

The Barbarian Fish in the Calamity Pool had long resigned to their fate, had long forgotten how to resist.

Every day, the Calamity Pool Grand Array would slaughter a thousand Barbarian Fish, though numerous, there would ultimately come a day when they would be entirely wiped out.

The only way to survive was to escape from the Calamity Pool Grand Array, though many Barbarian Fish had attempted to flee, none managed to shatter the formation light of the array.

All Barbarian Fish that attempted to flee died... Now, no Barbarian Fish dared to defy fate and escape, all barely living.

The Barbarian Fish that Ning Fan had become was also imprisoned within the Calamity Pool, unlike other Barbarian Fish, Ning Fan naturally refused to resign himself to death within this pool.

Transforming into a Barbarian Fish, though an illusion, if the fish body perished within the Mirage, Ning Fan’s true body would also be implicated.

Ning Fan tested, once entering this Mirage, he couldn’t break free. For his heart mind to return, he must escape from the pool of blood...

"Trapped by illusions once more... Last time ensnared by the Purple Lock, I broke free and destabilized the river’s water will, taking the opportunity to peel away one-third of the Sky Treader. This time, if I escape again, I might disrupt the river’s water will once more..."

"What imprisons my heart mind is this Calamity Pool Grand Array; if I break this formation, then I can escape!" (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to come to Qidian (qidian.com) and cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)