At that very moment, Ning Daozhen and his two companions were also looking around as if searching for someone.
Ning Fa inwardly mused, It seems they're looking for me.
But soon, his brows furrowed. He noticed that the expressions of the three were rather peculiar.
After failing to spot him, Ning Daozhen appeared to breathe a subtle sigh of relief.
Dan Hongzi stroked his long beard, his gaze flickering, his expression unreadable.
Xiao Han, however, looked anxious, even agitated and angry.
A sense of vigilance suddenly arose within Ning Fa.
Something's wrong with these three!
Then, Xiao Han turned and looked in another direction, his lips moving slightly as if transmitting a message.
Ning Fa followed his gaze and saw Ying Zhen there, surrounded by seven or eight cultivators from the Tianwu Cultivation World.
Ying Zhen, too, was frowning, his expression grim, his lips moving incessantly.
Ning Fa's heart filled with shock and anger.
Because Ying Zhen's strength was no trivial matter, he dared not use his divine sense to eavesdrop. However, the situation made everything clear.
Ning Daozhen and the other two had clearly defected to Ying Zhen, which was likely the reason they were able to enter the Abyssal Heavenly Pool.
Furthermore, it seemed they had some scheme against him, which explained why Ning Daozhen and the others had deliberately arrived late, not wanting him to discover this.
Their inaction in the previous two spiritual realms indicated they intended to deal with him in this realm, where the Soul Nurturing Divine Spring was located.
As for why, it was highly probable that Ning Daozhen and the others knew more intelligence about this realm, such as specific dangers that might require him to resolve, thus intending to use him first.
Ning Fa inwardly thought, No wonder Ying Zhen's gaze felt a bit off when I first entered the second level. So, he and Ning Daozhen's group had this plan all along.
Ning Fa instantly grasped these points and found them highly plausible.
This also ignited a surge of killing intent within him. He had considered Ning Daozhen half a friend, yet they dared to plot against him like this.
But he quickly recalled that judging by Ning Daozhen's and Xiao Han's expressions, Xiao Han seemed to be the one with a stronger desire to deal with him, while Ning Daozhen appeared somewhat resigned.
Thinking of this, Ning Fa felt he might have overlooked something.
Soon, his expression changed drastically.
Because he suddenly remembered that Xiao Han knew he possessed a Heavenly Puppet. After all, Hei Yu was originally refined by Xiao Han.
The Nine Immortals Association attached extraordinary importance to Heavenly Puppets, so it was highly possible that Xiao Han had informed Ying Zhen of this, which might be the true reason Ying Zhen was targeting him.
It was even possible that Xiao Han was the reason Ning Daozhen and the other two defected to Ying Zhen. After all, he was a master craftsman of puppets, capable of creating Heavenly Puppets, and it was normal for him to be valued by the Nine Immortals Association.
Ning Fa even considered that the three of them might have already contacted the Nine Immortals Association.
It wasn't impossible that they had also informed them about the Abyssal Heavenly Pool incident, with the goal of entering the Abyssal Heavenly Pool to obtain the Soul Nurturing Divine Spring.
Ning Fa suppressed the turmoil in his heart and felt a touch of strangeness.
Since Ying Zhen knew his situation, why wait until they were inside the Heavenly Pool to make a move against him?
After all, behind Ying Zhen stood Yue Long, a cultivator in the middle stage of Spirit Transformation. Was it due to apprehension of Venerable Ling Jun?
Or was it simply that they wanted to trick him into obtaining the Soul Nurturing Divine Spring together before making their move?
But regardless of the reason, the alliance of these two parties against him was almost certain.
Ning Fa couldn't help but feel fortunate. Fortunately, the spiritual realm on the third level couldn't be opened in advance, forcing him to use the Spirit Transformation Talisman and inadvertently discover the schemes of both parties.
Otherwise, without any precautions, he might have truly fallen into their trap.
Now, the enemy was in the open, while he was in the shadows. The tables had turned on who would outwit whom.
As Ning Fa was contemplating, a strange buzzing sound arose.
Immediately after, the misty vapor on the surface of the seven whirlpools dissipated, and the whirlpools began to spin rapidly, clearly indicating that it was time for the seven spiritual realms to open.
The top powerhouses on the white jade square transformed into streaks of colorful escaping light, whooshing towards their pre-selected spiritual realms.
Soon, only Ying Zhen's and Ning Daozhen's factions remained on the square.
Ying Zhen's face was so grim it looked like it could drip water. He stared at Ning Daozhen and the other two with fiery eyes and questioned them:
"Why did you only tell me that Ning Fa possessed a Heavenly Puppet after we entered the Heavenly Pool?
Now that Ning Fa hasn't made it to the third level, he might have already died in that spiritual realm!
His death is not the main concern, but do you know how important a Heavenly Puppet that can develop sentience is to our Nine Immortals Association!? Can you bear this responsibility!?"
Xiao Han's face was also filled with rage, and he shouted at Ning Daozhen, "It's all your fault for insisting on stopping me earlier from telling fellow Daoist Ying this information! Now that this accident has happened, what do you say we do?"
Seeing this, Dan Hongzi paused the hand stroking his beard and sighed softly.
Ning Daozhen's expression remained unchanged as he said calmly:
"My understanding of Ning Fa is much deeper than yours. I can say with certainty that if we had informed you of this information beforehand and you had acted against him early, the most likely outcome would still have been Ning Fa escaping.
So, it would have been better to wait until that spiritual realm, where we could both use him to obtain the Soul Nurturing Divine Spring and ensure he had nowhere to run.
However, this current accident is also something I did not wish to see."
Ying Zhen, upon hearing this, became even more enraged. "Who gave you the confidence to speak to me like this!
And you actually dare to try and gauge my strength with your shallow knowledge!
If you had informed me in advance, how could Ning Fa possibly have escaped my grasp!
You are truly deserving of death!"
As he spoke, Ying Zhen's long, dark green hair whipped about wildly, a surge of killing intent emanating from him, his spiritual pressure oppressive.
The many Tianwu powerhouses surrounding him also unleashed their auras, glaring at Ning Daozhen with unfriendly expressions.
Facing the furious Ying Zhen, Ning Daozhen's expression remained largely unchanged.
At this moment, Dan Hongzi sighed softly and stepped forward to mediate. "Fellow Daoist Ying, please calm your anger. The Heavenly Puppet that Ning Fa obtained was merely a practice piece from Fellow Daoist Xiao in the past.
Now that Fellow Daoist Xiao's puppet-making skills have reached great mastery, and with the assistance of the Nine Immortals Association in the future, refining an even more powerful Heavenly Puppet will be no problem, and Ning Daozhen's help will be indispensable in this."
Upon hearing this, Ying Zhen's anger subsided. He glanced again at the dangerous restriction spiritual light flashing above his head and coldly snorted, "Then I shall give you one more chance. But if you fail to refine a true Heavenly Puppet, do not blame me for turning ruthless."
With a flick of his sleeve, he immediately flew towards the second vortex. The other Tianwu powerhouses followed suit, disappearing into it in the blink of an eye.
At this point, Dan Hongzi looked at Ning Daozhen and sighed, "Fellow Daoist Ning, why did you have to do that?
Since we have already decided to cooperate with Ying Zhen and the others, what difference does it make whether we reveal the news about Ning Fa sooner or later? Instead, it has caused such unpleasantness now."
Xiao Han, in particular, waited for Ning Daozhen with a look of furious indignation.
Ning Daozhen, however, did not reply. He glanced downwards, his expression unreadable, and then his escape light flared up, carrying him towards the vortex. The other two exchanged glances and could only follow closely.
Then, a transparent figure, completely undetectable by others, flew to this location. It was Ning Fa.
He was surprised, realizing that the true situation was that Ning Daozhen had deliberately delayed informing Ying Zhen about this until they reached the Heavenly Pool.
Ning Fa found it difficult to fathom his motives for doing so.
Coupled with his earlier relieved expression when Ning Fa wasn't present, it seemed he also really didn't want to tell Ying Zhen the news. Could it truly be out of consideration for their kinship as cousins?
Ning Fa didn't believe it. After all, how could a reincarnated ancient monster like him be bound by such shallow blood ties?
However, regardless of the reason, since Ning Daozhen had not pushed things to the absolute extreme, perhaps he could offer him a way out later.
After confirming that no one else was around, Ning Fa also flew towards the second vortex, and soon a flash of spiritual light saw him disappear into it.
Ning Fa's vision blurred, and he found himself in an unfamiliar place.
He immediately checked his condition and found that he was still in the ethereal state granted by the Spirit Transformation Talisman. He breathed a slight sigh of relief and then surveyed his surroundings.
Soon, a look of surprise appeared on his face. This place turned out to be a vast, boundless golden desert.
The sun was nowhere to be seen in the sky, yet an endless scorching radiance poured down from above. Even Ning Fa couldn't help but feel a hint of heat.
Looking out, all he could see were endless sand dunes. Furthermore, his divine sense was greatly restricted in this area, only able to probe a few miles.
Ning Fa stopped in place, unsure which direction to proceed.
Just then, a thought stirred in his mind. His soul sensed a faint coolness emanating from a great distance.
"Could that be where the Soul Nurturing Divine Spring is located?"
Ning Fa mused inwardly and immediately flew in that direction.