"Daoist Ning, thank you for your all-out effort this time, saving the lives of so many Human Race compatriots."
Inside a grand and imposing hall, an elder in black bowed and thanked Ning Fa.
Ning Fa dared not delay, immediately rising and smiling humbly, "Senior Jizhao, you are too kind."
It had been over a month since he fought that Spirit Transformation Demon Cultivator, Ying Xiao. The retreating army they were part of had now crossed over a million miles, arriving in the eastern region of the Chiyang Sea.
This was precisely the defensive stronghold that the Tianshu Alliance had painstakingly built over the years, named Zhenhai City.
As soon as Ning Fa arrived at Zhenhai City, Wen Yuchen immediately appeared and brought him to meet this elder in black. This person was none other than the First Elder of Taichu Gate – Venerable Jizhao.
At this moment, Wen Yuchen, standing beside them, couldn't help but ask, "Daoist Ning, that Ying Xiao... was he really killed by you?"
Upon hearing this, even Venerable Jizhao's cloudy eyes cleared completely, and he stared intently at Ning Fa with a sharp gaze.
When Ning Fa and Ying Xiao fought, there were people from Taichu Gate nearby. One Nascent Soul cultivator had even secretly used an Imprint Pearl to record the scene.
Although they had already confirmed the outcome, they couldn't help but ask Ning Fa for confirmation again.
After all, such an event was too shocking. Even an established Spirit Transformation cultivator like Venerable Jizhao, who had lived for over two thousand years, found it hard to believe.
Ning Fa's thoughts shifted slightly, and he nodded decisively, "That's right, Ying Xiao was indeed killed by me."
Hearing Ning Fa's confirmation, Wen Yuchen, a Spirit Transformation cultivator, had an incredibly complex expression on his face.
He knew very well how powerful Ying Xiao was. He had participated in the ambush against this demon hundreds of years ago.
He had a deep and unforgettable memory of this demon's ferocity and strength.
To think that such a powerful Spirit Transformation demon was killed by Ning Fa, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, fighting him one-on-one, was something he found hard to believe and accept.
"Good! Good! Good!"
Venerable Jizhao laughed heartily, his face filled with relief. "At this critical juncture for our Human Race, having someone like Daoist Ning with such formidable Divine Abilities is truly a blessing for our Human Race."
As he spoke, he asked with great anticipation, "Daoist Ning, according to the information we received, the Divine Ability you used at the end was extremely powerful. Can it also be used against other Spirit Transformation demon cultivators or Spirit Transformation Sea Race members?"
Ning Fa smiled helplessly upon hearing this, "Senior Jizhao, you flatter me too much. The cost of using that special Divine Ability is extremely high for me. I cannot use it again in a short period, or I would have to pay a heavy price."
Here, Ning Fa deliberately spoke vaguely.
He had no idea what the domineering Divine Ability of the Thunderwood was, let alone how to use it again.
His words were intended to make these two Spirit Transformation cultivators believe that as long as he wished, he could still use that Divine Ability again.
This way, once the news spread, it would undoubtedly become a powerful deterrent to other Spirit Transformation cultivators.
Upon hearing this, Venerable Jizhao and Wen Yuchen exchanged glances, both showing a hint of disappointment. However, Ning Fa also keenly observed that a subtle look of relief flickered in their eyes.
He couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. As expected.
Ying Xiao's death had also placed considerable pressure on their own Spirit Transformation cultivators. That's why, after hearing his answer, these two Spirit Transformation cultivators showed such conflicted expressions.
Venerable Jizhao then said solemnly, "Regardless, your strength, Daoist Ning, is already comparable to ours as Spirit Transformation cultivators. This is an undeniable fact.
Therefore, starting from today, you no longer need to address us as seniors. You can interact with us as equals.
Furthermore, you will now be qualified to directly participate in the highest meetings of our Human Race allied forces' Spirit Transformation cultivators.
You will also have voting rights on major strategic decisions. I believe other Daoist friends will not object to this."
Ning Fa's expression shifted slightly. This was indeed good news. He was essentially entering the highest decision-making echelon of the Human Race.
Of course, Ning Fa also understood that besides the strength he had displayed, the key factor was the Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant behind him.
"From now on, Zhenhai City will be our Human Race's most crucial defensive position against the Sea Race and other demons. We are bound to face fierce enemy offensives. We will still need to rely on your and Daoist Tianbao's assistance in the future."
Venerable Jizhao said earnestly.
Ning Fa said in a deep voice, "Resisting the invasion of alien races is the duty of our Human Race's high-level cultivators. I will naturally not shrink back."
Hearing this, Venerable Jizhao and Wen Yuchen both smiled with satisfaction.
The two sides discussed for a while longer. Ning Fa also learned from them that many high-level cultivators from Great Qin and Tianwu had arrived in Zhenhai City, including some from the Qianyuan Merchant Alliance.
He couldn't help but feel a surge of joy in his heart and soon rose to take his leave.
After Ning Fa left, the hall fell into silence.
Wen Yuchen's eyes flickered as he said, "Senior Brother, what do you think? That domineering Divine Ability of Daoist Ning, can it really only be used once?"
Venerable Jizhao slowly replied, "I believe that even if there are some discrepancies in what Daoist Ning said, it should be roughly accurate.
Such a domineering Divine Ability cannot be used without restriction; there must be significant limitations.
But what concerns me more is the Divine Wood Totem he displayed. After all, according to the Imprint Pearl, that Divine Ability was emitted from his Divine Wood Totem. Could it be that he is truly a hidden member of the Zi Yin clan?"
As he spoke, Venerable Jizhao and Wen Yuchen's expressions turned somewhat grim.
After a long while, Venerable Jizhao looked at the white clouds outside the window and said slowly, "Regardless, the Sea Race is our immediate great enemy now. Everything else can wait."
At this time, Ning Fa had already left the spiritual mountain, over a thousand feet high, where the palace was located. The Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant followed behind him, not too fast, not too slow.
Ning Fa surveyed his surroundings, his spiritual sense spreading out comprehensively. A look of astonishment involuntarily appeared in his eyes.
This Zhenhai City was truly vast, arguably the largest city he had ever seen. It stretched over eight hundred li from north to south and nearly two thousand li from east to west.
Moreover, at this very moment, a large number of cultivators were busy with construction within the city, building defensive facilities or setting up array formations.
The defensive barriers within the city were also ubiquitous. Every area was covered by at least ten different types of defensive barriers, all of which were at least fourth-grade.
What was most awe-inspiring were the colossal trees planted every few dozen li throughout the city.
These giant trees varied in height, the shortest being over two hundred zhang and the tallest exceeding a thousand zhang. Their entire bodies were emerald green and crystal clear like jade.
If viewed from high above, the entire Zhenhai City looked as if it were built within a dense forest.
The surfaces of the giant trees bore mysterious patterns, whether naturally formed or later inscribed. Streams of light flowed within them, converging on the branches and leaves.
As the green leaves swayed gently, streaks of green light emanated from the giant trees, connecting with the light from other trees and spreading out to infinity.
An area of a thousand li centered on Zhenhai City was enveloped by this faint green light.
Ning Fa felt an absolute suppressive force within this green light.
Although he could sense the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, it felt as if there were a thousand mountains and rivers separating them, making it impossible to mobilize.
Ning Fa looked up, piercing through the green light. High in the sky, nine colossal objects resembling mountain peaks floated at an altitude of over two thousand zhang, like nine stars.
Even without activating, they already emitted terrifying spiritual power fluctuations. Even from this distance, Ning Fa felt a tremor of fear.
Myriad Sacred Tree, Nine Palaces Vast Star Array.
Ning Fa murmured these names, a look of solemnity on his face.
This was the foundation of the Tianshu Alliance, and it could be called the most top-tier defensive measure in this world. Its strongest ability was to restrict the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy within a certain area.
This way, it could prevent the enemy's Spirit Transformation cultivators from using their powerful Innate Divine Abilities to attack the city.
Although their own Spirit Transformation cultivators would also be restricted, the degree would be much lighter, thus offsetting the enemy's significant advantage.
Ning Fa sighed inwardly. The Tianshu Alliance was indeed a powerful force that had ruled the Nine Dragons Sea for ten thousand years, with extraordinary foundations. This also gave him a bit more confidence.
Next, Ning Fa identified the direction and flew unhurriedly towards the northwest.
From his recent conversation with Wen Yuchen, he learned that the cultivators from Great Qin and Tianwu were housed in the northwestern part of the city.
He planned to first contact the people from the Qianyuan Merchant Alliance and inquire about the status of the Xiyuan Divine Soil.
Along the way, Ning Fa took out a small white Mystic Disc, intending to ask about Ning An's situation.
Previously, Ning An and Ning Huarong had acted with the people from Fu Ling Hall to support the front lines.
However, with the unexpected fall of Sky Sparrow City, the Tianshu Alliance had abandoned the two sea regions of Five Spirits Sea and Leiming Sea. Thus, they had retreated to Zhenhai City even earlier than Ning Fa.
As soon as Ning Fa sent his message, Ning An's anxious voice came from the Mystic Disc: "Father, you've also arrived at Zhenhai City? That's great! Aunt Rong is in danger, she's been captured!"
Upon hearing this, Ning Fa's sword-like eyebrows immediately furrowed, a murderous aura flashed around him, and he vanished in an instant amidst crackling lightning.
A hundred li away, on a wide street in Zhenhai City, a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion was anxiously pacing back and forth.
Just then, with a flash of lightning in front of him, a figure suddenly appeared – it was Ning Fa.
"Xiao An?" Ning Fa's sword-like eyebrows knitted.
Upon seeing Ning Fa's arrival, the sallow-faced man's face lit up with joy: "Father!"
Before he could finish speaking, he reached out and wiped his face. With a shift of spiritual light, his appearance changed to another handsome young face, that of Ning An.
Conspicuously, Ning An's face still bore traces of bruises and contusions, indicating he had been injured.
Ning Fa glanced up and noticed several more severe injuries on Ning An's chest and back.
Ning Fa's brows darkened. Ning An possessed high-grade Recovery Elixirs, yet he was still in this state, indicating his injuries were not minor.
"Xiao An, what happened?" Ning Fa's voice remained calm, but a storm of anger was brewing in his eyes.
"A few days ago, Aunt Rong and I had a conflict with a female Nascent Soul cultivator at the Seven Marvels Pavilion in the city.
She took a liking to a fourth-grade Spiritual Grass that Aunt Rong had just bought and wanted to forcibly purchase it from her, acting very arrogantly.
As a result, Aunt Rong and she got into a fight, and both sides suffered losses. The Spiritual Grass ultimately wasn't given to her.
However, that Nascent Soul female cultivator had an unusual background, so for the past few days, I've been advising Aunt Rong to stay at the inn and wait for Senior Murong and the others to return from their mission on Ling'an Island before making any plans.
But a day ago, we were set up.
Someone contacted Aunt Rong, saying they had another Spiritual Grass she urgently needed.
I was a bit worried at first, but the place they mentioned for the transaction was a shop directly operated by Taichu Gate, so Aunt Rong and I went.
It turned out to be a trap. Several high-level cultivators were ambushed there, and Aunt Rong was directly captured. I managed to escape using the Flying Spirit Shuttle you gave me."
Ning An said quickly.
Ning Fa's sword-like eyebrows tightened, and the murderous aura in his eyes intensified.
These people were truly audacious, daring to ambush others even within Zhenhai City!
He now understood why Ning An had disguised himself and why he hadn't reported the matter to the Zhenhai City Guard.
Setting up an ambush in a shop directly operated by Taichu Gate was enough to indicate that the female Nascent Soul cultivator had a close relationship with Taichu Gate.
Moreover, he had previously bestowed numerous life-saving trump cards upon Ning An and Ning Huarong. Even when facing a late Nascent Soul great cultivator, they should have been able to escape with ease. Yet, seeing him in this state, it was clear that the female Nascent Soul cultivator had an extraordinary background.
But no matter who it was, if they dared to harm someone close to him, they had to be prepared to face double the retribution.
"Xiao An, do you know where Hua Rong is now?" he immediately asked.
"When Aunt Rong helped me escape last, she gave me one of her magic treasures. Based on its readings, Aunt Rong should be at Fu Ling Garden in the city right now."
As Ning An spoke, he immediately produced a small, red, knife-like magic treasure. Its spiritual light flickered as it pointed towards the northwest.
"Good, wait for me here."
Ning Fa said, then took out the Star Transmission Disk that Wen Yuchen had given him earlier, sent a quick message, and vanished in a flash of lightning.
At the same time, on the northwestern edge of Zhenhai City, there was a mountain range stretching for hundreds of miles. The scenery was beautiful, and the spiritual energy concentration was extremely high, at least at the Fourth-grade Mid-tier.
At regular intervals, there were cave mansions or grand halls, like a place of immortals.
This was precisely where Zhenhai City's Fu Ling Garden was located, a residence specifically for high-level cultivators.
At this moment, in a courtyard nestled by the mountains and water, a series of thuds could be heard.
A woman with black clothes and purple hair was bound tightly and forced to kneel on the ground.
Her entire body was restrained by a pale yellow spiritual rope. As the spiritual light flickered, the rope had already dug into her flesh, emitting sizzling white smoke, as if burning her very being.
In front of her stood a burly woman, about ten feet tall, with a face full of coarse flesh.
The Bloodline Power emanating from this woman was incredibly strong, even causing the surrounding void to distort hazily. She was a rare Fourth-grade Body Cultivator.
She wielded a black long whip covered in barbs, whipping the woman repeatedly.
With the piercing sound of the whip cutting through the air, deep lash marks appeared on the woman's body. Her clothes were tattered and torn, and her exposed skin was already a bloody mess, a horrific sight.
Yet, despite her face being covered in blood and grime, her defiant spirit was undeniable. She acted as if the bone-piercing lashes were nonexistent, instead laughing maniacally, "Are you not full? With just this much strength, it's not even as good as a tickle!"
This woman was none other than Ning Huarong.
The burly woman was instantly enraged, swinging her whip with even greater force. Ning Huarong, however, remained unfazed, continuing her taunts and curses with every lash.
Amidst the sounds of whipping, several people on the other side of the courtyard watched with indifferent expressions.
Leading them was a young woman in a green dress, graceful in posture, with skin like jade and a face as alluring as a fox's. Her beauty was rarely seen in the world.
At this moment, she sat on a rattan chair, elegantly picking up crystal-clear grapes from a fruit platter on the table with her right hand and popping them into her mouth, a faint smile on her face as if she were admiring a scenic view.
This woman was at the Mid Nascent Soul realm.
Beside her, a maid-like girl held a white fan, gently fanning her.
The maid looked at Ning Huarong, who was barely recognizable, a hint of worry on her face. She whispered, "Miss, is that enough? If you continue to beat her, Ning Huarong might truly die.
If that happens, it might backfire and make an irreconcilable enemy of that person."
Before the maid could finish speaking, the beautiful woman shot her a glance, and the maid immediately fell silent.
The woman in green snorted, "So what if that person comes looking for us? Would he dare to lay a hand on me?"
As she spoke, she looked at Ning Huarong again, a murderous glint in her eyes.
With a flick of her finger, a ball of spiritual light flew to the burly woman's front, revealing a pale green pill with a rich medicinal aroma. It was a Fourth-grade healing pill, the Spring Overgrowth Pill.
"Give this pill to her, and then continue the beating."
The woman in green said with a light laugh, her words carrying a cruel intent.