At that moment, like a black tide, the black creatures surged out from beneath the earth like vast and mighty locust swarms. They charged forward in a torrential wave, crazily pouncing toward Ye Yunfei and the elderly man.
Both Ye Yunfei and the old man felt their pressure skyrocket.
Ye Yunfei did a quick count and discovered that roughly several hundred black creatures possessing Heavenly Boundary Realm strength were now rushing toward him simultaneously.
He understood that with his current combat power, it would be immensely difficult to confront several hundred Heavenly Boundary Realm experts at once.
"Hahaha… Young Ye Yunfei! Aren't you supposed to be highly capable? Show us your skills now! How will you possibly fight off so many of these dark creatures?"
"You're doomed, Ye Yunfei!"
…
Seeing the situation, the members of Sword Emperor Pavilion and the Heavenly God Palace gleefully mocked and shouted.
Since the black creatures weren't attacking them, only targeting Ye Yunfei and the elder, the members of these two factions were quite smug.
The elderly man fought furiously against the enemies while seizing moments to swing his long spear toward Ye Yunfei's location, forcefully repelling those enemies who had gotten close to Ye Yunfei.
"Kid, things have taken a severe turn for the worse," Hun Lao transmitted to Ye Yunfei via Sound Transmission. "You need to find a way to leave this place."
"Right, we must indeed go. But we absolutely must take that senior with us!" Ye Yunfei responded firmly with a nod. "We cannot abandon him here alone!"
He then transmitted to the elder, "Senior, the situation looks dire. Let us withdraw from here for now!"
"Young man, do not fear. We need not flee. Reinforcements will arrive shortly," the elder replied.
"Reinforcements?" Ye Yunfei was startled.
The very next moment…
"I have arrived!" An earsplitting roar that seemed to shake the heavens itself thundered from the sky above.
Then, a large, portly monk with a beaming, ruddy face descended from the heavens, landing behind the elderly man with such force that it made the entire expanse of earth tremble violently. A terrifying energy pressure radiated outward as if a disastrous earthquake had occurred, sending columns of dust billowing into the sky.
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*
This fat monk wielded a monk's staff with seemingly limitless strength. He swept it forward fiercely, shattering several Half-Emperor level black creatures on the spot into motes of black mist.
*Bam! Bam! Bam!*
The fat monk's battle prowess was truly frightening. Within moments, he had annihilated more than a dozen Half-Emperor level black creatures. As for the others possessing Heavenly Boundary Realm strength or lower, he slew them in droves!
However, many of the shattered black creatures quickly reformed and reappeared. These creatures possessed a freakish vitality; simply destroying them once was far from enough to eliminate them completely.
"Cease your fighting! Sealing them anew is the only way to be effective!" the elder shouted at the monk. "Did you bring the item I instructed you to prepare?"
"When I handle matters, have no fear!" the fat monk replied with a laugh.
After speaking, he waved his hand. A golden sheet of paper flew up, bursting forth with dazzlingly brilliant golden light.
On that golden paper was inscribed a single, large character: Seal. This character was written with the sweeping grace of swooping dragons and soaring phoenixes, powerful and majestic. It released an overwhelming pressure that instantly suppressed the entire area.
Every living creature present felt a terrifying sense of oppression that seemed to emanate from the very depths of their Soul Power, making it impossible for them to control themselves. It felt as though they wanted to kneel and submit!
Even Ye Yunfei felt his heart pound with shock. His body felt as though it had been paralyzed, forcefully suppressed where he stood, unable to move even a muscle.
Not only Ye Yunfei, but even the Heavenly God Palace Master, Sword Emperor Pavilion's Half-Emperor expert, and all the Half-Emperor level black creatures were immobilized, forced to stand rooted in place.
*BOOM!*
Suddenly, the character for 'Seal' leapt forth from the golden paper as if alive, possessing a will of its own. The energies and laws governing the surrounding heaven and earth converged upon it from all directions.
"Aah! Aaaah!!"
Suddenly, the black creatures began to scream wretchedly.
The radiant golden light released by the 'Seal' character swept away all traces of black mist from the land in moments. Wherever the golden light shone upon the black creatures, their bodies would sizzle as if snow encountering scorching sunlight, emitting puffs of black smoke and visibly melting away.
"Get back inside, all of you!" The fat monk pointed a finger fiercely and shouted.
*Rumble rumble rumble…*
The golden radiance from the 'Seal' character intensified, illuminating every minute detail of the world. Then, one enormous golden hand after another manifested, forcefully grabbing every last black creature on the ground and shoving them back beneath the earth into that Black Great Door.
"Release me! I've endured so many long years in that accursed place—I don't want to return!"
"I want freedom! I want to slaughter every race in the world! That is the life I deserve!"
…
The black creatures struggled desperately one by one, letting out roars of rage and unwillingness.
Yet, it was all futile. Moments later, every single black creature on the ground had been forcibly shoved back into that Black Great Door beneath the earth.
"Suppress!" Finally, the fat monk pointed at the golden paper and gave a mighty roar.
*BOOM!*
The Seal character returned to the golden paper. Then, the paper transformed into a streak of golden light that tunneled underground, finally attaching itself onto the Black Great Door, resealing it completely.
"Let me out!"
"Ah! I cannot accept this! I had already escaped, only to be thrust back into this cursed place!"
…
Insane roars echoed from behind the Black Great Door.
At this moment, those of the Heavenly God Palace and Sword Emperor Pavilion felt a tremendous burden lift from their beings; they were finally free to move.
"Monk, fortunate it is that you arrived promptly to reseal those beings. Had they escaped, the consequences would have been severe indeed," the elder finally allowed himself to sigh in relief, his tone full of gratitude.
"As I said, when I handle matters, have no fear," the monk replied with his characteristic hearty laugh.
"You bastards!" The elder suddenly turned around, his eyes as cold as lightning as he glared at the members of Sword Emperor Pavilion and the Heavenly God Palace and angrily roared, "Actually colluding with the creatures of the Dark Faction is utterly treacherous treason! Prepare to die!"
*BOOM!* The long spear in his hand erupted instantly, surging spear intent shooting toward the heavens.
"Brace yourselves! We shall look for a chance to leave this place!" The Half-Emperor expert of Sword Emperor Pavilion wore an extremely grim expression, speaking in low tones while moving to shield his force's members behind him as they slowly retreated.
He realized that with this elder present, his opportunity to deal with Ye Yunfei had vanished.
"We withdraw!" the Heavenly God Palace Master also whispered quietly, leading his Heavenly God Palace forces in a cautious retreat.
"You shall explain your actions clearly before attempting to leave!" the elder bellowed furiously.
"Let it go," the fat monk interjected. Giving a glance filled with disappointment at the departing groups, he said, "Both Sword Emperor Pavilion and Heavenly God Palace once fought for the sake of the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds in ancient times. Spare them this once. After all… I counted their founding ancestors among my acquaintances back in the day."
"Very well," the elder considered for a moment before barking loudly, "Only due to your face shall I spare them this one time! Now SCRAM!"
Without uttering a single word, the Heavenly God Palace Master and Sword Emperor Pavilion's Half-Emperor led their forces away, disappearing at the far horizon moments later.