The Flying Boat soon stopped at a location on the mountainside of Binghua Mountain.
Below them was a white stone plaza, over ten miles long and wide, with a majestic great hall situated within it.
This was one of the Ice Spirit Palace's Transmission Halls, which contained a teleportation array built with the help of the Spiritual Pivot Pavilion. It could directly connect to Shenwu City in the southern part of Wu Kingdom.
After waiting for a while, another Nascent Soul stage elder from the Ice Spirit Palace arrived, along with over a dozen Core Formation cultivators.
Seeing Ning Fa, these people were naturally surprised once again.
After further introductions, everyone entered the hall.
As the teleportation array in the center flickered a few times, the group disappeared one after another.
Not long after, in another solemn great hall.
Deep within this hall, seven teleportation arrays were arranged in a row, all emitting a faint white light and in an activated state.
Nearby, a squad of cultivators in armor stood guard. Their leader was a woman in red armor, looking heroic and spirited. She was at the peak of the Core Formation stage.
This woman sat behind a desk, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, appearing somewhat distracted. She kept glancing towards the hall entrance.
Before long, the sound of steady footsteps could be heard. A tall, muscular bald man strode in quickly. He was a Mid Core Formation cultivator.
Upon seeing him arrive, the woman in red armor immediately stood up with a "swish," her eyes filled with nervousness.
Her subordinates, who were at the Foundation Establishment stage, also looked over curiously, many with anticipation on their faces.
The bald man walked quickly to the woman in red armor and said casually, "Senior Martial Sister Wu, the new Star Ranking is out. You ranked..."
As he spoke, the bald man chuckled and stopped himself.
The woman in red armor was instantly annoyed. She raised her right hand, which flashed with red light, and said, "It's like this, and you're still playing coy with me? Hurry up and say it!"
The bald man smiled, rubbing his bald head, then said seriously, "Senior Martial Sister Wu, congratulations. This time, you've ranked eighty-seventh on the Star Ranking.
According to past practice, you are eligible to receive a drop of diluted Kunxia Secret Water from the Spiritual Pivot Pavilion.
Even though it's diluted secret water, with your talent and the sect's assistance, I believe your chances of forming a Nascent Soul are not small."
Hearing this, the woman in red armor felt as if a weight had been lifted from her heart. Her previously tense pretty face finally relaxed, and she broke into a smile.
This was because entering the Star Ranking was not just a symbol of strength and status, but also came with tangible benefits.
Currently, the Star Ranking still listed one hundred and fifty Core Formation cultivators, divided into six tiers:
The top ten, eleventh to thirtieth, and then every thirty ranks thereafter.
Cultivators entering the ranking for the first time, or those who made a tier jump for the first time, would receive a precious Spiritual Material from the Spiritual Pivot Pavilion.
If they were on the verge of breaking through a major realm, this Spiritual Material would very likely be a realm-breaking item. Otherwise, it could be a high-quality Magic Treasure or Ancient Treasure whose owner had not yet been determined.
Once a cultivator entered the fourth tier, they would be eligible to receive a Nascent Soul Formation Spiritual Material from the Spiritual Pivot Pavilion, and the higher the tier, the more precious this Nascent Soul Formation Spiritual Material would be.
However, even the most ordinary diluted Kunxia Secret Water could increase the chance of forming a Nascent Soul by less than half a percent, which was still extremely attractive.
The Spiritual Pivot Pavilion's best Nascent Soul Formation Spiritual Material could even increase the probability of forming a Nascent Soul by about one and a half percent.
But such precious items were only obtainable by those in the top two tiers of the Star Ranking who were recognized by the Spiritual Pivot Pavilion as having potential.
It could be said that over the years, the Spiritual Pivot Pavilion's rewards had played a significant role in the increase of Nascent Soul cultivators in the Cangyuan Cultivation World.
This was also why the woman in red armor had been so nervous earlier.
In the previous few Star Ranking updates, she had been hovering in the nineties, still in the fifth tier, and thus not eligible for Nascent Soul Formation Spiritual Materials.
Therefore, even though she was fully capable of attempting to form a Nascent Soul, she had held back, even taking on dangerous missions on the front lines.
And after killing a Tianli cultivator of the same level half a year ago, she had a premonition that her Star Ranking would improve this time.
Now, it had indeed happened.
With this drop of diluted Kunxia Secret Water, combined with the Nascent Soul Formation Spiritual Material she would receive from the sect, Her chances of successfully forming a Nascent Soul would be close to ten percent, which was already a considerable probability.
Thinking of this, the woman in red armor's mood greatly improved. She smiled and said, "Thank you, junior martial brother. I'll treat you to a good meal later.
Oh, and show me the latest Star Ranking."
The bald man chuckled and produced a Jade Slip, handing it to the woman in red armor.
Just then, a buzzing sound suddenly came from behind them, and everyone turned to look.
One of the seven teleportation arrays was emitting a brilliant white light, clearly indicating that someone was about to teleport over.
The woman in red armor, holding the Jade Slip, said solemnly, "This is the teleportation array leading to the Ice Spirit Palace. It seems the Ice Plains Alliance has sent reinforcements."
Saying that, she immediately walked towards it, and the bald man followed.
Amidst the intense white light of the teleportation array, several figures appeared – it was Ning Fa, Ye Xuanqing, and the others.
"Divine Heart Sect's Wu Hong (He Tao) greets all seniors of the Ice Spirit Palace."
The woman in red armor and the bald man cupped their fists in greeting with respectful expressions.
At this moment, Ning Fa first looked around curiously, then his gaze settled on the woman in red armor. A look of surprise appeared on his face.
He recognized this Wu Hong from the Divine Heart Sect; in fact, they even had some acquaintance.
When the Divine Maiden Zhu Lingyun had sent her attendants to Gray Luo Island before, she had promised Ning Fa a batch of precious spiritual materials. The person she had sent to liaign with him then was this Wu Hong.
He hadn't expected that the first acquaintance he would meet upon returning to Cangyuan would be her.
At this moment, Wu Hong also felt Ning Fa's gaze and couldn't help but look up.
Upon seeing Ning Fa looking at her with a smile, she froze entirely, as did the bald, burly man with her. Both of them had expressions as if they had seen a ghost.
The cultivators from the Ice Spirit Palace naturally knew what was going on and simply smiled without speaking.
"Y-you, you're Ning Fa? Didn't you already perish?" Wu Hong asked, pointing at Ning Fa with a look of utter disbelief.
Ning Fa chuckled, "Fellow Daoist Wu, I encountered an accident some time ago and was unfortunately trapped in a place for a long time. I've only just managed to return.
It seems your cultivation has advanced further, reaching the False Nascent Soul stage. I offer my congratulations and wish you success in forming your Nascent Soul."
Wu Hong and the bald, burly man still wore expressions of disbelief. They then noticed Ning Fa's cultivation realm, and their eyes widened even further.
Wu Hong exclaimed in shock, "Fellow Daoist Ning, no, Senior Ning, you... you're already a Nascent Soul cultivator?"
"I had a fortunate encounter, coupled with some luck, and managed to successfully form my Nascent Soul," Ning Fa replied with a calm smile.
Wu Hong took a deep breath, her expression gradually regaining composure, but the look in her eyes showed she still hadn't recovered from the shock.
After all, Ning Fa was no ordinary individual. His momentum at the time was said to be unstoppable, and he was ranked alongside Wang Xuance of the Taiqing Sect at the top of the Star Ranking.
What's more, Ning Fa was significantly younger than Wang Xuance, which only highlighted his terrifying potential.
Even back then, Ning Fa was already considered to possess strength close to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Now that he had returned after forming his Nascent Soul, how strong would his true power be?
At this point, Ning Fa couldn't wait to ask, "Fellow Daoist Wu, do you know how the Huayu Sect and the Ning Family have fared over these years?"
As he spoke, Ning Fa's eyes couldn't help but show a trace of nervousness.
After all, Shenwu City was very close to the Yunxi Mountain Range in the Xu Kingdom. Moreover, due to his involvement, the Ning Family's First Elder, Ning Zhongyuan, was also acquainted with Wu Hong. Therefore, Wu Hong should have a clearer understanding of the situation.
Wu Hong's expression faltered immediately, and a look of difficulty flashed in her eyes, as if she didn't know how to explain.
Seeing this, Ning Fa's face darkened, but he maintained his composure. "Fellow Daoist Wu, what exactly is the situation? Please, speak freely."
Wu Hong gave a wry smile. After a moment of thought, she said, "Senior Ning, you needn't worry too much. From what I know, both the Huayu Sect and the Ning Family are currently managing, but... the situation is indeed not very good."
Upon hearing this, Ning Fa's face instantly clouded over, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and an astonishing aura of killing intent erupted from him.
The intensity of this killing intent made the entire hall feel like it had descended into a frigid abyss.
However, in the blink of an eye, this aura vanished without a trace.
Mu Nianfeng, Ruan Bingxin, Ye Xuanqing, and the other Nascent Soul cultivators from the Ice Spirit Palace looked at Ning Fa with astonishment, shock, and apprehension in their eyes.
The moment that killing intent had manifested, even with their cultivation realms, they had felt a sense of heart-stopping dread.
This made them inwardly shocked: how many cultivators had Ning Fa killed to possess such a potent aura?
Those like Ruan Bingxin and Ye Xuanqing, who had witnessed Ning Fa's previous displays of power, knew that Ning Fa was definitely not an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.
As for cultivators like Mu Nianfeng and others from the Ice Spirit Palace, their eyes were filled with surprise. Only now did they realize that the former top-ranked individual on the Star Ranking was indeed worthy of his title.
In fact, although Ning Fa had only been a Nascent Soul cultivator for a little over ten years, the number of Nascent Soul cultivators who had died by his hand was already considerable, numbering over a dozen.
Among them were many Mid Nascent Soul cultivators, and not a few were powerhouses who surpassed their peers.
Not to mention the even greater number of Core Formation cultivators who had perished by his hand when he was still in the Core Formation stage, it was understandable why his killing intent was so heavy.
At this moment, Ning Fa's expression had returned to normal, and he asked calmly, "Fellow Daoist Wu, what exactly is the trouble? Please tell me about it."
Wu Hong's wry smile deepened. "Junior doesn't quite know where to begin. In any case, Senior Ning is back now, and you should be able to learn the detailed situation soon. I believe these troubles can also be resolved easily.
And please rest assured, Senior, from what I know, most of the key figures in both the Huayu Sect and the Ning Family are still alive."
Ning Fa's brows furrowed slightly. He could tell that Wu Hong seemed to have some unspoken difficulty, so he didn't press further. Her words also eased his mind somewhat.
Since he would be returning soon anyway, he wanted to see what kind of trouble the Huayu Sect and the Ning Family were currently facing.