With a flash of purple lightning, the Divine Firmament Manifestation appeared.
It let out a roar, and a wave of sound, as if solid, rippled outwards.
These countless golden wind blades and crimson fire feathers dissolved into nothingness amidst the violent sonic wave.
At the same time, the Divine Firmament Manifestation raised the Heaven-Shattering Sword, now several zhang in size, with both hands.
Its surface shimmered with intense five-colored lightning, black and purple spiritual flames flickered, and the outermost layer glowed with the True Meaning of the Sword Dao.
The Heaven-Shattering Sword exuded an extremely terrifying spiritual pressure.
The Divine Firmament Manifestation swung the sword fiercely, and a streak of light, bright as day, shot across.
Immediately after, a late-stage fourth-tier Sea Race cultivator nearby was cleaved in two from top to bottom.
A demon infant resembling a black bear frantically flew out, but an indescribable immense force was applied to it, preventing it from even using its teleportation technique.
It then lost control of itself, flying into the Divine Firmament Manifestation's hand in the blink of an eye, along with its storage ring.
"Damn it!"
Feng Zhao, Jin Yao, and Yuan Gang, three powerful cultivators of the Demon Race, were enraged. They charged at Ning Fa like madmen, but Ning Fa had already vanished with a flash of lightning.
Ten breaths later, another scream echoed.
This time, it wasn't a Demon Race cultivator who suffered, but another Great Cultivator of Tianli.
This person was not weak, already approaching a mid-level Great Cultivator.
However, with Ning Fa unleashing the power of a top-tier Great Cultivator, and especially with this person already suffering from a Divine Soul Attack, they were no match and were directly killed by Ning Fa.
At this point, only Su Rihe, Mei Danlun, and another elder from the Holy Temple remained among the Tianli cultivators who had entered this spiritual realm, and they were all in their Nascent Soul forms.
Thus, Ning Fa, unleashing his full power, was like the god of death in the dark night, using the jellyfish's divine soul attacks as cover, appearing intermittently to reap these enemies.
Screams continued to sound, and cultivators from all three factions fell one after another.
At this moment, the dense tentacles in this body of water finally thinned out.
With a flash of lightning nearby, the Divine Firmament Manifestation appeared.
It condensed another Heavenly Punishment Thunder Spear in its hand, then hurled it fiercely at Yuan Gang. The Divine Firmament Manifestation then unhesitatingly flew towards the entrance.
A world-shattering scream came from behind. Amidst the violent purple lightning, the left arm of the yellow giant ape was almost severed.
A short while later, the surface of the vortex in spiritual realm No. 230 flashed with spiritual light, revealing Ning Fa's figure.
His face was pale, and his aura was severely weakened. His magical power, vital energy, and soul power were all greatly depleted.
But he glanced back at the vortex with a smile.
This "closing the door to beat the dog" strategy had yielded immense results. Seven Sea Race cultivators died, and five each from Tianli and the Demon Race perished, totaling seventeen.
This included six Great Cultivators, and even a high-level Great Cultivator like Aruoye. If this were to get out, it would be an absolutely shocking and terrifying record.
Of course, without the help of those strange jellyfish, Ning Fa alone could not have achieved such brilliant results.
However, it was their mission to attack the cultivators who entered the spiritual realm.
Moreover, Ning Fa had collected most of the storage rings and even the Nascent Souls of the fallen cultivators. This was an astonishing fortune and also provided nearly a thousand Third-Tier Origin Points for the Source-Crossing Heavenly Book.
In fact, if Ning Fa had been willing to use a few more trump cards.
For example, using the Great Immortal Extermination Bead or the Supreme Clarity Five Thunder Talisman, he could have definitely achieved even greater results.
But these methods were his trump cards against Spirit Transformation Cultivators, so he naturally couldn't use them easily.
Furthermore, individuals like Feng Zhao and others held noble identities and surely possessed life-saving items bestowed by their clan's Spirit Transformation Ancestors. They were definitely not easy to kill, which was why Ning Fa hadn't been fixated on killing Yuan Gang just now.
Ning Fa popped several elixirs into his mouth while looking up at a vortex somewhere above, specifically spiritual realm No. 168, which contained Heavenly Jade Divine Milk that held considerable allure for him.
Ning Fa hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. With a flash of lightning around his body, he transformed into numerous lightning threads and shot towards the surrounding vortices.
Soon, the surface of the vortex flashed with spiritual light again, and several figures appeared one after another.
They were Feng Zhao, Jin Yao, Yuan Gang, Freya, and other powerful cultivators, their expressions extremely grim.
"This is the ambush you guaranteed?!
Why were we ambushed by him instead!
What were you guys doing! You need to give us an explanation today!"
Yuan Gang, his eyes bloodshot, roared at Freya with killing intent all over his face.
His left arm was almost severed. Although Yuan Gang had taken precious recovery elixirs and possessed the terrifying recovery abilities of his Three-Eyed Heavenly Ape race.
Even so, strange lightning power erupted from the wound, hindering the healing process.
Feng Zhao and Jin Yao also glared at Freya and the other Sea Race cultivators with unconcealed fury.
"We also need an explanation!"
As spiritual light flashed, Su Rihe and Mei Danlun also flew over, saying with equally ashen faces.
Their losses from Tianli were even more severe. Among the five who died, four were Great Cultivators!
And it also included Aruoye, one of the Holy Witches.
They had no idea how they would face their own people upon their return.
Freya's eyes also blazed with furious anger, but she still took a deep breath and gritted her teeth.
"Who knew he could control such a bizarre entity? And our Sea Race suffered no fewer casualties.
But now is not the time for finger-pointing. We need to figure out how to find Ning Fa!"
After speaking, she looked at Spiritual Realm #168 again and gritted her teeth.
"There's something very important to him in that spiritual realm. He definitely won't give it up. He's very likely to enter it now. There's no time to waste, let's pursue him."
With that, she took the lead and flew towards Spiritual Realm #168. The cultivators from the Demon Race and Tianli exchanged glances and followed without hesitation.
However, in reality, Ning Fa had already appeared in Spiritual Realm #62, which was quite a distance away.
This was a vast, dense green forest, offering only two Vortex Spirit Pearls and a spiritual herb called Crystal Yuan Ganoderma. It was a common Tier 1 spiritual realm.
Although Crystal Yuan Ganoderma was also a Tier 4 spiritual herb, it was not as rare as the spiritual items provided by other spiritual realms, so no one paid it any attention.
The reason Ning Fa chose this place was to recover his condition as quickly as possible.
After all, in the Heavenly Pool, he was surrounded by enemies, with no room for error. He had to proceed with caution.
Therefore, Ning Fa didn't rush to explore the center of the dense forest. Instead, he found a hidden spot on the periphery to recover and heal.
Meanwhile, deep within the waters of Spiritual Realm #168.
The turbulent currents finally subsided slowly. Jellyfish tentacles, like wisps of cloud, floated in the water, along with dark red blood and fragments of cultivators' limbs.
Just then, the water rippled, and a nearly transparent figure slowly emerged.
Although her face was unclear, her eyes were very bright. Judging by her graceful, slender figure with its alluring curves, she was clearly a woman.
The woman flipped her right hand, producing a blue bottle. A faint blue halo emanated from the bottle, instantly enveloping the area.
The mixed essence blood in the water, and even the corpses or fragments of the dead cultivators, were drawn into the blue bottle.
The mysterious woman looked up towards the exit, her gaze flickering.
"The item on that person could cause me to react like this. Could it be... he also possesses a Primordial Realm Pearl? What a coincidence?" she murmured, her tone a mixture of surprise and confusion.
"And for a mere Mid Nascent Soul cultivator to possess such formidable combat power, and even make the Soul-Piercing Thunder Hound submit directly? Could he truly possess the legendary Great Five Elements Thunder Body?
And the aura of another treasure on him is also very familiar to me...
If that's the case, he might be a more suitable candidate... but he appeared too late...
However, it seems a shame to give up on someone like this. Perhaps I can test him in the second layer of spiritual realms..."
As the woman spoke, her voice gradually lowered, and her figure melted back into the water, disappearing once more.
The next moment, in another mysterious space.
This was also a deep blue body of water, where a cerulean spirit beast was suspended on the surface of the sea.
It was about ten feet long, resembling neither a cow nor a horse. Its body was covered in dark blue scales the size of copper coins, and it had a single horn on its head, making it appear exceptionally majestic.
Although it seemed somewhat illusory, not quite solid, an unimaginably powerful pressure, as if it surpassed heaven and earth, emanated from it.
The water's surface shimmered, and the mysterious woman's figure reappeared.
With a wave of her fair hand, the blue bottle flew towards the spirit beast.
The spirit beast opened its eyes, parted its large mouth, and swallowed the blue bottle. Soon, a blue light flashed intensely across its surface, and its form became slightly more solid.
At this moment, it licked its lips, looking unsatisfied, and rumbled, "The lifeforms whose essence blood this is were of too low a realm. It offered little help to me.
If I could have absorbed those few Spirit Transformation cultivators from outside, it would have been much more beneficial for my vital energy recovery."
The mysterious woman's expression was calm. "Even if I let them in, can you defeat them if they combine their strength?"
The spirit beast's expression faltered, and it said sheepishly, "It's all because of my fight with that guy that I expended so much power.
Otherwise, even if I were just a drop of essence blood from my true form, why would I even bother with mere Spirit Transformation cultivators?"
As it spoke, its expression turned agitated again.
"I can't wait any longer. As time passes, the possibility of that guy absorbing and refining my true form increases.
Why don't you let me out now and let me devour all these trial participants? It would allow me to recover more vital energy."
The mysterious woman knitted her brows. "I've told you before, once these trialists enter the Heavenly Pool, they are imprinted with the mark of the Abyssal Clan.
Only the power within the spiritual realms of the Heavenly Pool can harm them. If you dare to act recklessly, you will be utterly annihilated by the power left behind by the Master.
Moreover, when dealing with that person later, these trialists will be an important force.
Do not act rashly. You've already waited for so long, you can afford to wait a little longer."
The spirit beast stomped its hooves, causing waves to surge around it. It appeared extremely enraged, but in the end, it nodded. "Alright, I'll listen to you."