"Pass down the order! Gather all our forces and prepare for battle!"
Upon receiving the report, the World Lord immediately rushed out from his secluded chamber and issued the command.
The other high-level officials of the Corpse World also received the reports one after another, and all were thrown into a state of panic.
Not long after, all the top brass gathered around the World Lord.
"World Lord, what should we do?" asked one of the higher-ups.
"During this period, I organized many formation masters to set up a large number of high-level Formations inside and outside the headquarters' entry and exit gateways, hoping those formations can stop them from entering." the World Lord replied.
"World Lord, our Corpse World is an independent Small World. In this moment of crisis, why don't we simply destroy the entry and exit gateways? Then they won't be able to come in!" suggested a Corpse World Elder.
"This method won't work. Have you forgotten? In the chaotic highlands, after the entrance to Heavencore Paradise was destroyed, Ye Yunfei and the Longevity Palace Master still managed to come out unscathed. I estimate that even if we destroy the entry gateways of our Corpse World, Ye Yunfei will have a way to force his way in." At this moment, the World Lord suddenly shook his head and spoke.
Hearing this, the hearts of the other Corpse World leaders sank.
"The only thing we can do right now is to stand and fight," the World Lord sighed.
"World Lord, perhaps we can try to communicate with the Netherworld!" A black-robed Elder suddenly spoke up.
This Elder was the Great Mage of the Corpse World and held a very high status.
"Great Black Wind Mage, are you suggesting we use the ancient altar left behind by our Founder to attempt to contact the Netherworld?" The World Lord perked up upon hearing this.
"Yes. World Lord, the Founder left a last testament that our Corpse World belongs to the Netherworld's lineage. Our Founder came to the Primordial Continent to establish the Corpse World all those years ago; it was essentially a sub-outpost for the Netherworld, tasked with collecting corpses in this world on a regular basis. Half of all the corpses gathered by our Corpse World are ultimately transported to the Netherworld through an ancient transmission channel. I estimate the Netherworld wouldn't want our Corpse World to be destroyed either. So, we should immediately try to send a message to the Netherworld and establish contact. That way, our Corpse World might have a chance of weathering this immediate crisis." said the Great Black Wind Mage.
"What? Our Corpse World is really a branch of the Netherworld? Half of all the corpses we collect are ultimately transported to the Netherworld?"
Hearing the Great Black Wind Mage's words, many of the Corpse World leaders present looked towards the World Lord with questioning gazes.
Turns out, what the Great Black Wind Mage was discussing was the Corpse World's most core secret. Within the Corpse World, only a very few top-level individuals truly knew this secret.
The core leaders who knew this secret were the World Lord, the Great Black Wind Mage, and three Grand Elders!
Although there had always been legends within the Primordial Continent that the Corpse World was backed by the Netherworld and that the Corpse Founder hailed from the Netherworld, they were just rumors that had never been verified.
Even the Senior and regular Elders of the Corpse World were hearing this secret from the Great Black Wind Mage's own lips for the first time.
"World Lord, is what the Great Black Wind Mage said true? Is our Corpse World truly a branch of the Netherworld?" A Senior Elder couldn't help but ask.
"Yes. According to the Founder's last testament, our Corpse World is indeed a branch of the Netherworld. Moreover, it has always been the case that half the corpses collected by our Corpse World are transported to the Netherworld through a secret passage within the Corpse Temple. Putting these two facts together confirms that our Corpse World is indeed a branch of the Netherworld. There is no mistake about that." The World Lord nodded and answered.
Because the Corpse Founder left word that the Corpse World being a branch of the Netherworld was a core secret not to be known by outsiders, throughout its generations, only a small number of core leaders within the Corpse World knew of it, whereas ordinary leaders were not qualified to know.
However, now that the Corpse World was facing a crisis of life and death, the situation was extraordinary. The World Lord could no longer care about so much and publicly revealed this secret.
"In that case, let's establish contact with the Netherworld immediately! The Netherworld is a core world among the Three Thousand Small Worlds, one of the most mysterious and powerful core worlds at that. With the Netherworld backing our Corpse World, why should we fear Ye Yunfei at all?"
Hearing the World Lord's words, those Corpse World leaders grew excited.
One must know, within the Three Thousand Worlds, the Netherworld was a core world of ill-renown, a top-level major power that instilled fear in those who heard its name! Rumor had it that even experts at the Heavenly Emperor level wouldn't casually make an enemy of the Netherworld!
If their Corpse World was a branch of the Netherworld, what was there left to fear?
"Many of you are unaware. Although there is a secret teleportation channel within the Corpse Temple connecting to the Netherworld, capable of transporting large quantities of corpses there, that channel seems to be one-way. Successive generations of Grand Mages of our Corpse World, myself included, have repeatedly attempted to establish contact with the Netherworld, but we've never received any response from them." The Great Black Wind Mage suddenly spoke.
"Doesn't that mean we cannot call for help from the Netherworld?" Hearing this, the other Corpse World Elders were all dumbstruck.
"How about this: I will go to the Corpse Temple right now and inform the Netherworld of our plight, to see if they respond. After all, no matter what, our Corpse World is a branch of the Netherworld. They shouldn't just stand by and watch us perish." The Great Black Wind Mage thought for a moment and said.
"Good! Great Black Wind Mage, go to the Corpse Temple immediately and try to make contact with the Netherworld. If the Netherworld is willing to help us, our Corpse World will be saved! This is our only hope at the moment!" The World Lord nodded.
"Alright! I'll go right now."
The Great Black Wind Mage soared into the air and charged towards a place deep within the Corpse World permeated with thick corpse aura.
That was one of the Corpse World's key locations — the site of the Corpse Temple!
"Let's go! We must guard the entry gate. Do our utmost to prevent the enemies outside from entering!"
The World Lord waved his hand and led the Corpse World forces charging in a grand procession towards the location of the entry gate.
At this moment, outside the Corpse World.
"Young Master Ye, the Corpse World's entry gate has a large number of Formations set up. They are quite powerful! If we want to enter the Corpse World, we must break these Formations!"
A leader from the Eastern Wasteland Army came to report to Ye Yunfei.
"I'll break them."
Ye Yunfei said, and with a flicker of his form, he arrived in front of the Corpse World's entry gate.
Boom…
Ye Yunfei threw punches, shattering one Formation after another with each blow. In moments, all the Formations set up outside the Corpse World's entry gate were broken!
There was a group of Corpse World personnel stationed at the gate guarding it. Seeing the Formations shattered, they panicked and tried to turn and flee into the Corpse World.
The result was the Blood Clan divine clone rushing forward, gesturing with a single hand and causing the blood within these Corpse World individuals to spray out completely, which the Blood Clan clone swallowed in one gulp.
How terrifying!
The Eastern Wasteland Army and Longevity Palace forces behind them couldn't help but exclaim inwardly at the sight.
"Let's go. We're going in!"
Ye Yunfei took the lead and walked towards the Corpse World's entry gateway.
"Not good, World Lord! It seems all the Formations outside have been broken, and all the troops stationed there have been wiped out! The enemies outside are preparing to break in!"
Inside the Corpse World, a steward reported to the World Lord in panic.
This steward was specifically responsible for leading the forces guarding the security of the Corpse World's entry gate. He had connections with the personnel outside, so he learned immediately when trouble arose there.
"I am aware."
The World Lord's face was extremely grim as he nodded in reply.
In fact, the World Lord and all the Elders had sensed what was happening outside.
"World Lord, Ye Yunfei is about to forcefully break in! We must stop him!" a Senior Elder said urgently to the World Lord.
"It seems these Formations are useless against him. Let's combine our strength and shatter this entry gateway. Let's see if that can stop him!"
After some thought, the World Lord clenched his teeth and spoke.
For him, this decision was somewhat difficult, because once he shattered this entry gateway, it would mean that in the future, even people of the Corpse World would find it hard to leave.
But he also understood that once Ye Yunfei broke in, the Corpse World simply had no ability to fight back!
"Good! Let's attack together and shatter this entry gateway!"
The other Corpse World leaders also understood the situation at hand. They knew there were no other choices.
Rumble…
Under the World Lord's lead, all of the Corpse World's top brass attacked together, sending devastating strikes towards the entry gateway ahead.
Outside the Corpse World entry gate.
Rumble…
Just as Ye Yunfei stepped in front of the entry gateway, he found it beginning to shake violently, as if under massive attack. Waves of destructive energy emanated from within.
"Not good! The people of the Corpse World want to destroy this gateway to stop us from entering!"
The Longevity Palace Master was following closely beside Ye Yunfei. His expression changed slightly as he spoke.
"Humph! Even if they destroy this gateway, it won't stop me from entering!"
Ye Yunfei gave a cold laugh.
The next moment.
Roaar…
The divine beast Roc appeared, spreading its sky-sweeping wings and releasing vast amounts of spatial energy.
Recently, as Ye Yunfei's own mastery of spatial energy kept improving, the strength of this Roc had also soared by leaps and bounds. In essence, between Ye Yunfei and this Roc, their levels in spatial energy mutually enhanced each other. This Roc was practically akin to a clone of Ye Yunfei!
"Everyone, come over! I will take you all in!" Ye Yunfei declared loudly.
The Eastern Wasteland Army and Longevity Palace forces immediately moved closer to Ye Yunfei, and all were transmitted into the Phantom Tower.
Boom…
The Roc flapped its wings and charged into the disintegrating Corpse World entry gateway.
The Roc was a spatial divine beast, most adept at spatial energy and spatial laws. This small-scale spatial collapse was nothing for the Roc!
On the contrary, the massive, chaotic spatial energy released by the space's disintegration was rare supplemental nourishment for the Roc!
Whoosh…
The Roc charged into the collapsing spatial passageway and erupted with powerful suction, forcibly absorbing the chaotic spatial energy within the passage.
Rumble…
Flapping its wings, the Roc charged towards the other end of the passage at an astonishing speed.
At this moment, the Corpse World's World Lord was leading the World's leaders in a frenzied attack on this teleportation passage. Volley after volley of wild energy attacks blasted into the passage, causing its time and space to distort violently beyond recognition.
With a thought from Ye Yunfei, the Roc rapidly flapped its wings, propelling itself towards the other end.
Rumble…
Immediately, infinite shards of time and space transformed into a billowing whirlwind and shot towards the other end.
The World Lord and the leaders suddenly discovered that from within the collapsing, shattering teleportation passage, an overwhelming temporal-spatial whirlwind was surging back, smashing towards them. They were all startled and leaped back one after another.
"World Lord, look! There's a monster inside the passage charging towards us! It looks like… the legendary Roc!"
Suddenly, a Senior Elder pointed inside the passage and cried out in shock.
"Not good! This Roc was simulated by Ye Yunfei using a technique! I saw him manifest nine divine beasts in a previous battle; their power was immense. Ye Yunfei is coming in!"
Another Senior Elder panicked and spoke.
"Indeed. Even if we destroy this entry gateway, we cannot stop Ye Yunfei from breaking in! Don't waste energy. Issue the order: have all personnel in our World converge at the Corpse Temple with the utmost speed! We will rely on the Corpse Temple to face Ye Yunfei!"
The World Lord looked at the Roc charging at great speed inside the passage ahead, along with the ceaseless, billowing temporal-spatial shard whirlwinds streaming out, and couldn't help but sigh before issuing the command.
Then, without further hesitation, the World Lord immediately turned and led the Corpse World forces away, heading towards the Corpse Temple.
Within the Corpse World, all members, having received the order, also hurried towards the Corpse Temple as swiftly as possible.
Not long after, the World Lord led a large contingent of Corpse World forces and took refuge inside the Corpse Temple.
And soon enough, Ye Yunfei finally led the Eastern Wasteland Army and Longevity Palace forces into the Corpse World, chasing them all the way to the front of the Corpse Temple.
"Great Black Wind Mage, have you made contact with the Netherworld?"
The World Lord asked the Great Black Wind Mage, who was currently performing a rite atop an ancient altar.
"World Lord, good news! We've finally received a reply from the Netherworld!"
The Great Black Wind Mage answered excitedly.