Following that, Ye Yunfei placed all of the Bloodline Essence and inner cores into the treasure cauldron, along with a substantial quantity of supplementary medicinal herbs.
Then, with a flick of his finger, Ye Yunfei sent Earthflame Fire, Darktrillium Triple Crow Fire, and Three Primordial Flames all flying into the treasure cauldron.
Instantly, fierce flames began blazing inside the cauldron.
"The Heavenly Demon Blood-Refining Body Art I obtained back then only contained the first fifteen layers," Ye Yunfei said to himself, standing before the cauldron. "Later on, I thoroughly studied the racial characteristics of the True Demon race, distilled the common core elements and features of various demonic arts from across the world, and also researched a vast number of body-tempering cultivation methods. From there, I deduced the principles for the layers beyond the fifteenth one of the Heavenly Demon Blood-Refining Body Art, managing to derive several subsequent layers of the art with great effort. This time, I'll have a good chance to verify whether the deductions I made back then were correct or not."
It turned out that Ye Yunfei had obtained the Heavenly Demon Blood-Refining Body Art from an ordinary True Demon elder. At the time, he had only received the first fifteen layers.
According to legend, the Heavenly Demon Blood-Refining Body Art had at least eighteen layers. There were even rumors that the technique comprised twenty-eight or thirty-six layers in total.
Ye Yunfei had previously cultivated it up to the fourteenth layer.
This time, he intended to cultivate several more layers in one go.
Of course, the teachings for the layers beyond the fifteenth were deduced by Ye Yunfei himself through sheer force of will. Their correctness needed to be verified.
If it were any other martial artist, they would certainly not dare to cultivate a technique they had deduced themselves. But Ye Yunfei was different. His martial experience was far too extensive, and he had cultivated his Greenwood Emperor Body to an unprecedented, transcendent realm. No matter how much he experimented, his life generally wasn't in danger.
Ye Yunfei flashed his body and leaped into the treasure cauldron, beginning his cultivation.
Situ Kong'er and the others, meanwhile, entered the Phantom Tower to go into closed-door cultivation.
After experiencing countless battles with the Demon Race during this period, everyone had gained immense insights despite the hardship. Ye Yunfei had already concocted a batch of pills for each of them. Now they could cultivate diligently, hoping to make breakthroughs of their own.
While Ye Yunfei was cultivating the Heavenly Demon Blood-Refining Body Art within the treasure cauldron...
Outside of the Primordial World.
In a space shimmering with immortal light, upon a great mountain that floated within boundless time and space.
Inside a grand, resplendent palace adorned with gold and jade.
A coldly elegant, exquisitely beautiful woman sat on a high seat, overlooking all below.
If Ye Yunfei were here, he would immediately recognize this woman. She was Su Qingluo.
"We welcome the Palace Master's return!"
Countless powerful individuals bowed their heads in reverence, shouting in unison.
"All may rise."
Su Qingluo swept her gaze over the numerous experts with majestic authority and waved her hand dismissively.
"Palace Master, after you descended to the mortal realm for your training experience, arriving in that lower-level world... you seem to have left certain things behind." At that moment, an elderly woman with a head full of white hair, leaning on a dragon-headed cane beside her, spoke meaningfully.
This elderly woman was a master of deduction and divination. She clearly knew about all that had transpired between Su Qingluo and Ye Yunfei within the Canghuang Realm.
Su Qingluo did not answer, only frowning slightly.
"Palace Master, would you like me to deal with that young man for you?" the old woman continued.
"My affairs are none of your concern. I warn you, if you dare lay a finger on even a single hair of his, I will slaughter all nine branches of your clan!" Su Qingluo's beautiful face turned cold as she sternly shouted.
"Please calm your anger, Palace Master! Without your command, I would never dare act on my own initiative!" The old woman paled in fright and hurriedly knelt prostrate on the ground, begging for mercy repeatedly. She had been by this Palace Master's side for many long years and deeply understood what a ruthless personage she was. She meant what she said and did what she promised.
"Rise." After a moment, Su Qingluo spoke indifferently.
"I thank the Palace Master!" The old woman rose, wiping away cold sweat. She dared not say another word.
"Why is it that I still cannot sever the Karmic Line between him and me? Moreover, deep within my heart, there is actually a trace of reluctance... What is really going on? Is it because my power is insufficient?" Su Qingluo felt a bit perturbed.
Furthermore, she discovered that within her sea of consciousness, the other 'her' remained constantly missing Ye Yunfei!
"Perhaps time will sever the Karmic Line between him and me. After all, we reside in two completely different worlds. We will never have the opportunity to meet again. Time will dilute everything in the end." Su Qingluo finally stopped dwelling on it, secretly thinking to herself.
As a supreme powerhouse, she understood the power of the laws of Time. However strong the relationship might be, it could still be worn away and obliterated by time.
Inside the underground palace.
One day passed.
One day later.
The blazing flames inside the treasure cauldron gradually began to die out.
Sitting cross-legged within the cauldron, Ye Yunfei's body was now filled with terrifying lifeblood energy, vast and infinite like an ocean.
His physical body alternated between swelling and contracting. Every single inch of his body now carried an aura of eternal indestructibility, a sense of everlasting immutability.
At this moment, Ye Yunfei resembled a supreme divine fiend. The horrifying aura he emitted distorted the surrounding space unceasingly, as if it were about to shatter.
"I have already cultivated the Heavenly Demon Blood-Refining Body Art to the seventeenth layer. The sixteenth and seventeenth layers are both ones that I deduced myself. However, with the foundation of the first fifteen layers, my deductions seem to have been quite accurate. I estimate they are not far off from the true Heavenly Demon Blood-Refining Body Art." Inside the cauldron, Ye Yunfei slowly opened his eyes, flashes of radiant light gleaming in them.
"It's a pity that I failed to cultivate to the eighteenth layer. I suspect there is some error in my deductions for the technique of the eighteenth layer. Otherwise, I should have been able to achieve success." Ye Yunfei felt a slight regret.
But to forcibly deduce several subsequent layers of an advanced demonic body art—such a skill likely numbered only a handful in the entire Three Thousand Worlds and Ten Directions Universe!
Only Ye Yunfei, a former Heavenly Emperor, possessed such capability!
"My current physical body strength has already reached one hundred and fifty Jiao! If I fuse another batch of Mysterious Yellow Heavy Qi, I estimate I can reach two hundred Jiao, or perhaps even stronger! The gains from this journey into the Heaven Beyond Heaven have been quite excellent." Ye Yunfei clenched his fists, feeling the terrifying, ceaseless divine power surging within his body, a smile appearing on his face.
Initially, upon entering the Heaven Beyond Heaven, Ye Yunfei's original objective had been the rich medicinal herbs, mineral deposits, and various heavenly materials and earthly treasures found here. He never expected to encounter such a massive number of demonic beasts and the Demon Race, ultimately enabling him to cultivate the Heavenly Demon Blood-Refining Body Art to the seventeenth layer. This was a pleasant surprise.
"However, in the future I will have to select another body-tempering cultivation method to continue strengthening my physique." Ye Yunfei murmured to himself.
Next, Ye Yunfei took out the Mysterious Yellow Pagoda and began extracting Mysterious Yellow Heavy Qi from within, fusing it into his physical body.
Half a day later.
"My current physical strength is approximately two hundred and ten Jiao. That can be considered quite impressive." Ye Yunfei stopped fusing more Mysterious Yellow Heavy Qi, as he had temporarily reached a bottleneck.
Ye Yunfei's previous physical strength was roughly forty Jiao. Now it had reached two hundred and ten Jiao, a meteoric leap of extremely large magnitude.
"Young Jiao Prince, rest assured. In the future, I will go to the Heavenly Jiao Realm to exact vengeance for you." Ye Yunfei looked at the Mysterious Yellow Pagoda before him and slowly spoke.
He had obtained this Mysterious Yellow Pagoda after encountering the remnant soul imprint of the Jiao Prince at the bottom of a pool within the Headquarters of the Guardian Academy back in the Tianxuan Continent. The Jiao Prince had gifted it to him. At the time, Ye Yunfei had promised the Jiao Prince that he would seek revenge on his behalf in the future.
With Ye Yunfei's personality, once he made a promise to someone, he would naturally try everything within his means to fulfill it.
Following that, Ye Yunfei put away the Mysterious Yellow Pagoda, leaped out of the treasure cauldron, and entered the Phantom Tower.
Ye Yunfei found that Situ Kong'er and the others had also made some breakthroughs in their cultivation.
Even Pan Wanjun and Rou'er had broken through in their spiritual power realm, both filled with excitement.
"Heheh, Young Master Ye, my Great Radiance Divine Art has broken through one layer, greatly increasing my battle power. Life-and-death combat is forever the best form of training!" The green-robed elder of the Brightness Clan chuckled and said to Ye Yunfei.
"Young Master Ye, our six brothers' bloodlines have finally successfully broken through! Not only that, we have also mastered the Soaring Slash and the Electric Tongue Demon Art!" The Golden Snake Six Gentlemen also emerged from their secluded cultivation, all brimming with excitement.
Swish!
A golden light shot through space, causing this space to tremble violently, as if some formidable divine fiend had arrived. It landed squarely on Ye Yunfei's shoulder.
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm!
"Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, your bloodline has also finally broken through!" Ye Yunfei was overjoyed.
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm had been in secluded cultivation for a long period, assailing the upgrade of its bloodline. Judging by what he saw now, it had succeeded, and its power had soared dramatically.
"Of course it was a success." The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm lazily stretched its tiny body.
"Alright. Since everyone's strength has increased... let us depart." Ye Yunfei looked at the group and said with a smile.
"Young Master Ye, we can help you deal with those Demons now. Let's go out immediately and have a grand killing spree!" Golden Snake One spoke enthusiastically, itching to give it a try.
"Next, we don't need to take the initiative to hunt the Demon Race any longer," Ye Yunfei said. "Because I no longer require their Bloodline Essence or inner cores. Of course, if they come looking for trouble themselves, we need not hold back."
"There must be a reason why such a large number of Demon Race forces have come to the Heaven Beyond Heaven and have been stationed here. Let's go investigate." Ye Yunfei pondered briefly before speaking.
Thus, Ye Yunfei brought the group back up to the surface, proceeding deeper into the Heaven Beyond Heaven.
Since they no longer needed to actively hunt the Demon Race, everyone felt significantly more at ease.
Situ Kong'er, the green-robed elder, the Golden Snake Six Gentlemen, Pan Wanjun, Rou'er, Hu Miao, and the others all followed by Ye Yunfei's side. Whenever they spotted any precious medicinal herbs or treasures, they would swarm forward together and divide them up.
"It's human martial artists! Get them! Slay them all!"
Suddenly, a party of Demons appeared in the distance—around a few dozen—charging over with murderous intent.
"Kill!" The Golden Snake Six Gentlemen simultaneously charged forward, intent on meeting the enemy.
"There's no need to waste strength. Allow me." Ye Yunfei said, sweeping a palm horizontally. His hand continuously enlarged until, in the blink of an eye, it blotted out the sky like a towering divine mountain. With a bang, it smashed those few dozen Demons deep into the ground, leaving a colossal palm imprint that was over ten meters deep.
All the Demons had been crushed into pulps of blood and mud.
"Way too terrifying!"
Situ Kong'er and the others watched, their scalps tingling. This kind of physical body strength was truly terrifying.
"Let's go." Ye Yunfei waved his hand, leading the group onward.
"Wanjun, Rou'er, it's really you! I've searched everywhere for you!"
Suddenly, a group of human martial artists with fierce and sharp auras flew over cross the air. Leading them was a purple-robed man who radiated majesty. As soon as he laid eyes on Pan Wanjun, his face brimmed with joy.
"Who are you calling Wanjun?! Hasn't my young lady warned you before, forbidding you from calling her Wanjun?!" Seeing this man, Rou'er couldn't help but reveal an expression of utter disgust, immediately stepping in front of Pan Wanjun and frowning as she spoke.
"Wanjun, the moment I learned that you had become separated, I immediately brought people searching everywhere for you. Well, perseverance pays off—I've finally found you! Come, Wanjun, Rou'er, follow me back together. Rest assured, from now on, I will protect the two of you." As if he hadn't heard Rou'er at all, the man stepped directly forward and spoke.
"Young Master Tang, I thank you for your kind intentions. However, the two of us are perfectly safe. We do not need your protection," Pan Wanjun replied.
"Lady Pan, my young master disregarded danger to seek you out. You certainly must not spurn his kind gesture. Please come away with us." An elder who stood beside Young Master Tang stepped forward and spoke with a heavy voice.
As soon as his words fell, a terrifying energy pressure erupted from this elder's body, causing everyone present to feel their bodies sink, nearly kneeling to the ground.
A Star-Reading Realm Late Stage expert!
"What's this? If my young lady simply refuses to accompany you, do you intend to resort to force?!" Rou'er flared up in anger.
"Who are they?" Young Master Tang's sharp, pressuring gaze abruptly turned towards Ye Yunfei and Situ Kong'er's group, a scornful expression on his face.
"They are friends of my mistress and me," Rou'er answered.
"Which major power do you belong to? Answer!" Young Master Tang demanded.
"We do not belong to any major power. But that has nothing to do with you." Situ Kong'er spoke, finding this Young Master Tang rather disagreeable, feeling he was far too overbearing.
"How dare you! Since you don't belong to any major power, what right do you have to walk alongside Pan Wanjun of the Longevity Palace?! Don't you know the order of seniority and rank?! Vermin-like cur, do you not fear soiling Lady Pan's noble presence?! I give you a chance now. I will count to three. You will all piss off. Otherwise—death!" Young Master Tang's face darkened as he shouted coldly.