In the hollow space, rubbles and broken debris floated everywhere.
Within the ruins of the Star Palace, two experts stood facing each other. The tremendous aura force being emanated by the both of them made the top talents suffocate.
On one side, there was a black Realm Beast which was hundreds of thousands of zhang* (3.33 m per zhang) tall. However, due to his severe injuries, he could only reveal an Early Void Refinement Realm aura.
On the other end, there was ‘Ning Fan’ who was fiddling with his hair gently with his finger while wearing a relaxed smile on his face. Even though his actions were feminine and the Early Void Refinement Realm qi he exhibited seemed to be weakening, when comparing both of their auras, Ning Fan’s was rather stronger than the Realm Beast’s!
“Lu Bei versus the Realm Beast, who will come out victorious?!”
“Why do you still bother about it? We only have one single mission now… and that is to run!”
As the Star Palace was shattered and the advent of danger, these experts from the Northern Heaven no longer dared to linger around that place. Each of them took out their own star disks respectively and began leaving along a path in the Void Realm.
Even those love-struck female cultivators who were admiring Ning Fan left reluctantly after being urged by their senior brothers.
This place had already become the battlefield for Lu Bei and the Realm Beast. Regardless of whoever wins or loses, their battle would certainly affect a large region and those who stayed to watch it would die without a doubt!
Of all the tens of thousands of top talents from the Northern Heaven, almost no one cared about who gains the emperor’s star in the end. All of them were only focused on getting out of that place hurriedly.
Despite whatever that was happening in the Void Realm, be it ‘Ning Fan’ or the Realm Beast, none of them shifted their gaze away from each other. They did not seem to bother about the people who left at all, as they were contending using their auras.
After a short confrontation of their auras, a loud bang reverberated in the sky. The Realm Beast’s aura had actually been defeated by Ning Fan’s who was now possessed by Luo You!
“Who exactly are you?! You might have possessed a small fry from the mortal world but you know about the affairs of the Realm Beast Race. You are definitely not a nameless being!”
The Realm Beast panted heavily but the killing intent within his eyes had never receded.
In terms of their auras, he might not be stronger than Luo You. However, in terms of the strength and hardness of their physical bodies, Ning Fan’s body definitely could not compare to the Realm Beast’s.
*Roar*
The beast let out a deafening roar, the Realm Beast raised its enormous claw and brutally clawed at the hollow space in front of him.
Even if his cultivation was greatly weakened, the strength of his physical body still remained. The force of that claw directly conjured a one hundred thousand zhang* (3.33 m per zhang) large black palm imprint which went straight for Ning Fan’s head.
“Realm Palm Technique!”
The horrible palm imprint would cause the hollow space to shake every time it went past it.
Looking at the huge palm above his head, ‘Ning Fan’… No, Luo You’s eyes turned grim and she let out a gentle snort.
“Are you trying to bully this elder sister with the strength of your beast body? Humph! Apparently, you don’t seem to know that the secret technique of my bloodline specializes in tackling different kinds of body refining cultivators! Plenty of beauties can charm a heroic man and a three thousand li* long river can bury a brave lionheart. This is an unchanging principle…’The Three Thousand Li* of Weakening Water Technique!’”
As she was borrowing Ning Fan’s physical body to cast the technique, a trace of water-blue magic power flowed at his fingertips.
Luo You performed a series of hand seals and eventually pointed one of her fingers to the sky. Immediately, above her head, layers upon layers of still water-blue pond emerged. This pool of water wasx… the Weakening Water!
This cold enfeebling water had nine layers!
The one hundred thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) large palm imprint of the Realm Beast slammed right onto the quiet pond and easily destroyed it.
However, for every layer that was crushed, there would be a trace of strange blue magic power seeping into the palm imprint, immediately weakening its strength.
When the first layer of the pond disappeared, the size of the palm imprint shrank to only fifty thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang).
When the third layer was destroyed, the palm imprint was now only ten thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) large.
After the sixth layer was broken through, the size of the palm imprint was merely five thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) large.
When the final layer of the pond was destroyed, the palm imprint became only one thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) large.
The power of this palm imprint was just nothing more than an attack from a common Divine Transformation Realm cultivator.
With the help of Ning Fan’s physical body, Luo You held her bare hands in the air, rubbed them together and made a clap which directly crushed the incoming palm imprint.
At the moment when the palm imprint was parried, traces of water-blue aura flowed into the Realm Beast’s body through the palm imprint.
As soon as the water-blue aura went inside of him, the Realm Beast’s gigantic body began to shrink at a rapid pace and eventually became only one thousand zhang* tall!
“The Three Thousand Li* of Weakening Water Technique! You are a member from the Luo Clan!”
The Realm Beast widened his eyes. According to hearsay, the Luo Clan of the Northern Heaven had a bloodline secret technique named Three Thousand Li* of Weakening Water. It was a terrifying divine ability which could seal off the strength of one’s physical body!
The Realm Beast was originally prepared to depend on the strength of his beast body to suppress Luo You. However, he had never expected that Luo You would seal off his overpowering strength with her secret technique as soon as she faced him.
A three thousand li* long river may bury a brave lionheart!
Even though you have True Immortal Realm Body Refining Realm, once you are affected by this technique, your strength would be greatly weakened, making your muscles and bones soft and powerless!
All the top talents had already fled away. Thus, no one was able to witness how bizarre and terrifying this technique was.
Within the state of mind, Ning Fan was inwardly astonished.
If I meet anyone from Luo You’s clan in the future, I must be extra careful. This secret technique is somewhat heaven-defying…
For the burly, cloaked man, since his strength was restricted, it was pointless for him to turn into his beast form.
By making a spin, the Realm Beast turned into his human appearance again. Under his cloak, the pair of eerie green eyes were filled with resentment.
“You’re the remaining survivor of the Luo Clan. It will be a great contribution if I eliminate you! I suppose you no longer have much power left after fending off the power of my Ancestral Talisman and sealed off my body refining realm with your injured primordial spirit! I’m afraid that you can’t even perform any of the Luo Clan’s secret techniques anymore.”
The burly man sneered and made a step forward, dashing directly towards Luo You.
Although his strength had been sealed, the defense of his physical body still remained intact. He would definitely gain the upper hand if he engages Luo You in close combat.
Luo You’s eyes narrowed coldly . Her primordial spirit was already impaired. After casting the Eroding Yin Technique and the Weakening Water Technique in succession, her primordial spirit had become even weaker. There was no way she could endure the exertion of performing large-scale secret techniques.
Seeing that the burly man was throwing a ferocious fist towards her, Luo You was immediately overwhelmed. She blocked it with difficulty using Ning Fan’s body but she was then struck by the burly man directly on the scapular, breaking every last bone of Ning Fan’s shoulder!
Luo You was not good in a physical battle like this at all!
When the burly man saw that his first punch had gotten him an advantage, he smirked coldly and threw out a torrent of punches.
Despite dodging left and right as fast as she could, Luo You kept being hit by the burly man’s punches. Of course, these punches landed on Ning Fan’s physical body.
“Let me confront him! You just need to lend me the power of your primordial spirit!”
Within the state of mind, Ning Fan could not stand watching the fight anymore.
Luo You was not good in body techniques. Even though she had sealed the Realm Beast’s True Immortal Level strength, she still could not gain any advantages.
“I’m sorry… I’m not really good at close-quarter combat… You take it from here…” Luo You apologized and her tone was filled with remorse.
It was because of her that Ning Fan’s physical body suffered severe injuries.
“Mm!”
When Ning Fan regained control over his body, he suddenly closed his eyes. He stood facing directly at the burly man’s punch without dodging or ducking.
In the burly cloaked man’s eyes, it was an act of humiliation.
“Humph! Are you giving up now after realizing that you aren’t my match?”
Looking at Ning Fan who seemed to be awaiting his death with his head held high, the burly, cloaked man thought he had victory in his grasps.
However, when he landed his punch on Ning Fan’s body, he felt his punch did not strike anything at all.
At the same time, Ning Fan who should have been hit by that punch abruptly opened his eyes which were beaming with energy. His body dispersed into countless black shadows. When the shadows recondensed, a cold young man with black hair and robes appeared at one thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) away.
“You seemed to be having a good time hunting me, don’t you?!”
“You felt very pleased punching me, don’t you?!”
The young man dispersed into shadows and the shadows condensed into one again.
After several times of dispersal and condensation, Ning Fan examined the inner parts of his body and found that the bones which were broken by the burly man earlier were already healed.
Even though he still had some wounds, they were not an obstruction for him to continue battling the Realm Beast.
“Realm Beast, come and die!”
Ning Fan’s eyes flashed with indifference. Along the way, he had been pursued by the Realm Beast and had a few close brushes with death. Currently, this Realm Beast’s strength had been restrained by Luo You and his cultivation base had dropped to the Void Refinement Realm. As for him, his power had also reached the Void Refinement Realm with the help of Luo You’s power!
At this moment, Ning Fan finally had the qualification to compete with the burly man.
Luo You might not be good in physical confrontation, but Ning Fan’s body techniques were not weak!
*Boom*
Ning Fan threw out his fist which collided against the burly man’s. When the two fists clashed, both of them were sent backwards for ten thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) in the hollow space. However, they immediately charged towards each other and fought again. They seemed to be on equal footing and within a short period of time, it was hard to distinguish the victor between them!
What was different between the two of them was their looks.
Ning Fan’s eyes were icy-cold and calm as if nothing from this world could distract him.
As for the burly man, however, his eyes were blazing with anger.
“The incarnation technique? And you have actually cultivated it to the level of self-recovery? But so what if you have that technique?!”
The burly man felt even more humiliated by Ning Fan.
After all, what kind of being was he? If it was not because he was grievously injured and if not for Luo You who had sealed off his strength, pinching Ning Fan to death would certainly be as easy as crushing an ant.
How dare a mere Divine Transformation Realm small fry fight me hand-to-hand!
Even though the burly man was unscathed due to the extreme toughness of his physical defense, his heart was seething with rage.
“Go to hell, you mere ant! Go to hell! GO TO HELL!”
The burly man roared loudly, stirring up countless windstorms from the Void Realm.
No matter how hard the burly man’s fists were and no matter how ferocious the windstorms were, each time Ning Fan’s body dispersed, the shadows would condense again and would continue to fight him.
There were no fancy skills or techniques. What he had was the will to fight and to land each and every one of his punches onto his opponent’s body!
The toughness of the burly, cloaked man’s physical defense was not something Ning Fan can penetrate.
On the other hand, the injuries that Ning Fan suffered were getting more and more severe after exchanging punches with the burly man.
While in his incarnation state, it was not true at all that Ning Fan would not get injured. The reason why he remained unscathed in the past was because his opponents could not possibly harm him as they were just too weak.
However, his opponent this time was different. It was a Realm Beast and his attacks inflicted destructive damage on Ning Fan’s incarnation.
Ning Fan’s black robe was drenched with fresh blood. A burning sensation ran all over his body due to the aching pain of his wounds. However, Ning Fan’s eyes remained as cold and indifferent as ever.
His determination could not be affected by any emotion. His courage could not be shattered by any powerful enemy. His focus could not be enchanted by any illusion…
His incarnation had no heart, making him emotionless and fearless!
*Boom*
Another clash of fists from the two powerhouses. Ning Fan was blasted tens of thousands of zhang* (3.33m per zhang) away, barely able to stand on his feet. The Realm Beast was not any better. After receiving a torrent of blows from Ning Fan, although he was not directly harmed, the wounds on his body split open indirectly worsening his previous injuries.
The top talents from the Northern Heaven who had already escaped a million li* (500m per li) paused. Each of them had fear lingering within their hearts.
They had finally fled to a safe distance but they were still concerned about the battle between Ning Fan and the Realm Beast. Every one of them took out their secret treasures such as the Heavenly Dwelling Mirror and the Transmission Stone to explore the battlefield above the sky outside the Star Palace.
However, when they saw the scene which was projected in their respective treasures, none of them could remain calm.
Look at that black-robed young man battling the Realm Beast! He’s so thin and feeble! But that expression on his face…so cold and indifferent…
Fearless! From the beginning, this young man who was under the pseudonym of Lu Bei had never been afraid of the Realm Beast.
While all the top talents were desperately fleeing away for their lives once they saw the Realm Beast, Ning Fan still remained at the same place and confronted that mighty beast with his bare fists!
The ruins within the Heaven Hall was stained with fresh red blood.
However, no matter how much blood he shed, Ning Fan’s courage grew as the battle progressed.
“I have no idea what secret technique this Lu Bei has cast. His cultivation base is obviously only at the Mid Divine Transformation Realm, but he has managed to boost his power to the Void Refinement Realm and face the Realm Beast!”
“It seems that it’s the Primordial Spirit Possession Technique… It seems there is a primordial spirit of a powerful expert hiding within Lu Bei. As for the reason why he can put up a fight with the Realm Beast, it should be because he borrowed power from this expert!”
“So what if he borrows power from others? Being able to incorporate an external power for their own use is also a symbol of one’s capabilities, isn’t it? Furthermore, even if he borrowed someone else’s power which allowed him to temporarily use Void Refinement Realm level of power, it’s impossible for him to fight against the Realm Beast toe-to-toe with just that… Lu Bei seems to have used some kind of secret technique which caused the Realm Beast to be unable to display the original strength of his physical body, disabling him from performing any True Immortal Realm body refining techniques!”
“What?! There is such a secret technique which can seal one’s physical strength in this world?! That is just too heaven-defying!”
Each of the young men were discussing spiritedly about Ning Fan. In their eyes, the impression that Ning Fan gave them became more and more inscrutable.
Each of the young girls, however, were infatuated with Ning Fan. In their eyes, the earlier Ning Fan with a feminine disposition was unique and gentle. At this moment, however, the current callous and strong Ning Fan made these lofty and pampered young ladies from aristocratic families become immersed in their fantasy.
“He’s… so charming…”
Ning Fan did not know that there were innumerable top talents paying attention to him. At this moment, Ning Fan was unbelievably focused. His eyes were only locked onto a single person: the burly, cloaked man.
His incarnation dispersed and recondensed again and again but his injuries became heavier over time. Ning Fan had already forgotten about winning and losing. There was only a stubborn determination within his mind: to hold on until the moment when Yuan Yao recovers her original cultivation base!
In his life, there were a lot of times where he knew that he could not defeat his enemies but he could not retreat regardless.
Ning Fan’s consciousness gradually became blurry. His demon blood was also boiling. All of a sudden, fragments of memories from his demon bloodline flooded into his Sea of Consciousness. Countless illusory scenes from the ancient times flashed past his eyes. Those were the scenes of how the members of the Fu Li Race were born from time immemorial.
Originally, there was no Fu Li Race in this world until one day, a young man in purple robes massacred the Great Antiquity with his own power and commanded the entire demon race.
On that day, most of the demons surrendered and the members of the True Spirit Races were appropriately settled down by this purple-robed young man.
On that day, however, there were a few True Spirit old ancestors who swore to fight without surrendering. They ignited all of their demon blood and fought until their very last breath.
Even though those demons were unable to escape death in the end, they had gained the purple-robed young man’s respect. He then resurrected this group of True Spirit ancestors using a great divine ability and remolded them into new beings. This group of True Spirits were later named as the Fu Li Race!
Hold (Fu 扶) against the inclined heaven, go (Li 离) against all villainous hearts!
Only those who never kneel in defeat and never surrender in death would be qualified to guard the Heavenly Dao and uphold justice!
“The Fu Li Race were the remnants who refused to yield and had burnt their demon blood to the last drop in order to fight to their last breath…”
“My encounter with the Fu Li was accidental as I awakened the Fu Li blood by chance. But this is not an accident! It was as if I was meant for it as I have never yielded to anyone too…”
“On the path of cultivation, one shall advance against Heaven… If one doesn’t have a lofty and unyielding character, then they shall not have the qualifications to desire the throne at the pinnacle of power!”
The blurriness in his eyes subsided gradually and a trace of comprehension surged in his mind.
This bloody fight to the death had unexpectedly raised the cultivation of his state of mind!
The Realm Beast could no longer tolerate him anymore!
He despised small fries and he was unwilling to have an equal fight with them.
In his eyes, Ning Fan was one of them and he was the most annoying one.
“Detestable! It’ll be better if there are some other ways to kill this brat… That lowly slave woman is hiding in the golden flame chariot and it has been kept by him in his storage pouch. Once I finish him off and kill the lowly maid, everything will be over!”
While he was planning and scheming, two strange large gates suddenly appeared in the sky. When the gates opened, a black-robed old men walked out from each of them. Both of them looked ferocious and ruthless.
As soon as they arrived, their faces darkened.
“Hei Mu1, the Great Elder ordered you to kill the lowly slave woman but why are you dealing with a Divine Transformation Realm cockroach here?!”
The two individuals arrived too suddenly. At the moment the giant gates opened, the Northern Heaven top talents were nearly shocked to death.
“The Realm Gate Technique! Another two Realm Beasts of the True Immortal Realm have descended to the mortal world!”
“This is bad! Let’s retreat now!”
That sudden change had eliminated the top talents’ thoughts of continuing to spy on Ning Fan. All of them were in a hurry to escape.
Ning Fan’s eyes narrowed with seriousness as well upon seeing the appearance of the two men. After another clash of fists with the burly, cloaked man, he immediately pulled away to increase the distance between him and his opponent. His breath was weak but he was still standing upright.
“Another two True Immortals!”
Blood oozed out from the seven orifices on Ning Fan’s head. His eyes remained cold but this time, they were filled with sternness.
I’m afraid my life will end here today…
“The Realm Gate? Ye Lu2, Ye Gu3, why are you here?!”
Annoyance welled up in the burly cloaked man’s eyes.
“Aren’t you supposed to ask yourself that! The Great Elder has given you the order to kill a lowly slave woman who has sealed her own cultivation base. But you took such a long time and you didn’t even return to report the accomplishment of your task. The Great Elder is already somewhat anxious. By the way, where’s Hei Wu4?”
“He has died… He was killed by that lowly slave woman!”
“Trash! Two Crossing Truth Realm experts actually failed to pursue a lowly slave who had sealed her own cultivation base? Not only that, one of you had actually gotten killed during the pursuit…? Where is that lowly slave woman?! Her life plate is still not broken! Why aren’t you going after her but fighting a Divine Transformation Realm young man here?!”
Both of the black-robed old men sarcastically glared at the burly, cloaked man.
The contemptuous looks on their faces made the burly man seethe with anger. If it was not for a number of reasons, he would have already killed Yuan Yao. Why else would he be shaming himself here and entangle himself with Ning Fan?
“Don’t be too proud, you two! That woman is hiding inside the golden flame chariot in this man’s storage pouch! After killing this young man, we can then kill that woman! Let’s attack together to send him to hell!”
As soon as the burly, cloaked man spoke, the two True Immortals shifted their gazes to Ning Fan.
They were now in their peak state, unlike the burly, cloaked man.
With their current power, they could pinch Ning Fan to death like an ant!
One of the old men directly made a stomp forward. With just the power of a single stomp, he had caused countless cracks to form and spread in the hollow space. In the blink of an eye, Ning Fan was jolted by the force of that stomp, causing him to vomit blood. Upon receiving that impact, he was already in a grievous condition.
“Hand over the lowly slave woman! Then, I will spare your life!” The old man named Ye Lu sneered evilly.
“In your dreams!”
“Are you courting death!”
Ye Lu made another stomp and every bone and tendon in Ning Fan’s body completely broke. Blood gushed out from him like a fountain of blood. However, he still rose up from the ground.
“D-Don’t you ever think that I will do that!”
Ning Fan looked at these three men with a smirk. He knew he might die and the reason was simply because he was too weak.
However, while his cultivation base could be weak, his heart could not!
If he yields and survives that way, his life would become meaningless no matter how strong and powerful he might be in the future!
“Oh? This young man is rather thick-headed and has a strong life force. However, you will certainly die once I do another stomp. I’m currently at the crucial moment of tempering my state of mind and I really don’t want to kill anyone… I’m giving you one last chance, hand over that woman!”
“Over my dead body!” Ning Fan sneered.
The smirk on his face immediately lit up the anger within the old man.
“Well, well, well! What a brave man. You want to die, don’t you? Then let me fulfill your wish!”
Ye Lu condensed killing qi on his foot. If he stomps that foot onto the ground, Ning Fan would surely die.
However, before he could land his foot onto the ground, the atmosphere within the vicinity of one million li* (500m per li) was suddenly being pressured by a peerless aura force!
Next, a ray of golden light flashed within Ning Fan’s storage pouch and the beautiful shadow of a woman who donned a palace attire gradually emerged.
Upon seeing Ning Fan’s condition, she could not help but feel pain within her heart…
“I never liked taking someone else’s life. But neither do I like seeing him injured!”
“You all shall die for this!”
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel
Note:
:Lit – Hei 黑means the color of black; Mu 木means wood
-It is the Realm Beast battling Ning Fan.
:Lit – Ye 夜means night; Lu戮means slay
-One of the newly-arrived Realm Beast.
:Lit – Ye 夜means night; Gu孤means lonely
-One of the newly-arrived Realm Beast.
:Lit – Hei 黑means the color of black; Wu无means nothingness
-The Realm Beast that has been killed by Yuan Yao earlier.