At this moment, the Divine Firmament Manifestation reformed into Ning Fa's figure. His complexion was slightly pale.
In the previous exchange, he had gained a slight advantage.
However, his true strength was likely still a notch below Yan Jingchen's. It was only due to the suppression from the Five Elements Thunder Body that he managed to hold the upper hand.
Yan Jingchen had originally intended to use a powerful secret technique at the end, but his Spirit Transformation helper had been defeated too quickly, forcing him to flee as well.
Tian Bao still wore a calm and composed expression, as if he hadn't exerted much effort at all. This made Ning Fa feel that the hefty reward he had paid was entirely worth it.
"Thank you, Daoist Tian Bao," Ning Fa said, cupping his hands in thanks.
"We are in an employer-employee relationship. It's only right that I take action. You don't need to be so polite," Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant said indifferently, with his hands clasped behind his back.
Ning Fa looked in the direction the two had disappeared, a hint of regret appearing in his eyes.
Neither of them should be dead, including Yan Jingchen.
Actually, Tian Bao had just transmitted a message to him via Spiritual Sense, asking if he wanted to pursue them and finish them off.
However, according to his employment agreement with Tian Bao, the reward he had paid was solely for Tian Bao's protection.
This meant that once he was out of danger, Tian Bao had the right to stop.
To have Tian Bao actively pursue and kill others would require an additional fee.
Tian Bao had given him an estimated price for killing the two, which had startled Ning Fa.
That price was enough to hire Tian Bao for another fifteen years.
After weighing his options, Ning Fa had no choice but to give up. Spending a large sum of Origin Points to completely kill these two was too wasteful, especially since he would need Tian Bao's protection for a long time to come.
"Daoist Tian Bao, your strength seems far superior to that Spirit Transformation cultivator opposite us. Could it be that he had some other means that could threaten you?"
Ning Fa asked tactfully, a thought nagging at him: couldn't Tian Bao just be inflating the price?
"Do not underestimate Spirit Transformation cultivators. Defeating them and killing them are two different matters. The amount of vital energy I need to expend differs greatly. While my strength surpasses that half-demon Spirit Transformation cultivator, he still had the potential to injure me if he fought desperately. In fact, the damage that Nascent Soul cultivator could inflict on me might even be greater, hence the higher remuneration."
Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant stated calmly, his eyes suggesting that he hadn't charged a single cent more.
Ning Fa nodded, inwardly acknowledging that in Tian Bao's eyes, Yan Jingchen, still at the Nascent Soul stage, posed a greater threat than the Spirit Transformation cultivator. It was indeed worthy of Yan Yuan Daoist's reincarnation.
He couldn't help but probe, "Daoist Tian Bao, since we might be acting together for a considerable period, could you reveal your origins to me, such as your true name?"
Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant refused without hesitation: "That is not part of our employment agreement. I decline to answer."
"Then, can you tell me if you are from the Spirit Realm?" Ning Fa asked again.
Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant glanced at him indifferently: "I decline to answer."
Ning Fa, however, was not discouraged. His eyes flickered, and he asked another question: "If I can continue to employ you in the future, and I happen to ascend to the Upper Realm, would you accompany me?"
This time, Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant's expression finally showed a slight change.
He seemed to ponder for a moment before slowly saying, "The time for me to leave has not yet come. Furthermore, if you wish to take me with you, you will have to pay an additional price, one that you likely cannot afford at present."
Ning Fa became even more curious upon hearing this, but seeing Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant's reluctance to discuss further, he could only give up.
After thinking for a moment, he asked another question: "Daoist Tian Bao, may I exchange some other Spiritual Materials with you? For example, those listed in your Jade Slip earlier?"
Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant nodded: "Yes, but you can only exchange for those using top-grade Water Spirit Stones or Star River Essence Dew. And you cannot exchange too many, as I still need to keep some of them."
Ning Fa's face lit up with a smile. Although tracing the origins of Star River Essence Dew was costly, he could still afford top-grade Water Spirit Stones.
He then tentatively asked, "Given our relationship, can I get a discount?"
Upon hearing this, Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant gave him a somewhat strange look and said, "Are you joking with me?"
Ning Fa chuckled sheepishly, thinking to himself that this Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant wasn't entirely like a block of wood.
At this moment, he flipped his right hand and took out the Elder Token given by Qinghong. Looking at the token, a cold glint flashed in Ning Fa's eyes.
He had initially intended to discard it, but on second thought, he took out a Third-Tier Puppet Beast shaped like a black panther from his Storage Ring.
The puppet swallowed the token directly, transformed into a black light, and disappeared in an instant.
Ning Fa willed it again, and a white light flashed before him. A handsome youth with messy hair and wearing white battle armor appeared, looking groggy: "Boss, why did you call me out?"
"You fly the fastest, so I called you, Little Ice. Hurry, time is of the essence."
Ning Fa said, and he wasn't exaggerating. At this moment, he had to fly at full speed just to keep up with Little Ice's speed.
Little Ice was still a bit groggy, but upon catching sight of the beautiful and ethereal Luo Feixuan beside Ning Fa, his eyes immediately lit up, and he thumped his chest with great conviction: "My speed as Little Ice is unmatched in the world!"
After speaking, he looked at Luo Feixuan with a fawning expression: "Esteemed Fairy Sister, my name is Little Ice. I am Master's most reliable spiritual pet. May I ask who you are?"
Before he could finish speaking, Ning Fa had already smacked him hard on the head.
Little Ice immediately clutched his head and, amidst a stream of spiritual light, transformed into a magnificent, ice-blue Spirit Bird several zhang long.
Ning Fa looked at the strangely amused Luo Feixuan and let out an embarrassed smile: "My apologies, my disciplinary methods are not strict enough."
As for Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant, he took another look at Little Ice, and then the few of them flew onto Little Ice's back.
Little Ice unfurled its wings and sped away to the northwest at an incredible speed.
Ning Fa breathed a sigh of relief, once again thanking Fairy Yuanxing in his heart.
Just as she had predicted, he had found a powerful backer in the Haoqiong Sea, someone even more formidable than an ordinary Spirit Transformation Cultivator.
With this backing, even if those Spirit Transformation Cultivators learned about his fortunate encounter at the Abyssal Heavenly Pool, he wouldn't be as fearful.
However, Ning Fa's expression remained stern, as this did not mean he was out of danger.
After all, he might be facing more than one or two Spirit Transformation Cultivators. If they all came swarming, even with Heavenly Treasure as a great bodyguard, he wouldn't be able to withstand them.
But fortunately, with Heavenly Treasure present, he had leverage for negotiation. As for how to negotiate, that would require careful consideration.
To be safe, Ning Fa did not head to the large immortal cities within the Haoqiong Sea Domain to use the Teleportation Array.
He traveled along the northwest direction, spending over half a month to fly out of the Haoqiong Sea Domain and arrive at the desolate seas to its northwest.
At this point, Ning Fa's mental connection with Hei Yu had clearly strengthened significantly.
After another ten-plus days, Ning Fa and the others had ventured deep into the desolate seas and arrived at a peculiar oceanic region.
Although it appeared no different, they had flown for tens of thousands of miles without encountering the slightest trace of Spiritual Energy. All the islands were barren, and there was no sign of any Spirit Veins beneath the seabed.
Ning Fa, however, was pleased rather than alarmed, as this undoubtedly meant they had reached the legendary Qianmo Sea.
As its name suggested, this sea was like a desert for cultivators. Not to mention cultivators, even Demonic Beasts were rarely seen.
As they proceeded deeper into this sea, Ning Fa discovered that this region was not entirely devoid of Spiritual Energy.
However, the areas with Spiritual Energy had extremely violent elemental energies, filled with various dangerous celestial phenomena, as well as remnants of ancient battlefields, where ghosts often dwelled.
It could be said that even an ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivator might be in danger venturing here, let alone other cultivators.
This was no wonder why the Qianmo Sea was so sparsely populated.
Ning Fa and the others were not ordinary cultivators, so these dangers naturally did not daunt them.
Relying on his mental connection with Hei Yu, Ning Fa continued to head deeper into the Qianmo Sea.
But soon they encountered trouble. They began to frequently encounter very powerful illusory Barriers, some of which even Ning Fa found quite troublesome.
It was at this moment that Luo Feixuan displayed her prowess. She could easily break through those formidable illusory barriers in a short amount of time.
This made Ning Fa greatly delighted, and he gained a deeper understanding of the power of Fairy Yuanxing.
In the past few days, they encountered the most potent illusory barrier yet, which took Luo Feixuan a full day and more to break.
The scene before them shifted. The sky, previously filled with hazy hurricanes, vanished, and they found themselves on a vast expanse of azure sea.
Dozens of miles ahead, a magnificent island stood majestically, with myriad rays of divine light emanating from it, resembling a legendary immortal mountain and inspiring awe.
At the same time, an extremely pure surge of Spiritual Energy washed over them, a stark contrast to the desolate nature of the Qianmo Sea they had just traversed.
"I never expected such a Spirit Island to be hidden in the depths of the Qianmo Sea," even Luo Feixuan exclaimed with a look of surprise.
"That incredibly powerful illusory barrier just now was clearly meant to protect this Spirit Island. Being able to sense such astonishing Spiritual Energy from this distance, the quality of the Spirit Veins on this island must be exceptionally high." Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant remained calm, as if unfazed.
Ning Fa's eyes, however, were filled with unconcealed excitement. His mental connection with Hei Yu was now extremely strong, clearly indicating that Hei Yu was likely on this island.
Unable to suppress his surging emotions, he instantly transformed into a bolt of lightning and sped ahead.
Soon, Ning Fa's Spiritual Sense caught a glimpse of something, and he trembled all over, immediately flying in that direction.
Meanwhile.
On a shallow beach at the southeastern edge of the Spirit Island, a clear, bell-like childish voice rang out.
"Ah Da, hurry up and swim! If you dare to slack off, I'll spank your butt later."
Waves surged as a mighty blue Flood Dragon, cutting through the waves with incredible speed, swam towards the front.
It was only a few dozen feet long, with two nascent horns on its head, clearly a young Flood Dragon. However, it already possessed cultivation at the early Third-grade.
This indicated that its bloodline was extraordinary, even among Flood Dragons. It was possible that even an ordinary mid-Third-Rank Demonic Beast might not be its match.
Yet, the Flood Dragon's large, reptilian eyes were filled with a wronged expression. Perched on its head was a young girl.
Dressed in a feathered skirt, her two tender, white arms clutched the Flood Dragon's horns. Her exquisitely carved, almost divinely beautiful face was full of childlike smiles, as if playing with a novel toy.
What was even more astonishing was that this girl, appearing to be only seven or eight years old, exuded a powerful Spiritual Pressure at the Core Formation level. On her forehead, there was a mysterious pattern resembling a nine-colored Spirit Flower.
Just then, the girl, who was joyfully playing, seemed to sense something and immediately pulled on the horns with both hands: "Ah Da, stop."
The blue Flood Dragon obediently halted immediately.
At that moment, with a crack of thunder, a figure appeared over ten feet away – it was Ning Fa. He stared intently at the exquisitely carved little girl, his face alight with overwhelming emotion, and softly asked, "Le'er, is that you?"
In truth, Ning Fa already had the answer, as he could feel a very clear connection through their bloodline from this little girl. It was evident that this little girl was his daughter.
On the sea surface not far away, a flash of golden light appeared, revealing a figure dressed in a black and gold robe. It was Hei Yu.
He looked at Ning Fa, and a hint of pleased laughter appeared in his eyes.
The blue flood dragon beneath the little girl, upon seeing a stranger appear, instantly filled its dragon eyes with vigilance.
Although Ning Fa's powerful spiritual pressure made it fearful, it still bared its teeth at him.
At the same time, it let out two whimpers towards the little girl on its back, as if to say the newcomer was powerful, and they should escape quickly.
But at this moment, the little girl's large eyes were already filled with tears. With a flash of spiritual light around her, she swiftly flew towards Ning Fa. Without hesitation, she threw herself into Ning Fa's embrace, tightly clutching his waist and crying loudly, "Father... you've finally arrived. Le'er can finally see you..."
Ning Fa's eyes also couldn't help but moisten. He wanted to hold his daughter tightly, but he was afraid of hurting her, so he gently embraced her, his eyes full of affection. "Le'er, I'm sorry. Father is late. I've made you and your mother suffer all these years..."
"Wuwu, Le'er isn't afraid of hardship because she's finally waited for Father..." the little girl sobbed.
Ning Fa also couldn't help but choke up. He gently patted Le'er's back. "Le'er, from now on, Father will never let you suffer even a little bit!"
"Wuwuwu..."
After a long while, the father and daughter slowly calmed down from the excitement of their reunion.
Le'er wiped the tears from her face and tilted her head up to look at Ning Fa carefully. She then giggled, "Le'er fantasized countless times about what Father looked like, and now I've finally seen you."
Ning Fa stroked her head, full of affection.
At this moment, he naturally noticed his daughter's unbelievable cultivation level. At such a young age, she was already at the Core Formation stage. The mysterious nine-colored spirit flower on her forehead was also eye-catching.
It was clear that his daughter was no ordinary person, which was likely why both Yuan Cha Gate and Tianli had wanted to seize her before.
"Master." With a flash of golden light, Hei Yu had already arrived before Ning Fa and said respectfully.
Ning Fa took a careful look at him and patted his shoulder. "Hei Yu, you've worked hard."
After speaking, he looked at Le'er again and asked, "Le'er, where is your mother?"
As soon as Ning Fa finished speaking, he suddenly looked up into the distance as if he had sensed something.
A graceful silhouette was gracefully flying towards them from afar.