The burly man's eyes flashed with cold light as he slowly said, "The matter of transferring the waters has already been approved by the Eighth Elder. It's not something you can interfere with."
Hearing the Eighth Elder's name, Ning Fa frowned, feeling that the situation had become a bit troublesome.
The burly man then looked at Xu Changtai and said in a deep voice, "For Ning Fa's sake, I can agree to increase the compensation Spirit Stones to eight hundred, and give you an extra month's grace period. This is our final ultimatum. If we come back in a month, we won't be so reasonable."
After speaking, he gave Ning Fa a deep look, then pulled the furious and unwilling Ning Jinguang away from the courtyard.
Ning Fa's expression was grim, and he didn't stop the two.
Although he could defeat a cultivator in the middle stage of Qi Condensation, he was still no match for one in the late stage.
Especially since his combat experience was lacking, while the burly man clearly looked like someone who had experienced many battles.
Furthermore, defeating the two would be of no use. After all, they were backed by the Wenchang Island lineage, and had the support of the family's Eighth Elder.
"Xiao Fa, are you alright? Are you injured?"
Xu Changtai hurried over.
The shock was still evident on his face.
It wasn't just him; the other Xu Family cultivators were also in the same state.
They never expected that Ning Fa, who was only at the third level of Qi Condensation, could so cleanly defeat a cultivator at the sixth level. It was truly beyond their comprehension.
"I'm fine. How is Brother Ting?"
Ning Fa shook his head, then looked at Xu Guanting, who was still lying on the ground, with concern.
"I've already given Guanting a Spring Return Pill, and he's much better now. Xiao Fa, thank you for your help."
Lü Xia, with tear stains still on her face, said to Ning Fa with gratitude.
Ning Fa went over to check on Xu Guanting and found that the bloodstains on his face had faded considerably. He felt relieved, but his heart was still filled with anger.
He looked at Xu Changtai and asked in a deep voice, "Uncle, what exactly is going on with this water domain transfer?"
Xu Changtai sighed and no longer concealed the truth, explaining the situation.
After Ning Fa listened, his expression became uncertain.
The Xu Family's main industry was raising Spirit Fish.
Five years ago, shortly after Ning Fa's father, Ning Zhiyuan, had just died.
Because the Xu Family's Spirit Fish harvest was substantial every year, their long-standing breeding waters were coveted, and they were forcibly made to transfer them.
The ones responsible for this were from the Wenchang Island lineage.
Lacking their backing, the Xu Family could only comply, receiving meager compensation before moving to another barren water domain to continue raising Spirit Fish.
From then on, their harvest plummeted, and they could barely make ends meet.
However, recently, the Xu Family's fortunes had taken a turn.
A small earthquake three months ago caused large patches of Red Coral Stone to emerge from the lakebed in the Xu Family's breeding waters.
This Red Coral Stone was not a particularly precious Spirit Ore, but a special Red Coral Grass could grow on it.
Although Red Coral Grass was only a low-grade first-tier Spiritual Grass, its growing conditions were harsh, and it was known to only grow on Red Coral Stone.
Despite its low grade, Red Coral Grass was a favorite food for many Spirit Fish.
If several types of Spirit Fish were fed Red Coral Grass regularly, it not only accelerated their growth and made their flesh contain richer spiritual energy, but also gave them a chance to advance in tier.
For example, the precious mid-grade first-tier Spirit Fish, the Blood Sturgeon and the He Pomfret.
The Blood Sturgeon and He Pomfret raised with Red Coral Grass could fetch at least forty to fifty percent more, and their growth cycle could be reduced by at least two to three years from the original ten.
The Xu Family was overjoyed and quickly bought Red Coral Grass seeds to plant.
They also bought fry of Blood Sturgeon and He Pomfret in large quantities, spending a significant amount of Spirit Stones, almost depleting the Xu Family's reserves.
It was a desperate gamble, hoping to make a fortune from these Spirit Fish.
But reality immediately dealt a heavy blow to the expectant Xu Family.
News that large amounts of Red Coral Stone had emerged beneath their breeding waters somehow leaked out, and the Wenchang Island lineage got wind of it.
Thus, a month ago, the Wenchang Island lineage sent people to try and force the Xu Family to transfer these waters again.
The Xu Family naturally refused, as they had already spent nearly all their savings to buy Red Coral Grass seeds and numerous Spirit Fish fry.
If they transferred the waters at this point, it would be tantamount to throwing all their investments down the drain.
However, the Wenchang Island lineage, as a powerful branch of the Ning Family with considerable strength apart from the major direct lineages, had always acted arrogantly and had a notorious reputation.
They cared little for the fate of a small affiliated family like the Xu Family.
They had already used their connection with the family's Eighth Elder to gain tacit approval for the matter and then forced the Xu Family to transfer the waters.
During their last encounter, they had already injured Ning Fa's cousin.
This time, they had come intending to forcibly compel the Xu Family to sign the transfer agreement.
If Ning Fa hadn't been present today, the Xu Family would likely have been forced to sign the agreement.
"Xiao Fa, forget it. Given your face, it's already good that they're willing to give eight hundred Spirit Stones. It can already compensate for a lot of our losses. Let's just give them the waters."
Xu Changtai forced a smile as he tried to persuade them, but the despondency in his eyes was impossible to hide.
The other Xu Family cultivators also wore somber, sorrowful expressions, and some of the elder ones had tears welling up in their eyes.
They had initially believed the appearance of the Red Coral Stone was a blessing from heaven for their Xu Family, only to find out it was merely paving the way for others.
Ning Fa's expression was grim, his eyes flashing with sharp light.
He was contemplating whether he could help the Xu Family overcome this difficulty.
He wasn't an idiot; he wouldn't stubbornly push forward when he knew something was impossible.
On one side was the powerful Wenchang Island faction, and behind them was the family's Eighth Elder.
The fact that he could get them to increase the compensation Spirit Stones to eight hundred was already showing him respect.
Although he also had the family's Ninth Elder as his backer, his relationship with Ning Shaohong wasn't particularly close at the moment.
Asking the Ninth Elder to intervene in such a matter would be an extremely unwise decision.
Putting aside whether she would be willing, even if she did help, the favor would be immense.
After all, it would mean incurring the displeasure of both the Wenchang Island faction and the Eighth Elder's faction.
If Ning Fa insisted on her help, it was highly likely that Ning Shaohong would no longer pay attention to him after this incident.
Ning Fa quickly analyzed the pros and cons.
Though unwilling, he decided not to interfere further.
He would compensate the Xu Family when he became stronger in the future.
However, even with this thought, a knot of resentment remained in his heart.
But suddenly, Ning Fa's expression shifted as if he had thought of something.
His eyes lit up, and he said to Xu Changtai, "Maternal Uncle, you don't need to rush into a decision. Wait for me to return."
With that, he hastily left the area.
The remaining Xu Family cultivators exchanged glances, a glimmer of hope flashing in their eyes.
Ning Fa arrived at the dock and found that old man Ning Cunli hadn't left yet.
Ning Fa rented his Spirit Boat again and headed directly for Yun Chang Island.
Shortly after, Ning Fa arrived at Yun Chang Island. He didn't even have time to interact with Ning Xiuying before rushing to the Spirit Embroidery Hall.
Still in that elegant pavilion, Ning Fa met Ning Shaohong again.
Ning Shaohong seemed to have just finished bathing; her entire body exuded a lustrous sheen of water.
She was wearing a white qingyu gauze dress, her exquisite curves subtly outlined.
The mature and alluring charm was almost too much for the experienced Ning Fa to bear, and he stared, momentarily stunned.
Ning Shaohong's clear, water-like eyes fixed on Ning Fa, a faint smile in their depths.
For some reason, seeing Ning Fa always made her feel good.
In her opinion, Ning Fa resembled her father, but his appearance was even more outstanding—handsome, refined, and as pure as jade.
However, the Ning Fa of the past was dull, timid, and stubborn, which she disliked. Thus, even after Ning Zhiyuan's demise, she didn't think much of Ning Fa.
But the current Ning Fa seemed to have awakened in both his alchemy skills and personality. He was poised and confident, exhibiting the demeanor of his father, which made her feel even more favorably towards him.