Ning Daozhen was silent for a moment. "Alright, but I hope you can promise that if we cooperate with you and obtain that treasure, you must remove our restrictions. Otherwise, I'd rather die right now."
Ning Fa thought about it. If they could really get that treasure, it wouldn't hurt to let these two go. He nodded in agreement.
Then, Ning Fa performed a ritual, placing a soul restriction on the two of them.
Dan Hongzi smiled bitterly but also breathed a sigh of relief.
Ning Daozhen suddenly said, "What do you plan to do with Ying Zhen? Killing him will be very troublesome."
"It's come to this point, I definitely can't let him live," Ning Fa said with killing intent.
Ning Daozhen thought for a moment and said, "I know a secret technique that might be able to block Ying Zhen's grandfather's soul mark. Leave his Nascent Soul to me."
Ning Fa couldn't help but be moved and immediately let Ning Daozhen begin the ritual.
Not long after, in a blood-colored altar set up by Ning Daozhen, Ying Zhen's Nascent Soul was swallowed by the blazing blood flames emanating from the altar.
Ning Daozhen carefully sensed it and then nodded to Ning Fa. "It seems the technique worked. I didn't detect the soul mark on me."
Ning Fa also breathed a sigh of relief. It was better to resolve it this way.
Then, Ning Fa walked to the ancient well with a smile. This time, no other accidents occurred. Ning Fa successfully extracted all the Soul Derivation Divine Spring from the ancient well, filling more than a dozen purifying bottles.
He figured that with so much Soul Derivation Divine Spring, it would be enough to cultivate his Moon God Heart to the Moon Soul Crystal Core stage.
Ning Fa thought for a moment and threw two of the purifying bottles to Ning Daozhen, as he still needed this person to repair his soul injuries and obtain that treasure.
As for the cultivation method for the Nascent Soul Dharma Form, he had already learned it during the soul searching.
At this moment, a flash of spiritual light appeared in the sky, and a gate of light slowly materialized.
Ning Fa and the others rested on the spot for several hours before stepping through.
The scene shifted, and Ning Fa found himself in another location. He immediately became alert and surveyed his surroundings.
After all, it seemed the trial in the Thousand Vortex Spirit Mountain had completely ended, and next, they would have to face Ancestor Yuan. This made him feel nervous.
Ning Fa scanned his surroundings, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
He was currently hovering at a low altitude over a lake. About a hundred feet in front of him stood a beautiful, incredibly luxurious white palace.
Ning Fa immediately realized that this must be the lake and palace on the mountaintop he had seen on the third level.
With two whooshing sounds beside him, Ning Daozhen and Dan Hongzi also appeared. The three of them then cautiously flew forward, quickly arriving at the entrance of the palace.
It was a white jade plaza, about a mile long and wide. In front of them, a pair of palace gates, several dozen feet high, were now fully open.
However, the entrance was shrouded in a layer of distorted multicolored auspicious light that divine sense could not penetrate. It seemed they couldn't enter yet.
"It looks like it's the same as on the third level. We'll have to wait until the time limit expires before we can enter this palace," Dan Hongzi said, stroking his beard.
Then, the three of them sat in a corner of the plaza, closed their eyes, and began to recuperate.
Just then, misty rain suddenly began to fall from the sky. This mist contained an unimaginable amount of pure spiritual energy.
Upon contact, Ning Fa felt his internal mana and divine soul power rapidly recovering. Even the injuries of Ning Daozhen and the other were quickly healing.
After about a day, spiritual light flashed in the sky, and several more figures appeared.
It was the three Sea Race cultivators, Freya, Hathaway, and Lor, along with Lu Caifu. Beside her was a man in black with a masked face, also a cultivator from the Qianyuan Merchant Alliance, clearly Lu Caifu's guard.
After appearing in the sky, the two groups glared at each other, swords drawn.
But at this moment, a restrictive glow flashed, and the two sides could only quell their animosity. Then, smiles appeared on their faces, clearly indicating that they had all gained something from the previous trial.
Soon, they also flew to the entrance of the palace. Upon seeing Ning Fa and the others, the faces of the three Sea Race cultivators changed.
After all, they hadn't seen Ning Fa on the third level and had happily thought that he might have perished somewhere.
But now, with the restrictions present here, they couldn't make a move and could only glare at Ning Fa angrily.
"I knew that with Daoist Ning's abilities, you wouldn't perish so easily. And to arrive so early, you must have gained a lot."
Lu Caifu floated over, sizing up Ning Fa, and said with a light smile.
Ning Fa smiled and exchanged pleasantries with her, then glanced at the masked man.
The man's eyes were icy cold, as if devoid of emotion.
Although they hadn't fought, Ning Fa could feel that this person's strength was absolutely formidable.
Subsequently, more people arrived one after another, but their numbers had clearly decreased significantly.
From the Cloud Broken Yao Clan, only Feng Zhao, Jin Yao, and Yuan Gang remained. The Rakshasa Immortal Realm had only two people left. The Great Qin cultivators had a slightly larger number.
There were Ye Cangfeng of Lingxiao Sword Pavilion, Lin Wuji of Wushi Demonic Palace, Cang He of Taiqing Sect, Mei Chongli of Yuan Cha Gate, Shen Cizhou of Brilliant Moon Palace, Lu Caifu and her masked guard, and one cultivator from Zi Chen Hall, totaling eight people.
In addition, the two remaining Holy Witches of Tianli, Su Rihe, Mei Danlun, and the Moon Lord Ling Yuqing of Tianli also appeared.
This surprised Ning Fa somewhat. Ling Yuqing was one thing, but Su Rihe and Mei Danlun were not particularly outstanding in strength among this group of powerhouses.
However, it was clear that Ling Yuqing knew more about the secrets of this place than others, so they couldn't be judged by ordinary standards.
These people were all injured and in poor condition. Soon, that special rain mist reappeared, rapidly restoring the condition of these cultivators.
Ning Fa flew towards one person, who was a Qingpao cultivator with a unique appearance, Hermit Xuyuan.
Hermit Xuyuan breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Ning Fa. "Daoist Ning, it's great that you're here. I was worried something had happened to you."
Ning Fa also smiled, and judging by the difficulty of this third spiritual realm, it was truly not easy for Hermit Xuyuan to pass.
He didn't ask about Hermit Xuyuan's gains, and Hermit Xuyuan was the only Cangyuan cultivator to reach the third level.
However, Hermit Xuyuan told him not to worry, confidently stating that among the Cangyuan cultivators who entered the Abyssal Heavenly Pool, no one had perished except for True Lord Yu Chan, who was seriously injured.
After chatting with Hermit Xuyuan for a while, Ning Fa surveyed the surrounding cultivators.
Feng Zhao, Jin Yao, and Yuan Gang all had irrepressible smiles on their faces, clearly having obtained the Myriad Spirit True Liquid in the trial.
This made Ning Fa's heart itch; he was extremely covetous of this item, as well as the Supreme Taiyi Divine Water that the Sea Race cultivators might possess.
Feng Zhao and the other two seemed to sense Ning Fa's gaze and glared fiercely at him, clearly indicating that if not for the restrictions here, they would have already made a move.
Ning Fa sneered inwardly, knowing he would settle this score sooner or later.
Everyone also noticed that the cultivators from the Tianwu Cultivation World had not appeared for a long time, causing many to show surprise, clearly very unexpected, but mostly gloating.
Several more hours passed, and the seven-colored light at the entrance of the hall suddenly dissipated. The many cultivators gathered at the entrance immediately looked up, their expressions a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
After all, they understood that the Ancestor Yuan they were about to meet was an unimaginably terrifying figure.
For a moment, no one dared to step forward. At this moment, Ling Yuqing's eyes flashed, and she gracefully moved forward into the hall. Su Ri and Mei Danlun followed closely, and soon their figures disappeared into the hall.
The others exchanged glances and cautiously followed.
The space within the great hall was much larger than it appeared from the outside. Even with the powerful spiritual senses of the many Nascent Soul cultivators, they couldn't find the end of the hall, only rows of solemn and majestic dragon-carved jade pillars.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Ling Yuqing, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped.
Ahead, about a hundred feet away, a tiered white jade platform appeared. Hovering silently above it was a water-blue broken blade, only about a foot long.
This broken blade did not show any obvious brilliance, and its specific grade was indiscernible. However, an unimaginably terrifying pressure emanated from it, directly pressing upon the divine souls of the Nascent Soul cultivators.
They felt as if a great mountain was pressing down on their heads, making it difficult to breathe.
Everyone's expressions changed; this was undoubtedly an unimaginable treasure.
Upon seeing this blade, Ning Fa's pupils suddenly contracted. At this moment, the Source-Crossing Heavenly Book in his sea of consciousness was vibrating violently, its reaction even stronger than when he had seen the mysterious water droplet before.
What kind of treasure could elicit such a strong reaction from the Source-Crossing Heavenly Book!
"Could this be... a Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure?" a Rakshasa cultivator, completely shrouded in black mist, said hoarsely.
The others did not reply for a moment, but their eyes flickered.
With their strength and status, they all possessed spirit treasures, even more than one.
Therefore, they could easily discern that this treasure was definitely not comparable to a spirit treasure, so it could only be a Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure.
Lu Caifu's beautiful eyes flashed with a strange light as she stared intently at the broken blade and said softly, "I'm afraid this isn't just any ordinary Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure."
The others were startled by her words, as Lu Caifu's identity was extraordinary.
The Qianyuan Merchant Alliance definitely possessed Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasures, and it was rumored they even had several. Lu Caifu should have seen such treasures, so her words were likely not baseless.
Many people's eyes revealed greed, and they couldn't help but wonder if the reward for the final trial of the Thousand Vortex Spirit Mountain was this extraordinary Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure.
Thinking of this, their hearts immediately became fervent.
Just then, the water-blue broken blade trembled slightly, followed by a change in spiritual light, and a blue-robed man's figure appeared.
He had long hair cascading over his shoulders, an extremely handsome face, and slowly opened his eyes. A pair of azure blue eyes scanned the cultivators in the hall, and then his brows furrowed, seemingly confused.
Immediately, an icy voice echoed in everyone's sea of consciousness: "Who are you? Why are you able to come here?"
Everyone's expression changed; they felt something was wrong.
What was going on?
Was this blue-robed youth the artifact spirit of the broken blade, or was he that Ancestor Yuan?
But why did he seem completely unaware of their presence here?
At this moment, Lin Wuji's eyes flashed, and he bowed, saying, "Replying to senior, we are trial-takers who came to the Abyssal Heavenly Pool for trials. Having passed the trials, we are now able to see you."
Upon hearing this, the blue-robed youth's brows furrowed even tighter, even with anger, he said, "The Abyssal Heavenly Pool has long been closed. Why has it reopened, and I have no knowledge of it!"