Ning Fa remembered that there was also a group of Nascent Soul cultivators from the Demon Race and Sea Race trapped in the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh. Venerable Kong Qing from the Heavenly Evolution Sect had even invited him to join the encirclement and suppression operation.
He hadn't spent much time entering Sun Peak this trip, so he should still be able to make it.
With that thought, Ning Fa's escape light shot up, and he flew rapidly towards the east.
One day later.
On the eastern edge of the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh, scarlet waves rolled, and colorful spiritual lights, brilliant yet extremely dangerous, permeated for dozens of miles.
Vaguely visible were the figures of many high-level cultivators, and various Magic Treasures danced about within. Deafening roars echoed through the heavens, clearly indicating that many high-level cultivators were engaged in battle.
Among them, those with distinct foreign features were the Shapeshifted Demonic Beasts of the Demon Race and cultivators of the Sea Race.
The cultivators of both races were clearly at a disadvantage, fighting and retreating, while the high-level human cultivators pursued relentlessly.
After an unknown amount of time, the great battle neared its end. The cultivators of the Sea Race and Demon Race, after leaving behind many corpses, fled with their remaining forces.
In a certain corner, with a scream, the Nascent Soul of a Sea Race cultivator, who was rapidly teleporting, was forced out of the Void by a strange white light, staggering.
Immediately, a golden thunder net swiftly arrived, enveloping it completely.
Then, electricity flashed nearby, and a slender figure appeared, snatching the Sea Race Nascent Soul. With a simple flip of his right hand, the Sea Race Nascent Soul disappeared.
Ning Fa smiled faintly, finally catching up to the final wave of clashes between human, Sea Race, and Demon Race cultivators.
Including the one just now, a total of three Sea Race Nascent Soul cultivators had died by his hand, one in the mid-stage and two in the early stage.
With this, he had gained another four hundred Third-Tier Origin Points, bringing his total to nine hundred Third-Tier Origin Points, exceeding his expectations.
At this moment, a sound of breaking wind rang out, and Ning Fa turned to look.
His escape light converged, and two cultivators, a man and a woman, slowly stopped in the radiant light.
They were a scholar in a long robe and a middle-aged beauty with fierce, phoenix-like eyes, respectively. They were Venerable Kong Qing and Madam Min, two Great Cultivators from the Heavenly Evolution Sect.
The two first glanced at the corpse of the Mid Nascent Soul Cultivator of the Sea Race not far away, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes.
Then, Venerable Kong Qing smiled and said, "Thank you for your assistance, Fellow Daoist Ning. Otherwise, this battle wouldn't have ended so smoothly."
At this moment, Madam Min, who was usually sharp and full of killing intent, also looked at Ning Fa with a gentle smile, her beautiful eyes filled with undisguised curiosity.
Ning Fa smiled and replied, "You flatter me, Fellow Daoist Kong Qing. I merely contributed a small, insignificant effort."
His attitude was neither servile nor overbearing, unlike ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators who would show great reverence when facing Great Cultivators.
Venerable Kong Qing was not offended at all, his smile widening. "If Fellow Daoist Ning has no other plans, why not accompany us to the Ember Abyss Fire Cave, located at the deepest part of the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh?
Although this place is little known, it is considered one of the most dangerous places in the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh.
Now that it has been sealed for over ten thousand years, the dangers within are likely not trivial.
However, inside the Ember Abyss Fire Cave, there are also unimaginably precious Spiritual Materials. There will definitely be the Phoenix Flame Nirvana Fruit, and not in small quantities, with a significant medicinal age.
Furthermore, it's also possible to find the Blazing Sun Fruit there, which is even more precious.
If the three of us join forces, we should be sufficient to handle the dangers within and reap great rewards. Does Fellow Daoist Ning have any interest?"
Upon hearing this, Ning Fa hadn't reacted yet, but Madam Min glanced at Venerable Kong Qing with surprise but said nothing further.
Ning Fa's eyebrows rose, and he chuckled inwardly.
It seemed that Venerable Kong Qing had completely taken him as a cultivator of the same level, otherwise, he wouldn't have extended such an invitation.
Ning Fa also knew clearly that after this trip to the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh, his true strength would surely be impossible to conceal.
And Venerable Kong Qing, having witnessed his actions twice, should have some understanding of his true strength, hence his current attitude.
For Ning Fa, this was not a problem.
After all, with his current strength, he no longer needed to hide his abilities as he did before. Revealing his strength might even provide him with some unexpected conveniences.
Just like Venerable Kong Qing's current invitation to the Ember Abyss Fire Cave; if Venerable Kong Qing hadn't extended the invitation, he wouldn't have known about this place.
Ning Fa hesitated slightly because the Blazing Sun Fruit was a precious Fourth-grade high-grade spiritual fruit, which could potentially enhance his Supreme Fire Divine Thunder origin.
It was very attractive to him, so he was very tempted by Venerable Kong Qing's invitation.
However, he already had other plans.
When he was guarding that red formation eye previously and attacking those Sea Race cultivators, he had performed Soul Searching on one of the Sea Race cultivators. From that, he learned that about three thousand miles southeast of the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh, there was an underwater Tungsten Iron Crystal Mine controlled by the Golden Vortex Tribe of the Sea Race.
This Tungsten Iron Crystal Mine was an extremely rare Fourth-grade spiritual ore, so the Golden Vortex Tribe attached great importance to it, with several Fourth-grade Sea Race cultivators stationed there year-round.
Therefore, Ning Fa had set his sights on this Tungsten Iron Crystal Mine vein at that time.
Now, the Sea Race's attention should still be focused on the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh, so he wanted to take the opportunity to "reap some benefits" there.
If successful, he would not only gain a considerable amount of Tungsten Iron Crystal but also earn another sum of Third-Tier Origin Points.
So, this temptation was even greater for him.
Ning Fa thought for a moment and replied, "Thank you for the invitation, Fellow Daoist Kong Qing. I am indeed very tempted, but I have important matters to attend to and need to leave for three days. I wonder if you could wait?"
Venerable Kong Qing did not hesitate much and nodded, "Just three days is fine. It also happens that my senior sister and I have depleted some of our energy and need to recuperate.
Let's wait for Fellow Daoist Ning to return, and then we can go together."
Ning Fa chuckled lightly, cupped his hands in greeting to the two, and then transformed into a dazzling silver streak of escape light, speeding off towards the east.
After Ning Fa disappeared into the horizon, Madam Min finally couldn't hold back, her delicate eyebrows furrowed as she said, "Is this Fellow Daoist Ning really that formidable?
I see that Junior Brother has completely begun to treat him as an existence of the same cultivation level as us.
Although the strength Fellow Daoist Ning displayed in the recent battle was quite impressive.
Within our Five Spirits Sea, there are also a few fellow Daoists at the Mid Nascent Soul stage who can achieve such a feat."
Upon hearing this, Venerable Kong Qing shook his head and said with a serious expression, "Senior Sister, Fellow Daoist Ning's strength is definitely far beyond your imagination.
In the recent battle, he didn't even use much of his strength, which is why you have this impression.
However, when I went to support that formation eye back then, I saw him make a move from afar, and the strength he displayed at that time was much greater than it is now.
Qi Yan, who was highly valued by the Demon Court and was extremely arrogant, was also cleanly killed by him. I even suspect that he might not have used his full power back then.
Therefore, I deduce that although his realm is still only at the early stage, his true strength should be enough to rival ours.
This is simply incredible. I even specifically verified it before, confirming that Fellow Daoist Ning only advanced to Nascent Soul a few years ago but possesses such strength.
In my impression, only that Demon Lord Zhuang Mingxiao could achieve such a feat shortly after forming his Nascent Soul.
Heh heh, it's possible that Fellow Daoist Ning will become the second Demon Lord in the future."
"Demon Lord!" Madam Min couldn't help but show shock at this.
She never expected that her Junior Brother would have such a high evaluation of Ning Fa, even comparing him to the universally acknowledged peerless talent, the Demon Lord.
On the other side, in a lava swamp area of the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh, a group of cultivators emerged from a hidden exit. They were none other than the Nascent Soul cultivators from the four sects of the Golden Water Marsh.
Besides Mingguang, Luo Feixuan, Ku Chen, Fairy Chaolu, and others, they also included True Monarch Cangya, the First Elder of the Moon Gazing Sect, and the Sect Master of the Sword Ding Sect, as well as other cultivators who had been trapped in the depths of the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh. Clearly, they had all escaped.
At this moment, everyone had smiles on their faces, indicating that they had gained considerable rewards in the depths of the marsh.
However, it was clearly visible that True Monarch Cangya's complexion was somewhat ashen, appearing to have suffered significant exhaustion of vital energy.
His expression suddenly changed, and he couldn't help but cough repeatedly.
Mingguang, who was beside him, was startled and stepped forward, patting his back. He asked with concern, "Father, are you alright?"
The other Nascent Soul cultivators also looked over.
True Monarch Cangya waved his hand and forced a smile, saying, "This old man's lifespan was already nearing its end. Furthermore, I was heavily injured in the pincer attack by the two Nascent Soul cultivators of the Sea Race. Now, I'm afraid my time is short.
However, what brings me comfort is that not only did Feixuan successfully advance to Nascent Soul, but Junior Brother Ning also displayed great divine abilities. This way, I can rest assured after I'm gone."
Upon hearing this, True Lord Mingguang's eyes showed sadness.
At this moment, the Sword Ding Sect Master, a man with a stern face and a thick, short beard, his eyes flashed as he said, "Is that Fellow Daoist Ning really that powerful?"
Hearing this, the other Nascent Soul cultivators from the three sects who had not seen Ning Fa in action before also stirred with interest.
True Monarch Ku Chen, whose face was full of wrinkles, said solemnly, "Fellow Daoist Ning's true strength should be even more formidable than what we described.
Furthermore, based on the information we obtained from the fellow Daoist of the Heavenly Evolution Sect we encountered earlier, Fellow Daoist Ning displayed immense power while defending the formation eye.
He even directly killed Qi Yan, a mid-stage Shapeshifted Demonic Beast highly valued by the Demon Court.
I fear his true strength is only second to the Great Cultivators, perhaps even comparable to newly advanced Great Cultivators.
Fellow Daoist Chu, forgive my bluntness, but you are likely no longer Fellow Daoist Ning's match. The title of the foremost cultivator in the Golden Water Marsh should now fall to Fellow Daoist Ning."
Everyone was surprised by this, their expressions varied.
The Nascent Soul cultivators from the Sword Ding Sect all frowned. The stern-faced Sect Master of the Sword Ding Sect first knitted his brows slightly, then said indifferently:
"Regardless, I must personally experience Fellow Daoist Ning's divine abilities then. Otherwise, I will not be content to simply hand over the title of the foremost cultivator of the Golden Water Marsh."
In fact, this person was not only concerned about his own reputation but also for the Sword Ding Sect.
Once Ning Fa was acknowledged as the foremost cultivator of the Golden Water Marsh, it would undoubtedly mean that the Moon Gazing Sect was also acknowledged as the foremost sect in the Golden Water Marsh.
Then, the corresponding rights and interests would have to be redistributed, and he was naturally unwilling to accept this.
Upon hearing this, True Monarch Ku Chen smiled faintly and said no more.