Fairy Bai Feng broke free from Ning Fa's embrace.
She looked at Ning Fa quietly, then said softly, "Senior Brother Ning, please don't make things difficult for me. As long as you are still my Senior Brother, that would be enough for me."
Ning Fa's brow furrowed upon hearing this. Just as he was about to say something else, Fairy Bai Feng reached out her delicate hand and covered his mouth, her eyes pleading with him.
Seeing Fairy Bai Feng's resolute attitude, Ning Fa sighed inwardly. Although Fairy Bai Feng already had him in her heart, her pride and aloofness wouldn't allow her to simply yield to him.
Unless he was willing to abandon his other companions.
In that regard, Fairy Bai Feng was very much like Duanmu Ling before her.
At this moment, a pained expression flashed across Fairy Bai Feng's delicate face.
Ning Fa immediately looked at her right foot, almost forgetting that Fairy Bai Feng was currently poisoned by a snake.
He immediately took out a high-grade pill from his Storage Ring and fed it into Fairy Bai Feng's mouth without allowing her to refuse.
Then, Ning Fa said seriously, "Right, Junior Sister, what is the situation with Senior Brother Cang Lei and the disciples from other sects? Why are you being chased alone by other Tianli Cultivators?"
Fairy Bai Feng finally snapped out of her surprise at seeing Ning Fa and hurriedly said, "Because our sect's military achievements were insufficient, Uncle-Master Cang Lei had to take on a high-difficulty mission.
We came to this frontline outpost to mine as much ore as possible from these precious Spirit Mine Veins.
To increase efficiency, we Core Formation elders each led disciples to mine in different veins.
I happened to be at an outer vein, and just a short while ago, we were suddenly attacked by a large group of Tianli Cultivators. Those two chased me, which is why I fled all the way here.
However, before I left, I observed that the enemy presence at the main mine vein was even greater, with at least two Nascent Soul stage Tianli Cultivators. Senior Brother Ning, we must go rescue them quickly!"
Ning Fa nodded.
"Your escape speed is too slow, I'll take you!"
Then, without allowing Fairy Bai Feng to refuse, Ning Fa pulled her into his arms again and transformed into a dazzling silver streak of light, speeding eastward.
A seductive blush reappeared on Fairy Bai Feng's delicate face, but she didn't struggle.
Ning Fa took out another high-grade Recovery Elixir and handed it to Fairy Bai Feng.
After she consumed it, her previously weak aura rapidly recovered.
Ning Fa also nodded secretly. After not seeing her for decades, Fairy Bai Feng had also advanced to the Mid Core Formation stage.
He remembered that Bai Feng, like him, had a flawed Ice Spiritual Root. It was quite difficult for her to reach this point.
Soon, Ning Fa and Fairy Bai Feng flew to the central area of the rich mining zone.
There, they saw a mountain over a thousand feet high. Near this mountain, dozens of fierce battles were erupting, with the spiritual lights of various Magic Treasures, Divine Abilities, and spells illuminating the sky.
Ning Fa's Spiritual Sense swept over the area, and his expression couldn't help but show excitement, because in these battle groups were people he knew:
Ouyang Qinghe, Duanmu Ling, Liu Qinghui, Liu Ruohong, Zheng Xuanyan, Nie Guping, Young Commander...
Ning Fa's eyes couldn't help but moisten slightly. He then took a deep breath and set Fairy Bai Feng down.
"Junior Sister, be careful and don't push yourself."
Ning Fa cautioned her, then disappeared in a flash of silver electric light.
Fairy Bai Feng watched him reappear a hundred feet away, a smile playing on her lips. She then summoned her White Ice Sword again and flew towards the nearest battle.
On the other side, blue water light flashed continuously. Under Ning Fa's command, Blue Lightning had already unleashed its full power, activating its Water Escape Technique and rapidly charging towards the Tianli Cultivators.
In one of the battle groups, a beautiful woman wearing a Lotus Root Skirt, with an exceptionally pure and delicate appearance, was leading several Foundation Establishment stage disciples of the Huayu Sect in a fierce battle against two Tianli Cultivators at the Core Formation stage.
This beautiful woman was none other than Liu Qinghui, whom Ning Fa hadn't seen in a long time.
She still had her usual gentle and lovely demeanor, but her eyes were filled with cold calmness.
Having already reached the Mid Core Formation stage, she wielded a green ribbon Magic Treasure and another White Jade Bracelet that flashed with numerous bracelet shadows. She managed to block most of the attacks from the two cultivators of the same realm, showing no signs of falling behind.
Just then, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air. A Lightning Sword, flashing with intense lightning, struck with incredible speed.
One of the Tianli Cultivators didn't even have time to react before his chest was pierced. Then, a powerful lightning force erupted, and his entire body exploded.
The Lightning Sword then circled and slashed downwards fiercely.
Even though the other Tianli Cultivator, who was also at the Mid Core Formation stage, had already fearfully summoned several defensive Magic Treasures, they were all shattered by the sword's strike. He himself was split from top to bottom, directly perishing.
Liu Qinghui and the Huayu Sect disciples were stunned. Immediately, with a sound of wind and thunder, a silver streak of light flashed in front of Liu Qinghui, revealing Ning Fa's figure. He looked at Liu Qinghui with a smile.
Liu Qinghui stared blankly at this extremely familiar face, frozen like a statue for a moment. Then, her eyes misted over, and tears streamed down her face.
Ning Fa hadn't expected Liu Qinghui to react so strongly upon seeing him, but he didn't have time to say more. He nodded to Liu Qinghui and disappeared again with a flash.
Liu Qinghui remained motionless, looking in the direction he disappeared, her vision blurred by tears, but the corners of her mouth curved upwards, and her eyes shone with brilliance.
Behind her, the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment disciples of the Huayu Sect all had expressions of wild joy.
"Junior Uncle Ning... is back?" one of them murmured in disbelief.
Another excitedly shouted with great certainty, "Yes, Junior Uncle Ning is back!"
The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers.
In a central battle group, five Tianli Core Formation cultivators were surrounding and attacking a young man in a green robe.
This person was none other than Zheng Xuanyan, currently ranked seventh on the Star Ranking.
He appeared as gentle and refined as jade, with a colossal black tree materializing around him, unleashing countless sharp black leaves that swept outwards.
Despite fighting five opponents, three of whom were late Core Formation cultivators, he held his ground without the slightest disadvantage.
At this moment, a crackle of thunder echoed. Behind one of the Tianli cultivators, a silver figure suddenly appeared and punched directly through the cultivator's chest. The figure then flickered, swiftly killing another.
The remaining three, struck with terror, scattered and fled. However, endless black leaves surged towards them, and soon all three were annihilated under the onslaught of these leaves and the silver figure's attacks.
Ning Fa looked at Zheng Xuanyan before him and couldn't help but sigh, "Senior Brother Zheng, I've returned."
Zheng Xuanyan's eyes were reddened. After a few moments of pause, he chuckled, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."
His expression then turned serious. "Martial Uncle, please go help above. Martial Uncle Cang Lei is currently locked in combat with two Nascent Soul cultivators."
Ning Fa nodded, transforming into a dazzling beam of light as he flew upwards, with Blue Lightning following closely behind.
In the sky several hundred feet away, True Lord Cang Lei had transformed into a silver Thunder Giant tens of feet tall.
He had clearly activated the Divine Firmament Manifestation from the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture, but it was far from its complete form, only a nascent stage, similar to the nascent stage of the Divine Firmament Manifestation Ning Fa had activated during his late Core Formation stage.
Lightning, dense as silver snakes, erupted from him. Each punch carried the power to shake mountains, appearing incredibly potent.
The other two Tianli cultivators were no less powerful. One was a burly man with a face full of coarse flesh, clad in heavy armor, standing atop a colossal, ten-zhang-long, single-horned deep black giant python.
Under the man's command, the python was incredibly agile. With a flick of its tail, it appeared ten feet away as if by teleportation, causing most of the Thunder Giant's attacks to miss.
Simultaneously, both the black heavy mace wielded by the burly man and the black beam of light spat from the giant python's mouth posed significant threats, leaving scars on the Thunder Giant.
The other opponent was a hunched old woman with a face full of wrinkles. Above her head floated what appeared to be an ordinary green oil lamp.
However, it spewed forth a sea of green fire, causing even the surrounding void to crackle and sizzle.
The Divine Firmament Manifestation formed by True Lord Cang Lei seemed to be extremely wary of this green sea of fire, not daring to let it get too close.
Just then, the burly man and the old woman exchanged glances, their expressions filled with surprise and uncertainty.
Their spiritual senses had also detected the arrival of Ning Fa and Blue Lightning, especially the swift elimination of their own Core Formation cultivators.
They had also sensed the formidable strength of Ning Fa and Blue Lightning, who were by no means comparable to ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.
The burly man's eyes first flashed with anger, then he took a deep breath and said to the old woman, "Reinforcements have arrived. We should abandon this place and retreat."
Before his words had even finished, the black giant python beneath him swung its tail heavily, and then rapidly retreated backward.
The old woman also shot True Lord Cang Lei a fierce glance, similarly mounting her escape light and fleeing in another direction.
But then True Lord Cang Lei's booming voice echoed, "You think you can leave now? Isn't it too late?"
Immediately, the right hand of the Divine Firmament Manifestation slammed down. Surging silver lightning transformed into a sea of thunder, enveloping the old woman.
Although the vast green sea of fire above the old woman's head blazed brightly, melting the surrounding lightning, more lightning surged in.
Under the overwhelming thunder, the old woman was trapped within for the moment.
On the other side, Ning Fa said to Blue Lightning, "Blue Lightning, go help Senior Brother Cang Lei."
With that, he vanished amidst the sound of wind and thunder, employing the Lightning Escape technique to pursue the burly man.
After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a world-shattering roar resounded.
The corpse of the black giant python heavily crashed into the mountain forest below, while the burly man's Nascent Soul was trapped within a golden lightning net, unconscious.
A slight smile curved Ning Fa's lips. He grabbed the man's Nascent Soul with his right hand, preparing to perform a soul-searching technique.
He wanted to see the current situation of Tianli through this high-level Tianli cultivator.
However, to Ning Fa's great surprise, as soon as he invaded the man's sea of consciousness, a peculiar black symbol suddenly emerged from it.
With a twist, it transformed into the phantom image of a strange demonic beast, neither snake nor flood dragon.