Willows Dark, Flowers Bright

A flash of anger crossed Ning Fa's face, but he still forcibly suppressed it. He knew that pleading further would be meaningless.

An old hand like Wei Chengzong would never go against the rising Ning Ruiming for a fallen branch-family descendant like him. Saying more would only invite humiliation.

At that moment, Wei Chengzong gave a dry cough. "Ning Fa, I still need to refine pills. If you have nothing else, you should leave first."

Ning Fa looked at him expressionlessly, his stare sending a chill through Wei Chengzong's heart. Then Ning Fa rose to his feet and left, slowly making his way toward the docks.

His brows were tightly furrowed. This problem now seemed to have no solution.

What did it matter if he was absolutely certain he could pass the assessment? With Ning Ruiming meddling behind the scenes, he did not even have the chance to take it.

Unless someone else could speak for him—and that person's standing in the clan could not be low. They had to be capable of overpowering Ning Ruiming.

But after thinking it over and over, Ning Fa could not think of anyone willing to help him. His heart grew heavy.

Then he spotted Ning Zonglie on duty at the docks in the distance, and his eyes suddenly lit up. Perhaps this man could help?

Whether it would work or not, he had to try.

Ning Fa quickly walked over. Ning Zonglie immediately noticed him and seemed to see that Ning Fa wanted to speak with him. He greeted the other guard members, then headed toward Ning Fa.

"Seeing you come out so quickly, you must have failed the assessment again. I advise you to give up on this. You'd be better off thinking about how to please the Fifth Elder and see whether you can gain her protection in the future."

Ning Zonglie spoke to Ning Fa without much courtesy.

Ning Fa shook his head and told him about Ning Ruiming's interference. When he finished, he looked at Ning Zonglie with anticipation.

Ning Zonglie first frowned. Then, noticing Ning Fa's hopeful gaze, he shook his head. "So you want me to speak up for you. But it's no use. I can't help you."

Though he had not held out much hope, Ning Fa still looked disappointed when Ning Zonglie rejected him outright.

Ning Zonglie said helplessly, "It isn't that I don't want to help you. Given my friendship with your father, if I could help, I certainly would. But anything I say would be useless."

"You know Ning Ruiming's status. The clan is already nurturing him as its future chief alchemist. His standing is beyond anything I can compare to. Moreover, his branch is not only part of the direct line, but also closely connected to the Third Elder. I'm merely a member of Blazing Wind Hall. Speaking for you would have no effect at all."

Ning Fa's heart sank, but he knew Ning Zonglie was telling the truth.

But if he could not pass the clan alchemist assessment, did that mean he truly had no choice but to accept his fate of becoming Ning Huarong's dual-cultivation cauldron?

He was truly unwilling to accept it. He had finally transmigrated into this mysterious Cultivation World and even obtained that heaven-defying Mysterious Scroll. He had also completely mastered the refining of Essence Replenishing Pills.

Yet because petty villains were making trouble, he had no way to break this deadlock. How could he possibly accept that?

As for telling the clan about the Mysterious Scroll, Ning Fa would not consider it at all.

If he revealed the scroll to the clan, they might value him highly—but it was even more likely that the clan's Foundation Establishment Elders would kill him and seize his treasure.

Before a heaven-defying treasure like this, blood ties and family affection were nothing but bullshit.

Therefore, he resolved never to tell anyone the secret of the Mysterious Scroll.

At worst, he would obediently cultivate together with that Witch. Even if it damaged his Dao Foundation, with that heaven-defying Mysterious Scroll, perhaps he would still have a chance to turn things around in the future.

Leaving everything else aside, with his current skill in refining Essence Replenishing Pills, he could absolutely earn a substantial income just by selling them. Then he could find some precious spiritual materials to make up for the harm to his body.

It would be difficult, but at least he would not be driven into a hopeless corner.

With those thoughts in mind, Ning Fa's heavy mood eased considerably.

"Uncle Lie, I understand. I'll head back first."

Ning Fa cupped his hands toward Ning Zonglie and started toward the docks.

"Wait, kid."

Ning Zonglie called out to stop him. His tiger-like eyes flickered beneath his bearded face.

After a long while, he looked at Ning Fa and said in a deep voice, "Kid, perhaps there is someone who can help you."

After saying that, he looked around before walking up beside Ning Fa and whispering something to him.

When Ning Fa finished listening, his eyes shone. "Thank you, Uncle Lie. I'll go give it a try right away."

Ning Zonglie sighed helplessly and reminded him again, "Remember, do not say I was the one who told you, or I'll be in serious trouble. Take that Blue Wave spirit boat. It's about to head to Yun Chang Island to deliver spiritual materials. I'll put in a word for you."

Ning Fa nodded repeatedly, thanked Ning Zonglie once more, then ran toward a pale-blue spirit boat moored by the shore.

Yun Chang Island was very close to Lingchang Island, only a little over a hundred kilometers away. In less than half an hour, Ning Fa arrived on the island.

A veil of white mist shrouded the island. Mountains rose and fell faintly within it, while immortal cranes and spirit birds occasionally circled overhead, their melodious cries drifting through the air. It looked far more like the spiritual island Ning Fa had imagined.

Ning Fa had come to visit the clan's Ninth Elder, Ning Shaohong, who lived here. Aside from Ning Huarong, she was the only other female elder among the clan's ten great elders.

She was also the younger sister of the clan's Second Elder, Ning Weidong, and held a prominent position within the clan.

However, Ning Shaohong had not become the clan's Ninth Elder through Ning Weidong's influence.

That was because Ning Shaohong was a rare Spirit Embroiderer.

Among the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, aside from well-known cultivation professions such as pill refining, talisman crafting, artifact refining, formations, and spirit planting, there were also quite a few obscure professions. Spirit Embroiderers were one of them.

As the name implied, Spirit Embroiderers could sew all kinds of cultivator robes. This profession had evolved from artifact refining.

Though Spirit Embroidery was a niche profession, its ability to earn spirit stones was far from weak. It could absolutely rank among the best of the Hundred Arts of Cultivation.

Cultivator robes were generally very expensive, so their profit margins were naturally high. Those who could afford them were usually cultivators with considerable wealth.

The reason Spirit Embroiderers were so uncommon was similar to pill refiners: the threshold was too high. One had to invest vast resources into practice before even getting started, and ordinary cultivators simply could not afford the consumption involved.

Moreover, robes were not as essential as pills. They were more like luxuries in the cultivation world, which made Spirit Embroiderers exceedingly rare.

Ning Shaohong was not only a Spirit Embroiderer—she had reached the second rank and could sew robes for Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

The clan had even established a Spirit Embroidery Hall specifically for her, with Ning Shaohong serving as its hall master. Suitable female cultivators from the clan were selected to study the art of spirit embroidery there.

After years of development, the Spirit Embroidery Hall had produced countless cultivator robes and earned the clan a great many spirit stones. The cultivator robes produced by the Spirit Embroidery Hall had also become one of the Ning Clan's signature goods.

The Ning Clan had opened a dedicated shop in the nearby large market, Tianshui Market, to sell them, and business was exceptionally good.

It was because of this contribution that Ning Shaohong had become the clan's Ninth Elder, and everyone in the clan accepted it wholeheartedly.

Ning Fa had come to seek this Ninth Elder's help, following Ning Zonglie's advice.

The reason was simple. Ninth Elder Ning Shaohong and Ning Fa's father, Ning Zhiyuan, had once been lovers. However, for reasons unknown, the two had later separated.

Not many people in the clan knew about this matter. Ning Zonglie had only learned of it by chance.

Moreover, he believed Ning Shaohong still had lingering feelings for Ning Fa's father. Otherwise, she would not have refused every dual-cultivation companion the clan had introduced to her over the past twenty-plus years, remaining alone to this day.

Thus, Ning Shaohong would very likely help Ning Fa for his father's sake. As long as she was willing to speak, Wei Chengzong would certainly no longer dare heed Ning Ruiming's words and deny Ning Fa even a fair chance at the assessment.

Ning Fa could not help inwardly grumbling. So his old man had been quite the romantic seed. Still, judging from Ning Zhiyuan's looks and bearing in his memories, it made perfect sense.

When he arrived at Yun Chang Island's docks, Ning Fa discovered that the inspections here were no less strict than those on Lingchang Island. More than ten cultivators were carefully examining the spirit boats traveling in and out.

What was even more eye-catching was that every guard member on duty here was a female cultivator.

Without a travel token, Ning Fa was immediately stopped. A female cultivator stared at him and coldly asked, "Who are you? Why have you come to Yun Chang Island without a travel token?"