Grasping the Evil-Chapter 961: Corruption, Withdrawal, Seclusion

Chapter 961: Chapter 961: Corruption, Withdrawal, Seclusion

Mud figures, huh...

Ning Fan nodded, remembering Xiang Mingzi’s instructions. His gaze swept over the foliage of Mu Island, feeling an indescribable ethereal sense in every plant and tree as if completely separate from the chaos of the outside world.

The faint sound of wind through the pines could be heard, mixed with the distant, indistinct tolling of a bell.

Each time the bell echoed in Ning Fan’s divine sense, it clarified his mind a little, and his cultivation advanced slightly. Though the progress was small, it indicated the extraordinary nature of the bell.

The only thing that made Ning Fan frown was the intent within the bell’s sound, urging people to retreat from the world. Due to Ning Fan’s profound cultivation, he was not swayed. If an ordinary True Immortal were to come here, they might feel the urge to renounce worldly matters and choose to join the Buddhist disciples upon hearing this bell.

"What a powerful bell. In all my years of cultivation, I have never seen such a level of Buddhist supernatural power," Ning Fan praised.

"This bell contains the power of the Buddhist Supernatural Power ’Leaks End.’ High-level Buddha cultivators mostly reside in the Western Heaven; Eastern Heaven is scarce in Buddhist disciples who have mastered ’Leaks End.’ It’s normal you haven’t seen such power," Xiang Mingzi explained with a smile.

"Six Buddhist Supernatural Powers?" Ning Fan was slightly taken aback.

He didn’t know much about Buddha cultivators; it was the first time he had heard this term.

"The six Buddhist supernatural powers are Heavenly Eye Technique, Heavenly Ear Technique, Telepathy, Fate Vision, Divine Footstep Technique, and Leaks End. The Heavenly Eye technique focuses on Dharma Eye Divine Ability, Heavenly Ear focuses on Divine Perception, Telepathy allows one to gaze into a person’s heart, Fate Vision lets one view changes throughout ancient reincarnations, Divine Footstep is the power of countless Dharma bodies, and Leaks End cuts off all worldly obsession and attachment. This bell from Wood Pine contains the power of Leaks End. If one’s cultivation is insufficient, upon hearing this bell, they will surely seek refuge in the Buddhist disciples and forsake worldly matters." Xiang Mingzi explained while leading Ning Fan towards the center of Mu Island.

Flying wasn’t impossible, but Daoist Wood Pine had a peculiar nature and disliked anyone flying within his territory. Xiang Mingzi had a request to make, so naturally, he didn’t wish to offend him.

Mu Island was not large, merely a tiny island spanning about ten li, resembling a crouching tiger at the center of the ocean of stars.

The island was covered with Arhat Pines, towering ancient pines reaching dozens of zhang high, growing taller towards the island’s center.

Among the pine forest, mud figures would occasionally drill out from the ground, launching an attack against Ning Fan and Xiang Mingzi without any words.

Initially, these mud figures possessed only Shedding Void Stage cultivation and naturally couldn’t block the steps of Ning Fan and Xiang Mingzi, being easily destroyed by the two.

But later, even Broken Thought Mud Figures began to appear. Although their cultivation was not daunting, they mastered some secret technique that allowed them to predict Ning Fan’s attacks in advance.

Several times, when Ning Fan swung the Memory Severing Dao Sword to slay them, those mud figures seemed to anticipate the angle of Ning Fan’s sword and evaded the strike.

Of course, with the vast disparity in strength between the mud figures and Ning Fan, they were still easily destroyed by Ning Fan, yet he maintained a serious demeanor.

Such a divine skill that could predict someone else’s attack, if mastered by a strong Immortal Venerable level practitioner, would certainly be challenging to deal with and not to be underestimated.

"This is the power of Telepathy, capable of foreseeing the opponent’s thoughts, making judgments in a duel ahead of time, and used with endless ingenuity," Xiang Mingzi explained.

"So it’s another Buddhist Supernatural Power. You mean these mud figures can peer into what I’m thinking through the power of Telepathy?" Ning Fan’s eyes narrowed.

He didn’t want a bunch of mud figures reading his thoughts.

"Hehe, Telepathy works only when there’s a vast gap in cultivation power, revealing all inner thoughts. With your cultivation of the Eternity’s First Tribulation Immortal Venerable level, even a Third Order Quasi-Saint Buddhist cultivator wouldn’t be able to see through your mind. These mud figures can predict no more than your next attack; beyond that, they can achieve nothing," Xiang Mingzi reassured.

"I see."

Realizing he wouldn’t be exposed by Telepathy, Ning Fan’s expression relaxed. If anyone could see through his heart, Telepathy would indeed be terrifying.

Come to think of it, his Mind Reading Technique resembles the Buddhist Telepathy somewhat. It makes one wonder whether the Ancient Chaos Great Emperor referred to Buddhist supernatural powers when creating it.

After walking about three li along the pine forest, a Stele of Saintly Virtue suddenly appeared beside the path.

The tortoise beast carrying the stele was lifelike, hinting at being a true tortoise corpse from the Tortoise Race, dead for countless years, already petrified. The lingering smell of Evil Qi could still be sensed!

The Evil Qi was so strong that Ning Fan could immediately tell this deceased tortoise beast had cultivation comparable to a Sixth Calamity Immortal Emperor!

What a grand gesture from Daoist Wood Pine to use an immortal emperor demon corpse to carry the stele!

The stele atop the tortoise’s back appeared rather ordinary, showing no peculiarities, merely inscribed with two simple words.

"Sealing the World"!

The two words were written in cursive script with Demon Bloodline on the stele, the lettering still crimson, as if it could bleed.

Between the lines, there flowed an imposing aura, sharp and unyielding, like a sword, impossible to ignore.

The reverse side of the stele bore a line of small script.

"Half my life spent as a domineering personality, the heavens unjust, I bring justice! The world holds grievance, I seek to remove it!"

The inscription reads Mu Nanzun, dated back to the Celestial Emperor Calendar, year 934,262,000.

Ning Fan didn’t know who Mu Nanzun was; he had heard of the Celestial Emperor Calendar, a calendar dating ten billion years back to the initial establishment of the Heavenly Court by the Heavenly Emperor.

Cultivation spans no years; a thousand years pass in a blink of an eye, so the ancient court’s calendar marked only eons, although the Heavenly Court had long fallen, some later Masters still use this calendar.

The inscription marks about sixty million years ago.

"Mu Nanzun is Daoist Wood Pine’s mortal name before achieving emperor status. This stele was erected when he was a Quasi-Emperor," Xiang Mingzi explained.

Ning Fan’s attention shifted slightly; so Daoist Wood Pine, even in the Quasi-Emperor stage, slew a Tortoise Race Immortal Emperor and erected a stele here—a truly formidable character.

Looking back at the "Sealing the World" characters, Ning Fan only felt their sharpness and domination, imagining the pre-emperor Daoist Wood Pine’s commanding personality.

Reflecting upon the defiant words, "heavens unjust, I bring justice," Ning Fan seemed to envision a master walking through the world, embodying righteousness.

The so-called "Sealing the World" meant eliminating all worldly grievances...

After a long pause, Ning Fan accompanied Xiang Mingzi, venturing deeper into the pine forest, eventually reaching the second Stele of Saintly Virtue.

This stele was simply borne by a stone-carved tortoise beast, no longer truly a demon corpse.

The front of the stele was engraved with the words "Retreat from the World," lacking much of the killing aura, instead bearing more transcendental essence.

The reverse held another line of script.

"In my twilight years, confined by the Eight Tribulations bottleneck, unable to enter the Nine Tribulations Realm, I journeyed into the Western Heaven, listened to the mystical sound of Buddha, comprehended the true meaning of retreating from the world, washed away sharpness, ignored worldly affairs, thus attaining the peak of the Immortal Emperor Realm."

The inscription reads Emperor Wood Controller, the date marked on the Western Heavens Calendar 272,226,000.

No need to ask; Emperor Wood Controller is likely Daoist Wood Pine’s title as an emperor.

As for the Western Heavens Calendar, it was another system, started by Buddha cultivators residing in the Western Heaven after the ancient Heavenly Court’s fall, marking three billion years ago.

The date on this stele inscription is about thirty million years ago.

"This stele was erected at the Nine Tribulations Peak by Daoist Wood Pine," Xiang Mingzi explained.

Ning Fan frowned at the sight of this second stele.

The first stele portrayed a domineering aura yet dared to condemn injustice and eliminate worldly grievances, demonstrating Daoist Wood Pine’s commitment to the world’s rise and fall.

Ning Fan, though not such a person, always harbors respect for those with a worldly view.

Yet this second stele fully embraced a philosophy of retreating from the world. The word "Retreat" particularly displeased Ning Fan; throughout his life, he faced challenges head-on and never backed down.

His life knew not the word "Retreat." He refused to gaze upon this stele longer, fearing its retreating philosophy might taint his spirit sense.

The two continued deeper into the pine forest, arriving at the innermost sanctum where they encountered an ancient temple, outside which stood the third stele.

The third stele was not carried by a tortoise beast, but was fashioned directly from a towering ancient tree, its surface stripped away to form a wooden monument.

On the front of the wooden monument, two words were inscribed.

[Sealing the World]...

The back of the wooden monument bore an enigmatic line of ancient text.

’With the purple star on the left and the fighting star on the right, open eyes are dreams, closed eyes are emptiness.’

What does this mean? Ning Fan had no idea.

The inscription was signed by Daoist Wood Pine, the time noted as ’twelve million springs and autumns after the opening of the eyes’...

This time, Daoist Wood Pine did not use the Western Heavens Calendar, but rather a system Ning Fan could not comprehend.

What does this mean...

"’With the purple star on the left and the fighting star on the right, open eyes are dreams, closed eyes are emptiness.’ This phrase is a chant engraved on the nine Tianhuang Stone Gates. It is said that this phrase holds a divine ability left by the Immortal Emperor. Many practitioners at the Immortal Emperor level know of this phrase and wish to comprehend its true meaning, yet cannot. Daoist Wood Pine once went to the Western Heavens, after which he practiced the meditation of avoidance and advanced to the peak of Nine Tribulations, but could progress no further. Later, it seemed he understood something from this phrase and switched to practicing the meditation of sealing. A subtle change in a single word carries an essential difference. Later, he successfully broke through to the Quasi-Saint Realm..."

Xiang Mingzi seemed to recall past events, with a hint of nostalgia, and continued,

"Old I and Wood Pine knew each other in youth; his talent was exceedingly high. No matter how hard I pursued, my strength always lagged behind his. When he sealed himself, I was inferior, but the difference was small; when he avoided the world, the gap grew wide; by sealing the world, I was no longer his match. Seven million years ago, we sparred once, and even though I used seventy percent of my strength and he only used thirty, the result was a draw..."

At this, Xiang Mingzi smiled bitterly. In seven million years without seeing each other, the gap between him and Wood Pine was probably even wider.

He sometimes suspected that seven million years ago, Wood Pine had already broken through to the Second-Grade Quasi-Saint Realm. Otherwise, how could he have drawn using just thirty percent strength...

Ning Fan was slightly taken aback. He hadn’t expected that after practicing the meditation of sealing the world, Wood Pine’s strength would be so terrifying.

Sealing the world, avoiding the world, closing the world...

If we consider these three terms as three stages in Wood Pine’s cultivation, Ning Fan could understand the first two stages, but was utterly bewildered by the third, unable to grasp its essence.

What does it mean to seal the world?

Were those chants carved into the nine Tianhuang Stone Gates? Previously, he was busy with the Eye Orb Monster fighting Yin Mo and hadn’t noticed the Tianhuang Stone Gates.

"And what does ’twelve million springs and autumns after opening your eyes’ mean?" Ning Fan asked again.

"Heh heh, I do not know the meaning of this phrase myself. If I did, I wouldn’t be so much weaker than Wood Pine." Xiang Mingzi chuckled wryly.

Just then, from within the ancient temple’s meditation room, a voice of an old man, ancient and cold, as if dismissing someone from afar, suddenly echoed.

"Is that you, Xiang Mingzi? After seven million years, you come to see me again? Do you wish to be defeated by me once more? Aren’t you ashamed!"

The tone was somewhat acerbic, yet as friends, Wood Pine and Xiang Mingzi would often mock each other without consequence.

Indeed, Xiang Mingzi was not angered by this remark. Instead, he laughed and retorted, "Seven million years apart, I’ve made quite some progress. Defeating me this time won’t be so easy for you."

"Is that so? Then I shall have a good duel with you later. But first, let us dismiss the irrelevant people, shall we? Hmm!"

A sudden Buddhist roar erupted from the meditation yard, heading straight towards Ning Fan. Though it was merely a single ’hmm’, it carried the might of a dragon’s roar and a tiger’s growl.

With Xiang Mingzi’s cultivation, being affected by the Buddhist roar made his eardrums ache slightly, which was shocking.

Ning Fan stood at the focal point of that roar, feeling an unprecedented pressure!

Strong, immensely strong!

Though Daoist Wood Pine’s cultivation wasn’t as terrifying as Yin Mo’s, the pressure brought upon Ning Fan was even heavier than in the battle with Yin Mo.

After all, in the fight with Yin Mo, the Eye Orb Monster was in charge, and Ning Fan wasn’t shouldering the pressure alone; this time was different.

It was as if billions of monks were chanting a demon-subduing sound, echoing in Ning Fan’s divine sense like a thunderclap, turning his face pale instantly, leading to black blood flowing from his ears.

This roar might not have matched the roar of the Ancient Great Demon, but compared to its weakened roar ten years later, it was nearly as powerful!

Under this roar, Ning Fan’s body was wracked with unbearable pain, especially the Ancient Demon cultivation within, which seemed to start melting away like snow at the onset of spring!

What a domineering Buddhist roar, able to dissolve Ning Fan’s Ancient Demon power with just a roar!

"Wait! This young friend Ning is a friend of mine, and I have a request for you today, so please stop!"

Xiang Mingzi’s voice grew urgent as he waved his sleeve in a bid to sweep away the Buddhist roar from Ning Fan.

Wood Pine coldly snorted, his divine ability increasing the Buddhist roar’s power, making Xiang Mingzi unable to disperse the roar surrounding Ning Fan.

"This child has crossed two of my taboos. My Mu Island does not welcome him! Since he is your friend, I will spare his life, but take him away; I will not assist in what you seek!"

He directly sent them away without considering his friendship with Xiang Mingzi, highlighting his reclusive nature.

Xiang Mingzi smiled bitterly, knowing the taboos of Wood Pine.

Wood Pine disliked outsiders entering the island. Bringing Ning Fan here violated his first taboo.

Wood Pine disliked Ancient Demons; it was a common attitude among Buddha cultivators to disdain Ancient Demons, yet Ning Fan bore an Ancient Demon aura, breaching his second taboo.

Alas, he thought Wood Pine might see favor in himself and allow Ning Fan onto the island. If he had known this, he wouldn’t have brought Ning Fan.

Xiang Mingzi sighed more deeply. His intention was not just about the Heaven-Opening Stone but also to introduce Ning Fan to this senior, Wood Pine. How could he leave Ning Fan behind?

Even the Dark Clan feared Wood Pine slightly. If Ning Fan could gain Wood Pine’s favor and protection, it would make any subsequent moves by the Dark Clan more cautious.

Xiang Mingzi meant well, hoping Wood Pine could become Ning Fan’s future pillar. It seemed now it had backfired.

"Alright, I will take him away first. Quickly remove the Buddhist roar so it doesn’t ruin his cultivation..."

Just as Xiang Mingzi spoke, Ning Fan pushed forward through the Buddhist roar’s pressure, stepping in a particularly cunning and mysterious direction amidst the explosive sound waves.

With just one step, he left a shining golden footprint in the loose pine soil, followed by a second, a third, stepping one after the other.

"This is... the Secret Art of Prestige of the Ancestral Demon of the East!" Xiang Mingzi’s gaze instantly sharpened.

From within the meditation courtyard, Wood Pine also let out a slight exclamation.

In just an instant, Ning Fan had taken nine steps. After those nine steps, it was as if all the pressure from the Buddhist roar had been firmly stepped beneath him.

With that final step, there was a tread upon the veins of the earth itself, immediately rippling waves of traces that spread out, causing a tremor that shook the ancient pines on the island violently. Then, with the sound of a crack, a gap tore open amidst the endless Buddhist roar.

Instantly, all sound ceased as heavens and earth quieted; Wood Pine’s Buddhist roar dispersed like mist!

Incredibly, with his current cultivation, Ning Fan had shattered Daoist Wood Pine’s Buddhist roar head-on!

"Impossible! It’s rumored outside that the Rain Monarch is merely a newly ascended Immortal Venerable. How could he possibly withstand a roar from Master!"

Those who cried out were more than ten disciples of Daoist Wood Pine in the meditation courtyard, dressed either as monks or Daoists.

These disciples, their cultivation ranging from Shattered Thought Early Stage to even an Eternal Immortal Venerable!

Besides these monks and Daoists, there was an outsider, an elderly man in a black robe, his expression now utterly dark.

"Rain Immortal Monarch... Ning Fan! What is he doing here? And how did he withstand Senior Wood Pine’s roar? Was that strange footwork just now, the legendary Secret Art of Prestige of the Ancestral Demon of the East?!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for the full text.)