(Unedited)
Ning Fan followed Chu Chang An to enter the portal. It was a world of clouds on the other side of the portal. There was nothing else in that world except for the misty clouds that stretched boundlessly to the distance.
Standing in the world of clouds, Ning Fan was deep in thoughts.
All the clouds within this heavenly dwelling space was a type of unique cloud, called 'shen1 cloud'. It could turn into any kind of illusory realm as well as different landscapes of battlefield.
The test of the Heaven's Stage had yet to begin. If it has, Chu Chang An would control those shen clouds and command them to transform into the required illusory realms and arenas for the test.
Chu Chang An who wore a set of hemp robes and had fiery-red hair was exuding fire qi.
His eyes flashed with hesitation as he was standing on the sea of clouds. A few times, he was about to speak to Ning Fan but then decided to swallow back his words. He seemed to have something to tell Ning Fan and that was why he did not start the test of the Heaven's Stage after so long.
Ning Fan and Chu Chang An stood facing each other one thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) away, maintaining the most fundamental vigilance.
"Does Elder Chu have something to tell me?" Ning Fan asked.
"Hehe. I indeed have something to talk to you… I want to make a deal with you…" Chu Chang An's eyes shone with determination and spoke his mind.
"A deal?"
Ning Fan was stunned at first. Then, countless thoughts ran across his mind. After pondering for a while, he could already roughly guess what the deal Chu Chang An was talking about.
Chu Chang An was a demon cultivator of the Blood Dragon Race. Back in the Dragon Determining Valley, he sensed a trace of blood dragon qi from Ning Fan and figured that the latter might possess some kind of supreme treasure of the Blood Dragon Race.
Because Ning Fan was under Yun Tianjue's protection that day, he did not investigate that matter further in the end.
Today, Chu Chang An requested to make a deal with Ning Fan. Without a doubt, he had set his eyes upon the Blood Dragon Demon Sword.
The Blood Dragon Demon Sword was forged using the bones of a blood dragon at the heavenly demon1 level. To Ning Fan, it was not of great use and was something dispensable.
To Chu Chang An, on the other hand, it was an extremely precious treasure. If he could devour the immortal blood dragon's bones in the sword, his cultivation base would certainly be enhanced greatly.
Ning Fan hesitated for a while. It was not impossible for him to give that sword to Chu Chang An since he sincerely wanted it. All the latter had to do was to give him something of the same worth in exchange.
If all the seals of the Blood Dragon Demon Sword are lifted, it should reach the power of an immortal sword. Unfortunately, even if Ning Fan breaks through to the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm, his magic power also would not be sufficient for him to eliminate all the seals and fully control an immortal sword.
To him who had a great deal of abilities and techniques, the blood sword was just like chicken ribs. If Chu Chang An could take out something that interests him, he certainly would be more than happy to exchange the sword for it.
However, if Chu Chang An wants to seize the blood sword by force… Hehe. Ning Fan was never a person who would put himself in a disadvantageous position!
Ning Fan gave Chu Chang An a meaningful smile with a smirk and said, "What Elder Chu wants to make the deal?"
What Ning Fan actually meant by asking the question was to imply that he indeed possessed a treasure of the Blood Dragon Race.
Chu Chang An understood it tacitly and his eyes began burning with excitement. He wished that he could immediately snatch Ning Fan's storage pouch and see what blood dragon treasure exactly was in it.
However, as soon as he met Ning Fan's unfathomable eyes, he instantly calmed himself down and dismissed that thought.
If Ning Fan was a common Void Refinement Realm cultivator, Chu Chang An would definitely dare to snatch the treasure from him.
However, Ning Fan was not an ordinary person. He was not only a part of the Black Devil Sect, but also a Sixth Revolution Pill Refinement Master who was someone Chu Chang An had to treat like his equal…
Chu Chang An sighed deeply. He would not offend Yun Tianjue just because of a treasure, much less the Black Devil Sect.
Since he could not take it by force, then he could only make a fair trade with him. After all, he has something that Ning Fan should need.
"Elder Chu, do you want to seize my treasure?" Ning Fan said with a forced smile.
"Hehe. My young friend, you must be joking. I've told you that this is a deal that both of us will make willingly. Thus, I will certainly use something that has an equal worth to exchange for your treasure."
Elder Chu smiled and raised his head to look at the sea of clouds above the sky. Then, he warned with a meaningful tone. "Even though the four stages of tests are done within heavenly dwelling spaces, no one knows if there is no ear behind the walls. It's better that we proceed our deal in private."
As soon as he finished speaking, Elder Chu took out a blood-red handkerchief and tossed it into the sky.
The handkerchief grew in the air. Within just a few breaths, it became boundlessly huge, shielding the entire sky.
In the outside world, Revered Sage's eyes immediately turned grim as he could no longer sense anything within the heavenly dwelling space of the Heaven's Stage.
"What happened?!" The Rain Sovereign asked via telepathy after noticing Revered Sage's expression.
"Chu Chang An has cut off my senses!" Revered Sage replied with gritted teeth.
"Chu Chang An, huh… The Rain Sovereign's eyes flashed with a cold glint.
Inside the heavenly dwelling space, Chu Chang An started rubbing his hands with excitement after concealing the both of them from Revered Sage's senses and said to Ning Fan with an apologetic smile. "
"Hehe. This blood-red handkerchief can shield one from Heaven's secret. Do you know that this Heaven Stage is being spied upon by someone using a secret technique? The Rain Sovereign seems to have suspicions on you… You have to be extra cautious in the upcoming four stages."
Chu Chang An seemed like he wanted to express goodwill to Ning fan by shielding the two of them from Revered Sage's senses.
"Elder Chu, thank you for your reminder. However, I am absolutely certain that I don't have any unpresentable secrets. It's fine if someone wants to pry into me. If they can't find the result they desire, they will probably dismiss their enmity against me. If I hide myself from their senses, I'm afraid it will make things worse instead and draw even more doubts and suspicions on me.
"Hehe. This young friend is very confident. Since you aren't afraid of being spied on, my action is superfluous. After we finish the trade, I'll take off the blood-red handkerchief. For now, however, as I still need to make a deal with you, it's still better to prevent anyone from spying on us."
Chu Chang An took a deep breath. He knew that they were going to talk about the serious matter next.
"I've sensed a trace of blood dragon qi from you… If I am not wrong, it's the qi of blood dragon bones. Moreover, the level of the blood dragon bones isn't low. Apparently, it's… the bones of an immortal blood dragon! I wish to trade for the bones with you!"
Chu Chang An looked as if he was seeking confirmation from Ning Fan. He wanted to see whether his guess was correct and whether that blood dragon bone was at the heavenly demon grade from Ning Fan's facial expression.
However, Ning Fan was constantly maintaining his faint smile while his eyes were deep, making Chu Chang An unable to notice any emotion in him. The failure of obtaining an answer for his guesses filled him with disappointment.
He shook his head and asked with a bitter smile.
"This young friend, please tell me if my guesses are correct?"
*Chi*
Only the sound of a clear and crisp sword shrill that answered Chu Chang An's question.
With a flick of his sleeve, Ning Fan was already holding a long sword that had blood light revolving around it in his hand.
It was a long sword that was clear and transparent like a ruby. A few seals were placed on the sword to restrict its power.
Even so, Chu Chang An could still sense a rush of excitement coming from his bloodlines!
"I-Immortal blood dragon bones! It can't be wrong. This sword is definitely forged using the bones of an immortal blood dragon! Young kid, give me that sword!!!"
Despite the state of mind that Chu Chang An had trained for countless years, he was also taken over by greed the moment he saw the blood sword which urged him to seize the sword from Ning Fan and make it his own.
However, when he saw Ning Fan's calm and composed eyes, he immediately suppressed his miscellaneous thoughts and let out a few coughs. Then, with an awkward smile, he said.
"I'm sorry. I've forgotten my manners."
"It's fine. After all, it's natural for a gentleman to love wealth and treasures. If he obtains it using the right way, there is naturally nothing wrong with it. In fact, I have the willingness to trade this sword with Elder Chu. However, I just wonder what item you can give me in exchange!"
Ning Fan held the blood sword with its tip pointing downward and stood with a faint smile. He remained as calm and collected as usual.
With his current capabilities, it was more than enough for him to keep himself safe. Thus, he was not afraid of Chu Chang An.
All of a sudden, Ning Fan's calm and leisurely demeanor stunned Chu Chang An. It reminded him of his previous master.
In that year, he was still just a blood dragon which had a low and insignificant cultivation base.
In that year, his master was the Demon Cloud Rain Sovereign whose name shook the entire Rain World. When he was facing tens of millions of enemies during the war of the Nine Worlds, he was also as calm as Ning Fan.
That calmness in him was an attitude, an attitude of being undisturbed in the hour of peril and it had nothing to do with one's cultivation base.
Chu Chang An got rid of all his other thoughts. Now, he had more respect for Ning Fan. Inwardly, he thought: perhaps within the next few thousand years, this kid will also become a strong being that will be regarded as someone as strong as the Rain Sovereign…
"Since I've ascertained the grade of the blood dragon bones, I'm willing to use three items to exchange for it. This is the first item!"
When Chu Chang An flicked his finger, a blood-red immediately flew toward Ning Fan.
Ning Fan reached out to grab the storage pouch. As he scanned it using his spirit sense, he discovered that there was ten billion immortal jade.
"Not enough!" Ning Fan said indifferently with a neutral expression.
Chu Chang An secretly praised Ning Fan within his mind. If ordinary Void Refinement Realm cultivators see such an amount of immortal jade, they more or less would be dumbstruck. For Ning Fan, however, he did not even flinch at all. If it wasn't because he was adept in scheming, it would then be because he was already used to big scenes and would not be shocked by such an amount of immortal jade.
"This young friend, be patient. There is still the second item!"
Chu Chang An sent another storage pouch to Ning Fan. He grabbed and checked it. The items within the pouch were actually ten bottles of Imaginary Sea Pill.
One bottle contained ten pills and there were one hundred pills in that pouch.
Imaginary Sea Pill was a Mid Grade Sixth Revolution Pill. A single pill could give a Void Inquiry Stage expert five thousand units of magic power… Those pills were extremely precious.
If Ning Fan takes every last one of the Imaginary Sea Pills in the ten bottles, his magic power would shoot up by five hundred thousand units!
Even with Ning Fan's shrewdness, his eyelids could not help but twitch slightly. However, he dismissed that astonishment in his face at the next moment and said with a flat tone.
"Not enough!"
Chu Chang An chuckled dryly. He knew that Ning Fan was not someone who could be satisfied easily.
Luckily, he still had the third item to give him. And Chu Chang An was very confident that the final item could convince Ning Fan.
"Fine… Originally, I was reluctant to take this item out because it's worth is slightly above that of the heavenly blood dragon bones… However, it is useless to me. Instead of letting it stay idly in the storehouse, it's better to use it to make a fair trade with you…"
Chu Chang An sighed and sent out a third storage pouch to Ning fan.
As soon as Ning Fan grabbed the storage pouch, he could already sense a massive amount of lightning power from it even before opening it to check what was inside. Furthermore, he even felt that the storage pouch was pounding like a living heart…
When he opened the pouch and took a single glance at the item inside, he immediately took a deep breath and said, "This is enough…"
Ning Fan kept all of the three pouches and sent the blood sword to Chu Chang An with a flick. Inwardly, he was still finding it difficult to believe that Chu Chang An actually could get this item to trade with him.
Using it to exchange for the blood sword was more than enough!
Chu Chang An held the Blood Dragon Demon Sword. His eyes were also burning with zeal.
With a gulp, he stroked the body of the blood sword with his trembling hands.
His cultivation base was now at the Second Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm. However, with this sword in his possession, he had high chances in attaining the Third Heavenly Layer in his current lifetime!
It was really a satisfying trade for both sides with each of them getting what they needed!
"The trade is done. Elder Chu, let's begin the test. However, before that, please take off the concealment of this blood-red handkerchief. I really want to let the spies to see clearly that I am not the enemy they are looking for." Ning Fan said with a meaningful tone.
"Alright. I'll now take off the handkerchief and initiate the test of the Heaven Stage for you!" Chu Chang An was currently beaming from ear to ear after obtaining the item that he had been longing for day and night.
He took back the blood-red handkerchief with a wave of his hand and took out a golden token. Then, he muttered a chant at it.
In the next moment, the sea of shen clouds immediately roiled, starting to transform into various kinds of illusions.
As for Chu Chang An's body, he was gradually vanishing amidst the sea of clouds and became no longer visible.
Only his voice was still reverberated in the sea of clouds.
"The first stage of the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth is the Heaven Stage. It will test a cultivator's Dao Comprehension regarding the void. If one passes this stage, not only will they be rewarded with a lot of merit points but also have the opportunity to obtain a reward for passing the stage…"
Standing among the layers of illusions, Ning Fan patted his storage pouch and took out the palace lord token of the Scarlet Heaven Palace.
Several cloud patterns were drawn on the front part of the token and there were some words on the upper part which recorded the Scarlet Heaven Palace Lord's merit points.
The former Scarlet Heaven Palace Lord, Mo Xiu, died in Ning Fan's hands. When he was still alive, he had accumulated 120 million points. Now, all of them belong to Ning Fan.
The points could be used to exchange for treasures at the main palace of the Rain Palace and they were probably equivalent to 120 million immortal jade…
"I wonder how many merit points and what reward I will get if I pass this Heaven Stage…"
"What the first stage, Heaven Stage, tests is… one's comprehension of the void!"
As Ning Fan was pondering, the illusory realm around him slowly turned real and the noise of a bustling city went into his ears.
He was standing in a small city surrounded by an ocean of bamboo. Everywhere in the city was filled with the aroma of liquor.
The men in the city wore high hats and broad girdles. Their attire was just like that of the ancient scholars. Each of them gave off fumes of wine. In a drunken state, they staggered on the streets aimlessly.
As for the ladies in the city, they all were dressed up gorgeously with heavy makeup. The smell of the cosmetic powder they wore was slightly repulsive.
The air was permeated with a thick liquor smell. The longer Ning Fan stayed at this place, the more liquor smell he would inhale. The smell would then slowly make his consciousness slip away.
Fortunately, he had already understood the true meaning of liquor. Even if one's body is heavily intoxicated, as long as their hearts are not drunk, they will never be intoxicated.
As he released his magic power to protect his heart, his eyes gradually turned bright and clear.
He then raised his head to gaze into the sky, looking as if he was deep in thought. The sun, the moon and the stars were coexisting in the sky, making it difficult for one to discern whether it was day or night… Thus, it looked quite bizarre…
Ning Fan walked across the streets in the bamboo city. All the men and women he saw along his way were in a drunken stupor.
Accompanied by the music produced by reed-pipe wind instruments, he walked past each of the liquor stores, house of courtesans and the riverbanks that were full of gaily-painted pleasure boats.
Everyone was indulging in pleasure and none was in a conscious state.
"What is the meaning of this stage?"
While slowly walking alone, Ning Fan was deep in thought. All of a sudden, he stopped by a liquor store outside the bamboo forest.
All the customers in the store were in a drunken state. Even the shopkeeper was intoxicated. Only a young man in black robes was drinking liquor all alone with a cold expression. He did not show any sign of being drunk.
He was not particularly handsome. His appearance was rather common. He wore a faint silver earring on his right ear. His presence gave off an inexplicable disposition that was as unfathomable as flowing clouds.
This man did not reveal the slightest hint of magic power qi. He seemed like a mortal. However, when Ning Fan approached the liquor store, he gently raised his head and glanced at Ning Fan casually. With just a single look, he seemed to have seen through all his secrets!
"Another person who has come to face the test, huh…"
The man in black robes held up his liquor jug and took a swig of it. Then, he muttered to himself without looking at Ning Fan.
"The world is an inn of all creatures while time is a passing traveler of endless generations. The floating life is like a dream and how brief the enjoyment is? Indeed, it was with good reason that the ancients made nocturnal excursions by holding candle lights. It should be indeed more so with us now that the sunny spring invites me with vapory scenes while the great earth provides me with such a beautiful picture. Here we gather in the beautiful garden of peach and plum and enjoy fraternal love. All my younger brothers are men of refinement and elegance like Hui Lian1. But when I recite poems, I myself feel ashamed to be compared with Kang Le2. Before silent appreciation comes to an end, our lofty chat turns to pure talk. The banquet is served amid flowers and the flight of the winged goblet makes us drunk under the moon. Without fine poems, how can our refined taste be satisfied? If anyone fails to produce a poem, let him be punished by making him drink several cups of wine as forfeit…"
Ning Fan's eyes scanned past the man in black robes and only felt that he was mysterious and unfathomable.
Perhaps this man is the key to passing the first stage…
When Ning Fan was thinking, that man in black robes suddenly raised his head and stared at Ning Fan with a cold smirk.
"What is void?!"
Out of the blue, a wave of overwhelming rain force surrounded the entire illusory realm! Heavy rain began pouring down outside the liquor store!
The rain force also pressed against Ning Fan's body. Ning Fan was never afraid of any cultivator's aura force. However, when he was suppressed by this man's aura force, he actually felt like he was as insignificant as an ant that was pressing down by a mountain!
"Who is this man?!" Ning Fan was surprised inwardly.
…
In the Temple of Rain, Revered Sage's expression gradually recovered and he passed a message to Rain Sovereign using telepathy.
"That Chu Chang is still sensible as he has already taken off the blood-red handkerchief. Now, I can continue observing the Heaven Stage."
"Humph! Consider him still having some sense!" The Rain Sovereign was sneering inwardly but his expression did not reveal the slightest trace of his emotion.
Within the temple, many old monsters were whispering among themselves.
"The first stage is Heaven Stage and it tests a cultivator on their comprehension on the void… In order to pass the stage, one will at least need to have the Void Pierce Stage comprehension… White-Robed Marquis' cultivation base is just at the Void Inquiry Stage. I'm afraid he won't be able to find the 'void exit' and it'll be difficult for him to get through this stage."
"However, even if he fails this stage, the benefits he will obtain aren't small as well. There is the shadow of that man staying in this stage… If he can find him and have a conversation with him, it'll also be considered as a great opportunity…"
"Stop joking. Even when Void Pierce Stage old monsters enter the illusory realm, most of them will be affected by the liquor qi which cause them to lose their consciousness and eventually fail. There might be some old monsters at the Void Pierce Stage and Absolute Void Stage getting through this stage successfully. However, all of them barely managed to discover the void exit in that illusory realm right before they were completely intoxicated and escaped that place… Who will have time to look for that person?"
"Besides, so what if White-Robed Marquis is able to locate that person? Ordinary people can't endure that person's rain intent at all! An Absolute Void Stage expert who had converted his unital magic power to yuan once wanted to try out this stage. After expending great effort to look for that person in the illusory realm, he finally found him. However, he was directly sent out of the illusory realm by that person's rain intent and failed the test…"
"*Sigh* I wonder if White-Robed Marquis is able to get through this stage with success…"
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel
According wikitionary, shen, in mythology, refers to a shapeshifting aquatic monster that is originally imagined as a clam and later as a type of dragon.Heavenly Demon (Chinese: 天妖) is previously as Immortal Demon. However, it has been changed to sound more accurate.Hui Lian (Chinese: 惠连) is a poet during the Southern Song Dynasty. His original name is Xie Hui Lian (Chinese: 谢惠连)Kang Le (Chinese: 康乐), also known as Xie Kang Le (Chinese: 谢康乐) refers to Xie Ling Yun (Chinese: 謝靈運). He was also known as the Duke of Kangle (康樂公).. He was one of the foremost Chinese poets of the Southern and Northern Dynasties and a famous practitioner of the Six Dynasties poetry.
