Inside the Illusion Palace, the core region.
Ye Yunfei stood in the middle of a certain street, the Soul-Nourishing Tree hovering above his head.
Roar! Roar...
A group of several dozen monsters rushed over from the end of the street.
Among them were three monsters with power at the Acupoint Opening Realm!
In the core region, the chance of encountering monsters at the Acupoint Opening Realm level was extremely high!
However, even monsters at the Acupoint Opening Realm level were no match for the Soul-Nourishing Tree now.
Because the Soul-Nourishing Tree was the natural bane of these monsters!
Boom...
Several structures created through Illusion Art were moving at rapid speeds, charging towards Ye Yunfei's position.
Ye Yunfei had discovered that the Illusion Dao Energy and Laws existing within the core region of the Illusion Palace were the most concentrated, so he had returned to the core area to continue his cultivation.
Swish, rustle, rustle...
The dozens-of-meters-tall Soul-Nourishing Tree suddenly shot forward, spraying out countless roots that attacked those monsters and buildings, refining and absorbing them.
Inside Ye Yunfei's Soul Sea, the Heavenly Soul Sword hovered at the center. The areas of its blade that had originally seemed somewhat illusory were now increasingly solidifying, emitting a dull golden luster.
Not long after, all the monsters and buildings had been refined and absorbed by the Soul-Nourishing Tree. Ye Yunfei continued walking forward, moving to a different location.
Roar! Roar...
Soon, another group of monsters appeared. This time, there were five at the Acupoint Opening Realm level!
Boom! Boom...
Four or five structures created through Illusion Art were swiftly moving, crashing towards Ye Yunfei.
Swish, rustle, rustle...
The Soul-Nourishing Tree rushed out again, beginning the refinement and absorption process.
It must be said that in the core region of the Illusion Palace, the frequency of appearances of these monsters and Illusion Art-created structures was incredibly high!
Time flew by.
Over half a day later.
Core region, in front of a certain building.
Swish, rustle, rustle...
The Soul-Nourishing Tree shot out a mass of roots, piercing into the interior of this building to refine and absorb it.
Ye Yunfei stood with his hands clasped behind his back in front of this building.
The Heavenly Soul Sword hovered before him, blooming with surging sword radiance and releasing an awe-inspiring aura.
At this moment, the blade of the Heavenly Soul Sword had completely solidified, with not a single illusory spot remaining!
Half an hour later.
Finally, that building was completely refined and absorbed.
Clang! Clang...
The Heavenly Soul Sword suddenly began to hum, its ringing clear and melodious, sending layers of sword ripples sweeping outwards in all directions.
Boom! Boom! Rumble...
The dozens of buildings surrounding it, whether real or created through Illusion Art, were all violently shaken, collapsing and disintegrating, exploding into a sky full of fragments!
"Finally, I have fully achieved Soul Force Materialization!"
Ye Yunfei inspected the constantly humming Heavenly Soul Sword before him.
"Moreover, my Soul Power level seems to have temporarily reached a bottleneck. Even if I continue refining and absorbing the Illusion Dao Energy and Laws within this Illusion Palace, it would be difficult to make further progress in a short time.
Well, there's no helping it. One shouldn't be impatient in any cultivation practice."
Ye Yunfei muttered to himself.
"Oh?
There are five Acupoint Opening Realm experts heading towards my position. Looks like they're searching for me.
Good. I can go and meet these guys head-on."
Ye Yunfei suddenly detected that at a distance of twenty thousand meters away, five Acupoint Opening Realm experts were moving in his direction.
Currently, the distance Ye Yunfei could perceive within this Illusion Palace was at least thirty to forty thousand meters!
Meanwhile, the Acupoint Opening Realm experts, even the most powerful among them, could only perceive a few thousand meters!
With the Heavenly Soul Sword fully materialized from Soul Force, Ye Yunfei was confident in facing those Acupoint Opening Realm experts directly.
Whether he could win the fight or not, he could definitely retreat safely, especially within this Illusion Palace!
Having decided, Ye Yunfei stopped evading and swaggered towards the five Acupoint Opening Realm experts!
Those five Acupoint Opening Realm experts were also rapidly approaching Ye Yunfei's direction.
The five of them were all releasing their Soul Power, carefully sensing the path ahead.
They had been searching for over half a day.
"Do you think Ye Yunfei might have already left this Illusion Palace?" one of them said.
"He wouldn't have!
Ximen Yi has already sent out a message, calling over a dozen Acupoint Opening Realm experts to stand guard outside the Illusion Palace.
The moment Ye Yunfei tries to exit the Illusion Palace, he will immediately be captured by those experts outside. He'll have no escape."
A man next to him replied.
"Right. Within this Illusion Palace, Ye Yunfei seems to hold all the advantages of terrain, feeling perfectly at home like a fish in water.
But once he leaves the palace, a mere Heavenly Thunder Realm cultivator would be like an ant to us Acupoint Opening Realm experts, easily squashed with a raised hand."
Someone else chimed in.
"By the way, speaking of which, how can Ye Yunfei, a mere Heavenly Thunder Realm cultivator, be so bizarre? He can actually control the monsters inside this Illusion Palace, and he even managed to wound Lü Zihong using a Soul Power martial technique. This is simply unbelievable."
Suddenly, one of the Acupoint Opening Realm experts spoke up.
"According to the speculations of Ximen Yi, Qin Yue, and Nangong Yong, the most likely possibility is that Ye Yunfei inadvertently obtained a highly advanced Soul Power-type treasure somewhere within this Illusion Palace!
That's why he possesses such incredible abilities.
Otherwise, with his realm, it would be absolutely impossible!"
Another Acupoint Opening Realm expert said.
Hiss!
Hearing this, the other four instantly erupted with greedy gazes.
"If a Heavenly Thunder Realm cultivator wielding that Soul Power treasure can unleash such fearsome power, imagine the might it would display in the hands of us Acupoint Opening Realm experts!"
One of the Acupoint Opening Realm experts exclaimed with admiration.
The greed in the eyes of these five Acupoint Opening Realm experts grew even thicker.
At this very moment.
Suddenly.
"Ye Yunfei!
I've found him!
He's right ahead, 5600 meters away, coming straight towards us!"
A Acupoint Opening Realm expert burst out with an excited roar, his emotions instantly roused.
"I've spotted him too!"
The other four Acupoint Opening Realm experts also shouted out one after another.
"Quick, let's charge over immediately and capture him!"
One of them, too impatient to wait, was about to dash towards Ye Yunfei's location.
"Wait!
First, make sure if he has any monsters with him!
If, like last time, he's accompanied by two or three thousand monsters, the five of us simply won't be able to handle him.
Also, this kid is too slippery. We should be as discreet as possible to avoid startling him. Otherwise, if he turns tail and runs now, all our efforts will be for nothing, and we'll have to waste a lot more time searching for him again!
So, from now on, everyone, try to suppress your auras. Hide yourselves!"
A more experienced and cautious Acupoint Opening Realm expert said in a low, grave voice.
"That makes sense!"
The other four nodded.
Immediately, these five Acupoint Opening Realm experts began using various methods to suppress their spiritual power fluctuations and soul auras as much as possible.
Then, they released their Soul Power to cautiously and carefully scan the area around Ye Yunfei.
After a short while.
"Great news!
It is now confirmed that Ye Yunfei is alone. There isn't a single monster with him!
This is the perfect opportunity to deal with him!
Let's go, move in!
Remember, keep your movements as light as possible, be discreet. Absolutely must not alert the enemy!"
That more experienced Acupoint Opening Realm expert whispered to the others.
Thus, the five Acupoint Opening Realm experts activated their movements, moving as lightly as possible, tiptoeing stealthily towards Ye Yunfei.
All five of them were feeling rather nervous!
"These five fellows..."
Ye Yunfei's Soul Power was exceptionally powerful, clearly perceiving every move and action of these five. He couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
Ye Yunfei continued forward with his hands clasped behind his back, swaggering towards the five.
5000 meters!
4000 meters!
...
1000 meters!
500 meters!
300 meters!
...
"Speed up!
Surround him!
At this short distance, he can no longer escape!"
When the distance between the two sides was just 100 meters, that more experienced Acupoint Opening Realm expert suddenly let out a loud shout.
Swish! Swish...
All five Acupoint Opening Realm experts simultaneously accelerated, charging towards Ye Yunfei.
In the blink of an eye, they had already rushed near and encircled Ye Yunfei completely!
"Hahaha...
Ye Yunfei, now let's see where you can run to!"
A Acupoint Opening Realm expert guffawed wildly.
"I never intended to run."
Ye Yunfei responded with a cold sneer.
"Make your move! First, capture him before we talk. Avoid any complications!"
Another Acupoint Opening Realm expert roared. One hand flashed out like lightning, rapidly enlarging, emanating a powerful spiritual pressure, and blasted thunderously towards Ye Yunfei in a grabbing motion.