It had been a long time ever since the last time he slept so soundly not to mention the last time he had such a mysterious dream.
In his dream, he was a snow-white butterfly. He flew into a hollow valley filled with a strong floral aroma and rested on a pitch-black orchid.
After waking up from the dream, Ning Fan found himself lying on the brightly-painted boat which was floating in the center of the sea. As he tried to get up, he felt something pressing against his arm.
When he turned his head to the side, he saw Xu Qiuling who was already awake stare foolishly at him with her bright and clear eyes, as if she would never get enough of staring at him.
Her white and delicate body was bare and she only covered her body with a red quilt embroidered with the pattern of a phoenix. As soon as she noticed Ning Fan wake up, she shifted her gaze immediately to dodge eye contact with him, unwilling to let him know that she had been obsessively staring at him for a whole morning.
“Ling Er, you got up so early. Last night was your first time so you must be exhausted. Don’t you want to rest a little bit more?”
Ning Fan looked at Xu Qiuling’s peerlessly beautiful face. For no reason, he recalled the orchid in the dream he had just now.
He kept having the feeling that he had seen Xu Qiuling before and it was a very long time ago. What made Ning Fan feel familiarity with her was not her appearance but the unique fragrance of her body.
Unfortunately, Ning Fan could not remember where he had met her. His memories had already been erased by Samsara during reincarnation.
“If I don’t wake up earlier to protect Young Master Zhou, would Young Master Zhou be able to sleep with ease?”
It was not that she was not sleepy or tired, but she just wanted to guard him and let him have a good rest instead.
“Is it fine if you don’t call me your hubby?”
“I-It doesn’t matter…” A bold lady like Xu Qiuling would also be shy to call Ning Fan that.
“But if you still address me as ‘Young Master’, wouldn’t others be unaware of our relationship?”
“Then… I would like to call you… Big Brother. Mm. Yes, it’s Big Brother… In Gusu City, many women would also address their husbands as ‘Brother’…”
Xu Qiuling sounded rather awkward. No matter how bold she was in love, she would still need a period of time to adapt herself as a newly married woman at the end of the day.
Ning Fan did not force her and the way he looked at her was always tender and affectionate. Whenever he stays with Xu Qiuling, he has a feeling that he never had before, a feeling that he would never feel when staying with other women.
Indebtedness…
This feeling was not obvious at the start. However, it became particularly overwhelming after he returned to the External Endless Sea this time.
It was because of this feeling of indebtedness that made Ning Fan who had an indifferent personality be tolerant of Xu Qiuling’s willfulness.
“Alright. Just call me whatever you like. Is your lower part still hurting?”
“No, it’s not…” Xu Qiuling’s face flushed and quickly looked away, telling him a little lie.
“Really?”
As soon as Ning Fan lifted the thin quilt off her body, Xu Qiuling’s white delicate body that was stained with the marks and bruises that were left during the activity last night was exposed to the air.
Her eyes flashed with unspoken criticism and she quickly covered her chest with her bare hands. She only thought that Ning Fan was going to act impulsively again. However, the lower part of her body was still in pain and she was unable to bear what they did anymore.
When her legs were pulled apart by Ning Fan, her soft but slightly inflamed private part was laid bare before Ning Fan’s eyes. She could no longer endure the shame and closed her eyes with her teeth gently clenched. She did not resist him because she did not want to let him down.
“Big brother… Y-You… Please go easy on me… Don’t g-go in too deeply…”
“…”
Ning Fan did not know how to respond to her. Was he such a lustful man in the eyes of other women? Would he act so excessively especially when Xu Qiuling had just lost her virginity?
“Silly girl, I’m helping you get rid of the blood…”
Ning Fan cleared the erotic thoughts in his mind and used his fingers to carefully went inside Xu Qiuling’s erogenous zones while rotating his magic power.
Immediately, a cool feeling rose within her body from her torn and swollen lower part. The feeling of pain gradually subsided and was replaced by an incomparably wonderful and joyful sensation.
“Big brother is… is helping me masturbate… Mmm…”
Xu Qiuling was in extreme shame, but she would not reject any requests from Ning Fan. She would not…
After all, she had been waiting for Ning Fan to take a good look at her for a very, very long time…
“Mmm… Mmm…” In the middle of the quiet sea, a trace of faint moans spread very far away.
…
It would take at least several months to cure Xu Qiuling. According to Ning Fan’s estimation, the shortest time he would need is five months. It was not difficult to take out the remnant piece of the sword within her. The most troublesome part was to completely replenish the gold qi of her life force.
To other Fifth Revolution pill masters, it was nearly an impossible task. To Ning Fan, however, he could accomplish it in only five months.
With his personality, he rarely stayed at a place for a woman for five months. But when he saw Xu Qiuling’s pale and haggard face, his heart would feel an inexplicable heartache and it was worth staying there for five months.
As for the place to perform the treatment, Ning Fan would definitely look for a safe place for security, judging by the way he did things as he acted with rationality most of the time.
However, Xu Qiuling only wished to stay in this peaceful land of Gusu City amidst the streams and small bridge where they could stand aloof from disputes and competition during the five-month treatment process. Xu Qiuling was a sensible woman.
Ning Fan contemplated for a while and he did not reject her request in the end.
He only secretly sent a message transmitting flying sword to inform Xu Rushan and Dong Xu of their whereabouts so that they would not need to worry much.
Ning Fan’s act of sending out the message transmitting flying sword had undoubtedly used his magic power, violating the rules of Gusu City.
Shortly after the message transmitting flying sword vanished, five vaguely visible rays of light flew past the sky and dashed towards them. This group of five people seemed to be coming to punish the cultivator who had violated the rules.
They had no idea that the reason why Ning Fan used his magic power was to send out a message transmitting flying sword. Otherwise, they would surely realize that Ning Fan was a Divine Transformation Realm expert and they would definitely not dare to act rashly.
They had been residing in Gusu City for hundreds of years without revealing their identities. They had not gone out of the city before during their stay in the city, let alone know who Zhou Ming was. Otherwise, how would they be so bold to question Ning Fan.
Five old men appeared and surrounded the brightly-painted boat. All of them were inwardly astonished at the boat’s surprisingly good camouflage. If it had not been for not being deliberately concealed at this moment, the five of them would definitely have been unable to trace the presence of the boat at this place with their Peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivation base.
“Which fellow has just used magic power? Aren’t you aware of the rules of Gusu City?! If you don’t give us a reasonable explanation, then don’t blame us for being merciless!”
As soon as one of the old men asked with a stern voice, a couple walked out from within the boat at once.
The lady wore a black silk garment. Black was an unlucky color but she did not care about the view of the secular world on that particular color. She just thought that black was more suitable for her as it made her fair complexion look even more outstanding.
On the other hand, the man wore a set of white robes. Currently, he no longer had the black-feathered cloak. He originally wore this attire. However, for Zhihe, he put on the black-feathered cloak and began his journey in devil cultivation. Currently, however, he took off the cloak to be a mortal for Xu Qiuling.
*Hiss*
At the moment Ning Fan and Xu Qiuling showed up, even though he did not reveal the slightest trace of his magic power and aura, the five old men sucked a breath of cold air.
Ning Fan’s eyes were cold as lightning bolts. When his gaze swept across the five old men respectively, all five of them felt that they had been completely seen through instantly.
“What is his cultivation base?! This person is certainly not a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator… He should be a Divine Transformation Realm expert!”
The five old men’s expressions were filled with great fear. They could not understand. Why would a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator who had gone through Mortal Severance would come to Gusu City to experience the life of a mortal?
Normally, a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator would come here to prepare for Mortal Severance which was an essential step to attain the Divine Transformation Realm. However, what is a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator doing here?
Besides, when they thought of the strange event which happened to the Spirit Separation Grand Formation last night, they immediately concluded that the person who had his state of mind nearly broke through to the Void Refinement Realm in the city surely was the young man ahead!
What especially frightened the five old men was not Ning Fan’s aura but his piercingly cold eyes instead.
That gaze which was sharp like lightning bolts gave the five old men a feeling that as soon as Ning Fan took action, their blood would instantly splatter everywhere on the spot!
“I-It’s bad! We were actually scolding a Divine Transformation Realm old ancestor! We actually brought up the rules of Gusu City to a Divine Transformation Realm old ancestor! Are these rules applicable to a Divine Transformation Realm expert? If we mess with this man, it will only take him an instant to wipe out the entire Gusu City!”
Almost at the same time, the five old men lowered their bodies and made a deep bow towards Ning Fan without any hesitation.
“We didn’t know that Senior is a Divine Transformation Realm expert. The words we said just now are offensive. We hope Senior will forgive us!”
“Humph! Why should I forgive you?!”
Ning Fan said with a cold tone and made a step forward. Didn’t these five old men show up in an aggressive manner just now? Weren’t they claiming that they would kill Ning Fan and Xu Qiuling if he did not give them a reasonable explanation?!
With his personality, he would never show any mercy on people who came to seek trouble with him.
However, before Ning Fan could act, Xu Qiuling pulled his sleeve and her eyes were filled with petulance.
“Did you forget the promise you gave me?! No killings, no fighting! You’re currently a mortal human!”
Xu Qiuling’s eyes glinted as if she was pleading with him. The temperature of her palm slowly warmed Ning Fan’s cold heart.
“Alright, no killing…”
The look on Ning Fan’s face calmed down and the five old men immediately breathed sighs of relief. Their backs were already drenched in cold sweat during the incident just now.
Scary, it’s too scary…
They had never seen such a powerful expert before in their lifetime.
“One hundred thousand silver taels for each person. Pay me the silver taels and then get lost…”
Ning Fan’s tone was calm but there was no room for them to reject. The five old men exchanged glances with each other. Upon hearing that Ning Fan only demanded for silver taels, they took out a storage pouch respectively and threw them to Ning Fan. They made a final apology and left right afterwards. They acted much faster when they left than when they arrived.
Silver taels were nothing more than the currency used by mortals. To them, they felt very lucky that they could save their lives with just that amount of silver which was not worth mentioning at all.
As soon as the five old men returned to Gusu City, they secretly sent a jade slip to every cultivator on this island. Each of them was imprinted with Ning Fan’s appearance and mentioned that his surname was Zhou. Besides, they also emphasized that no one shall offend him. As for Ning Fan’s cultivation base, however, they mentioned nothing.
Looking at the five old men who left in a sorry state, Xu Qiuling burst into laughter.
“Big brother is so impressive… Anyhow, you have promised me not to kill anyone in Gusu City. Mm… Oh yes, why did you ask them for so much silver taels?”
“Of course it’s for buying a big mansion for you to reside while treating your illness. Don’t tell me that you want to drift with me on this river every day and night? The atmosphere above the river is too damp and it is not good for you during your recovery.”
Ning Fan turned around and gazed at the island. While looking at Gusu City, his eyes became tender.
Fine. This time I will just be willful like Xu Qiuling for once and become a mortal being for five months.
After taking out the remnant piece of the Immortal Entrapping Sword, she will definitely need five months to recover. As for me, I can use this period of time to devour the remnant piece of the blade to improve my sword sense.
Besides, I may even comprehend a new sword intent.
Despite staying in Gusu City, Ning Fan was still thinking about his cultivation.
With just a single glance, Xu Qiuling seemed to have seen through what was on his mind. She then let out a sigh of pity.
“It seems there’s no way to make you really let go of your cultivation… Fine, perhaps it’s already enough to let you enjoy five months of peace.”
Half a day later, their boat sailed back to the island coast and returned to Gusu City. What was different from the first time they arrived here was the eyes of the black armored guards on the coast being filled with a hint of fear as they looked at Ning Fan.
Ning Fan did not talk with them much. Instead, he bought a horse-drawn carriage right away and went into Gusu City with Xu Qiuling.
Qiuling was sitting inside the carriage, admiring the scenery along the road while he was sitting outside, wielding the whip to steer the horse.
The mortals they encountered along the way were not afraid of Ning Fan. However, every cultivator who lived in seclusion here was immediately shocked and avoided them as soon as they saw Ning Fan’s carriage.
The largest mansion in Gusu City was purchased by a young couple.
However, this mansion was rumored to be a bad place to stay in Gusu City because many rumors claimed that it was haunted. A long time ago, an old man who lived in this mansion was struck by a thunderbolt and disappeared in a stormy night!
Therefore, basically none of the mortals in Gusu City dared to purchase this mansion and it was left vacant for a long time.
Moreover, to those cultivators who came to comprehend a mortal’s life in Gusu City, it was of course better to be more ordinary and remain a low profile. As such, they would certainly not buy such an eye-catching mansion.
As a result, this abandoned and haunted mansion was bought by Ning Fan with only one thousand silver.
The reason why he bought this mansion was actually because it was the place which contained the most concentrated gold qi in the entire city as it was decorated with gold and silver ornaments. Thus, it was the most suitable place to conduct Xu Qiuling’s treatment.
Regarding the rumor of the mansion being haunted, Ning Fan just laughed it off and did not pay any attention to it at all.
Mortals were afraid of ghosts, but to cultivators, manipulating ghosts was just a divine ability of the Devil Dao. Presumably, the old man who used to live here was a cultivator of the Dao of Ghosts and while he was practicing his Dao within the mansion, the shadow of ghosts he summoned was seen by someone else. Thus, the rumors about the haunted mansion began to spread.
As for his disappearance during a lightning storm that night, it was probably because the old man had accomplished the cultivation of his Dao of Ghosts and left.
After purchasing the mansion, Ning Fan then engaged in an extremely erotic dual cultivation with Xu Qiuling and healed her injuries in her room almost at the same night. During the process, he also took the opportunity to take out the remnant piece of the Immortal Entrapping Sword from her body.
With the feeling of ecstasy from the dual cultivation that overwhelmed her senses, Xu Qiuling barely felt any pain when Ning Fan took out the sword piece.
That night, Ning Fan also made a medicinal bath with dozens of types of ten thousand years old spiritual herbs for Xu Qiuling.
All of these spiritual herbs were chosen because of the abundant amount of gold qi they contained. With the aid of the medicinal bath and Ning Fan’s massage to improve her blood circulation, her life force’s gold qi was slowly recovering.
This was the best method among all the other treatment methods that Ning Fan had thought of.
After all, the medicinal power of the ten thousand years old spiritual herbs was too strong. Be it refining them into a pill or boiling them in a soup, Xu Qiuling’s ill body would not be able to tolerate them.
The medicinal bath and massage would need to continue for nearly one entire night. Thus, Ning Fan could not leave Gusu City even for a short while. Otherwise, it would delay Xu Qiuling’s recovery.
Looking at the countless spiritual herbs in the wooden tub, Xu Qiuling could not help but feel touched.
Each of these spiritual herbs was a good material for concocting Fifth Revolution pills. They were precious ingredients that even her father would be reluctant to use. Now, however, Ning Fan used them to make a bath for her…
“Big Brother, am I even more important than these ten thousand years of spiritual herbs in your heart?” Xu Qiuling’s face blushed as she shrank in the bathtub and asked a silly question.
“Oh? Are you having a fever? If not, why would you ask such a question?”
One of Ning Fan’s hands was encircled with a trace of black starlight to massage Xu Qiuling’s erogenous zones while he deliberately used the other to caress her forehead as he asked with a teasing tone.
This treatment method lasted for a few days. After that, Xu Qiuling’s body finally began to get better. Besides, along with the recovery of her gold qi, her cultivation base also started to improve at a terrifying speed, making her nearly break through to the Nascent Soul Realm.
As soon as night fell, Ning Fan would perform an erotic treatment on Xu Qiuling.
As the day arrived, Xu Qiuling would take medicines and rest while Ning Fan would be sitting in the yard to study a crimson red metal piece. It was the remnant piece of the ancient sword – Immortal Entrapping Sword.
The broken piece of the sword was extremely extraordinary. Even if it was just a part of the sword, Ning Fan felt like his body was going to be crushed after holding it in his hand despite having a strong body which was the combination of the Third Level of Jade Life Body Refining Realm and the Corpse Devil Body.
Ning Fan could not help but feel shocked. Despite being just a remnant piece of the sword, it had already given him such a feeling. If it was the real and complete Immortal Entrapping Sword, even if Ning Fan’s magic power was doubled, he would not dare to touch it.
“This is… one of the ‘Four Heaven Suppressing Swords’ of the Ancient Heavenly Court, Immortal Entrapping Sword!”
“If I swallow this remnant piece of the sword, my Sea of Consciousness will surely be more stable and my sword sense will also be strengthened. Then, killing a Nascent Soul expert in an instant will be as simple as winking…”
“While Ling Er is recuperating, I will improve my Dao of Sword. Not only will I improve my sword sense, but also… my sword intent!”
Sword intent!
Ning Fan’s eyes suddenly burned with determination. His innate talent in the Dao of Sword was not weak and he already comprehended the profound skill of the Threads Transformation Sword. However, he still did not get the opportunity to thoroughly condense his own sword intent.
The current Ning Fan was still a novice in his sword intent. If he manages to condense the actual sword intent, the power of his sword finger would be enhanced by one fold!
“This is an opportunity. Having five months to stay in Gusu City is a golden opportunity for me to comprehend my sword intent. Moreover, a sword is like life. The Dao of Sword also exists within this mortal world within Gusu City!”
“But where should I start to comprehend sword intent…?”
Ning Fan closed his eyes and each of the scenes of killings emerged in his mind. As he recalled each and every one of his enemies who wielded swords, he gradually gained some insights.
Stashing the remnant piece of the Immortal Entrapping Sword, he waved his hand and a sharp sword gleaming with green light suddenly appeared in his palm.
This sword was only a low grade magical treasure which was looted from an unlucky stranger.
However, compared to the swords that were in Gusu City, it could already be considered a peerless divine weapon.
“In actual reality, sword intent is to turn the sword into an intent. The stronger the sword, the weaker the intent. Using a weak sword to comprehend a strong intent is the true Dao of Sword.”
Ning Fan looked at this sword silently and a trace of sharp and vigorous aura gradually rose around his body.
He was comprehending a sword in Gusu City! However, there was something lacking that prevented him from fully comprehending it.
The cultivators who passed by his mansion were shocked and they left immediately upon seeing Ning Fan’s aura.
On the contrary, the children from the neighboring residence of the mansion felt it very funny to see Ning Fan staring blankly at the sword in his hand like an idiot.
“Eh? Isn’t this person Uncle Zhou who bought the haunted mansion? Is he being possessed by ghosts? Why is he staring at the sword without uttering a word?”
“Hehe… My mother said that Uncle Zhou bought the mansion with a beautiful lady. I think they might be a couple who eloped from some rich family.”
“A couple running away from their family? What a shame!”
Several children grimaced mischievously at Ning Fan. Some of them even made up a nursery rhyme to make fun of him.
As he got disturbed from his thoughts, each of the scenes of killings surfaced in his mind and he shot a cold glance at these children. For a moment, he felt like dashing towards them to kill them right then and there.
“No! I can’t. They are mortals and should not be involved in the killings between cultivators… Besides, I promised Ling Er that I will not kill anyone in Gusu City… Killing intent, get out of my mind!”
Ning Fan clenched his teeth and forced himself to put away his killing intent. He bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the plants in the courtyard red.
His mind gradually calmed down after he spurted out blood.
“They are mortals. They should not be involved in the bloodshed of the cultivation world.”
Ning Fan continued to study the sword without giving one more glance at the children.
Seeing Ning Fan who was in perfectly good condition a moment ago suddenly cough up some blood, the children were frightened and dispersed in an uproar.
But after they disappeared for a bit, they started to make up nursery rhymes again to tease Ning Fan for being weak as he vomited blood after being angered by some children.
They would never know that if Ning Fan had not spit out the blood just now, they would have died.
“My murderous intent is too heavy…”
Ning Fan murmured to himself. He finally understood Xu Qiuling’s painstaking effort.
Killing has nothing to do with right or wrong. On the path of cultivation, if you do not kill, you will then be killed.
However, if one’s mind only knows about killing, they will eventually lose sight of their original intention and be led astray from the path of cultivation.
“Wow! What a beautiful sword! My father is the most famous blacksmith in Gusu City, but none of the swords he forged in his life is as beautiful as this!”
After the other children left, only one child stayed there and looked at Ning Fan with envy.
He was a young boy, approximately at the age of nine. He looked rather tall and robust and his hair was tied into a knot.
Other children made fun of Ning Fan but he was the only one who did not.
It was because this child was captivated by this sharp sword at first sight.
His obsession with swords made him forget that the mansion Ning Fan bought was haunted which was also the most taboo place for Gusu residents to visit.
“Is uncle a swordsman? I saw you bleed just now. Was it because you were hurt by the sword qi? I heard from my father that when a powerful swordsman comprehends sword qi, they might suffer a backlash because of the sword qi out of carelessness… Is uncle a very powerful swordsman? Can you beat ten people alone?!”
“I’m not a swordsman…” Ning Fan shook his head. A swordsman was the perception of mortals of fighters who wield swords.
He was not a swordsman but a cultivator! However, he definitely would not tell the kid about it.
But when he saw the obsessive eyes of this child with his sword, a trace of recollection welled up Ning Fan’s eyes.
This child was a fan of martial arts. He was also good material for practicing mortal martial arts.
The obsessive look on his face when looking at swords was the same look that Ning Gu had when it came to learning martial arts in the past.
“You’re not a swordsman…?” The child sounded a little dispirited. If Ning Fan was a swordsman, he was ready to acknowledge Ning Fan as his master.
The child’s dream was to learn to wield swords and hidden weapons as well as Qinggong1 and Neigong2 so that he would be an outstanding swordsman in Gusu City in the future!
Unfortunately, he could not find a good master…
“My name is Little Stone. Uncle, could you lend me this sword for me to bring home to have a look?” Little Stone pleaded with him.
“Just take it.”
A low grade magical treasure to Ning Fan was something of very little value. To this kid, however, it could be the dream of his entire lifetime.
The kid, Little Stone, had Ning Gu’s shadow… In the past, when Ning Gu was searching for masters to learn martial arts, Ning Fan was still a mortal.
Memories surfaced in Ning Fan’s eyes and it was this recollection that made his state of mind show tiny signs of advancement.
Little Stone would never be able to understand why Ning Fan would have such a look on his face. He just immediately took the sword and went home joyfully after obtaining Ning Fan’s permission.
He decided that he must hug the sword to sleep tonight!
Holding the sword in his hand, Little Stone felt that he had become a great swordsman, although this little ‘great swordsman’ could not even wield the heavy sword for a single inch. As he carried the sword in his hands, he was already panting heavily.
Ning Fan looked at Little Stone who was walking further and further away and he seemed to have understood something which he previously could not be sure of.
Little Stone might just be a mortal, but he had something that Ning Fan was lacking.
It was because of this element that Ning Fan was unable to condense his sword intent…
“What am I lacking…” Ning Fan fell into deep contemplation.
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel
Note:
Qinggong is a Chinese martial art which allows martial artists to have the ability to move swiftly and lightly at superhuman speed.
Neigong is a set of Chinese breathing, meditation and spiritual practice disciplines associated with Daoism.