Chapter 1292: Divine Kings Number Three, Niku Stands Supreme
Chapter 1292: Chapter 1292: Divine Kings Number Three, Niku Stands Supreme
In the Ancient Kingdom, the words "Reverse" and "Wilt" are revered, and these two words have determined the ranking of all saints and treasures in the kingdom.
The Supreme Reverse is revered, while the Nine Reversals are the last.
The one who can rank first in the Supreme Reverse is this Grandpa Gourd, whose origins are immensely impressive!
No mistake! This Grandpa Gourd is a magical treasure, and it is precisely the Vital Essence Gourd that Ning Fan has been tirelessly searching for!
Ning Fan never imagined that he would find his coveted treasure in such circumstances.
For a fleeting moment, Ning Fan felt a delusion that everything was going his way!
Whether it’s the mastery of the control positions or finding the Vital Essence Gourd, ever since he decided to defy destiny, everything has become favorable...
Is it all coincidence?
No, it’s not!
If he hadn’t developed a rebellious mind, if he hadn’t had the courage to face destiny, then the mastery of control positions would certainly require a long time for enlightenment; as for the Vital Essence Gourd, it would likely continue to be a fruitless search...
And his desire to truly encounter the Northern Barbarian God might never be realized.
If everything follows destiny’s trajectory, then within the Soul-Seizing Chess, although Ning Fan saves the Northern Barbarian God, he would instantly die in the Sea of Bitterness, and the trial would end. As for the Northern Barbarian God, once she leaves the Soul-Seizing Chess, she won’t even remember who saved her. Thus, when the Catastrophe of Measure of the Northern Barbarians arrives, she would still die, as if Ning Fan never came...
This is, the small things may change, but the great things cannot be altered! This is... the will of destiny!
In the depths of the unknown, it seems that there is a supreme power controlling everything, making the desires of all living beings unattainable, making the destined paths unavoidable. Thus, no matter where beings go, no matter how many lives they reincarnate through, they remain trapped within the cage of destiny, stabilized within the greater number!
And if what you desire defies numbers, if you wish to escape the cage of destiny, then: the more you wish to meet, the further you will be! The more you desire a thing, the less you will be allowed to obtain it!
"Is this the power of the [Unattainable]..." Ning Fan’s expression was solemn.
Under the influence of the Unattainable, some things are destined to be difficult to wish for, because what you seek might not be within the cage, but outside the cage, in the shadows cast by the Unattainable...
Thus, the bird in the cage seeks the things outside the cage, no matter how much effort it spends, it cannot achieve its desires.
It’s not something that hard work can correct!
Unless... unless it exits the cage!
However, only those locked in the cage are considered livestock, once escaped, they are deemed wild beasts, and then must be confronted...
Has the confrontation against me already begun?
Closing his eyes, Ning Fan’s Mind Sweep was released. At this moment, the clouds of the Measureless Catastrophe enveloping the Northern Barbarians Kingdom seem to be gradually shifting the center of measurelessness from the Northern Barbarians Kingdom to himself, locking in...
"No wonder I’ve been attacked by fourteen ghost servants along the way... For this Measureless Catastrophe, rather than destroying the Northern Barbarians Kingdom, the weight of destroying me seems higher...
Heh.
Clearly, it’s not my saintly Measureless Catastrophe, yet it regards me as the eye of the catastrophe, how... ironic!
But this is also good!
Before destroying me, the Measureless Catastrophe should have no spare energy to deal with the Northern Barbarians Kingdom itself!
As for this Grandpa Gourd...
Ning Fan looked up, meeting the gaze of the Vital Essence Gourd, without any fear.
He dares to defy fate, so why fear a gourd.
However, this gourd’s rank is indeed too high. If it doesn’t wish to submit, Ning Fan has no good way to forcibly compel it.
Although Ning Fan possesses the ability of Ownership of All Things, obviously this Grandpa Gourd wouldn’t stand obediently for someone to imprint the ownership seal.
Subduing an ownerless object is vastly different from subduing a spiritual object, especially if this spiritual object’s level is ridiculously high, the success rate becomes more and more slim...
It took Ning Fan considerable effort to subdue the Five Aggregates Treasure Light, which has been nurtured by a Saint for three eons.
This gourd, however, has been nourished by a Reverse Saint for a thousand lifetimes! To forcibly seize this treasure, the difficulty is equivalent to simultaneously seizing over three hundred Five Aggregates Treasure Lights, truly an insane idea...
"Hiss! You brat, you actually dare to attempt to forcibly seize me! A mere Nascent Soul, and yet dare to overstep!" Grandpa Gourd saw through Ning Fan’s thoughts, furious.
Fortunately, with Nanke the Old Immortal continuously calming things down, the situation was barely stabilized, causing Grandpa Gourd to snort coldly and dispel the overwhelming shadow of gourd’s blood.
Nanke: "Haha, Grandpa Gourd, please calm down, I never said I’d lend out your real body. After all, without Lord’s permission, who dares to lend such a critical treasure? But if it’s only lending a body double gourd, then that wouldn’t be overstepping, right?"
Grandpa Gourd: "If it’s only a body double gourd, then we can discuss it... After all, you are the one among the Lord’s ten billion adopted sons that is most favored, and the Lord has authorized you with the right to borrow a body double gourd... But this gourd cannot be lent for nothing, what benefit does this bring me?"
Nanke: "Benefit number one is you can exchange for the Lord’s wine gourd! This item bears the mark of the Lord’s old dream! Don’t you wish to offer the Lord’s relic before the spirit, allowing the Lord to re-experience the joy of merrymaking in a past dream?"
Grandpa Gourd: "This... the Lord has already returned to silence, can this really make the Lord... slightly happier? If it truly could, even if there’s an extremely slim chance, I would..."
Nanke: "Benefit number two, when you secretly eat my dream Dao Fruit in the future, I won’t hide the good fruits anymore, is that okay?"
Grandpa Gourd: "Whether you hide them or not, I can find them, alright! Fine! You win! In the face of the Lord and the Dao Fruit, I agree to temporarily lend the seventh body double gourd!"
Nanke: "A gentleman’s word, a Divine King’s whip! If you break this promise, fall eternally into Shen Yuan!"
Grandpa Gourd: "Once the word is out, it cannot be taken back like the sun and moon! If this promise is broken, fall eternally into no return!"
...
There was no need for Ning Fan to deal with this Grandpa Gourd, Nanke the Old Immortal directly arranged everything.
What is a reliable senior? This is it!
Regarding the matter of returning the Black Wind Gourd, Ning Fan had no reluctance. Even if the other party doesn’t offer anything in exchange, after understanding the ins and outs, he would willingly return the item.
Because returning this gourd to its original owner is not only Nanke the Old Immortal’s wish, but also the Ancestral Emperor from the Eastern Heaven’s last wish!
The Secret Art of Prestige, Momentum Character Secret, Sealing the Heavens Art, Spirit Wheel Art... Ning Fan has learned many methods from the Ancestral Emperor from the Eastern Heaven, and he owes a great debt, so he willingly exerts himself to fulfill one of the Ancestral Emperor’s last wishes.
Even if the person has passed away, even if doing or not doing certain things may no longer hold much significance, he still wishes to do those things which others see as meaningless.
Thus, he returned the Black Wind Gourd.
However, Nanke the Old Immortal didn’t want the disciple of an old friend to suffer losses, so he borrowed Ning Fan the Vital Essence Gourd as compensation, with the return period set by Hundred-level Reincarnation.
What Ning Fan borrowed was just one of Grandpa Gourd’s seven body double gourds.
But because Grandpa Gourd’s Supreme Reverse’s top Wilt rank is too high, even the body double gourd is higher than many Ancient Kingdom Divine Spirits’ gourds. If ranked, this gourd is at least equivalent to the Seven Reverse or Eight Reverse of the Ancient Kingdom’s weapon.
"No need to estimate! Grandpa Gourd’s seventh body double is of the same power level as the Eight Reverse Thirty-three Wilt Gourd of the past Divine General Jinghong, you can treat it as the level of Eight Reverse Thirty-three Wilt!" Grandpa Gourd said smugly.
Proud of the fact that his mere body double is comparable to some Nihility Saint’s treasure.
When not having a fit, Grandpa Gourd is just the size of a normal gourd, floating in mid-air, occasionally using its two dazzling eyes on the gourd’s body to scrutinize Ning Fan, the little Nascent Soul.
As if inspecting, yet also as if dissatisfied, dissatisfied with the fact that now the divine path is broken, a mere Nascent Soul even has the qualification to become a father’s god. Which country allows little infants to become fathers? This is truly absurd!
If the Ancient Kingdom still existed, it would never allow a mere Nascent Soul to hold such a position... Ah! The regrets of a fallen nation rush in, unbearable to feel, unbearable to see!
"Sigh! The more I look, the more irked I become! Grandpa Gourd I will go sleep! As for offering the wine gourd before the spirit, I’ll leave it to Grandpa Tree to manage!" When not arguing, Grandpa Gourd is willing to respectfully call Nanke Grandpa Tree.
After saying this, Grandpa Gourd tore open a section of the Dreamland Realm and retreated inside, falling into a deep sleep.
It was not the Zidou Illusion Realm familiar to Ning Fan, but another, unknown person’s dream.
"Hehe, little friend, don’t be annoyed. That’s just how Gourd Master is; below the Divine King, he considers himself the number one under heaven. The only ones who have earned his respect were a few Divine Kings of old..." At this point, Nanke the Old Immortal stopped speaking, unwilling to delve too much into past secrets.
"Divine Kings, huh..." Ning Fan didn’t ask further.
But he could feel that both Nanke and Gourd Master were deeply intertwined with the Ancient Kingdom’s divine spirits.
"Before my master perished, he foretold many karmic ties, among which one was linked to the Black Wind Gourd. My master once said: Should this wine gourd encounter a destined person, it may be lent, and whether it is returned doesn’t matter... At the time, I didn’t understand the meaning of these words, and when I did, there was no trace left of my master in the world, only his relics to dwell on..."
Nanke the Old Immortal said mournfully.
Though he was the adopted son of a Divine King, his master Niyue loved to adopt all the spirits as his children, so he never called Niyue father, fearing that ten billion adopted sons of Niyue would follow suit and disrupt the natural order.
Yet deep in his heart, he still regarded Niyue as both lord and father, respecting and missing him.
"I am going to a land of dreams to enshrine this wine gourd. This land of dreams is inaccessible to anyone not of the Ancient Kingdom’s descendants, but since you are a descendant of the divine spirit, you have the right to accompany me and witness it, which may bring some benefits."
Nanke the Old Immortal valued relationships deeply and considered Purple Dou and Yin Yang his friends, hence he was willing to share whatever benefits he could with the descendants of old friends.
Just like Gourd Master, Nanke the Old Immortal also ripped open a void into the Dreamland Realm, bringing Ning Fan into it.
Considering that returning the wine gourd was the Ancestral Emperor from the Eastern Heaven’s dying wish, Ning Fan was also willing to witness the enshrinement of the wine gourd with his own eyes, so he entered the dream realm accordingly.
Unlike the feeling the Zidou Illusion Realm gave Ning Fan.
Zidou’s dream felt warm and safe.
But this dream realm before him felt chilling, devoid of any emotions.
This dream realm was vast, comparable to the entire Zidou Illusion Realm, yet such an expansive world had neither sky nor earth, nothing of the sun, moon, or stars—only the eternal darkness akin to an endless night.
Yet, there was an exception. Within this limitless darkness, there was one place flickering with a dim, ghostly light. Six lamps burned in this perpetually dark world, seemingly trying to resist the prevailing darkness.
"Are those... Life Lanterns?" Ning Fan was astonished.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the faint light sustaining this dark world was surprisingly from Nanke the Old Immortal’s six Life Lanterns!
It was then Ning Fan dimly realized this was a dream realm that should have perished, sustained forcibly by Nanke the Old Immortal sacrificing his own lamps, preserving a fragment of the dream realm’s existence!
This left Nanke the Old Immortal with only one remaining Life Lantern. What resolve! You say I’m stubborn, yet you yourself are more so! And to sacrifice six lamps just to protect a dream, what terrifying determination!
However, the force trying to extinguish this dream realm was immense, enshrouding it with darkness far exceeding the world’s scale; how could a single person’s flame withstand it?
Even a Saint couldn’t resist such collapse comparable to the Fourth Step! Thus, Nanke the Old Immortal could only transform himself into an enduring presence, allowing this realm’s six lamps to barely maintain the state of Chi Ming of the Fourth Step...
Ning Fan gradually understood everything.
"Since you understand, I won’t elaborate further. Follow me to offer incense to the three Divine Kings." Nanke the Old Immortal flew towards where the six Life Lanterns were.
Where the six bright lanterns shone, there was a faintly visible rocky continent.
Five stone mountains stood on the five directions of the continent, resembling five fingers of a hand. No, this was no continent; it was a massive severed palm, cut off from some supreme existence!
"Those who wish to glimpse the Five Spirits Chessboard will face the punishment of the Divine Severed Palm... Remember that." Nanke the Old Immortal warned.
Though Ning Fan might not look like someone who would calmly play chess, Nanke still worried he might seek the secrets of the Five Spirits without sufficient strength.
That was not an endeavor meant for one alone! No matter how strong you became!
The Desolate Saint Dao Barbarian Mountain, who fought the Reverse Saint, lost a hand just by glancing at the Five Spirits Chessboard.
The Divine King Niyue attempted twice to glimpse the chessboard, and paid the price both times.
The first time, his hand was severed, transforming into the Heavenly Ox Clan.
The second time, his hand was severed, and this severed palm remains in the dream realm to this day.
Thus, Niyue finally understood that even a Divine King could not alter destiny alone. To engage destiny in a match at the Five Spirits Chessboard, it would require at least five gathered at the Fourth Step!
"To glimpse the Five Spirits is to face the Divine Severed Palm..." Ning Fan’s expression was solemn.
This severed palm belonged to the Divine King Niyue, and at its center stood a hundred thousand giant stones.
These stones were carved into forms of stone soldiers and generals, arranged into a formation, angrily defying the heavens, expressions lifelike...
No, they weren’t carved! The battle intent left behind within these stones by countless sentient beings wasn’t false; these were stones transformed from the bodies of living people after death!
Once, there were a hundred thousand divine spirits of an Ancient Kingdom who defiantly rose to the heavens here but were all petrified under the might of a divine blade!
Among them were eight divine spirits comparable to Saints, whether in human form, dragon form, bird form, or fish form, they too fell here, transformed into immovable rocks...
However, though these divine spirits perished, Ning Fan could still faintly hear the echoes of battle cries resounding here, past war intentions turned eternal and unyielding!
The battle chariots turned to stone still carried an aura of assault!
The war drums shattered into fragments still echoed a booming resonance!
The cracked bowstrings still resounded with thunderous peals!
The spirits who stood to their deaths still echoed with a voice of defiance!
[Heaven’s Stone falls, the fury of might, ruthless slaughter to rid immortals!]
[Once out, never in, the ancient path unfathomably long!]
[Bearing demon sword and demon bow, head and body severed, heart unmoved!]
[True courage and martial prowess, unwavering and indomitable!]
[The body perishes, the spirit endures, offspring of the soul turn war heroes!]
Fight! Fight! Fight!
The battle intent of a hundred thousand divine spirits resonated subtly with the force of War Yin and Yang.
Ning Fan closed his eyes, ceasing to observe any stone statue, focusing solely on sensing the battle intent present.
Then, he finally saw that the seemingly chaotic and disorderly battle intent here actually wove into an immensely grand battle array...
When intent turns into determination, determination into array, and the array into eternal, even heaven’s will cannot fully erase it!
"What is this formation!" Opening his eyes, Ning Fan felt his battle resonating endlessly.
"Stone Warriors of the Eight Formations. Well, did you comprehend any part of the formation map?" Nanke the Old Immortal inquired.
"I managed to comprehend a little, but my understanding of the techniques of eternity is limited, so I can’t grasp more..." Ning Fan replied regretfully.
"Even understanding a bit is good enough; you have future karma with this array, no rush." Nanke the Old Immortal nodded in acknowledgement.
Then he led Ning Fan into the midst of the battle formation of a hundred thousand divine statues.
Without Nanke’s guidance, any intruder would be assaulted by the battle array, but now there was no need to worry about that.
At the center of the battle array stood a gigantic stone platform, the surface crisscrossed like an immense chessboard.
However, this chessboard was neither square nor circular but pentagonal.
On each of the five sides of the chessboard, there was a throne.
On the five thrones, signs of the divine, demon, mystic, immortal, and ghost clans were unmistakably engraved.
On the throne of the Divine Spirit, an inscription was etched in the ancient language of the kingdom.
[Here sits Niku]
The Throne of the Demon Spirit also had words inscribed on it.
[Here sits Nijun]
On the Throne of the Mystic Spirit was inscribed:
[Here sits Niyue]
On the Throne of the Immortal Spirit was inscribed:
[Here sits One Flame Above the Ground]
On the Throne of the Ghostly Spirit was inscribed:
[Here sits Senluo Myriad Manifestations]
Some words can be completely erased from reincarnation. But the divine texts on the thrones, even if destined, cannot be erased, and will be passed down eternally!
Ning Fan faced what were clearly just five empty thrones, yet he felt a heavy oppression as if confronting five Reverse Saints simultaneously.
What are these thrones!
Don’t even mention sitting on them, even slightly approaching them would require expending everything he had at the moment...
"Your humble servant Nanke comes to offer incense to my Lord Niyue, not to spy on the Five Spirits. I request the thrones extinguish the might of the Five Spirits!" Nanke also couldn’t quite endure the oppression of the Five Spirits there and thus clasped his fists, speaking aloud.
Afterward, as if understanding the words, the five thrones ceased releasing the pressure of the Five Spirits.
The heavy air instantly became lighter.
Simultaneously, the five thrones transformed into shadows, disappearing bit by bit, and the chessboard patterns on the stone platform also disappeared.
In their place, three incense tables for offering divine tablets appeared on the stone platform.
The divine tablets were void of words, but if one looked upon them, words would appear.
This scene was identical to when Ning Fan had looked at Hongjun’s Divine Tablet in the past.
Ning Fan’s gaze first fell on the first divine tablet, indeed, as his gaze touched it, incense wafted up, followed by a line of ancient kingdom text manifesting.
[Endless Glory Forever Burns in One Thought]
A moment later, the words changed.
[First Came the Sun God, Then Came Brightness]
Changed again.
[Primordial First God]
Changed again.
[Ancient Kingdom Genesis Being]
Changed again.
[Niku Countless Honored]
Changed again.
[Ancestor of the Human Race]
Changed again.
[Ancestor of the Immortal Spirit]
Changed again.
[Lamp Extinguisher]
Changed again.
[Eternal Night One Thought Forever Extinguished]
Changed again.
The divine tablet returned to a blank state, and then it transformed into fragments of light, disappearing.
"Offer a stick of incense to this Divine King." Nanke the Old Immortal lit three sticks of sacred incense, handing them to Ning Fan.
He himself also took up three sticks of incense, kowtowing three times and bowing nine times, placing the incense into the incense burner.
"You are not a minister of the Divine King Niku, you only need to bow thrice without kowtowing." Nanke reminded.
Then came the second incense table.
When Ning Fan’s gaze touched the second divine tablet, words appeared on it.
[Ten Thousand Stars as the Dao, One Word Forever Transmitted]
Changed a moment later.
[First Came the Sun God, Then Came Dust]
Changed again.
[Primordial Second God]
Changed again.
[Nijun Countless Honored]
Changed again.
[Only I Confer Divinity]
Changed again.
[Great Luo Saint]
Changed again.
[Ancestral Power Talisman]
Changed again.
[Dao]
Changed again.
[Four Noble Truths]
Changed again.
[All Stars Betray, One Thought Eternal Catastrophe]
Changed again.
The divine tablet disappeared.
"Why do these characters bear so many similarities to Hongjun’s divine tablet..."
Ning Fan mused, only feeling that the cause and effect within were immensely vast, difficult to comprehend.
Then he also offered three sticks of incense to this God King Nijun.
The divine tablet on the third altar belonged to the master of Nanke the Old Immortal.
When Ning Fan’s gaze swept over, characters appeared on the divine tablet.
[All things have spirits, an eternal dream]
Then.
[Inverse Moon precedes the Barbarians]
Again it changed.
[Primordial Third God]
Changed again.
[Countless Honored of the Inverse Moon]
Changed again.
[Master of the Five Spirits Chessboard]
Changed again.
[Beginning of Reincarnation in the Palm]
Changed again.
[Ancestor of the Phantom Dream]
Changed again.
[Birth of Inverse Sky When the Moon Dies]
Changed again.
[All dreams of the extinguished are illusory]
Changed again, and the divine tablet disappeared.
This divine position, Nanke not only offered incense for Ning Fan but also placed the Black Wind Gourd on the altar, praying with ancient divine words.
...
After the worship, the two walked out of this Land of Dreams.
"Have you gained any insight from the divine status of the three God Kings?" Nanke asked expectantly.
"Not at all..." Ning Fan shook his head.
The divine status of God King Nigaku was like an inextinguishable red sun. During worship, Ning Fan could vaguely sense the breath of the red sun lingering on the divine tablet, but he was unable to comprehend its mysteries. This path requires a heart of salvation to understand, but Ning Fan was never a savior, with almost no compatibility...
The divine status of God King Nijun was like countless stars surrounding the red sun. The myriad stars were like the Dao, yet they were missing, lacking a number of seven thousand, leaving only three thousand... Too many were missing, all insights were disjointed, difficult to connect.
The divine status of God King Niyue was like the moonlight, true and unyielding amidst the illusion of ages. This divine status had the highest compatibility with Ning Fan, but when Ning Fan tried to comprehend this divine status, he instead sensed that the endless moonlight was all swallowed by Inverse Sky... ultimately gaining nothing.
"No matter, even if you can’t comprehend it for now, perhaps one day, you will suddenly understand the intricacies." Nanke was somewhat regretful, but not completely disappointed.
In today’s broken transmission of the divine path, understanding the divine status of the ancient three kings just through some remnants was indeed a tall tale.
Fortunately, what Nanke sought was not to see Ning Fan ascend in one step to rival the God Kings, but to temporarily turn the three divine statuses into seeds planted within Ning Fan’s heart.
Thus, even if the Ancient Kingdom’s lineage was broken, even if the God Kings were no more, as long as Ning Fan existed, the traces of the three kings’ existence would have the chance to be passed down through the generations.
Nanke needed the four artifacts of the Ancient Kingdom to heal the Northern Barbarian God.
Currently, Ning Fan possessed three of them:
The Vital Essence Gourd that could be listed in the Eight Reversals Thirty-three WiltState.
The Refining God Cauldron of the Nine Reversals Twenty-one WiltState.
And the Melting Refinement Furnace of the Supreme Inversion Forty-seven WiltState...
"The Supreme Inversion is the royal instrument of the Ancient Country. As the Supreme Inversion Forty-seven WiltState, this Melting Refinement Furnace you have seems a bit weak. I see, this furnace is merely one of the body double’s furnaces..." Nanke said unexpectedly.
"These things are temporarily entrusted to the senior for use. Hongling... I’ll leave her to the senior’s care!" Ning Fan handed the three artifacts of the Ancient Kingdom to Nanke and then went to look for the last treasure.
According to Nanke, among the survivors of the Northern Barbarian Fan Family, someone held the Divine Consciousness Grinding Disc.
Like Dao Barbarian, Fan Barbarian was a prominent ancient barbarian surname. Previously, Ning Fan only thought this surname originated from the Fan Family in the Ancient Barbarian Realm founded by Dao Barbarian Mountain. Now he realized that long before the northern country of barbarians perished, Fan Barbarian already existed.
The Northern Barbarian Country also had a branch of Fan Barbarian. According to Nanke, this Fan Barbarian was the ninth branch of the true orthodox Fan Barbarian of the Real Realms.
The old ancestor of the Ninth Branch of Fan Barbarian, named Fan Lianhai, intended to abandon his clansmen during the Immeasurable Catastrophe, trying to flee alone, but was instead besieged by ghost servants, falling amidst innumerable calamities.
Only a few survivors of Fan Barbarian were saved by Nanke into the Thousand Trees Formation.
Afterwards, the survivors elected a new old ancestor, named Fan Xuanji, also known as the Xuanji Divine General. Ning Fan was very familiar with him; he was the unlucky one tricked by Jiumo Saint into the Soul-Seizing Chess...
As the new ancestor of Fan Barbarian, the clan’s treasure, the Divine Consciousness Grinding Disc, was now in his hands.
"Will he be willing to lend me the Divine Consciousness Grinding Disc?" Thinking about Xuanji Divine General’s previously arrogant attitude, Ning Fan was very doubtful whether this endeavor would succeed.
"If he doesn’t lend it, should I just grab it, or offer him one or two pieces of Dao Gold to buy it..." Ning Fan was already considering whether to give Xuanji some face out of respect for Nanke.
However, the development of events turned out to be completely different from Ning Fan’s expectations.
He imagined that the atmosphere would be tense upon meeting.
But when he actually met Fan Xuanji, the expected difficulties did not arise, and instead, Ning Fan received a warm reception from Fan Xuanji.
At this moment, Fan Xuanji seemed like a different person. He had no hostility towards Ning Fan, only nostalgia, guilt, and anticipation...
"Brother Zhang, you want to borrow the Divine Consciousness Grinding Disc, this is easily done, as long as you complete two tasks, not only will I lend you the treasure, but I’ll even give it to you."
"Firstly, I wish to truly play a game of chess with you, not the previous farce of Soul-Seizing Chess, but continuing the game we paused forty-two reincarnations ago in Nanliang. At that time, you said if I defeated you, you would tell me your true name. This promise, I’ve remembered for forty-three generations, do you still remember..."
Fan Xuanji’s expression was extremely weak, but his gaze was unprecedentedly firm, his obsession crossing long cycles of reincarnation, all for this game before him.
"Secondly, as you can see, my time is running out, in a few days or at most ten days, I shall fall. I was misled by the Lamp Extinguisher, made too many mistakes, lingered in the cycle of reincarnation, having transcended forty-three lifetimes. Death is nothing to me, I have died too many times, and do not fear it. But now, having taken over as the ancestor of the Fan Barbarian, I must consider my people, I cannot abandon them like Fan Lianhai..."
"I wish to entrust the Ninth Branch of Fan Barbarian to you, not asking you to regard yourself as Fan Barbarian, only asking that you protect some of Fan Barbarian from dying in this Immeasurable Catastrophe, to prevent the Ninth Branch from being cut off... forty-three cycles of reincarnation, I have made too many choices. Yet no matter the choice, the Ninth Branch of Fan Barbarian still seems doomed to perish, the words of the Lamp Extinguisher, like a lie... But this time, I see a glimmer of hope in you, Brother Zhang! If Brother Zhang agrees, I am willing to extinguish the flame of the reincarnation lamp with the Fan Barbarian Inverse Wilt Technique, and with my Quasi-Saint cultivation, condense a Niku Dao Fruit for you, to help you fight in the Immeasurable Catastrophe!"
Fan Xuanji awaited Ning Fan’s reply.
He longed to play another game of chess with his old opponent Zhang Dao, but more so to join forces with Brother Zhang, to escape the Immeasurable Catastrophe of the Northern Barbarian Country!
In past cycles of reincarnation, in his attempts to lead his people away from the Immeasurable Catastrophe, he had made many wrong choices. In the first life, he believed in the Lamp Extinguisher; in the forty-third life, he believed in Jiumo Saint. But this time, finally, he decided to trust his own heart.
Perhaps this time too, the Ninth Branch of Fan Barbarian may still be doomed, but no matter the outcome, he did not wish to regret it again.
"One game, one promise, for an artifact of the Ancient Kingdom, a Niku Dao Fruit, what say you, Brother Zhang?"