And so, an interesting scene unfolded in the mountains.
Countless people flew down the mountain like birds, yet there was one person flying up towards the peak.
"It's Qin Ning!"
Someone suddenly shouted.
"Qin Ning?"
At this moment, at the foot of the mountain, a group of people were looking at the distant scene.
The leading man, his long robe gently fluttering, his hands clasped behind his back, gazed towards the mountain peak.
"Senior Brother Su Zhip, that is Qin Ning!"
Behind this man, Gu He spoke respectfully.
"Oh? Is it him?"
Su Zhip raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "He's also the type who isn't afraid of death. On that mountain peak is a mature Azure Jade Lotus, which has even produced seeds. If it weren't for Zi Yue and An Shishi ruining my good fortune, I would have already obtained it!"
"Does this brat want to die? Even Senior Brother Su Zhip didn't take me up the mountain, but he..."
A sycophantic disciple said.
But before he could finish speaking, Qin Ning suddenly accelerated...
"This guy..."
The expressions of several people subtly changed.
The closer one got to the peak, the more chaotic the rocks became, and the speed was extremely fast. Yet, the higher Qin Ning flew, the more his speed increased.
On the other side, another group of people also stopped.
"Senior Sister An, this brat is Qin Ning."
"Oh?"
An Shishi looked at the figure on the mountain peak and smiled, "He truly is an interesting young man."
At the same time, more and more people saw Qin Ning's actions, watching in fear for him.
This guy truly wasn't afraid of death at all!
And at this moment, Qin Ning was almost at the peak.
"Where is it?"
Looking at the hundred-meter-wide peak, Qin Ning frowned.
"Azure Jade Lotus!"
Looking at the maturing lotus flower, Qin Ning smiled faintly.
"The Azure Jade Lotus is here, so those little toys must be over there!"
At this moment, he paid no attention to the watchful eyes of everyone below.
He strode onto the mountain peak.
At that moment, on the peak, everything was shaking, and the rumbling sounds grew louder and louder.
On the peak, everything trembled, and rocks rolled down chaotically, as if something was breaking out of the earth.
At this moment, the others found it difficult to remain calm.
What on earth was happening?
Qin Ning went up the mountain peak, but the tremors grew stronger and stronger; they couldn't see anything.
"Senior Brother Su Zhip, we..."
"Wait!"
Su Zhip said indifferently, "Whether he picks the Azure Jade Lotus or not, let's wait here first!"
"Wait for him to come down and hand over the lotus seeds, otherwise... kill without mercy!"
After Su Zhip finished speaking, his expression turned cold.
"Yes!"
At this moment, everyone was eager to try.
No matter how skilled Qin Ning was, facing Su Zhip, the strongest in the inner courtyard, he was still nothing.
Meanwhile, Qin Hai, Ye Yuan Yuan, and their group were standing under a large tree, looking up at the mountain peak, hesitating endlessly.
"This matter was originally caused by them, but Third Brother rushed up there..."
Qin Hai worried, "I'm afraid those guys won't let us leave so easily later!"
As he spoke, Ye Yuan Yuan and her group also frowned tightly.
Qin Ning's reckless rush was indeed a bit hasty.
Such unusual activity surely indicated a treasure, and disciples from various factions would certainly not let it go.
And listening to the discussions around them, it seemed there was an Azure Jade Lotus on the mountain peak.
The Azure Jade Lotus formed under extremely harsh conditions, not due to spiritual energy or climate, but entirely due to destiny.
The lotus seeds produced by the Azure Jade Lotus could condense the resilience of the spiritual sea and increase the stability of forging the Spiritual Platform.
This item was priceless and its value was beyond imagination.
If a martial artist at the Spirit Platform Realm encountered this, they would likely risk their lives to seize it, let alone someone at the Spirit Sea Realm.
Qin Ning, however, paid no mind to the worries of Ye Yuanyuan's group.
He stood atop the mountain, looking at the cracked earth, and murmured, "You've slept for tens of thousands of years; you shouldn't continue sleeping like this."
"I, Qin Ning, have returned today. Why aren't you coming out to kneel and welcome me?"
Qin Ning shouted softly. The spiritual energy condensed within his body radiated outwards, and spiritual imprints surrounded him, then began to combine.
Those spiritual imprints instantly condensed into five ethereal armors.
At this moment, the five spiritual imprint armors glowed with a faint light.
Layer after layer, they spread out, covering the entire mountaintop.
Crack...
Suddenly, a shattering sound echoed.
A figure appeared on the ground.
This figure was as black as ink all over, as if made of profound iron, interspersed with a few red patterns.
Qin Ning smiled slightly at this sight.
"Pan Ling Puppets, this is your time to welcome your master back!"
He waved his hand, and the puppet immediately knelt on one knee, bowing with both hands.
After that, several more puppets appeared.
There were five figures in total, each two meters tall, wearing black iron armor, their skin also as black as ink.
Thump...
But as the five puppets stepped out, rumbling sounds echoed. One of the five puppets shattered as soon as it took a step.
"In the end, it still couldn't escape the flow of time..."
Looking at the damaged puppet, Qin Ning murmured softly.
Rumble, rumble, rumble...
Immediately after, three other puppets also fell, emitting the clanging sound of falling metal.
If anyone else were here at this moment, they would surely be astonished speechless.
Those puppets fell apart and disintegrated into fragments.
But if one looked closely, those fragments now shone so brightly that they made it impossible to open one's eyes.
Purple Jade Treasure Gold!
Divine Geng Stone!
Three-Leaf Profound Iron!
Those puppets fell and turned into broken stones, but each fragment contained metal within, even enough to forge fourth or fifth-grade spiritual artifacts.
Each type was astonishing.
But at this moment, such precious treasures were used to create five puppets.
"Four of them are ruined..."
Qin Ning sighed inwardly.
Pan Ling Puppets!
Back then, when he was the Great Emperor of Nine Nether, he had personally created these puppets. Aside from lacking consciousness, they acted exactly like normal people.
Each one was a powerful expert at the Spirit Soul Realm.
That year, that brat Qing Yun took on a group of disciples but refused to train them, instead seeking out his master, Qin Ning.
Qin Ning was also idle, so he created a few puppets for those grand-disciples to practice with.
As the Great Emperor of the Northern Underworld Empire, Ming Yuan, and the founder of the Heavenly God Academy, Tian Qingshi, along with people like Qin Tianyuan, were all "taken care of" by these puppets.
Later, when he left Abyss Valley, he thought these Pan Ling Puppets would remain there, but he never expected them to end up in this place.
Looking at the only remaining puppet, Qin Ning waved his hand.