Ning Yuwen

Ning Fa had always felt that this man looked somewhat familiar, and he could not help studying him more closely.

The man appeared to be around thirty. Though his beard was unkempt and his hair disheveled, giving him a slovenly appearance, it could not conceal his sword-like brows, starry eyes, or his handsome and exceptional bearing. He was also at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Though he was reading an erotic picture book, he did not seem lewd. He simply looked utterly dejected.

Ning Fa's heart jolted. He remembered who this man was.

This man was Ning Yuwen. He was no insignificant figure—back then, he and Ning Fa's genius third uncle, Ning Hongye, had been known together as Ning's Twin Prodigies.

He, too, possessed Dual Spiritual Roots and had been born in the same year and month as Ning Hongye. He had advanced to Late Qi Condensation only one month later than Ning Hongye, making him the second fastest person in Ning Clan history to reach Late Qi Condensation.

Both were people of extraordinary talent. Their aptitudes even surpassed those of ordinary High-grade Spiritual Roots, which was why they had earned the title Ning's Twin Prodigies.

Ning Fa's third uncle possessed remarkably high comprehension. Not only did he cultivate quickly, but he was also quite accomplished in the Dao of arrays. At such a young age, he had already become a first-grade mid-grade Array Master.

As for Ning Yuwen, he possessed an exceptionally high talent for spells. While still young, he had mastered two Five Elements Spells to the Great Perfection realm, and several more spells to the Major Accomplishment realm.

As a result, his combat prowess was extremely formidable, and Qi Refining Cultivators of the same level were generally no match for him.

But storms came without warning. Years ago, Ning Hongye went out to travel and vanished without a trace. He had most likely fallen somewhere beyond.

Ning Yuwen had likewise encountered powerful Calamity Cultivators outside. Though he escaped with his life, his Dantian suffered grave damage, directly affecting his Dao Foundation.

His cultivation had fallen directly from Peak Qi Condensation to the seventh level of Qi Refining, and he would basically be trapped at this realm for the rest of his life, let alone achieve Foundation Establishment.

Afterward, one of Ning's Twin Prodigies vanished from public view. There was rarely any news of him within the clan, and Ning Fa had never expected that he had come to serve as a guard at the Scripture Pavilion.

Yet looking at his dejected state now, where was the bearing of one of Ning's Twin Prodigies?

It was no wonder. Once blessed with peerless talent, full of soaring ambition, with Foundation Establishment within sight, he now had a damaged Dao Foundation and no hope on the Immortal Path. For anyone, that would be a blow difficult to bear.

Thinking of this, Ning Fa could not help sighing.

In recent years, Ning Clan could be said to have been blessed by fortune, with talents erupting forth like a geyser.

Not only had they set a record by having four Foundation Establishment Cultivators, but the First Elder Ning Zhongyuan and the Third Elder Ning Zhongjiu were no ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators. They were powerhouses among cultivators of the same realm.

Then there were Ning Fa's third uncle Ning Hongye and Ning Yuwen, Ning's Twin Prodigies, followed by the even more formidable Witch Ning Huarong.

All of them were Outstanding Figures rarely seen in a lifetime, yet generation after generation had appeared in Ning Clan. It could only be said that Heaven favored Ning Clan.

There were also outstanding disciples such as Ning Fa's father Ning Zhiyuan, Ning Shaohong, and Ning Zonglie. In any other clan, they would absolutely have been pillars holding up the whole house.

Even among the younger generation, there were quite a few descendants with exceptional aptitudes.

Thus, Ning Clan's current prosperity was not without reason.

Even his own appearance was a manifestation of Ning Clan's flourishing fortune.

He was no longer merely someone with a complete Lightning Spiritual Root, especially since he also possessed the heaven-defying treasure that was the Mysterious Scroll.

At this thought, Ning Fa suddenly found something strange. His third uncle had disappeared outside under unclear circumstances, while Ning Yuwen before him had also suffered an attack that directly damaged his Immortal Path.

His own parents had likewise unexpectedly been surrounded and killed.

Ning Fa suddenly realized that these things might not necessarily have been mere coincidences.

Ning Fa quickly thought of the Xue Family, the other great cultivation clan of Thousand Wave Lake.

A few things became clear to him.

Perhaps these accidents could not be separated from Thousand Wave Lake's foremost power?

As Ning Fa's thoughts ran wild, the handsome man with the dejected face lowered the picture book from his hand. Seeing that it was Ning Fa, a trace of surprise appeared on his face. He said lazily, "So it's you, kid. Didn't I hear you were learning alchemy? What are you doing here?"

Ning Fa clasped his hands in greeting. "Uncle Wen, I have already become a clan alchemist and joined the Alchemy Hall. I came to the Scripture Pavilion today to look for some ancient books."

Not only had Ning Yuwen and Ning Hongye been known together as Ning's Twin Prodigies, they had also been close friends. Therefore, Ning Fa had often seen him as a child, and Ning Yuwen had frequently enjoyed teasing him back then.

Ning Yuwen raised a brow and said in surprise, "So you really pulled it off, kid. Since you're a member of the Alchemy Hall, your token should grant you access to search the first and second floors. Go on."

With that, Ning Yuwen waved him inside and placed the picture book back over his face. Yet the air of dejection emanating from him became even stronger.

Ning Fa looked at him once more, then said nothing and entered the building.

Yet he was considering whether he could heal Uncle Wen.

As far as he knew, after Ning Yuwen had been seriously injured, the clan's Foundation Establishment Elders had found a second-grade healing pill to treat him.

But it seemed that it had failed to completely cure his injuries. Instead, it had delayed the best window for treatment and left behind permanent complications.

Now, only several precious second-grade high-grade healing pills might completely cure him and give him another chance at Foundation Establishment.

But healing pills of that level were worth no less than a Foundation Establishment Pill, and they basically only appeared at auctions. They could be encountered only by chance, never sought at will.

Though Ning Clan was now considered wealthy and powerful, it could not easily obtain such pills. And even if it did, there was no guarantee they could cure Ning Yuwen's injuries.

Naturally, Ning Fa could not obtain such high-grade healing pills either, but he was considering whether he might personally refine healing pills.

Of course, he could not refine second-grade high-grade healing pills. But if he could add Dao Marks to some first-grade high-grade healing pills—for example, an Azure Lotus Pill with One Dao Mark—

Then, relying on the miraculous effects of Dao Patterned Pills, perhaps several more pills could heal Ning Yuwen as well.

Although Ning Fa had yet to truly refine a Dao Patterned Pill, during that alchemist examination, he had merely refined a pill prototype.

But with the Mysterious Scroll, Ning Fa felt that once he advanced to Mid to Late Qi Refining, he might be able to refine an Azure Lotus Pill with One Dao Mark.

Then Ning Yuwen might have hope of being cured.

Naturally, Ning Fa did not intend to do this simply because the man was his third uncle's friend. He was no bleeding-heart good man. He wanted to expand his own influence.

This attack had once again made him feel the cruelty of the cultivation world. Even within the same clan, without strength, one could still become fish on someone else's chopping block.

Therefore, he was desperately eager to improve both his own strength and his influence.

If Ning Yuwen could truly be completely cured and stand on his side, Ning Fa would gain another powerful helper besides the Ninth Elder Ning Shaohong.

After all, Ning Yuwen was only a little over thirty. He was still far from the sixty-year Foundation Establishment age limit for Qi Refining Cultivators.

As long as he could fully recover before the age of forty-five, he would still have a great chance of achieving Foundation Establishment and would surely return to the clan's core.

Moreover, from what Ning Fa understood, Ning Yuwen was a man who valued loyalty and righteousness, possessing the air of a gallant hero of the martial world.

He had heard that Ning Yuwen was injured precisely because he had disregarded the danger and insisted on fulfilling a promise he had made to someone.

Thus, Ning Fa was not worried that after helping him, Ning Yuwen would turn his back on him and deny all recognition.