Tang City!
This was a city of grand scale and sprawling area. Long ago, Tang City had served as the headquarters of the Tang Clan. However, after the Tang Clan was exterminated overnight, the city had fallen into complete desolation. But now, the Tang Clan had returned! In just a few short days, the entire Tang City had been completely revitalized!
"Elder Tang Wu, I will establish ten city-guarding formations here as my congratulatory gift for the Tang Clan's reconstruction," Ye Yunfei said, standing in the air above Tang City as he surveyed the area.
"Thank you, Young Master Ye!" Elder Tang Wu and Tang Boguang replied, extremely moved. They deeply understood the might of the formations Ye Yunfei could deploy. The formations he had set up within those underground caverns were difficult to penetrate even for masters at the Star Bridge realm!
Thus, Ye Yunfei personally took action, deploying ten powerful city-guarding formations within Tang City. Each grand formation was capable of both offense and defense, possessing immense strength.
After finishing the formations, Ye Yunfei led his companions away from the Tang Clan and headed for the headquarters of the Houtu Sect. The sect's new headquarters were nestled within a range of rolling mountains.
"The earth energy beneath this area is exceptionally rich. Excellent," Ye Yunfei assessed, nodding with approval.
"Sect Leader, these five Earth Dragons will remain here with the Houtu Sect." With a wave of his hand, five Earth Dragons rushed out, releasing roars before burrowing into the ground beneath the mountain range. Given Ye Yunfei's current level of power, these five Earth Dragons were of little use to him now.
Next, Ye Yunfei again personally took action, setting up over a dozen sect-guarding formations within the Houtu Sect's new headquarters.
After finishing the formations, Ye Yunfei received a voice transmission. "Ye Yunfei, are your affairs concluded? When can we return to the Thunder Abyss? It is time for this arm of mine to return and replenish its vitality." It was from the Giant Arm.
"My affairs are settled. I can take you back to the Thunder Abyss now," Ye Yunfei replied.
Ye Yunfei then approached Dean Sima and said, "Dean Sima, of the more than five hundred Imperial realm experts I've left at the academy, station one hundred to garrison Tang City, and another one hundred to garrison the Houtu Sect's headquarters. Also, I've already instructed the Alchemy Sovereign to establish an Alchemy Hall within the Heavenly Dao Academy. From now on, if these three forces require pills, you may seek them from the Alchemy Sovereign."
Everyone who had emerged from the Tianxuan Continent had been settled by Ye Yunfei within the Heavenly Dao Academy, including the Alchemy Sovereign.
"Understood," Dean Sima nodded.
Suddenly, Elder Tang Wu spoke up, asking, "Young Master Ye, when do you plan to establish Qingyun Palace?" Ye Yunfei had once discussed with Elder Tang Wu and the Houtu Sect Leader the idea of founding a force called Qingyun Palace.
Hearing Elder Tang Wu's question, Ye Yunfei paused, then sighed softly. "Let's wait a little longer. The time is not yet right."
For Ye Yunfei at this moment, the most pressing matter was rescuing his mother and sister!
Soon after, Ye Yunfei bid farewell to the others and quietly departed the Northern Wastelands. Both the Tang Clan and the Houtu Sect had firmly established their footholds within this domain. Ye Yunfei believed that, with his current reputation alone, no force within the Northern Wastelands — indeed, not even within the entire Xuanhuang Star Domain or the neighboring ones — would dare provoke them lightly.
Elder Tang Wu watched Ye Yunfei's departing figure thoughtfully and remarked, "Young Master Ye seems deeply burdened, as if he is hiding something from us."
"His strength now far surpasses ours. Even if we knew, it's unlikely we could be of much help," Dean Sima said.
Elder Tang Wu nodded with a sigh. "That is true."
Two days later.
Ye Yunfei returned to the Thunder Abyss.
"Ah, so comfortable!" The Giant Arm emerged from the Phantom Shadow Tower, bathing in the surging sea of thunder and feeling immensely pleasured.
Ye Yunfei also transported out the stone coffin and the five Thunder Dragons, placing them within the Zhen position of the thunder sea. The Giant Arm immediately entered the coffin to recuperate. This severed arm had exhausted quite a bit of vitality during this period without the nourishment of the Thunder Abyss and was in need of proper rest. This was precisely why Ye Yunfei had brought it back.
"Next, I will refine various pills to aid the recovery of your arm," Ye Yunfei said to the Giant Arm. "Moreover, I will set up various formations within this thunder sea to converge vitality, accelerating your recovery. As for what final level of recovery your arm can achieve, that will depend on fortune."
Following this, Ye Yunfei first laid out a large number of formations within the thunder sea to continuously gather the vital energies from the surrounding starry void.
Then, he released Lei Ze to cultivate within the thunder sea, constantly absorbing the essence of the lightning.
As for Ye Yunfei himself, he entered the stone coffin and then into the Phantom Shadow Tower. Taking out his alchemy cauldron, he prepared to begin pill refining.
"Refine some for me too. My bloodline seems to be on the verge of breaking through again. It needs energy." A flash of golden light appeared as the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm emerged, addressing Ye Yunfei.
"Oh? Very well. I'll refine a batch of pills for you too," Ye Yunfei replied, somewhat surprised and pleased, nodding his head.
"Let's test the pill-refining power of the Samadhi True Fire." Ye Yunfei flicked his fingers, and a strange fire-red bird flew out from his palm, rushing into the cauldron. Immediately, the temperature within the cauldron began to rise drastically, waves of scorching heat roiling forth.
The Samadhi True Fire!
Ye Yunfei took out hundreds of spatial rings, extracting from them piles of medicinal herbs stacked like small hills.
Then, Ye Yunfei began refining pills.
At the same time.
In a distant star domain, far away, within a bustling realm.
On a planet rich in spiritual energy, inside a lofty, cloud-piercing mountain peak.
A pitch-black space.
Upon the dim ground stood two people.
A beautiful middle-aged woman, and a girl of about ten years old.
The woman sat in meditation, the young girl reclining across her lap, asleep.
"Little Fei, it was mother who implicated you," the middle-aged woman murmured, looking at the girl with deep affection.
"I wonder how they are now." The woman lifted her head as if gazing across the vast distances of time and space, an expression of recollection on her face.
In that moment, her heart returned to that distant, remote star domain, to a minor, low-level small world. There, resided the happiest, most cherished times of her life.
"How wonderful it would be if I could bring Little Fei back to Tianxuan Continent, living a simple, quiet, and peaceful life with the whole family..." the middle-aged woman mused wistfully, murmuring to herself.
"Mama, what are you saying?" At this moment, Xiao Fei suddenly awoke, opening a pair of pure, clear eyes to stare at the middle-aged woman.
"It's nothing," the woman replied quickly, withdrawing her thoughts and smiling.
"Mama, are you thinking about Papa and Brother?" Xiao Fei, perceptive to an extreme, asked.
The middle-aged woman fell silent.
Right then.
Suddenly.
*Swish, swish…*
Several figures appeared in front of the middle-aged woman and Xiao Fei.
"Pang Xingyu! What is your purpose here?! This place is not welcome to you!" the middle-aged woman's eyes locked fiercely onto one of the men, her voice filled with fury.
"How dare you! You dare speak to our Young Master Pang, the second scion of the Pang Clan, in such a tone!" a black-robed elder beside the man harshly rebuked.