A few months later, yet another earth‑shaking piece of news spread throughout Eastern Heaven.

The Three Thousand Thunder Realm actually constructed, together with the massacres, a massively expensive cross‑domain Teleportation Formation, and formally announced its incorporation into Qianqiu Sect, becoming a subordinate power of Qianqiu Sect!

Yes, becoming a subordinate of Qianqiu Sect, not of the Slaughter Hall; they only obey Ning Fan, and do not listen to anyone from the Slaughter Hall!

If this had happened before Ning Fan slew an Immortal Emperor, everyone would have thought White Emperor Lan Yunxian had water in her brains, giving up on being a perfectly good Immortal Emperor only to become someone’s subordinate; but Ning Fan had already proved his terrifying strength to all of Eastern Heaven, and he already had an ancient existence like Burying Moon Immortal Concubine under his command—adding another White Emperor was not something people couldn’t accept.

This matter all the more confirmed a certain rumor—that White Emperor Lan Yunxian... truly had quite an ambiguous relationship with Ning Fan, far from simple!

Whether they were truly father and daughter, the world did not know, but given Ning Fan’s vile reputation regarding women, everyone’s thoughts would naturally lean in the other direction, guessing...

Countless Old Monsters of East Heaven who secretly admired the White Emperor had their infatuated hearts shattered to pieces; many were envious and jealous of Ning Fan’s romantic fortune, yet naturally no one dared to run to the Slaughter Hall to stir up trouble with Ning Fan because of this...

Time flew; in the blink of an eye, ten years had passed since that battle.

Ten years ago, the Huo (Calamity) Clan had three Emperors fall in the Slaughter Hall, yet they seemed not to know of this at all, actually making no move of any backup to avenge themselves, letting people’s thoughts run wild and speculation abound.

During these ten years, Ning Fan had been comprehending the Cross Halo, gradually gaining something.

At first, with his Heart Spirit at its peak, he could open the Cross Halo for 224 breaths, which was his limit; but with ten years of comprehension, the duration of the Cross Halo rose to 227 breaths.

Don’t look down on those mere 3 extra breaths; those 3 breaths were enough for Ning Fan, in his extreme state, to kill many more enemies, and counted as no small progress.

When he had mostly grasped the Cross Halo, Ning Fan knew that in the future this Cross Halo would become the strongest of all his ultimate arts.

This Cross Halo was an ultimate art with enormous room to grow, a collection‑type Divine Skills. The more ultimate arts and abilities Ning Fan mastered, the stronger the Cross Halo would become!

Back then, killing Emperor Fushan had actually only revealed the tip of the iceberg of the Cross Halo’s full power. Ning Fan repeatedly tested with Burying Moon and Xian Luoli, and found that once he opened the Cross Halo, if he caught them unprepared, killing a Sixth Calamity Immortal Emperor would not be difficult, and killing a Seven Calamity Immortal Emperor also had a considerable chance of success; but Immortal Emperors of Eight Tribulations and above had a high chance of escaping the Body Locking of the Cross Halo...

And that was still in a situation of catching them off guard; if it were those Eastern Heavenly Emperors who had spent these ten years repeatedly studying the Cross Halo, they had most likely already figured out some methods to deal with it.

Back then, his easy beheading of the Three Emperors of the Calamity Clan had in fact taken advantage of the convenience of this newly‑created art, without giving the three Emperors much time to ponder its flaws.

If it were replaced by Immortal Emperors who had studied this technique for ten years, they would not be so easy to kill...

In this world there is no truly unsolvable ability, and no eternal invincibility. If entering the Cross Halo means being captured without resistance, then just pull back and keep your distance—don’t go in, and isn’t that fine? Decide victory or defeat with long‑range attacks!

If Ning Fan opens the Cross Halo and his speed is too heaven‑defying, closing in to forcefully activate the halo at close range, then just think of a way not to let him get close!

Even if he does get close, it does not mean one is truly out of options. Back then, weren’t there two Calamity Clan Immortal Emperors who escaped using substitute bodies? There are many similar methods; as long as one is not as useless as Emperor Fushan, getting completely restrained the instant the fight begins...

Ten years passed, and the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor seemed to have completely fallen silent from the world; everyone believed that the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor had already had his Dao extinguished. Strangely, the Dark Clan had not launched a large‑scale invasion...

Ten years passed, and Ning Fan’s good fortune advanced from the Immortal Fate Fourth Color to the Fifth Color of Immortal Fortune, a matter that naturally owed to his draining Emperor Fushan’s seven-colored luck back then.

Ten years passed, and Ning Fan searched ancient methods everywhere, secretly unsealed the Primordial Thunder Cauldron, and devoured the Eastern Mountain Divine Thunder within.

The Primordial Thunder Cauldron was an Innate Mid-grade Treasure, and as the years flowed on, it could absorb the mighty force of heaven and earth, continually generating Eastern Mountain Divine Thunder within the cauldron.

Few knew what benefits Ning Fan had gained after devouring all the Eastern Mountain Divine Thunder; only very few cultivators of Qianqiu Sect and the Slaughter Hall saw that on the day Ning Fan completely refined the divine thunder, within the territory of the massacres there descended the faintest thread of Innate Thunder that split open heaven and earth, and together with the power of the Innate Demon Fire, formed an exceedingly unique thunderous flame...

Rumors were widely spread that during these ten years, The Eighth Generation Slaughter Emperor Ning Fan had cultivated Innate Thunder and Innate Demon Fire, and had merged thunder and fire into one, his strength advancing one more step...

Ten years passed, and Ning Fan had long since obtained the Heaven-Opening Stone from Xiang Mingzi and repaired the God-Extinguishing Shield.

Ten years passed, and he had truly restored himself to his full‑power state!

During these ten years, war‑torn Eastern Heaven had seen battles great and small, but most of them had nothing to do with Ning Fan.

But on a certain day ten years later, a battle challenge suddenly came from the Dark Continent, its edge pointing straight at Ning Fan!

This was the third battle challenge sent by the Dark Clan!

This battle challenge seemed to have deliberately waited until Ning Fan had comprehended the Cross Halo and adjusted all his states before coming forth to challenge Ning Fan in an open and upright fashion!

This time, the battle challenge no longer contained those insulting, goading words.

This time, the battle challenge contained only a single word, written with the power of a Dark Control Position.

War!

When Ning Fan opened the battle challenge, the Palm Position Power contained within that single word actually caused the starry sky above the massacres to, for an instant, be plunged into pitch‑black, losing all light!

It was unknown who wrote this battle challenge, and one could not see the specific cultivations of this person, but the shocking killing intent contained within was no small matter—even one so accustomed to slaughter as Ning Fan drew in a cold breath.

An Ancient Great Cultivator...

Even though the battle challenge did not reveal any cultivations aura, Ning Fan still judged that the one who wrote it was an Ancient Great Cultivator!

The Dark Clan actually possessed an Ancient Great Cultivator; this fact caused Ning Fan’s heart to quake violently!

And all along, the feeling the Dark Clan gave Ning Fan was of being insidious, cowardly, despicable, and shameless... yet in this one instance, this sole battle challenge gave Ning Fan a faint sense of open uprightness...

It was no wonder; an Ancient Great Cultivator’s measure was certainly different from that of ordinary Dark Clan cultivators.

An Ancient Great Cultivator had the pride of an Ancient Great Cultivator. This person indeed wanted to kill him, but... disdained to use underhanded means against an Eternal Immortal Venerable!

This disdain was not fear; this was different from the ordinary Dark Clan cultivators, who generally feared Ancient Chaos and did not dare act rashly. In the Ancient Great Cultivator who wrote the third battle challenge, between the lines there was killing intent, dominance, and ruthlessness, yet there was one thing missing—fear!

This person did not fear Ancient Chaos!

This person had all along been waiting for Ning Fan to go to the Dark Continent, and had not taken the initiative to strike, because he wanted to give Ning Fan an open and upright chance to die—rather than an assassination!

One might even speculate this far: all the various moves the Dark Clan used against Ning Fan before were not the handiwork of this old monster at all, because if this old monster truly wanted to rely on senior bullying junior to kill Ning Fan, he would not need to borrow another’s hand, and would certainly not care whether Ancient Chaos lived or died!

"An Ancient Great Cultivator... A Dark Clan guarded by an Ancient Great Cultivator. For this decisive battle... should I go...?"

"If I go, I may die; but if I don’t go, something far more important will be broken because of it..."

The proud spine of an inheritor of Ancient Chaos, the soul of a Dao Upholder, would be broken...

If the Dark Clan had spread an inescapable net on the Dark Continent intending to murder Ning Fan, Ning Fan naturally would not foolishly run in to deliver his life.

But if the other side truly only wanted a fair duel, and this duel also carried the meaning of deciding superiority between the Dark Clan and Ancient Chaos, then even if the other side had an Ancient Great Cultivator sitting in town, even if this battle was riddled with crisis, Ning Fan would not evade!

"An Ancient Great Cultivator is not someone I can defeat; a First or Second Rank Quasi-Saint is not someone I can defeat; even a Sixth, Seventh, or higher Tribulation Immortal Emperor is not someone I can defeat. But even if I cannot win, I am confident I can protect myself. Once the Cross Halo opens, even an Ancient Great Cultivator should not think to keep me here!"

"Of course, it’s impossible to fully believe the other side will not lay a trap based on a single war letter. If they act openly and upright, then I will fight openly and upright; if they move in the shadows and tamper with things, I will naturally make the entire Dark Clan pay the price for it!"

On this day, Ning Fan quietly left the Slaughter Hall, informing no one and bringing no helpers.

Several days later, Ning Fan arrived at the Dark Continent, intending to pit the strength of one man against an entire secret clan!

If he spoke up, Quasi-Saints like Xiang Mingzi would definitely come to help him, but he did not do so.

Because he understood, and the Dark Clan understood as well, that this battle was the grievance between the Dark Clan and the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor, to be settled within the generation of their inheritors...

Ning Fan was seventy percent certain that the Dark Clan’s Ancient Great Cultivator would not make a move, that not even Quasi-Saints would intervene—yet he still kept thirty percent vigilance...

To challenge an entire secret clan with the strength of one man looked arrogant on the surface, but going alone actually made it easier for him to escape this place when necessary.

After all, if he went alone, he was confident no one could keep him; but if he brought others along, he had no confidence that he could come and go freely within the territory of an Ancient Great Cultivator...

In the desolate starry sky, countless Broken Continents floated from antiquity, looming within the gloomy black mist.

There was no telling how many Broken Continents lay here; no Eastern Celestial Cultivator had ever truly counted them. If one looked closely, one would discover that the black mist coiling above these continents was in fact not mist at all, but tiny black insects too small for the naked eye to distinguish, buzzing together in clusters that on the surface looked exactly like masses of fog.

Only those who knew this continent understood how terrifying these tiny black insects were. An ordinary True Immortal, if swarmed by these insects, would, in the space of half an instant, be gnawed clean of flesh and blood, leaving only bare bones.

This was the Dark Continent, one of the many great ominous lands of Eastern Heaven.

Perhaps the Evil Qi on Ning Fan’s body was simply too heavy; after he arrived, the nearby black mist began to scatter to both sides, seeming afraid to block Ning Fan’s entry.

Ning Fan stepped onto one of the countless continents, and the instant he set foot upon it, the borders of the countless continents suddenly surged with soaring black light, which gradually spread toward the far heavens and earth.

Those black beams connected with each other, forming an incomparably vast black light-prison that covered the entire Dark Continent.

If one looked from outside, one would see the entire Dark Continent wrapped inside a colossal black egg, but Ning Fan, who was inside, naturally could not see this.

The landscape of the continent before him plunged into darkness; only scattered ghostfire floated between heaven and earth, bringing a faint glow to the world.

Ning Fan frowned slightly and summoned the Reverse Sea Sword, casually cleaving a sword strike at the black light-prison. He discovered he could not even leave the slightest scratch on it; only layers of ripples spread out, then the light-prison returned to calm.

Ning Fan knew that his arrival had surely already been detected by the Dark Clan, and thus they had unfolded some method, seeking to trap him here and leave him no chance to flee the Dark Continent.

But could this black light-prison that sealed the Dark Continent truly trap him...

Judging from the strength of the light-prison tested by his sword, if he exhausted all his means, it would be difficult but not impossible to shatter this prison and escape...

"This old man is An Yuanchen. You... are that Ancient Chaos fellow’s inheritor across the ages?"

A drifting voice of an old man suddenly echoed through the pitch-black heavens and earth, ethereal and shifting, its location impossible to discern.

Ning Fan’s heart instantly tightened. An Yuanchen—he was the founding ancestor of the Dark Clan, and he had not died in ancient times, but lived to this day!

In that case, the Dark Clan’s Ancient Great Cultivator was this An Yuanchen! No wonder this man did not fear the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor; he indeed had the qualification.

"I am." Even knowing that the other side was a figure of antiquity renowned on equal footing with the Ancient Chaos Grand Emperor, Ning Fan did not show the slightest timidity. He had seen too much of the world; an Ancient Great Cultivator could no longer scare him.

"The span of this old man’s life is nearly exhausted, but before I die, I must surpass Ancient Chaos once—only then can I die content! I was never a match for Ancient Chaos before; in thousands of clashes, I never won even once. Yet I firmly believe that my disciple will not be inferior to Ancient Chaos’s inheritor! The three letters of challenge that drew you here were precisely to kill you, to prove this to Ancient Chaos! But after seeing your battle ten years ago with my own eyes, I developed a heart that cherishes talent. If you are willing to betray the Ancient Chaos lineage and turn to me, An Yuanchen, then the enmity between you and my clan will be erased with a single stroke. I can even immediately name you Clan Leader of the Dark Clan, granting you a station above all and beneath but one. The entire Dark Clan will heed your command. Are you willing?"

Even with Ning Fan’s calm, he was stunned by An Yuanchen’s words at this moment.

Before coming to the Dark Continent, Ning Fan had imagined a thousand ways to cross swords with the Dark Clan, yet he had never thought he would be recruited by the Dark Clan’s founding ancestor.

If he betrayed Ancient Chaos, he could directly become Clan Leader of the Dark Clan and command the entire Dark Clan—what kind of power was that! What kind of regard was that!

Unfortunately, no matter how overwhelming the power, in Ning Fan’s eyes it was but floating clouds. He always remembered that hazy, illusory old man who had time and again granted him grace. He remembered the traditions of Lieyuan Sect, remembered his own promises, remembered that when the old man patted his shoulder, that palm was illusory yet warm...

Ning Fan did not answer; his expression remained calm. That was a silent refusal.

Hehe...

A gratified laugh spread through heaven and earth; An Yuanchen was actually laughing, seemingly very satisfied with Ning Fan’s answer.

"Very good, very good! Even such hefty profit cannot shake your true heart—only then are you worthy of being the last Disciple of Lieyuan Sect, only then are you worthy of being Ancient Chaos’s pupil. You are... very good! Only thus do you have the value of being killed!"

So the recruitment just now was only a test?

"Rest easy! This old man has long slumbered and rarely awakens. The methods my clan used against you before were not by my command. Today, this old man will openly and uprightly kill you. In this battle, no Quasi-Saint will intervene!"

Indeed, An Yuanchen was different from the other Dark Clan cultivators; he had the pride of an Ancient Great Cultivator...

This also explained why, the moment Ning Fan left the Supreme Pill Sacred Domain, he had received such an unreasonable challenge letter.

Because the Dark Clan’s previous schemings had not been An Yuanchen’s orders—only this war letter was!

"Then, the hunt begins! From this moment on, the entire Dark Continent shall be the battlefield. By my order, An Yuanchen: whosoever kills Ning Fan shall be named Clan Leader of the Dark Clan, rewarded with a hundred Dark Star Fruits and a thousand Ancient Concubines!"

Kill!

Kill!!

Kill!!!

Deafening shouts like overturning mountains and seas came from all directions, all from Dark Clan cultivators.

As the saying goes, under heavy rewards, there must be brave men!

After ten years of research, the Dark Clan had done quite a bit of work on Ning Fan’s Cross Halo and were confident they had found a counter. Today there was only one prey—Ning Fan—while the hunters numbered in the thousands. Though Quasi-Saints could not make a move, Immortal Emperors were not on the restriction list!

Could Ning Fan possibly leave the Dark Clan alive?

There was absolutely no possibility!

Ridiculous that Ning Fan actually dared to come alone; his arrogance left people speechless!

No matter how strong this boy’s Divine Skills were, he was still just an Eternal Immortal Venerable. As long as they restrained that Cross Halo and attacked him en masse, his death was guaranteed!

The only variable was which lucky one would end up with the colossal merit of killing Ning Fan!

"Billion Curse Resentment Technique!"

All of a sudden, an icy, emotionless voice rang out from the depths of the endless darkness, carrying the might of a Nine Tribulations Immortal Emperor.

At the instant that voice sounded, Ning Fan felt his body lighten and his vision blur; he was forcibly snatched away and vanished from where he stood.

The next instant, he appeared atop a gigantic grave mound. Ancient tombstones, innumerable in number, spiraled all around him. A ghost clung to each tombstone, their resentment soaring to the heavens!

With a sweep of Ning Fan’s Mind Sweep, his expression instantly darkened. This place was no longer at the outskirts of the Dark Continent but at its extreme depths, separated from the outskirts by tens of thousands of Broken Continents.

A Nine Tribulations Immortal Emperor, phantom-like like ghostfire, stood ten thousand zhang away from the giant grave, waving an Innate Peach Wood Sword, muttering an incantation under his breath.

In a flash, wails like ghosts and howls like wolves shook the heavens. Endless waves of resentful sound surged toward Ning Fan, half laughing, half crying, like demonic monks chanting curses—indescribably grating to the ear.

As that sound wave slammed into him, Ning Fan’s divine sense sea throbbed in severe pain; black blood seeped from the corner of his lips. He was already internally wounded and could not help but be startled.

It was only because his divine sense sea was far more solid than that of ordinary people. If it had been some other Immortal Venerable or Immortal King struck by this cursed resentful sound wave, their divine sense seas would probably have collapsed on the spot and they would have died!

"Hm? You actually didn’t die..." The Ghostfire Immortal Emperor was slightly surprised, clearly not expecting that stooping to a sneak attack would yield such a result. Then he coldly laughed, pointing the peach wood sword at the sky. The resentful curse energy here instantly doubled in weight!

Ning Fan laughed.

So this was the so-called open, upright, fair duel An Yuanchen had been talking about. He had thought they would fight one-on-one in a fair arena match, or at worst he would be put through a wheel battle... Turns out that wasn’t it at all.

Hadn’t the earlier battle challenge said he would be facing the Hundred Young Ones of the Dark Clan? "Hundred Young Ones," from the name it sounded like they should all be of the Dark Clan’s younger generation. So why was a Nine Tribulations Immortal Emperor making a move? Could it be that this ancient, decrepit Nine Tribulations Immortal Emperor was also one of the Dark Clan’s "younger generation"? Heh, how amusing.

Perhaps in An Yuanchen’s eyes, the fact that he wasn’t personally taking action, and hadn’t let any Quasi-Saints move, already counted as "fair."

If this was the "fair duel" in An Yuanchen’s eyes, then Ning Fan had no reason to hold back.

Perfect time to make a huge scene—he’d been putting up with the Dark Clan for far too long!

Chi!

Ning Fan took a single step forward and abruptly vanished from the top of the giant grave. His ghostlike speed made the Ghostfire Immortal Emperor’s old eyes contract sharply and his heart give a heavy thump.

He, a dignified Nine Tribulations Immortal Emperor, had actually failed to see Ning Fan’s speed clearly. His shock was no minor thing. Could it be that this boy, even without activating the Cross Halo, could still be this fast? This was far too terrifying!

Fortunately, the surrounding formation light rippled, and space violently quaked in response. A muffled groan escaped Ning Fan as his figure was shaken out of the void by the formation light, his body falling back down from midair onto the giant grave.

Seeing Ning Fan forced back to his original position by the formation he had laid in advance, the Ghostfire Immortal Emperor finally calmed a bit. He had studied the Cross Halo for ten years and knew well that as long as Ning Fan was trapped somewhere and couldn’t get close, that Cross Halo was nothing worth worrying about!

He could completely kill Ning Fan at leisure from outside the range of the Cross Halo!

"Heavenly Dao Curse Vault!"

"Earthly Dao Curse Suppression!"

"Human Dao Curse Chant!"

The Ghostfire Immortal Emperor thrust out three swords in succession, maintaining an ultra-long distance, casting from far away. The soundwaves formed by resentment grew heavier and heavier, tearing apart the Great Dao, shattering the earth; even heaven and earth shook so hard that afterimages appeared.

Ning Fan felt the injuries in his divine sense sea grow worse and worse; he knew he was no match for this Ghostfire Immortal Emperor. Perhaps if he activated the Cross Halo, he could still have the power to fight, but he knew the entire Dark Clan had mobilized thousands of cultivators to hunt him, each and every one an elite of the Dark Clan. If he used his strongest trump card the moment they clashed and burned his Heart Spirit dry, he could forget about dealing with the enemies that came after!

Besides, even if he activated the Cross Halo, he wasn’t confident he could kill this Ghostfire Immortal Emperor. His chance of victory wasn’t even fifty percent. Better to hold on to his trump card and wait for the right moment...

"Hm? Still not dead? In that case, this old man will just make it heavier..."

The Ghostfire Immortal Emperor hadn’t finished speaking when his eyes suddenly snapped wide, a look of shock flashing across them.

Because in that instant, a flip of Ning Fan’s palm brought the Reverse Sea Sword into his hand. With a single slash, he split the momentum of heaven and earth in two, and the giant grave formation collapsed with a bang. With another slash, he shattered several million of the billion tombstones here in one stroke, instantly opening a gap in the encirclement of tombstones.

The Ghostfire Immortal Emperor was greatly alarmed and tried to recondense the tombstones, sealing the space here and trapping Ning Fan to his death within. Unfortunately, the speed at which he condensed tombstones was nothing compared to the speed at which Ning Fan destroyed them with his sword. Ning Fan moved as fast as lightning, sword shadows flying everywhere. In the blink of an eye, he had slashed out several hundred swords, and after those few hundred swings, there were almost no tombstones left here!

The ground was littered with shattered stone tablets!

The ghosts attached to the tombstones had also been slaughtered clean by Ning Fan; no more waves of resentful sound attacked his divine sense sea. At last, his ears were quiet.

"A Nine Tribulations Immortal Emperor, nothing more than this." Ning Fan sneered.

"What a little bastard! This old man spent several million years of time to refine these ten billion Resentful Spirits, and today you’ve slaughtered them all! This old man will peel your skin and rip your tendons, refining you into a Resentful Spirit to compensate for my loss!"

Driven to fury by Ning Fan’s sneer, the Ghostfire Immortal Emperor raised his hand in a sacrifice. The peach wood sword in his hand immediately soared into the air, then split into ten, ten into a hundred, turning into several million sword-rain blades that blasted down toward Ning Fan.

This Peach Wood Sword was only an Innate Lower Grade Treasure, but its wielder’s cultivation was far too high, so its power was naturally unfathomable; it could heavily wound an ordinary Immortal Emperor in a single strike. Ning Fan had no intention of taking it head-on, nor did he plan to stay here and waste Mana in a battle of attrition with the Ghostfire Immortal Emperor.

His figure flickered, and before the sword-rain could slash down, he had already vanished without a trace, leaving several million sword-rain strikes to slash at empty air, crashing into the ground and splitting this entire continent into countless fragments.

"Damn! That little bastard actually ran!"

The Ghostfire Immortal Emperor was greatly alarmed; he was unwilling to share this heaven-shaking credit with anyone else and of course had to monopolize it. How could he allow his prey to escape!

He put away the Peach Wood Sword, raised a seven-colored escape light, and was about to pursue Ning Fan, but before him stretched millions of continents, boundless and endless—where was he supposed to search for Ning Fan now?

He could only take out a Compass and track the faintly blinking dot on it—that dot represented Ning Fan’s current position.

Every Dark Clan cultivator participating in the hunt for Ning Fan carried such a tracking Compass. If Ning Fan never entered the Dark Continent, that was one thing; but once he set foot on the Dark Continent, they could use this Compass to locate him, leaving Ning Fan almost nowhere to hide!

Locking onto Ning Fan’s position, the Ghostfire Immortal Emperor launched himself in direct pursuit, but because his speed was far inferior to Ning Fan’s, he was naturally unable to catch up no matter what he did.

With Ning Fan’s current speed, he didn’t even need to use Wuxian Cloud to shake off an Immortal Emperor; his natural speed alone had already reached an unimaginable degree.

Before long, the light-dot disappeared from the Compass.

The Ghostfire Immortal Emperor cursed furiously. This meant the distance between him and Ning Fan had stretched to more than ten thousand continents; at such a distance, even the Compass could no longer pinpoint him...

To the Ghostfire Immortal Emperor, Ning Fan had already fled to who-knew-where, and the battle was temporarily halted.

But for Ning Fan, on this Dark Continent, almost everywhere was filled with enemies; no matter where he went, he could run into pursuers!

Ning Fan had opened up a distance of over ten thousand continents from the Ghostfire Immortal Emperor, escaping that one’s Compass lock, but at the same time, he appeared on the tracking Compasses of others.

With Ning Fan’s Mind Sweep spreading out, he could sense that within a range of over ten thousand continents, more than a hundred spirit senses of varying strength were locking onto him.

The weaker ones were only at Thought-Shattering level, often gathered together in small teams; the stronger ones included Immortal Venerables, Immortal Kings, and even Immortal Emperors, all closing in from different directions.

Ning Fan revealed a cold smile.

If he wanted to leave, then even if An Yuanchen personally took action today, he still wouldn’t be able to stop him. But Ning Fan was in no hurry to leave at all.

Why should he be in such a hurry to go?

If he didn’t make the Dark Clan feel pain, if he didn’t establish the prestige of the inheritor of Ancient Chaotic Grand Emperor, what reason did he have to leave!

Just now he had been suppressed by the Dark Clan’s Nine Tribulations Immortal Emperor; his strength was inferior, and he accepted that. But that absolutely did not mean that the rest of the Dark Clan could also suppress him!

Screeech!

A shrill cry suddenly came from directly ahead!

In the next instant, a gigantic black bird wreathed in thunderous light appeared out of nowhere directly in front of him, carrying more than a dozen Thought-Shattering cultivators on its back, unexpectedly running right into Ning Fan.

Those people, upon seeing that they had caught up to Ning Fan, were first startled, then overjoyed; they desperately fumbled out Immortal Talismans and hurled them with all their might.

In a flash, hundreds and thousands of Immortal Talismans shot toward Ning Fan head-on. Any single talisman carried the power of a Thought-Shattering strike; the stronger ones even contained the might of an Immortal Venerable Strike or an Immortal King strike. The talisman-lights blasted forth, the momentum indescribably vast!

Ning Fan’s gaze narrowed slightly. He thought to himself how extravagant the Dark Clan was; even Thought-Shattering Cultivators were equipped with so many powerful talismans. They truly were sparing no cost to kill him.

On the Cultivation Road, battles between enemies were nothing more than a clash of methods; there was no talk of despicable or not, fair or unfair.

The Dark Clan being able to distribute so many powerful talismans to their Thought-Shattering experts was part of their foundation; there was nothing to complain about.

Unfortunately... relying on such methods alone, they still weren’t enough to kill Ning Fan!

"I am the ninety-seventh of the Dark Clan’s Hundred Young Ones, named An Junkuang. Remember this name. Once I kill you, even the Dark Clan’s Clan Leader will make sure this name is remembered by future generations, will..."

On the bird’s back, a Thought-Shattering youth who looked like the leader laughed greedily, his mind already intoxicated by the enormous reward for killing Ning Fan.

But that laughter had only reached halfway when it abruptly stopped.

Between heaven and earth, a streak of fire suddenly flashed by, like the dawn scattering the darkness, like thunder splitting the night.

The instant that fire flashed, the thousand-plus Immortal Talismans, the giant bird, and the dozen-plus Thought-Shattering cultivators were all turned to flying ash, scattered by a raging wind!

Not even a scream was left behind!

He did not even bother to leave a single storage pouch!

Ning Fan held the Wind-Fire Fan, his expression cold as he continued forward. To him, wiping out over a dozen Thought-Shattering cultivators with a single fan-sweep was nothing worth boasting about.

There were still many enemies. For battles that were not strictly necessary, it was unwise to consume too much Mana; using magical treasures was still the more economic way to conserve Mana...

As for this so-called An Junkuang, the Dark Clan’s ninety-seventh son, Ning Fan honestly couldn’t be bothered to remember such a complicated name and title.

Since he had not activated the Cross Halo at this moment, Ning Fan merely used the Lifestealer Technique alone. After killing these dozen-plus Thought-Shattering cultivators, his aura grew slightly stronger—this was the augmentative effect brought about by the Lifestealer Technique.

And wisps of Divine Skills memories, after he slew those dozen-plus Thought-Shattering cultivators, inexplicably surged into Ning Fan’s divine sense.

Ning Fan knew this was the effect of the Void Stripping Path he had comprehended over the past ten years.

But since his understanding of Void Stripping Path was still shallow, the Divine Skills memories he reaped through killing were all extremely broken and incomplete, hardly usable...

"You treat me as prey, and I in turn treat you as prey. One of the Dark Clan’s Hundred Young Ones has already fallen; ninety-nine remain... I wonder, once I finish slaughtering all of the Hundred Young Ones, will this An Yuanchen still be able to speak with me calmly? Or are the lives of these so-called Hundred Young Ones nothing but weeds in his eyes? Otherwise, how could he bear to send them to hunt me down!"

Ning Fan sneered coldly as he sped across the continent. Unnoticed, Ning Fan’s Mind Sweep had already locked onto one Dark Clan prodigy after another...

They were all preparing to kill him and claim merit; naturally, he would never show mercy! He might not be able to beat the old ones, but the young ones...