Ning Fa calmed himself, solemnly put away the two Jade Slips, and then looked at the Sword Soul Pearl floating in the air, his eyes filled with contemplation.
He didn't rashly try to comprehend it. Instead, he closed his eyes and meditated for several hours. After his Divine Soul recovered to its peak state, he sent a wisp of his Spiritual Sense into the Sword Soul Pearl.
In that instant, Ning Fa felt a roar erupt in his Sea of Consciousness, and then he found himself in another strange space.
This place seemed to have no sky and no earth, only a vast expanse of white.
Ning Fa could see a small island floating in the far distance ahead.
However, he didn't know how far he was from that island, and between them, large snowflakes were drifting down from the sky.
A bone-chilling cold emanated from these snowflakes, not a common chill, but a piercing Sword Intent.
These snowflakes were all formed from extremely fine sword qi!
Ning Fa slowly observed everything, his eyes filled with shock.
This Sword Soul Pearl was indeed extraordinary. This space was likely similar to the Cage of the Moon Divine Ability from his Moon God Art, a special Divine Soul space.
But even with Ning Fa's current Divine Soul power, he couldn't ascertain the boundaries of this Sword Soul Pearl space. In fact, his Spiritual Sense dared not probe too deeply.
The closer he got to the island, the more he could feel a terrifying Sword Intent emanating from it, a threat that even he, with his strength, deeply felt.
This couldn't help but move Ning Fa.
This Sword Soul Pearl was definitely more mysterious than he had previously imagined. The sword cultivator who condensed this Sword Soul Pearl must have comprehended Sword Intent to an extremely high realm, possibly a Spirit Transformation sword cultivator!
No wonder tracing the origin of this Sword Soul Pearl required so many Origin Points.
Ning Fa didn't act rashly. Instead, he looked at his waist.
At this moment, a white rope was binding him at the waist, and the other end of the rope disappeared into the air.
Ning Fa tried to move forward and indeed felt a restraining force coming from the rope, preventing him from moving.
Ning Fa pondered for a moment, flicked his finger, and released a Thunderball Technique, but there was no reaction in the air.
Ning Fa released other spells, even trying to summon his Magic Treasure, Blue Lightning, and Little Ice, but they all failed.
Ning Fa was not too surprised and looked thoughtful.
Since this Sword Soul Pearl was used to help cultivators condense Sword Intent, it was normal for ordinary methods to be unusable here.
It was highly likely that one could only act within this space using Sword Intent after comprehending it.
And the first trial was to sever this rope that was holding him.
Ning Fa mused.
As far as he knew, Sword Intent had six stages of comprehension: Condensing Sword into Intent, Sword Soul First Cry, Sword Heart Immaculate, Heaven and Earth as Sword, Sword Domain Unbounded, and Selfless Sword.
Ning Fa estimated that he would need to comprehend the first stage of Sword Intent, "Condensing Sword into Intent," to be able to sever this rope.
And to reach the island ahead, he would need to comprehend a higher level of Sword Intent to deal with the snowflakes formed by the sharp sword qi.
"Condensing Sword into Intent..." Ning Fa murmured.
This was the first stage of Sword Intent. Although it was only the initial stage, comprehending it was still incredibly difficult.
It was no exaggeration to say that among a hundred sword cultivators, not one could comprehend the first stage of Sword Intent.
And as far as Ning Fa knew, to comprehend Condensing Sword into Intent, the key was not only to have a sword in hand but also to have a sword in one's heart.
The sword qi would condense before the sword edge moved, tempering the sword qi with intent, giving form to the formless killing intent.
While most high-level cultivators knew the key to comprehending Sword Intent, knowing it and being able to achieve it were two entirely different matters.
Ning Fa currently had no clue.
Just then, he suddenly felt something and turned sharply to his right.
He saw a Black Robe Cultivator, similar in build to himself, appear not far from him. However, his face was blurry, with only a pair of cold, emotionless eyes. A white rope was also tied around his waist.
Immediately after, an inexplicable aura emanated from the Black Robe Cultivator, and then a white, shimmering light sword suddenly formed in front of him.
With a flash of spiritual light, this sword was instantly unleashed.
At the same time, the rope around his waist was severed.
Ning Fa's eyes widened, staring intently.
As the Black Robe Cultivator disappeared, he glanced at Ning Fa indifferently, and then his figure slowly dissipated.
Ning Fa let out a long sigh, his eyes flickering.
Before the Black Robe Cultivator disappeared, he received a piece of inexplicable information.
This Black Robe Cultivator was named "Sword Puppet," and he could appear once every ten days to demonstrate the process of condensing Sword Intent again.
After the shock, Ning Fa's lips curved slightly.
The Sword Soul Pearl actually used such a method to help cultivators comprehend Sword Intent, which was naturally much better than fumbling around on his own.
Ning Fa closed his eyes and carefully recalled the process of the Black Robe Cultivator condensing the long sword and severing the rope in his Sea of Consciousness, as well as the changes in the surrounding sword qi he had felt during this process.
After an unknown amount of time, Ning Fa's eyes suddenly snapped open.
A surge of Gang Qi churned in front of him, as if something was about to condense, and a sharp aura emanated from it.
After a short while, the ball of gang qi rolled and dissipated on its own. Ning Fa's face turned pale, and a trace of blood even seeped from the corner of his mouth.
He took a deep breath, a thought flickered through his mind, and he vanished directly from the Sword Soul Pearl's space.
The next moment, he reappeared in his quiet room, his divine radiance slightly dimmed.
Spending only a few hours inside the Sword Soul Pearl had already depleted more than half of his Divine Soul power.
Ning Fa couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile. It seemed that comprehending Sword Intent was not something that could be achieved overnight.
But it didn't matter. He believed that with the Sword Soul Pearl, he would eventually comprehend Sword Intent.
Ning Fa let out a soft breath and spent several more hours slightly recovering his Divine Soul.
Then, he took out the Formless True Origin he obtained from the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh this time, along with those few Blazing Sun Fruits, and began to absorb them one by one to enhance his Divine Thunder origin.
In his quiet room, five-colored lightning flickered incessantly, appearing exceptionally mysterious.
A full day later, the anomaly disappeared. Ning Fa reopened his eyes, his gaze full of divine light, and a smile appeared on his face.
It was worth the great battle he had in the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh. Putting aside other gains, his Five Elements Divine Thunder alone had improved significantly.
His Supreme Fire Divine Thunder and Supreme Water Divine Thunder had both advanced from Third-grade mid-tier to Third-grade high-tier, with Supreme Fire Divine Thunder even nearing the peak of Third-grade.
The weakest, Supreme Earth Divine Thunder, had also approached the level of Third-grade high-tier.
As for Supreme Wood Divine Thunder, it had already reached the peak of Third-grade. The next step was Innate Divine Thunder, which required a special Innate Thunder Seed. This was why Ning Fa had specifically exchanged for very little Wood Phase True Origin before.
His Supreme Metal Divine Thunder, which had already reached Innate Divine Thunder, had expanded the Sea of Lightning within his divine treasury slightly after absorbing some Golden Phase True Source. It was a small improvement, as the grade of Supreme Metal Divine Thunder was already very high.
At this moment, Ning Fa stood up and beckoned with his right hand. Several Sound Transmission Talismans, which had been intercepted by the Cave Mansion's barrier, flew to his front.
Ning Fa glanced at them and couldn't help but shake his head and smile. These Sound Transmission Talismans were mostly from Mingguang and Cang Ya.
After all, he had been in seclusion for several days as soon as he returned, and the two were worried that he might have been injured.
Moreover, during this period, other Nascent Soul Cultivators had frequently visited the Moon Gazing Sect, all coming because of his reputation. And some of the famous Nascent Soul Cultivators were difficult for Cang Ya to refuse.
Ning Fa's eyes showed contemplation.
He was wondering if it was still necessary for him to stay in the Moon Gazing Sect.
After all, if he were to serve as the Hall Master of Fu Ling Hall, staying in the Moon Gazing Sect seemed to have little significance.
However, Fu Ling Hall was, after all, an underground force in the Nine Dragons Sea, and many things were inconvenient to do. The Moon Gazing Sect, on the other hand, could.
Especially since the Moon Gazing Sect now had very mature commercial channels, with branches established on major islands in the Leiming Sea and Five Spirits Sea. Expanding to other sea regions in the future would not be too difficult.
This was precisely what Ning Fa valued.
Ning Fa pondered for a moment and decided to have a good talk with True Monarch Cang Ya later.
Although he wouldn't directly reveal that he was about to become the Hall Master of Fu Ling Hall, he would state that he was an elder of Fu Ling Hall and see how Cang Ya reacted.
If Cang Ya could accept it, then he could continue to stay in the Moon Gazing Sect.
If Cang Ya resisted, then Ning Fa would not force the issue.
With this thought, Ning Fa left his quiet room and flew towards the main peak.
He returned at dusk, a faint smile on his lips.
As he had expected, even after he revealed that he was an elder of Fu Ling Hall and that Fu Ling Hall was currently facing a major calamity.
Cang Ya did not show any intention of letting him leave. Instead, he earnestly requested Ning Fa to continue staying in the Moon Gazing Sect.
After all, Cang Ya had lived for a thousand years and was very insightful.
The strength and potential Ning Fa currently displayed meant he would sooner or later become a great figure in the Nine Dragons Sea. So, what if Ning Fa had other identities?
As long as Ning Fa still acknowledged himself as an elder of the Moon Gazing Sect, it was enough.
When Ning Fa was about to approach his Cave Mansion, he noticed three figures, two men and one woman, standing respectfully in front of his Cave Mansion's entrance.
Ning Fa couldn't help but smile. These three were his disciples.
"Greetings, Master!" In the living room of the Cave Mansion, Wen Hui, Fang Han, and Zhou Qing bowed respectfully to Ning Fa.
At this moment, their faces could not hide their excitement and emotion, and their hearts were filled with pride.
In recent times, as Ning Fa's reputation spread further and wider, they, as Ning Fa's disciples, naturally rose in status.
Other disciples in the sect treated the three of them with extraordinary enthusiasm, and even the Uncle Ancestors at the Core Formation Stage treated them very well.
Some Core Formation elders even sought them out privately and bestowed upon them some Spiritual Materials that were extremely precious even to Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
Even Zhou Qing and Fang Han, who were registered disciples, were no exception.
This made them feel as if they were walking on clouds these days.
Ning Fa glanced at them and said with a faint smile, "Not bad, your cultivation has all improved slightly. It seems you haven't slacked off in your cultivation during this time. These Spirit Artifacts are a reward for you."
With that, he flicked his finger, and a ball of light flashed in the air.
In front of Fang Han and Zhou Qing, a black long spear and a blue long saber appeared respectively. Judging from the spiritual light they emitted, they were clearly exquisite Spirit Artifacts.
Fang Han and Zhou Qing were both surprised and delighted. After thanking him, they each put away the Spirit Artifacts in front of them and said loudly, "Thank you, Master!"
Then, they tactfully took their leave, as it was clear that Ning Fa had something to discuss with Wen Hui alone.