Ning Fa's eyes narrowed, and he let out a low shout, "Go!"
Hearing his command, Ning Yunhui and the other Ning Family cultivators turned and fled without hesitation.
At this critical moment, the cultivators from the other two families couldn't spare them any attention.
In an instant, Ning Fa's figure vanished, leaving only a faint bloody trail at the spot.
The next moment, Ning Fa had already crossed over a hundred Zhang, arriving directly beside the small tree bearing the Wood Origin Fruit.
He was even several positions ahead of the Golden-Haired Strange Beast.
The speed of his movement technique was incredibly uncanny.
This was precisely the powerful secret technique, Illusory Demon Escape, from the Illusory Demon Art.
With Ning Fa's current physical strength, he could already travel hundreds of Zhang in a single breath.
He had been harboring this idea before, to use this uncanny escape technique to snatch the Wood Origin Fruit.
That's why he had Ning Yunhui and the others go first, to prevent the other two factions from attacking them and forcing him to stay. After all, it was easy for him to escape on his own.
At this moment, the Golden-Haired Strange Beast was galloping towards them, agilely changing its position to evade the attacks from behind.
It stared blankly at Ning Fa's sudden appearance, then became furious.
It opened its mouth wide and spewed out a deep crimson flame, shooting towards Ning Fa.
But Ning Fa simply spread his hand and unleashed several Silver Lightning Balls, barely blocking the deep crimson flame. The power of the flame made Ning Fa's eyes widen in surprise.
However, he immediately chuckled, swiftly extended his hand, and plucked all the Wood Origin Fruits beside him into his grasp.
Then he vanished, storing them into his Storage Bag.
"Fellow Daoist Ning, please show some mercy!"
"How dare you!"
"Put down the Wood Origin Fruit for me!"
The sudden turn of events stunned Meng Ruoqi, Shi Shaoyang, Xue Danping, and the others who were chasing at the front. They immediately turned pale with shock.
While shouting, they also unceremoniously controlled their Magic Tools to attack Ning Fa.
The closest Golden-Haired Strange Beast, enraged, attacked Ning Fa frantically.
It continuously spewed out the incredibly powerful deep crimson flame without regard for its spiritual energy.
Ning Fa chuckled.
His cyan robe suddenly detached, instantly growing several Zhang in size, emitting a faint cyan light all over, with illusory formations appearing on it.
The next moment, a cloud-white long sword, a verdant wooden flute, and a silver bell, three Top-grade Magic Artifacts, attacked the cyan robe.
"Boom!"
Although the defensive power of this cyan robe was comparable to a High-grade Magic Artifact, it was directly shattered by the immense power of these three Top-grade Magic Artifacts.
By this time, Ning Fa's figure had long since disappeared from his original spot, appearing dozens of Zhang away.
He hadn't stopped activating the Illusory Demon Escape, his blood and qi still burning, his body enveloped in an eerie bloody glow.
He could have escaped directly at this moment, but to buy more time for Ning Yunhui and the others, he decided to stall them a bit longer.
Xue Danping and the others, along with the Golden-Haired Strange Beast, naturally wouldn't let him go and pursued him closely.
Ning Fa activated the Illusory Demon Steps to its maximum power, his figure darting forward and retreating, narrowly dodging most of the attacks.
Even though some attacks landed on him, his current robust physique allowed him to withstand them without changing his expression.
The greatest pressure came from the Golden-Haired Strange Beast.
This beast's movement technique was also incredibly agile, and its physical strength was clearly formidable, managing to keep pace with him.
Moreover, its claws were extremely sharp, comparable to top-tier Top-grade Magic Artifacts, leaving several deep wounds on Ning Fa.
Ning Fa felt that enough time had passed. He forcefully activated his blood and qi, and with a powerful punch, sent the leech-like Golden-Haired Strange Beast flying far away.
Then, he let out a fierce roar, his body suddenly enlarged, and he unhesitatingly activated his Thunder Yuan Overlord Body.
Spiritual light flashed in his hand, and the Cloud-Breaking Spear appeared.
Ning Fa held the spear with both hands and thrust it forward fiercely.
Thunderous roars echoed, and it seemed as if a silver lightning storm had appeared in front of him, which then suddenly dispersed into several clusters, shooting out separately.
The Golden-Haired Strange Beast, Shi Shaoyang, Meng Ruoqi, Xue Danping, and the others who were closely pursuing had their expressions drastically change.
They didn't even bother to attack Ning Fa further, each activating their defensive measures.
Immediately, several clusters of silver lightning exploded, stirring up a tempestuous storm of wind and waves.
Ning Fa's laughter echoed, "Everyone, no need to see me off. Ning is departing."
Just as he was about to activate his Illusory Demon Escape, he looked at Meng Ruoqi with surprise.
Then, without any further hesitation, his figure suddenly blurred and vanished from his original spot.
The next moment, he appeared two hundred zhang away.
After a few blinks, his figure had completely vanished.
Meng Ruoqi, Shi Shaoyang, Xue Danping, and the others exchanged bewildered glances.
Even with their late Qi Condensation spiritual sense, they could no longer detect Ning Fa's trace.
Though unwilling, they knew the Wood Origin Fruit was difficult to reclaim.
Then, the group looked with fury at the Golden-Haired Strange Beast. If it hadn't intervened today, Ning Fa wouldn't have been given such a good opportunity.
The Golden-Haired Strange Beast, wearing an expression of annoyance, sensed that the situation was not right.
Seeing the hostile gazes of the many cultivators, it instantly shivered.
It let out a howl and was immediately enveloped in a layer of golden flames, escaping at an outrageously fast speed.
The people who were about to act froze, watching it disappear before their eyes.
Meng Ruoqi's beautiful jade face showed tightly furrowed brows as she still gazed in the direction Ning Fa had disappeared.
Shi Shaoyang also wore a look of resentment.
It wasn't just because Ning Fa had snatched the Wood Origin Fruit, but also because Ning Fa had stolen the spotlight in front of him again, making him a mere foil.
Xue Danping's expression was also very grim.
She then took out a Sound Transmission Talisman and quickly spoke a sentence.
She turned to look at Meng Ruoqi and Shi Shaoyang, saying with displeasure, "If you two had cooperated with me earlier, perhaps we could have dealt with that Wood Dragon Beast, and Ning Fa wouldn't have been able to snatch the Wood Origin Fruit!"
Shi Shaoyang looked at her and snorted, "How dare you say that! If you hadn't planted an informant under me, how would you have known about the Wood Origin Fruit! You might have even led the Ning Family here!"
Xue Danping faltered.
She was also inwardly annoyed. The informant's message had arrived too late, and only because she was the closest had she rushed over.
If a Foundation Establishment elder had been present today, the Wood Origin Fruit would surely have been theirs.
Xue Danping looked at the two and suddenly smiled, "Fellow Daoist Meng certainly has charm; even Fellow Daoist Shi has become a captive of your allure."
She then looked at Shi Shaoyang and chuckled, "Don't blame this humble one for speaking out of turn, but the Meng Family is already like a great Xia on the verge of collapse. A beauty is good, but Fellow Daoist Shi had best consider carefully to avoid getting mired in the mud and unable to extricate yourself. Perhaps Fellow Daoist Shi might reconsider my suggestion."
With that, she led the Xue Family members and departed grandly.
Meng Ruoqi's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but she quickly regained her composure.
Shi Shaoyang's eyes flashed, but he said with determination, "Ruoqi, don't worry. She can't drive a wedge between us. I will always stand by your side!"
Meng Ruoqi nodded gently.
Her gaze, however, remained fixed on the direction Ning Fa had disappeared, a faint sparkle in her eyes.