Grasping Evil

Chapter 497: Chapter 497: Ancient Demons’ Spirit Wheels

The white tiger’s memories were incomplete.

From his incomplete memories, Ning Fan found out the demon’s true identity. He was known as White Tiger Boy and he served the sect master of the Pill Sect. His duty was to guard the pill refinement cauldron for his master.

Apart from that, Ning Fan even discovered the reason why this white tiger would be as timid as a mouse. He really had to admit that this person’s life was pretty rough and pitiful.

When the sect master of the Pill Sect secretly descended to the mortal world in the past, he was determined to raise a pill devil with all his effort. He planned to continuously enhance that pill devil until it advanced to the level above the Ninth Revolution, reaching the level of Ancestor Pill.

He brought with him a few small children who were responsible for looking after his pill cauldrons when he descended to the mortal world and White Tiger Boy was one of them.

However, he did not expect that White Tiger Boy would steal three of his treasures while he was busy creating the pill devil and escape stealthily.

At that time, White Tiger Boy was only at the Late Gold Core Realm. Because of his low cultivation base, he could not use those supreme treasures at will even though he possessed them.

Moreover, he had been spending his entire life guarding his master’s pill cauldrons and had no combat experience at all. Thus, his combat power was predictably low.

The Heavenly Dao was just and impartial. A few years later after White Tiger Boy had stolen the three treasures from his master, he was killed by a Gold Core Realm cultivator of the mortal world. His treasures also fell into the hands of that cultivator.

That Gold Core Realm cultivator was merely at the Mid Gold Core Realm. Despite being a minor cultivation realm lower than White Tiger Boy, he still managed to kill him. White Tiger Boy was unable to forget that incident and that was why he was extremely fearful of Ning Fan when he faced him even though he clearly knew that Ning Fan had a lower cultivation base.

During that time, he managed to hide a trace of his remnant soul inside the jade ornament before dying. Thanks to the extraordinary function of the Spirit Bone Jade Ornament, that Gold Core Realm cultivator did not discover him.

At first, White Tiger Boy had a bold and reckless personality. Otherwise, he would not have dared to steal his master’s treasures.

However, after ‘dying’ once, he became unusually faint-hearted. He stayed inside the jade ornament in the form of his remnant soul and did not have the guts to come out for countless years.

That jade ornament was truly uncommon as it actually had the function to conceal the secrets of heaven and allow a remnant soul to take shelter in it. Moreover, it could also protect the remnant soul from perishing, prolonging its lifespan indefinitely.

While the white tiger’s remnant soul was hiding inside the jade ornament, he focused on healing his wounds. Unknowingly, the jade ornament had actually altered his remnant soul which somehow enabled him to obtain a trace of ancient demon power.

Because of that, his cultivation base broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm in one go.

This was good as the white tiger was now in the Nascent Soul Realm and would never lose to a junior at the Mid Gold Core Realm no matter what.

Full of confidence, he flew out from the jade ornament and eliminated that Gold Core Realm cultivator and eradicated his entire sect and his family. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

It had already been countless years since the time the sect master of the Pill Sect descended to the mortal world. The pill devil’s birth had been successfully arranged and the sect master of the Pill Sect had also returned to the upper world.

The white tiger stayed in the Rain World, feeling as free as a bird flying in the vast and boundless sky. Inwardly, he muttered.

With the three supreme treasures of my master, I will be able to make a name for myself no matter what and would no longer be a lowly kid who looks after cauldrons like I was in the past back in the upper world.

His Nascent Soul Realm cultivation base was more than enough for him to bully some Harmonious Spirit Realm and Gold Core Realm cultivators. In one of the low-grade cultivation countries in the Rain World, he established his name and ruled that country while living a free life.

Unexpectedly, that unlucky white tiger somehow provoked a Half-Step Nascent Soul Realm devil cultivator.

Even though he was at the Nascent Soul Realm, he was merely at the early stage and had low combat power .

As for that devil cultivator, his combat power was rather good. After they engaged in a fight, the devil cultivator managed to defeat and kill that white tiger despite the difference in their cultivation bases and took away the three treasures.

Fortunately, the white tiger once again successfully hid himself in the jade ornament and avoided another disaster.

However, his courage diminished even more. The feeling of being defeated and nearly killed by another person whose cultivation base was lower was really bitter and agonizing.

Thus, the white tiger stayed inside the jade ornament again for countless years.

During his stay, the jade ornament modified his remnant soul once again. The ancient demon power in him became even thicker. His cultivation base also advanced to the Divine Transformation Realm a thousand years later.

At that time, that devil cultivator had also broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm but was only at the intermediate stage of that cultivation realm. No matter how heaven-defying a Mid Nascent Soul Realm cultivator was, it was impossible for them to win against a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator.

The white tiger regained his confidence and went out of the jade ornament. Similarly, he killed that devil cultivator and annihilated all the members of his sect.

After that, the white tiger started to maintain a low profile. Even though his cultivation base was at the Divine Transformation Realm, he hid himself in intermediate-grade cultivation countries to cultivate while bullying the Nascent Soul Realm and Gold Core Realm cultivators there.

He did not dare to go to high-grade cultivation countries because other Divine Transformation Realm old monsters could be found there.

Besides, he also became extremely timid. In spite of his Divine Transformation Realm cultivation base, he did not even dare to offend a Peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivator as he was worried that he might encounter another heaven-defying person who could kill him regardless of the difference in their cultivation bases.

Unfortunately, destiny always has its way of fooling someone. The white tiger inevitably offended a heaven-defying Peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.. Just like the previous two cultivators, the cultivator killed him, seized his treasures and brought them to the Endless Sea…

“I got myself killed by someone with a lower cultivation base again!” The white tiger hid a trace of his remnant soul one more time and escaped death. This time, however, he cried out in grief and anger inside the jade ornament.

Aggrieved. He really felt aggrieved!

At the same time, his courage shrunk even more.

It was unknown how many years had passed since the white tiger hid himself inside the jade ornament. However, during this period of time, he was constantly being modified by the power of the jade ornament. Gradually, he attained the Void Refinement Realm.

He flew out from the jade again, feeling extremely pleased with himself. He was ready to kill that Peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivator and get his revenge. Pitifully, a great number of years had passed and that cultivator died after his lifespan had reached its end.

Damn it! There is no way I can get my revenge now.

The white tiger then wandered around within the internal sea. While strolling around the area, he accidentally saw the princess statue on Si Kong Demon Island and discovered a great amount of incense flame power inside it. It was an excellent place for him to hide and continue cultivating.

After everything he had been through, he had learned to behave himself. This time, he planned to attain the Void Fragmentation Realm in one try and only travel around the Rain World after that.

He could not believe that someone with a lower cultivation base than him would be able to kill him after attaining the Void Fragmentation Realm.

The white tiger had followed his master for many years and knew a lot of information about the pill devil.

After staying on Si Kong Demon Island for many years, he had broken through the Void Inquiry Stage and the Void Pierce Stage continuously but he still could not absorb the incense flame power.

During this time, Ming Que arrived at the demon island… Thus, the white tiger hatched a plot. He planned on devouring Ming Que and the incense flame power while she took in the inheritance power. In this way, he might be able to advance to the Absolute Void Stage in one go.

The pill devil was a creature which that ancient demon’s master had spent great efforts just to raise it. Devouring the pill devil without his permission was similar to offending the sect master of the Pill Sect.

However, since he had already stolen three treasures from his master and betrayed him in the past, he was not afraid of betraying him once more…

“This white tiger experienced quite a tough life. However, every time he was on the verge of death, he would be blessed with great luck and would ultimately survive. Unfortunately, he ran out of luck this time as I was the one he met and provoked…”

After Ning Fan finished browsing through the white tiger’s memories, he swallowed his remnant soul down his throat.

Then, he took out the three magic treasures: the jade ornament, the blood umbrella and the metal handheld furnace and inspected each of them carefully. Only after making sure that the white tiger did not hide any of his remnant soul within them did he feel less worried.

This time, the white tiger was truly dead.

Ning Fan did not immediately leave the world within the blood umbrella. Instead, he began studying the three magic treasures.

From the white tiger’s memories, he found out the identity of his master, the origins of these three magic treasures and the ancient demon’s lifetime of experience.

However, he still had yet to learn the specific categorizations of the ancient demon cultivation levels as well as their cultivation methods.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. The white tiger was turned into an ancient demon by the jade ornament without being fully aware of it. How could he know anything about the ancient demon cultivation levels?

Fortunately, he still knew a little bit about ancient demons.

The jade ornament contained the faint green circular demon marks. The larger circles surrounded the smaller ones, just like in a person’s fingerprint or the growth rings of a tree.

The umbrella contained faint red circles while the metal handheld furnace was carved with faint golden circles.

Based on the white tiger’s memories, Ning Fan learned that these circular demon marks were called ‘spirit wheels’!

“Ancient devils possess devil talismans and they use them to refine their ‘blood’. The strongest kind of devil talisman is the ancestral talisman. Ancient demons possess spirit wheels which they use to gather ‘spirit’. The strongest spirit wheel is called ‘ancestral ring’…”

While stroking the patterns of the spirit wheels on the three treasures, Ning Fan’s eyes became as deep as the ocean. It was the expression that he would wear whenever he was deep in thought.

In order to systematically cultivate the ancient demon cultivation realms, the first step is to form my own spirit wheels and restore the ancestors’ paths to become an ancient demon.

Devil talismans could refine one’s blood, strengthen one’s physical body and provide ancient devils great potential in body refining that was one hundred times greater than other races.

On the other hand, spirit wheels could gather spirit, enhance one’s spirit sense and give ancient demons great potential in cultivation of sense that was one hundred times stronger than other races!

If Ning Fan wanted to condense his own spirit wheels, he would need to get a relic from the old ancestors of the Fu Li Tribe and use it to perform the ancestral sacrificial ceremony. Only then would he have a chance to form his own spirit wheels.

Actually, Ning Fan was not really concerned about whether or not he could cultivate the ancient demon path.

With regards to the spirit wheels, however, he really wished he could condense them. If he has his own spirit wheels, his potential in cultivating his spirit sense would be one hundred times stronger than ordinary cultivators.

The strength of one’s spirit sense was not only closely related to their combat power, it even shared a close relation to pill refinement and weapon refinement techniques. Thus, it would be a wonderful thing if he could form his own spirit wheels which could greatly boost the power of his spirit sense.

“It’s such a pity that the Fu Li Tribe has already gone extinct for a long time. Most people haven’t even heard of its name. I’m afraid it will be extremely difficult to find a Fu Li ancestral demon’s relic to perform the ancestral sacrificial ceremony… Mm? This is…”

All of a sudden, Ning Fan fixed his eyes on the Spirit Bone Jade Ornament. He had made a new discovery.

The jade ornament, the blood umbrella and the metal handheld furnace had patterns of the spirit wheels but the spirit wheels on the last two items had signs of being engraved. The spirit wheels on them were not formed naturally.

As for the spirit wheels on the jade ornament, they seemed to have formed there on their own. In other words, they were obtained through refinement.

This jade ornament was originally carved from a pile of remains of an ancient demon and those bones already had the spirit wheels of that ancient demon in the first place.

Ning Fan cast a strand of his spirit sense into the jade ornament. To his surprise, he realized that his spirit sense was actually enveloped by the power of those spirit wheels.

However, his spirit sense was not hurt. Instead, it was growing under the nourishment of the spirit wheels.

Slowly his tiny strand of spirit sense grew a little longer and became slightly stronger!

Ning Fan’s eyes sparkled.

“So that’s why that ancient demon could continuously raise his cultivation base under the help of the jade ornament. It turns out that this jade can raise one’s spirit sense level by itself…”

A demon cultivator’s cultivation base was closely related to their spirit sense. Since the white tiger had the jade ornament that was constantly improving his spirit sense, his cultivation base continuously advanced from the Gold Core Realm up to the Void Refinement Realm as a result.

When Ning Fan used his spirit sense to inspect the umbrella and metal handheld furnace, he found out that although the two of them also have spirit wheels, theirs could not improve his spirit sense because the spirit wheels were carved onto them through artificial methods.

It seemed like only the spirit wheels on the jade ornament had the effect of raising one’s spirit sense.

“What will happen if I absorb the power of the spirit wheels on this jade ornament?!” A bold idea suddenly surfaced within Ning Fan’s mind.

Every ancient demon tribe had their own spirit wheels. Ning Fan possessed the Fu Li Demon Bloodline. If he wants to condense his own spirit wheels, he would obviously be condensing the Fu Li Spirit Wheels.

Even though this jade ornament was made out of the bones of an ancient demon, Ning Fan had no idea what demon tribe this ancient demon belonged to.

Even if he absorbs this demon’s spirit wheels, they might not necessarily be suitable for him.

However, Ning Fan still wanted to try absorbing the spirit wheels on this jade ornament. He wanted to see whether or not they would help him increase the level of his spirit sense.

He gently inhaled while stroking the jade ornament with his fingertips. Afterwards, he traced the contours of the spirit wheels on the jade, slowly extracting the power within them and assimilating it into his body.

Those inconspicuous spirit wheels actually contained an unimaginable amount of power.

As their power got extracted, the radiance of the jade ornament gradually dimmed. As for Ning Fan, after he took in the power of the spirit wheels on the jade, his spirit sense advanced by leaps and bounds.

His spirit sense was originally at the Void Glimpse Stage but when he finished absorbing the power of the spirit wheels, his spirit sense showed signs of advancing to the Void Inquiry Stage.

Other than the great amount of power, the spirit wheels also carried some memory fragments. They seemed to be the memories hidden in the bones of the dead ancient demon.

Those memories contained the record of the jade ornament changing hands several times.

Apart from that, they also showed that a green-robed old man descended to the Rain World with a group of children. That old man in green robes held a blood umbrella with one hand and carried a metal handheld furnace with the other. A jade ornament was hanging on his waist. That person should be the sect master of the Pill Sect.

Moreover, the fragments of memories also contained the childhood memories of the owner of the bones. From those memories, a powerful ancient demon could be seen opening the altar to pass his teachings about the cultivation of Dao to many low level ancient demons.

When these memories appeared in Ning Fan’s mind, he hurriedly activated the power of his memory intent realm, attempting to watch those memories carefully.

He closed his eyes tightly and gradually fell asleep.

His mindscape entered into the memories of that ancient demon, falling into an illusion of past events. He wanted to look into the Great Dao of Spirit Wheels.

That was a strange dream. It was the memories of the owner of the spirit bones when he was alive.

In that dream, Ning Fan was standing on a small continent that floated above the galaxy.

It was a land where a one hundred and eighty thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) tall platform made out of white jade was built.

An old man full of white hair wearing a tiger fur coat sat upright on top of the jade platform. His eyes shone with a bright demon light while he was opening the altar to pass his teachings.

Below the jade platform, there were millions of ancient demons listening to his preachings.

Since he was sitting among millions of ancient demons below the jade platform, Ning Fan looked really insignificant.

The place he was sitting should be where the owner of the spirit bones sat in the past.

Each of the demons sitting beside Ning Fan had vigorous qi. The weakest among them was at the Peak Divine Transformation Realm. Clearly, if one wants to listen to the white-haired old man preach about the Dao, they need to satisfy the minimum cultivation base required.

“Your Majesty, if I may ask, what are demons?” An expert whose qi was at the Second Stage of Cultivation gently stood up. He bowed to the jade platform and asked with a polite tone.

“Demons are beings who stand above heaven and earth with an indomitable spirit. Humans, on the other hand, are demons who beset the world with dharma. In the past, there were human sovereigns who became demons there and then. The world became the scripture and all recited it for eons. In ancient times, there were also demon sovereigns who reincarnated as humans. They went through three lifetime’s worth of trials and eventually obtained immortality…”

The white-haired old man spoke with fervor and assurance. His dignified voice resounded across all directions of the jade platform, making many ancient demons silently think.

“Your Majesty, may I ask what is spirit?” Another ancient demon whose qi was comparable to the Shedding Void Realm rose to his feet. He politely bowed to the jade platform and raised his question.

“When heaven and earth have no spirit, demons will have the spirit. When the spirit is returned to the world, the demons’ spirit will vanish.” The white-haired old man calmly answered. His words, however, put countless ancient demons deeper in contemplation.

“Your Majesty, if I may ask, what is the spirit wheel?” Ning Fan suddenly stood up. He made a bow to the jade platform with his hands cupped and asked.

“Spirit wheel?” The white-haired old man suddenly raised his head and looked at Ning Fan. He looked a little surprised, as if he did not expect Ning Fan to raise a question.

As for some ancient demons whose cultivation realms were at the Void Fragmentation Realm, the Life Immortal Realm or even the True Immortal Realm, they were slightly displeased.

According to the emperor’s rules, only immortals whose cultivation realm had broken through to the Second Stage would have the right to consult with the emperor.

In a grand occasion like this, even Void Fragmentation Realm old monsters had no right to ask the emperor a question.

Thus, Ning Fan’s actions were obviously against the rules. Immediately, a few immortals coldly stared at Ning Fan. Their expressions were unkind and their eyes seemed to be warning him about his actions.

Ning Fan’s face did not have the slightest hint of fear when he faced the warnings of those experts and seniors. Instead, he maintained a neutral expression. He looked at the white-haired old man with his eyes filled with the thirst for knowledge.

The white-haired old man waved his hand, hinting at everyone not to reprimand Ning Fan. Then, he continued looking at Ning Fan and gently nodded.

According to his rules, junior cultivators indeed do not have the right to ask a question. However, Ning Fan’s expression which showed that he wasn’t afraid of power earned that white-haired old man’s respect. Thus, he made an exception for him.

“If the demons who stand above heaven and earth have fear within their hearts, the Demon Dao can no longer be cultivated. You have no fear in your eyes which makes you a great material for cultivating the Demon Dao.”

The white-haired old man gave his praise. Instantly, countless powerful ancient demons looked at Ning Fan in disbelief.

Their expressions were a mixture of shock, admiration and jealousy.

They were shocked because the emperor who was always cold and stingy with his compliments actually praised a junior.

They admired and envied Ning Fan because he actually got the emperor’s favor. He would probably be blessed with great opportunities and fortune in the near future.

“You asked me what the spirit wheel is… Now, these are spirit wheels.”

The white-haired old man lifted a finger. Halos that gave off dazzling white light spread in all directions from the tip of his finger like ripples on calm water.

As the halos shrunk, white light circles which looked like growth rings on a tree coiled around the elderly man’s finger. They were his spirit wheels.

When the old man pointed at the sky, he summoned wind and rain. Using the power of his spirit wheels, he could extract the power of the heavens and turn it into his own spirit sense and demon power.

When he pointed at the earth, he moved mountains and filled up seas. Using the power of his spirit wheels, he could extract the power of the earth and turn it into his own spirit sense and demon power.

When he pointed at the millions of ancient demons below the jade platform, all of their demon blood boiled. Then, they could only feel that they lost control over their demon power which then became the old man’s!

Ning Fan also felt the power of the old man’s spirit wheels. He felt that the old man could seize all of his power with just a single glance!

With the help of the spirit wheels, the elderly man could even seize demon power from other cultivators and make it his own!

If the blood of the ancient devils was said to be meant for fortifying their physical bodies and cultivating their inner bodies, then the spirit of the ancient demons was based on borrowing the power from heaven and earth and using others’ spears to break others’ shields!

At this moment, even though the white-haired man sat on top of the jade platform, he gave others a sense that he was controlling heaven and earth!

The heaven and earth of this area were all under his control!

“Obtaining spirits and turning them into wheels. That’s what spirit wheels are!” The old man added.

The eyes of countless ancient demons burned with passion. Additionally, many of them even exclaimed, “Is this the power of the emperor’s ancestral rings?! What terrifying power! He could even seize the power of our spirit wheels!”

The white-haired old man let out a gentle cough which immediately silenced all the discussions among the crowd. Then, he continued speaking.

“The wheel is the great secret of heaven and earth. It’s the ultimate form developed from Dao. Trees have growth rings. Humans have ring-like fingerprints. Heaven has the Wheel of Dao. Demons use spirit as their wheels and use the wheels to control samsara. All things in the world can’t escape from samsara. If you understand what I am telling you, you will discover the truth and attain your own wheels. If you don’t, however, you will never be able to escape from samsara.

The white-haired old man continued speaking. The expressions of the ancient demons were blank and confused. Only Ning Fan seemed to understand but he could not comprehend it completely.

That incomplete dream ended. Ning Fan vacantly opened his eyes. The white-haired old man’s words were too profound for the current him to understand thoroughly.

“Turning spirit into wheels and using the wheels to control samsara…”

Ning Fan’s eyes gradually regained their clarity and sharpness. He then shook his head and stopped thinking about anything related to the ancient demons.

Even though he could not cultivate the ancient demon path at the moment, he had absorbed the power of the spirit wheels from the spirit bones of the jade ornament. That power greatly increased the level of his spirit sense, making him a hair’s breadth away from attaining Void Inquiry Stage level of spirit sense.

All he needed now was just an opportunity to complete the advancement of his spirit sense.

Currently, except for the jade ornament which lost a great deal of its power after Ning Fan absorbed its spirit wheels, the other two of the three treasures he obtained from the hands of the white tiger were still intact.

The golden handheld furnace was not a big deal. The blood umbrella, on the other hand, was a rare small chiliocosm cosmos treasure. Ning Fan now had another world to enter.

“It’s about time to leave.”

Ning Fan held the blood umbrella, gently activating its spirit wheels. At the next instant, he flew out from the umbrella world and returned to the sky above the demon island.

Each of the cultivators on the demon island only saw both Ning Fan and the white tiger enter into a small chiliocosm. They knew that the two would be fighting a fearsome battle inside that world but they could not determine who would win the battle in the end.

Seeing that Ning Fan came out safe and sound at this moment while holding the white umbrella treasure that should have belonged to the white tiger, it clearly meant that he had gained a victory over that demon.

Immediately, a loud cheer filled the entire demon island.

“What?! Revered Ming is actually so powerful!? Despite being at the Void Inquiry Stage, he managed to kill a Void Pierce Stage demon!”

“Holy crap! A Void Pierce Stage old monster who can be regarded as a peak expert in the Rain World actually lost!? This is just unimaginable!”

Without a doubt, if the battle on the demon island were to spread to the outside world, Ning Fan’s reputation would greatly rise again.

Unfortunately, Ning Fan decided to keep it hidden from the world and prevent the demon cultivators from spreading it…

He descended to the sacrificial altar and nodded at Su Yan whose face was full of worry, signaling to her that she could stop worrying now.

His gaze then drifted to Ming Que. Her brows were still tightly drawn together. Other than the improvement in her cultivation realm, the greatest benefit she would get by obtaining the inheritance was a great amount of Si Cang’s memories before her death…

Ming Que was trying hard to assimilate these memories and might still need a long period of time to complete that process. Naturally, she needed Ning Fan to keep protecting her during this period of time.

“It’s better that I erase the memories of the cultivators on this demon island before Ming Que wakes up…”

The white tiger had exposed Ming Que’s identity as a pill devil which was related to the Pill Sect. Ning Fan did not intend to let the world know about it in order to avoid getting into more troubles.

“Erase!”

He activated his memory intent power with all his might. Then, as he waved his hand, a black snowstorm covered the sky and fell on the island.

Every cultivator on the demon island that was standing under the snow was startled and passed out. All of them had a lot of their memories erased by Ning Fan one after another.

When these cultivators regain their consciousness, they would probably feel a sharp pain on their Sea of Consciousness. Anyway, it wasn’t something that Ning Fan was worried about.

Time flew by slowly. All of a sudden, Ming Que’s body gave off a strange pill fragrance.

That pill fragrance seemed to be at the level of a Low Grade Sixth Revolution Pill…

At this moment, Ming Que opened her eyes. The look in her eyes was sometimes noble and cold like ice and sometimes pure and innocent like a naïve girl.

At the same time, the Immemorial Dark Sparrow Tribe in the Heavenly Demon World fell into turmoil.

In their ancestral temple which enshrined their previous dark sparrow ancestors, one of the ancestral statues suddenly shone forth with a dazzling light.

“Ancestor… Si Cang… What exactly is happening? Why would such a strange phenomenon appear?!”

Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel