Upon hearing this, Ning Fa couldn't help but become solemn.
Any dissatisfaction he had previously felt towards Hermit Xuyuan vanished like smoke.
Regardless of anything else, it was truly rare for the Spiritual Pivot Pavilion to steadfastly uphold its mission of guarding Cangyuan without regard for its own gains or losses, earning his admiration.
Ning Fa's expression grew serious as he said, "Since fellow Daoist Xuyuan has put it this way, then I, Ning, shall not be polite.
To be frank, I do require quite a few things.
However, what I need most at the moment are some powerful Innate Spiritual Fires."
"Innate Spiritual Fires?" Hermit Xuyuan couldn't help but be a little taken aback.
This was because he knew Ning Fa was a genuine and powerful Thunder Cultivator; why would he need Innate True Fires?
But in reality, Ning Fa's primary objective was to use the Solar Essence Fire to open up the Sea of Lightning Divine Treasury for the Supreme Fire Divine Thunder.
After all, the Five Elements Thunder Body was his foundation.
As long as he successfully opened the Sea of Lightning Divine Treasury for the Supreme Fire Divine Thunder, his path to advancing to the Mid Nascent Soul stage would be smooth and unobstructed.
And once Ning Fa advanced to the Mid Nascent Soul stage, his strength would undoubtedly reach the level of a High-level Great Cultivator, and it was highly probable that ordinary High-level Great Cultivators would not be his match.
For instance, Ning Fa was very confident he could defeat that Saint Wu Rihe from Tianli.
However, it was hard to say about the current Hermit Xuyuan; he might have already touched the threshold of a top-tier Great Cultivator, much like Hermit Wuxin of the Heavenly Evolution Sect.
Therefore, this took precedence far above the cultivation of the Divine Firmament Manifestation or the Moon God Heart.
Although Ning Fa already possessed the fully formed Solar Essence Fire, according to the normal progression, it might take him at least several decades to open the Sea of Lightning Divine Treasury by refining the Solar Essence Fire.
While this duration was not significant for Ning Fa, who possessed a lifespan of two thousand four hundred years, time was of the essence now, and he couldn't wait that long.
To accelerate the refining of the Solar Essence Fire, he needed to improve the realm of his Essence Flame Firebird.
As the symbol and life-bound object of his Five Extremes True Flame Art, the simplest way to advance the Essence Flame Firebird quickly was to let it devour and refine various powerful Innate Spiritual Fires.
Previously, when he was in the Nine Dragons Sea, Ning Fa had been in a hurry to return to Cangyuan, so he hadn't had the time to collect anything after forming his Nascent Soul.
Now that Hermit Xuyuan had mentioned it, he naturally wouldn't be polite.
"Fellow Daoist Xuyuan, regarding the reasons, they involve the secrets of my cultivation method, so please forgive me for not being able to explain in detail.
However, these Innate Spiritual Fires are indeed extremely important to me, directly affecting the speed at which I can break through to the Mid Nascent Soul stage.
And it would be best if they were Innate Spiritual Fires of pure yang.
For example, Samadhi True Fire, Nan Ming Li Fire, Liu Ding Divine Fire, Zi Wei Heavenly Fire, Wood Yang True Fire, Yi Wood Life Flame, and so on..."
Upon hearing this, although Hermit Xuyuan had some psychological preparation, knowing that the treasures required by cultivators of Ning Fa's caliber were definitely extraordinary, he was still stunned.
He showed a wry smile: "Fellow Daoist Ning has truly given me a difficult task.
Although this Pavilion has indeed cultivated some Heavenly and Earthly Yi Huo, their grade is still quite a bit lower compared to the spiritual fires you mentioned.
Of course, regardless of how much help they may bring to you, fellow Daoist, all the Heavenly and Earthly Yi Huo treasured in this Pavilion will be presented to you.
In addition, there is a special place within our sect's mountain gate, where a fire pool has nurtured the Earth Core Flame Fire for tens of thousands of years. Its essence, even if inferior to the Innate Spiritual Fires you mentioned, should still be of considerable help."
Ning Fa was not very disappointed by this and was even quite pleased; this was already a very good outcome.
But then he noticed Hermit Xuyuan frowning slightly, as if he had something difficult to decide.
This made Ning Fa's eyes light up. Judging by his expression, it seemed Hermit Xuyuan had even better True Fires but was hesitant to produce them.
Before Ning Fa could ask, Hermit Xuyuan slowly said, "Actually, there is another spiritual fire that should be able to meet fellow Daoist Ning's needs very well."
Ning Fa was instantly overjoyed and immediately said, "Judging by your expression, fellow Daoist, it seems you have some unspoken difficulties.
If there are other needs, please do not hesitate to state them. I will not take them for free and will definitely offer a price that satisfies you."
Hermit Xuyuan immediately shook his head: "As I've said, this Pavilion will do its best to help you, so why would I want anything from you?
The only issue is that this fire does not technically belong to this Pavilion, and it involves significant matters, so I cannot make a decision on my own.
Furthermore, I am also unsure if this fire has successfully nurtured, so I will need some time to confirm this matter. However, fellow Daoist Ning, please rest assured, I will do my utmost to facilitate it."
Ning Fa was a bit confused by this, but since Hermit Xuyuan had said so, he couldn't press further.
"Fellow Daoist Ning, do you have any other needs, such as some high-grade Pills to Break Through Cultivation Stages? This Pavilion still treasures some," Hermit Xuyuan asked again.
Ning Fa pondered for a moment.
In reality, possessing the Five Elements Thunder Body, these Pills to Break Through Cultivation Stages did not help him much.
But he did have many other things he needed.
For example, the Burning Origin Pill. This pill was a cultivation pill recorded in the Five Extremes True Flame Art, and it could accelerate the cultivation of this method.
Naturally, it could also help the Essence Flame Firebird grow quickly, although its effect was not as fast as directly devouring those Heavenly and Earthly True Fires.
If it were a high-grade Burning Origin Pill, it should also provide considerable assistance.
In addition to this, there were also precious Spiritual Materials needed to forge the other components of the Divine Firmament Thunder Armor Set.
With this thought, Ning Fa directly took out a blank jade slip and pressed it against his forehead, beginning to inscribe it.
He even went ahead and wrote down some of the special spiritual items needed for his cultivation of the Divine Firmament Manifestation and the Moon God Heart.
When Hermit Xuyuan took the jade slip and examined it with his spiritual sense, he couldn't help but be startled again.
A wry smile appeared on his clear and ancient face: "Just from the items you, fellow Daoist Ning, require, it's evident that you are no ordinary person.
Even with these resources, this pavilion can only provide about thirty percent."
Ning Fa was greatly surprised by this. He had initially thought Hermit Xuyuan could only offer ten to twenty percent, so thirty percent of the resources was far beyond his expectations.
"This is already very good and helps me a great deal," Ning Fa said immediately.
Hermit Xuyuan nodded. "I will have someone deliver the items you, fellow Daoist Ning, require as soon as possible.
As for the location of the Earth Core Flame Fire, I will need to make some preparations within the pavilion to maximize the fire's power in this fire pool. This should not take too long, so please be patient, fellow Daoist Ning."
"Thank you, fellow Daoist Xuyuan," Ning Fa said with a smile.
Hermit Xuyuan waved his hand, then his expression became pensive.
Ning Fa's eyebrows shot up, realizing that Hermit Xuyuan likely had something important to discuss with him.
He didn't rush to speak. The mountain wind blew, rustling the bamboo forest, and a quiet moment fell upon them.
Not long after, Hermit Xuyuan looked back at Ning Fa.
With a solemn expression, he slowly said, "Fellow Daoist Ning, I asked to meet you because there is actually another important matter I need to discuss with you. Do you know what the Tianli Cultivation World has been doing for the past ten years?"
Ning Fa's eyes flashed at his words.
Ten years ago, the Tianli Cultivation World, which had been in a favorable situation, suddenly began a strategic retreat. For the following decade, they remained in a defensive posture, giving Cangyuan a chance to breathe.
This was something that greatly puzzled Cangyuan, as it didn't seem like Tianli was showing mercy.
Without waiting for Ning Fa to answer, Hermit Xuyuan continued with a grave expression: "It's because there have been disturbances behind the scenes in the Tianli Cultivation World these past few years.
Fellow Daoist Ning should also know that the environment in the Tianli Cultivation World is quite harsh, with many severe natural disasters.
However, the greatest threat to Tianli is actually the unending disaster of savage beasts.
Many of these savage beasts are descendants of ancient desolate variants and are much more troublesome than ordinary demonic beasts.
But under normal circumstances, these savage beast populations are scattered throughout Tianli, and most of them have low intelligence, so the people of Tianli can handle them.
However, ten years ago, something unusual happened.
There is a mountain range in the southern part of Tianli called the Ten Thousand Peaks Mountain Range, which was one of the main habitats for savage beasts.
Ten years ago, a mysterious power suddenly unified the countless savage beasts in the Ten Thousand Peaks Mountain Range. Even savage beasts from other regions seemed to be summoned and gathered towards the Ten Thousand Peaks Mountain Range.
Furthermore, many of these savage beasts exhibited demonic mutations, which greatly increased their strength.
At that time, the people of Tianli were busy fighting us and did not suppress this threat in time. By the time they realized what was happening, the savage beasts in the Ten Thousand Peaks Mountain Range had become a serious problem, and the surging beast tides had already devastated many of their rear areas.
It was for this reason that Tianli decisively retreated, focusing their main efforts on clearing out the savage beasts in their rear."
Ning Fa was greatly shocked by this revelation.
So, it was for this reason.
Looking at it this way, Cangyuan truly had some luck. At such a critical juncture, Tianli's rear had fallen into chaos. Otherwise, Cangyuan might not have lasted until now.
Moreover, the mention of demonic mutated savage beasts made Ning Fa fall into deep thought.
"At that time, we suspected that there might be some internal problems within Tianli. However, due to the existence of the Tianli Holy Temple, they possessed very special abilities to detect our spies sent from Cangyuan.
It wasn't until later that we found a way to break through their defenses. We controlled a Tianli person from the Beast Barbarian Tribe who was in the Core Formation Stage, and only then did we learn the reason behind it.
We also learned that these demonic mutated savage beasts were not to be trifled with, as they were mutated by very pure True Demonic Qi.
Fellow Daoist Ning, you should also be aware that Cangyuan experienced a demonic tribulation a long time ago, with Ancient Demons causing chaos.
Although it didn't last long, it brought immense disaster to both Cangyuan and Tianli.
Later, it was only through the combined efforts of our two races, at a great cost, that we managed to eliminate these Ancient Demons.
Some Ancient Demons couldn't even be completely killed and could only be sealed away using special methods.
In addition to this, there were also some Ancient Demon Altars built by those Ancient Demons, which could transmit True Demonic Qi from the Ancient Demon Realm.
Fortunately, the level of these Ancient Demon Altars they constructed was very low. Otherwise, it would have been very possible to pollute our entire Cangyuan and Tianli into demonic lands."