Not long after, everyone emerged from a massive cave.
Ling Yue and the others were beaming with joy, clearly very satisfied with their haul.
Ling Yue's beautiful eyes darted around as she produced three Moonstones and offered them to Ning Fa.
She said with a light smile, "These two extra Moonstones are my thanks to fellow Daoist Ning."
Ning Fa happily accepted them.
He had worked so hard to help them obtain the Dark Flame Grass this time precisely because he guessed Ling Yue still had Moonstones.
As expected, Ling Yue was cooperative and produced two more.
Ning Fa couldn't help but ask, "Fellow Daoist Ling, could you tell me where one can obtain these Moonstones?"
Ling Yue's beautiful eyes flashed, but she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I only managed to obtain these Moonstones through my own fortunate encounters."
Ning Fa had a hunch she wasn't telling the truth, but he didn't press the issue.
Ling Yue said, "We will be returning directly to the Huayu Sect now. Take care, fellow Daoist Ning."
Ning Fa smiled. "I wish you all a safe journey. Perhaps we will meet again in the future."
Ling Yue gave a brilliant smile.
Zuo Guanglin and Kou Zhun watched Ning Fa with sour expressions, secretly thinking it would be better if they never met again.
Little did they know, Ning Fa wasn't lying.
He indeed had plans to head to the Huayu Sect after reaching Foundation Establishment.
Ling Yue was one of the reasons.
He was curious why he felt a sense of familiarity towards her.
Another reason was his intuition that he could find out the whereabouts of the Moonstones from her.
"Uncle Fa, stop staring like you're longing for them; they've already gone far away."
Xiao Yu popped out from the side, saying with a grin.
Immediately, she received a sharp rap on the head.
"Ah! That hurt!"
Xiao Yu clutched her head, crying out in pain.
Ning Fa said exasperatedly, "You begged me to bring you out, and you swore up and down that you'd find some good stuff. Where is this good stuff now?"
Xiao Yu snorted. "I've actually found quite a few spiritual items, but they're all first-tier, and I'm not interested in them right now."
After speaking, Xiao Yu's expression changed. She let out a soft "En?" "Uncle Fa, I actually seem to be sensing an unusual spiritual item now. This aura is very faint, but it gives me the feeling that its grade is very high."
Ning Fa looked at her suspiciously. "You're not just trying to amuse me, are you?"
"Oh, Uncle Fa, I'm not joking! I really feel it."
Xiao Yu said, both anxious and annoyed.
Ning Fa's eyes narrowed.
He suddenly believed her.
A faint yellow light flickered around Xiao Yu, and a Spiritual Beast Phantom appeared behind her.
If Ning Fa's divine sense hadn't been powerful, he wouldn't have noticed it at all.
Xiao Yu had clearly activated her bloodline power, likely a talent inherited from the spiritual beast that was the source of her bloodline.
"Xiao Yu, in which direction is that thing? What's its approximate grade?"
Xiao Yu frowned, hesitating. "I'm not very sure about the direction, but it's roughly to the south. I'm not sure about its grade, but it shouldn't be lower than second-tier, or perhaps even higher."
Hearing this, Ning Fa's eyes lit up.
Seeing that Xiao Yu still couldn't pinpoint the exact location, he decisively said, "Let's fly south, Xiao Yu. You focus on sensing it."
With that, Ning Fa summoned his Flying Boat and led the group south.
They had only flown a few miles when
A wooden boat flew towards them, propelled by a green directional light. It appeared to be in a great hurry.
The two flying boats met head-on.
Ning Fa's divine sense casually swept over them, and he let out a soft "En?"
There were two people on the wooden boat. He recognized one of them – a woman wearing a veil and a green dress.
It was the veiled woman who had been competing with Ling Yue and the others for the Azure Lotus Pill at the Tongbao Pavilion not long ago.
This woman had left a deep impression on Ning Fa.
Because he recognized her voice, he knew she was the mysterious woman who had spent a fortune at the Tongbao Pavilion auction.
However, her current state seemed less than ideal.
Although she was still veiled, her clothes were stained with blood, her aura was unstable, and she appeared to be severely injured and depleted of vital energy.
Her other companion was in an even worse condition.
This was a young man dressed in black mystic robes, with sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, and an incredibly handsome appearance.
However, his face was covered in a green mist, and wisps of green fog coiled around him. His aura was faint, as if he were suffering from a potent poison and on the verge of death.
Both of them also spotted Ning Fa and his group.
The veiled woman first showed a hint of surprise, clearly recognizing Ning Fa. Then, her starry eyes filled with vigilance.
She brandished a small, exquisite green longbow in her hand as a warning. Green light flickered on it, and a green arrow of light could form at any moment.
An incredibly powerful spiritual pressure emanated from the bow, making one's heart pound.
It even made Ning Fa feel a sense of threat.
This was definitely a top-tier item among top-grade magic artifacts.
Ning Fa watched them, his brow furrowed, but he made no move.
The two boats passed each other and separated.
The veiled woman let out a long sigh of relief.
Then, her aura fluctuated, and she couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood, staining the veil she wore red.
Gritting her silver teeth, she controlled the wooden boat and accelerated towards Black Rock Island, not far ahead.
"Stop!"
Ning Fa shouted. Ning Yunhui, who was piloting the flying boat, immediately stopped.
His eyes darted around, feeling like he had guessed the master's intention. He chuckled, "Hall Master, you wait here. We'll go snatch that fellow cultivator... ah, no, invite him."
Xiao Yu glanced at him with disdain, then looked at Ning Fa nervously.
She didn't want to see her cousin uncle do such a thing.
Ning Fa's expression, however, was very serious. He gestured for Ning Yunhui to stop talking.
Then, he turned to look in the direction the two had departed, his eyes flashing with brilliance.
Because just as the veiled woman had activated the longbow magic artifact, the Five Elements Thunder Mark within his body had suddenly reacted.
To be precise, it was the Wood Element Lightning Mark that reacted.
On the thunder rune pattern, a giant green tree materialized from nothingness. Countless green leaves rained down, transforming into streaks of green lightning.
Ning Fa's heart was filled with excitement.
He had had a similar experience before; the Water Element Lightning Mark had also shown an anomaly when he encountered Liu Qinghui.
After merging with Liu Qinghui, he had also triggered the Supreme Water Divine Thunder, also known as Dark Water Yin Thunder.
It was also his strongest technique currently.
Could this woman also possess a wood-element spiritual body like Liu Qinghui, thus causing such a reaction in Ning Fa's Wood Element Lightning Mark?
Or perhaps she had some special wood-element spiritual item on her person; that was also possible.
Ning Fa narrowed his eyes. No matter which possibility it was, he couldn't let it go.
He had to go verify it.
Just as Ning Fa was about to give chase, another flying boat approached.
A black flag hung from the flying boat, depicting a ferocious giant snake.
There were five people on the flying boat, all of them cultivators at the Late Qi Condensation stage.
The person in the lead wore armor, was short and stout, with a face like a ripe date. Although his appearance was ugly, his eyes gleamed with sharpness, giving him a rather imposing aura.
He was already at the Peak Qi Condensation stage.
Upon clearly seeing Ning Fa's group, especially the standard robes of Ning Fa's Blazing Wind Hall on Ning Fa and the others, the man's expression couldn't help but change slightly.
He cupped his hands towards Ning Fa, releasing a friendly gesture.
Just as this flying boat was about to pass by.
Ning Fa's gaze flashed, and he said calmly, "Are you fellow Daoists from the Chongyuan Society? Please stop for a moment."