Ning Fa was surprised, but then felt it was only natural.
After all, Huangfu Ziyue, under the alias Yun Jin, had infiltrated the City Lord's Mansion of the Jinchuan Archipelago. Besides the Zi Xu Palace, the treasure trove of the Zi Yin Immortal Dynasty, another important goal was likely the Demon Lord.
Ning Fa had encountered both Huangfu Ziyue and the Demon Lord on a ship when he escaped the Jinchuan Archipelago.
The Demon Lord, who had been imprisoned for many years, was obviously rescued by Huangfu Ziyue, so they must have been cooperating for a long time.
It seemed the price for the Zi Yin descendant helping the Demon Lord might be his power to fight against the Tianshu Alliance.
After all, the Demon Lord's strength in his prime was among the best in the entire Nine Dragons Sea, definitely a top-tier existence below Nascent Soul cultivators, and could even be considered half a Nascent Soul cultivator in some ways.
Ning Fa couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The last time they met, he was only at the Core Formation stage.
Now, decades later, he had become a Nascent Soul cultivator, and his true combat power was comparable to that of a top-tier Great cultivator.
But facing the current Demon Lord, he still couldn't grasp his true depths.
Ning Fa knew full well that the Demon Lord's injuries should have healed, and he had recovered to his full strength.
And he, at present, was probably not the Demon Lord's opponent.
He estimated he would have to open up the third Sea of Lightning Divine Treasury, or advance to the Mid Nascent Soul stage, before he could possibly defeat him.
These thoughts flashed through Ning Fa's mind, and he cupped his hands with a smile, greeting, "Demon Lord, it seems your injuries have fully recovered, congratulations."
Ning Fa could naturally interact with the Demon Lord as an equal now.
The Demon Lord's eyes, as calm as a still lake, also sized up Ning Fa, a hint of surprise appearing in them, and he couldn't help but praise:
"When I first met Fellow Daoist Ning, I knew you were no ordinary person.
But it seems my initial assessment was too conservative.
I didn't expect that in just a few decades, Fellow Daoist Ning would have reached this point.
In the future, the Nine Dragons Sea, and even the entire Human Realm, will surely have a place for you."
The Demon Lord's high praise made Huangfu Ziyue raise her eyebrows slightly, but she wasn't too surprised.
After all, she had seen a glimpse of Ning Fa's terrifying strength in the main hall earlier.
The key was that Ning Fa was only at the Mid Nascent Soul stage. Once he advanced to the Late Nascent Soul stage, he would truly be able to sit on equal footing with the Demon Lord in his prime, and might even surpass him.
This was also another important reason why Huangfu Ziyue was so excited when she saw Ning Fa able to activate the Zi Xiao Sword; it wasn't just that Ning Fa could help Huangfu Jin recover from his injuries.
"Brother Ning, the Demon Lord is about to leave this place, so I thought you two could travel together. You wouldn't mind my taking the liberty, would you?" Huangfu Ziyue said with a light smile.
"Of course not, I happen to have many questions I'd like to ask the Demon Lord," Ning Fa replied with a smile.
Then, Ning Fa and the Demon Lord flew to the crimson light array above the volcano. As the light array flowed, their figures disappeared.
Huangfu Ziyue, whose eyes flashed with purple light, flew back to the main hall not far away. Huangfu Jin and Zhuo Qing were waiting for her.
"Have they left?" Huangfu Jin asked.
Seeing Huangfu Ziyue nod, Huangfu Jin couldn't help but show a hint of regret:
"It's a pity, the Demon Lord is indeed a rare genius.
With his talent and aptitude, as long as he doesn't fall, he will surely become a Nascent Soul cultivator, and not just an ordinary one. It's a pity we couldn't keep him here."
Huangfu Ziyue shook her head: "Grand Uncle doesn't need to regret it, after all, a person like the Demon Lord won't be subservient to others.
And the key is, he can't activate the Zi Xiao Sword, which means he's not the right person for us."
Speaking of this, a hint of surprise appeared in Huangfu Jin's eyes, and he slowly said:
"I just said the Demon Lord was a rare genius, but this Ning Fa seems even more monstrous.
And as you said, he was able to activate the Zi Xiao Sword to this extent without having the bloodline of our Zi Yin clan, which is really incredible."
At this time, Zhuo Qing couldn't help but show excitement: "It seems that Brother Ning will definitely be able to refine that drop of Zi Xiao Lineage's Source Blood treasured by our clan.
This will help Grand Uncle return to the Nascent Soul stage, which is extremely important for our clan."
Huangfu Ziyue also smiled: "This is also why I said before that even if we risked returning to Tianli from the Ancient Demon Altar, we had to find Ning Fa.
With his help, Grand Uncle can use the Spirit Cleansing and Body Reshaping Technique to break through to the Nascent Soul stage again with a new appearance and more confidence.
At that time, Grand Uncle will also break the original shackles, and there is a good chance of advancing to the Mid Nascent Soul stage in the future.
In this way, our clan can truly gain a foothold in this realm, and even return to its peak."
Hearing this, Huangfu Jin first showed a hint of anticipation, and then a look of contemplation appeared.
Huangfu Ziyue and Zhuo Qing noticed the abnormality and couldn't help but look at each other.
Huangfu Ziyue asked, "Grand Uncle, do you have any doubts?"
Huangfu Jin slowly said, "That's right, I do have some hesitation.
The monstrous extent of this kid Ning Fa is so high that I can't help but feel apprehensive. I'm a little worried..."
Huangfu Jin didn't finish his words, but the two women already understood what he meant.
Huangfu Ziyue said thoughtfully, "Grand Uncle, are you worried that Ning Fa will grow to the point where even you can't suppress him, and there's a high possibility of him taking over our clan?"
"That's right, I do have this concern. After all, even if he refines that drop of Source Blood, he can only barely be considered half a Zi Yin clansman. I don't want a non-pure-blooded Zi Yin clansman to occupy our clan's foundation."
Huangfu Jin said frankly.
Huangfu Ziyue couldn't help but ponder, the Zi Yin clan valued bloodlines extremely, even more so than the Demon Race, which was why Huangfu Jin had this concern.
Soon, Huangfu Ziyue's eyes flashed, and she slowly said, "What if we make him a true member of the Zi Yin clan?"
Hearing this, Huangfu Jin and Zhuo Qing couldn't help but be surprised.
Soon, Huangfu Jin seemed to have thought of something, and couldn't help but furrow his brow and say, "Ziyue, do you mean?"
Huangfu Ziyue smiled, "That's right, that's exactly what I mean.
Judging from the extent to which Ning Fa can activate the Zi Xiao Sword, it is very likely that he will be recognized by the Divine Tree.
As long as we offer some of our treasured high-grade sacrifices, the Divine Tree might even be able to transform his bloodline into a true Zi Yin clan bloodline.
If that's the case, what's the harm even if he truly takes charge of our clan in the future?"
Hearing this, Zhuo Qing's beautiful eyes lit up, while Huangfu Jin frowned slightly.
Huangfu Ziyue couldn't help but persuade again, "Grand Uncle, times have changed. Our clan has not yet escaped the danger of extinction. What we need to consider most now is how to survive.
After all, our agreement with the Heavenly Evolution Sect only lasts for a hundred years, and we can't really release the seal on that Ancient Demon Altar. In the face of the survival of the race, there's no need to be so concerned about bloodline."
Hearing this, Huangfu Jin sighed and said nothing more.
Sky Furnace Fire Marsh, somewhere in the sea of fire.
A wave of fire surged, and two demon cultivators fled out in a sorry state.
One of them had a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks, covered in dense yellow hair, and the other had fleshy wings on his back, narrow eyes, and sharp teeth.
At this time, these two transformed demon beasts looked like they were fleeing in panic.
Just then, the surrounding space rippled violently, and the two demons immediately felt a huge force suppressing them, making them unable to move for a moment.
Almost at the same time, in the ear-piercing sound of thunder, two streaks of lightning flashed past their backs and directly pierced their bodies.
The bodies of the two demons shattered, and two demon infants flew out in a panic, scattering in different directions.
However, two purple lightning figures appeared strangely in their path, and grabbed them with a wave of their hands.
Then the two figures merged into one, revealing Ning Fa's figure, and the two demon infants had already disappeared.
Another hundred third-order Source Points in hand.
But Ning Fa frowned slightly.
What Huangfu Ziyue said before was true, this Sky Furnace Fire Marsh was indeed the world of the Sea Race and the Demon Race.
He and the Demon Lord had killed several high-level Sea Race and demon beast cultivators from the depths of the Fire Marsh to now.
At this moment, a blue light flashed beside him, revealing the figure of the Demon Lord.
He looked at Ning Fa up and down with a surprised expression, and said with a smile, "Even though I have seen Fellow Daoist Ning's actions many times, I still can't help but sigh in my heart, I can only say that the younger generation is to be feared."
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and a seemingly ordinary Wooden Boat appeared in a flash of light.
"To be on the safe side, let's take my Concealing Spirit Boat, so as not to be besieged by high-level enemy cultivators."
Ning Fa had no objection, and the two of them rode the Wooden Boat and sped north.
Ning Fa couldn't help but ask, "Demon Lord, what is the situation in the Nine Dragons Sea now? Is the situation for our Human Race really that bad?"
The Demon Lord slowly said, "I have been staying in the Moluo Space all these years, and the information I have obtained has been collected by the Zi Yin clan from the outside world, but from the information I have learned so far, it is indeed not optimistic.
The grudges between the Sea Race and the Demon Race are originally extremely deep. This time, I don't know why, they are actually cooperating sincerely, and the intensity far exceeds the past.
Even the Northern Sea Ice Clan, which has always not interfered in the disputes between our three races, especially its royal family - the Ice Phoenix Clan, has begun to intervene, standing on their side.
In this way, the Human Race in the Nine Dragons Sea is even weaker.
But fortunately, the Great Qin and Tianwu two major cultivation worlds saw that the situation was not good before, and these two sides also began to send people and resources to help, which stabilized the situation.
Now the war has been suspended, and the offensive on both sides has stopped for more than ten years, but on our Human Race side, many territories have been occupied by the Sea Race and the Demon Race."
Hearing this, Ning Fa's eyes flickered.
He was not surprised that the Ice Phoenix Clan intervened. He had personally witnessed the Demon Court people wooing them.
What he sighed was that not only was Cangyuan full of war, but the Nine Dragons Sea was not peaceful either.
At this time, the Demon Lord's expression was solemn, "But I watched the stars at night, and I feel that the situation of the three races fighting this time is not that simple.
Now the Sea Race's arrogance is extremely strong, and it seems that a major change is about to happen. The current truce is probably only temporary, and they are likely to be brewing a bigger war."