"I am not concerned what your way of surviving is. Just to remind you, once you ascend to the cloud realm in the upper layer, you will face three difficult stages before you can enter the Black Lightning Tower. In order to get through these three stages, you must never have the slightest hint of falsity or pretense. You must face your heart in the sincerest manner."
Hong Yi told him the truth with an indifferent tone.
"Opportunities lie hidden within the three stages. With your capabilities, it won’t be difficult for you to get past them. It’s also very likely for you to obtain opportunities. But if you face your heart sincerely and openly, there will be less danger. In this trip, what you have to pay the most attention to is the Black Lightning Tower. Remember, I need seven pieces of bamboo leaves. Don’t bring any less than that. If you can’t get me seven pieces of bamboo leaves, it will only mean that your strength is lacking and could only amount to this."
"Are you trying to goad me into action?" Ning Fan’s eyes flashed. The lady standing in front of him seemed to be rousing his desire for success on purpose.
Was she afraid that Ning Fan was going to have some reservations without giving his all which in turn would cause him to be unable to obtain the seven pieces of bamboo leaves?
"I’m just speaking the truth." Hong Yi was as cold as stone.
"Is that so...? Then, you just wait and see how many bamboo leaves I can obtain."
Ning Fan was not provoked and his desire was not roused at all.
He always spared no effort in everything he did and he had never held back.
Half a day later, Ning Fan was in his peak state again after regulating his qi. He made a step forward and entered the lightning teleportation formation.
Instantly, Hong Yi moved her fingers rapidly to form hand seals in order to activate the formation and send Ning Fan to the cloud realm above them.
The scenery changed quickly. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Ning Fan appeared above the sea of black lightning and thunder clouds which was one million zhang* (3.33m per zhang) above the teleportation formation.
He stepped on the black clouds. The clouds which were soft like cotton could not make anyone feel reassured of their solidity.
Ning Fan looked at his surroundings. East of him, he saw a massive tower in the distance which had black lightning coiling around it. The building was so tall that it pierced into the skies and its peak could not be seen. Obviously, it was the Black Lightning Bamboo Tower.
Countless low-grade lightning spirits inhabited the area above the sea of clouds. However, the strongest among them were just at the Nascent Soul Realm. Divine Transformation Realm and Void Refinement Realm beasts did not seem to occupy this place.
After sensing a baleful qi which was abnormally concentrated from Ning Fan, the lightning spirits were overwhelmed with fear and scattered away in the form of flying beasts. All of them retreated and fled.
Ning Fan did not pursue those low-grade ferocious beasts and his eyes focused to the east. Suddenly, his face turned grim.
He did not take any step further. He turned towards the west and his left eye twinkled with purple light. Then, he said with a sneer.
"There is no tower at all in the east. The true Black Lightning Tower is clearly in the west. Do you think this kind of inferior illusion techniques can trick me?! Show yourself!"
As Ning Fan shouted, his aura force spread out vigorously and a surge of intense baleful qi broke the scenery around him. The surroundings vanished like the moon in the lake.
He heard a muffled groan from a hidden corner. It seemed as if someone hidden was injured by Ning Fan.
The black tower which appeared in the east disappeared.
Gradually, a black tower emerged in the desolate sea of clouds in the west!
Then, countless traces of lightning power from a formation light surged in the surroundings, heavily trapping Ning Fan!
The lightning power transformed into a black palace. Ning Fan was not in a desolate sea of clouds at all. In fact, he was standing inside a black lightning palace which looked like a labyrinth!
He could only head to the west and enter the Black Lightning Tower after walking out of this palace!
The empty palace was ten thousand zhang* (3.33m per zhang) wide.
On the brick wall of the palace stood a board with a line of words written in black ink.
"The first formation. The stage of ’True Illusion’!"
Ning Fan’s face became serious. Now, this palace and the illusions that he faced just now were part of the test in this stage.
When he released his baleful qi just now, he had injured a person hidden nearby. That person was perhaps the individual who was in charge of this test.
"I’m the White Lightning Realm Spirit. How dare a mere ant from the mortal world like you hurt my body? You’re courting death! I will certainly teach you how to die on the stage of ’True Illusion’!"
From a dark corner, a proud and vengeful voice of an old man echoed. It carried an Early Void Refinement Realm aura force which charged at Ning Fan. However, it was dispersed by Ning Fan with a flick of his sleeve.
"Just by yourself?" Ning Fan sneered.
"Don’t be too cocky! Beware the might of my formation!" The mysterious expert shouted in anger as he activated the True Illusion Formation.
Immediately, two figures of women whom Ning Fan had never expected emerged in front of him.
"Kill either one of them and you can break through the first stage! If not, you will be trapped in this formation forever!" The mysterious expert smiled mockingly.
"This joke is not funny at all!" Ning Fan’s eyes turned cold.
Not everything in this world could be taken as the format of the test!
The two women who appeared in front of Ning Fan were both Zhihe!
When Ning Fan observed them carefully, he discovered that these two women were specious. They looked like illusions but they seemed genuine at the same time.
One of them was connected to Zhihe’s luck through the Heavenly Dao. It could be considered as Zhihe’s true body. If this body dies, Zhihe’s luck would be greatly damaged!
As for the other one, it was an illusion. It could be killed randomly without any harm.
If Ning Fan makes the wrong choice and kills the wrong one, the consequences would be unthinkable.
However, Ning Fan did not have the intention of killing either one of them at all.
"Leave my wife’s luck alone. Don’t force me to act. Otherwise... you will regret it!" Ning Fan’s tone sounded colder and more indifferent. It was filled with killing intent which was as penetrating as ice.
"Regret it? Who do you think you are? Do you think you can make this old man regret?!" The mysterious man let out a cacophony of laughter. He was extremely disdainful towards Ning Fan.
"You will die... for sure!"
Ning Fan closed his eyes and no longer spoke a single word.
There were three stages before reaching the Black Lightning Tower and the first stage was True Illusion...
In the lower level of the Black Lightning Realm, Hong Yi stood before the teleportation formation. Her blood-red eyes suddenly turned grim, as if she had sensed something wrong.
"That goddamn evil creature. Unexpectedly, it awakened at a time like this! With this evil creature causing trouble, it will probably be very dangerous for that young man to go through the stages!"
"Humph! If I had known this earlier, I would have killed this evil creature in the past!"
"I wonder whether or not that young man, Zhou Ming, can go through the three stages given this situation where this evil creature takes control of the formations itself!"
"True Illusion, Immortal and Mortal and Life or Dao... These three stages are originally the remnant formations of the White Lightning Realm from the ancient times. It’s magical and extraordinary as it is connected to the Heavenly Dao. Now, since there’s the interference of the White Lightning Realm Spirit, if that young man is not careful enough, he may end up paying a high price or even put his beloved ones in danger... In the face of the three stages which originated from Immortal Emperor Tai Su’s three questions, no one in history has ever passed through them when the White Lightning Realm Spirit is around."
"Zhou Ming! He might be an ant to me, but I wonder if he can surprise me once more!" Hong Yi uttered indifferently.
Translated by Tommy, edited by Roel