Yin Laomo was an ancient demonic fiend with tenacious vitality. Even though he was struck by the combined force of the five elders, he soon reconstituted his demonic body, turning around as if to flee. He knew the other side had the advantage in numbers, and if the fight continued, he would certainly be at a disadvantage.
However, Ye Yunfei and the five elders were not about to let him escape.
Ye Yunfei once again unleashed the Time Reversal Art. A powerful temporal law instantly immobilized Yin Laomo right where he stood.
Since Yin Laomo's strength was considerable, Ye Yunfei had to exert himself fully while casting this Temporal Secret Art, consuming a great deal of temporal energy. In an instant, another patch of his hair turned white.
"Damn it! It's that time-related secret art again!"
Yin Laomo stood frozen, seething with fury.
Boom! His demonic body was once again shattered by the combined attack of the five elders.
"Aaahh…!"
Yin Laomo shrieked in agony as he reformed his demonic body once more. This time, his new form was noticeably smaller and shorter, as he was severely injured and drained.
"Yin Laomo, you have no chance to escape now!"
The five elders rushed forward together, launching a joint attack that once more shattered Yin Laomo's demonic body.
Next, working in unison, the five elders pummeled Yin Laomo continuously, blasting his form apart many times over.
"Brat, I never expected I, Yin Laomo, would fall to your hands this time! Just you wait, I will definitely repay this debt!"
After another brutal destruction of his demonic body, Yin Laomo's Soul Body appeared in the distance. He stared venomously at Ye Yunfei, gnashing his teeth as he spoke.
With his strength, even if he couldn't defeat the five elders of the Celestial Gold Race, he wouldn't have been reduced to such a pitiful state. It was all because of the Temporal Secret Art Ye Yunfei employed, which caused him immense disruption, leading to this crushing defeat.
Now, his physical form had been destroyed, leaving only his Soul Body!
Having said his piece, Yin Laomo's Soul Body turned and tried to escape, attempting to burrow into the depths of space.
"Where do you think you're fleeing!"
The five elders of the Celestial Gold Race simultaneously unleashed their spatial energy, instantly sealing and suppressing that region of space-time, rendering Yin Laomo's Soul Body immobile.
"You brat, and you five old fogies, I will remember what happened today," Yin Laomo said coldly. Then, his Soul Body directly exploded, transforming into countless wisps of Remnant Souls that fled outwards in all directions.
Boom! Boom!...
The five Celestial Gold Race elders attacked together, continuously shattering Yin Laomo's fleeing Remnant Souls from a distance.
After a moment.
"Three of his Remnant Souls managed to escape successfully," the Second Elder said solemnly.
"It can't be helped. Yin Laomo is a thousand-year-old demon. Completely annihilating him is a very difficult task. However, his physical body has been destroyed by us, and only three Remnant Souls of his Soul Body remain. It will be nearly impossible for him to recover his original strength in the future."
"Young man, thank you for assisting us!"
"To think you have cultivated such a profound Temporal Secret Art!"
...
The five elders of the Celestial Gold Race, recalling the Time Reversal Art Ye Yunfei had just deployed, offered their praise one after another.
"Now that we've driven off this Yin Laomo, this place can truly become a new stronghold for our Celestial Gold Race," the Grand Elder said, surveying the desolate land before them.
"In ancient times, this was a prosperous and bustling empire teeming with life. Who would have thought it would become like this," the Fifth Elder sighed softly, his mood tinged with a sense of loss.
"Seniors, the legends say that in ancient times, there was an empire called the Tianjin Imperial Dynasty upon this land. Could it be that you are its members?" Hearing the Fifth Elder's sigh, Ye Yunfei felt a stir in his heart and asked.
"That is correct. The Tianjin Imperial Dynasty was an empire established by our Celestial Gold Race. Back then, all five of us were members of the imperial family. Later, a calamity befell the dynasty. An old nemesis of our race suddenly came storming to our gates, destroyed the Tianjin Imperial Dynasty, slaughtered over half of our Celestial Gold Race members. The five of us escaped with a portion of our clansmen into that Small World," the Grand Elder nodded, answering Ye Yunfei's question.
"I see." Ye Yunfei had actually long suspected that these five elders before him were connected to the ancient Tianjin Imperial Dynasty. Now, it was finally confirmed.
"Young man, you previously helped us break that peculiar restriction, and now you helped us defeat Yin Laomo. The favor you have shown our race is great. We will remember it forever!" the Grand Elder said gratefully.
"Yes, young man, from now on, you are an honored guest of our race."
"Young man, you've helped us. If you ever need our help with anything in the future, just ask."
"From now on, we can be considered one of our own. No need for formalities."
The other four elders chimed in warmly, one after another.
The strength and methods displayed by Ye Yunfei made these five Celestial Gold Race elders realize that this young human before them was a rare genius among the younger generation! His future was immeasurable! They were more than willing to forge ties with such a talent!
Furthermore, Ye Yunfei had genuinely done their race a great kindness.
"In that case, I will not stand on ceremony with you Seniors in the future," Ye Yunfei replied with a smile.
These were five Half-Emperor experts. Forming a good relationship with them would be of significant help to Ye Yunfei at his current stage.
"Ah, Young Master Ye, you mentioned before that you could cultivate the Transform Body into Artifact technique if you obtained the bloodline essence of our race. Is that true?" the Grand Elder suddenly asked.
He was now becoming increasingly respectful towards Ye Yunfei, even addressing him as 'Young Master Ye'.
"It is true," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"Very well. Next, I wish to present you with a generous gift. It will be of great assistance in your cultivation of Transform Body into Artifact," the Grand Elder said.
"A generous gift? What is it?" Ye Yunfei asked curiously.
"You'll know soon enough," the Grand Elder chuckled.
A short while later, the five elders and Ye Yunfei returned to the ground directly above the underground palace. Here, the more than thirty thousand corpses of Celestial Gold Race members were piled up.
These corpses had all been refined into puppets previously, but the control talismans within them had been erased, returning them to mere bodies.
The main component of a Celestial Gold Race member's body was metal, making it incredibly hard. During their growth and cultivation, members of the Celestial Gold Race needed to seek out all manner of metals from across the world, to devour, absorb, and fuse them as part of their bodies. Thus, a Celestial Gold Race member's body was composed of the essence of countless different metals.
"Everyone, let us pray together for these clansmen and guide their souls to peace," the Grand Elder said, standing before the corpses. He first recited a passage of arcane, ancient incantations, then spoke clearly.
All five elders of the Celestial Gold Race prostrated themselves on the ground, pressing foreheads and palms to the earth, performing various strange, ritualistic prayer movements while collectively reciting a passage of sacred scripture.
After a short while, Ye Yunfei suddenly noticed that from within the piled-up corpses, wisp after wisp of lingering soul fragments began to float out.
The Grand Elder took out a golden stone box, opened it gently, and then formed hand seals with both hands. He kept beckoning the soul fragments of the Celestial Gold Race members, drawing them into the stone box.
"This is a Purification Ritual of our race. After a clansman falls, we use stone boxes to collect their soul fragments and bring them back to be enshrined in our Ancestral Temple," the Grand Elder explained to Ye Yunfei over his shoulder.
Half a day later, all the soul fragments from the over thirty thousand Celestial Gold Race corpses had been extracted.
"These clansmen's bodies, having undergone the Purification Ritual, we can use them for cultivation," the Grand Elder said to Ye Yunfei after the ritual concluded.
"Young Master Ye, you may select a portion of the higher-quality clansmen bodies to use for cultivating Transform Body into Artifact."