Facing this senior council member of the Sea Race, even the somewhat unruly Lor was standing obediently to the side.
Another senior council member, Hathaway, glanced at Ning Fa and transmitted a message to Freya: "With so many of us, why don't we just go forward and take this person down? Why bother with this 'trapping a turtle in a jar' scheme."
Freya's expression was calm: "Firstly, we're not sure if this place allows us to fight amongst ourselves.
Secondly, even with our superior numbers, killing or capturing Ning Fa won't be easy. Instead, it might alert him and cause him to directly exit this Heavenly Pool, so let's stick to the original plan.
Furthermore, the situation here is indeed as Aize prophesied with the help of the Ancestral Sea's power. Therefore, Ning Fa should also head to that spiritual realm. We just need to wait. Alright, let's move."
With that, she slightly moved her lips and transmitted a few words. Then, without hesitation, her escape light flashed, and she flew towards one of the vortex spiritual realms.
The Sea Race cultivators beside her also dispersed, flying towards the other seven vortex spiritual realms.
Next, a group of Cloud Break Demon Race cultivators, led by Yuan Gang, Feng Zhao, and Jin Yao, after a brief exchange of low whispers, transformed into four beams of escape light and flew towards the vortex spiritual realms they had already chosen.
In the blink of an eye, only a dozen or so people, including Ning Fa, remained at the scene.
Ning Fa rubbed his chin. Although it seemed like these enemies had given up their encirclement, for some reason, he felt something was amiss.
Just then, a whistling sound of wind breaking came from behind, and three more beams of escape light arrived.
Ning Fa swept them with his Spiritual Sense and discovered it was Ning Daozhen, Dan Hongzi, and Xiao Han. His expression softened, and he felt relieved.
"Why are you only arriving now? And how did you get permission from those Spirit Transformation Cultivators?" Ning Fa immediately transmitted his Spiritual Sense to ask Ning Daozhen.
"Just a small trade," the three replied as they arrived in an instant. Ning Daozhen, while answering, looked at the giant peak before him with shock.
"This is... Thousand Vortex Spirit Mountain! The Ancestor was right! The Soul Nurturing Divine Spring should be on this mountain!" Ning Daozhen exclaimed with joy. Dan Hongzi and Xiao Han felt the same.
Soon, all three of them shifted their expressions, clearly having received the mysterious transmission and learned about the trial situation of the Thousand Vortex Spirit Mountain.
Ning Daozhen immediately turned to Ning Fa and said, "The Soul Nurturing Divine Spring should be on a higher level of this Spirit Mountain. Let's split up for now and regroup when we reach our destination."
Ning Fa nodded. A flash of lightning surged around him, and he transformed into hundreds of silver lightning threads, as fine as ox hair, scattering towards hundreds of vortex spiritual realms.
Ning Daozhen and the other two exchanged glances. Then, a smile appeared on Ning Daozhen's face: "He's quite cautious. It seems he doesn't want anyone to know which vortex spiritual realm he's heading to. Let's go too."
After speaking, the three of them transformed into a beam of escape light and flew towards one of the vortexes.
Meanwhile, Ning Fa's vision flashed, and he found himself in another unfamiliar place.
Before he could even examine his surroundings, he suddenly felt his body grow heavy and began to fall.
Ning Fa was startled and realized that all his magical power was unusable. He was now falling downwards at an ever-increasing speed.
However, Ning Fa remained unfazed. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he suddenly slammed his palm downwards. With a surge of powerful air, the ground beneath him was blasted into a deep pit. Ning Fa used the recoil force to land lightly on the ground.
A hint of surprise flickered in Ning Fa's eyes. He now realized that not only his magical power but even his Spiritual Sense was severely restricted, only able to extend about a hundred zhang from his body. However, his vital energy was not bound.
Coupled with the fact that the Spiritual Material listed in the spiritual realm number thirty-seven was the Nine-Orifice Spirit Heart Lotus, a famous Body Refining Spiritual Material.
Ning Fa had an epiphany. It seemed this spiritual realm might only allow the use of Body Cultivator techniques, hence the reward listed was also related to Body Cultivation.
"This is interesting."
Ning Fa muttered to himself and then looked around.
The place he was in was covered in barren stones, with no vegetation at all. In the distance, at the edge of his vision, a towering mountain stood majestically.
Ning Fa no longer hesitated. He immediately channeled his vital energy and sprinted towards the mountain like lightning.
Only faint afterimages of him flickered consecutively, his speed no less than that of high-level cultivators using escape light.
In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Ning Fa had traveled hundreds of miles and finally reached the foot of the mountain.
The mountain was entirely dark, about a thousand zhang tall, with faint rays of auspicious light flickering at its summit.
Ning Fa looked at the peak thoughtfully. It seemed the final reward for this spiritual realm was likely at the summit.
Then he looked at a certain spot on the mountainside.
At a height of a hundred zhang on the mountain, two figures were climbing.
Ning Fa recognized them as cultivators from the Tianwu Cultivation World.
Furthermore, from his previous interactions with the Great Qin cultivators, Ning Fa knew that these two hailed from a very special sect in the Tianwu Cultivation World called the Origin Martial Sect.
The reason this sect was special was that it was a pure Body Cultivation sect, which was extremely rare in the current cultivation world.
It was no wonder these two Origin Martial Sect cultivators had headed straight for this spiritual realm; the temptation of the Body Refining sacred item, the Nine-Orifice Spirit Heart Lotus, was clearly significant for them.
Ning Fa also noticed that the climbing speed of these two Origin Martial Sect cultivators was not fast, as if they were carrying heavy burdens. This was clearly unusual for them, being Fourth-grade Body Cultivators.
Ning Fa mused, realizing that climbing this mountain was not going to be easy.
He no longer thought about it and chose an angle, beginning to climb the mountain.
As expected, the moment Ning Fa set foot on the mountain, he felt a tremendous force pressing down on him.
It was manageable at first, but the higher he climbed, the greater the oppressive force became.
By the time Ning Fa had climbed over a hundred zhang, he was bearing a gravitational force of hundreds of thousands of jin.
However, for Ning Fa, this was nothing, and his upward progress remained steady.
Over there, the two Origin Martial Sect cultivators consisted of a bald, burly man and a short, stout fellow.
Their cultivation realms were also very high, both at the peak of the Mid Nascent Soul stage. Considering their identity as Body Cultivators, their strength was already comparable to the weakest Great Cultivators.
Ning Fa's sudden appearance midway surprised both of them; they clearly hadn't expected it.
After all, among the many cultivators who had entered the Abyssal Heavenly Pool, they had believed themselves to be the only Body Cultivators, and thus the only ones interested in the Nine-Orifice Spirit Heart Lotus.
They exchanged glances, each seeing the wariness in the other's eyes.
Judging by Ning Fa's speed, they realized his Body Cultivation realm was likely not weaker than theirs.
Without hesitation, they unleashed their blood and qi, their bodies enveloped in a faint Gang Qi. Their climbing speed instantly surged.
Several hours passed, and all three had reached the mountainside.
Ning Fa remained unfazed, his steps swift and steady, while the two Origin Martial Sect cultivators were beginning to fall behind.
Their expressions darkened. The bald cultivator's lips moved, and a Spiritual Sense Transmission reached the other: "This person's Body Refining strength might surpass both of ours. What should we do?"
The short, stout cultivator's small, beady eyes flashed with a sinister light. "That Nine-Orifice Spirit Heart Lotus is extremely important to my brother and me. We can't give up. So, don't hesitate any longer. Take the Blood Burst Pill."
The bald cultivator, however, looked reluctant. At this point, the short, stout cultivator had already taken out a blood-colored pill and swallowed it without a second thought. The bald cultivator could only sigh and do the same.
Soon, intense blood qi erupted from them, condensing without dissipating.
Following this, the blood qi solidified into a layer of blood-colored armor around them. Their auras surged dramatically, barely reaching the level of Great Cultivators.
The immense force acting upon them seemed to be ignored as they charged towards Ning Fa like bolts of lightning.
Ning Fa also stopped and looked their way, a cold glint in his eyes.
"Since you're seeking death, don't blame me."
He sneered and immediately mobilized his powerful blood and qi, unleashing rapid punches.
With a series of explosive sounds, hundreds of silvery fist shadows appeared in the air in an instant, hurtling towards the charging pair.
Mountain rocks flew, and deep gouges were carved into the mountainside along their path.
But with two sharp cries, the two Origin Martial Sect cultivators' bodies erupted in blood-red light.
Then, within the blood-red light, they transformed into a blood-colored spear and a blood-colored great axe, respectively.
Exuding the powerful Spiritual Pressure of Spirit Treasures, they shattered the incoming fist waves and charged at Ning Fa.
"Body Transformation into Weapon!"
Ning Fa couldn't help but show a hint of solemnity.
From the introductions by the Great Qin cultivators earlier, he had heard that the signature Divine Ability of Origin Martial Sect Body Cultivators was this Body Transformation into Weapon technique.
It could also be seen as a unique Heavenly Law Manifestation, with even more extreme offensive power.
Seeing it firsthand now, it truly lived up to its reputation.
However, Ning Fa sneered, and a sound like roaring rivers emanated from within him. His body immediately began to grow, transforming into a thunderous giant over ten zhang tall.
He was clad in purple armor and wore a thunder crown, revealing the complete Divine Firmament Thunder Armor Set.
Mysterious thunder patterns flowed and flickered across the armor's surface, pulsing with lightning like a breath.
Behind Ning Fa, a wheel of lightning spun ceaselessly, and the aura he emitted surged.
He raised both hands, and the flowing light from the thunder patterns on his body converged towards his gauntlets, becoming like two purple suns, causing the lightning wheel behind him to spin rapidly.
Then, Ning Fa charged forward like a flash of lightning.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of violent roars echoed as Ning Fa clashed with the two Origin Martial Sect Body Cultivators who had transformed into weapons.
Furious shockwaves erupted, and Gang Qi scattered, causing the void to ripple like a lake disturbed by a falling boulder.
In a short span, they had exchanged over a thousand blows, and the surrounding mountains were scarred and ravaged.
Gradually, the blood-colored spear and blood-colored great axe began to falter. Their surfaces flashed with blood-red light, and even cracks started to appear.