Grasping Evil - Chapter 418

Chapter 418: Chapter 418: A Trade

The Myriad Treasure Pavilion had a well-deserved reputation as a supreme force on the eleventh floor of the lightning tower.

The Pavilion Lord, Lei Shiyi, was a Void Inquiry Stage expert who also had five Void Glimpse Stage subordinates. With so many experts with him, no one had ever dared to enter the Myriad Treasure Pavilion without permission.

The lightning lord of the eleventh floor, Zhu Feng, came depending on the influence of King Ying Long. Thus, no one would certainly dare to stop him.

However, how did Ning Fan who was just a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator get past the heavy lines of defense of the Myriad Treasure Pavilion and intrude the great hall?!

Chu Nanfeng, Mo Feiyun and the other three Void Glimpse Stage experts stood up in surprise with their eyes flashing with a cold light.

They recognized Ning Fan. He was the person who made King Ying Long send out all of his military strength to pursue. He was the person who slaughtered everyone on the first ten floors of the lightning tower on his own. He was a ferocious and ruthless devil.

Ning Fan’s baleful qi subsided as soon as it appeared. It filled the five experts with confusion, thinking that what they had felt earlier was just an illusion.

Was it just an illusion? Could that frightening baleful qi be just an illusion?

“This young man is just at the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm. It’s certainly impossible for him to kill thirteen Void Refinement Realm beings with his own hands. Yes. That must be it. He is rumored to have three Void Refinement Realm puppets. The baleful qi that we sensed from him earlier must have belonged to the spiritual puppets in his possession!”

“After all, he is still a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator! As long as we don’t give him enough time to summon his spiritual puppets, there’s nothing to fear about him!”

When they thought like this, the five experts felt much calmer than before. Because of their own assumptions, they could not help but slightly underestimate Ning Fan.

They did not know Ning Fan’s intention of coming to the Myriad Treasure Pavilion. Judging from his words, however, it seemed like he had come to trade with Lei Shiyi.

If that’s the case, this man cannot be considered as an enemy…

With the pavilion lord around, whether Ning Fan was an enemy or a friend, they would not have a need to personally deal with him.

“Oh? I have just gathered some primordial lightning. Before I have the time to contact Little Friend with the Thunder Sound Jade, you have already come to my Myriad Treasure Pavilion. You’re really a rare customer.”

Lei Shiyi put down his golden abacus and gave Ning Fan a deep and meaningful look. Then, his lips parted and formed into a grin.

“Little Friend really has a lot of techniques up your sleeves. You can actually get into my Myriad Treasure Pavilion without making any sound. I’m truly impressed!”

“Please forgive me for my lack of manners.”

Ning Fan smiled faintly. He did not talk much about his Heaven Deceiving Cloak. Then, he sat down without being asked on a seat which was near a corner of the hall.

Seeing that Lei Shiyi had a friendly relationship with Ning Fan, Chu Nanfeng and the other Void Glimpse Stage experts felt even more composed than before. They then returned to their respective seats.

It appears Ning Fan did not seem to be plotting against the Myriad Treasure Pavilion and had just come to purchase primordial lightning.

They finally got the answer for their question which had been bothering them.

So it turns out that the reason why Lei Shiyi hurriedly returned to the eleventh floor and spent a great amount of effort to acquire primordial lightning was all for selling all of them to Ning Fan?

Strange. It’s very strange.

No matter what, Ning Fan was just a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator. How did a cultivator with such a lowly cultivation base make Lei Shiyi treat him politely? Moreover, how did he manage to get away from the heavy pursuit from King Ying Long’s men?

This young man is nothing more than a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator. Even though he possesses three Void Glimpse Stage spiritual puppets, he still has no chance of winning against a Void Inquiry Stage expert and five Void Glimpse Stage experts.

Why is he so calm? Isn’t he scared to sit down here alone in the Myriad Treasure Pavilion which is an extremely dangerous place to him?

“All of you seem to be very interested in me, isn’t that right?” Ning Fan had sensed the faintly discernible spirit sense from the five individuals who were studying him from time to time. He released a bit of his sword sense and then repelled all of them. After that, he spoke with a faint smile on his face.

*Hiss*

The expressions of the five Void Glimpse Stage experts changed.

The means that Ning Fan used to repel their spirit sense was none other than sword sense. Besides, the strength of his spirit sense was completely not any weaker than an expert of the Void Glimpse Stage!

“Calm down, everyone. Little Friend Zhou is my customer!” Lei Shiyi grumpily stared at his five subordinates.

Even Lei Shiyi himself found Ning Fan’s qi to be unpredictable, making him unable to see through the latter. If his five foolish subordinates were able to discover any details about Ning Fan, that would really be preposterous.

“My subordinates aren’t really sensible. I apologize on their behalf. Did Little Friend come to my place this time to buy some primordial lightning? As a matter of fact, I have already prepared ten thousand traces of primordial lightning. I wonder if Little Friend has brought enough money with you?”

Lei Shiyi revealed a faint smile to Ning Fan again. While he was asking him, he picked his nose and then gently sniffed the air.

As soon as he did that, his eyes immediately burned with excitement.

“So many lightning jades?! It seems like the rumor about Little Friend clearing the ten floors of the lightning tower is probably true!”

“Ten thousand traces of primordial lightning?”

Ning Fan’s expression remained unchanged and he felt slightly astonished inwardly. His lightning armor needed at least another 300 traces of primordial lightning to complete the next minor advancement.

Even though the reason he had come to the Myriad Treasure Pavilion was to buy some primordial lightning, he did not expect that Lei Shiyi would have so many primordial lightning in stock.

Ten thousand traces of primordial lightning were completely enough for his lightning armor to break through to the second level of the gold grade. Moreover, there was a chance that it could even advance to the third level!

Each trace of primordial lightning represented a Divine Transformation Realm undead spirit’s life.

If Ning Fan had to gather ten thousand traces of primordial lightning on his own, he would definitely need to slaughter ten thousand Divine Transformation Realm undead spirits. In other words, he could only gather such a massive amount of primordial lightning by killing all the way up to the fiftieth or even sixtieth floors of the lightning tower. Obviously, that was a bit too unrealistic.

Inwardly, Ning Fan thought to himself.

If Lei Shiyi really has ten thousand traces of primordial lightning, these were certainly not obtained from killing Divine Transformation Realm undead spirits. They were probably left behind by the Divine Transformation Realm undead spirits that died in the lightning tower in the past.

“Precisely! I have gathered ten thousand traces of primordial lightning. Hehe. According to the price of one lightning jade for thirty primordial lightning and a discount for Little Friend… Hehe… Lowest price, three hundred pieces of silver jades. What do you think?” Lei Shiyi rubbed his hands excitedly.

“Three hundred silver jades?!” The five Void Glimpse Stage experts were shocked. Even though they were experts of the Void Glimpse Stage, each of them only possessed one hundred silver jades.

The lightning power contained inside three hundred silver jades was nearly equivalent to the total amount of wealth of three Void Glimpse Stage experts combined.

They could not believe that Ning Fan who was just at the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm would possess a lot of lightning jades.

Additionally, they found it even more difficult to believe that Ning Fan would purchase a pile of useless primordial lightning at such an exorbitant price.

However, they would never know that the primordial lightning which was useless to undead spirits was an excellent help in upgrading Ning Fan’s lightning armor.

“It’s a deal.”

Ning Fan uttered indifferently. In just a brief moment, they closed a deal on a trade which involved a huge sum of money .

The final decision was made!

Lei Shiyi took out a few hundred jade boxes where all the traces of primordial lightning were sealed and handed them over to Ning Fan. Then, the latter paid him three hundred silver jades. The whole process of their trade was swift and direct!

Chu Nanfeng and the others were left dazed and speechless. Ning Fan actually did not even try to bargain for a lower price in such a huge deal. What a courageous man!

Unconsciously, the contempt they had against Ning Fan diminished a little. At least, they were aware that they did not have such courage to do so.

Ning Fan kept the primordial lightning. Once he leaves the Myriad Treasure Pavilion, he would then devour all of them and upgrade his lightning armor.

Lei Shiyi put away the three hundred silver jades. His heart was filled with happiness. Once he devours all of these silver jades, his magic power would greatly increase again.

This deal was of everyone’s delight and satisfaction.

“I wonder whether or not Fellow Daoist Lei still has other good items. It’s rare for me to have come to the Myriad Treasure Pavilion myself this time. I still have some spare money with me and I intend to buy some more excellent items.”

Ning Fan still had 10 golden jades and 800 silver jades with him. These lightning jades were useless to him. Thus, he naturally was extremely willing to exchange them for some treasures from Lei Shiyi’s hands.

As soon as Lei Shiyi heard his words, he immediately clapped his hands and laughed loudly like a harlot who had met her adulterer. Without hesitation, he replied to Ning Fan.

“Little Friend, don’t worry! My Myriad Treasure Pavilion lacks everything except for treasures. Little Friend, I assure you that you will certainly return with satisfaction!”

He could smell that there were still a large number of lightning jades with Ning Fan.

He was extremely willing to trade all of those lightning jades away from him.

Suddenly, his eyes flashed brightly as if he had thought of something.

I wonder if this Zhou Ming will want the Immortal Emperor’s Lightning Bone or not… To undead spirits like us, that item is of no use. However, to a minority of undead spirits who cultivated unique body refinement techniques, it’s a supreme treasure…

This item is useless to me but it’s useful to certain undead spirits. However, those people could not afford to buy this item. Now, King Ying Long has set his eyes upon it but is reluctant to spend a single jade to buy it… If it’s normal business, I, of course, will have to sell it to him. However, he wants to seize it from me by force. Humph! Since the day I began doing business, I have never closed a deal at a loss. How can I just give the lightning bone to him for free?!”

This Zhou Ming still has 800 silver jades and 10 golden jades… What if I directly sell the lightning bone to him, just as the saying goes: either give up, or go with it to the end. There are two benefits in doing so. Firstly, I can shift the trouble to him. King Ying Long will no longer have any reason to disturb me. Secondly, hehe… I can get all the lightning jades that Zhou Ming has! With so many lightning jades, even if I can’t break through to the Late Void Refinement Realm after refining them into magic power, I will at least become one of the top experts among the Mid Void Refinement Realm experts!

The only thing I have to worry about is whether or not this Zhou Ming will buy this item…

Lei Shiyi’s eyes moved from side to side. In terms of business, he quite admired Ning Fan who had a fair attitude while trading.

He decided to take out the lightning bone that he had been hiding in the past to show it to Ning Fan and see whether the latter would like to buy it or not.

“I have a precious treasure which I would like to take out and let Little Friend take a look. Xiao Fengzi! Bring Little Friend Zhou to the golden treasure house. Whichever item Little Friend Zhou is fond of, including the forbidden items, you can sell them to him.”

The one who was called Xiao Fengzi[1] was none other than Chu Nanfeng.

Chu Nanfeng’s face was filled with shock and he looked at Lei Shiyi in disbelief!

The items that were stored in the golden treasure house were the most precious and rarest supreme treasures. Even if it were the other Void Inquiry Stage experts that had come to the Myriad Treasure Pavilion before, Lei Shiyi might not necessarily give them such a treatment like allowing them to enter the golden treasure house.

In any case, Chu Nanfeng was also a Void Glimpse Stage old monster. If the person he had to lead around was a Void Inquiry Stage old monster, he would resign himself to it. Now, however, the person whom he had to provide a service was a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator…

It was a little embarrassing to him…

“Are you reluctant to go?” Lei Shiyi’s eyes suddenly turned grim. Even though he might act deplorably in usual times, he was still quite dignified in crucial times like this.

“How would I dare?” Chu Nanfeng smiled bitterly. There’s no way he would dare to defy Lei Shiyi’s orders.

“Don’t worry. I know that petty little thought in your mind. You are just embarrassed to lead the way for a junior, aren’t you? No worries. I will not let you feel embarrassed alone. Xiao Yunzi, Xiao Yangzi and you two, go together with them! The five of you will bring Little Friend Zhou to visit the treasure house!” Lei Shiyi sounded firm, not allowing any room for rejection.

“What?!”

The expressions of Mo Feiyun, Old Man Hang and the others instantly changed.

Five Void Glimpse Stage experts were going to act as guides for a Divine Transformation Realm junior. Wasn’t this giving too much face to Ning Fan?

No. It wasn’t right.

The five of them slowly understood the meaning behind this.

Apparently, the reason why Lei Shiyi ordered the five of them to lead the way for Ning Fan was not as simple as giving him preferential treatment.

Yes. That must be it! Lei Shiyi was afraid that Ning Fan would steal things and thus he ordered five Early Void Refinement Realm beings to keep an eye on him!

However, how is this even possible?!

Would it need five Void Refinement Realm beings to keep an eye on a Divine Transformation Realm junior? In Lei Shiyi’s eyes, was Ning Fan that strong?

The five of them looked at Ning Fan who seemed rather thin and feeble. They did not believe it. They did not believe that Ning Fan would be able to steal things under the nose of five Void Glimpse Stage old monsters.

The golden treasure house was protected by a Mortal Void Realm Formation. The formation light could seal off the magic power of one’s spiritual puppets. Even though Ning Fan had three Void Glimpse Stage spiritual puppets, he would not be able to use them inside the treasure house.

With just Ning Fan’s Half-Step Void Refinement Realm strength, did it need five Void Refinement Realm beings to watch over him? Probably not. Just Chu Nanfeng alone would suffice.

Is the pavilion lord making a fuss over a trifling matter?

Lei Shiyi hurriedly left without giving the five experts a chance to refuse. It was very likely that he had gone to take the Immortal Emperor’s Lightning Bone.

Chu Nanfeng and the other four old monsters exchanged glances among each other. Even though they could not overcome their pride to act as guides for a junior, they did not dare to defy Lei Shiyi’s order.

Inwardly, they sighed helplessly.

Fine. The five of us together will lead the way for a junior. Feeling embarrassed together is better than one of us suffering embarrassment.

“Little Friend, we will guide you to the golden treasure house next to take a look. Since the pavilion lord has given the order, as long as Little Friend has enough lightning jades, whichever item that you take a fancy to can be sold including the forbidden items!”

“Forbidden items?” Ning Fan asked with a doubtful tone.

“Hehe. To us undead spirits, we can’t use many magical items and treasures which the living people can consume and wield. If we consume or use them by mistake, we might suffer a heavy backlash and be severely injured. The Ice Cloud Garlic for example. It has a healing effect on living people. To us, however, it’s the deadliest poison. If we consume it by accident, it would leave extremely grievous injuries on our undead spirit bodies. All of these items are categorized as forbidden items by the pavilion lord. Usually, these items are not sold to undead spirits that don’t know anything about them. The pavilion lord had always said, ‘Undead spirits love wealth, but the means to obtain them must be right.’ The pavilion lord will not involve himself in illegal activities to obtain wealth.”

“Is that so…?”

Ning Fan gently nodded his head.

This Lei Shiyi is quite interesting. He does not sell poisonous and lethal items to undead spirits and he does not earn his wealth through dubious means. So this is Lei Shiyi’s principle in doing business, huh.

But why did he allow me to buy them?

Is it because he is confident in my insight or has he found out my identity as a living person?

I am not sure about it… However, this Lei Shiyi is a very careful person. He sent five Void Glimpse Stage experts to keep an eye on me. As such, I have to give up the idea of stealing the items in the treasure house… Fine. It’s no harm to also have a fair and transparent trade occasionally…”

The golden treasure house was heavily guarded by undead spirits.

As soon as these undead spirits saw Ning Fan who was a complete stranger approach the treasure house, they immediately showed their magic treasures and were on alert.

But when they noticed the five Void Glimpse Stage experts who were leading the way beside Ning Fan, they immediately kept their magic treasures and behaved respectfully towards him.

Inwardly, all of them began making guesses. What kind of honorable identity does a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm like Ning Fan have to let five Void Glimpse Stage experts be his guides? What great influence!

Could it be that Ning Fan was a cultivator from the higher floors of the lightning tower? Could it be that he has a Late Void Refinement Realm expert or even a Peak Void Refinement Realm expert as his backer?

When they thought of that, not a single person dared to stare at Ning Fanrudely. They instantly made way for him and the other five experts and allowed them to enter the treasure house smoothly.

There were four levels in the treasure house. Countless pills and magic treasures were stored on the first level. All of them were items and treasures that Void Glimpse Stage experts would use.

The first level was established with a Low Grade Mortal Void Realm Formation. With the help of the lightning power, it had quite a large restraint on cultivators’ magic power. As for refined corpses and spiritual puppets, however, the restraining effect of the formation was even greater.

Before entering the formation, Chu Nanfeng forced a faint smile and gave an introduction.

“Layers and layers of formation techniques had been set up on this golden treasure house. They can completely restrain all kinds of spiritual puppets and can also restrain undead spirits like us to a certain degree. The treasure house is divided into four levels. A Low Grade Mortal Void Formation has been installed on the first level. Even Void Glimpse Stage undead spirits like me will have at least half of our magic power restricted at this place. Er… About this… there is something that Little Friend has to be wary of…”

Chu Nanfeng’s tone sounded slightly hesitant.

“Fellow Daoist doesn’t have to hold back. You can tell me directly about what I should take note of.”

“Hehe. It’s not that I underestimate Fellow Daoist. Since Fellow Daoist just has a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivation base, I’m afraid that you will be unable to endure the power of the formation in this place. Therefore, before entering the formation, please consume this body protection pill. It’s better to slightly raise your defense.”

“Oh, Fellow Daoist Chu is worried about this. No worries, Fellow Daoist Chu. Even though my cultivation base is weak, this mere formation light is still unable to hurt me. Hence, there is no need for me to consume this pill.”

Ning Fan glanced at the pill and his expression looked strange. To undead spirits, this pill was indeed a body protection pill. To living people, however, it would be a poisonous pill.

Since he was a living person, he certainly would not be willing to consume a poisonous pill.

After Ning Fan refused to consume the pill, Chu Nanfeng was a little displeased even though he still maintained a smile on his face.

He had given Ning Fan the body protection pill out of kindness but the latter refused his kind intentions arrogantly. Could it be that Ning Fan really thought that he could endure the Mortal Void Realm Formation with his lowly Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivation base?

Humph! He will definitely understand how strong this formation light is when he suffers later. Only then will he understand that I was being kind to him.”

Chu Nanfeng coldly snorted in his heart but his face still wore an apologetic smile. Then, he continued to speak.

“It’s fine even if Fellow Daoist doesn’t take the pill. However, if you get hurt later, it certainly will have nothing to do with me. There is one more thing that I must warn Fellow Daoist about. I have mentioned earlier that the formation light in this place will completely restrain all kinds of spiritual puppets. Fellow Daoist might have three Void Glimpse Stage spiritual puppets, but you must not summon them within the treasure house. Otherwise, they will be recognized as thieves by the formation light and will eliminate them.”

“Is that so? I will surely remember this and will not summon my spiritual puppets inside the treasure house.”

Ning Fan nodded his head. He had already abandoned the idea of robbing the treasure house. Thus, he naturally would not do something unnecessary like summoning his spiritual puppets out to battle.

He was also not worried that the five experts of the Void Glimpse Stage would harm him after leading him into the formation.

This formation used lightning power to restrain the magic power of cultivators. Since he had condensed the Tai Su Lightning Star, he, of course, was not afraid of this formation. Aside from that, he also had the Heaven Deceiving Cloak. If he insists on leaving this place, no one below the Void Fragmentation Realm could stop him. There was nothing to worry about his safety.

“Very well. Since Little Friend has given your word, I can also set my mind at ease. Little Friend, please!”

Chu Nanfeng took the lead and went through the formation of the first level. Immediately, the formation light focused on him. It turned into sizzling lightning rays and passed through his body, making his entire body tremble. Meanwhile, his aura force was rapidly suppressed to a lower level. After just a few breaths, his magic power had actually been suppressed by thirty percent!

Mo Feiyun and the others also walked past the formation light one after another and their magic power was also suppressed by thirty to forty percent.

The stronger the magic power one possessed, the lower the restriction they received from the formation light. With the vigorous magic power that a Void Refinement Realm expert had, their magic power would unavoidably be suppressed by only thirty to forty percent. If it was an ordinary Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator who entered the formation light without consuming the body protection pill, their magic power would be directly sealed. Besides, they would also be grievously injured by the electrical shock of the formation light.

The gazes of five Void Glimpse Stage experts who had already entered the formation fell on Ning Fan.

Especially Chu Nanfeng, he was eager to see Ning Fan’s terrible state after receiving the backlash from the formation light.

Well, youngsters were always proud of themselves. After they suffer some setbacks, they would then understand the advice from the elderly is always honest and sincere even if it is always unpleasant to the ears.

“Old Chu, this young man is the customer of the pavilion lord after all. Even though he is a little arrogant, we can’t just let him get injured. We should just let him taste a bit of hardship after he receives the backlash from the formation light and that’s it. We must not let him die within the treasure house.” Mo Feiyun reminded him using telepathy.

“Rest assured. I know when to stop. How would I not save him when seeing him on the brink of death? I’m just trying to take the keen edge off this young man’s spirit. It’s also for his own good.”

Chu Nanfeng shook his head gently. He was also not a narrow-minded person.

The eyes of the five old monsters focused on Ning Fan.

Ning Fan’s face revealed a weird expression. With his shrewdness and intelligence, he naturally saw through what the five experts were up to.

Aren’t these five old monsters a little too bored? They are actually waiting for me to be injured by the backlash from the formation…

Unfortunately, they are destined to be disappointed…

Ning Fan took a step towards the formation light. Sizzling golden lightning rays immediately struck him. It was as if one thousand mountains had crashed down on him!

The vast and vigorous momentum was enough to crush all Divine Transformation Realm cultivators. No one would be able to withstand the lightning of the formation unless they were at the Void Refinement Realm!

Ning Fan’s glabella flashed with lightning. A massive and forceful aura force rose within his eyes. He then yelled out two words.

“Get lost!”

With just two words, the golden lightning rays filling the entire atmosphere seemed to be afraid of him as they hurriedly retreated. None of them dared to attack Ning Fan anymore!

At this moment, Ning Fan was like the lord of lightning. Which lightning ray would dare to hurt him?!

An archaic and desolate aura force shot out from Ning Fan’s eyes. Unconsciously, it swept past the group of five experts.

All of a sudden, absolute fear rose from the bottom of their souls.

They could not understand! They could not understand why Ning Fan who was just at the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm was completely uninjured when he entered the Mortal Void Realm lightning formation!

They could not understand! They could not understand why the aura force from his eyes was so strong that the five of them could not dare to look directly at him!

All of a sudden, no one including Chu Nanfeng dared to underestimate Ning Fan anymore.

No. It wasn’t just like that. When Ning Fan’s eyes scanned past them, their hearts were invaded with intense fear.

“This young man… is very dangerous! It was really necessary for the pavilion lord to send the five of us to watch over him!”

Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel

[1] 小风子 Xiao Fengzi = 楚南风 Chu Nanfeng In Chinese culture, the elderly tend to call the younger ones with the last word of their first name, like ‘风(feng)’ in this case and then add in words like 小(Xiao, which literally means small), 子(Zi, which literally means son), 儿 (Er, which is a suffix that carries a friendly and affectionate meaning).