After leaving that Chaos Thunder Pool, Ye Yunfei entered the Phantom Tower, allowing a Half-Emperor to carry the tower while travelling through the Chaotic Void toward the Vermilion Bird Realm. Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei himself went into seclusion within the tower to cultivate. Having been a Heavenly Emperor in his previous life, he was intimately familiar with most worlds among the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds and knew the spatial-temporal coordinates of the Vermilion Bird Realm.
"Who would have thought we'd encounter a thunder-born creature with autonomous consciousness today," Hun Lao remarked, still feeling quite astonished.
"Actually, it's not that strange. All beings in the world possess spirit. It's possible for a thunder entity to develop intelligence," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
"Yes. 'All beings in the world possess spirit' is indeed a universal truth!" Hun Lao sighed in agreement.
"Kid, are you heading to the Vermilion Bird Realm next?" Hun Lao asked Ye Yunfei.
"Yes. It's time to properly settle the account between me and the Vermilion Bird Realm's Miao Clan," Ye Yunfei nodded, a flash of killing intent gleaming in his eyes.
To tell the truth, the real culprits behind his family's long separation, with its many partings and few reunions, were precisely the Miao Clan of the Vermilion Bird Realm! Even now, his mother Miao Ziqiong and younger sister Xiao Fei remained trapped there! With Ye Yunfei's personality, he would never let this debt go unresolved.
"The Vermilion Bird King of the Miao Clan is exceptionally powerful. I'm not sure if your current strength is enough to deal with him," Hun Lao said slowly, a trace of worry evident. "Moreover, the Miao Clan has countless experts and is a clan with formidable overall strength. Also, some time ago, most worlds in the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds underwent two major heaven-earth transformations. I believe the Vermilion Bird Realm is no exception. So, its overall strength must be even greater now. Therefore, I think it's best if you proceed with caution in the Vermilion Bird Realm. Prioritize rescuing your family first."
This was because the Vermilion Bird Realm truly was a world of considerable might among the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, and the Miao Clan, ruling over it and claiming descent from the Divine Beast Vermilion Bird, was a prestigious clan whose reputation spread across countless worlds. Even a major force like the Heavenly God Palace would likely be reluctant to make an enemy of them.
"Indeed, the Vermilion Bird Realm's Miao Clan is strong. I am well aware," Ye Yunfei said.
"For this trip to the Vermilion Bird Realm, my plan is to infiltrate it first, locate Mother and Xiao Fei, devise a way to rescue them, and then, depending on the situation, take my revenge upon the Miao Clan. Step one: ensure Mother and Xiao Fei's safety. Step two: seek revenge."
Ye Yunfei pondered briefly before voicing his thoughts.
"However, no matter what, the debt the Vermilion Bird Realm's Miao Clan owes my family, I will personally collect it sooner or later!" he declared coldly.
Next, Ye Yunfei retrieved the Mysterious Yellow Tower, letting it hover before him. He extracted a batch of Mysterious Yellow Heavy Gas from it and began refining it. This Mysterious Yellow Tower was a gift from the Jiao Prince!
Inside the Phantom Tower, Ye Yunfei spent over ten days refining a large quantity of Mysterious Yellow Heavy Gas, raising his physical body strength to approximately 10,000 Jiao!
"With my current body strength, directly pulverizing a Mid-Level Half-Emperor shouldn't be a problem anymore."
Ye Yunfei clenched his fists, causing terrifying power to surge within his frame, rumbling as it poured out. It distorted the surrounding space and even caused parts of it to crack and collapse.
"For a human, achieving this degree of body cultivation is rare indeed. Forget Mid-Level Half-Emperors, even Perfected Half-Emperors probably cannot compare with you in terms of physical prowess," Hun Lao said with a laugh.
"It's passable, I suppose. But the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds are vast, their inhabitants innumerable. Perhaps there exists a creature whose cultivation realm is lower than mine but whose physical strength surpasses my own. So I dare not boast," Ye Yunfei replied, smiling.
"That's true. It's always better to remain humble," Hun Lao nodded.
"By the way, you're already at the completion stage of the Heavenly Boundary Realm. Don't you plan to use this time to break through to the Half-Emperor realm?" Hun Lao suddenly asked.
"I do have such an intention. If I break through to Half-Emperor, I will suppress the majority of Half-Emperors in this world!"
Ye Yunfei thought for a moment and nodded. Having cultivated the Thunder God Tyrant Body Art to the seventh layer, his physical strength reaching around 10,000 Jiao and his body quality greatly enhanced, Ye Yunfei felt it was time to elevate his spiritual power realm to the Half-Emperor level!
"Haha, then hurry up and break through! I want to witness your might as you suppress other Half-Emperors. Back when I followed Ancient Desolate Emperor roaming the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, everywhere we went, the myriad races bowed in reverence at the mere mention of his name, not daring the slightest disrespect. That was exhilarating! Following you now, we're always the ones running and hiding. It's too frustrating. I look forward to the day when you can lead me to properly cut a heroic figure across the Three Thousand Worlds, allowing me to relive that kind of exhilarating feeling."
Hun Lao said with a chuckle.
"Don't worry. That day will surely come," Ye Yunfei nodded in response.
Then, Ye Yunfei sat cross-legged, took out an astonishingly large batch of cultivation resources, and entered seclusion to cultivate and assail his realm boundary.
To achieve this breakthrough, Ye Yunfei spent ten full years within the Phantom Tower before finally seizing the opportunity to break through. Fortunately, time flowed differently inside the tower compared to the outside world.
"Hun Lao, I'm about to break through. It's best to find a relatively safe location with stable spatial structure to undergo the breakthrough. I don't want the surrounding space to suddenly collapse midway."
Ye Yunfei said to Hun Lao.
Both time and space within the Chaotic Void were unstable. Some locations experienced constantly shifting time and space, liable to transfer, collapse, or self-destruct at any moment. The Lightning Tribulation encountered when breaking through from Heavenly Boundary Realm completion stage to Half-Emperor was relatively formidable in power. Thus, Ye Yunfei needed to find a location with relatively stable space before he could safely undergo the tribulation.
Thus, Ye Yunfei, Hun Lao, and the Golden Horned Silkworm acted together, searching through the Chaotic Void for a period before finally locating a stable spatial area that satisfied Ye Yunfei.
Next, Ye Yunfei began to undergo the Lightning Tribulation. The power of this tribulation truly was potent—both its intensity and duration were somewhat fearsome. It lasted a full two days! Finally, Ye Yunfei successfully broke through.
"Primary Half-Emperor! In this rebirth, my cultivation realm finally involves the word 'Emperor'!"
After passing the tribulation, Ye Yunfei stood within the Chaotic Void, sensing the turbulent, surging spiritual power energy within his body as he spoke unhurriedly.
"Kid, congratulations. The path you've walked hasn't been easy at all. Now you've finally become a Half-Emperor."
Hun Lao said to Ye Yunfei, his tone tinged with emotion.
"Yes, it hasn't been easy. But cultivating is akin to defying the heavens to change fate," Ye Yunfei nodded in reply.
"Next, I need to cultivate a few Emperor-level divine abilities," Ye Yunfei secretly thought to himself. As a former Heavenly Emperor, Ye Yunfei possessed his ultimate killing moves from his previous life—several fearsomely powerful Emperor-level divine abilities!
While Ye Yunfei was travelling through the Chaotic Void and cultivating, a large group of Half-Emperor experts had already entered the Chaotic Void, hurrying toward Ye Yunfei's location.
Because the Three Great Heavenly Emperors had learned Ye Yunfei entered the Chaotic Void, they immediately issued orders, summoning a large number of Half-Emperors to behead Ye Yunfei within the void. With the Three Great Heavenly Emperors personally issuing the decree, the force of their summons was naturally immense. A large number of major factions from within the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds dispatched Half-Emperor-level experts to join the hunt for Ye Yunfei.
"Right now, at least several hundred Half-Emperors have entered the Chaotic Void. They'll likely surround Ye Yunfei very soon. While this Heavenly Emperor Ye is monstrously talented, several hundred Half-Emperors should be enough to deal with him at his current stage," Great Emperor Jinwu said with a cold sneer.
"We just need to wait for the good news of Heavenly Emperor Ye's death," You Yue said lightly, her exquisitely beautiful face etched with extreme indifference.
"Actually, an already deceased Heavenly Emperor, even if reincarnated and reborn, isn't sufficient to become our true opponent. I have a premonition that our real opponents will be the new Heavenly Emperors constantly emerging from now on. The Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds now have one more Ancient Profound Emperor. Who knows how many more new Great Emperors will be born next?" Tianluo said slowly.
Hearing this, both Jinwu and You Yue's expressions turned somewhat grim. Historically, they, the Three Great Heavenly Emperors, had always dominated the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, suppressing all beneath them. But now, the Three Thousand Worlds were suddenly giving birth to more Heavenly Emperors. For them, this was a challenge!