Chapter 147 - A Promise

A Promise

Was it worth it?

What would it be even if it was worthy or not?

In the rain, Ning Fan’s thoughts condensed. He opened his eyes and gazed at Hu Fengzi’s grave calmly.

Perhaps it was not worth it after all…

However, if Ning Fan was in Hu Fengzi’s shoes, he would certainly do what Hu Fengzi did. He would sacrifice his life for the future of his clan.

The rain was formed in the sky and fell to the ground. The rain moisturized the grass and trees, giving life to all creatures… Water, rivers and sea were not the reason the people named it as rain. It got its name because of its Dao.

“If it is judged based on value, everything that is done on this world has its own worth. However, different people perceived different value for their actions. We all have our own Dao. And, I have my own! My Dao carried Que Shenzi’s mark. My Dao bears the similarity with Hu Fengzi’s. My Dao had the shadow of my master. However, my Dao is different from all of them. There are countless drops of rain in the world. I am just one of the drops, the one and the only drop…

“The old me was too obsessed with the idea of breaking through to Void Fragmentation realm within 100 years. Unknowingly, my impatience was just like a strong wind, blowing the drops of rain off the track of growth. In contrast with my cultivation, the aura of the Heart’s Devil became stronger than before. Now, I only have 70% chance to exterminate my Heart’s Devil!

“While condensing the Divine Intent of Rain, I have fused the third intent realm into it. It was not the battle realm, but the realm of loneliness. Loneliness brings the feelings of coldness. Coincidentally, it was the perfect representation of the moonlight in the night sky…”

At that moment, Ning Fan raised his head and looked at the moon. The moonlight quivered and slanted slightly, fusing with the rain. Shortly after, the rain around the mountain under the moonlight became piercingly cold. The coldness was not the cold felt by the skin. It was the lack of affection, the loneliness within the heart. A cultivator’s magical power could not withstand such Divine Intent, unless the cultivator had another Divine Intent!

Hu Ming from the Hu clan rushed to the Cold Moon Mountain without resting after receiving the order from Ning Fan.

When he arrived at the foot of the mountain, he felt that the rain became extremely cold… Since the day he embarked on the path of cultivation, his body became stronger compared to normal people. He seldom felt cold. Even when he encountered cultivators who practiced Ice Magical Technique, the coldness could only be felt from the skin, but not the heart.

This rain made Hu Ming feel helpless and lost for the first time after ten years of cultivation.

The loneliness was just like the moonlight blending into the rain!

This feeling of emptiness was irrepressible. Weakness started to seep into Hu Ming’s heart who was once firm and tenacious.

He reminisced the night when calamity landed on Hu clan. He reminisced his grandfather, and the great elder who sacrificed themselves in the hands of the Giant Demon in order to save him.

Now, all of them were dead… In his mind, it seemed like it was only him who was left in the world, watching the rain and the moon alone. Loneliness was what’s left in him.

“It was tiring, very tiring. I, the successor of Hu clan, was planted with a *Mental Seal by an outsider. In the past, the strength of my family was incomparable. However, after the battle with a formidable enemy, decline was the only fate of my family. Hehe. What’s the purpose of living on? Death was a better choice after all!

The next second, he drew his sword from his waist, and planned to commit suicide!

In his eyes, there was only desolation left. That desolation actually carried a trace of insanity which was caused by could only be witnessed when one was possessed by evil spirits!

All of these happened because his thought was invaded by the Divine Intent of Rain unconsciously.

At the precise moment when he placed the sword on his throat, a gentle voice was heard from the peak of the mountain under the moonlight.

“Be awake now!”

Under the effect of that voice, the rain and the moonlight broke apart. It scattered the realm of loneliness. Hu Ming who had already pierced the skin of his neck for half an inch was completely awakened. He was drenched in cold sweat, horrified.

What had happened just now? I almost killed myself? This is absurd!

No, it wasn’t absurd at all. In fact, there was someone performing Divine Ability. It was not an illusion technique! It was even better than most illusion techniques. It was Hu Ming’s first time encountering such ability!

Without a doubt, the one who cast the ability was Revered Ning who was at the summit of the mountain!

“Revered Ning of Sinister Sparrow Sect is just too strong! Without using magical power, he was able to influence me to commit suicide with some strange Divine Ability. His cultivation is too terrifying!”

However, thinking from another perspective, Hu Ming did not understand it at all. Ning Fan had planted a Mental Seal on me. If he wanted to kill me, he just had to use his spirit sense to crush my Sea of Consciousness, taking my life. There is no point for such an inconvenience.

It seemed like Ning Fan had no intention of killing me. It was the absence of luck. It was me who was unlucky enough to arrive when Ning Fan was refining his magical power and Divine Ability..

Bearing this thought in mind, he let out a sigh of relief. Now, he could rest assured that Ning Fan did not want to kill him. However, he still dreaded the technique just now.

With just a magical technique, it could affect a Harmonious Spirit expert to take his own life using his own hands. There was not a chance for the expert to resist the effect. This Divine Ability would definitely shock every cultivator in Yue Country if it was spread.

After that, he climbed up to the peak of the mountain without hesitation.

Ning Fan was still as thin as before. Even though he practiced Body Refining Technique, his physique did not look any stronger. Besides, his appearance was very pale, however his qi was thick and condensed. In short, his qi was more terrifying compared to his appearance.

Upon meeting Ning Fan, Hu Ming kept his thoughts and said respectfully, “Hu Ming from Hu clan has come to see Revered Ning!”

“En. Be frank with me about Purple Light Sect. Let me know what happened. Then I will seek justice for your Hu clan!”

In Ning Fan’s eyes, the Divine Intent of Rain flashed and the rain stopped!

It would be a blood rain falling from the sky the next time!

…

The Sect Master of Purple Light Sect, Dao Guang, went into seclusion even until today ever since the battle ended.

Speaking about the battle, it was a traumatic event for him. He did not even have the slight ability to defend himself from the black corpse. During the battle, one of his arms was torn apart by the black corpse, causing his cultivation base to plummet. Now, his cultivation realm had dropped to early Gold Core. Also, his injuries were almost impossible to heal within a few decades.

In fact, it was really his fault when the Heavenly Dao Sect broke through the boundary of Yue Country that was guarded by Purple Light Sect.

As for his action to escape the black corpse, it was disrespected by many righteous sects. Countless cultivation families were wiped out because he deliberately involved them in his route of escape.

Anyhow, lady luck just did not stand beside him that time.

During his seclusion, there were rumours that the Great Elder of Purple Light Sect, Qing Guang, had secretly drawn the cultivators over to his side. He had the intention to replace the current Sect Master, Dao Guang.

As a matter of fact, around 70% of the cultivators became supporters of Qing Guang. All of them were waiting for Dao Guang to emerge from his seclusion. Then, they would seize his position as the Sect Master!

For this matter, Dao Guang did not have any choice, but to admit his fate. He had a feeling that his time of being the Sect Master was coming to an end.

Recently, Qing Guang’s party forced some small cultivation families to join Purple Light Sect by threatening them. The objective was to undoubtedly expand the power of his party before taking over the position of Sect Master.

Therefore, Qing Guang was also responsible for what was happening to Hu clan. In the past, the old ancestor of Hu clan had a good relationship with Dao Guang. As for Qing Guang, the old ancestor was always in opposition to him. Now, Dao Guang was hurt and the Hu clan became weaker than before. Qing Guang took advantage of the situation to seek revenge from Hu clan.

Qing Guang gave the order to regard everyone in the Hu clan as evil cultivators and slaughter all of them if they refused to surrender to Purple Light Sect!

Outside Zi Yuan Mountain, Ning Fan stood in the sky under the moonlight. His apathetic gaze swept across the Purple Light sect below him.

From Hu Ming’s mouth, he had understood the specifics of the whole incident. He didn’t have the slight interest on the disputes between the parties in Purple Light Sect. He came merely because of the promise he made before Hu Feng Zi, the promise he made for obtaining the cultivation pill.

“Righteous or evil, kind or not. None of these matters to me. The reason I kill was just to return a favour. Fragmented Pill Cauldron… falls!”

He patted on his storage pouch, a small cauldron flew out from within to the night sky. In the sky, it transformed into a huge black cauldron which had a height of a hundred *zhang. On top of the cauldron were nine black fire dragons, burning in flames!

The scene that was playing was similar to Old Devil’s action when he annihilated the All Pleasure Sect in the past. However, Purple Light Sect was obviously stronger compared to All Pleasure Sect. The grand formation that was protecting the sect was a Core Realm Middle Grade Grand Formation.

However, it was certainly not enough to stop Ning Fan!

When the cauldron fell, a loud, thunderous sound was heard immediately from the grand formation! It only withstood for only a moment and was broken into pieces of halos.

Upon the destruction of the first grand formation, the second formation rose up in just a blink of an eye. Purple light spread across sky, with a hint of quaintness. The second grand formation was much stronger. It was a Nascent Realm Low Grade Grand Formation! This formation was placed by the founder of Purple Light Sect. It was extraordinarily powerful! It was known as Purple Light Formation, the foundation of Purple Light Sect!

*Mental Seal = Restrictive Spell

*zhang = 3 meter

This formation was slightly out of Ning Fan’s expectation. It blocked the power of the Fragmented Pill Cauldron.

Upon seeing the rise of the second formation after the destruction of the first formation, Purple Light Sect’s cultivators panicked. Countless lights were lit up and a number of old monsters put on their clothes and stepped into the sky.

However, when the old monsters within the purple formation saw that the person who attacked the grand formation was the famous Revered Ning from Sinister Sparrow Sect, all of them became as quiet as cicadas in late autumn.

Only the great elder, Qing Guang, was able to maintain his composure. Within the Purple Light Grand Formation, he greeted Ning Fan by clenching his fist in the other hand at his chest. He then spoke without any hint of anger or contentment.

“We don’t know what made Revered Ning come to our sect. Is there anything we can do for you? Why did you destroy our grand formation upon arriving at our sect? Unless you hold grudges toward the master of Purple Light Sect. If that is the case, I am very willing to seek justice for Revered Ning!”

Qing Guang had heard about the renowned Ning Fan before. However, there was a fact that he was unaware of—Ning Fan was also Black Devil Ning. The black clothed incarnation who appeared before the end of the battle that day who had mislead many old monsters.

Although he knew about Ning Fan’s prestige, he could not help analyzing Ning Fan to find out more about his background as he was within the protection of the Purple Light Grand Formation. At the same time, he was instructing his disciples to replenish the formation’s eyes with immortal jades.

After a short contemplation, he was sure that he was on good terms with Ning Fan. He had not even seen Ning Fan before. If Ning Fan had come to seek revenge, it would surely be directed to the sect master, Dao Guang. After all, Dao Guang was too selfish and had brought disaster to thousands of cultivators in his escape during the battle. Besides that, countless cultivators who had luckily survived the disaster came to condemn him. As for Ning Fan, he was the first person who directly approached Purple Light Sect by initiating an attack.

“En, Ning Fan sure has a conflict with Dao Guang. Also, according to rumours, Ning Fan was quite lustful as he practiced Dual Cultivation. Perhaps, one of his partners was the daughter of a clan master from the clans which had been annihilated. Maybe, by coincidence, the innocent girl was entangled in the battle by Dao Guang and died an unfortunate death, sparking off the conflict.

Now, Qing Guang looked as if he had firmly convinced himself that Ning Fan wasn’t treating him as an enemy. Therefore, his hostility towards Ning Fan reduced.

If Ning Fan really came to seek revenge from Dao Guang, it would be music to his ears.

He would make use of the favourable situation by letting Ning Fan handle Dao Guang in the name of Purple Light Sect. It would be best if Ning Fan neutralize Dao Guang. Then, he, Qing Guang, would be the new sect master of Purple Light Sect in a perfectly justifiable way. In that manner, he wouldn’t need to carry the bad reputation of seizing the throne in a forcible manner.

Ning Fan came exactly at the right time! Hehe, Dao Guang, your position as the sect master would certainly end today! It’s time for a change!

“Bring Dao Guang here to apologize for his crime!” Qing Guang acted like he was sacrificing ties of blood for righteousness, instructing his disciples to end Dao Guang’s seclusion and bring him outside.

However, without having anyone to call him, Dao Guang had ended his seclusion and came out from the stone cave. He was holding his broken arm with agony, and bitterness was written all over his face.

Dao Guang knew well about Ning Fan. During the battle between the devil armies and Yue country’s armies, he had witnessed Ning Fan’s terrifying methods with his own eyes. Ning Fan had overwhelmed Old Monster Purple Yin. Besides, when the young man was fighting the black corpse, he did not seem to be struggling. Therefore, Dao Guang who had a broken arm believed that he would never stand a chance against Ning Fan’s attack. There wouldn’t be a chance for him to escape even if he was in his peak form too!

“Forget it. Qing Guang, you win this time…” Dao Guang let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes. He held his head up as if he was awaiting death.

As for Qing Guang, contentment surfaced within his heart immediately. As he knew that Purple Light Sect would be under his command after the death of Dao Guang.

However, his naïve dream was bound to fail. Ning Fan’s voice was heard lightly from the sky.

“The reason I came was not to kill Dao Guang. In fact, I came to kill you…  I came to settle Hu clan’s matter. Anyone who refused to obey may come forth and stop me!”

Dao Guang’s expression changed. He was taken by surprise by Ning Fan’s words.

Qing Guang’s awkward smile was frozen on his face and his eyes fixed coldly on the young man who was standing outside the formation. “Ning Fan! You are really good. However, don’t think that you could withstand our sect just by relying on your own power… I advise you not to meddle with this matter. If not, even your old ancestor, Black Devil Ning, would not be able to save you… My Purple Light Sect has the protection of a Nascent Realm Middle-Grade Grand Formation…”

Without letting Qing Guang finish his words, Ning Fan smashed his cauldron onto the formation. This time, it carried nine fire dragons. Each dragon rose a fire dragon vortex, forming the Dragon Vortex Four Revolutions!

“Crush!”

As Ning Fan’s eyes turned cold, the Purple Light Grand Formation was shattered into countless fragments in just a blink of an eye!

Upon seeing the Nascent Realm Grand Formation which was keeping him safe being destroyed in just a single blow, Qing Guang was literally rooted to the ground!

A single smash of the cauldron crushed the formation! The second smash destroyed the gate! The third smash flattened the Purple Yuan Mountain by half. Thunderous noise was heard during the entire process.

When the formation vanished, Ning Fan swept the area around with his sword sense.Qing Guang and the several Harmonious Spirit elders were immediately enveloped by the sword sense. The sword sense which was slightly dark in colour seeped into their Sea of Consciousness, mincing them…

Now, Qing Guang’s unrealistic dream of becoming the sect master of Purple Light Sect had truly tattered along with his death!

Around the Purple Yuan Mountain which belonged to the territory of Purple Light Sect, the disciples who had survived stood still.

Each of the disciples of Purple Light Sect, including the followers of Qing Guang did not have the guts to look at Ning Fan in the eye. They lowered down their heads whenever Ning Fan glanced at them. All of them were terrified, worrying that Ning Fan would treat them as supporters of Qing Guang and end their lives.

Terrifying, too terrifying! The Nascent Realm Purple Light Grand Formation was crushed just like that! The great elder, Qing Guang, who was an early Gold Core expert, was killed with a strange technique in just a moment…

The rumours about Revered Ning of Sinister Sparrow Sect were really true!

Ning Fan raised his hands and kept his Fragmented Pill Cauldron. Then, he landed on the ground, collecting everyone’s pouch. Ning Fan glance at Dao Guang and gave a faint smile. The killing intent that he had just now disappeared.

“It seemed that I have lent you a hand in killing Qing Guang…”

“Yes, definitely yes! This is a little gift here. Hopefully, Revered Ning will not reject it!” Dao Guang said while untying the pouch on his waist. After taking out a few important magical treasures and pills, he gave the rest to Ning Fan!

Within the pouch, there were at least thirty thousand immortal jades. However, Dao Guang gave them all without any hesitation…

For him, he was rejoicing the death of Qing Guang. However, a bigger part of him was more afraid of Ning Fan who was just smiling faintly. He was afraid that Ning Fan would also eliminate him if Ning Fan felt unsatisfied with his gift.

Ning Fan was helping the Hu clan settle the dispute with Qing Guang. As for Dao Guang, he was quite friendly with the Hu clan. However, that relationship between Dao Guang and the Hu clan could not guarantee Dao Guang’s safety. Therefore, he decided to suffer some losses to save himself.

“I only need immortal jades. Other things are not useful to me… Dao Guang, I am not going to ask about your grudge against Qing Guang. However, I will place the Hu clan under your protection after I leave. If I came back here in the future and Hu clan was being put in a difficult position, I am sure that you can already foresee the consequences.”

“Don’t worry, Revered Ning! As long as I, Dao Guang, am alive, I will make sure that the Hu clan will not suffer any damage!” Dao Guang said solemnly.

“Very well. As for the remaining matter, please settle it yourself…”

The remaining matter that Ning Fan was referring to was about the traitors within the sect. Even if Ning Fan did not mention it, Dao Guang would surely settle it himself. He didn’t stay idle even after becoming the sect master for hundreds of years.

After that, Nin Fan turned and left without even glancing at the sect.

That was the end for Hu clan’s karma…

As soon as Ning Fan left, the cultivators of Purple Light Sect let out a sigh of relief. But at the next moment, two different expressions surfaced on the cultivators’ face.

Those who were loyal to Dao Guang had broad smiles on their faces. The death of Qing Guang was a joyful news to all of them.

As for the most cultivators who were once loyal to Qing Guang, all of their faces turned sour as if their parents had passed away. The crime of betraying Dao Guang was not a crime that could just be brushed off.

Dao Guang became serious and immediately gave the order to punish the group of traitors.

However, the way how Dao Guang dealt with the traitors was no longer Ning Fan’s concern. The battle amongst the internal members of Purple Light Sect could not pique Ning Fan’s interest.

As for Ning Fan, he would not hesitate if he had already decided to kill a person even if he did not hold any grudges against the person, just like Qing Guang.

He did not act out of kindness or malicious intent. He also did not act because of the appropriateness of his action. He only acted to fulfill his promise.

Honouring a promise was his top priority. Once a promise was made, it would be as heavy as thousands of gold.

After fulfilling his promise, only then could he peacefully take the Cultivation Pill gifted by Hu Fengzi.

Gradually, Ning Fan’s Heart Devil could not disturb his thoughts as easy as before.

Under the night sky, Ning Fan passed through the dark clouds, calming his heart which was filled with killing intent.

“Finally, I can leave without any worries”