Chapter 543 - 543: That Look!
Upon seeing Ning Fan who still remembered her, a mixture of joy and shyness rose from within Yu Chong Er"s heart. She lowered her head with her ears turning slightly hot.
After dismissing the feeling of astonishment they initially felt, Fang Sheng and Fang Si walked forward to cup their fists at Ning Fan and politely said, "We"ve been waiting for White-Robed Marquis for quite a while to guide you into the Heavenly Cloud under the sixth prince"s order."
"The sixth prince"s order, huh...?"
Ning Fan was somewhat taken aback. He did not expect for Yun Youmu to send his people to welcome him.
Ning Fan could not see through Yun Youmu at all. He could only feel that he was really shrewd and clever who never did things the normal way.
Is Yun Youmu expressing his kindness or is there some other reason for him to deliberately send his men to welcome me...?
Ning Fan kept his thoughts aside and cupped his fists respectfully toward Fang Sheng and Fang Si. No matter what, he would not be cold to them since they welcomed him with smiling faces.
"Ning Fan greets the two palace lords and the fellow daoists of the Serene Heaven Palace. It has been many years since we last met. It"s nice to see everyone again."
At most, he would behave politely toward Fang Sheng and Fang Si. To Yu Bai, Yu Chong Er and the others, however, he felt the closeness of reuniting with his old friends.
Yu Chong Er lowered her head even further without daring to make eye contact with Ning Fan. Her cheeks, at the same time, gradually turned hot.
"d.a.m.n it. d.a.m.n it. d.a.m.n it... I can"t breathe at all whenever I look at him... Am I sick? Yes, that must be the reason..."
Yu Bai and the others returned the same gesture at Ning Fan, all the while looking somewhat surprised. It was truly their honor to receive a friendly greeting from the dignified White-Robed Marquis.
"*Cough* White-Robed Marquis, if you want to catch up with your old friends, you can do it later. We should first head to the "Serene Heaven Realm" for now. The sixth prince has already set up a feast of spiritual fruits and wines in the Serene Heaven Palace to welcome the arrival of the White-Robed Marquis. There was some unforeseen incident at the Scarlet Heaven Palace earlier, so it"s temporarily unavailable. That"s why Fellow Daoist doesn"t need to be in a hurry to go to the Scarlet Heaven Realm. You can stay at our Serene Heaven Realm for the meantime..." Fang Sheng said.
"Unforeseen incident? What unforeseen incident?" Ning Fan was stunned.
"It"s complicated and would be hard to explain in a few words. If White-Robed Marquis wants to know, you can go to the Scarlet Heaven Realm and take a look yourself. You"ll understand if you do... *Cough* It seems like the seventh prince wants to give White-Robed Marquis a display of his authority..." Fang Sheng answered with a sigh.
"I see... Since something happened to the Scarlet Heaven Palace, it"s my duty as the Scarlet Heaven Palace Lord to head to the Scarlet Heaven Realm to take a look. I have no choice but to turn down your kind offer and will have to attend the feast in the Serene Heaven Palace next time."
Ning Fan stared deeply at Fang Sheng and Fang Si with a few guesses in his mind.
"Well, since White-Robed Marquis insists on going to the Scarlet Heaven Realm, we will not force Fellow Daoist to head to the Serene Heaven Realm. If White-Robed Marquis encounters any trouble in the Scarlet Heaven Realm, you can look for the sixth prince for help. The sixth prince and White-Robed Marquis. .h.i.t it off from the beginning. He will certainly do his best to help White-Robed Marquis deal with any problem." Fang Sheng gave Ning Fan a meaningful smile.
"Farewell!"
Ning Fan cupped his fists at the group of cultivators and produced the travelling light beneath his feet. He was planning to enter the Heavenly Cloud Country on his own and head to the Scarlet Heaven Realm.
Originally, he was pondering why Yun Youmu would deliberately send his men to welcome him. Now, he understood the underlying intention behind his actions.
Yun Youmu was trying to warn Ning Fan that the seventh prince, Yun Jinghong, was against him.
If Ning Fan plans to face the seventh prince, he could seek Yun Youmu"s help and the Serene Heaven Palace would become his ally.
The reason why Yun Youmu showed friendliness to Ning Fan was probably because he was on bad terms with Yun Jinghong and he wanted to borrow Ning Fan"s hands to deal with him.
So this is Yun Youmu"s motive, huh...? Apparently, there"s some infighting among the princes of the Rain Palace.
Countless thoughts filled Ning Fan"s mind. Just as he was about to leave, Yu Chong Er suddenly rushed out from the group of cultivators courageously and told Ning Fan.
"Ning Fan, you"ve just arrived at the Heavenly Cloud Country. You might not recognize the way. Let me lead you to the Scarlet Heaven Realm!"
"Chong Er! All the "cloud lions" guarding the border of the Scarlet Heaven Realm have gone out of control. It will be very dangerous for you to go to the Scarlet Heaven Realm with your current cultivation level... You don"t have a Void Refinement Realm cultivation base like White-Robed Marquis..."
Nervousness filled Yu Bai"s expression as he tried to dissuade her. However, Yu Chong Er refused to listen. She pointed at Ning Fan and said, "He will protect me, I guess..."
Yu Chong Er looked at Ning Fan with uncertainty. If she did not have Ning Fan"s protection, she would not dare to go to the Scarlet Heaven Palace.
"That"s a good idea. This is my first time in the Heavenly Cloud Country. I"m not familiar with this place and the people here. It can"t get any better to have Mistress Yu to be my guide. Rest a.s.sured, Brother Yu. With me by her side, no matter whatever happens in the Scarlet Heaven Realm, your younger sister won"t suffer injury."
Ning Fan cupped his fists at Yu Bai and displayed his teleportation technique, carrying Yu Chong Er into the territory of the Heavenly Cloud Country.
Looking at their figures which were getting smaller into the distance, Yu Bai shook his head and sighed. His younger sister has always hated Ning Fan. To see her so friendly and kind to him now...
The Heavenly Cloud Country was divided into ten different realms. The Scarlet Heaven Realm was situated northwest. Ning Fan needed to get past several other realms in order to reach his destination.
While Yu Chong Er was riding on Ning Fan"s travelling light, she felt like she was stepping on a black rainbow.
She did not dare to raise her head, her cheeks red hot. She would slightly lift her head whenever she had to guide him to steal a glance at Ning Fan.
However, whenever she saw Ning Fan, she would recall the past incident of her giving him a kiss...
In the past, she gave him her first kiss in order to transfer some of her Insect Sovereign Blood to heal his wounds.
"I must be sick... Otherwise, why would I volunteer to be his guide...? Have I gone crazy? Even though the Scarlet Heaven Realm is so dangerous, I still decided to go there..."
"I"m doomed now. I"m so nervous... What should I say to him...? My mind is completely blank now..."
The way she lowered her head resembled a terrified ostrich.
Ning Fan could not help but find it quite funny. Was she the Yu Chong Er he knew in the past?
The Yu Chong Er he remembered loathed devil cultivators. She often teased and mocked him, had forcefully kissed him and even treated him like her pillow when she fell asleep... Today, however, she was surprisingly quiet and obedient. She did not even do anything unnecessary.
When Ning Fan secretly used his Mind Reading Technique and saw through the thoughts inside her head, he did not know whether he should laugh or cry. Actually, Yu Chong Er did not become more gentle and quiet. Instead, she was just too nervous and did not know what to say to him.
"Aren"t you going to introduce me to the local customs and practices of the Heavenly Cloud Country?" Ning Fan reminded me.
"Oh yes. Let me introduce you to the Heavenly Cloud Country. This is the capital of the Rain World. Not a single country in the eight hundred cultivation countries of the Rain World can rival it in terms of its prosperity and growth."
Yu Chong Er started babbling, introducing the customs of the places around the country.
The Heavenly Cloud Country was a country of clouds and mist. All the palaces, pavilions and buildings in the country were built using clouds and mist. Rainbow-colored clouds could even be found everywhere in the sky.
The entire Heavenly Cloud Country was enveloped by layers of cloud formation which was at the Peak Immortal Void Grade. Even an ordinary Void Fragmentation Realm expert would not be able to shatter the cloud formation protecting the country.
"This formation is called the "Cloud Sea Falling Smoke Formation". It"s a grand formation that one of the former Rain Sovereigns established. It can eliminate the enemies of the country using its cloud light. It has been said that several millions of bandit cultivators had once attacked the Heavenly Cloud Country several hundred thousand years ago. There were even three bandit cultivators at the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm among their ranks... In the end, all of them were killed by this formation..." Yu Chong Er explained. When she imagined the scene where millions of people were killed, she felt scared.
"It can even kill Void Fragmentation Realm experts, huh...?" Ning Fan"s eyes scanned past the grand formation. With the current level of his Heart Formation Technique, he could not see through every transformation this formation was capable of.
"The Heavenly Cloud Country is separated into ten realms. Each of the realms is as large as a void grade cultivation country. The cultivators in this country not only build their houses and buildings using clouds but also their transportations tools... In every realm, there is a cloud mountain that is ninety thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) tall. The palaces of the divisions of the Rain Palace are built on the summit of those mountains... The Heavenly Cloud Country is very huge. We"ve only arrived at the Yang Heaven Realm."
As soon as Yu Chong Er finished speaking, she pointed at the surroundings.
A towering cloud mountain was vaguely visible from afar and a majestic palace was on its peak. It was the Yang Heaven Palace.
Cultivators could be seen flying everywhere in the sky. Most of them were riding on immortal clouds, travelling in the sky with the help of these flying clouds.
These immortal clouds were composed of different colors and had been etched with cloud marks. The more cloud marks they have, the faster they can travel.
Immortal clouds with two marks could travel at a speed equivalent to that of the Harmonious Spirit Realm. Those with three marks were as fast as a Gold Core Realm cultivator. Those with four marks were as quick as a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. Those with five marks had Divine Transformation Realm speed. For those with six marks, there were very few of them.
These immortal clouds did not need any trace of magic power for them to move. Thus, they were undoubtedly some type of spiritual equipment.
"These are immortal cloud spiritual equipment made in the Flowing Cloud Valley. They are unique to the Rain World. Therefore, cultivators from other worlds would usually purchase immortal clouds from the Flowing Cloud Valley..." Yu Chong Er said.
"The Flowing Cloud Valley of the thirteen sects, huh...? Does the Flowing Cloud Valley have an immortal cloud with seven marks for sale?" Ning Fan asked.
Immortal clouds with seven marks should possess Void Fragmentation Realm speed. In addition to that, it did not consume any magic power at all.
It would definitely be wonderful if Ning Fan could get his hands on a seven-marked immortal cloud and refine it into his body.
"*Tsk* Fat chance. A seven-marked immortal cloud is a Profound Divinity Grade spiritual equipment. Even if the Flowing Cloud Valley has a supreme treasure of that kind, they will be reluctant to sell it. There"s no way you can buy something like that!" Yu Chong Er slowly became more cheerful as her nervousness diminished.
"Well, that"s unfortunate..." Ning Fan said while inwardly thinking otherwise. After all, it was not something he had to buy.
In the past, he had already heard that the Rain World produced immortal clouds in abundance. He only witnessed it now where thousands of cultivators flew in the sky on immortal clouds. It made him feel slightly emotional.
If I arrive in the Sword World, I should be able to see a scene where thousands of cultivators are riding swords in the sky.
I wonder what I will see in the Tree World when I get there...
Ning Fan"s speed was not slow. However, the Heavenly Cloud Country was just too vast. It took them three days to reach the Scarlet Heaven Realm.
Well, since there was a beauty keeping him company along the way, he did not feel lonely at all.
Just as they entered the Scarlet Heaven Realm, a group of cultivators immediately soared into the sky and stood in front of Ning Fan, blocking his path while yelling with a cold tone.
"Stop where you are! The seventh prince has ordered us to not let anyone enter the Scarlet Heaven Realm as all the cloud lions have gone out of control. It is to prevent deaths caused by those cloud lions!"
Every single individual of the group had a cultivation base of at least the Mid Divine Transformation Realm while the leader of the group was a Late Divine Transformation Realm cultivator.
The clothes these cultivators were wearing had the symbol of the Scarlet Cloud, a symbol representing the Scarlet Heaven Palace.
Without a doubt, all of them were members of the Scarlet Heaven Palace.
Ning Fan came to a halt and gazed into the Scarlet Heaven Realm. All he could see was several hundred thousand stone lion statues flying in the sky that was covered in misty clouds.
There were stone lions with strong qi as well as those with weak qi. The weaker ones were only at the level of the Harmonious Spirit Realm while a few of the stronger ones were even as strong as Divine Transformation Realm experts.
Ning Fan spread out his spirit sense to inspect and he discovered that there were at least one thousand stone lions with Divine Transformation Realm qi in the sky above the Scarlet Heaven Realm.
Those stone lions were not living creatures. Instead, they were puppets made out of a type of solid cloud called "stone cloud".
Ning Fan had once entered the place where the former Rain Sovereigns went for seclusion in the Blood Dragon Pond. Outside the large entrance, he encountered twelve stone lions guarding the gate. Each and every one of them had Void Fragmentation Realm qi...
The stone lions in the Blood Dragon Pond had the same appearance to the stone lions he found here. However, the only difference was that the stone lions in the Blood Dragon Pool were far stronger than the ones in the Scarlet Heaven Realm.
Moreover, the stone lions of the Blood Dragon Pond could not move as they needed to be rooted to the ground. The stone lions here, on the other hand, were more similar to puppets. Even though their limbs were stiff and rigid, they could freely move and fly in the sky.
"These stone lions are called cloud lions, huh...?" Ning Fan muttered to himself.
"Mm. Cloud lions are a secret technique that only the Rain Palace possessed. There are two different types of cloud lions. The first one is a cloud lion puppet. This type of cloud lions can move and fly but their cultivation bases can"t exceed the Divine Transformation Realm. The other type is the cloud lion statue. Even though they can"t move and are rooted to the ground, they are extremely powerful. It is said that there are a few Void Fragmentation Realm cloud lion statues guarding the place where the Rain Sovereigns go for secluded cultivation..."
Yu Chong Er took a glance at the sky, slightly afraid.
Several hundred thousand stone lions had all gone out of control, flying aimlessly in the sky. When a cultivator goes into the deeper part of the Scarlet Heaven Realm, they would eliminate them all together.
Ning Fan narrowed his eyes which flashed with a cold glint.
Several hundred thousand stone lions of the Rain Palace going out of control is an incident that can be considered to be big. Even so, not a single person is dealing with them...
Even though there are many stone lions, the strongest among them are just at the Divine Transformation Realm. If a genuinely strong expert comes to deal with them, it won"t be difficult for them to subdue all of the stone lions.
So someone is deliberately preventing anyone from dealing with those stone lions and wanted to use them to give me a display of his power, huh...
Ning Fan smiled scornfully.
Trying to give me a display of power with just one thousand Divine Transformation Realm cloud lions? It seems like Yun Jinghong has underestimated me.
He descended onto the ground and slowly walked toward the Scarlet Heaven Realm with Yu Chong Er.
"Impudent! Who are you? How dare you publicly defy the seventh prince"s order and trespa.s.s into the Scarlet Heaven Realm without permission?!"
"Guards, take him down!"
The group of Divine Transformation Realm cultivators surrounded Ning Fan. Their tones were extremely arrogant.
Ning Fan did not say anything. All he did was release all the baleful qi in his body which instantly dyed the clouds in the Scarlet Heaven Realm red!
At this moment, the Scarlet Heaven Palace had truly turned into a world with a red sky!
The baleful qi contained all the killings Ning Fan had committed throughout his life. It even contained the baleful qi the Bone Sovereign left behind when he died.
The moment his baleful qi spread across the sky, the group of Divine Transformation Realm cultivators were filled with shock. A sharp pain struck their chests, causing them to fall backward while coughing out blood. The arrogance in their faces were replaced with astonishment.
Even those mindless cloud lion puppets which were flying in the sky began to tremble!
At this moment, a black crescent mark emerged in Ning Fan"s left eye. His expression turned dignified and cold.
With just a single look, the bodies of all uncontrollable cloud lions in the sky landed on the ground. They knelt down and wors.h.i.+pped Ning Fan with respect in their eyes without showing signs of going out of control!
The reason why these cloud lion puppets had become uncontrollable was because someone had secretly done something to them.
However, Ning Fan turned every single one of them back to normal with just a single look of his eyes. He even made them willingly serve him as their master!
"W-White-Robed Marquis!" The group of Divine Transformation Realm cultivators finally recognized Ning Fan"s ident.i.ty from his terrifying baleful qi. This discovery struck them with great fear!
...
On the peak of a mountain in the distance, a middle-aged man in green robes was standing arrogantly with cloud light revolving around his body. His eyes were gazing coldly at the direction of the Scarlet Heaven Realm.
He was the seventh prince of the Rain Palace – Yun Jinghong! He was the Void Fragmentation Realm expert who was overseeing the Scarlet Heaven Palace!
He was originally quietly looking at Ning Fan entering the Scarlet Heaven Realm, eagerly waiting to watch him be worn out from dealing with hundreds of thousands of cloud lions.
There were one thousand plus Divine Transformation Realm cloud lions among them. Even a Void Pierce Stage expert would not dare to recklessly face the army of cloud lions!
From Yun Jinghong"s perspective, if Ning Fan confronts the group of cloud lions with his weak cultivation base, he would certainly die or become injured.
Of course, he would not watch Ning Fan die. After Ning Fan becomes grievously injured, he would appear and save his life. Since Ning Fan was still useful to the Rain Palace, he could not kill him yet. However, he could teach him a lesson!
"There is no need to watch any longer. He has already entered the Scarlet Heaven Realm and will be ganged up on by several hundred thousand cloud lions. He certainly won"t be able to escape from them!"
Yun Jinghong coldly sneered and proudly closed his eyes. At the next moment, however, he suddenly opened them and saw something that he could never believe!
Ning Fan turned all the uncontrollable cloud lions back to normal with just a single look, making them kneel on the ground respectfully!
The cloud lions were actually a type of puppets but they had low spiritual intelligence. They were supposed to not kneel before anyone at all. Why would they kneel before Ning Fan?!
How did Ning Fan make every cloud lion turn back to normal within one breath?!
What Yun Jinghong found even more inconceivable was the red clouds that had covered the sky and s.h.i.+elded the sun within the Scarlet Heaven Realm. It was caused by Ning Fan"s baleful qi!
At this moment, Ning Fan who was standing inside the Scarlet Heaven Realm suddenly turned around and coldly stared at Yun Jinghong"s direction.
That single look contained the bloodshed Ning Fan had been through in his entire life!
With just a single look, it gave Yun Jinghong a sense of danger that he had never felt before. It felt as if the young man before his eyes was not Ning Fan but a peerless ferocious beast that could literally tear a Void Fragmentation Realm expert apart!
With just a single look, even the Heavenly Cloud could no longer tolerate him for the killings he had committed!
Yun Jinghong was caught off guard. When he met Ning Fan"s cold and fierce eyes, he immediately felt a sharp pain on his chest. His qi and blood turned chaotic, making him nearly fall down from the mountain!
"How can this be possible?! Why would this kid have such a terrifying baleful qi that I can"t even withstand his aura force?!"
"Could it be that he has killed a Void Fragmentation Realm expert before?! No. That is certainly impossible! No Void Fragmentation Realm expert in the Rain World has died. Besides, a Void Fragmentation Realm expert has the power to shake the world. How can he kill someone that powerful? He is just an ant!"
Although Yun Jinghong"s tone was cold, his eyes no longer dared to look at Ning Fan"s direction.
The pain in his chest gradually intensified. It was actually a symptom of having his mind invaded by baleful qi.
He immediately left in a ray of light without daring to linger around any longer. He must go into seclusion at once and get rid of the baleful qi which had invaded his mind to avoid his mind being contaminated by it...
In the Scarlet Heaven Realm, Ning Fan looked at Yun Jinghong"s travelling light that was disappearing into the distance and dismissed his baleful qi. His eyes slowly turned deep.
"It"s indeed Yun Jinghong... That Yun Youmu did not lie to me."
Then, he turned around and said to Yu Chong Er with a smile.
"Let"s go. Bring me to the Scarlet Heaven Palace."
His smile was like a warm spring breeze and his eyes did not have the slightest hint of baleful qi.
"Oh, Oh..." Yu Chong Er nodded while covering her lips. She was still in a state of shock.
It has only been ten plus years since we last met and Ning Fan can already subdue several hundred thousand puppets with just a single look... This is really unbelievable!
"How did you do it?" Yu Chong Er asked curiously.
"It"s a secret... If you want to know, come to my room tonight. We can have an intimate chat." Ning Fan teased.
"*Tsk* Get lost!" Yu Chong Er"s face reddened with anger and embarra.s.sment like a peach. Her heart nearly leaped out of her throat.
Go to h.e.l.l! Go to h.e.l.l! Go to h.e.l.l! I would rather die than be alone with him in the same room... The righteous and the devil are incompatible, okay...?
Well probably... Just probably...
Having a personal conversation with him seems quite good too... as long as he a.s.sures me that he won"t kiss me...
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel