"What?" Everyone was shocked and looked at Ning Fa in disbelief.
How long had it been? Another enemy Nascent Soul Cultivator had died at Ning Fa's hands?
Moreover, many people present knew about Gelu from the Beast Barbarian Tribe.
This person was no ordinary figure. Not only was his own strength not weak, but his ferocious beast, the Black Profound Python, possessed the strength of an ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivator.
The two of them combined could contend with a Mid Nascent Soul Cultivator, and Ning Fa had actually killed them both?
Ning Fa smiled faintly and then flicked his right hand.
In a mass of black light, a ferocious python head, about ten feet in size, smashed onto the ground with a "bang."
Everyone in the grand hall was startled and stared intently at the ferocious python head.
Fairy Liyue's eyes also flashed with a hint of surprise, and she nodded, "Indeed, this is Gelu's Black Profound Python. Fellow Daoist Ning is truly powerful with his Divine Abilities..."
Although Ning Fa hadn't produced Gelu's head, there was no room for doubt. After all, Tianli also had spies from Cangyuan, and news of such a Nascent Soul Cultivator's demise could be easily confirmed.
Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but exclaim again.
Ning Fa's expression remained unchanged, but then his brow furrowed slightly, and his peripheral vision couldn't help but glance at someone seated on the right side of the hall.
It was a dwarf, no more than three feet tall, wearing a somewhat oversized Daoist robe with a white crane printed on the front, giving him a rather comical appearance.
This person was the First Elder of Golden Scale Valley, True Lord Yunhe.
True Lord Yunhe, like everyone else, looked at Ning Fa with shock.
Ning Fa stopped looking at him but felt a bit puzzled.
Fairy Biwu gave Ning Fa a deep look, then smiled, "Fellow Daoist Ning, your victory in this battle is a great merit. When we return to Tianyu City, I will personally request a commendation for you."
After speaking, her expression turned serious, and she continued, "Alright, now that everyone is here, I have an important matter to discuss.
Does everyone know why so many of our fellow Daoists have gathered at this Huangdang Mountain stronghold?"
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances. Hadn't they come here to defend this stronghold?
But Fairy Biwu's words clearly held a deeper meaning.
Ding Yanbo of the Tianming Sect, with his shrewd expression, said thoughtfully, "Before, I felt that it was a bit excessive for so many of our fellow Daoists to be stationed at Huangdang Mountain. Now, hearing Fellow Daoist Biwu speak, it seems there's another reason?"
Fairy Biwu nodded, "Precisely.
While the Spirit Stone Mine and the Third-grade Spirit Mine Veins here are valuable, they cannot be exploited much in a short period. Compared to another item here, their value is far less.
Perhaps everyone doesn't know, but our Cangyuan Elder Council began secretly preparing to refine a special treasure over ten years ago.
This treasure is specifically designed to deal with Tianli cultivators and is extremely important to us.
One of the main components of this treasure is located in Huangdang Mountain, which is why I have led so many fellow Daoists here this time. The true purpose is to protect the component of this treasure."
The people in the hall were shocked, their expressions trembling. They hadn't expected such a reason.
Liyue, Yunhe, Jiujian, and others were also stunned. They had been stationed at Huangdang Mountain for several years but had no knowledge of this matter.
Ning Fa's eyebrows also rose in surprise. Judging from Fairy Biwu's words, that treasure was likely extraordinary, possibly a Spirit Treasure.
At this moment, his expression shifted, and he casually glanced in the direction of True Lord Yunhe.
True Lord Yunhe was stroking his sparse beard, his small eyes darting around, appearing extremely shocked and curious.
Ning Fa maintained his composure, but secretly activated the Moon God Heart in his sea of consciousness. His Spiritual Sense was instantly stimulated to its maximum, becoming incredibly detailed.
At this moment, Fairy Miaoyin lightly opened her lips and said, "Fellow Daoist Biwu, is there something special about Huangdang Mountain that requires the component of that treasure to be nurtured here?"
Fairy Biwu met everyone's gaze and shook her head, "I apologize, but this treasure is a secret. For now, only the elders of the Elder Council know about it, so please forgive me for not being able to say more."
However, everyone understood. Although Fairy Biwu hadn't said much, it was certain that Huangdang Mountain had special characteristics, which was why the Elder Council would place such an important treasure in this frontline position.
At this moment, True Lord Yun Jing's eyes flashed with concern, "But the military situation is tense now, and the Tianli army is already approaching.
We repelled their vanguard this time, but the next time they attack, it might not be so easy. Are we going to hold this place to the death?"
Others also showed worry. Although there were many Nascent Soul Cultivators at the Huangdang Mountain stronghold now, the Tianli army was not to be trifled with.
If they were surrounded, even they, as Nascent Soul Cultivators, might not be able to escape.
Fairy Biwu smiled, "Everyone, no need to worry too much. I have already confirmed it using a secret technique.
That treasure will take about another month to be fully formed. So, by then, if the enemy army presses in, we can retreat at our leisure.
But before that, we will have to trouble everyone to defend.
According to our intelligence analysis, the main attack direction of the Tianli vanguard army should be the more strategically important Luohun Mountain stronghold.
Therefore, with the current strength of Huangdang Mountain, holding on for a month should not be a problem."
"A month..." Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions slightly eased, but there was still concern.
At this moment, Fairy Biwu changed the subject, "The Elder Council has also considered the considerable risks involved. Therefore, all fellow Daoists participating in the defense of Huangdang Mountain will receive triple the combat merit."
As soon as Fairy Biwu said this, everyone nodded secretly. With such a reward, many of their doubts were dispelled.
Just then, the dwarf-like True Lord Yunhe stroked his beard, his eyes darting around, and asked, "Fellow Daoist Biwu, although this treasure is a secret, you should at least tell us where the component of the treasure is located in Huangdang Mountain, right?
This way, we can all discuss it now and come up with better defensive plans."
Putting aside other matters, I have an ancient defensive barrier I discovered in an ancient cultivator's cave mansion. When deployed on a small scale, it can even defend against the attacks of a Great Cultivator for a short while."
Upon hearing this, many people nodded in agreement, clearly finding True Lord Yunhe's words reasonable.
Fairy Biwu also appeared to be in deep thought. Just as she was about to reply, a voice suddenly rang out, "Wait a moment."
The speaker was Ning Fa, and everyone else immediately looked at him in surprise.
Ning Fa's eyes were emitting a faint silver-white spiritual light, making him look quite mysterious. He was staring intently at True Lord Yunhe.
True Lord Yunhe's eyes darted around, and he asked with a confused expression, "What is it, Fellow Daoist Ning? Is there something wrong with what I said?"
Ning Fa, however, smiled faintly and said, "There's nothing wrong with what you said, but what's wrong is... you, because you are a spy for Tianli!"
At this, everyone in the hall was shocked and looked at Ning Fa in disbelief.
Canglei, standing beside Ning Fa, was full of surprise.
He knew Ning Fa wouldn't speak without reason, but Ning Fa had only just arrived. How could he immediately identify Yunhe as an enemy spy?
Fairy Biwu's expression was one of disbelief. Such an accusation was no small matter.
But the problem was, these words came from Ning Fa.
And at this moment, because Ning Fa had killed two high-level cultivators of Tianli in quick succession, he was already seen as unfathomably profound in everyone's eyes.
Therefore, even though his words sounded incredibly shocking, the crowd couldn't help but be half-convinced.
A flicker of panic flashed in True Lord Yunhe's eyes, followed by an indignant expression. "Ning Fa, don't think you can arbitrarily accuse others just because you killed two high-level cultivators of Tianli!
To resist Tianli, seventy to eighty percent of my sect's disciples have died. Therefore, I have a deep-seated hatred for Tianli, so how could I possibly be a spy for them!
Hmph, I suspect you're still holding a grudge from when our sect suppressed your Huayu Sect in the Jiang Kingdom, and you're using this as an opportunity for revenge!
Fellow Daoist Liyue, Fellow Daoist Jiujian, don't let this brat's scheme succeed, or he'll definitely come after you next!"
Upon hearing this, a look of surprise flashed in Liyue's and Jiujian's eyes.
At this moment, Ning Fa smiled. He was too lazy to argue further with the man and immediately shouted coldly, "Everyone else, don't make a move. Once I capture this person, it will be clear whether he is a spy or not!"
Before his words even finished, Ning Fa pointed two fingers sharply at his forehead, and a circle of peculiar spiritual light rippled out from his brow.
It instantly transformed into a slightly strange white cloud, churning restlessly within. Sounds resembling Sanskrit chants and thunderous roars emanated from this cloud.
The next moment, a special white rune, seemingly constructed from lightning, was brewing within the cloud.
True Lord Yunhe, on the other side, was startled. Naturally, he refused to sit idly by. His body rippled with strange green light, and he shot towards the hall entrance with incredible speed.
But the special thunder rune suddenly vanished. The next moment, it was already hovering above his head. A circle of strange white lightning poured down from the thunder rune, enveloping True Lord Yunhe.
He immediately became as immobile as if struck by a paralyzing spell, large beads of sweat appearing on his face as he struggled with all his might.
The people in the hall were astonished, not only by Ning Fa's audacity in attacking but also by the peculiar thunder rune.
The lightning it emitted carried a strange Sanskrit chant, like the rumble of thunder and the low hum of deities.
To their ears, it felt as if their divine souls were boiling.
The negative emotions that were usually easily suppressed suddenly erupted, giving them a feeling of losing themselves amidst intense negative emotions.
This Divine Ability was precisely what Ning Fa had cultivated – Chinian Divine Thunder.
As an advanced Divine Ability of Spiritual Heart Divine Thunder, this divine thunder was even more adept at attacking the divine soul.
It could directly ignite the negative emotions within a cultivator's divine soul. The more intense the hidden negative emotions, the greater the damage inflicted by Chinian Divine Thunder.
The other Nascent Soul Cultivators in the hall, having only been slightly exposed to the aura of Chinian Divine Thunder, were already reacting so strongly. It was even more so for True Lord Yunhe, who was directly attacked by this divine thunder.
He was in great pain, sweat pouring down his face, yet he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Liyue, Jiujian! If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. If this brat dares to attack me in public today, you two will surely not escape tomorrow!"
Upon hearing this, True Lord Jiujian's expression wavered, and he even took a step forward.
But at this moment, Ning Fa cast a cold glance at him, his eyes full of warning.
Then, Fairy Liyue reached out and blocked Jiujian.
She looked at Ning Fa and waved her hand, signaling that she would not intervene.
Ning Fa then looked at True Lord Yunhe, snorted, and pointed his hand from afar. The spiritual light emanating from the thunder rune immediately intensified by several times.
At this point, Yunhe's face contorted to an extreme. Soon, wisps of black mist began to seep from his body, writhing wildly like black tentacles, exuding an extremely bizarre and evil aura.
This caused the expressions of others to change, and they finally noticed something was wrong with True Lord Yunhe.
Just then, with another inhuman roar from Yunhe, his entire body exploded with a bang.
Following that, a strange figure formed from what appeared to be black mist emerged.
It was hard to even say if it was human. Dozens of bizarre black tentacles writhed madly. Although its face was indistinct, its pair of eyes, like burning coals, emitted an extremely evil aura.
The figure's eyes were filled with venom. It glared fiercely at Ning Fa, then its body suddenly expanded before exploding directly.
The black mist surged outward like a tornado, even breaking through the restraining lightning light emitted by Chinian Divine Thunder.
Then, dozens to hundreds of black mist tendrils, as fine as hair, fled in all directions towards the outside of the hall.
Ning Fa let out a cold laugh and once again touched his forehead.
The next moment, everyone was astonished to find that those fine black threads, which were fleeing, had strangely all disappeared.
At this moment, Ning Fa also closed his eyes, his hands continuously forming hand seals.
The crowd immediately guessed that Ning Fa was still battling the strange entity. For a time, no one spoke, but they were all extremely shocked.
The methods Ning Fa had just displayed were clearly an extremely rare Divine Soul Secret Technique, and its power was immense.
Even just sensing some of its aura had left them with lingering fear.
Furthermore, the strange thing on Yunhe was clearly no trivial matter, not something an ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivator could deal with.
Yet Ning Fa had seen through it at a glance, suppressed it, and even had the potential to kill it.
This made Ning Fa seem even more unfathomable in their eyes.
Not long after, Ning Fa opened his eyes, but his brow was slightly furrowed.
Seeing this, Fairy Biwu quickly asked, "Fellow Daoist Ning, how is the situation? Did that thing escape?"
Ning Fa shook his head, "No, I have already killed that thing."
Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at Ning Fa with even greater reverence, once again feeling his terrifying power.
As for Liyue, Yunhe, and even Canglei and the others, they all looked as if they had narrowly escaped disaster.
Because everyone could now see that True Lord Yunhe had clearly been possessed by that strange entity and was no longer the original Yunhe.
They had been at the Huangdang Mountain outpost for quite some time and had never noticed anything unusual about him.
Moreover, to take a step back, if they themselves were possessed by that strange thing, could they resist it?
Thinking of this, they all shivered.
After all, True Lord Yunhe was a seasoned Mid Nascent Soul Cultivator. If he could be affected, they would likely have difficulty escaping.