Ning Fa's lips curved into a smile. It had only been about twenty years since his Nascent Soul Formation, and he had already advanced to the Mid Nascent Soul stage. Such speed was astonishing.
This was especially true for him, who possessed the Five Elements Thunder Body and found advancement exceptionally difficult.
Ning Fa closed his eyes, carefully sensing the changes in his body after the breakthrough.
At this moment, the potent spiritual energy within him was like an abyss or a vast sea. The density of his spiritual energy was about three times stronger than during the early stage.
He simply stood there naturally, yet countless fine lightning arcs erupted around him, scorching faint marks into the surrounding air. Even the gale winds that blew past were torn into charged air currents, crackling with sharp sounds.
The Void beside him also seemed to be distorted by an invisible thunderous power. Within visible ripples, countless rice-grain-sized electric lights boiled, collided, annihilated, and were reborn.
These were not deliberately activated techniques, but the natural overflow of thunderous origins as Ning Fa's Nascent Soul inhaled and exhaled the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
It was as if his physical form imprisoned an inexhaustible sea of thunder, each breath resonating with the thunder of the Nine Heavens.
His physical body had also improved immensely. Although his skin appeared crystal clear like jade and he wasn't burly, the surging vitality he exuded was like a blazing furnace, making the surrounding air incredibly hot and causing the Void to warp under the scorching heat.
When Ning Fa exerted a slight force, a roar like a great river surging forth echoed—this was the sound of his blood flowing.
Even more, thunderous booms like giant hammers striking drums reverberated, giving off a powerful pressure as if an ancient Fierce Beast had descended; this was the beating of his heart.
At this moment, Ning Fa's physical body was no weaker than that of a Mid Shapeshifted Demonic Beast of the same stage. In fact, even ordinary Shapeshifted Demonic Beasts with weaker bloodlines could not compare to him.
It could be said that even if Ning Fa stood still, it would be difficult for ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivators to breach his defenses.
Furthermore, Ning Fa's Divine Soul power had also greatly increased.
His previous Spiritual Sense detection range was about three hundred li; it had now increased by a hundred li, reaching an astonishing four hundred li.
This meant that even an ant within four hundred li could be precisely located by his Spiritual Sense.
More exaggeratedly, even if ten thousand ants were scattered within four hundred li, he could locate and track them all simultaneously.
Such powerful Spiritual Sense far surpassed the imagination of ordinary cultivators.
And the detection range was merely one manifestation of Ning Fa's powerful Divine Soul.
If described in terms of attack power, Ning Fa could now kill anyone below the Great Cultivator realm with a single strike using the Spiritual Heart Divine Thunder.
Even if an ordinary Lower-level Great Cultivator survived, they would definitely be severely injured.
It could be said that with this advancement to the Mid stage, Ning Fa's essence, energy, and spirit had all greatly improved. The magnitude of this enhancement was far beyond what ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivators experienced when breaking through stages.
This was the result of the combined blessings of Ning Fa's Five Elements Thunder Body, Ancient Source Thunder Scripture, and Moon God Art.
Beyond that, Ning Fa's Five Elements Divine Thunder had also seen significant improvements.
The Supreme Metal Divine Thunder and Supreme Fire Divine Thunder, which possessed the highest grade and had already reached the Innate realm, both had their Sea of Lightning Divine Treasuries expanded by half compared to before.
The grade of these Divine Thunders had progressed from the early Fourth-grade to near the middle Fourth-grade.
This also meant that both the power and the number of times these two Innate Divine Thunders could be used had greatly increased.
The increase in the grade of Innate Divine Thunder also raised their upper limit for absorbing surrounding heavenly and earthly energy, with their might increasing exponentially.
The other three Divine Thunders had also seen considerable improvements.
The Supreme Wood Divine Thunder was at the peak of the Third-grade, having completely reached the threshold for breaking through to the Innate realm.
The Supreme Water Divine Thunder had also reached the Third-grade High-tier, not far from the peak.
The Supreme Earth Divine Thunder was approaching the Third-grade High-tier.
The Five Elements Divine Thunder was Ning Fa's foundation. Not only did it represent their inherent offensive power, but it also signified that Ning Fa's origins were even more robust.
This would greatly enhance all of Ning Fa's lightning-attribute Divine Abilities, such as the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture.
Ning Fa estimated that his normal combat strength had definitely reached that of a High-level Great Cultivator, and he was likely a top contender within this tier.
However, he believed he was still not enough to contend with peak Great Cultivators like the Demon Lord.
But this was only Ning Fa's normal state.
Thinking of this, a strange light flickered in Ning Fa's eyes.
He let out a soft shout, and dazzling lightning erupted from around his body.
Billions of fine electric arcs formed a thunderous armor around him, condensing layer by layer from head to toe.
Each scale of the armor was like a refined Profound Thunder Crystal, with coiling electric arcs traversing its surface. From the gaps between the scales, lightning radiance several feet long occasionally erupted.
Furthermore, countless thunders intertwined to form Kui Dragon patterns. The electric light flowed back and forth within these Kui Dragon patterns as if breathing, ancient and mysterious.
The Thunder Crown he wore had nine condensed, tangible thunderous horns that radiated outwards towards the sky.
Above the crown floated a fist-sized thunder bead. Within it, thunderclouds could be vaguely seen churning. Each flicker of thunder caused subtle ripples to appear in the surrounding space.
His face was shrouded in a layer of flowing lightning, obscuring his precise features.
His eyes, however, had transformed into two constantly rotating thunderous vortexes emitting destructive energy. Wherever his gaze swept, the air was scorched, creating crackling trails.
The thunderous armor covering his arms and legs appeared even more ferocious. Barbed lightning protruded from his elbows, and his fingertips extended into electric light claws half a foot long. When he clenched his fists, the surrounding air would shatter, forming visible sonic boom thunder rings.
Behind him floated twelve rotating thunder pattern light wheels, overlapping layer by layer. The wheels were inscribed with the Zhou Tian Star Dou and Thunder Runes. As they spun, they cast down billions of fine electric threads, weaving a shimmering sea of lightning behind him.
At this moment, Ning Fa exuded a terrifying aura of world-ending destruction.
This is the state of his Divine Firmament Manifestation, which had undergone a dramatic transformation.
Though only a few dozen feet tall, it exuded an aura of standing tall against the heavens, its oppressive force far exceeding anything before.
It felt as though merely looking at it would inflict a spiritual impact and damage to one's divine soul.
What drew the eye was that the color of the Divine Firmament Manifestation's surface had also changed. A large portion had turned a pale gold, with only about twenty percent remaining its original deep silver.
This indicated that the transformation of the Divine Firmament Manifestation was more than halfway complete. Once its entire body turned golden, the Divine Firmament Manifestation would fully advance to the next stage, the Spiritual Manifestation Realm, which was also the First Transformation realm.
At that point, the power of the Divine Firmament Manifestation would be unimaginable.
With a flash of lightning, the state of the Divine Firmament Manifestation slowly dissipated, revealing Ning Fa's figure once more.
He wore an even deeper smile.
After absorbing the Ancient Source Thunder Core and the true essence of Bai Yueqiu and Canglei's spiritual power, his Divine Firmament Manifestation had already made significant progress.
Now, after advancing to the mid-stage, his Divine Firmament Manifestation had also received a massive boost, with only about twenty percent of the progress remaining to reach the First Transformation realm.
Furthermore, since he had already collected most of the key components for the Divine Firmament Thunder Armor Set, he could barely manifest the First Transformation Divine Firmament Manifestation if he were willing to pay the price.
And this state would be his strongest combat state.
Ning Fa also conducted an assessment of his current strength.
If he didn't activate the Divine Firmament Manifestation, his strength would be comparable to the elite among High-level Great Cultivators.
If he activated the Divine Firmament Manifestation, he should be considered a half-step peak Great Cultivator.
If he pushed the First Transformation Divine Firmament Manifestation beyond its limits, his strength should reach the level of a true peak Great Cultivator.
By now, in this world, apart from those old monsters in the Spirit Transformation realm, no one should be able to do anything to him.
Even at this moment, if he were to fight desperately, he might even pose a threat to Spirit Transformation Cultivators.
Thinking of this, Ning Fa couldn't help but show a flicker of excitement and pride in his eyes.
With his emotions surging, he couldn't help but let out a roar like thunder, which echoed for hundreds of miles.
After a long while, Ning Fa's mood slowly calmed down. He transformed into a silver streak of light and flew towards the mountain peak below.
There, over a hundred figures were already looking up, waiting expectantly.
Seeing Ning Fa return, these people's faces were filled with fervent excitement, and they shouted in unison.
"Congratulations, First Elder (Old Ancestor), on your great advancement in cultivation!"
These were all disciples of the Huayu Sect and the Ning Family who remained at the sect. They had just witnessed the incredible phenomena of Ning Fa's breakthrough, and were all overjoyed and excited.
At this moment, a graceful figure, like a swallow returning to its nest, rushed into Ning Fa's arms.
"Husband!" Cheng Susu, as beautiful and ethereal as a fairy, looked at Ning Fa with immense excitement.
Ning Fa and she had not seen each other since he went into seclusion these past years.
Ning Fa pulled her into his embrace, completely disregarding the presence of others, and gently kissed her.
Then, he swept his gaze around, and his brow furrowed slightly.
Because he noticed that the number of people present was pitifully small. Apart from Cheng Susu, the only Core Formation Cultivator was Li Tieniu, who was dressed in black robes and possessed a calm and composed demeanor.
The others were mainly Qi Refining Cultivators, and Foundation Establishment disciples were rare.
Li Tieniu flew over like a streak of light. He cupped his hands, his face filled with unconcealed excitement, and said, "Congratulations, First Elder, on advancing to the Mid Nascent Soul stage and greatly increasing your divine might!"
Ning Fa looked Li Tieniu up and down, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.
Because Li Tieniu had actually advanced from the Mid Core Formation stage to the Late Core Formation stage.
While this speed couldn't compare to his own, it was still beyond what ordinary cultivators could imagine.
Moreover, from Ning Fa's perception, Li Tieniu's aura was very solid, without any signs of instability. He likely hadn't used any breakthrough methods that damaged his potential, like Zheng Xuanyan had previously.
"Tieniu, you've also reached Late Core Formation. That's excellent. You have hope of reaching Nascent Soul in the future," Ning Fa said with a smile.
"My nephew's advancement this time is merely due to luck. I was originally severely injured in Zhenyou City and almost died. Fortunately, I was saved by Uncle-Master Zheng, which allowed me to return to the sect to recuperate. I never expected to break through to the late stage by chance. As for reaching Nascent Soul, my nephew dare not hope for it, as my aptitude is too poor."
Li Tieniu said with a humble smile.
Ning Fa was not surprised by the mention of Uncle-Master Zheng, as he was referring to Zheng Xuanyan.
Not long after Ning Fa returned from the Profound Fire Sect ruins, Zheng Xuanyan successfully formed his Nascent Soul.
With Ning Fa going into seclusion and Canglei having dispersed his cultivation to re-cultivate, Zheng Xuanyan was tasked with managing the sect's affairs.
Furthermore, Ning Fa had used his position as an executive elder of Cangyuan's highest Elder Council to recommend Zheng Xuanyan, who had just formed his Nascent Soul, to the Elder Council.
"What's the current situation on the front lines? Tell me in detail."
Ning Fa asked, his eyes flashing.
Ning Fa was aware of Zhenyou City. When he had a detailed discussion with Hermit Xuyuan earlier, he had also been informed of some of the strategies formulated by the highest Elder Council.