Chapter 516 - Snow Willow Devil Sovereign (2/2)
“I’m sorry. I also don’t know what ‘true’ is. However, I once became a disciple of a strong individual and learned from him. He once said a line: why is there a need to discern ‘true’ and void in the world? What you see may not necessarily be true, what you hear may not necessarily be fake! True and void is just a difference in thoughts!”
When Liu Haoyue heard that Ning Fan did not have an answer for the second question, he sighed dejectedly.
But when he heard the second part of Ning Fan’s answer, his mind and soul suddenly shook as if his head was anointed with the purest cream. He seemed to have gained enlightenment from those words.
“True and void is just a difference in thoughts… Well said! Even though Brother Ning has yet to answer my second question, you’ve given me an excellent reply. But I still have a third question… What is void?!”
When Liu Haoyue raised the third question, he was not looking at the moon nor the flowing water. This time, he was gazing into the boundless night sky with eyes that seemed to have experienced the vicissitudes of life.
Ning Fan maintained his silence. He knew that Liu Haoyue’s third question was not asking about ‘true’ or void but the Great Dao instead…
“Brother Liu has been overly stubborn on its external concept. The Great Dao is vast and boundless. Even those true immortals will have to spend their entire lives exploring it. How can I know the answer? Instead of thinking about the Great Dao which is ethereal like smoke, why don’t you live at the moment. When we turn around and look back when tomorrow’s night falls, the path we travelled will be our Dao!”
“The path we took… is the Great Dao…” Liu Haoyue’s eyes that looked confused gradually regained their clarity. When his gaze drifted to Ning Fan again, he sighed with emotion.
“Brother Ning has great wisdom and intelligence to be able to answer three questions consecutively. I truly admire you. If you come to the Tree World someday in the future, you must really pay the Snow Willow Devil Sect a visit. I will certainly welcome you! This is my ‘Spirit Sense Token’. With this token, you can come in and out of the Snow Willow Devil Sect as you please. No one will stop you! Farewell!”
Liu Haoyue cupped his fists at Ning Fan respectfully once again. With a flash, his separated soul was extracted from the Sovereign Tomb.
Ning Fan looked at his travelling light that was disappearing into the distance deep in thought. Then, he inspected the Spirit Sense Token in his hand.
This token was created by truly capable cultivators using the power of their spirit sense which would serve as their proof of identity.
They were convenient and safe to keep as they could be stored inside one’s Sea of Consciousness. The other benefit was that it could be taken in and out of the Sovereign Tomb.
The token was only engraved with four words but they greatly surprised Ning Fan.
‘Snow Willow Devil Sovereign’!
That young man, Liu Haoyue, was actually one of the three great and famous devil sovereigns of the Tree World… the Snow Willow Devil Sovereign. He was a true Void Fragmentation Realm sovereign being!
“It’s beyond my expectations to have accidentally established a friendship with a Void Fragmentation Realm expert of the Tree World…” Ning Fan shook his head and smiled faintly. When he touched the Spirit Sense Token with one of his fingers, it instantly turned into a ray of light and went into the Sea of Consciousness of his separated soul.
His gaze swept across the night sky. In silence, he got down from the small bridge and travelled across the small town.
The sound of music and drum beats accompanied with laughter could be heard from the boats with black canopies on the banks of the rivers.
The air that had drifted into his nose was moist and light with the fragrance of Canola flowers.
The night went by and dawn broke.
Ning Fan was walking on delicately made thin tiles while looking at the imprints on the green bricks beneath his feet. Then, he shifted his gaze to the duckweed that was floating on the water in the pottery jars of the alleyways.
Holding a Qiang flute in his hands, he walked past a clear lake that was covered in reeds and had a large house with brilliant tiles and clusters of tall bamboos.
One day. Two days. Three days…
Along his journey, Ning Fan bumped into some spirit beasts and demonic creatures. However, he eliminated them with a wave of his hand without affecting his mood.
As the days went by, the cultivation realm of his separated soul also increased gradually.
The Sixth Level of the Vein Opening Realm. The Seventh Level… The Tenth Level.
Ning Fan stood at the peak of a mountain and recalled the time where he broke through to the Harmonious Spirit Realm in the past.
At that time, he attained the Harmonious Spirit Realm by relying on a Gold Core Realm Dao Fruit… Those days in Seven Apricot City were gone forever and would never return…
*Roar*
On the top of the mountain, several huge bears possessing cultivation bases at the Tenth Level of the Vein Opening Realm roared and charged at Ning Fan.
Without even turning his head, Ning Fan merely tossed his Qiang flute casually and took the lives of the beasts.
After eating the Vein Opening Realm thunder fruits those bears produced, his weak separated soul broke through to the Harmonious Spirit Realm!
“I’ve reached the Harmonious Spirit Realm… just like in the past…”
Ning Fan’s eyes were filled with reminiscence. He jumped and flew down from the summit. After achieving the Harmonious Spirit Realm, his separated soul could now fly through the sky.
He used the Snow Treading Art which he had not used for many years now and travelled across the sky with gentle steps like before.
Flying high up in the ninth heavens, he directly headed toward the Central Region. Along the way, he alarmed many ferocious beasts in the outer region that had stayed reclusive from the world.
Among them, there were beasts at the early stage, mid stage, late stage and even peak stage of the Harmonious Spirit Realm. However, as long as they were below the Gold Core Realm, none of them could stop Ning Fan’s Qiang flute from killing them!
*Chi* *Chi* *Chi*
When that flute fell in Ning Fan’s hands, it became a supreme magic treasure.
Ning Fan slaughtered, massacring tens of thousands of Harmonious Spirit Realm ferocious beasts while his cultivation base also increased.
Early Harmonious Spirit Realm, Mid Harmonious Spirit Realm, Late Harmonious Spirit Realm, Peak Harmonious Spirit Realm…
When he was on the verge of breaking through to the Gold Core Realm, he recalled the killings he had committed in the past just to achieve the Gold Core Realm.
He recalled the deep friendship he had with Old Ancestor Fire Cloud, the humiliation he suffered in Great Jin and the massacres he had committed in the External Endless Sea…
He remembered all the brave words he had said in the past!
Don’t ask for longevity. Don’t seek to conquer and rule. Just wish to straighten your reflection!
“I’ve reached the Gold Core Realm…” His eyes shined and his vigorous aura force spread across the area. He had broken through to the Gold Core Realm!
He dashed into the Central Region in a ray of light and his arrival immediately shocked countless undead spirits in that region!
In the Central Region, most of the undead spirits had cultivation bases. Additionally, their cultivation bases were not low. There were undead spirits at the Gold Core Realm, the Nascent Soul Realm and even the Divine Transformation Realm.
Ning Fan deliberately went toward areas with barren hills and unruly waters. Wherever he went, he would be surrounded by the undead spirits there. He obviously wiped out the undead spirits of cultivators in those entire areas!
He could obtain a thunder fruit for every undead spirit he killed…
His cultivation base was rising steadily, reaching the Mid Gold Core Realm, the Late Gold Core Realm, the Peak Gold Core Realm… And once again, he was on the verge of breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm!
Under the night sky, Ning Fan trampled upon mountains of corpses and seas of blood and walked out from a valley of undead spirits. He gazed at the bright moon above him and recalled the determination he had when he was forming his nascent soul in the past!
He remembered his weakness of being unwilling to kill Zhi He. He remembered the devil in his heart that had been troubling him for many years.
You are my heart’s devil that I can never sever for my entire life…
“I’ve reached the Nascent Soul Realm…” Ning Fan consumed countless thunder fruits which boosted his cultivation base to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Even though there were Nascent Soul Realm and Divine Transformation Realm undead spirits in the Central Region, they did not exist everywhere.
Ning Fan could not obtain thunder fruits through large-scale massacres like before to advance to the Divine Transformation Realm and Void Refinement Realm…
He directly soared into the sky of the Central Region and no longer committed killings anymore and flew toward the area that was close to the Divine Region.
He did not conceal his baleful qi any longer. All the undead spirits along the way sensed his formidable aura force and trembled in fear. None of them dared to attack him.
Standing outside the Divine Region, Ning Fan sensed the unusual ferocious qi from within and stopped moving forward.
He did not plan to enter that region. If the undead spirit of the Thunder Sovereign really exists in the Divine Region, the consequence of entering that region would be death.
It had already been a few months since he entered the Sovereign Tomb. The injuries on his true body in the outside world should have already recovered to a certain extent.
From the time he entered the Sovereign Tomb with his separated soul, he had travelled from the Outer Region all the way to the Central Region until the external part of the Divine Region. Basically, he had already accomplished his initial objective of exploring the Sovereign Tomb.
Next, it’s time to leave the Sovereign Tomb…
Standing on a mountain’s summit, he stared at the faint light in the sky. His heart was at peace.
Be it ‘true’ or void, he did not bother about them at all.
What he cared about was those people, those things and those beliefs…
When you turn around and look back, mortal life is just as imaginary as smoke. As you learn to let go with a smile, everything including the moonlight will disappear.
His eyes were calmly staring at the moon. His feelings, however, were nearly in sync with the Great Dao.
All of a sudden, he had an impulse to pick up all those memories and ignite that moonlight!
The moonlight was ethereal and difficult to find, much less ignite it…
However, Ning Fan had a strange feeling… He somehow felt that he could really ignite the moonlight as long as he willed it!
Throughout his journey in comprehending the void, he did not gain nothing. At the very least, he obtained enough comprehension and these insights were sufficient for him to invent a magic technique!
Looking at the moonlight that seemed fake, he held his chest up and performed hand seals with his ten fingers.
“Perhaps I can create a technique called ‘Void Burning Technique’ before leaving this place…” Ning Fan smiled faintly. If he fuses all the insights he had gained into this technique, he could ignite the moonlight, ignite the void!
He had yet to realize how terrifying the magic technique he randomly created would be.
And how a Void Fragmentation Realm expert would be nearly scared to death by it…
Outside the Giant Devil Clan, an arrogant-looking old man clad in grey robes suddenly arrived while carrying an imperial order from the Rain Sovereign.
“I am Yun Daoku. I’ve received orders to come here and convey the Rain Sovereign’s decree. Where is Zhou Ming? Quickly come out here and receive the decree!”
His voice was not loud and it was infused with aura force at the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm which shook the entire Giant Devil Clan!
Deep within his eyes was a hint of coldness. He had already heard about Ning Fan killing King Chi Yao, the person whom he had personally groomed and supported…
Originally, King Chi Yao was still useful. But now that he’s dead…
It seems like I really need to teach this young man a lesson today!
“Where are you, Zhou Ming?!” Yun Daoku shouted coldly. His voice dispersed the gentle breeze and falling snow of the Northern Cold Country, causing mountains to collapse and rivers to break.
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel