"White Dragons, Green Dragons... I never imagined such an abundance of high-level Earth Dragons lay beneath the ground of this land."
Ye Yunfei dove underground, quickly locating a large gathering of White Dragons and Green Dragons.
"Huh?
A Black Dragon!
I actually encountered a Black Dragon!
It seems the quality of this land is no less than the headquarters of major factions or those forbidden zones!"
Suddenly, Ye Yunfei spotted a Black Dragon in the distance. Overjoyed, he immediately dashed toward it.
Above White Dragons were Green Dragons, and above Green Dragons were Black Dragons!
This black entity was immense, like a subterranean mountain range, its ends impossible to see with the naked eye.
"First, subdue this Black Dragon!"
Ye Yunfei took out his Measuring Earth Tray and Dragon Driving Whip and began subduing the dragon.
This Black Dragon had already developed rudimentary intelligence and possessed formidable strength. However, with Ye Yunfei's continuously improving strength, his Earth Divination Art was now at a high level. With the help of his tools and after a grueling struggle, he finally succeeded.
"Huh? Another Black Dragon over there!"
After subduing the first, Ye Yunfei roamed this underground world and soon discovered another Black Dragon. He immediately moved to subdue it as well.
Following that, Ye Yunfei encountered three more Black Dragons in succession, subduing them all. Besides these five Black Dragons, he also found vast numbers of White and Green Dragons in this subterranean world, exceeding thousands!
"The earth energy here is incredibly rich—an excellent place to establish a sect!" Ye Yunfei sighed as he surveyed the underground expanse.
"Huh? Deeper underground... there seem to be more Black Dragons?"
His Soul Power probed deeper and suddenly sensed the energy aura of Black Dragons again, stirring both surprise and delight. He immediately tunneled downward.
"How is this possible?
Hundreds of Black Dragons!"
Moments later, having descended over three thousand miles, Ye Yunfei saw them: several hundred Black Dragons, perhaps four to five hundred!
"No!
These Black Dragons seem to be... guarding something below!
What's going on?
What lies beneath?"
A sliver of alarm struck Ye Yunfei. He halted, cautiously probing downward, for he sensed a terrifying aura of danger rising from the depths.
"A Golden Dragon!
There's actually a Golden Dragon down there!"
Suddenly, Ye Yunfei couldn't help but pale with shock as he detected the aura of a Golden Dragon.
In the hierarchy of Earth Dragons, above the Black Dragon stood the Golden Dragon!
"How is this possible? Within the core worlds of the Three Thousand Main Realms, Black Dragons are practically the highest tier! Yet, a legendary Golden Dragon exists here? Just what is happening? What extraordinary thing lurks in the deep depths below?"
Unease and suspicion filled Ye Yunfei. Not daring to descend further, he settled cross-legged, releasing his Soul Power to carefully probe downward.
"Nine Golden Dragons!
And they are... guarding a black gate! The gate is sealed, yet a sliver of a strange, horrifying aura seeps up!"
Moments later, his Soul Power sensed nine Golden Dragons standing guard around a massive black gate, from which leaked a trace of bizarre energy.
Ye Yunfei attempted to probe the gate with his Soul Power, hoping to discern what lay behind it.
Boom!
The moment his Soul Power touched the black gate, a terrifying and sinister force slammed into it, instantly repelling his spiritual energy.
Worse, a black, vile substance seeped from behind the gate, staining his Soul Power and rapidly transmitting toward his Soul Body!
At that instant, Ye Yunfei's Soul Body sensed immense peril. The black substance possessed a horrifying corrosive energy, threatening to invade his very soul—an attempt at possession!
"Scram!"
Ye Yunfei roared angrily. The remnant of his heavenly emperor soul surged within his Soul Sea, erupting with formidable power and violently repelling the foul substance.
Ye Yunfei's body retreated a considerable distance. His heart trembled with lingering fear, and he dared not probe the black gate with his Soul Power again.
"With my current strength, I absolutely cannot investigate that black gate. It's better to withdraw. I'll revisit it when the opportunity arises."
After some thought, Ye Yunfei decided to leave it be.
"What a pity. With nine Golden Dragons and several hundred Black Dragons here, subduing them would instantly skyrocket my Earth Divination Art. But at my current level, Golden Dragons are likely beyond me. Besides, those hundreds of Black Dragons possess intelligence and guard that black gate; capturing them is probably impossible."
Ye Yunfei gazed at the nine Golden Dragons and the swarm of Black Dragons, his eyes burning with desire. Yet, he understood he likely couldn't succeed. Finally, he emerged from the deep underground and began setting up Earth Formations.
One large Earth Formation after another took shape, arranged in a specific, interlinking pattern.
Soon, Ye Yunfei had laid at least several hundred major Earth Formations across the land. With a single stomp to stir the earth energy, these formations would erupt instantly, creating a deadly labyrinth of interlocked perils!
"Three groups are heading toward this location, one after another!"
Hun Lao's voice transmission reached Ye Yunfei just as he finished setting up the formations.
"Perfect timing.
Hun Lao, carefully sense them now. If there are Half-Emperor experts, we flee immediately. If not, I'm ready for a great slaughter.
Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, during the battle, keep the Phantom Tower ready. The moment a Half-Emperor shows up midway, escape immediately."
"No Half-Emperors for now. The strongest are three Heavenly Boundary Realm experts at the Great Perfection stage."
Hun Lao carefully sensed for a moment before replying.
"Three Great Perfection Heavenly Boundary Realm experts? Best not confront them head-on. Ambush is the way. I wonder what effect my use of the Tianying Clan's Hidden Shadow Secret Art will have with my current power."
Muttering to himself, Ye Yunfei immediately entered the second layer of the Heavenly Dao Tower, arriving before a large iron cage within one of its palaces.
Inside the cage was a grey-robed elder—a master of the Tianying Clan imprisoned there by Ancient Desolate Emperor. Previously, Ye Yunfei had obtained the Tianying Clan's inherited secret art, the Hidden Shadow Secret Art, from him.
Ye Yunfei proceeded to consult the elder in detail about his insights and experiences with the art.
"Young man, never imagined your progress would be so astonishingly swift. You are a rare young prodigy!" The elder exclaimed after sensing Ye Yunfei's current energy aura.
'Forging a connection with this young man for our Tianying Clan will surely prove beneficial in the future,' the elder thought to himself.
He imparted all his knowledge and insights on cultivating the Hidden Shadow Secret Art without reservation to Ye Yunfei.
"A pity you aren't of our Tianying bloodline. To cultivate this secret art to its deepest heights requires the essence of our Tianying Clan's bloodline."
"The Tianying Clan's Bloodline Essence?" Ye Yunfei's heart stirred upon hearing this.
"Senior, my bloodline is somewhat unique—it can fuse with the Bloodline Essence of other races. Could you provide me with some? Rest assured, if opportunity allows in the future, I will repay you manifold."
"What? Young man, are you serious? You can fuse the bloodline essence of other races? How is that possible?" The elder stared in astonishment, unable to believe it.
"It's true, Senior," Ye Yunfei affirmed.
"Very well! I will provide you with some of my Bloodline Essence, young man. I hope you will become a friend to our Tianying Clan in the future."
After a moment's contemplation, the elder finally agreed.
"Don't worry, Senior. Your Tianying Clan and I are already friends!" Ye Yunfei laughed.
The elder then extracted a portion of his Bloodline Essence and gifted it to Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei returned to the Phantom Tower with the essence and began the fusion.
Roughly a day later inside the Phantom Tower,
Ye Yunfei successfully fused the elder's provided Bloodline Essence using his Chaos God Vein. This meant he now possessed the Bloodline Essence of the Tianying Clan within his body!
"Indeed! After obtaining the Tianying Clan's Bloodline Essence, the effectiveness of my Hidden Shadow Secret Art has dramatically increased. Now, even Heavenly Boundary Realm experts might struggle to sense me!"
Ye Yunfei tested it and grew excited.
Moments later...
Rumble...
In the distant sky, a group of people with fierce auras surged forth like a rolling tide.
"Over there! I sense Ye Yunfei's aura! Ha, we've finally found the brat! Hurry, don't let him escape!"
The leading elder, having sensed Ye Yunfei's presence, rejoiced. He shot forward, leaving afterimages in the sky as he instantly reached the mountainous region where Ye Yunfei was.
"The killing begins," Ye Yunfei, concealed atop a peak not far away, muttered with a cold smile.