Seeing this, the seductive fourth-grade early stage Sea Race female cultivator let out a terrified scream and, without hesitation, unleashed a life-saving secret technique.
The aquamarine scales on her body flew off, transforming into hundreds of streams of light that fled in all directions, and her figure vanished along with them.
The scarred-faced Sea Race cultivator at the late fourth-grade moved even faster. He had already severed the four fingers of his left hand, transforming them into a cloud of essence blood to envelop himself.
His figure flickered in and out of existence within this blood mist, and then with a whoosh, he sped into the distance at an incredible speed.
Ning Fa's lips curved into a slight smile as he transformed into a stream of light and merged into the Heaven-Shattering Sword before him.
The sword's spiritual pressure surged instantly. With what seemed like a casual slash, a slender strand of sword qi shot out, striking an aquamarine scale in front of him with a flash.
As this scale exploded, the sword qi refracted into thousands of strands, relentlessly slashing towards the other aquamarine scales.
In an instant, the air was filled with a net of sword qi. Amidst the bang bang bang of explosions, these aquamarine scales were all shattered in the blink of an eye.
One of the scales flashed with spiritual light, revealing the terrified Sea Race female cultivator.
She was now completely naked, and before she could react, a slender crack spread from her head to her feet. Her body was instantly split in two, revealing a Nascent Soul with its eyes closed, quietly suspended in the air.
With a sword's hum, the Heaven-Shattering Sword drew a brilliant arc, and in just a few breaths, it caught up to the late fourth-grade Sea Race cultivator who had escaped using the blood escape technique.
Under the dumbfounded gazes of Ancestor Nihuo and his disciples, only ten breaths later.
With a world-shattering scream, the scarred-faced Sea Race cultivator, who had transformed into a hundred-zhang-tall tidal giant, had his massive body covered in countless cracks like porcelain. Chilling sword qi surged out from within, tearing apart the colossal body in an instant.
In the vast water mist formed by his remains, the late fourth-grade Sea Race cultivator's aura quickly vanished from the world.
With a flash of sword light, the Heaven-Shattering Sword flew back to Ancestor Nihuo and the others, its brilliance retracting to reveal Ning Fa's figure once more.
He beckoned with one hand, and the Nascent Soul of the Sea Race female cultivator suspended in the air, along with her storage shell, flew into his hand.
"Thank you for your timely intervention, Daoist Ning."
Ancestor Nihuo finally reacted and immediately flew forward, cupping his hands and saying with great politeness, his tone involuntarily carrying a hint of reverence.
Having personally witnessed Ning Fa's astonishing divine abilities, he understood that although they were of the same rank, their strength was worlds apart.
Moreover, for some reason, it had only been a short time since he last saw Ning Fa, yet he felt that Ning Fa had undergone an astonishing transformation.
Ning Fa smiled and shook his head. Just as he was about to speak, he seemed to sense something, suddenly raised his head to look in the northeast direction, his expression turning solemn.
He said quickly, "Daoist Nihuo, about a thousand miles away in the northeast, it seems to be one of Sky Tower City's armies retreating this way. But the situation looks very bad. I'll go ahead."
Before his words had even finished, Ning Fa had already transformed into a dazzling sword light and sped towards the northeast. The Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant not far away also followed at a steady pace.
In a short period, Ning Fa and the Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant arrived eighteen hundred miles away.
From a distance, they could see large Spiritual Ships, each at least dozens of zhang in size, sailing through the air. The surfaces of these Spiritual Ships were covered in scars, clearly having been through a fierce battle.
Ning Fa scanned with his spiritual sense and found many human cultivators within these Spiritual Ships, most of whom were injured. Besides them, there were also a considerable number of mortals.
As Ning Fa flew further forward, he noticed that the Spiritual Ships behind him were no longer stable, being entangled by cultivators from both the Sea Race and the Demon Race.
Some Spiritual Ships were even forced to stop, with cultivators flying out to engage these alien races in fierce combat, creating an extremely chaotic scene.
Ning Fa casually dealt with the alien cultivators he encountered along the way. At this moment, he sensed movement ahead, and his expression immediately became grave.
With a thought, Little Ice and Hei Yu appeared in a flash of spiritual light.
At Ning Fa's command, the two of them pounced on the Sea Race and Demon Race cultivators like tigers entering a flock of sheep.
Currently, Blue Lightning was still on Xuan Ning Island, as she had not finished refining the drop of Qilin True Blood she had absorbed.
Baili Ming had also been left by Ning Fa on Xuan Ning Island to guard it.
On one hand, he needed to recover his soul power, and on the other, Ning Fa was also secretly wary of Luo Feixuan.
Although they were allies now, his own family members were all on the island, so he had to be cautious.
Ning Fa waved to the Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant and flew further up into the sky.
Beyond a thousand zhang, another fierce battle was erupting.
Ning Fa scanned with his spiritual sense and couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.
Several miles away, strong winds howled and thunder roared incessantly.
Four deep green tornadoes, seemingly connecting heaven and earth, rose from the ground, trapping four cultivators within them. Dense and sharp wind blades shot out from these tornadoes.
In addition, a layer of deep green thunderclouds permeated the sky, from which thunderbirds, about ten feet in size, flew out from time to time.
Their wings, claws, and beaks all spewed deep green arcs of lightning with astonishing power. They cawed and swooped down towards the four individuals.
The four trapped individuals were not ordinary cultivators either. The several Magic Treasures they unleashed were all extremely powerful.
Especially a jade bowl with plum blossom patterns and an ancient seal displaying five colors, which were clearly two powerful Spirit Treasures, allowing them to barely withstand the astonishing offensive.
However, the four individuals had pale faces, clearly indicating that their mana was severely depleted. Although their expressions did not show much panic, they were all extremely solemn.
Ning Fa recognized all four of them.
One of them was a young man in a silver-white robe, who looked only twenty or thirty years old but whose eyes were filled with vicissitudes. He was the Second Elder of the Heavenly Evolution Sect, Hermit Wuxin.
Another was a beautiful middle-aged woman with her long hair tied up high, the Third Elder of the Heavenly Evolution Sect, Madam Min.
And then there was a middle-aged scholar with a wisp of a long beard, the Fourth Elder of the Heavenly Evolution Sect, Venerable Kong Qing.
Apart from the First Elder, Qing Hong, three Great Cultivators of the Heavenly Evolution Sect were all present here.
Additionally, there was a woman in a crimson dress with a captivating beauty. Ning Fa was familiar with her; it was Su Wanwan, the treasure maiden he'd met when he first arrived at the Leiming Sea.
Because she possessed the Dual Water-Fire Golden Cores, it was difficult for her to form a Nascent Soul. Ning Fa had previously helped her shatter her cores and form a Nascent Soul before he participated in the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh, in exchange for her help in finding some Spiritual Materials he needed.
Since then, Ning Fa had lost track of Su Wanwan, and he never expected to meet her again here.
Furthermore, in such a short period, her cultivation had already advanced to the Mid Nascent Soul stage, even reaching the peak of the mid-stage, just one step away from the late-stage.
However, given her mysterious origins and her endless supply of treasures, this wasn't surprising. Her strength was likely not comparable to others at the same level.
The other three were even Great Cultivators, with Hermit Wuxin being close to a top-tier Great Cultivator.
Yet, even so, the four of them combined, facing the offensive of just one person, could only desperately defend.
On the other side, there was a young man in a dark green profound robe. He had handsome features, sharp eyes, and was covered in dense, lightning-like green arcs that resembled thunder snakes.
In addition to this, he was surrounded by extremely sharp, deep green wind blades.
Although his figure wasn't imposing, the overwhelming and powerful Spiritual Pressure he exuded was like the sky and sun, incredibly awe-inspiring.
This was clearly a Spirit Transformation Cultivator.
He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the four people with a mocking expression, like a cat playing with mice.
At this moment, he seemed to sense something and suddenly turned towards Ning Fa's direction.
His aggressive gaze swept over Ning Fa first, then immediately shifted to Daoist Tianbao beside Ning Fa. His sword-like eyebrows furrowed slightly.
It was clear that this person was not unfamiliar with Daoist Tianbao.
Ning Fa looked at this person, his expression solemn.
He recognized this person, or rather, this demon.
This was because Wen Yuchen had previously shared information about known Sea Race and Demon Race Spirit Transformation Cultivators, as well as other high-level information with him.
Among them, the Sea Race's main base was in the Nine Dragons Sea. Although there were Sea Race existences in other cultivation worlds, they were not on a large scale.
As for the Demon Race, like the Human Race, they had significant branches in various cultivation worlds.
There were mainly three major branches.
The first branch was the Demon Race of the Nine Dragons Sea, which established the Demon Court and currently had five Spirit Transformation Demon Cultivators.
This did not even include the Ice Sea Demon Race, which had always been independent and did not interfere in the Nine Dragons Sea's disputes.
Then there was the Cloud Break Demon Race, located between Cangyuan and the Great Qin Cultivation World. Their strength was slightly weaker than the Demon Race of the Nine Dragons Sea, but they also had three Spirit Transformation Demon Cultivators, making them not to be underestimated.
Another branch was the Myriad Demon Sea in the Tianwu Cultivation World, which also had at least three Spirit Transformation Demon Cultivators.
Fairy Qing Yao, who had helped Ning Fa before, her clan land, Qingqiu Sea, was located there.
Undoubtedly, the Demon Race of the Nine Dragons Sea was the strongest branch of the Demon Race in the Human Realm.
The demon cultivator with the overwhelming aura before them was one of the five Spirit Transformation Demon Cultivators of the Demon Court in the Nine Dragons Sea.
His name was Ying Xiao.
He advanced to Spirit Transformation seven hundred years ago. He was the latest to advance among the five Spirit Transformation Demon Cultivators of the Demon Court, but his strength consistently ranked in the top three, second only to Old Demon Qu and Ao Sheng, these two renowned and powerful demon cultivators.
Even in the evaluation of the Tianshu Alliance, Ying Xiao's strength was not far behind these two great demons, and he even had the potential to surpass them in the future.
And these two had been rampaging in the Human Realm for thousands of years as Spirit Transformation Demon Cultivators.
One's true form was the Heaven and Earth Spirit Beast Suanni Beast.
The other was no less impressive, being the patriarch of the Flood Dragon tribe, one of the most powerful demonic beast clans in the Human Realm.
From this, one could see how highly the Tianshu Alliance evaluated Ying Xiao and how wary they were of him.
This was because his true form was the extremely rare Sky-Splitting Thunder Owl.
Born with the great divine abilities of both wind and lightning attributes, it was difficult to find an opponent for him, let alone among cultivators of the same level, even demonic beasts of the same level.
The Tianshu Alliance had once lured him out with a plan to eliminate this great threat. As a result, even Lord Xuanyi personally intervened, but he still managed to escape.
This also made this demon harbor extreme hatred for the Human Race. He had committed acts of city-slaughter, and countless humans had died by his hand.
He was also a representative of the radical faction within the Demon Court. Since his advancement to Spirit Transformation, the friction between the Demon Court and the Human Race had significantly increased.
At this moment, Hermit Wuxin and the other three who were trapped saw Ning Fa and Daoist Tianbao arrive, and their faces lit up with joy. Unfortunately, they were sealed by the vortex and could not come to meet Ning Fa, nor could they even send sound transmissions.
Ning Fa's expression became solemn, and he said to Daoist Tianbao in a deep voice, "Daoist Tianbao, you go support them. I'll deal with this demon."
At this moment, about five hundred miles ahead, another fierce battle was erupting.
There, seven Nascent Soul cultivators of the Human Race were fighting against a charming and alluring woman in a green dress.
This woman exuded a powerful demonic aura, and she was indeed one of the Spirit Transformation Demon Cultivators of the Demon Court – Bai Ning, whose true form was an Azure Water Black Snake.
Although there were more Nascent Soul cultivators on that side, there were only two Great Cultivators, and they possessed only one Spirit Treasure.
Therefore, even though Bai Ning, a Spirit Transformation Demon Cultivator, had not used any powerful divine abilities, the situation there was already precarious.
Upon hearing this, Daoist Tianbao looked at Ning Fa and said plainly, "Are you sure?"
Ning Fa exhaled lightly, his eyes brimming with fighting spirit.
"I also really want to know what my current strength is. This demon before me is a suitable opponent. Even if I can't defeat him, escaping should be fine."
The Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant nodded and said calmly, "Don't forget, you owe me extra payment for this battle. I'll tell you the exact amount after we fight."
With a flash, he disappeared.
Ying Xiao immediately sensed that the Heavenly Treasure Immortal Merchant was heading towards another battle group. He was stunned for a moment, then became furious.
He stared intently at Ning Fa with his sharp eyes and said coldly, "It's been a long time since I've encountered a human cultivator as arrogant as you.
It seems you've just advanced to the late stage and don't know the immensity of heaven and earth, actually daring to contend with Spirit Transformation cultivators like us, especially a Thunder Cultivator.
Hmph, let alone you being in the Nascent Soul realm, even if you advanced to Spirit Transformation, you'd still meet your bane in front of me!"
Ying Xiao said with arrogance.
The world didn't know that although the Sky-Splitting Thunder Owl possessed both wind and lightning attributes, it would face a major choice during its advancement to Spirit Transformation: which attribute to primarily cultivate.
The innate divine abilities that were strengthened or newly comprehended would then be of that attribute, determining its future Immortal Path.
Ying Xiao unhesitatingly chose to primarily cultivate the lightning attribute, which was also the usual choice for high-ranking members of the Sky-Splitting Thunder Owl clan.
As a result, Ying Xiao was also extremely lucky and comprehended several extremely powerful lightning-attribute innate divine abilities.
Not only were their powers astonishing, but they were also extremely effective against demonic beasts or human cultivators of the same lightning attribute.
But in reality, although Ying Xiao was dismissive in his words, there was a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Because for some reason, he felt a sense of unease facing Ning Fa, or more precisely, a feeling of facing a natural predator.
This feeling hadn't appeared for a long time since he began his cultivation. Now, he sensed it from a human in the Nascent Soul stage, which made him find it utterly baffling.
But he immediately let out a cold snort and clenched his right hand fiercely.
With the sound of wind and thunder, the void around Ning Fa fluctuated violently.
A deep green giant claw, over ten zhang long, tore through the void. Wind howled, and arcs of electricity shot out. This claw seemed to be compressed from extremely condensed lightning and wind blades.
Under its fierce grasp, the void itself was torn with deep black cracks.
Facing the astonishing strike of a Spirit Transformation cultivator, Ning Fa's expression remained unchanged. His entire being even seemed to possess a translucent quality.
He didn't form any hand seals; the Heaven-Shattering Sword automatically split into five, circling around him. As it rotated at high speed, it released layers of Sword Qi, instantly forming a five-colored lotus of Sword Qi that enclosed him.
The deep green giant claw lunged forward and collided with this lotus of Sword Qi, creating clanging sounds like metal striking metal, with spiritual light splashing everywhere.
For a moment, the strike from this Spirit Transformation Demon Cultivator was unable to break through the defense of this lotus of Sword Qi.
Seeing this, Ying Xiao's expression darkened, and he changed his hand seals.
The deep green giant claw suddenly retracted and then expanded, releasing hundreds of thick arcs of electricity like lightning pythons, exuding a destructive aura, and lunging towards the lotus of Sword Qi.
But in the next moment, a layer of five-colored lightning suddenly appeared on the surface of this lotus of Sword Qi.
Immediately after, those violent lightning pythons, like a mud ox entering the sea, disappeared into this five-colored lightning without a ripple.
Seeing this, Ying Xiao was dumbfounded and even stopped attacking for a moment.
What he was witnessing was somewhat beyond his comprehension.
Furthermore, as the two exchanged blows, the feeling of facing a natural predator that he sensed from Ning Fa grew stronger, causing his expression to inevitably turn grim.