Chapter 495: Chapter 495: Cosmos Opening Umbrella
Ning Fan did not stay in his guest house but stood under the statue for eight consecutive days instead.
He was Ning Fan, one whose name shook the internal sea. Since he chose to stand there, no one on the demon island would certainly dare to question him about his actions.
None of them knew that the reason why Ning Fan stayed under the statue was actually because he was waiting for the ancient demon to appear.
However, it also didn’t matter to Ning Fan even if the ancient demon does not reveal itself. After all, Ming Que was the one who would be receiving the inheritance while his sole responsibility was to protect her. If that ancient demon dares to destroy the inheritance, Ning Fan would not mind making it pay.
Eight days passed by in a flash. A massive ancestral sacrificial grand formation and countless altars and ancient statues had been set up underneath the princess statue.
The place around it had also been lined with many divine shrines with divine plates placed on top of them.
Countless demon cultivators were kneeling and chanting an unknown ancient scripture. Incense was also burned as they were asking for blessings. And then, they presented the sacrificial offerings to each of the ancient statues.
“Demons are those who stand above heaven and earth with an indomitable spirit. Humans are demons who beset the world with dharma. In the past, there were human sovereigns who became demons on the spot. The world became the scripture and all recited it for eons…”
Ning Fan participated in the ancestral sacrificial demon ceremony with the identity of an outlander. As he heard the group of cultivators reciting the archaic and abstruse demon scripture, his mind gradually calmed down.
Each of the ancient statues was that of a divine bird. Every one of these divine birds had nine tail feathers which had mysterious marks on them. The feathers were like frazil ice. Even if they were merely parts of the statues, they were still enveloped with an inerasable dark icy qi.
These divine birds were none other than the immemorial dark sparrows.
The statues of the dark sparrows surrounded that gigantic goddess statue, just like a myriad of stars twinkling around the bright moon. It was as if the goddess was the queen of all dark sparrows.
“‘Princess Si Cang… When Si Cang was alive in the past, I suppose she must have been as powerful as a queen in the Immemorial Dark Sparrow Tribe.”
Ning Fan looked at the grand scene of the sacrificial ceremony with a pensive look.
It was unknown for how long it had already been when the chants of the ancient scripture in the surroundings suddenly quieted down. As for Ming Que and Su Yan, they were walking towards the ancestral sacrificial grand formation under the escort of several groups of flamens.
The reason why Su Yan was accompanying Ming Que was obviously because of Ning Fan’s orders. Although she still dressed up neatly but plainly, it was difficult to conceal her charming and alluring appearance which carried a hint of mature beauty. It was unknown how many demon cultivators of the island took a gulp upon seeing her but none of them dared to disrespect her.
Well, stop joking around! Every living being in the internal sea was well aware of the fact that Su Yan had decided to follow Ning Fan… Who would dare to disrespect his woman?
As for Ming Que, she was dressed especially grand today and showed up with a splendid outfit.
She no longer dressed herself like a young girl like how she did in the past. Instead, she dressed like a twelve or thirteen year-old maiden. Wearing a skirt woven with fine fabrics, she also draped a feather cloak made with feathers covered by frazil ice around her shoulders. On top of that, she even wore a delicate golden crown on her head which made her look like a petite princess.
The current Ming Que was also not as noisy and childish as she used to be. Her small face was calm and serious, exuding dignity.
“Greetings to the Island Lord!”
All the demon cultivators who were chanting the ancient scripture lowered their heads and bowed down lowly to greet Ming Que when she arrived with her group. Their voices were so loud that they resounded to the skies.
Ming Que nodded her head gently and uttered, “You may dispense with the formalities.”
Then, she continued walking toward the grand formation with gentle but imposing steps. When facing any of the demon cultivators, she maintained a cold and indifferent look. Only when she approached Ning Fan did she mischievously winked at him and said, “Brother Biscuit, when I successfully receive the inheritance today, I will certainly obtain greater strength. Then, I would be able to help you deal with that Moksha Sovereign.”
“Is that so? I’ll be looking forward to it then.” Ning Fan smiled faintly and shook his head, inwardly disagreeing with it.
The incense flame power was something produced by the devout prayers from believers.
The incense flame power within the princess statue was quite potent as it had been accumulating countless generations of prayers from the demon cultivators on the island.
If Ming Que inherits every last trace of that power, her strength would be increased by a great deal for sure. The amount of power would enable her to advance to the late stage or even the peak stage of the Divine Transformation Realm. However, it should not be enough for her to attain the Void Refinement Realm just yet.
Even if she obtains the inheritance power completely, it would still be impossible for her to be Moksha Sovereign’s match.
However, Ning Fan was still very grateful that she had always remembered to give him help.
“Don’t worry. As long as I am here, no one can stop you from taking the inheritance.” Ning Fan patted her head and said affectionately.
“Mm. Brother Biscuit is the best.”
Ming Que suddenly stood on the tips of her toes and playfully planted a kiss on Ning Fan’s cheek. Then, she put on her solemn expression again and walked toward the altar located at the highest part beneath the statue under the escort of several flamens.
Everyone including Su Yan stayed at the lower floor below the highest altar, allowing Ming Que alone to ascend there.
A copper pool was dug at the center of the altar and it was filled with dark red demon blood.
Ming Que stepped into the blood pool directly without even taking off her shoes and clothes and immersed her entire body into it.
At this moment, all the demon cultivators became tense. As for Old Man Qu, he climbed to a tall platform located on the other side and started speaking.
“The ancestral sacrificial ceremony begins now! Chant the demon scripture and present the demon offerings!”
Countless demon cultivators hurriedly fell to their knees and began chanting the ancient demon scripture once again.
Some demon cultivators carried different kinds of heavenly ingredients, treasures, and rare beasts and placed them in front of the statues. They killed the beasts and wiped the statues with their blood.
Behind the wooden fences in all directions, countless dark blue bonfires suddenly lit up.
Dense dark clouds covered the sky, turning the world dim. Many flamens started to control the ancestral sacrificial grand formation under Old Man Qu’s command.
Moments later, all the dark sparrow statues suddenly crumbled. A ray of misty light came out from each of them and went into the princess statue standing in the middle.
An ancient and desolate qi gradually rose from within the massive princess statue, affecting the emotions of everyone on the island.
Then, a tremendous amount of incense flame power shot out from the body of the princess statue, directly reaching the skyline. It turned into a humongous shadow of an immemorial dark sparrow.
That large immemorial dark sparrow which descended upon the nine heavens carried an everlasting majesty.
Its nine tail feathers glowed in white radiance. At this moment, Old Man Qu looked quite nervous. He took over the formation compass of the grand formation from the hands of the several flamens to personally activate the formation himself.
As soon as the grand formation was initiated, one of the nine tail feathers of the dark sparrow’s shadow dimmed down.
The white radiance it lost turned into a ray of light which travelled toward the blood pond like a star descending from the sky and entered Ming Que’s body.
Apparently, the inheritance was divided into nine portions and were stored inside the nine tail feathers of the dark sparrow’s shadow respectively.
The white light which had just entered Ming Que’s body only contained one-ninth of the inheritance.
In an instant, the magic power inside her was increased by tens of thousands of units while her aura force greatly rose.
Right after that, layers of fiery red tribulation clouds appeared one after another in the vast sky. It seemed like the heavenly tribulation of flames was about to fall.
The destructive power of the fire tribulation was extremely strong. It was nearly comparable to the destructive power of the heavenly tribulation that one would face after advancing to the Void Refinement Realm.
“This is bad! This is only the first of the nine portions of inheritance and it actually triggered such a destructive heavenly tribulation! This fire tribulation can probably even incinerate a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm old monster!”
Old Man Qu cried out in anxiety. His gaze immediately shifted toward Ning Fan and Su Yan with eyes looking like they were requesting for their help.
All of the demon cultivators felt their scalps tingle when they saw the heavenly tribulation. Even a Void Refinement Realm old monster would not be able to easily withstand this kind of heavenly tribulation!
Of all the cultivators on the island, none of them had the strength to withstand it. This was the reason why they did not dare to let Ming Que accept the inheritance recklessly!
“Yan Er, look after Ming Que. I’ll take care of the heavenly tribulation.”
Ning Fan gave Su Yan an order and then soared into the sky. In the blink of an eye, he had travelled across countless distances and appeared right beneath the fire clouds.
He didn’t even spare the fire clouds a glance. All he did was raise one of his palms into the sky and activate his fire plucking technique.
A vortex of fire which was like a bottomless abyss formed on the center of his palm, absorbing all the fire clouds and channeling them to his Stele of Sun and Moon.
That fire tribulation which was capable of killing a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator was dealt with as easily as that.
*Hiss*
The cultivators on the island sucked in a cold breath. Despite hearing about Ning Fan’s fame before, few of them had seen him in action.
“Continue the ancestral sacrificial ceremony.” Ning Fan looked down at Old Man Qu and ordered.
“Yes! Continue the ceremony!”
Old Man Qu heaved a sigh of relief after seeing Ning Fan block the heavenly tribulation without much effort and continued to control the formation compass.
In just an hour, the second, third and fourth white rays descended from the tail feathers of the dark sparrow’s shadow and went inside little Ming Que’s body.
Her qi had been greatly improved and she had already broken through to the Late Divine Transformation Realm. The improvement she obtained in her cultivation base in one single hour really made many demon cultivators envious.
Meanwhile, Ning Fan continued to help her destroy the three waves of fire tribulations which were triggered during this period of time, allowing her to progress without any disturbances.
Starting from the fifth ray of light, the destructive power of the heavenly tribulation increased. It was nearly powerful enough to severely injure a Void Glimpse Stage cultivator.
From the seventh ray of light onwards, the heavenly tribulation could almost inflict grievous damage even to a Void Inquiry Stage expert.
When the ninth wave of heavenly tribulation arrived, the intensity of the fire clouds’ qi was extremely terrifying. Even a Void Pierce Stage old monster would suffer serious injuries if they were to withstand that kind of heavenly tribulation!
However, no matter how powerful these heavenly tribulations are, as long as they are still fire tribulations and are not unreasonably powerful, none of them would be able to resist Ning Fan’s fire plucking technique. All of the fire clouds were erased by merely raising his hand and the flames were stored inside his Stele of Sun and Moon.
Ning Fan’s impressiveness astonished the cultivators of the demon island time after time. Moreover, even Su Yan did not expect that Ning Fan could nullify the heavenly tribulation which was capable of inflicting severe injuries on a Void Pierce Stage expert.
Ming Que received every last portion of the inheritance. The magic power inside her was close to reaching one million units, making her a hair’s breadth away from attaining the Void Refinement Realm!
Each of the nine waves of heavenly tribulations were progressively stronger and more powerful than the previous. However, Ning Fan destroyed all of them by just raising his hand!
The white tiger with malicious intentions had witnessed Ning Fan’s power inside the princess statue.
It was already extremely timid in the first place. When it first saw Ning Fan’s Void Inquiry Stage qi, it was already scared half to death.
After witnessing Ning Fan effortlessly dealing with the Void Piece Stage heavenly tribulations today, it became even more afraid of him. It, a dignified Void Pierce Stage ancient demon, was actually trembling in fear and lying prostrated with a panic-stricken face inside the statue.
The white tiger knew that it definitely could not withstand heavenly tribulations of that level on its own. Ning Fan, however, managed to do it with ease. Based on its reasoning, it thought that Ning Fan was certainly much stronger and the gap between them was not insignificant!
“What should I do? What should I do?! This man is so strong. I am definitely not his match! As long as he is here, I can’t lay a finger on that pill devil at all! That pill devil possesses the dark sparrow bloodline and is obviously a fine delicacy. Moreover, she has even absorbed all the incense flame power. If I can devour her, not only will my cultivation base significantly improve, but I can also break free from my ‘remnant soul body’ and develop my true demon body with genuine flesh and blood!”
The white tiger desired to eat Ming Que but it was terrified of Ning Fan’s power at the same time.
Just as it was still hesitating, it suddenly recalled that it still had a treasure by its side. As long as it had that treasure, it might not necessarily need to be afraid of Ning Fan.
“That’s right! How can I forget about this treasure?! This is the treasure that I have risked my life to steal from my master. If it wasn’t for this treasure, I would’ve already died by now. How can I even survive up until today? Hehe. I remember my master once said that this treasure is called the ‘Spirit Bone Jade Ornament’. It’s something that my master forged using the ‘spirit bones’ left by a dead ancient demon in the past…”
The white tiger turned around and transformed into a burly beastman in white robes with the head of a tiger and the body of a human. He held a sparkling and warm jade ornament in his hand.
Circles were drawn on the surface of the jade ornament which were just like the growth rings in trees.
The edge of the jade had many holes and each of them was attached with a fine thread tied to a beast fang. Only one of the holes had lost its beast fang. However, the white tiger was not worried about it.
If one looks at the jade ornament more closely, they would discover that the sparkling and warm item was actually not made from jade at all. Instead, it was just a bone that resembled jade.
This bone was undoubtedly an ancient demon’s bone. Specifically, the only reason why this white tiger had the chance to become an ancient demon was all because of this thing.
It contained an endless amount of power. However, it wasn’t given out by the spirit bone itself but rather the circles on its surface.
“I remember my master once said that the marks on this spirit bone are called ‘spirit wheels’. They are one of the ancient demons’ abilities. Besides, they are very similar to the ‘devil talismans’ of the ancient devil race…”
As the white tiger looked at the jade ornament, ninety percent of the fear he originally held toward Ning Fan vanished immediately.
“I don’t need to be afraid of anyone as long as I have this treasure! Hmph! I must eat that little pill devil!”
*Chi*
The white tiger mustered up his courage and flew out from the princess statue in a ray of white light.
Even though he had gained some confidence, he was still afraid of Ning Fan after all. He did not dare to face him directly. Thus, his travelling light headed straight toward Ming Que while producing countless waves of demon wind along the way. He planned to capture her and search for a good place to enjoy his meal.
The appearance of this white tiger was beyond everyone’s expectations.
His strong Void Glimpse Stage aura force brought forth layers of void power which transformed into void waves in the vast sky, emanating a frightening pressure.
Only a Void Pierce Stage expert could step on the void ocean and enjoy an infinite amount of power.
Su Yan’s eyes flashed with shock. She never expected that a Void Pierce Stage old monster would appear during the ceremony to cause troubles. Aside from that, the qi of this Void Pierce Stage old monster was extremely unfamiliar. It seemed to belong to a potent demon cultivator that should not be a member of the Rain World!
As for the cultivators on the demon island, all of them were petrified by this sudden occurrence. They could only see a white tiger beastman flying toward Ming Que without giving them the time to react.
“I got you!”
The white tiger beastman’s heart was overwhelmed with joy. His speed was unimaginably fast. He was just one hundred zhang* (3.33m per zhang) away from Ming Que’s altar. It would only take him several seconds to ascend the altar, capture her and then get away from the island.
However, it was at this critical juncture that a column of black flames suddenly erupted at the path in front of him. The figure of a white-robed young man emerged. He was none other than Ning Fan who had been vigilantly guarding against the ancient demon.
Ning Fan spread his Eight Black Burning Wings and appeared out of nowhere, firmly standing in front of the ancient demon.
Without hesitation, he raised one of his palms and performed the complete set of the Execution Devil Palm, sending out one hundred and eight layers of palm imprints toward the white tiger’s head.
“Oh no! This is the Execution Devil Palm! I’ve read on this palm attack before from the written record on my master’s jade slip. It’s a famous technique which belonged to a young great emperor in the past! Oh my god! Who exactly is this white-robed young man? How did he learn the technique of an ancient great emperor?! This is just too terrifying!”
The white tiger shuddered as the incoming attacks scared him out of his wits. Honestly speaking, if he retaliates with all his strength, he would probably be able to withstand Ning Fan’s Execution Devil Palm. After all, his cultivation base was higher than his.
However, he was timid in nature and was now completely terrified of Ning Fan. After recognizing the origin of the devil palm, his confidence crumbled and fear began to invade his heart. The uncontrollable panic which assailed him put him at a loss as to how to fight Ning Fan.
He almost peed on himself. He could not have imagined at all that there would still be someone in the current era who would use the technique of an ancient great emperor.
Luckily, he recalled the jade ornament in his hands right before the devil palms landed on his head. He immediately raised the jade ornament, infusing it with all his demon power.
The strange circles on the jade ornament flickered intensely and emitted mysterious halos. As the halos met the devil palm imprints, their powerful collision tore the hollow space while sending countless altars flying away.
The altar where Ming Que was staying was not affected by the blow because it was under Ning Fan’s protection.
She was still sitting in the blood pool with her eyes closed, still absorbing the inheritance. Her brows were drawn tightly together as if she was enduring some kind of pain.
The collision of the powerful attacks did not wake her up but it shocked countless demon cultivators on the island.
It was a battle between Void Refinement Realm experts and it was something that these demon cultivators might not have the chance to witness in their entire lifetimes!
When the white tiger realized that he actually managed to block Ning Fan’s palm attack, he found it extremely unbelievable and it allowed him to slowly regain his confidence.
Even though he was timid, he was not stupid. When he hurriedly activated the power of the jade ornament just now, he only used around thirty to forty percent of its full might.
Even so, it could easily block a fatal attack from Ning Fan.
Now, it seemed to him that Ning Fan was not as terrifying as he initially thought.
“You aren’t my match. If you hurry up and get lost, I will spare your life! This little pill devil is mine!” The white tiger beastman arrogantly said.
“Enough talking!”
It was certainly impossible for Ning Fan to let the ancient demon capture Ming Que.
However, what surprised him a little was that this ancient demon could actually identify Ming Que’s original identity as a pill devil.
Apart from that, what concerned him more was the spirit bone jade ornament which the ancient demon was holding.
That thing had just shot out halos which could easily withstand his Execution Devil Palm.
Those halos are rather unusual…
From his observation, Ning Fan could even tell that the jade ornament carried a faint ancient demon qi.
He could also notice that the ancient demon qi of this white tiger was impure. He had also exhausted nearly one-third of his demon power when he used the jade ornament just now.
“The halos of that jade ornament is rather troublesome… But this ancient demon certainly can’t use it frequently.”
When the white tiger beastman saw Ning Fan begin acting cautiously, he felt extremely pleased, thinking that he was afraid of him.
“Indeed, as long as my master’s treasure is around, I am undefeatable! Unfortunately, I need to use a lot of my demon power every time I use it. Hence, I can’t rely on it too much unless it’s extremely necessary. Now it seems like this white-robed young man isn’t that frightening. Perhaps I don’t even need to use the jade ornament anymore to deal with him.”
The white tiger kept the jade ornament. Then, he took out an umbrella-shaped magic treasure which gave off a bloody stench and used it against Ning Fan.
“Since you insist on interrupting my business, I will devour you together then! ‘Cosmos Opening Umbrella’!”
The bloody umbrella flew into the sky and spread out widely, giving out countless rays of dazzling light. It sucked Ning Fan and the ancient demon into the world within the umbrella.
It was a small chiliocosm with a roiling sea of blood which stretched endlessly into the distance. The ancient demon had put Ning Fan into this world so that he could kill him inside here.
“A small chiliocosm?” Ning Fan’s eyes flashed with surprise. This white tiger not only had the uncommon jade ornament but also a small chiliocosm cosmos treasure. He must be somewhat unusual in order to possess these items.
The blood ocean below Ning Fan’s feet suddenly gave off a thick and heavy blood mist which washed over him. Standing in the blood mist, he immediately felt that his magic power was greatly restricted and had been slowly sealed off by the mist.
This blood umbrella was definitely extraordinary. Not only could one use it to trap their enemies in a small chiliocosm, but they could also use the blood sea in the world to seal off the magic power and cultivation bases of their enemies.
Even a Void Fragmentation Realm old monster might not necessarily possess this kind of profound magic treasure.
Ning Fan did not dare neglect it for another second. He instantly took out a smooth bright blood sword from his pouch and slashed the blood mist in front of him.
The blood mist behaved like it had met the bane of its existence and parted for Ning Fan’s sword.
The white tiger was still feeling pleased with himself after successfully trapping Ning Fan inside the umbrella world in a single attempt.
Anyhow, this blood umbrella is also one of my master’s magic treasures. Even though it isn’t as powerful as the Spirit Bone Jade Ornament, it’s still extraordinary.
But when he saw Ning Fan cutting apart the blood mist using his blood sword, his face was instantly filled with terror. It was because he had once again recognized the origin of the blood sword Ning Fan was holding.
“A-A blood sword that is made from the bones of an immortal blood dragon!? An immortal demon!? That is an existence comparable to a true immortal! You are a literal madman! How could you use the bones of an immortal demon to forge a weapon?!”
The confidence which filled his chest moments ago shattered once again. This time, the amount of fear he held toward Ning Fan was unprecedented.
From his perspective, Ning Fan was too scary. His master was just a True Immortal Realm being but Ning Fan used the bones of an immortal demon to forge magic treasures. He was certainly a madman!
“This is not good! I don’t want to fight you anymore! I want to run!”
The white tiger began speaking incoherently. The only thought in his mind right now was to get out of this umbrella’s world and seal Ning Fan inside.
But how could Ning Fan give him the chance to escape?
“You want to run!?”
Without giving the ancient demon the time to move, Ning Fan had already made a powerful slash with his blood sword. A bright and powerful sword light lit up the world for a while and cut the sea into halves.
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel
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