Chapter 229 (1): Evil Luo Mountain
On the long-winded path on the mountainside, Ning Fan, the female corpse and Xu Qiuling walked together.
All the guards and maidservants who saw Xu Qiuling on their way would immediately courteously greet or salute them.
Naturally, no one would question Ning Fan’s presence.
At first, Xu Qiuling did not talk much and would only occasionally mention things like nature, flowers, birds, insects and fish. With the memories of Emperor Ancient Chaos, Ning Fan could be considered a person of boundless wisdom and knowledge. Sometimes, his words would make Xu Qiuling’s eyes flash in surprise.
“Young Master really is a refined scholar…”
“Refined scholar, huh…”
Ning Fan laughed.
If she finds out that the so-called refined scholar is actually the devil lord of the External Endless Sea whom she detests the most, I guess she would probably be very depressed…
At the same time, Ning Fan meditated in silence, pondering the eccentricity of Xu Qiuling’s body.
This Xu Qiuling is going to die very soon…Hmm…
If Ning Fan was not wrong, there was a domineering gold element spiritual power within her body which was draining her life force away. She might look bright and energetic on the surface, but she would possibly die at any moment given her current condition.
As for the gold element spiritual power, it should be…
He lightly knitted his brows.
I think I will have to save her too.
Of course, it was mainly because of the great benefits he could obtain. He also did not want this lady to die.
At the end of the winding corridor was a gigantic light-red door made of bronze.
Xu Qiuling stopped outside of the door and took a deep breath. She took out a red bronze pass and uttered a few incantations on it.
Immediately, the enormous door trembled and turned into a red virtual shadow and disappeared.
“Young Master Zhou. My father is in the hall. When you meet my father, you must speak cautiously…”
“Thank you for your reminder, Mistress. And don’t worry, I will.”
Xu Qiuling was worried in her mind. After all, in her eyes, her father was a person with a capricious mood and treated killing people as simply cutting down hemp. Even if Ning Fan was a cultivator with outstanding talent, his life would still be in danger if her father turned mad.
Judging by the time, Father should still be entertaining the devil lord, Zhou Ming… Would that fearless and reckless man kill Young Master Zhou?
She hesitated on continuing to guide them into the hall. But to her surprise, when the door opened, there was no one like the devil lord in her imagination. Instead, there were only two old men who seemed to be waiting for someone. As they caught sight of Ning Fan, they did not feel weird at all, as if he was the person they were waiting for this whole time. Immediately, they stood up and cupped their fists to greet him.
“Fellow Daoist Zhou, you’ve finally arrived. We have been waiting for you!”
“Haha! Brother Zhou has finally arrived!”
One of the voices belonged to Xu Rushan while the other one was Yan Zhongze’s.
As their voices fell, the two Spirit Severing Realm old ancestors vanished into green smoke and dashed out of the hall to welcome Ning Fan!
“Father, you…”
Xu Qiuling was literally shocked by them. In a way, this lady who was always calm and indifferent looked rather cute especially when her face was filled with surprise.
It was beyond her expectation that her father and Uncle Yan from the Wind Treading Sect who were both dignified Spirit Severing Realm experts personally welcomed Young Master Zhou’s arrival!
Originally, she was worried that this Young Master Zhou would provoke her father or Uncle Yan. But based on what she saw, her father and Uncle Yan seemed to be more than happy to see him. There was not even a hint of unhappiness…
Deep inside, an extremely absurd thought surfaced in her mind.
Don’t tell me the Young Master Zhou who is standing beside me now is the person whom my father and Uncle Yan have been waiting for…Is he Zhou Ming?
“Impossible… How could Young Master Zhou be the notorious Zhou Ming… Moreover, even if Young Master Zhou is the devil lord Zhou Ming, my father and Uncle Yan’s attitude towards him is overly courteous…”
When Xu Rushan greeted Ning Fan, he slightly bowed his body. It might look insignificant but it actually showed his heartfelt respect towards Ning Fan! In the past, the only person whom Xu Rushan respected in that manner was Venerated Giant. But today, it was towards Ning Fan…
It’s just too abnormal!
As for Yan Zhongze, when he cupped his fist, he secretly moved half a step backward. Though it was just a movement of the leg, it meant that deep inside him, he actually held fear towards Ning Fan. His body reacted in that manner out of caution!
A dignified Spirit Severing Realm fears a junior cultivator and has to be so cautious when facing him?! That’s just too unusual!
Xu Qiuling could not figure it out no matter how hard she tried.
She turned to look at Ning Fan as if she was seeking an explanation.
“May I be so bold to ask what Young Master Zhou’s name is?”
“I’m sorry I did not reveal my name although we have met a few times already… My name is Zhou Ming.”
Zhou Ming!
He is… Zhou Ming?!
This is what that devil lord whom I hate so much looks like?!
“How…How come…”
Xu Qiuling silently stared at Ning Fan with her eyes which were full of confusion. She just could not accept this sudden contradicting truth.
This gentle and refined young man before me is the devil lord who struck fear into the hearts of every cultivator of the External Endless Sea?
He is clearly a man with good behavior. How come he’s said to be an adulterer who commits every evil crime?
Qiuling knew that her father was going to meet the devil lord Zhou Ming today.
Aside from that, her father had asked her to meet that Zhou Ming earlier but she resolutely rejected him.
She was reluctant to even see him.
But if the person my father wanted me to meet is Young Master Zhou, I would reconsider my choice…
“You really hide a lot of things about yourself…” Xu Qiuling let out a faint sigh.
She had spoken something similar when they were in the Grave of Flowers. But the feelings she had when she spoke it now was completely different from the previous time.
So this Young Master Zhou is actually Zhou Ming, the person who can make my father and Uncle Yan lower themselves to befriend him. I’ve underestimated him…
No matter how bad his reputation might be, Xu Qiuling was more inclined to believe her own eyes. The Zhou Ming she saw was a lively, elegant man who gave no heed to what others thought of him at all…
But when she thought of the unpleasant words she told him about Zhou Ming and the reminder she gave him, she did not know whether he would take it as an offense or not.
A hint of anger filled her heart. Inwardly, she blamed Ning Fan for not telling her his full name, causing her to make a fool out of herself in front of him.
However, she could understand why Ning Fan chose to hide his name from Xu Qiuling.
He did not want me to fear him because of his identity.
Xu Qiuling was perplexed and her expression hardened. For a moment, she seemed to not know how to face Ning Fan after knowing that sudden shocking fact.
As for Ning Fan, he cupped his fist out of courtesy in return to the two Spirit Severing Realm experts but his eyes turned solemn.
Xu Rushan seems to be showing excessive respect to me… There must be a reason for it. All in all, he should not harbor any malice towards me.
In regards to Yan Zhongze, it’s normal for him to put up his guard when facing me. The single punch I used to neutralize his five palms combo attack is nearly strong enough to offset his seven palms combo attack. The impact of that punch alone had even caused him to suffer injuries. As such, it isn’t considered something abnormal.
The absence of Old Ancestor Zhuo Tong from the Purple Charm Gate gave Ning Fan a confirmation about his earlier guess.
Yan Zhongze is here but Zhuo Tong isn’t. The latter is probably escorting the six sons to return to their respective sects to avoid any misfortune.
“Hehe. I can tell Fellow Daoist Zhou’s intentions in meeting us. Let’s have a long discussion about it in the internal hall. What do you think?”
“Fine.”
The extensive bronze hall was full of strange marks engraved on the wall. In the middle of the hall, there were a seat for the host and some seats for the guests beside it.
They did not exchange much greetings. Instead, just as they had occupied their seats, Xu Rushan took out an ancient-looking map and spread it on a table made of bronze.
“Please have a look, Fellow Daoist Zhou. This map shows the periphery of the Secret Realm. It is approximately 70 million li*. I have witnessed Fellow Daoist’s strength and I know the reason why Fellow Daoist came today. This old man has prepared some lavish gifts for you. Apart from that, if Fellow Daoist has some other things that you need, this old man will grant it to you, as long as it will be helpful to you in your mission. However, I want to have a word of assurance from Fellow Daoist. After looking at the map, how confident are you in hunting down 150 Wild Beasts within 5 months?!”
What?! Did I hear correctly?! Father is pleading Young Master Zhou to enter the Secret Realm of the Broken World and hunt 150 Wild Beasts?!
Xu Qiuling slightly gaped in astonishment and her eyes were filled with disbelief.
Does he know what that Secret Realm of the Broken World is? It’s an extremely dangerous place where even the lives of Peak Nascent Soul Realm experts would be at risk. Besides, being able to kill one of the beasts would make you an exceptional being among the Peak Nascent Soul Realm. Now, Father wants him to kill 150 of them? What a terrifying number… Furthermore, he needs to complete that mission within only 5 months? How could it be possible?!
She had heard before of Zhou Ming’s conspicuous notoriety. Also, she had heard how uncommonly strong he was, making him the strongest cultivator below the Spirit Severing Realm. Even so, she still thought that her father was too reckless by asking Zhou Ming to risk his life by entering into the Secret Realm.
As her gaze landed on the ancient map, her scalp had gone numb just by seeing the mountains and rivers which were thickly dotted in red.
Each of the red dots represented one Wild Beast. All the information on the map was gathered by one of the Peak Nascent Soul Realm experts from the Pleasure Devil Sect who had entered the Secret Realm several times. Even though it might not be completely accurate, it would be unlikely for it to be wrong.
This map only revealed the outer part of the Secret Realm. In spite of that, there were at least three massive groups of Wild Beasts, constituting of hundreds of them residing in that area.
Note :
Measurements :
a. li(里) = 500 m
b. zhang(丈) = 3.13 m
c. chi(尺) = 30.7 cm