Ten days later.
Inside a quiet room.
Two silver, radiant orbs floated before Ning Fa.
Silver lightning-like symbols flickered on and off on the orbs, exuding an extraordinary aura.
An extreme aura of destruction was faintly emanating from them, making one's heart palpitate.
Ning Fa looked at these two silver orbs, his face filled with joy.
After several months of effort, consuming thousands of Spirit Stones, and depleting a significant portion of his own vital energy.
He had successfully refined two Thunder Calamity Beads.
If not for the scroll tracing the Spiritual Materials, the cost would have been even higher.
But it was all worth it. He estimated that the power of this Thunder Calamity Bead should be no less than a strike from a top-tier Talisman Treasure.
Even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator would absolutely not be able to withstand it if hit.
This would become his other trump card.
Ning Fa put away the two orbs. Recalling the message Ning Jiantao had sent him yesterday, his eyes flashed with sharp light, and he murmured, "Is the cave mansion restriction on Spirit Deer Island finally going to be broken? Then it's time to settle the score between me and Ning Jiannan, Ning Ruiming, and the others."
He let out a cold laugh and then got up to leave.
Spirit Deer Island.
This island was desolate. Spanning dozens of miles, it possessed only a very barren, low-grade first-tier Spirit Vein.
In the center of the small island stood a small mountain, over a hundred feet tall.
This was also where the Yuan Chang Island lineage had claimed to have discovered a vein of green-patterned ore.
At this moment, the interior of this small mountain had already been completely hollowed out.
A massive underground hall had been created.
Inside the hall stood five people.
The person at the forefront was none other than the Tenth Elder of the family, Ning Jiannan.
The other four included Ning Jiantao, and several other important figures from the Yuan Chang Island lineage.
And Ning Ruiming, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
Ever since the pill-dueling competition with the Ning Family last time, Ning Ruiming, deeply affected, had fallen into despair and remained shut in his home, refusing to come out.
Now, his face was pale, his hair disheveled, and his eye sockets sunken.
At this moment, his eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation.
As for the others, even Ning Jiannan, who was usually steady, couldn't hide his excited expression.
This was because the high-level cultivator's cave mansion that their lineage had painstakingly planned for several years was finally about to be entered.
Before them, a great array enclosed an area dozens of feet ahead.
This array was entirely crimson, releasing surging wind and fire power within, constantly impacting another defensive restriction inside the array.
This restriction was semi-circular, enveloping a mountainside, and a portal could be vaguely seen within.
The surface of this restriction shimmered with Five-Colored Spiritual Light, resisting the wind and fire power.
However, the defensive light shield had clearly become very thin, with cracks appearing in some places, indicating it was about to give out.
Seeing this, Ning Jiannan and the others became even more excited.
Ning Jiannan's expression was somewhat strained, his peripheral vision constantly scanning their surroundings.
Dozens of feet away from them, within a mountainside, Ning Fa, having used a precious Earth Evasion Talisman, had already hidden himself.
He had received a secret message from Ning Jiantao yesterday.
Knowing that the cave mansion restriction on Spirit Deer Island was about to be breached, he had infiltrated the area in advance.
His divine sense was powerful, and with the Moon Concealment Technique, he wasn't afraid of Ning Jiannan and the others discovering him.
Looking at the scene before him, Ning Fa's eyes showed surprise.
He inwardly thought, "So the guardian of that cave mansion is the Lesser Five Elements Forbidden Great Array. No wonder Ning Jiannan and the others took several years to barely break it. It's also fortunate they thought of this method of using an array to break an array. This Hundred Refinements Wind Fire Array is very suitable for wearing down the power of the Lesser Five Elements Forbidden Great Array, but it's likely that the Forbidden Array's spiritual energy is insufficient to sustain it. Otherwise, it would probably take even longer to break."
Several hours later.
With a "crackling" sound, the Lesser Five Elements Forbidden Great Array finally shattered completely.
Ning Jiannan and the others looked overjoyed. They quickly stopped activating the Hundred Refinements Wind Fire Array and rushed in to investigate.
Ning Fa's eyes lit up. Just as he was about to make a move, he suddenly frowned.
He had just sensed a faint fluctuation of energy.
Someone else had arrived!
Ning Fa immediately chose to remain still, while also carefully investigating who was approaching.
Upon discovering a figure lurking in the shadows, Ning Fa's pupils constricted.
"It's actually him!"
At this moment, Ning Jiannan and the others had already run to the entrance of the cave dwelling.
Standing beside it was a black humanoid puppet, taller than a person.
Initially, Ning Jiannan and the others were very wary of the puppet and dared not approach.
However, after finding that the puppet remained motionless, they boldly inspected it and discovered that its spiritual energy had been depleted.
Ning Jiannan and the others relaxed and began to study how to open the cave dwelling's entrance.
But it was clear that the cave dwelling's entrance was not simple; it had a special restriction, making it difficult to open.
This caused Ning Jiannan and the others, who thought they had succeeded, to scratch their heads in frustration.
They even began to unleash their magic tools to attack the cave dwelling's entrance.
Just then, a mocking voice echoed.
"Stop wasting your efforts. This cave dwelling's entrance uses the [Blood Gloom Restriction]; it's not something you few can break."
Ning Jiannan and the others' expressions changed, and they quickly turned around.
They saw a young figure slowly approaching. He was dressed in black robes, had a heroic face, and a calm, composed demeanor.
"Daozhen?"
Ning Jiannan frowned and asked.
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then looked behind Ning Daozhen.
Ning Daozhen's mocking smile deepened. He said lazily, "Stop looking, I came alone."
Ning Jiannan's gaze flickered; Ning Daozhen felt somewhat strange to him now.
He tentatively asked, "Daozhen, do you know how to open this cave dwelling's entrance?"
Ning Daozhen, however, coldly laughed, "So what if I know? You clearly discovered such an important cave dwelling, yet you intended to keep it for yourselves. When the family finds out, I'll see how you explain yourselves!"
Ning Jiannan and the others' faces changed.
A fierce glint flashed in Ning Jiannan's eyes, and he ordered Ning Jiantao, "Jiantao, capture him!"
Ning Jiantao showed hesitation and glanced around again before stepping forward.
A black giant axe was unleashed by him.
Before he could even launch his attack, a cold light flashed in Ning Daozhen's eyes.
He raised his hand, and a bloody thread suddenly shot out from the tip of his index finger, speeding towards Ning Jiantao.
"Not good!"
Ning Jiantao's expression changed, and he quickly raised his giant axe to block in front of him.
"Clang!"
The bloody thread struck the giant axe, emitting a crisp clang.
But in the next moment, the bloody thread made a strange turn, and without any pause, it reached Ning Jiantao's right side.
Immediately after, the bloody thread pierced straight through Ning Jiantao's temple.
It flew out from the other temple, bringing with it a few drops of blood.
Disbelief flashed in Ning Jiantao's eyes, and then he crashed to the ground.
Ning Fa, who was hiding in the shadows, had his pupils constrict.
Although he had long sensed that Ning Daozhen was not simple, he never expected him to be so powerful.
Ning Jiantao, though insignificant in his eyes, was after all a master at the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation.
He had been killed by Ning Daozhen in a single blow just like that.
This immediately caused Ning Fa's heart to churn.
Who exactly was this Ning Daozhen?
Why was his strength so formidable?
Why did he dare to kill fellow clan members so recklessly?
And how did he know about the Spirit Deer Island cave dwelling here?
Ning Fa's gaze towards this person was now filled with apprehension.
He actually had no confidence in defeating this fellow cultivator of the same level.