In the depths of the Ten Thousand Zhang seabed, at the junction of the Five Spirits Sea and the Leiming Sea, outside a certain valley.
A flash of spiritual light erupted, then quickly subsided into calm.
Su Wanwan looked at the black, long-nail-like Magic Treasure in her hand, which had broken into several pieces. She felt like crying but had no tears. Clearly, she had failed again in her attempt to break through the valley's Barrier.
"Hmph, I refuse to believe in evil!" she snorted, popped a Recovery Elixir into her mouth, and began to regulate her breathing, preparing for her next attempt.
However, it wasn't long before her expression shifted. She immediately took out the mysterious small mirror from her embrace.
The surface of the small mirror flickered with spiritual light, appearing as if it was about to activate. Su Wanwan was greatly alarmed.
"What's going on? Is the small mirror going to give me information again? But it's only been a little over ten days since it last gave me information, and it's still a long way from a month."
Su Wanwan's eyes widened in shock.
She had possessed this mysterious small mirror for over two hundred years. Previously, it had always provided information once a month, without exception.
So, seeing the small mirror about to activate again made Su Wanwan so surprised, and it seemed that the extent of the small mirror's unusual activity this time was even greater than before.
"Little mirror, could it be that you finally pity me, your master, and are going to give me good news that will allow me to enter this valley?" Thinking this, Su Wanwan's eyes lit up with anticipation.
As expected, text began to appear on the surface of the small mirror, and this time, there was only one message.
"You are about to encounter the most significant opportunity of your life. Immediately travel to Green Crystal Island in the Sea Race territory and activate your Sky-Breaking Shuttle. You must arrive within three hours."
Looking at the message on the small mirror, Su Wanwan was stunned at first, then her pretty face was filled with excitement.
"The most important opportunity in my life? Could it be that some treasure has appeared on Green Crystal Island that will allow me to enter this valley?
Little mirror, you're the best, I love you to bits!"
Su Wanwan hugged the small mirror, kissed it fiercely, and without hesitation, she wiped her Storage Ring.
A silver light flashed before her, and a silver shuttle, about two Zhang long, appeared.
After Su Wanwan flew into it, the silver shuttle directly tore through the Void in the seabed and disappeared.
At the same time, in the mysterious space within the Star Luo Palace's Forbidden Land.
Fairy Yuanxing, imprisoned by the vine cage, looked utterly dejected. Disregarding her image, she plopped down on the ground and sighed deeply:
"Oh no, it's all over. Ning Fa is definitely doomed this time.
Wuwuwu, I actually quite liked him. And with his death, how will I recover my injuries in the future? My life is so bitter..."
Just then, Fairy Yuanxing seemed to sense something. She shot up from the ground, her eyes shining brightly as she looked ahead.
There, a flash of water appeared, transforming into a slightly illusory round mirror, exactly like the Mysterious Bronze Mirror.
Upon seeing this mirror appear, Fairy Yuanxing's small face was filled with surprise.
"Miling Mirror! You dare to come here?"
Text quickly appeared on the surface of the small mirror: "The situation is critical now, that person is in mortal danger, and my power cannot save him directly. You must act."
"You know Ning Fa too?" Fairy Yuanxing couldn't help but be surprised. She immediately guessed that "that person" the Miling Mirror was referring to was Ning Fa.
Then, her small face showed a look of realization: "This fairy forgot, your origin power is also severely depleted.
No wonder when this fairy divined for Ning Fa before, I always felt that besides his Thunder Body shielding it, there was another mysterious connection I was somewhat familiar with. So it was you.
It seems you noticed him long ago too. You must have sensed that Ning Fa has a way to help you recover your origin power, right?"
But then her small face was filled with distress.
"This fairy also knows his current situation is not good, and I want to save him.
But as you can see, I am trapped here by those old guys from the Star Luo Palace. My powers are sealed, and they even impersonated my identity to lure Ning Fa into a trap. I can't save him even if I want to."
Text appeared again on the surface of the small mirror: "I can allow you to temporarily borrow the power of the Heavenly Star Orb's core. The time should last for about an hour. Have him go to Green Crystal Island immediately."
Then, the small mirror transformed back into a wisp of spiritual light and, ignoring the cage, flew directly to the blue orb suspended on the high platform dozens of feet away, merging into it.
The surface of this orb immediately erupted with blue light, and countless star-blue runes flashed wildly.
Fairy Yuanxing immediately felt the sealed power within her body rapidly returning. Her pretty face was filled with joy. With a casual wave of her hand, a starlight-condensed light blade directly severed the cage in front of her.
With a flash of starlight, she flew to the front of the orb and pointed her slender index finger at it.
The orb immediately shot out a brilliant starlight into the air, like a starry road.
Fairy Yuanxing blinked her eyes and snorted, "Miling Mirror, among us who escaped to this Realm back then, you were the most cunning.
'My power cannot save Ning Fa directly,' you say. I'm afraid you're just wary of the power on Ning Fa, aren't you?
So, even though you knew about Ning Fa long ago, you never dared to approach him directly. With your abilities, you surely could have predicted his crisis long ago, yet you didn't act in advance to warn him. It seems you just wanted to test the power on him.
As a result, now that you see Ning Fa in critical danger, you want this fairy to act, also wanting this fairy to bear the risks involved. Hmph, this fairy is not as indecisive as you."
Saying this, Fairy Yuanxing merged into the starry road and disappeared.
Meanwhile, Hei Yu also knew the situation was urgent. Without a word, he immediately picked up Ning Fa on his back and ran.
At the same time, the golden triangle pattern on his forehead spun wildly, revealing a pattern resembling a Spiritual Ship.
Immediately after, Hei Yu's spiritual light flashed, transforming into a small Spirit Boat that carried Ning Fa westward at high speed.
Concurrently, the Six Paths Yuan Destruction Great Array erupted completely.
The hundreds of miles covered by this Array Formation had turned into pure blackness, within which an unimaginably terrifying Spiritual Pressure was wildly erupting, stirring up a black spiritual tide that seemed capable of destroying the world, frantically devouring everything around it.
Even though Hei Yu's speed at this moment was comparable to a top-tier Spirit Bird, it was only slightly faster than this black spiritual tide, leaving him with no choice but to flee for his life.
Just then, about a hundred miles to the north, a hint of surprise flashed in Yan Jingchen's eyes as he murmured, "He's still alive?"
He immediately transformed into a black and white bolt of lightning, vanishing from sight.
Not far away, Yuanzun also spotted Ning Fa escaping.
His eyes were also filled with surprise, for he knew that even he would find it extremely difficult to escape the eruption of the Six Paths Yuan Destruction Great Array.
He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should pursue Ning Fa as well.
He sensed that Yan Jingchen's obsession with Ning Fa wasn't simply about killing him; it was likely because Ning Fa possessed a treasure he needed.
But at that moment, Yuanzun's expression suddenly shifted.
Within the black halo covering hundreds of miles, two beams of light shot out, flying in different directions.
One of the beams of light contained the Ancestral Beast, Huan Yu.
Its remaining eyes were tightly shut, and its once golden body seemed to have turned into gray-white stone, its aura barely perceptible.
The other beam of light resembled a golden long box, covered in mysterious patterns, with a pair of golden wings on either side. With a flap of its wings, it sped eastward at an extremely rapid pace.
Yuanzun's eyes lit up, and he no longer paid attention to Ning Fa, immediately giving chase to the golden long box.
Meanwhile.
A black and white lightning ball, spinning rapidly, suddenly appeared in front of Hei Yu. Caught off guard, Hei Yu collided with it and was blasted backward.
Ten feet away, a tall, young cultivator suddenly appeared. He had striking black and white long hair, was enveloped in black and white lightning, and a smile played on his lips as he said calmly, "Ning Fa, it's been a long time."
"Yan Jingchen!..." Ning Fa, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, forced them open. Seeing the person who appeared before him, his heart sank.
He wouldn't have been surprised if a Spirit Transformation Cultivator from the Tianshu Alliance, Nine Immortals Association, or Qianyuan Merchant Alliance had appeared here.
But the appearance of Yan Jingchen was truly unexpected, and this person had already reached the Spirit Transformation Realm.
He hadn't seen Yan Jingchen in the ten years since the war with the Sea Race began.
The Tianshu Alliance was also unaware of his progress and had even placed him on the wanted list, believing he had fled from battle.
To think that he had now advanced to Spirit Transformation. Even though Yan Jingchen was the reincarnation of Yan Yuan Daoist, this speed was truly astonishing.
Ning Fa even suspected that the Tianshu Alliance might be funding Yan Jingchen's advancement to Spirit Transformation, and the wanted list was merely a show for him, as the alliance knew well about the feud between him and Yan Jingchen.
Yan Jingchen's sudden appearance here was definitely not a coincidence, indicating that he likely knew about this conspiracy and was even a participant.
This person truly lived up to his reputation as the reincarnation of Yan Yuan Daoist, enduring for so many years before striking decisively at the vital point.
"Hand over the Primordial Realm Pearl, and I will grant you a dignified death, allowing you to return to the cycle of reincarnation. Otherwise, do not blame me for being ruthless."
Yan Jingchen said calmly, with his hands clasped behind his back.
Ning Fa took a deep breath. Although he had experienced many storms in the past two hundred years, this time he felt a profound sense of despair.
His current condition had recovered less than twenty percent, and he only had three hundred Third-Tier Origin Points left, which was insufficient to use the True Form Imprint again.
His Five Elements Divine Thunder Origins had all suffered a significant drop in realm. It was uncertain whether he could even manage to use the Chaos Divine Thunder.
Even if he could use it, its power would likely not compare to before, and it wouldn't be enough to kill Yan Jingchen, who had already reached the Spirit Transformation Realm. He himself would likely disintegrate if his Divine Thunder Origins were depleted.
However, surrendering was impossible for him.
Ning Fa beckoned with his right hand, recalling Hei Yu, who had transformed into a Spirit Boat beneath him. Then, with a flip of his right hand, he produced the Star Roaming Compass and activated the Anchor Teleportation rune within it, targeting an anchor he had buried near Yilan Island.
When he had first escaped, he hadn't even had the mana to activate this compass.
Yan Jingchen let out a cold snort and flicked his right hand. Instantly, a dazzling black and white spiritual light transformed into a Thunder Chain, lunging towards Ning Fa.
But Ning Fa had already vanished within a streak of starlight blue light.
"Star Roaming Compass... It seems you are indeed a Zi Yin Clan member, possessing such a treasure."
Yan Jingchen's eyes narrowed slightly, but he wasn't overly surprised. Given his status, he naturally knew that the Zi Yin Immortal Dynasty had possessed peculiar Spirit Treasures like the Star Roaming Compass in the past.
But he immediately let out a cold snort, "Unless you can fly ten thousand miles away in an instant, you cannot escape this time."
As he spoke, black and white spiritual light shone from his eyes, and soon a smile appeared on his face as he flew rapidly in one direction.
About a thousand miles away in the northwest, Ning Fa reappeared.
But the next moment, he felt a powerful Spiritual Sense lock onto him.
Ning Fa unhesitatingly sped towards the northwest. At the same time, he flicked his right hand, and a Third-Tier Puppet Beast resembling a black panther flew out.
Ning Fa activated the Star Roaming Compass again, placing the second anchor into the puppet beast's mouth. This puppet beast immediately flew in the opposite direction, to the south, as he intended to set up the second anchor.
This time, using the Star Roaming Compass would put it into a month-long cooldown period.
The black panther puppet vanished into a black light. Simultaneously, Ning Fa immediately activated his Lightning Escape, his figure flickering as he flew several miles away.
But to Ning Fa's despair, after flying only three hundred miles, a black and white lightning bolt from behind pursued him at a speed far exceeding his own. Yan Jingchen's cold smile was clearly visible within the escaping light.
As he was about to catch up to Ning Fa, Yan Jingchen's entire body transformed into a bolt of lightning, abruptly disappearing.
Ning Fa sighed inwardly and had no choice but to activate his Star Roaming Compass again. The next moment, he reappeared eight hundred miles to the south.
However, Yan Jingchen soon caught up again, like a persistent shadow.
Is my life truly going to end here today?
Ning Fa couldn't help but have this thought, but his eyes soon flashed with ferocity.
"Even if I die, I will destroy the Primordial Realm Pearl. I won't let Yan Jingchen succeed!"
And so, the two engaged in a chase.
Half an hour later, Yan Jingchen caught up again.
"Stay where you are!" Yan Jingchen roared, summoning a pair of black and white thunder halberds. They traced mysterious trajectories as they were hurled towards Ning Fa.
Amidst the blinding lightning, Ning Fa forcibly activated his Divine Firmament Manifestation and unleashed the Heaven-Shattering Sword to clash with the attack.
With a deafening boom, Ning Fa spat out a mouthful of blood. He used the force of the collision to continue flying south.
"Damn Five Elements Thunder Body!" Yan Jingchen grunted.
In Ning Fa's current state, this attack should have been enough to capture him. However, due to the Five Elements Thunder Body's counteraction against him, the effect was greatly diminished.
"I'd like to see how far you can run!"
The two continued their chase for nearly a thousand miles. This time, Ning Fa stopped, as he could no longer fly.
He was now barely breathing, with over a dozen severe injuries that exposed bone. His mana, spiritual sense, and blood essence were all depleted; he was in a state of utter exhaustion.
Not far away, Yan Jingchen watched him leisurely, not rushing to attack. A strange smile appeared on his face, and he said faintly:
"Honestly, I quite admire you.
If this were my past life, I might have taken you as a disciple.
But your biggest flaw is your soft heart.
If I were you, I wouldn't care about the grand scheme or the crisis of my race. I would first find a way to kill myself, Qinghong, and Tu Li to eliminate any future trouble, and then hide to attempt Spirit Transformation.
We cultivators are already going against the heavens. Only cultivation is fundamental. Everything else is like reflections on water. As long as you are alive, what does it matter if your race perishes?
Heh, I've said enough. Now, hand over the Primordial Realm Pearl, and I'll allow you to end yourself and return to the cycle of reincarnation. I hope you'll be smarter in your next life."
Although Ning Fa was in a state of despair, his expression remained calm, with only a hint of melancholy in his eyes.
It seemed his path of cultivation was about to end here.
He had too many regrets, but such is the way of the victor and the vanquished. He accepted it.
Ning Fa then closed his eyes, preparing to mobilize all the origins of the Divine Thunder of the Five Elements for a desperate final strike.
But at that moment, an anxious female voice echoed in his sea of consciousness.
"Ning Fa, don't rush to sacrifice yourself. You still have a way to live! Head immediately towards Green Crystal Island, five thousand miles to the southeast. I'll find a way to stall this person!"
Ning Fa's eyes snapped open. This voice belonged to Fairy Yuanxing, but for a moment, he didn't know whether to trust her words.
After all, before this operation, he had communicated with her, and her reply was that he would turn misfortune into fortune. Yet, here he was, in a situation where death was certain.
At this moment, Yan Jingchen, seeing Ning Fa's prolonged inaction, had lost his patience. A flash of lightning appeared in his hand, and he was about to make a move.
But just then, a handful of starlight materialized above his head, enveloping him. Yan Jingchen instantly vanished from his spot.
"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and go! Don't you believe this Fairy anymore?
Oh right, the old guys from Star Luo Palace used my identity to trick you last time, but this time it's really me. Hurry up and go!
I can only hold him off for about an hour. If you haven't escaped far by then, today will truly be your death anniversary!"
Fairy Yuanxing's voice was filled with urgency.
"Star Luo Palace..."
Ning Fa suddenly understood, and a chill ran down his spine.
This time, the other party had prepared thoroughly. They had likely sensed his earlier contact with Fairy Yuanxing and had been waiting patiently. This time, they had even calculated that he would seek help from Fairy Yuanxing.
Hatred surged in Ning Fa's heart once more. Without a word, he released Hei Yu again, letting it carry him as he flew rapidly towards the southeast.