Ning Fa was suddenly startled by what Tian Bao said. Tian Bao was clearly referring to Yan Jingchen and that unfamiliar Spirit Transformation Cultivator.
But the question was, how did they know his exact whereabouts, how did they know he was currently on Luoxing Island?
Luo Feixuan also looked serious. "It seems this is no coincidence. They indeed have a way to pinpoint your location."
Ning Fa couldn't help but furrow his brow. If Yan Jingchen was after him, then using his tribesmen to refine a Bloodline Pearl was ruled out. Then by what means had he located him?
Ning Fa immediately recalled his experiences from the recent past, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Soon, his eyes snapped open, and with a flip of his right hand, he produced a special rhombic token. It was the elder token that the First Elder of the Heavenly Evolution Sect, Qinghong, had given him earlier.
Looking at the item, Ning Fa's expression turned grim.
In fact, not long ago, Hermit Wuxin had given him a similar elder token to facilitate his actions.
But when he met Qinghong earlier, the elder had said that this special token was required to use the inter-sea Teleportation Array. So Ning Fa hadn't thought much of it and had kept it on him.
Now that he thought about it, this token might be highly problematic.
He had used it to teleport to Star Origin Island before, and then not long ago in Flying Star City, the main city of the Emerald Isles, he had used this token to search for information in the Heavenly Evolution Tower. It was highly likely that his movements had been exposed because of it.
If that were the case, wouldn't it mean that Qinghong was in league with Yan Jingchen?
Could it even be that his earlier request for help in refining a treasure was also a scheme, actually intending to join forces with Yan Jingchen against him?
Thinking of this, Ning Fa's heart chilled. He couldn't understand why Qinghong would do such a thing.
Although this was just his speculation, his intuition told him it was highly probable.
Seeing Ning Fa's unusual expression, Luo Feixuan, after Ning Fa had roughly explained his guess, said thoughtfully:
"I've seen Qinghong from afar a few times. I always felt something was off about him; his Divine Soul aura was unusually obscure, even carrying a trace of malevolence. It's possible that his urgent desire to advance to Spirit Transformation through cultivation has affected his state of mind.
And Yan Jingchen is the reincarnation of Yan Yuan Daoist. Perhaps he promised to help Qinghong advance to Spirit Transformation in exchange for his assistance."
Hearing this, Ning Fa suddenly felt enlightened. This explanation made sense.
After all, Yan Yuan Daoist was once the Hall Master of Fu Ling Hall, so he naturally knew that the First Elders of the Heavenly Evolution Sect throughout the ages were the Hall Masters of the Heart Hall of Fu Ling Hall.
Therefore, it was not surprising that he would seek out Qinghong to deal with him.
A cold glint flashed in Ning Fa's eyes as he looked at Tian Bao Immortal Merchant and asked, "Fellow Daoist Tian Bao, you should be able to handle that Spirit Transformation Cultivator, right?"
Tian Bao Immortal Merchant's expression was calm. "To deal with these two, you probably won't need to pay me extra."
Ning Fa's face immediately broke into a smile upon hearing this.
This undoubtedly meant that the Spirit Transformation Cultivator was no match for Tian Bao, and the difference in strength should be significant.
Not long after, two streams of light appeared in the distant sky, speeding towards them at an astonishing pace.
In just a few breaths, the two had arrived nearby. It was Yan Jingchen and that youth in the black robe.
Ning Fa stood with his hands behind his back, watching them, chuckling. He appeared relaxed and even fearless.
Yan Jingchen and the other youth's expressions changed slightly. They immediately looked at Tian Bao Immortal Merchant, who stood beside Ning Fa, as if realizing something.
Yan Jingchen frowned. "Fellow Daoist Tian Bao, if you've finished your transaction with him, could you please leave? I have a personal grudge to settle with him. I recall you've always stayed out of the disputes in the cultivation world."
Tian Bao Immortal Merchant said calmly, "I have accepted his employment. If you attack him, I will consider you an enemy and naturally take action against you."
"What!?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Jingchen, the reincarnated former overlord, and the youth in the black robe, a current Spirit Transformation grand cultivator, could barely maintain their composure, staring in utter disbelief.
As native cultivators of the Nine Dragons Sea, the impact of learning that Tian Bao Immortal Merchant had been hired by someone else was far greater than it would have been for Luo Feixuan.
Throughout their long history, countless powerful forces, including the once prosperous Zi Yin Immortal Dynasty, had tried to recruit Tian Bao Immortal Merchant, but all had been rejected without exception.
Some had even angered him, leading him to take action and causing the deaths of Spirit Transformation Cultivators.
To think that this mysterious existence was now hired by a Nascent Soul cultivator like Ning Fa, it was no wonder they were so flustered.
Seeing their shocked expressions, the smile on Ning Fa's face deepened, and the extremely high price he had paid to hire Tian Bao Immortal Merchant suddenly seemed more acceptable.
At this moment, Yan Jingchen took a deep breath and immediately said, "Fellow Daoist Tian Bao, no matter what Ning Fa offered you, I can offer the same, or even more."
Tian Bao Immortal Merchant, however, shook his head. "What I need, you do not have. And even if you did, you are too late."
Yan Jingchen's expression immediately turned extremely ugly.
He had never expected such an unexpected variable to appear.
The youth in the black robe beside him also knitted his brows tightly and transmitted his voice secretly, "Since this person already has Tian Bao's assistance, perhaps we should just let this matter go."
However, a sharp glint flashed in Yan Jingchen's eyes. "Now is the best opportunity. If we give him more time to grow, I fear even I won't be able to do anything to him.
How about this: You stall Tian Bao, and I'll go all out to capture this brat as quickly as possible."
Hearing this, the youth in the black robe's brows furrowed even tighter.
He absolutely did not want to face a terrifying figure like Tian Bao. After all, it wasn't just one or two Spirit Transformation Cultivators who had died at Tian Bao's hands.
Although he considered his Divine Abilities to be extraordinary, he didn't believe he could be Tian Bao's match.
Especially since the legendary Tian Bao Immortal Merchant couldn't be treated like a normal cultivator. The restrictions of this world on Spirit Transformation Cultivators seemed to not apply to him.
For example, he could unleash his full power without any scruples, without worrying about the loss of vital energy within his body, which would shorten his lifespan.
"What are you afraid of? I'm just asking you to hold him off. With that treasure to aid you, you should be able to do it for a while," Yan Jingchen transmitted coldly.
The young man in the black robe's eyes flickered, and he finally nodded slowly, "Alright, let's do that. You need to hurry too."
With that, he let out a hearty laugh. "I've heard of Heavenly Treasure Daoist's extraordinary strength. Today, I, Tu Li, shall test it."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he raised his right hand, and a white dharma wheel, no larger than his palm, flew out. It spun rapidly above his head, emitting a circle of mysterious white spiritual light.
At the same time, an identical white dharma wheel appeared above Heavenly Treasure's head, also spinning at high speed.
The next moment, Heavenly Treasure and the young man in the black robe vanished strangely.
Ning Fa merely furrowed his brow as he looked at Yan Jingchen. He immediately understood the latter's plan and sneered, "It seems you think you've got me cornered."
At this moment, Yan Jingchen was enveloped in intense black and white lightning, with countless black and white lightning orbs floating and circling around him, exuding an extremely dangerous and powerful aura.
His long black and white hair whipped about wildly. With two crackling sounds, a black and a white lightning spear appeared before him.
The spearheads trembled violently, scattering countless black and white runes and radiating an immensely powerful aura. They were clearly a pair of high-grade spirit treasures.
He boomed, "I know you possess the Five Elements Thunder Body. If we were at the same cultivation realm, I would indeed be wary. But now, if I pay a certain price, it's not impossible for me to take you down."
Ning Fa laughed heartily. "You can't comprehend the power of the Five Elements Thunder Body! Daoist Luo, you don't need to make a move. I alone am enough to deal with him!"
Before his voice faded, Ning Fa's figure rapidly grew to several dozen feet tall amidst intense purple lightning, having activated his Divine Firmament Manifestation.
Furthermore, mysterious and magnificent armor was quickly donned by the manifestation. A sword-like thunder rune on its chest lit up instantly, and the Divine Firmament Manifestation turned deep purple.
A wheel of purple lightning spun rapidly behind it, with surging lightning erupting like a thunderstorm. It was as if he stood at the peak of a sea of lightning, his terrifying aura multiplying several times.
Facing a formidable enemy like Yan Jingchen, Ning Fa did not hesitate to activate his strongest form, the first transformation of his Divine Firmament Manifestation.
At this moment, his spiritual pressure was no less than Yan Jingchen's.
Luo Feixuan, who had already drifted more than ten feet away, couldn't help but reveal a trace of surprise in her beautiful eyes.
On the other hand, Yan Jingchen's expression changed. He finally realized he had severely underestimated Ning Fa's strength and that the cultivation method he practiced was definitely of extremely high grade.
This made him even more wary, and he was determined to capture Ning Fa today, otherwise, the opportunity would be even smaller in the future.
With a fierce roar, his entire body transformed into blazing black and white lightning, merging into the two lightning spears before him. They intertwined and spun rapidly, shooting towards Ning Fa.
In an instant, a black and white lightning tornado was formed. The sound of thunder pierced the sky, its momentum terrifyingly immense.
The Divine Firmament Manifestation also raised a five-colored thunder sword, about ten feet long, with intense five-colored lightning radiance flickering on its surface.
The white and red colors were particularly dazzling, representing his Supreme Metal Divine Thunder and Supreme Fire Divine Thunder, which he had cultivated to the innate realm.
Under his frantic urging, the surrounding elemental energy surged like a tide, rushing towards his thunder sword and drastically increasing its power.
With a thunderous explosion, the Divine Firmament Manifestation, wielding the sword, transformed into a brilliant streak of light and slashed ferociously towards the oncoming black and white tornado.
The two collided. After a momentary pause, earth-shattering roars erupted. A terrifying flood of spiritual power instantly swept outwards, annihilating all surrounding rocks, plants, and earth.
As the commotion subsided, neither the Divine Firmament Manifestation nor the black and white tornado could be seen.
Only faint, blurry figures could be seen rapidly flashing within a radius of dozens of miles, accompanied by bursts of thunderous explosions. Waves of violent combat aftermath rippled out from time to time, making this Luoxing Island feel like the end of the world had arrived.
The intensity and speed of their battle were so great that even Nascent Soul cultivators with slightly lower cultivation realms could hardly see the full picture.
Luo Feixuan, floating in the air, had a white glow flashing in her beautiful eyes. With her powerful Divine Soul, she could naturally grasp the entire process of their battle.
She knew very well how strong Yan Yuan Daoist was. The key was the formidable power Ning Fa displayed in his confrontation with him, which made her look at him with new eyes and regard Ning Fa with even greater importance.
Ten breaths later, a strange humming sound echoed from somewhere in the air.
Then, spiritual light flashed explosively. First, the white dharma wheel flew out, its spiritual light flashing wildly before it shattered. Immediately after, a colossal figure was sent flying out from within.
It was a giant white snake, dozens of feet long. Crucially, its lower body was that of a snake, while its upper body was the young man in the black robe.
His appearance had also drastically changed. His bare body was covered in coin-sized white scales, forming ancient and wild scale armor.
A single white horn protruded from his head, and behind him was a white snake phantom, seemingly soaring through clouds and mist, exuding a powerful spiritual pressure at the Spirit Transformation level.
However, he was in a miserable state at this moment. His entire body was uncontrollably sent flying backward, smashing a small mountain hundreds of feet tall several miles away before he managed to stabilize himself.
He propped himself up with one hand, barely managing to straighten up. His massive serpentine body was covered in gaping wounds, his mouth was filled with blood, and he looked ahead with a face full of terror.
There, the Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant walked out slowly.
At this moment, his entire body was radiating golden light. Before him was a golden long ruler. The golden runes on its surface flowed rapidly, and with slight tremors, it scattered waves of golden radiance.
The spiritual pressure it emitted was far beyond that of a mere spirit treasure. This was clearly a Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure.
With a slight lift of the Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant's right hand, the golden long ruler, bathed in a brilliant golden light, transformed into several dozen feet in size and conjured dozens, even hundreds, of illusory images.
As the Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant brought his hand down, amidst a terrifying roar of spiritual power, it smashed towards Tu Li.
With another earth-shattering boom and the rise of a golden halo as bright as the sun, Tu Li was blasted out, spitting a mouthful of blood. Half of his snake tail was severed, and his aura plummeted.
He glared ferociously, his mangled serpentine body thrashing violently against the void. At an astonishing speed, he fled towards the distance.
Inside, with a thunderous explosion, Ning Fa and Yan Jingchen's figures appeared one after another. Both looked somewhat disheveled.
Yan Jingchen's pupils contracted sharply as he looked at the golden ruler in the Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant's hand. He gritted his teeth and exclaimed, "Heaven Measuring Ruler! This treasure is actually in your hands!"
Before his words had even faded, he had already transformed into a streak of black and white lightning without the slightest hesitation, his speed no slower as he fled.
Tian Bao's expression remained unchanged. He reached out and pointed forward again, and the golden long ruler shot out numerous shadowy afterimages, continuing to pursue the two who were fleeing.
In an instant, Yan Jingchen's figure was directly annihilated within the golden ruler shadows, but immediately, countless incredibly fine black and white electric threads shot out from within, vanishing into the void in a flash.
However, the golden ruler shadows also split into thousands, pursuing them into the void.
On the other side, the profound-robed youth had completely transformed into a hundred-zhang-long giant snake. Its maw opened wide, resembling an endless vortex, swallowing the numerous ruler shadows that were bombarding it.
Immediately, this vortex spun rapidly, exploding with a deafening roar, unleashing a terrifying tide of spiritual energy that surged outwards, changing the very colors of the heavens and earth.
Then, a white radiance shot out from within, like a stray dog, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.