Grasping Evil

Chapter 556 - 556: You Are A Good Kid…

The third stage - Black Stage!

Ning Fan followed the Pill Sovereign into the heavenly dwelling space where the third test would be held. As the Pill Sovereign waved his hand, the shen clouds turned illusory, transforming into an illusory world of fire.

Cracks were everywhere on the land with lava flowing below them.

Ten suns were hanging in the vault of heaven. Even Void Refinement Realm experts would have difficulties enduring the heat in this place.

"This is the illusory realm specially for testing one's pill refinement techniques. One can save up a lot of time by refining pills here. According to the standard of this stage, as long as you can concoct a Fifth Revolution Pill, you will be considered passed... To you, this stage is pretty simple. However, I wish to find out exactly what level in the pill refinement realm you have currently achieved. Thus, I hope you can show me your best in this stage."

The Pill Sovereign looked at Ning Fan with a smile. His turbid eyes were filled with hope and excitement.

He had been finicky in his life. His overly high standard dissuaded him from accepting any disciples. However, his meeting with Ning Fan had sparked the idea of accepting the latter as his disciple.

Unfortunately, Ning Fan already had Old Devil as his master and the PIll Sovereign could only give up his thought of making him his disciple.

Ning Fan bowed respectfully to the Pill Sovereign. Then, he used the power of his intent realm to form a large black pill cauldron.

He extended his palm and clawed in every direction. The lava beneath the vast land immediately roiled, burning with even fiercer flames.

The heat from the lava and earth fire gradually warmed up the pill cauldron. When Ning Fan pointed at the ground in front of him with a finger, a jade table appeared with various fifty thousand years old spiritual herbs on top of it.

The Pill Sovereign's eyes scanned past those spiritual herbs and said while nodding his head in approval.

"These are the ingredients for concocting a Void inquiry Pill. A Void Inquiry Pill is a Mid Grade Sixth Revolution Pill. It isn't easy to make. Except for me and you, I believe that there isn't a third person in the Rain World who can concoct this pill… Begin your concoction. Show me and the cultivators of the Rain World your current pill refinement techniques! By letting the Rain Sovereign know your excellent pill refinement skills, he won't turn against you recklessly!"

The Pill Sovereign waved his long sleeve and the illusory realm suddenly trembled. A gigantic bronze mirror that was hanging upside down appeared above the sky.

At the same time, the fire light in the Temple of Rain flashed and a one hundred zhang* (3.33m per zhang) tall bronze mirror emerged.

The reflection in the bronze mirror was the exact same scene where Ning Fan was concocting pills in the illusory state.

The reason why the Pill Sovereign did so was because he wanted to show Ning Fan's Mid Grade Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Realm to everyone in the world!

Including Ning Fan, there were now eight Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Masters in the Rain World. If Ning Fan could concoct a Void Inquiry Pill, his pill refinement skills would at least be in the top five!

The Pill Sovereign had already noticed that the Rain Sovereign ordered Revered Sage to spy on Ning Fan.

He did not know why the Rain Sovereign was targeting Ning Fan. From his perspective, if the Rain Sovereign finds out that Ning Fan was a talented pill refinement master, he probably would need his help in concocting pills and dismiss his enmity against him.

Ning Fan raised his head and gazed into the sky. He gently sighed when he saw the large bronze mirror in the vault of heavens.

He could tell that the Pill Sovereign summoned it with the best of intentions. Therefore, he cupped his fists and expressed his gratitude to him. The Pill Sovereign, however, smiled at him and waved his hand, telling him that he did not need to treat him like an outsider.

In the Temple of Rain, every old monster shifted their eyes to the bronze mirror. They were quite interested in Ning Fan's pill refinement skills.

When some old monsters saw the jade table and noticed that the ingredients which Ning Fan was planning to use were all fifty thousand years old spiritual herbs, their eyes widened with surprise.

"Fifty thousand years old spiritual herbs! According to hearsay, White-Robed Marquis is the eighth Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Master of the Rain World. Today, he indeed is going to concoct a Sixth Revolution Pill!"

"*Tsk Tsk Tsk* Even though he is just nine hundred years old, he is already a Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Master. His innate talent in pill refinement is truly rare in this world. Perhaps he will be the next Pill Sovereign in our Rain World!"

The cultivation of most of the old monsters in the temple were at the Void Refinement Realm. Therefore, it was impossible for them to treat a Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Master with contempt.

Only a green-robed elderly man who had a haughty expression shook his head with disapproval and said, "The next Pill Sovereign? Hehe. Although it's a fact that the White-Robed Marquis has great capabilities, he might not necessarily be able to travel far on the Dao of Alchemy. His innate talent is quite excellent for being able to attain the Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Realm at such a young age. However, he has committed too many killings which made his devil heart difficult to be erased. I'm afraid he has no chance in breaking through to the Mid Grade Sixth Revolution in his entire life!"

As soon as the old man's voice fell, everyone turned toward him and discovered that he was the sect master of the Five Elements Sect – Qing Yuanzi.

Qing Yuanzi was a Low Grade Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Master. He was always the center of attention and took pride in his extraordinary life.

Recently, he had even touched the bottleneck of the Mid Grade Sixth Revolution Realm and claimed that he could achieve the improvement in his pill refinement realm within one hundred years.

He said firmly that it would be impossible for Ning Fan to attain the Mid Grade Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Realm in his entire life. When he said that, many old monsters also felt the same way and nodded their heads gently.

The Dao of Alchemy emphasized one's temperament the most. Ning Fan was a devil cultivator who had committed countless slaughters. Thus, it was reasonable to say that he would have difficulties in achieving success in the Dao of Alchemy.

At the same time, some old monsters were staring at Qing Yuanzi in a weird way as they thought of something else.

Qing Yuanzi might have a bad temperament, but he was no fool. Despite knowing very well that Ning Fan was not someone he should mess with, he still said badly about him at this moment to tatter his reputation. Was it because someone directed him to do so in the dark…?

The Five Elements Sect had a close relationship with the fifth prince, Yun Zhongyan… Could it be that it was Yun Zhongyan's intention to let Qing Yuanzi say those words?

Some old monsters glanced at Yun Zhongyan secretly and saw that his eyes were filled with a hint of pleasure. Besides, he even gave Qing Yuanzi a look of approval…

Without a doubt, Qing Yuanzi was very likely to have received Yun Zhongyan's order to say something bad about Ning Fan.

Qing Yuanzi felt a rush of joy after ridiculing Ning Fa.

However, just as he finished speaking, an old monster in the crowd exclaimed in surprise.

"T-These are… These are the ingredients to make a Void Inquiry Pill! Is the White-Robed Marquis trying to concoct a Void Inquiry Pill?!"

The person who cried in surprise was an old man in white robes. He was standing beneath the bronze mirror, looking carefully at the spiritual herbs on the jade table in the mirror.

This man was the lord of the Flowing Cloud Valley. He was a hair's breadth away from attaining the Absolute Void Stage.

The Flowing Cloud Valley was one of the thirteen sects in the Central State. As the lord of the Flowing Cloud Valley, the words he said naturally carried some weight.

He was holding a scroll of pill recipe in his hands while carefully inspecting each of the spiritual herbs on the jade table. The result made him believe even more firmly that the pill that Ning Fan was going to concoct was a Void Inquiry Pill!

"The White-Robed Marquis is actually preparing to make a Void Inquiry Pill!? Could it be that he has already achieved the Mid Grade Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Realm?"

"Didn't Fellow Daoist Qing Yun say that White-Robed Marquis won't have the opportunity to attain the Mid Grade Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Realm?"

Some old monsters cast a strange look at Qing Yuanzi. Immediately, his old face turned red. He snorted coldly and said, "Even though the medicinal ingredients he is planning to use are meant for concocting a Void Inquiry Pill, it might not necessarily mean that he is a Mid Grade Sixth Revolution Pill Master. He certainly won't be able to concoct the pill!"

Just as Qing Yuanzi finished speaking, a few other old monsters said in astonishment.

"T-This… What grade is that flame?!"

"A Fifth Grade Earth Vein Demonic Flame? A Sixth Grade Mortal Void Flame? No. It isn't… It is a Seventh Grade Immortal Void Flame!"

"The White-Robed Marquis' pill refinement flame is actually an immortal void flame?! What is that name? It actually is stronger than common immortal void flames. Why haven't I heard of this kind of black flame before…?"

Qing Yuanzi glanced sideways at the people who spoke. This time, it was the Minute Dust Three Elders from the Minute Dust Sect.

The reason why they were shocked was because Ning Fan had already summoned his black flame and started refining pill in the bronze mirror!

The black flame was the combination of twenty-four types of Heavenly Cold Qi and Earth Flames which made its grade comparable to that of a High Rank Seventh Grade Immortal Void Flame!

"Why is his spiritual flame so powerful…?" Qing Yuanzi was so shocked that he was at a loss for words.

In the illusory realm, Ning Fan had no idea about the dispute that was happening in the outside world. He only started to refine the pill with a calm mind.

He summoned his intent realm cauldron and released his black flame. Then, he tossed each of the spiritual herbs into the cauldron to refine them. During the process, he unleashed a strong medicine soul power!

The moment he released his medicine soul power, a mysterious black light glowed around his body, giving him an unworldly aura.

In the next moment, countless black butterflies appeared, filling up the entire illusory realm. Those butterflies were produced by his medicine soul!

Despite being on the other side of the bronze mirror, Qing Yuanzi also could deeply feel the intensity of that medicine soul.

Qing Yuanzi's smile froze. He stood there startled.

He stared at Ning Fan who was inside the bronze mirror in disbelief. Even his voice started to tremble.

"I-It's the M-Mid Grade Sixth Revolution medicine soul!"

Moments ago, he firmly said that Ning Fan would not be able to attain the Mid Grade Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Realm. However, the fact was Ning Fan was already a Mid Grade Sixth Revolution Pill Master now!

"Fellow Daoist Qing Yuanzi's foresight seems a little unconvincing." Some old monsters looked at him with a meaningful smile on their faces.

Immediately, he only felt that he had lost face and was deeply embarrassed.

Facts proved that Ning Fan's temperament was completely suitable to cultivate the Dao of Alchemy while Qing Yuanzi was apparently the one who did not have a suitable state of mind for the Dao of Alchemy…

A Void Inquiry Pill was not easy to concoct. An ordinary Mid Grade Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Master would need to spend at least one year to make a single Void Inquiry Pill.

The quality of Ning Fan's flame was obviously better than a lot of people. At the same time, his medicinal cauldron was produced using an intent realm at the Second Step which allowed him to surpass ordinary old monsters in terms of the speed in pill concoction.

However, despite having all the advantages, the entire process still took him half a month.

It was not his first time concocting a Void Inquiry Pill. Therefore, he was already very used to the making of a Void Inquiry Pill.

Half a month later, Ning Fan patted the lid of the cauldron and took out a Void Inquiry Pill that he had successfully concocted.

At this moment, the expressions of all the old monsters in the temple changed!

It was now evident that Ning Fan not only had attained the Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Realm but also the middle grade of that level!

His pill refinement techniques had already reached such a terrifying level despite his young age. If he continues his cultivation, it certainly would not be difficult for him to become the next Pill Sovereign in the coming days!

The next Pill Sovereign!

Even the Rain Sovereign was slightly moved. A genius in the Dao of Alchemy like Ning Fan was extremely important to the future of the Rain World.

Ning Fan's innate talent in the Dao of Alchemy was astonishing. If he becomes a Seventh Revolution Pill Master one day, probably the Rain Sovereign would need to ask for some Seventh Revolution Pills from him in order to achieve the immortal realm…

"This kid has the Black Devil Sect as his backer, the Indestructible Fire Body and a scary innate talent in the Dao of Alchemy… If he isn't the person who will stop me in attaining the immortal realm, I must draw him over my side. He is someone whom I must never turn against!" The Rain Sovereign's eyes flashed with determination.

Logically, Ning Fan was considered to have passed the Black Stage after successfully making the Void Inquiry Pill. However, both him and the Pill Sovereign had yet to leave the illusory realm.

Inside there, Ning Fan was packing up the remaining spiritual herbs that were not used during the process and sealed that Void Inquiry Pill that he had just concocted into a box. Then, he cupped his fists at the Pill Sovereign courteously and said, "Elder Li, please give me guidance!"

Even though Ning Fan had pride, he was not a self-conceited person.

The Pill Sovereign was a senior in the Dao of Alchemy. Thus, he was very pleased to ask for guidance from him.

The Pill Sovereign closed his eyes and stroked his white bear. Then, he sighed and said, "Even though there are still some flaws, there aren't as many as before… It's only been a decade since we last met and your pill refinement realm has already reached this level. If you continue to continue for another few hundred years, I'm afraid I can no longer hold a candle to you… The younger generation sure is formidable…"

Ning Fan lowered his head while listening to the Pill Sovereign obediently without interrupting him.

The Pill Sovereign's eyes flashed with greater approval. The rumors circulating around the world claimed that Ning Fan was a supercilious man who took lives brutally and endlessly. In the Pill Sovereign's eyes, however, Ning Fan was just a person who showed his true nature to the world. Besides, he was also a well-mannered man who never forgot who had helped him.

Divine cultivators, devil cultivators, demon cultivators… All these were not important at all.

The Pill Sovereign raised his hand. With hesitation, he patted Ning Fan's shoulder. His expression was friendly and warm. He treated Ning Fan like one of his descendants.

"You are a good kid…"

Ning Fan's body jolted in surprise. He was never treated in such a way by any seniors. He was born an orphan. His adopted father was never kind to him. Old Devil, on the other hand, had disrespectful behaviors for someone at his age… It was his first time getting a pat on his shoulder and praised by an elderly person…

You're a good kid…

An inexplicable feeling rose within his heart. He felt somewhat sad but warm at the same time.

He recalled Old Devil. He recalled his mother who was nowhere to be found. He recalled Yun Tianjue who was as cold as ice…

Perhaps he could also live a life like an ordinary person and enjoyed the care, protection and compliments from the seniors.

However, fate had made a joke with him from the very beginning which forced him to deal with things in his life on his own and persevere with gritted teeth.

"Are you willing to follow my guidance…?" The Pill Sovereign's eyes were filled with hope as he expressed his intention to keep Ning Fan as his disciple once again.

"This junior already has a master." Ning Fan replied to him apologetically.

"*sigh*…" The Pill Sovereign let out a deep sigh. He was slightly disappointed while feeling jealous simultaneously.

He envied Old Devil for having the chance to keep such a good disciple…

"Ning Fan, your pill refinement realm is going to attain the High Grade Sixth Revolution. I want to give you a big gift. However, I'm just wondering if you are bold enough to receive it!"

"What gift?" Ning Fan's eyes glinted.

"Do you want to see with your own eyes how to break through to the Seventh Revolution?!"

The Pill Sovereign's eyes turned grim and he unleashed the aura force of his medicine soul which had already reached the level of the Seventh Revolution!

At this moment, the Pill Sovereign's pill refinement realm was still at the Peak Grade Sixth Revolution. However, after spending many years in secluded cultivation and travels, he was already able to achieve the Seventh Revolution Pill Refinement Realm a few years ago.

However, he had been suppressing his pill refinement realm without accomplishing the breakthrough just because he wanted to let Ning Fan see with his own eyes how a Seventh Revolution Pill Refinement Master achieves an advancement!

"My medicine soul is the soul of divine wood!"

As the Pill Sovereign released his medicine soul, a huge and towering tree suddenly grew from the ground. It was black and purple!

The color of black was already extremely faint while the color of purple had nearly permeated the entire tree.

Black was the color of the Sixth Revolution while purple was the color of the Seventh Revolution… Every cultivator in the temple turned pale when they saw the scene on the bronze mirror.

Even the Rain Sovereign himself rose to his feet in shock. He hurriedly walked away from his throne and went beneath the bronze mirror. With excitement in his face, he stared at the scene in the mirror!

"The Pill Sovereign's pill refinement realm.. is going to advance to the Seventh Revolution!"

Seventh Revolution!

Seventh Revolution!!

Seventh Revolution!!!

The first Seventh Revolution Pill Refinement Master in the Rain World was about to appear in the. How could the Rain Sovereign not be overjoyed by it?!

Aside from astonishment, Qing Yuanzi was staring at the bronze mirror with admiration and envy.

According to hearsay, when a pill master was advancing to the Seventh Revolution, they would trigger a change in their medicine souls. During the process, they would borrow the soul power of heaven and earth to reconstruct their medicine soul!

Usually, when Seventh Revolution Pill Masters were about to achieve a breakthrough, they would not allow anyone near them to prevent anyone from splitting the soul power of heaven and earth they would get and influence the result of the reconstruction of their medicine souls.

The Pill Sovereign was on the verge of attaining the Seventh Revolution. However, he let Ning Fan stay beside him to observe the process. He was not worried about Ning Fan seizing the soul power of heaven and earth from him.

To Ning Fan, being able to observe the advancement of a Seventh Revolution Pill Refinement Master at such a close distance was an extremely huge opportunity!

If he secretly obtains some of the soul power of heaven and earth which the Pill Sovereign absorbs, it would even enhance the quality of his own medicine soul..

Qing Yuanzi stared at the bronze mirror with jealousy.

Why wasn't it me who watches the Pill Sovereign's advancement?

In the illusory realm, Ning Fan's eyes widened with surprise.

The Pill Sovereign did not try to avoid Ning Fan at all. With a wave of his hand, he directly took out two cattail hassocks and placed them on the ground.

He sat on one of them with his legs crossed and started pushing through the bottleneck of the Seventh Revolution while leaving the other one for Ning Fan.

He did not worry about Ning Fan seizing the soul power of heaven and earth from him at all. Moreover, he was planning to split some of it with him…

Just like how his master did to him last time…

"Hurry up and sit in a meditation position and absorb the soul power! Don't let this chance go to waste!" The Pill Sovereign ordered with a deep voice.

Ning Fan bit his teeth. His eyes were filled with confusion.

He never expected that the Pill Sovereign would treat him so well…

However, how would he be willing to absorb the soul power of heaven and earth from the Pill Sovereign? It would be similar to requiting good with evil…

"I'm not taking your soul power!"

He sat down with his legs crossed!

But he certainly was not going to absorb the Pill Sovereign's soul power. Instead, he wanted to guard for him and aid him in achieving the Seventh Revolution!

*Rumble*

At this moment, the sky in the illusory realm suddenly cracked like a broken eggshell. A gigantic black and white ring shadow emerged beneath those rifts.

The moment the ring shadows appeared, Ning Fan only felt that the medicine soul within him started trembling. It felt like it was going to collapse!

Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel