Three months later.
The spiritual island hidden by the Xuan Huo Sect in the depths of the Thousand Desert Sea had now been renamed Xuan Ning Island by Ning Fa.
At the very peak of the spiritual mountain, which was rich in spiritual energy, a crimson great hall stood majestically.
At this moment, the great hall was shimmering with auspicious light, clearly indicating that its restrictions were fully activated.
Inside a quiet cultivation room within the great hall, sandalwood incense curled upwards, and the spiritual energy concentration within the room had reached the peak of the fourth stage.
On a white futon, Ning Fa sat cross-legged, his expression solemn.
After arranging his external affairs, he intended to enter secluded cultivation.
Although his cultivation and strength were already at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, his situation was rather unique. Exposed too early to the eyes of Soul Transformation cultivators, every step he took was fraught with difficulty, forcing him to tread carefully, as if walking on a tightrope.
He truly did not wish to experience this feeling of his fate being controlled by others a second time.
Even with the assistance of the Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant, this was ultimately an external force. In the end, he could only rely on himself.
Therefore, Ning Fa's desire for strength was deeper than before.
This time, his secluded cultivation had two major goals: first, to cultivate his Moon God's Heart to the Moon Soul Crystal Core stage, and second, to completely cultivate his Divine Firmament Dharma Aspect to the first transformation stage.
If he could achieve these smoothly, even if his realm did not break through to the late Nascent Soul stage, his strength would likely undergo a qualitative change.
Ning Fa let out a light breath and waved his right hand in front of him. Instantly, in a burst of auspicious light, a small pile of items appeared.
Among them were several transparent, clean bottles, containing a mysterious, pale blue liquid that resembled a galaxy. This was the Soul Derivation Divine Spring he had obtained from the Abyssal Heavenly Pool.
There was also a pure black lotus with seven petals, appearing as if it were made of nothingness, slowly rotating as if imbued with sentience, emitting a peculiar soul aura.
This was the mysterious soul lotus that had matured in Su Yu's sea of consciousness.
In addition, there were five or six spiritual flowers and herbs of various colors, all emitting a strong soul aura, clearly rare spiritual items that aided the soul.
These items were what Ning Fa had obtained from his exchanges with those Soul Transformation cultivators. Each one was enough to be the finale at a Nascent Soul-level auction.
With so many wondrous items that aided the soul laid out before him, even Soul Transformation cultivators would be astonished.
Ning Fa intended to use these soul-enhancing wonders to completely cultivate his Moon God's Heart to the Moon Soul Crystal Core stage.
The reason he chose to cultivate the Moon God's Heart before the Divine Firmament Dharma Aspect was due to the threats posed by the Ancient Immortal Soul Demon and Shen Cizhou of the Glorious Moon Palace.
Once he could fully cultivate the Moon Soul Crystal Core stage, he would no longer have to worry so much about these two threats.
Ning Fa no longer hesitated. He reached out and opened a bottle, and the Soul Derivation Divine Spring within flew before him.
Ning Fa solemnly pointed his fingers together, and the mysterious liquid immediately merged into his forehead.
The next moment, Ning Fa's body trembled violently, and his face contorted in a look of excruciating pain. However, he immediately formed hand seals and began circulating the cultivation method of the Moon God Art.
Concurrently, the Moon God's Heart in his sea of consciousness began to emit a brilliant white light, and the Moon Tribulation Heartflame burning fiercely on its surface suddenly surged.
The next moment, a mass of pale blue mist appeared in Ning Fa's sea of consciousness, enveloping the Moon God's Heart. It churned incessantly, flashing with astonishing streams of light.
In the blinding white light, Ning Fa's figure became indistinguishable.
Thus, time passed bit by bit as Ning Fa remained in secluded cultivation, the hall door never opening.
Unknowingly, ten years had passed.
On this day, the long-silent crimson great hall suddenly stirred.
A sound like flowing water seemed to come from the void.
Although the sound was not loud, it instantly spread throughout the entire spiritual island.
At the same time, in the sky, which had been clear and cloudless, a silver full moon, about ten feet in size, suddenly appeared, emitting a soft, moon-white radiance.
What was special was that the surface of this full moon was as crystal clear as gemstone, flawless, with streams of mysterious runes floating on its surface.
Then, the full moon gently swayed, and the void rippled like the surface of a lake, spreading outwards to the infinite distance. It then vanished in a flash, disappearing into the crimson palace below, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.
At this moment, in another palace not far from the mountaintop, Tian Bao Xian Shang, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes. He looked in the direction of Ning Fa's palace, a golden glint flashing in his eyes.
His usually calm and placid face could not help but reveal a hint of surprise. After watching silently for a moment, he closed his eyes and resumed his meditation.
In another residence, Luo Fei Xuan also sat up abruptly.
A look of shock appeared on her exceptionally beautiful jade-like face.
"He actually cultivated to the Moon Soul Crystal Core stage so quickly, and its quality is so good. It seems there's a considerable hope for him to advance to the Tai Yin Nourishing Nascent Embryo in the future..."
Luo Fei Xuan murmured, her expression a mixture of surprise and apprehension.
In yet another palace, Zhu Ling Yun was studying an extremely complex teleportation array diagram.
The ancient teleportation array from before had been completely destroyed by Wen Xiu Xin, making it no easy task to reconstruct it.
Although Meng Ruo Qi had recorded the complete array diagram for the teleportation array on the other side, Cang Yuan, this type of ancient teleportation array was very special and had high requirements for its placement.
It often had to be adapted to local conditions, and in most cases, the teleportation arrays at both ends were different.
Although Meng Ruo Qi had high attainments in formations, her realm was too low. Coupled with the fact that she had been diligently preparing to break through to the Core Formation stage over the years, the burden of studying the teleportation array fell upon Zhu Ling Yun.
On the other side, Yue'er was riding the blue flood dragon, which had shrunk to only a few feet in size, flying around the hall. Occasional bursts of giggles could be heard.
At this moment, Zhu Ling Yun's movements suddenly paused. A layer of pale golden luster suddenly appeared on her body, and a mysterious golden crescent moon also materialized on her forehead.
Zhu Lingyun's face showed surprise.
"What's going on? Why did my Primordial Soul Split Spirit Art activate automatically?"
Zhu Lingyun furrowed her delicate brows, seeming somewhat puzzled.
At this moment, Le'er zipped in front of her, her large eyes scanning Zhu Lingyun up and down, asking with some concern, "Mother, what's wrong?"
"Mother is fine, Le'er, you can continue playing. Mother still needs to study this teleportation array diagram," Zhu Lingyun said with a gentle smile.
Le'er breathed a sigh of relief, but then her eyes darted around. "Mother, I haven't seen Father for a long time. Why hasn't he come out of seclusion yet? Mother, can you take me to see Father?"
Zhu Lingyun shook her head. "Your father is in a critical stage of his seclusion and cannot be disturbed. You'll have to wait a bit longer."
Le'er pouted, but she was sensible enough not to beg further.
Meanwhile, Zhu Lingyun's brows were tightly knitted, because at this moment, the activation of the Primordial Soul Split Spirit Art within her body had not stopped; it even showed signs of escalating.
She could no longer afford to study the teleportation array diagram. She immediately sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate.
In the crimson great hall, Ning Fa slowly opened his eyes. An indescribable divine light shot out from them, instantly illuminating the entire hall, an astonishing phenomenon.
At the same time, Ning Fa's entire body was enveloped in a moon-white radiance, and a special aura that reached far and wide emanated from him.
Not long after, these phenomena dissipated, and Ning Fa returned to his normal state. However, his eyes were like ancient, deep lakes, and his temperament had also changed, becoming more profound and serene.
At this moment, within Ning Fa's sea of consciousness, his Moon God Heart had shrunk slightly, but it had transformed from its gaseous state into a completely moon-white crystal. It was crystal clear and rotated slowly, emitting circles of mysterious silver-white runes.
A smile appeared on Ning Fa's face. After ten years of arduous closed-door cultivation, he had finally cultivated his Moon God Heart to the Moon Core stage.
He had finally endured the extremely agonizing Moon Tribulation Heart Fire. This feeling was beyond words, even more so than shedding a burden of ten thousand pounds.
Because before this, he had to constantly control his emotions to avoid his moon fire burning him.
Now, without this concern, this feeling of ease and joy was simply wonderful.
And the benefits brought by the advancement of his Moon God Heart were far more than just these.
At this moment, Ning Fa's soul power had increased unimaginably. His divine sense detection range had directly surged from four hundred miles to a thousand miles, reaching the level of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Moreover, the quality of Ning Fa's divine sense had also improved severalfold, in terms of its diffusion range, penetration, and ability to track multiple targets simultaneously.
In this regard, Ning Fa might even surpass ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.
In addition to soul strength, Ning Fa's soul defense capabilities had also improved unimaginably, as this was the main ability enhanced in the Moon Core stage.
According to Ning Fa's estimation, the soul defense capability provided by the Moon Core was roughly equivalent to a spiritual treasure specifically designed for soul defense.
And treasures for soul defense were always extremely rare, let alone spiritual treasures.
It was no exaggeration to say that its value could even be compared to the lowest tier of Heaven-Piercing Spiritual Treasures.
Of course, the Moon Core stage was not limited to defensive capabilities.
Thinking of this, Ning Fa formed a hand seal. The mysterious patterns on the surface of the crystal of his Moon God Heart in his sea of consciousness suddenly lit up, emitting a mysterious luster.
At the same time, the entire hall suddenly seemed to be plunged into night, becoming exceptionally serene, like a nightmare space.
Then, dozens or even hundreds of crescent moon-shaped blades suddenly appeared. With a gentle swing, arcs of moonlight blades were unleashed, looking like dancing moon shadows, beautiful and dreamlike, yet filled with deadly killing intent.
As Ning Fa changed his hand seal, the sound of thunder and lightning erupted. Silver-white arcs of electricity began to linger around the surfaces of these moon blades, further increasing their power.
Feeling the astonishing power contained within these moon blades, a smile curved Ning Fa's lips.
This was a powerful soul attack technique of the Moon Core stage, named Moon Slaying Divine Light.
And curiously, the Spiritual Heart Divine Thunder he had previously cultivated could also perfectly merge with this Moon Slaying Divine Light, increasing its power by more than several times compared to the original Spiritual Heart Divine Thunder.
This would undoubtedly become another trump card in Ning Fa's hands.
After familiarizing himself with it, Ning Fa closed his eyes and meditated again. He still needed some time to completely stabilize the Moon Core stage.
A few days later, Ning Fa briefly emerged from seclusion and had a small gathering with his family, especially spending a few days playing with Le'er.
At this time, Baili Ming, who had received his message, also rushed back.
Previously, Ning Fa had ordered Murong Zhaoxue and others to occupy the Black Star Islands. He had thought it would be an easy task, but unexpectedly encountered some trouble.
This was because a demonic cultivator there had quietly broken through to the late Nascent Soul stage and was secretly controlling several forces on the Black Star Islands.
After the Fuling Hall and Wangyue Sect made a large-scale entry, that demonic cultivator brought some reinforcements from the Demon Sea Alliance.
Ning Fa had sent Baili Ming to assist them. Now, after so many years, Ning Fa was very curious about the situation there.
"Old man personally went out there, what are you still worried about?
The leading great demonic cultivator named Yang Ao Chuan was secretly ambushed and killed by me while he was fighting your subordinates. His forces naturally scattered like leaves in the wind."
Baili Ming, dressed in black robes and still appearing as a youth, chuckled.
Then, he changed the subject. "However, speaking of which, things were a bit complicated at first.
That Yang Ao Chuan also had a close relationship with an elder in the Thousand Souls Hall, a major sect in the Demon Sea Alliance. After Yang Ao Chuan's death, the Thousand Souls Hall seemed to have signs of intervening, but they backed down.
Later, I heard from your subordinates that it seemed to be the intervention of that Demon Lord that stopped them. Otherwise, it's uncertain whether the Black Star Islands could have been taken."
"Demon Lord?" Ning Fa was slightly surprised and couldn't help but recall the Demon Lord he met when he first returned to the Nine Dragon Sea, and the agreement he had with the Demon Lord.
After so many years, neither Huangfu Jin nor the Demon Lord had come to find him, but Ning Fa had a premonition that it wouldn't be too long.
Through Bai Liming, Ning Fa learned more news. For instance, the combined efforts of the Fu Ling Hall and the relocated Wang Yue Sect had completely cleared the Black Star Islands' influence in just a few years.
After eliminating some and accepting the surrender of others, the vast Black Star Islands were now entirely the territory of the Fu Ling Hall.
In the time that followed, thanks to the enormous resources Ning Fa had left behind, the Fu Ling Hall experienced rapid development.
Although they were far from the Thunder Sea, some of their previous underground channels were still maintained, and they had also recruited new disciples with thunder spirit roots.
Additionally, they had scouted and recruited a batch of promising young talents from the human population of the Black Star Islands for cultivation from a young age.
After all, the previously surrendered forces could only be considered peripheral powers.
After listening, Ning Fa couldn't help but thank Bai Liming, "Fellow Daoist Bai, thank you for your hard work in guarding the place during this time."
Bai Liming waved his hand and chuckled, "Why are you being so polite with me, kid? Those Soul Derivation Divine Springs you gave me added fifty to sixty years to my lifespan. This is nothing."
Ning Fa smiled and said, "I might have to trouble you to continue guarding it for a while longer, as I plan to go into seclusion again."
Bai Liming nodded and took his leave.
Ning Fa also returned to his mountain peak grand hall, intending to begin his next period of seclusion.
Before doing so, however, he went to another room within the hall.
Inside this room, a dazzling blue light pulsed. A blue droplet, several zhang in size, occupied the space, yet it exuded a vastness akin to an ocean.
Within it, a figure flickered in and out of view, emitting an aura that even Ning Fa found startling.
Seeing this, Ning Fa couldn't help but show a hint of anticipation on his face.
The room contained Blue Lightning, which had absorbed that drop of Qilin True Blood. It had not yet finished refining it, making Ning Fa eager to see what changes Blue Lightning would undergo upon emerging from seclusion.
Next, Ning Fa walked into his own room. With a flip of his right hand, he produced a jade slip, which contained the cultivation method for the Divine Sky Manifestation from the Ancient Origin Thunder Scripture.
Following this, Ning Fa intended to fully cultivate his Divine Sky Manifestation to the First Transformation stage.
Just then, Ning Fa's expression shifted. With a flip of his right hand, he produced a palm-sized purple jade token. Within the token, a delicate light flashed, revealing a line of text.
Upon seeing it, Ning Fa couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
This was the message sent by Huangfu Ziyue, stating that they were almost ready and requesting Ning Fa's assistance seven years later.
"Seven years from now? That might be enough time."
Ning Fa murmured, then with a wave of his right hand, a small pile of radiant treasures appeared before him. Among them was the bottle of Myriad Spirit True Fluid obtained from the Ming Yuan Heavenly Pool.
Ning Fa smiled slightly and picked up the bottle.
Not long after, his body was enveloped in a dense blood-red light, and the crimson grand hall fell silent once more.