Chapter 536: Chapter 536: Purple Electric Giant!
Ning Fan a.s.similated the Void Fragmentation Realm Dao Fruits and blood wine into his body one after another.
He then sat in a meditattive posture all alone on the peak of a lonely mountain for one whole month.
His eyes were tightly closed from the beginning. What he was digesting was not just the Dao Fruit and the blood wine but also the Dao Comprehension he had gained from the years of his Dao cultivation.
The magic power and qi his body emanated became stronger and stronger by the day. His body, however, gradually grew fainter and fainter, as if he was about to disappear from the world.
At the Void Glimpse Stage, one sees the void as the void.
At the Void Inquiry Stage, one sees the void as not the void.
The fainter Ning Fan’s body became, the deeper his understanding about the ‘void’.
The age of nine hundred years old. Many cultivators were still striving to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm when they were at this age. Ning Fan, on the other hand, was already advancing to the Void Inquiry Stage…
After one month, Ning Fan’s magic power had already exceeded eight million units, which had far surpa.s.sed the threshold of the Void Inquiry Stage that was at three million units.
However, he still could not break through to the Void Inquiry Stage successfully. He was still a hair’s breadth away from crossing the bottleneck of the cultivation realm.
“Seeing the void as not the void, huh…?”
Ning Fan took out a Void Inquiry Pill from his pouch and swallowed it.
His body became even more vague, as if he had become transparent. He looked just like the mirage of a phantom…
“It’s too unimaginable! Despite being just a Void Glimpse Stage expert, this man’s understanding of the ‘void’ is actually so deep and profound. Even his body is close to having a void body… Void-ification of the Physical Body! Among all the Void Fragmentation Realm experts in the Rain World, no one is able to perform it! It has no relation to one’s divine abilities or cultivation base at all. It solely depends on the cultivator’s understanding of the ‘void’… This kid really has a terrifying power of understanding!” In a demon cave located at several ten million of li* (500m per li) away, two Void Pierce Stage female demons were shocked and bewildered.
“Humph! So what?! He is just a Void Glimpse Stage cultivator after all. Even if he successfully attains the Void Inquiry Stage, he’s still nothing more than a mere Void Inquiry Stage cultivator. No matter how good his power of understanding is, it can’t be used as a technique to eliminate his enemies. Perhaps when he breaks through to the Void Pierce Stage or the Absolute Void Stage by chance in the future, the three of us will no longer be his match. However, if he is just at the Void Glimpse Stage or Void Inquiry Stage, he certainly isn’t our match! He will die in our hands for sure! Let’s go. It’s about time to hunt him down!”
The female demon at the Absolute Void Stage snorted disdainfully and led the two other demons to leave out of the demon hole in a ray of light, das.h.i.+ng right at the desolate island that Ning Fan was at.
On the island, Ning Fan’s body was so faint that he looked like an illusion. Meanwhile, his understanding of ‘void’ was rising gradually.
He opened his eyes. With a vacant expression, he stared at the black and quiet void s.p.a.ce beneath the s.p.a.ce barrier.
When his body was gradually turning void, he vaguely felt that his hand had caught hold of something…
That was… the soul of the void!
He was slightly taken aback by it. Then, he raised his hand and touched the sky. The hollow s.p.a.ce within several ten thousand li* (500m per li) around started to break. After that, he reached out his hand to the endless void.
He felt that his hand had managed to grab hold of something even though he was doing it from a distance…
“So this is the soul of the void, huh?… Soul Extraction!”
At this moment, Ning Fan had extracted the soul of the void within a few ten thousand li* (500m per li) using his void body.
If he infused the soul of the void into his body, his magic power would certainly be greatly enhanced within a short period of time!
The categorization of the Soul Extraction Technique from low-level to high-level was: extracting the soul of the great earth, extracting the soul of the void, extracting the souls of the sun, moon and stars, extracting the soul of the Heavenly Dao.
When Lightning Emperor Tai Su had taken over Ning Fan’s body in the past, he used the comprehension of the Oneness of Heaven and Human to invent the soul extraction technique that enabled him to extract the souls of the Six Dao. That technique, however, was not a technique he could display at the moment. Besides, it also was not a technique that he gained through his own understanding.
Today, however, Ning Fan had heard the breathing of the soul of the void and managed to extract it. Doubtlessly, he had already improved his Soul Extraction Technique to the second level!
Ning Fan knew that if he displayed this technique after breaking through to the Void Inquiry Stage, he could possess Void Pierce Stage magic power within a short period of time under the help of this secret technique!
“As my understanding of the ‘void’ increases, I already manage to extract the soul of the void… This is truly a welcomed surprise…”
Ning Fan dispersed the soul of the void from the center of his palm, allowing the hollow s.p.a.ce within several ten thousand li* (500m per li) to recover. Then, he closed his eyes again.
As he continued to digest the Void Inquiry Pill, his understanding of the “void became deeper and deeper. Past memories began surging in his mind in flashes.
Adopted by the Ning Clan as an orphan to be framed by others when he was a servant. Falling into the devil path as a mortal to travelling the Rain World as a devil cultivator…
He still remembered the dismal and despairing night when he was bullied and humiliated by countless female devil cultivators in Li Hen Mountain. He still remembered the sad warmth he felt in snowy and windy Seven Apricot City.
He still remembered the loneliness and the bloodshed throughout his journey. He also remembered the times when he and each of his women shared life and death together…
The bloodshed in cultivation. The past grudges. Everything pa.s.sed by so suddenly like a dream, just like the void…
However, be it sadness or joy, it all felt so real throughout the journey.
Ning Fan slowly opened his eyes. They looked calm but stubborn. His mind was lingering at the two words – true and void. He had now finally captured the idea of the Void Inquiry Stage’s bottleneck…
“I want to achieve the Void Inquiry Stage!”
All of a sudden, a Void Inquiry Stage aura force surged abruptly within Ning Fan’s body, spreading across the several hundred thousand li* (500m per li) around the island.
He suddenly rose to his feet, standing on the peak of the mountain. His void body became solid and tangible again.
At this moment, his cultivation base officially broke through to the Void Inquiry Stage!
*Bang* *Bang* *Bang*
Meanwhile, countless purple tribulation clouds appeared in the sky above!
The purple tribulations clouds were surrounded with terrifying lightning. The entire ma.s.s of clouds stretched into one million li* (500m per li) around the island. Its force was frighteningly shocking as its power was close to that of a heavenly tribulation that a Void Fragmentation Realm expert would face!
At the tip of the purple lightning clouds, a ten thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) tall giant wearing purple armor was standing with a cold face. His body was covered with ancient runes and his hand held an extremely huge and thick lightning chain!
“They’re the purple lightning tribulation clouds! And another Dao Guardian appears as well!” Inside the Profound Yin World, Luo You’s eyes were filled with shock.
The heavenly tribulation that cultivators at the First Step of cultivation face were separated into three different types.
The heavenly tribulations that cultivators who have yet to attain the Divine Transformation Realm face are all lightning tribulations. After that, they would face fire tribulations. For Void Fragmentation Realm cultivators, they would face chilly wind tribulations.
Generally speaking, Void Inquiry Stage heavenly tribulation would just be fire tribulations and it certainly could not be any other kinds of heavenly tribulations.
Generally speaking, it was impossible for ordinary cultivators to face the tribulations personally summoned by a Dao Guardian. Only those great devil lords would be personally eliminated by Dao Guardians…
Thus, it was obvious that the heavenly tribulation that Ning Fan faced had already gone out of the common standard. He had already been targeted by the Heavenly Dao of the Lower Realm. There was never a cultivator who would face a Void Inquiry Stage heavenly tribulation that had Void Fragmentation Realm power…
The Heavenly Dao of the Lower Realm previously sent Giant Zhi Huo to kill Ning Fan with fire tribulations but Ning Fan survived.
It seemed to know that Ning Fan possessed a supreme treasure that could restrain flames as it no longer summoned a fire tribulation but a purple lightning tribulation on him instead. It seemed like it wanted to kill him in a single try!
This kind of lightning tribulation was extremely rare. The purple lightning tribulation that the tribulation clouds released could turn into lightning chains that fetter any cultivator below the Void Fragmentation Realm. Even an expert at the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm would not be able to withstand the lightning chains with ease!
“What a powerful lightning tribulation. Even though I possess the Tai Su Lightning Diagram, it’s not easy to deal with it!” Ning Fan’s expression became extremely stern.
Ten thousand li* (500m per li) away from the desolate island, the Three Phoenix Maidens were hiding somewhere, lying in wait to attack Ning Fan after he finishes dealing with the heavenly tribulation.
Originally, the three demonesses had contempt for Ning Fan’s capabilities. However, after seeing those extremely fearsome purple lightning tribulation clouds, all of them were so shocked that they were at a loss for words.
When they saw a purple lightning giant standing above those clouds, blood drained from their faces.
“A Dao Guardian! It’s actually the messenger of the heavenly tribulation who personally came to summon the tribulation upon this man!”
“How is this possible?! How can this be possible?! According to the ancient books, a Dao Guardian will only personally summon tribulations on cultivators who have committed a monstrous amount of killings. That Void Glimpse Stage… No. That Void Inquiry Stage man… Could he be someone who had committed horrifying killings?!”
“A Dao Guardian at the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm… Scary. This is really too scary1 The purple lightning tribulations clouds have covered the sky within one million li* (500m per li). The entire desolate island is within the range of the heavenly tribulation. The three of us can’t get close to the desolate island and sneak attack that man at all. Otherwise, we will be attacked by the heavenly tribulation as well and perish into ashes instantly!”
The three demonesses were surprised by the terrifying force of the heavenly tribulation that Ning Fan was facing. None of them still harbored the intention to hunt Ning Fan down as they just wanted to escape from the place to avoid getting involved with him and being attacked by the messenger of the heavenly tribulation.
Unfortunately, it was already too late for the three of them to think of fleeing at this moment.
A few purple lightning arcs that were floating randomly in the air suddenly transformed into purple lightning chains and tightly tied up the three ladies.
With their cultivation realms, they literally had no ways to break free from the purple lightning chains. All of them suffered quite serious injuries at once!
The purple lightning was slowly eating into their bodies. Even if they used up all their demon power to defend against the purple lightning, their injuries were still worsening little by little.
Even though their lives were not in danger temporarily, they could not break free from the chains! If they let their injuries continue to be aggravated, it would be only a matter of time before they would breathe their last breath!
The three ladies were clearly standing ten thousand li* (500m per li) outside the range of the heavenly tribulation. They were already so battered and worn out after being affected just by some random arcs of tribulation lightning.
It was conceivable how dangerous Ning Fan’s situation was as he was directly standing at the center of the lightning tribulation’s attacks.
“I’m Zi Dian. Since you’ve captured Zhi Huo, I’ll certainly use my power to kill you on behalf of the Heavenly Dao! The Heavenly Dao as the shackles, you’ll be the prisoner… Lock!”
Giant Zi Dian’s voice was like thunderclap and his breathing was like a tempest storm. As he spoke, it made Ning Fan’s eardrums hurt.
When the giant just raised a stretch of lightning chain, the heavenly tribulation clouds within one million li* (500m per li) shot out hundreds of millions of purple lightning rays which turned into mult.i.tudes of lightning fetters to bind Ning Fan up.
Those lightning fetters were formed by electricity light which had unimaginable speed. In a single breath, it could travel six hundred thousand li* (500m per li). Even an Absolute Void Stage expert’s speed was unable to reach such a level.
Ning Fan also acted as fast as lightning. In an instant, he fully activated the one hundred layers of Mortal Void Grade formation light.
At the next second, hundreds of millions of purple lightning rays bombarded the Mortal Void Grade formation light.
*Bang*
Forty plus layers of the Mortal Void Grade formation light were shattered immediately. The desolate island was nearly sunk by the ma.s.sive force. However, Ning Fan managed to withstand the innumerable purple lightning rays eventually.
With the help of the formation light, Ning Fan had managed to withstand the first wave of lightning tribulation from the giant!
“Mm?”
Giant Zi Dian was somewhat surprised. He did not expect that Ning Fan would be so well-prepared as the latter actually set up so many Mortal Void Grade grand formations to block the heavenly tribulation.
He clawed at the air using his huge hand. The purple lightning arcs that filled the entire sky condensed into a lightning chain. Then, he threw his lightning at the sky once more.
After just a few breaths, the second wave of lightning tribulation a.s.saulted again!
The power of the second wave of lightning tribulation was much terrifying than the first wave. With just a single hit, all the remaining grand formations were broken.
The leftover purple lightning tribulation turned into multiple lightning fetters and flew at Ning Fan at a frightening speed.
Staring at the incoming purple fetters in the sky, an overwhelming sense of danger rose within his heart.
Once he is bound by the purple lightning fetters, it would be extremely difficult for him to break free.
“This Giant Zi Dian is determined to kill me. No matter how many times I withstand the heavenly tribulation, he will still continue to summon the attacks. Instead of dragging this out, it’s better to make it a quick one!”
Ning Fan made a stomp on the peak of the mountain, immediately turning the entire mountain into countless pieces of broken rocks. Then, a large blood-red lightning diagram appeared below his feet, taking in all the purple lightning that was going at Ning Fan.
After that, he took out the ancient golden sword from his pouch and hopped on its tip.
He tossed out countless Dao Crystals and immortal jade with a wave of his hand. At the next second, he turned into a pure golden sword light and dashed rapidly toward the giant at a speed comparable to the Void Fragmentation Realm!
“You’re courting death!”
Seeing Ning Fan actually have the guts to charge at him, Giant Zi Dian’s eyes were filled with wrath.
He was a Dao Guardian, a messenger of the heavenly tribulation, a Void Fragmentation Realm puppet that executed the power on behalf of Heaven! In the long river of time, he had summoned purple lightning tribulations on a few ruthless devil lords in the Nine Worlds of the Lower Realm.
Each of those devil lords was considered to be peerless ferocious devils that were unrivalled in the past or present. However, they were still instilled with fear upon facing the terrifying purple lightning of Giant Zi Dian.
Ning Fan, however, was different. His eyes did not have the slightest hint of fear but only a strong battle intent. He vowed to put up a fight against the heavenly tribulation!
The look on his face that had no fear for Heaven’s might made Giant Zi Dian seethe with anger.
From his perspective, Ning Fan literally disdained Heaven’s might and he could not be forgiven!
Without any hesitation, Giant Zi Dian clawed at the air using his large hand, summoning the third wave of heavenly tribulation on Ning Fan!
Ning Fan did not slow down. He flew at the cl.u.s.ters of purple lightning in the sky fearlessly and took out a fiery-red figurine from his pouch.
The figurine grew in the air and instantly turned into a fire giant.
Just as the fire giant appeared, he received Ning Fan’s command and hurled a punch at the purple lightning in the sky without hesitation. The power of the Void Fragmentation Realm strike directly destroyed all of the purple lightning!
The third wave of purple lightning was still blocked!
“Zhi Huo, how dare you go against Heaven! What has become of you, the slave of the Heavenly Dao?!” Giant Zi Dian roared in rage.
“I only have one master!” Zhi Huo said with a blank expression.
Giant Zi Dian certainly would not know that Ning Fan had captured Giant Zhi Huo using the Life Imprisonment Technique of the Ancestral Emperor of the Northern Heaven and wiped off his spiritual intelligence which turned him into a puppet killer that would only obey Ning Fan’s commands and would not follow any orders from the Heavenly Dao of the Mortal Realm.
Giant Zhi Huo charged at Giant Zi Dian, breaking each of the tribulation clouds along his path and stood facing the latter from afar.
Faced with Giant Zhi Huo, even Giant Zi Dian felt a trace of pressure. In terms of their cultivation realms, he was a little weaker than Zhi Huo.
The current Giant ZI Dian no longer had the intention to summon tribulations to attack Ning Fan and he must confront Zhi Huo with full focus. He did not have the idea of handling Ning Fan anymore.
As Ning Fan gave a command, Giant Zhi Huo swung his fire fists and delivered a volley of attacks at Giant Zi Dian like a torrential rain.
Giant Zi Dian also hurled his purple lightning fists to fight against Zhi Huo.
As the two Void Fragmentation Realm puppets fought, the sky within one million li* (500m per li) cracked, releasing strong gusts of wind that a.s.sailed the three demonesses’ faces and made their cheeks painful. Their eyes were filled with deep terror.
“H-He is crazy! He is literally a madman for actually having a Void Fragmentation Realm puppet and the nerve to fight against the messenger of the heavenly tribulation. Isn’t he afraid of offending the Heavenly Dao?!”
“No. Younger sister, haven’t you noticed yet?! The Void Fragmentation Realm puppet of that madman is another Dao Guardian! He has already thoroughly offended the Heavenly Dao of the Lower Realm. That’s why his Void Inquiry Stage heavenly tribulation would be so terrifying. That’s why he would set up one hundred layers of Mortal Void Grade grand formation to face his heavenly tribulation!”
“If we’ve known that he’s that crazy, we wouldn’t have been daring enough to come and capture him even if we are forced to do so with our lives at stake. That’s it for us now. All three of us are trapped here by the purple lightning of the heavenly tribulation…”
The three demonesses’ faces were filled with remorse. They regretted getting themselves involved in this troubled water.
They wished that they could immediately get out of this place. Unfortunately, they were trapped here by the purple lightning, rendering them unable to move…
Ning Fan stepped on the ancient golden sword, traversing columns of purple lightning tribulation clouds and das.h.i.+ng straight toward Giant Ziata Dian.
Ning Fan had to sacrifice fifty thousand years of life for capturing Giant Zhi Huo last time. This time, he also wanted to subdue Giant Zi Dian. However, it was unknown how many years of life he would need to use.
Compared to the previous capture, the situation now was slightly better.
Ning Fan’s magic power had experienced a great improvement compared to the previous time and Giant Zi Dian was slightly weaker than Giant Zhi Huo. Therefore, the difficulty of capturing Giant Zi Dian would naturally be smaller than the last time and the amount of life he would need to sacrifice for the capture should be lesser…
After consuming some Life Prolonging Pills and the Life Reduction Pills of the Shedding Orchid Sect, Ning Fan’s current lifespan was just left with fifty thousand plus years, which should be enough for him to capture Giant Zi Dian…
However, after subduing that giant, he certainly would not have much lifespan left.
If another Void Fragmentation Realm puppet appears again when he breaks through to the Void Pierce Stage in the future, he probably would not have enough life to capture him anymore…
Moreover, the Void Inquiry Stage heavenly tribulation he was facing now was already comparable to that of the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm. The heavenly tribulation he would face during the Void Pierce Stage would probably be much more frightening…
“Silly younger brother, so you now understand how troublesome it is to offend the Heavenly Dao of the Lower Realm, don’t you? The Void Pierce Stage heavenly tribulation you’ll face in the future is probably going to be much more difficult to deal with… Besides, there are also the Absolute Void Stage heavenly tribulation, Void Fragmentation Realm heavenly tribulation… *Chuckle* I already don’t dare to imagine how dangerous it will be when you break through to the Void Fragmentation Realm. Perhaps you really will die under one of those heavenly tribulations~” Luo You seemed like she was mocking Ning Fan but her words contained her concern for him.
“Well, there are no other options for me since I’ve offended the Heavenly Dao of the Lower Realm. From the moment I captured Giant Zhi Huo, this path has already been predestined… Since I can’t turn back, why should I regret it?!”
Ning Fan suddenly kept the ancient golden sword and stood one hundred thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) away from Giant Zi Dian.
His eyes gradually turned cold and dignified. His life force was draining rapidly, losing nearly thirty thousand years of life. A vast and boundless aura force rose around his body, making him as if he stood at the top of all living beings!
His right eye slowly closed. Meanwhile, a black crescent mark suddenly emerged in his left eye.
The moment the crescent mark appeared, cold sweat ran down Giant Zi Dian’s back. He turned around in disbelief and met Ning Fan’s ice cold eyes.
“Zi Dian, from today onwards, you will be my second heavenly tribulation puppet!”
“Impossible! This is impossible! Ah!”
Giant Zi Dian’s entire body trembled. Indescribable agony overwhelmed him and countless black crescent marks covered his whole body.
He wanted to resist these crescent moon marks but Ning Fan approached him suddenly and wiped off his spiritual intelligence!
The purple lightning tribulations clouds in the sky gradually dissipated and Giant Zi Dian’s eyes gradually turned blank.
A loud thud echoed throughout the sky as Giant Zi Dian abruptly fell to his knees in front of Ning Fan and kowtowed to him respectfully. With a choppy voice, he said, “Zi Dian… greets Master!”
In the Profound Yin World, Luo You let out a gentle sigh and put on a helpless look.
“This silly younger brother actually captured another heavenly tribulation puppet. He must be crazy… I’ve really got nothing to say to him…”
Ten thousand li* (500m per li) away from the desolate island, the tribulation clouds dispersed as Ning Fan had successfully subdued Giant Zi Dian. The purple lightning fetters on the three demonesses had also vanished.
The moment the purple lightning fetters disappeared, their faces were extremely pale. However, they did not even bother to suppress their injuries as they desperately fled into the distance!
Terrifying! It was too terrifying! The man whom they tried to hunt down was actually such a frightening madman who possessed a heavenly tribulation puppet and literally captured a second heavenly tribulation puppet in front of them… Putting aside his cultivation base, having the two Void Fragmentation Realm puppets as trump cards were enough for him to travel around the Rain World unhindered and strike fear into Void Fragmentation Realm old monsters in the Rain World…
If they, the Three Phoenix Maidens, mess with Ning Fan with their insignificant cultivation, it would be none other than seeking their own deaths!
“Trying to flee?”
Ning Fan’s eyes flashed with a cold glint. He pointed his finger at Zhi Huo and Zi Dian to turn them into figurines and kept them in his pouch.
Then, he hopped onto the ancient golden sword and flew toward the direction where the three demonesses were escaping to.
The ancient golden sword was travelling nearly as fast as a Void Fragmentation Realm expert. How would the three demonesses be able to outrun him?!
As soon as they sensed that Ning Fan was after them, all three of them felt tingling sensations across their scalps with despair all over their faces.
“I-It’s over! That malevolent being is coming for us! We’re doomed!”