Chapter 885: Chapter 885: You Are Not a Pawn!

It’s no wonder the Burying Moon Immortal Consort feared the Taicang Calamity Spirit; after all, within her dissipating remnant spirit, there was still the undepleted ’Calamity Ban’ seeded by her enemies.

Perhaps Ning Fan’s level of cultivation wasn’t something she considered worthy of her attention, but his identity as a Calamity Spirit left her deeply apprehensive.

If Ning Fan detected the Calamity Ban within her, he could easily activate the restriction using Calamity Blood, enslave her as a Calamity Slave, or even kill her…

Everything lay in the sway of Ning Fan’s single thought!

“Damn it, I do not wish to become the Calamity Slave of this man! I must escape before he realizes the Calamity Ban within me!”

The Burying Moon Immortal Consort tried to reform her shattered moon body and tear the seal open, but the bewitching technique she was deeply under made it impossible to break free.

“Be quiet, do not disturb my awakening of the Calamity Blood!”

Ning Fan frowned and coldly scolded the moonlight within his sleeve, alert to the Burying Moon Immortal Consort’s struggle inside.

The Burying Moon Immortal Consort seethed with rage; she, a lofty emperor of ancient times, had never been so scolded harshly by a junior at the Enlightenment Stage.

Unfortunately, Ning Fan gave her no more opportunities to struggle, directly using an even more potent Purple Mist Charm Technique, numbing her consciousness, and casting her into the Xuan Yin Treasure, focusing entirely on awakening his Calamity Blood.

The awakening of demon blood was called blood awakening, but the awakening of a Calamity Spirit was called ’Calamity Awakening.’

Ning Fan did not know this, yet it didn’t stop him from seizing the opportunity to complete his first Calamity Awakening.

The will of the Dust Tree rampaged within Ning Fan, trying to break free from his body, unwilling to be consumed by him.

Below his feet, ripples spread across the icy lake surface, reflecting the turmoiled unrest of his inner heart.

The majestic power of the Taicang Calamity bore down on Ning Fan. His Calamity Blood level was rising, his insight increasing, yet the crimson in his eyes grew steadily.

That crimson was the will of the Dust Tree! It corrupted Ning Fan’s reason, seeking to transform him into a Calamity Slave who recognized no kin and killed without hesitation.

Had Ning Fan encountered this before the Ancient Chaos, he certainly couldn’t withstand such a degree of will erosion. But with his Calamity Blood level progressively increasing, and enduring the trials of three lives and three worlds in the Three Illusions of Enlightenment, his will had become unprecedentedly strong, fearless of this erosion.

“Such weak will you think can corrode me? Impossible!” Ning Fan’s gaze suddenly sharpened, and the red in his eyes began to recede rapidly.

At the same time, on the outskirts of the Northern Barbarian Wilderness, atop a snowy mountain, stood a young Dao practitioner in a blue robe, holding a compass and smiling slightly toward the direction of the Yellow River Barrier.

The Dao practitioner’s features were delicate and handsome, with an attractive mark of vermilion on his forehead, possessing an intermediate cultivation stage of Human Profound Level.

Though not high in cultivation, he carried many treasures and within his brow lay three life-saving Divine Skills bestowed by his master, ensuring no threat to his life unless met by the Fragmented Thought Elders.

His name was Si Ming, the seventh disciple of the Fate Wielding Immortal Emperor of the Southern Heaven Immortal World!

“Hehe, is the seventeenth chess piece on the master’s Chessboard of Cause and Effect finally about to emerge? Sparrow God Kidd, no, correctly addressed as the Second Calamity Immortal Lord from the Fan Family of Ancient Barbaric Wilds… Immortal Lord Fan Mu!”

“According to master’s divination, Fan Mu is the sole surviving practitioner of the ancient Fan family, having merged with the Dust Tree for years, his insight nearly on par with a Heavenly Immortal Practitioner. Five million years ago, he seized the body of the Heavenly Sparrow God Kidd of Northern Heaven, scheming to blood-sacrifice the Barbaric Wilds to become the Eight Generations Young Master Barbarian… Young Master Barbarian, Si Ming… haha, those words align quite well with my master’s seventh disciple title. The master ordered if he successfully extracts the Dust Tree’s will and achieves Calamity, to grant him a ’Xingluo Chess Piece’ personally, recruiting him as the eighth disciple, bestowing the name Si Man.”

“Thus, he may as well return under master’s command… Hmm? What’s this…”

Si Ming smiled slightly, suddenly furrowing his brows, looking puzzled at the compass.

“Strange! Master personally divined it, and the result shouldn’t be like this… Calamity Blood at the fifth class is ’Mortal Remnant True King Ancestor,’ similar to Demon Blood but with a more detailed bloodline realm division, each level split into nine blood levels… According to the master’s calculations, Fan Mu, even if he managed to extract the Dust Tree’s will, at most should only have four stars of Mortal Blood, insufficient to trigger Calamity Awakening… Yet now, inside the Yellow River Barrier, there’s an anomaly of Calamity Awakening occurring… Why is that…”

Si Ming fiddled with the compass, the doubt in his eyes growing, before suddenly letting out a light gasp.

According to the compass’s calculation, within the Snow Valley of the Yellow River, the level of Calamity Blood of the one experiencing Calamity Awakening had already surpassed the degree of four-star Mortal Blood, reaching the realm of Five-Star Mortal Blood!

“Still rising! Six-Star Mortal Blood now!”

“Seven stars!”

“Eight stars!”

“Nine stars!”

“It actually broke into One-Star Residual Blood! How is this possible!”

Si Ming finally drew in a sharp breath.

He was unwilling to admit, yet had no choice but to recognize, that the master’s divination this time indeed contained errors…

“Back then, in seeking for me a Dao corpse for immortality, master selected an ascendant from the lower realms, but during the first divination attempt on the ascendant, there was a miscalculation… Since that day, the master’s divination had frequently gone awry; as the master self-referred, his flawless Fate calculations have become flawed… This time, did the master miscalculate again…”

“I did not expect the deviation from master’s divination to be this significant… Gasp! Two-Star Residual Blood! The bloodline level of Immortal Lord Fan Mu has risen again!”

“Still rising! Three stars!”

“Four stars!”

“Five stars!”

“Six stars!”

When the bloodline level rose to Six-Star Residual Blood, the momentum finally diminished and ceased to rise.

Even so, Si Ming was thoroughly astonished!

The Fate Wielding Immortal Emperor once told him that within the Dream World, there are three clans: Gods, Demons, and Devils. Among them, the demon bloodline is the hardest to cultivate. Since the Nine Great Devil Ancestors were suppressed, there has been no cultivation of ancestral blood among the demons, and even royal demons are rarely seen.

Outside the Dream World, there exists the Calamity Clan, known as the Taicang Calamity Spirit. The bloodline of the Calamity Spirits is even harder to cultivate than that of the demons! The strength of the Taicang Calamity Spirit does not lie in their cultivation, but in their bloodline! The stronger the bloodline, the stronger the Calamity Thought!

A Taicang Calamity Spirit with six-star residual blood is nearly as powerful as a somewhat weaker Crossing Truth Master!

A Taicang Calamity Spirit with one-star true blood is considered to have minor achievement in Calamity Blood and can sweep through practitioners of the Shedding Void Realm!

A Taicang Calamity Spirit with one-star royal blood is considered to have major achievement in Calamity Blood, capable of sweeping through all practitioners below the level of a Saint and even battling a Saint!

The Royal Calamity Spirit is nearly equivalent to a Saint!

In the world of Taicang Calamity Spirits, those who can achieve a six-star residual bloodline in their first Tribulation Awakening are rare!

“My master once said that all seven generations of the ancient Fan Family’s Barbarian Ancestors failed in their Tribulation Awakening, unable even to achieve four-star mortal blood. Yet Fan Mu succeeded in one attempt, achieving a six-star residual bloodline… It seems his aptitude for calamity is far above the prior seven generations of Barbarian Ancestors…”

“It appears my master underestimated this person. With such aptitude, he certainly would rank among the top ten on the Chessboard of Cause and Effect!”

As Si Ming marveled, Ning Fan in the Yellow River Snow Valley had successfully devoured all of the Dust Tree’s will, yet he shook his head in regret.

The Tribulation Awakening had ended, the calamity clouds in the sky gradually dissipated, and Ning Fan was somewhat disappointed with this Tribulation Awakening.

There was no ancient calamity spirit blood as imagined, and the level of calamity blood did not even break through to true blood level.

According to Ning Fan’s perception, his calamity blood level was only comparable to the concentration of residual demon blood.

In other words, this Tribulation Awakening merely had his calamity blood break through to the residual level…

“I possess ancestral demon and devil bloodlines, king-level divine blood, yet my calamity blood only reached the residual level… It seems somewhat low…”

Ning Fan sighed lightly and introspected his internal calamity blood. Initially surprised, his expression gradually turned serious.

Extending his palm forward, a force of Calamity Thought, capable of alluring all beings, transformed into a dazzling red glow that swiftly emanated.

That red glow was powerful enough to easily bewilder the intellect of a Fate Immortal, turning all entranced Fate Immortals into calamity slaves under Ning Fan’s control!

Even a weaker practitioner in the Initial Stage of Crossing Truth found it difficult to resist Ning Fan’s Calamity Thought Red Glow. If struck by the red glow, there was a significant chance of being controlled by Ning Fan as a calamity slave…

“It’s just residual level calamity blood, yet it exerts such a degree of power! How catastrophic would true blood or royal blood possess!”

“To gods, demons, devils, bloodline signifies cultivation aptitude, but for Taicang Calamity Spirits, bloodline means cultivation! The implications differ and cannot be equated. Residual demon blood may seem insignificant, but residual calamity blood is not to be underestimated.”

Outside the Yellow River Snow Valley, upon witnessing the pervasive Calamity Thought Red Glow, both the Earth Controlling Devil Star and Tieya Daoist inexplicably felt a chill in their hearts.

The two, despite possessing the vision of Immortal Honored Ones, didn’t know what Calamity Thought was, yet recognized its peril.

“If this red glow reaches a certain extent, even the Eternal Immortal Venerable cannot contend with it! What on earth is this red glow…” They swallowed hard, once again realizing Ning Fan’s profoundness.

The first Tribulation Awakening passed without a ripple.

After devouring all the Dust Tree’s will, the second Heavenly Gate in Ning Fan’s Heart Spirit World had fully materialized!

The Tribulation Awakening was merely an unexpected gain; Ning Fan’s actual aim was to use the Dust Tree’s will to open the second Giant Gate of Tianren.

Closing his eyes, calming his mind, a silhouette of a young man in white garments, precisely Ning Fan, suddenly appeared in his Heart Spirit World.

Ning Fan stood atop a high platform of blue bricks, gazing at the three gigantic gates on the elevated platform, a gleam flashed in his eyes.

The first gigantic gate had already been opened by Ning Fan.

The second gigantic gate had materialized, awaiting Ning Fan to open it.

The third gigantic gate remained illusory, with the day of its opening far off.

Ning Fan walked step by step along the ancient path of blue bricks to the second gigantic gate, pressing his palm against it, trying to push it, but it refused to budge.

In his mind surfaced Xiang Mingzi’s words, and Ning Fan’s face showed a contemplative expression.

Xiang Mingzi divided the path of cultivation into three phases: solitary cultivation, unrepentant pursuit, and sudden realization.

The world divides the three gates of Tianren into: Gate of Dao Laws, Gate of the Dao Heart, Gate of Dao Destiny.

With Ning Fan’s insight, gazing at the three gigantic gates, he gradually discerned different nuances, suddenly having his understanding of the Unity of Heaven and Man.

In Ning Fan’s view, these three gigantic gates are indeed the Gate of Solitude, the Gate of No Regrets, and the Gate of Reflection.

He inadvertently opened the first Tianren gate during an autumn wind with falling leaves, at a time he realized the loneliness of cultivation.

He now moves to open the second Tianren gate, though solidified, it seems it cannot be opened yet…

Gradually he understood the reason. To open the second Tianren gate, one must have an unrepentant pursuit of the Great Dao.

“My pursuit has never been longevity, nor has it been Dao Alchemy. I’ve never craved the Great Dao, hence lack the fervor, the obsession, the unregretting heart to die for the Dao.”

“To me, be it gods, demons, devils, or calamity, whatever means can aid my cultivation improvement will be used.”

“I don’t count as a true Sword Cultivator, for I’ve no obsession with swords… As long as it’s useful to me, whether sword or spear can serve as my weapon.”

“Similarly, I’m not a true cultivator. I’ll learn any divine skill or spell if useful, but those with no value to me will be discarded in a corner…”

“I have no attachment to the Dao. What I am attached to has always been only those people and those things…”

Ning Fan withdrew his palm. The second gigantic door of the Tianren was too heavy. Unless one possesses a heart that seeks the Dao without regret, they cannot push open this gigantic door.

But even if it can’t be pushed open, so what!

An obsessive thought as wild and crazed as a demon flickered in Ning Fan’s eyes!

If this door cannot be pushed open, then what does it matter if the door is completely shattered!

“The second gate has already appeared. As long as I devour the green energy inside the gate, I can break through to the second stage of Unity of Heaven and Man!”

“If the stone door obstructs, then shatter this door!”

“Rain Yin Yang, unseal! War Yin Yang, unseal! Rain’s Five Swords, manifest! War’s Five Swords, manifest!”

Ning Fan reached out with a large hand, and immediately, in front of him appeared ten breathtaking sword lights, like ten roaring flying dragons, instantly slashing upon the stone door.

Ning Fan once simplified the divine skill of the Yin-Yang Five Swords into Rain’s Five Swords, using the power of Rain Yin Yang to wield this technique.

Now, having mastered War Yin Yang, he effortlessly evolved the five swords with it.

It’s just a pity that the War’s Five Swords lack Immortal Sword support, leaving only illusory sword shadows, their power far inferior to Rain’s Five Swords.

The ten swords struck at once, and the stone door was immediately blasted open with a gap, wisps of green energy seeping through the door’s crack, merging into Ning Fan’s body, greatly enhancing his comprehension.

The ten swords striking the stone door was also like slashing at Ning Fan’s heart spirit.

Ning Fan’s heart spirit seared with intense pain, suffering from serious injuries, yet his gaze grew more frantically intense.

Today, even if it means risking severe damage to his heart spirit, he must slash open this Second Gate of Tianren!

This was Ning Fan’s heart spirit world. With a single thought, a second Ning Fan instantly appeared by his side.

The first Ning Fan wielded ten swords attacking the stone door, while the second Ning Fan executed the West Wind Technique.

A third Ning Fan suddenly appeared, his Ancient Demon Corpse swelling, activating the fourth transformation of the War God Art, his hair turning as red as blood, repeatedly pounding the stone door with fists that could tear the sky.

In the heart spirit world, a fourth, fifth, and sixth Ning Fan appeared.

More and more Ning Fans emerged in succession, thousands upon thousands, each wielding divine skills, attacking the second stone door.

Throughout his life, Ning Fan had learned countless divine skills, yet he was never attached to any single divine skill.

Although each of these skills had its unique Dao rhythm, when used by Ning Fan, they harmonized into a singular Dao rhythm—attachment!

He was never attached to external objects, only to his own heart!

As the injuries to his heart spirit grew more severe, the stone door opened wider and wider, until it finally shattered completely.

A massive amount of green energy surged from within the door, flowing into Ning Fan’s heart spirit world, repairing the damage.

At this moment, Ning Fan opened his eyes wide, and his eyes shone with an azure brilliance ten times more intense than before!

At this moment, Ning Fan shattered the Second Gate of Tianren, stepping into the second stage of Unity of Heaven and Man!

At this moment, a new breath of spiritual energy emerged in the entirety of the barbaric wilderness, bringing all living beings within it a sense of clarity as if their eyes had been opened, though they knew not why.

On the outskirts of the Northern Territory, between snowy mountains, Si Ming was about to sneak into the Yellow River Barrier when the compass he was holding suddenly spun wildly.

He was greatly perplexed and had no idea why the compass behaved this way, so he hesitated slightly, retrieved the compass, and his body disintegrated into countless icy threads, vanishing without a trace.

With his cultivation level, he naturally did not know that a practitioner at the second realm of the Tianren had been born here.

Within the Barbarian Wilderness Ancient Domain, there were also ancient Immortal Venerables stationed, but even figures like Ancestor Dulong or Miaoyan Immortal Honorific were unaware that someone had opened the Second Gate of Tianren.

No one within the wilderness knew, but that didn’t mean people elsewhere were oblivious.

In the Upper World demon race, a total of four ancient demons sensed it!

Among the Four Heavens, only three ancient human cultivators sensed it, including the Emperor Ancient Chaos lying dormant in the depths of the Divine Tomb!

In the Demon World, only the demon ancestor suppressed in the First Demon Mountain sensed it, while even the Evil Luo under the Fourth Demon Mountain perceived nothing!

Only these pitifully few individuals were aware that a practitioner at the second realm of Tianren had once again been born between heaven and earth!

It’s just a pity that although they could faintly sense through changes in the world, they could neither identify who it was nor determine where the Second Gate of Tianren was opened.

The opening of the First Gate of Tianren still had traces to follow, known by the eons-old Elders. Yet the opening of the Second Gate of Tianren left almost no trace, unable to be deduced.

Ning Fan’s gaze swept across the Dust Tree, suddenly showing a hint of surprise.

With his Tianren second realm vision, he finally saw a seedling hidden among the withered Dust Tree.

To others, this seedling seemed without any mystery; even Ning Fan previously couldn’t perceive its wonderment.

But after opening the Second Gate of Tianren, Ning Fan possessed the ability to see through all that is real and illusory, instantly noticing the seedling’s extraordinariness.

“This thing, it’s useful! More useful than the Corpse Seizing Technique of the Fan Family Immortal Venerable!”

Ning Fan bent his palm and made a gesture, extracting a seed from the Dust Tree’s trunk, sealing it, and placing it into his storage pouch.

The moment the seed was extracted from the Dust Tree, it completely withered away, losing all vitality.

Ning Fan’s purpose for coming to the snowy valley had been fulfilled, and staying here no longer held any meaning. He activated the Ice Rain Technique and conducted a probe, his gaze deepening.

As he awakened his Calamity Blood and opened the Heavenly Gate, more and more members of the demon race had gathered within the Yellow River Barrier, making it not easy to break through the siege.

“These two have heard about my possession of Calamity Blood, and their memories need to be partially erased…”

While the Four-eyed Demon Monarch and Fairy Hanwu were unconscious, Ning Fan activated the Wind Mist Finger to erase part of their memories, before using divine skills in an attempt to awaken them.

The Four-eyed Demon Monarch quickly regained consciousness and suffered little injury. After all, the Demise Gate Immortal Honored One’s residual soul was only sealed within a certain corpse puppet he carried, and extracting it did not harm his main body.

Fairy Hanwu’s injuries were more severe, as the Burying Moon Immortal Consort was forcefully extracted from within her divine sense, causing considerable damage to it.

Because Ning Fan erased part of her memories, her divine sense injuries worsened further, which was beyond Ning Fan’s expectations.

Ning Fan crouched down, placing his palm on Fairy Hanwu’s forehead. The touch was cold and smooth, with a hint of maiden’s fragrance among her hair, but it did not stir any amorous thoughts in Ning Fan.

Ning Fan activated the Black Star Technique to slightly repair Fairy Hanwu’s divine sense.

Fairy Hanwu softly moaned and regained consciousness. As soon as she opened her beautiful eyes, she saw Ning Fan’s actions of touching her forehead, and despite years of cultivation, her pretty face blushed red.

“Ning… Young Friend Ning, what are you doing…”

“Saving your life.”

Retracting his palm, Ning Fan briefly recounted the previous events to Fairy Hanwu and the Four-eyed Demon Monarch.

Fairy Hanwu’s ears burned with embarrassment; it was her first time being touched on the forehead by a man…

Both still remembered the matter of the Fake Sparrow God Kidd and narrowly escaping demise, but some key details were unclear, only recalling suffering persecution from the Sparrow God Kidd, which damaged their memories.

Upon hearing that Ning Fan had killed the Sparrow God Kidd and rescued them, the Four-eyed Demon Monarch sighed deeply, solemnly clasped his fists at Ning Fan, and, with a rare serious expression on his usually zombie-like face,

“Great kindness does not require thanks! After today, I will wait for the main gate to open and return to the Northern Heaven. In the future, Brother Ning, if you need anything, you are welcome to seek me at the Corpse Demon Ancient Domain in the Northern Heaven. Whatever the request, I will go up the mountain of blades, down into the sea of fire, whatever Brother Ning requires!” It turns out the Four-eyed Demon Monarch’s common surname is Qu.

“Young Friend Ning saved my life; I have nothing to reciprocate. Should you face difficulties in the future, feel free to find me at the Northern Heaven Grand Cold Palace. I will undoubtedly offer my full support to repay today’s kindness,” Fairy Hanwu’s pretty face was slightly red as she quietly spoke.

Ning Fan responded indifferently without expecting any gratitude from them.

Just as he was about to lead everyone out of the snowy valley, suddenly his gaze froze, halting his steps and looking coldly toward the void nearby.

“Who are you! With your Intermediate Harmonious Spirit cultivations, you dare to lock a killing intent onto me? Have you gone insane wanting to die!”

Having said that, Ning Fan coldly snorted, causing the space to tremble fiercely.

A mumbled groan was heard from the nearby void, which suddenly split open, and out fell a Daoist youth, none other than Si Ming!

However, Si Ming was now wearing an iron headcover, concealing his appearance and aura. The headcover was a piece of spirit equipment, extremely powerful, at least at the level of Acquired Ten Nirvana!

Though exposed by Ning Fan’s scolding, his aura became chaotic, and Si Ming’s Harmonious Spirit cultivation level was immediately revealed.

Ning Fan scanned Si Ming, and a few flashes of astonishment crossed his heart.

This person was clearly only at the Intermediate Harmonious Spirit stage, yet he could refine Acquired Ten Nirvana spirit equipment but brought him an extremely dangerous feeling. The danger didn’t come from Si Ming himself, but from the numerous life-saving divine skills on him.

Moreover, for some reason, Ning Fan sensed a familiar yet strange aura from Si Ming…

Both the Four-eyed Demon Monarch and Fairy Hanwu were greatly surprised, unaware that someone of the Harmonious Spirit level had been hiding here.

Both the Earth Controlling Devil Star and Tieya Daoist rushed into the snowy valley, shamefully looking at Ning Fan.

If Ning Fan hadn’t scolded out Si Ming’s hidden presence, they would never have known such a person hid here…

Shameful, utterly shameful! The two Immortal Venerables guarding the snowy valley let in a Harmonious Spirit novice… If there was tofu around, they would gladly bash their heads into it!

“Hm! You ask who I am, I should ask who you are! You are not the chess piece chosen by Master, you’re not Fan Mu! The one awakening calamity, why is it you!”

“I see, I understand now, you still carry the Evil Qi Fan Mu left when he fell… You, killed Fan Mu!”

Si Ming glared viciously at Ning Fan, feeling he looked very familiar, yet couldn’t remember where he had seen him.

Suddenly, Si Ming recalled something, incredulously pointing at Ning Fan, as if seeing a ghost,

“It’s you! You’re Ning Fan, the Daoist Corpse Master pointed out by my teacher! Your luck was corrupted, how can you be immortal!”

Upon hearing the term ’Daoist Corpse,’ Ning Fan’s eyes immediately exploded with world-shattering killing intent.

Long-sealed memories awakened at this moment, triggered by Si Ming’s words!

Once, there was a silver-haired Immortal Emperor who schemed against his parents, schemed against his entire life, solely to nurture him into a Daoist Corpse.

Ning Fan never knew which Immortal Emperor had plotted against him, but at this moment, he had a guess, coldly asked,

“Who is your master!” (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support gives me the greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep