"Xiao Hui, what are you talking about? Is something the matter?"
A youth with a face like polished jade, eyes like hanging stars, and a tall, slender frame halted his steps ahead and turned back to speak to Xiao Hui.
"No, Lu Shixiong, it's nothing," Xiao Hui replied.
"Xiao Hui, come walk beside me," Lu Shixiong said, his gaze towards her carrying a hidden, thirsty desire.
"Yes, Xiao Hui, you should join Senior Brother Lu," urged more than a dozen other young people following along nearby.
These were all disciples of the Zishan Sect. Within the sect, everyone knew that this Lu Shixiong liked Xiao Hui and had been openly pursuing her. However, up until now, Xiao Hui had not reacted to his advances at all, maintaining a great distance.
"Senior Brother Lu, you lead the way. I'll just follow from behind," Xiao Hui replied with a slight frown. She did not move up to walk beside him, deliberately maintaining a certain distance.
She was starting to grow quite annoyed by this Senior Brother Lu's pursuit. However, her nature had always been somewhat demure and reserved, so she hadn't explicitly rejected him yet.
"Fine. Xiao Hui, if you have any matter, just tell me. You needn't stand on ceremony," Lu Shixiong said, keeping up his gentle demeanor on the surface even though a flicker of anger burned deep in his eyes.
He then waved his hand and led the group of Zishan Sect disciples forward.
"Xiao Hui, don't you understand Senior Brother Lu's intentions even now? Senior Brother Lu is extraordinarily talented, ranking twentieth on the Purple Mountain Monument at such a young age. He will surely break into the top ten in the future. Moreover, he is the personal disciple of Elder Fang, one of our sect's three Supreme Elders. With his talent and status, countless female disciples in our sect try every possible way to get close to him. Xiao Hui, it's rare for Senior Brother Lu to favor you so distinctly, to be so smitten. You must seize this opportunity. Don't keep turning away his goodwill."
A woman in a green dress deliberately slowed her pace to walk alongside Xiao Hui, whispering this advice.
"Liu Shijie, I don't wish to hear about this. If Senior Sister Liu finds Senior Brother Lu so favorable, you can seize that opportunity yourself," Xiao Hui replied, growing somewhat impatient and frowning.
"Xiao Hui, you..." The senior sister was left speechless with anger.
'This little girl has too hard a temper. I've taken Senior Brother Lu's gifts; I must find a way to convince her to willingly climb into his bed!' Senior Sister Liu shot a glance at Xiao Hui, a trace of cold mockery in her eyes.
'Is the Ye Yunfei with a bounty on his head the one I know?' Xiao Hui wondered to herself, her thoughts turning to Ye Yunfei.
'No, I must find a way to locate this Ye Yunfei who's wanted, to see if it's really him. The Ye Yunfei I know was often hunted down in the past too—this really does sound like his style!' she thought decisively.
***
Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei, accompanied by Hu Miao, Huang Shang, and the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, had emerged from that Small World and were traveling along the Starry Sky Ancient Paths. After the eruption of the Mystic Magnetic Polar Lights, everyone inside that Small World had fled. It was now completely empty.
"Let's go to another Small World," Ye Yunfei said. He then randomly selected one of the Starry Sky Ancient Paths and walked toward its endpoint.
'This shattered starry space was probably a trial ground for some ancient, powerful faction. And given they could arrange such a place, that faction's strength must have been quite impressive,' Ye Yunfei mused inwardly as his gaze swept the dead, silent starscape.
Shortly after, they reached the end of the ancient path. An entrance to a Small World appeared ahead.
"Let's go in," Ye Yunfei said, stepping forward into the world.
What met their eyes were vast stretches of tall mountain ranges, rolling ridges one after another, and dense stretches of primeval forest. It emanated an aura of ancient primitiveness, alongside a faint sense of hair-raising danger.
*Gaa…*
Far off in the high skies, a ferocious avian with vividly colorful plumage glided. It was of unknown species, giving off an aura of remote, primordial beasts. Lightning and flames spewed from its eyes.
*Boom…*
By the shore of a distant, massive lake, a beast towering like a mountain emerged from behind a ridge, walking to the lake's edge to drink.
The scene was filled with the atmosphere of primordial wilderness!
"The beasts in this Small World are too huge, they look terrifying!" Hu Miao exclaimed beside Ye Yunfei.
"Don't fear them. We're here to explore and train; we must be fearless. Besides, if we can't defeat them, we can always run," Ye Yunfei replied.
Many other young people had already entered this Small World to explore. They moved cautiously, trying their best to avoid the giant beasts and the fierce birds gliding high above. Yet, no matter how careful they were, some inevitably ended up face-to-face with the world's creatures.
*Roar…!*
In one mountain area, a massive figure leapt into the air. It was covered in thick, black, shaggy fur and continuously pounded its own chest, producing muffled, thunderous sounds that caused a huge swath of forest around it to flatten. It was a giant ape!
"You beast! I'll fight you to the death!" Facing the ape, a young man hovered in mid-air, gripping a black halberd, his face filled with fury.
Then, the giant ape and the youth engaged in fierce battle. After a dozen or so exchanges, the youth was sent flying by the ape's fist, vomiting blood repeatedly before he turned and fled.
Similar battles erupted now and then. However, there were also some young people with formidable combat strength who managed to slay the fierce birds and savage beasts in this world.
***
"Let's go," Ye Yunfei said, stepping forward.
Hu Miao and Huang Shang followed beside him, while the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm lay comfortably perched on his shoulder.
Ye Yunfei's formidable Soul Power extended far ahead, allowing them to avoid many ferocious beasts along the way. He wasn't afraid of these creatures, but he also had no reason to charge forward and fight them unnecessarily.
*Boom! Boom!…*
A short while later, violent sounds of fighting, accompanied by billowing dust and smoke, erupted from the mountains ahead. A black crow and a thick white snake were locked in fierce combat.
"Master, look! They're fighting over a red vine!" Hu Miao pointed at an ancient vine within the mountain area.
Beside the battling crow and snake grew a crimson ancient vine. It glistened like agate, its form strangely resembling that of a phoenix!
"That's a Crimson Blood Phoenix Vine! A virtual-grade herb!" Ye Yunfei's eyes lit up.
Above Saint-grade herbs came Virtual-grade herbs!
"Excellent. I'll take it," Ye Yunfei said.
After speaking, he employed the Spatial Teleportation technique, instantly appearing beside the ancient vine in the mountains.
Yet, before Ye Yunfei could reach out to pluck the Crimson Blood Phoenix Vine...
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
Three thick golden arrows shot whistling over from a distance, carrying frightening force.
*Thud! Thud!*
Two of the golden arrows directly pierced through the vital spots of the crow and the snake, pinning the creatures' bodies to the ground.
The third golden arrow, however, shot straight for Ye Yunfei's head, clearly aiming to blow his skull apart!
Ye Yunfei's expression darkened. His body flickered to the side, narrowly avoiding the arrow.
"Not bad footwork. To actually dodge my Golden Arrow, I'll spare your life. Kneel, hand over everything on your person, then scram!"
A man strode over through the air from afar. He was tall and straight-backed, with eyes like bright stars, carrying an immense golden bow. His gaze was fixed on the Crimson Blood Phoenix Vine, not even deigning to look directly at Ye Yunfei.
"Oh, Senior Brother Wu Tian, don't be so fierce. You'll scare him," came a voice from another direction.
A woman in white robes drifted over, elegant and charming, appearing ethereal and transcendent.
"Oh, it's Miss Pan Yi. Just an insignificant little ant. I wanted to kill him with an arrow, but I didn't expect him to dodge it. So, I'm sparing his pathetic life. He got damn lucky today that I'm feeling merciful," the man called Wu Tian said, his eyes lighting up and his gaze growing eager upon seeing the white-robed woman.
"So there's a Crimson Blood Phoenix Vine here. Senior Brother Wu Tian wasn't thinking of sneaking it away, were you? I've recently hit a bottleneck in my cultivation. I wonder if Senior Brother Wu Tian could let me have it?" Pan Yi covered her mouth as she gave a light laugh, her beautiful eyes also fixed on the vine.
"That..." Wu Tian hesitated. Although he admired Pan Yi's beauty, a Virtual-grade treasure herb like the Crimson Blood Phoenix Vine was extremely precious, and he was reluctant to simply hand it over.
*Swoosh!*
At that moment, a youth clad in battle armor strode over, his steps powerful like a dragon or a tiger, his bearing dauntingly majestic.
"A Crimson Blood Phoenix Vine!" The youth spotted the red vine at first glance, his gaze blazing with desire.
"Hmph! Qin Lin, you're too late! I saw this Crimson Blood Phoenix Vine first; it belongs to me!" Wu Tian coldly snorted.
"Hey! I'm a girl. Can't you two let me have this vine?" Pan Yi called out.
Her brows were dark and curved, her eyelashes long, eyes lively and bright, hair raven black, neck snowy white—indeed a standard great beauty.
"Treasures of heaven and earth go to those predestined for them. We'll decide by our own means," Qin Lin said coldly.
"Then let's settle it by our means!" Wu Tian roared.
"Must you force little me to fight you two?" Pan Yi frowned.
In an instant, tension began to thicken between Wu Tian, Qin Lin, and Pan Yi.
All three were Sea Transformation Realm late-stage cultivators! Furthermore, all three were young experts with some reputation!
As for Ye Yunfei, he was completely ignored! Because the level of aura he emanated was merely at the Domain Realm.
"You needn't fight over it. This Crimson Blood Phoenix Vine is mine."
Just as Wu Tian, Qin Lin, and Pan Yi were about to make their moves, Ye Yunfei suddenly spoke up coldly.
What?!
Wu Tian, Qin Lin, and Pan Yi were all stunned, looking at Ye Yunfei with disbelief in their eyes.
A mere Domain Realm-level ant dared speak to three Sea Transformation Realm experts like this?