Chapter 525 - The Dao Line of Life (1/2)

(Unedited)

Ning Fan gave Xue Qing a Sixth Revolution Pill and ten Fifth Revolution Pills. These pills were rare and precious treasures to Xue Qing. To Ning Fan, however, there were just some dispensable items.

Xue Qing kept those pills excitedly. After kowtowing three times and bowing nine times to Ning Fan, he immediately excused himself and rushed to dissect these pills to study them carefully.

He had never witnessed a Sixth Revolution Pill before in his entire life. Upon receiving it, he was as happy as an old urchin.

Looking at Xue Qing who was hurriedly leaving, Ning Fan could not help but burst into laughter. He had accepted two disciples in his life and they were both mad pill refinement masters that were obsessed with the Dao of Pills.

Yang Gu was his second disciple whereas Xue Qing was his first.

Yang Gu’s innate potential in pill refinement was higher than Xue Qing’s. However, Xue Qing’s obsession toward the Dao of Pills was much more intense than that of Yang Gu. Moreover, Xue Qing’s dog-like nose was becoming sharper than before. He could detect the smell of a medicine soul and even determined Ning Fan’s whereabouts based on his smell. His sense of smell really was a rare ability, wasn’t it?

In Dao cultivation, innate talent was not the most important factor. Perhaps Xue Qing’s pill refinement realm would surpass Yang Gu’s one day because he had a persistent and stubborn determination.

After Xue Qing left, only Ning Fan, Lan Mei and Bai Lu were left on the edge of the Bright Moon Pond again.

Just as Zhi He, both of the ladies suppressed their cultivation realm at the Peak Harmonious Spirit Realm.

Ning Fan performed dual-cultivation with Zhi He yesterday in order to clear the blockage of her immortal veins, helping her to break through some minor bottlenecks. Through that session, he had helped Zhi He get rid of the barriers of breaking through to the Gold Core Realm.

Today, he could not be unfair to the two ladies. Without a doubt, he also had to help Lan Mei and Bai Lu smoothen the flow of their immortal veins.

“Ning Fan! Since you’re back, let’s settle the old score! Forty years ago, you plucked me. I wasn’t your opponent. Today, however, I am not the same as before. Humph! Today, I must pluck you as hard as possible to get revenge for what you did to me in the past. I must pluck your entire cultivation realm!”

Bai Lu’s willowy eyebrows were drawn together. Even though her tone sounded harsh and evil, her face remained exquisitely charming. She directly went into Ning Fan’s embrace and began groping his chest. She looked like she wanted to inflict punishment on him right there.

Ning Fan slightly narrowed his eyes. Could he interpret Bai Lu’s actions as throwing herself at him?

“Erm… I still have some matters to handle. Please excuse me.” When Lan Mei saw what Bai Lu was doing, her cheeks turned red and she turned around, planning to leave. She was not as bold as Bai Lu to directly throw herself at Ning Fan.

However, just as Lan Mei wanted to turn around, Ning Fan grabbed her wrist, preventing her from leaving.

“You don’t have to leave so hurriedly. Since we’ve reunited after so long, let me help you both smooth the flow of your immortal veins.”

Ning Fan shook himself out of Bai Lu’s embrace and grabbed her inside his embrace in return. Meanwhile, he held Lan Mei’s waist with his other hand without caring about her faint struggle. In a single step, he turned into a ray of light and flew toward Lan Mei’s boudoir. His actions were swift and easy, as if driving a lightweight chariot on a familiar road.

Before Lan Mei and Bai Lu could react, they were already brought to the room and pushed to the bed. When they saw Ning Fan’s ambiguous smile, they instantly understood what was going to happen.

It had already been forty years since the last time Bai Lu had sexual intercourse. She cast a lecherous look at Ning Fan and began to moan lightly while taking off her clothes, readying herself for the erotic session.

Lan Mei, on the other hand, was still a virgin. She only experienced penetration through her backside… Facing this situation, she could not help but feel somewhat nervous and her body started to feel slightly stiff.

The moment Ning Fan let down the red curtain around the bed, Lan Mei lowered her head. She looked embarrassed but also excited at the same time… Today surely was going to be a lovely day filled with eroticism…

…

When dusk arrived, Ning Fan left the Sinister Sparrow Sect.

After a session of sexual activities, Ning Fan carefully helped the two ladies smoothen the flow of their immortal veins one time with the use of dual-cultivation method.

Before leaving the Sinister Sparrow Sect, Ning Fan reassured Lan Mei and Bai Lu that he would certainly solve the issue regarding the Great Jin’s Merger.

The two ladies had no idea of how powerful Ning Fan’s cultivation base was. However, after the dual-cultivation, their cultivation bases were sharply increased.

Some of the bottlenecks of their cultivation bases were directly broken. They even touched the bottleneck of the Gold Core Realm. They could enter into secluded cultivation anytime from now to form their gold core.

Ning Fan had just had a single session of dual cultivation with them and the improvement in their cultivation bases equaled the result of their one year’s worth of bitter cultivation!

It was not difficult for them to guess that Ning Fan’s current cultivation base had certainly reached a terrifying level that far exceeded theirs. Otherwise, they would definitely not gain such an obvious effect from the dual cultivation!

“What exactly is his cultivation base now…?!” Could it be that he really was Marquis White Robe that Younger Sister Zhi He mentioned…?” Lan Mei and Bai Lu covered their mouths with their hands. They both felt rather surprised but more of it was excitement.

Ning Fan was no longer the same as before. They naturally were happy for him.

“It seems like I don’t have to think about plucking him anymore for the rest of my life…” Bai Lu deliberately made a dejected sigh even though her eyes contained joy. She really was a two-faced lady.

After Ning Fan left the Sinister Sparrow Sect, he hid his tracks and secretly headed to some sects in Yue Country.

Absolute Void Sect, Purple Light Sect… He walked past each and every sect. He visited the former site of the All Pleasure Sect. He walked past the ruins of the Heaven Separation Sect…

Memories of the past surged within his mind. When he was still young in the past, he had no choice but to embark on the bloody journey of cultivation for revenge.

He had suffered pain. He had lost his sanity. He had been torn apart by sorrow… After forty years, the past seemed like a foggy dream. It could no longer cause any wavelets on the pond of his mind.

He went to the Hu Family. He still remembered that he promised Hu Fengzi, the old ancestor of the Hu Family, that he would help his family three times for a Cultivation Pill in return.

He stood at the summit of the Cold Mon Mountain, before the grave of Hu Fengzi.

Under the protection of his reputation, the Hu Family did not collapse. They were still existing. However, Hu Fengzi’s grave was already overgrown with weeds…

Ning Fan squatted down before the grave and got rid of the weeds covering the grave. After that, he let out a gentle sigh.

“You’ve sacrificed your life for protecting the Hu Family. They, however, have forgotten you. They even neglected to care for your grave…”

“Today, it seems like what you’ve done for them was not worth it.”

Ning Fan rose to his feet, staring at the sun that was slowly setting in silence. Then, he turned around and left.

He did not give any benefit to the Hu Family. Perhaps it was because he disliked the indifference of the family toward their old ancestor.

After making a few light steps, Ning Fan had already travelled from the western domain of Yue Country to the Flat Cloud Mountain in the eastern domain of the country.

The spiritual qi in the mountain was thin. There were no cultivators cultivating in this area. On the mountain, there was only a village that was called Peaceful Village. It was a village of mortals.

This village was none other than the village in which Ning Gu stayed.

After parting ways with Ning Gu for forty years, Ning Fan really wanted to meet his younger brother.

Following the mountain’s path while basking in the sunset glow, Ning Fan slowly reached the Peaceful Village. He looked at the unfamiliar scenery before him and let out a sigh.

Sparse camellia flowers had grown along the mountain’s path outside the village. There were not so many flowers in the past.

On the entrance of the village, a few children were playing around and chasing butterflies, immersing in their childhood fun.

As soon as they saw Ning Fan, they immediately asked with a warm smile.

“Is this uncle a merchant that is passing by our place? Do you want to stay overnight in our village?”

“I am not a merchant. I am also not coming here to stay overnight. I’ve visited your village before. The reason I came here today is just to look for an old friend.”

“An old friend? Who are you looking for? We can help to show you the way. However, if you said you’ve come to our village before, why haven’t we seen you before?”

“You, of course, have never seen me before… Continue play among yourselves. There is no need to show me the way. I recognize it.”

Ning Fan laughed. He had left Yue Country for forty plus years. How would these children who were just at the age of seven or eight see him before?

He spread his spirit sense across the village. Suddenly, he let out a sigh. Many of the mortal villagers on this mountain that he had met in the past had already passed away.

The lifespan of a mortal really is short. It has only been forty years but so many old familiar faces are gone…

Most of the old men in the past had been buried into the yellow soil whereas the young men in the past had already grown elderly.

A few old men were smoking dry tobacco near the entrance of the village. When they saw Ning Fan, they felt that he looked rather familiar. However, no matter how hard they tried to remember, they could not recall where they had seen him before. Thus, they only gave him a faint polite smile.

Forty years had passed. It was impossible for old people to clearly remember a guest whom they had only met once countless years ago.

Forty years had passed. It was impossible for the children to see Ning Fan before.

When the children met him, they did not know him and thus they asked where he came from… However, they were unaware that he had already been here once a long time ago.

Ning Fan walked past the group of children and returned a faint smile to the old people in the village. Afterward, he continued walking into the mountain village all alone. As if he had a map of the place, he leisurely walked past each of the cottages and directly walked toward one of them in front of him.

The wall in the house was hanging two long old bows. No one knew how many years it was left untouched on the wall as the paint of the bows had already turned slightly dull.

The two sides of the wooden door that was enclosed with a fence were planted with various kinds of camellia flowers. However, due to the lack of care, many weeds grew around the area as well.

Ning Fan gently knocked on the wooden door. He could sense the qi of a man inside the house. He knew that was his younger brother, Ning Gu.

After hearing the sound of door knocking, an elderly man who was close to the age of sixty slowly walked out from the house. His old appearance was ravaged with inerasable grief.

His turbid eyes looked tired and melancholic. When he saw Ning Fan, he was instantly stunned and revealed a complicated expression.

“It’s you… You’ve finally come…”

He let out a few coughs and continued speaking with a sad and bitter smile.

“I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time. If I can’t see you, I will be unwilling to leave with her in peace.”

Ning Fan looked at the old man and sighed deeply.

“Ning Gu, why would you become like this?”

This old man was Ning Gu. His face was now full of wrinkles. His skin was dry and loose. He was no longer as handsome and dashing as before.

Ning Fan could not understand. In any case, Ning Gu was still a cultivator in the past. Even if his cultivation base was sealed and wielded the Life Sealing Ruler, it was impossible for him to age so quickly…

“Do I look very bad? *Cough* *Cough* *Cough*…” After coughing a few times, the old man forced a bitter smile and continued.

“An Ran is dead…”

“Since she’s dead, I’m not willing to live alone. I want to die together with her… However, I still have a wish that has yet to be fulfilled. Thus, I can’t die just like that… I’m sorry. I finally remembered you. But it took me forty years… I’m so sorry, Big Brother!”

Tears welled up in the elderly man’s eyes. His expression contained sorrow that could never be neutralized. Suddenly, he fell down to his knees inaudibly in front of Ning Fan.

He remembered Ning Fan. He remembered all the sad and happy memories of the past. He wanted to meet Ning Fan once more before he could leave this world peacefully.

Since he had now met Ning Fan and apologized to him, he was already prepared to die. However, he could not get rid of the guilt within him no matter how hard he tried.

He felt guilty and ashamed of himself for only remembering that he once had an elder brother called Ning Fan after forty years.

He felt even more ashamed for having a heart that was like dead ashes as he only wished to die together with An Ran and not accompany Ning Fan to finish the lonely cultivation path.

“An Ran actually is also dead…”

Ning Fan sighed with emotions. He closed his eyes, recalling the young lady of the village he met forty years ago.

Those eyes that shone with brilliance still appeared in front of his eyes but the person was no longer around.

An Ran was a mortal lady who loved Ning Gu blindly.

Ning Fan could faintly understand how heart-breaking Ning Gu felt after her death…

“I remembered leaving pills that could prolong one’s lifespan… Didn’t she take them? If she did, she would not be dead.”

“How would she be willing to eat those precious pills? She had already fed it to me without telling me… She really was a good woman…” The old man felt like his heart was being torn apart.

The day when An Ran died, Ning Gu decided to dismiss the foundation of his cultivation, dissipating all his cultivation base.

Originally, he would not age so quickly as he possessed magic power. However, after losing his magic power, his aging process happened almost instantaneously. Not much lifespan was left in him.

All he was waiting for was to see Ning Fan once more and accompany An Ran in the afterlife.

“Big Brother, I’m sorry… I can’t keep you company for the rest of your cultivation path…”

“What’re you talking about? Why would I force you if you are unwilling to walk this journey? Let me help you get up. Bring me to visit An Ran’s grave.”

Ning Fan pushed open the wooden door and held Ning Gu up and sighed gently.

He understood Ning Gu and he knew what he was thinking currently.

He knew that his silly younger brother had fulfilled his final wish after seeing him now and he only wanted to die.

Ning Fan did not try to stop him as he knew that it was pointless to stop him.

However, he could help Ning Gu do one more thing which probably could wish him a blissful and ordinary life.

“Alright, Big Brother. I’ll bring you to see An Ran!”

A small grave was made behind the house with a wooden stele standing erect in front of it.

The Tomb of My Beloved Wife – An Ran…

Ning Gu took out some joss sticks and incense papers and burned them in front of An Ran’s grave.