Incomplete.
Chapter 558: The Heart of The Lightning Immortal
After the third stage, the Pill Sovereign had suffered quite serious injuries but he still needed to stabilize his pill refinement realm.
Ning Fan was also affected by the self-detonation within the third stage and was gravely wounded.
Hence, he could only abandon the fourth stage which he was about to go through.
Even though the Rain Sovereign still had doubts, he also was in the mood to dig deeper into Ning Fan's background at the moment.
All of his attention was focused in helping the Pill Sovereign treat his wounds. There was no need to explain the reason behind it. In fact, the entire Rain World got excited because of the Pill Sovereign alone.
At present times, the Pill Sovereign was the only pill refinement master who had achieved the Seventh Revolution in the Rain World! With him around, it was only a matter of time for the Void Fragmentation Realm experts in the Rain World to raise their cultivation base. Then, the name of being the weakest world among the Nine Worlds would one day fade away. This made filled countless old monsters in the Rain World with excitement!
Ning Fan was also healing his wounds in the Scarlet Heaven Palace. It had already been one month since the incident.
On that day, he did not go through the fourth stage which indirectly prevented him from a confrontation with Yun Qingge, although the latter already gradually gave up the enmity against him...
Other than treating his injuries, he also began reflecting on the dangerous encounter on the third stage during the past one month.
He had to admit that he became a little overconfident after subduing the heavenly tribulation puppets twice in the past and he also underestimated the Heavenly Dao of the Lower Realm.
The mysterious lady who appeared in the Heavenly Dao rings that day was far too strong. Her presence even made Ning Fan's hair to stand on end...
Filler Words
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 'shen cloud'. It could turn into any kinds 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. For 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 has 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 demon 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 had 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 the 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 secret. 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 in a deep breath. He knew that they were going to talking 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 for confirmation from Ning Fan. He wanted to see whether his guess was correct and whether that blood dragon bones 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 to 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 imperturbed 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 that 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 see such 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...."