After Ning Fa brought Liu Qinghui back to the Ning Family, he headed straight for Ningchang Island.
This trip had been quite significant, especially since they were going to the Xue Family's Cloud Crystal Island. He had to inform the First Elder.
Inside the stone hall.
Ning Zhongyuan was greatly shocked after hearing Ning Fa's account. He exclaimed, "Are you sure it was the Duanmu Family from the Huayu Sect!?"
Ning Fa nodded. From the look of it, this First Elder knew about the Duanmu Family and that they were no small matter.
Ning Zhongyuan's expression turned somewhat grim.
Ning Fa knew what he was worried about and said, "First Elder, those two seniors from the Huayu Sect were likely heading for the Cloud Crystal Liquid on Cloud Crystal Island. It's not necessarily a big deal with the Xue Family."
Ning Zhongyuan slowly nodded, then said in a deep voice, "In that case, just do as that Miss Duanmu requested. Go to Cloud Crystal Island on time. That Miss Duanmu likely has no ill intentions towards you; she probably fancies your Thunder Spiritual Power."
Ning Fa nodded, thinking the same.
He figured Duanmu Ling had Feng Jue test him to gauge the strength of his Thunder Spiritual Power.
At this moment, Ning Zhongyuan looked at him intently, "If, after you help them, that young lady also invites you to join the Huayu Sect, or even become an inner disciple directly, would you accept?"
Ning Fa paused.
Although it would bring prestige to the family if a clan disciple joined a sect, especially an inner disciple of a major sect like the Huayu Sect.
However, once one joined a sect, the sect usually wouldn't allow too much involvement with their original family. At most, they might offer some assistance if the family faced a life-or-death crisis.
Many cultivators from established families, upon joining a sect, would even sever ties with their families to show loyalty and avoid being too distracted by external matters.
They would completely abandon their connection to their original families and show no concern for them.
Not to mention far away, Ning Fa knew of one such case.
Fifty years ago, a disciple with a High-grade Spiritual Root from the Ning Family entered the Huayu Sect. Later, he successfully reached Foundation Establishment and became an inner disciple.
However, after that, he completely cut off contact with the Ning Family and ceased all interaction.
Therefore, for these smaller cultivation families, deciding whether to send exceptionally talented disciples to sects was usually a very difficult choice.
In most cases, they might not be willing.
This was why Ning Zhongyuan asked the question.
Before Ning Fa could answer, Ning Zhongyuan sighed, "If that Miss Duanmu invites you, then accept. After all, it's a rare opportunity. We can only hope you'll assist the family in times of crisis in the future."
Ning Fa, however, slowly said, "If that Senior Duanmu truly gives me a choice, I will refuse."
Ning Zhongyuan looked at him with great surprise, clearly taken aback by Ning Fa's answer.
Ning Fa gave a helpless smile, "First Elder, I won't lie to you. If I had a complete Lightning Spiritual Root, I probably would have chosen to go to the Huayu Sect. But I don't have a complete Lightning Spiritual Root. Breaking through the bottlenecks of Qi Condensation mid-stage and late-stage is already so difficult, let alone Foundation Establishment?"
"If I went to the Huayu Sect, I definitely wouldn't receive as many resources as I do in the family. If I can never reach Foundation Establishment, I'll probably just become an ordinary person. But by staying in the family, I still have a chance to reach Foundation Establishment."
Ning Zhongyuan looked at Ning Fa deeply and smiled with relief, "Xiao Fa, it's rare to face such temptation and remain so rational. You see things very clearly. Sometimes, being the head of a chicken isn't necessarily worse than being the tail of a phoenix."
"I can promise you here and now that when you reach Foundation Establishment, I will mobilize the entire family to prepare resources for you. We can even prepare two Foundation Establishment Pills for you. Once you successfully reach Foundation Establishment, the position of First Elder in our Ning Family will be yours sooner or later."
Ning Fa thought to himself that this was just a promise.
But he believed that Ning Zhongyuan's promises were likely true.
Once he reached Foundation Establishment, even a mid Foundation Establishment Cultivator might not be his match. The Ning Family's strength would absolutely increase significantly.
However, what Ning Zhongyuan didn't know was that although Ning Fa truly didn't want to go to the Huayu Sect now, the reasons he stated weren't the real ones.
The main reason was that he harbored the great secrets of the Five Elements Thunder Body and the Mysterious Scroll, which made him uneasy and insecure when facing Duanmu Ling and Feng Jue.
Furthermore, from what Duanmu Ling implied, if he followed her arrangements, he might have to sign a Spirit Contract and become a subordinate of the Duanmu Family.
This made Ning Fa even more resistant.
Even though the Duanmu Family was powerful, Ning Fa didn't want to lose his freedom and be restricted.
However, he still wanted to go to the Huayu Sect, but he planned to do so after he reached Foundation Establishment and helped the Ning Family resolve the trouble with the Xue Family.
Once he reached the Foundation Establishment realm, his strength should soar, and he would have some confidence when going to the Huayu Sect.
Ning Fa kept these thoughts to himself and curiously asked, "First Elder, is the Duanmu Family very powerful? Why are there such family powers within the Huayu Sect?"
Ning Zhongyuan chuckled, "Do you think the Huayu Sect is a monolithic entity? Once any power reaches a certain scale, internal factional struggles are inevitable. Our small Ning Family is like this, let alone a Nascent Soul Great Sect like the Huayu Sect that has existed for thousands of years."
"As far as I know, the factional struggles within the Huayu Sect are very fierce. Family factions are one of them, and they are very strong. Several major families are backed by Golden Core cultivators, and even one of the Supreme Elders of the Huayu Sect comes from a family."
"The Duanmu Family is also among the top-tier in the family factions. They have two Golden Core Ancestors. That Duanmu Ling is likely from the direct lineage of the Duanmu Family, which is why she could so easily promise an inner disciple spot."
Ning Fa suddenly understood. No wonder Duanmu Ling had a powerful subordinate like Feng Jue.
It turned out there were two Golden Core cultivators in the family, and they were likely not just early Golden Core, but possibly mid or late Golden Core.
Ning Zhongyuan sighed at this point, "Then it seems Qinghui will be going to the Huayu Sect. This is truly regrettable. I had hoped to arrange for you and Qinghui to become Dao Companions."
"And you won't be able to spend too much energy on Pill Refining in the future. It seems we'll need to select disciples with pill refining talent from within the family and cultivate them quickly. You'll have to work harder during this period."
Ning Fa nodded, while secretly thinking that this First Elder was indeed sharp-minded.
He knew about the conflict between Ning Fa and Ning Ruiming, so even though they were short of Pill Masters, he didn't mention Ning Fa's situation.
Clearly, he didn't want to displease Ning Fa because of it.
Ten days later, Ning Fa flew his Flying Carriage alone to the Xue Family's Cloud Crystal Island.
Duanmu Ling must have given them a heads-up, because when Ning Fa was still over a hundred miles from Cloud Crystal Island, he was discovered by the Xue Family guards.
Ning Fa was then politely escorted to Cloud Crystal Island.
Upon arriving at the island's dock, Xue Danping, whom he had met once before, was already waiting for him.
The woman sized Ning Fa up from head to toe, her eyes filled with confusion. She clearly couldn't understand why a Great Figure like Duanmu Ling would want to see Ning Fa.