"Forget it, Ye Yunfei. You'll never learn anything from us."
Senior Brother Xiang ground his teeth as he spoke.
No matter how Ye Yunfei tortured him afterward, this Senior Brother Xiang refused to divulge the information Ye Yunfei wanted. Ye Yunfei employed several ruthless interrogation methods on Xiang, but it was useless. The senior brother's physical body seemed impervious to all poisons, and his Soul Body was exceptionally resilient. No matter what Ye Yunfei did, a mysterious energy always protected his soul.
For a cultivator, as long as the Soul Body remained intact, no other injuries could harm their foundation. Especially since this Senior Brother Xiang was a Half-Emperor expert; even if only his Soul Body remained, it could exist independently and eventually form a new physical body.
"So you won't talk, huh? Fine, we'll try someone else."
Ye Yunfei sneered coldly, shifting his gaze to another member of the Reincarnation Palace.
The face of that palace member paled drastically because his cultivation level was much lower than Senior Brother Xiang's. If even Xiang could withstand Ye Yunfei's interrogation methods, there was no guarantee he could.
Subsequently, Ye Yunfei subjected this Reincarnation Palace member to a series of harsh interrogation techniques.
"Agh... Stop! I can't take it anymore! I'll talk! I'll tell you whatever you want to know!"
Finally, when Ye Yunfei began torturing his Soul Body, the being couldn't endure it any longer and screamed desperately.
Boom!
Before Ye Yunfei could even start questioning him, a mysterious energy abruptly shattered this Reincarnation Palace member's Soul Body, reducing him to nothing.
"Now you understand, Ye Yunfei. Why I said you could never get anything out of us," Senior Brother Xiang said bitterly, watching his comrade's soul disintegrate. "Before we came, a special restriction was placed on us. If we ever attempt to reveal anything about our world, it triggers the restriction. Our Soul Bodies automatically explode, turning to dust."
"Their souls indeed bear a restriction," Hun Lao confirmed to Ye Yunfei via Sound Transmission.
"Reincarnation Palace... just you wait. I'll come knocking on your door sooner or later," Ye Yunfei's expression darkened. Being hunted by the Reincarnation Palace for no reason, completely in the dark, filled him with immense frustration.
"Kid, at our current speed, we'll probably reach the Vermilion Bird Realm in a few days," Hun Lao conveyed to him.
"Yes, we'll be there soon," Ye Yunfei nodded.
Ye Yunfei immediately began closed-door cultivation. This time, he planned to master three Imperial Techniques!
They were the Law Spear, the Blazing Sun Burst, and the Seamless Fist.
The Law Spear involved condensing various laws and forces to form a spear with terrifying speed and power, capable of effortlessly slaying enemies.
The Blazing Sun Burst was a technique complementary to the Nine-Yang Scripture. It allowed the instantaneous compression of vast amounts of spiritual energy into a single point, launching it toward an enemy to create a violent, great explosion.
As for the Seamless Fist, it was an advanced Imperial fist technique involving time and space. Cultivated to a profound level, a single punch could propel its force from one world into another, harming enemies across vast distances and through temporal barriers.
These three martial techniques were the three Imperial Techniques Ye Yunfei, as the Heavenly Emperor in his past life, had been most proficient in.
Of course, Ye Yunfei had collected many other Imperial Techniques, but some could only be unleashed when one truly reached the Heavenly Emperor realm.
He felt that, with his current spiritual energy intensity, he could at least barely cultivate these three.
"Actually, I mastered one Imperial Technique a long time ago—that would be the Nine Palaces Totem Wheel! The nine Divine Beasts of the Nine Palaces Totem Wheel—each one seems capable of cultivating to the strength of a Heavenly Emperor. With all nine beasts deployed simultaneously, I'd essentially have nine Heavenly Emperors fighting together. Tell me, who in the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds could withstand that?"
Ye Yunfei murmured to himself. He had long ago realized the immense potential of the Nine Palaces Totem Wheel; it might very well be an Imperial Technique.
Some time ago, Lei Ze, having devoured a sea of thunderbolts within the Chaos Thunder Pool, had long since reached combat strength equivalent to a Half-Emperor.
Ye Yunfei now planned to cultivate all eight of his other divine beasts to the Half-Emperor level as well!
Thus, for the following period, Ye Yunfei secluded himself within the Phantom Tower to cultivate the three Imperial Techniques. Simultaneously, he took out vast amounts of cultivation resources for the eight divine beasts to devour.
Half a year later within the Phantom Tower.
Ye Yunfei finally succeeded in mastering all three Imperial Techniques. Of course, their unleashed power would continue to increase as his strength grew.
Aside from Lei Ze, the other eight divine beasts had all finally reached the combat strength of the Half-Emperor level!
"How much longer until we reach the Vermilion Bird Realm?"
Ye Yunfei asked the Half-Emperor who had been traveling with the Phantom Tower all this while.
"Probably a little over a day more before arrival," the Half-Emperor replied.
"Very good," Ye Yunfei nodded.
Right at that moment.
"Halt!"
A loud shout rang out ahead.
A dozen figures rushed forward, blocking the path of the Half-Emperor carrying the Phantom Tower.
A dozen or so Half-Emperor experts!
"What is it?"
The face of the Half-Emperor with the Phantom Tower darkened as he asked coldly.
Although under Ye Yunfei's control, he was an ancient Half-Emperor with formidable strength. Facing over a dozen Half-Emperors didn't cause the slightest change in his expression.
"Do you know Ye Yunfei? According to the guidance of this jade slip, you carry the aura of Ye Yunfei. Explain yourself!"
One of the Half-Emperor experts demanded.
"What business do you have with Ye Yunfei?"
The Half-Emperor with the Phantom Tower asked on Ye Yunfei's instruction.
"We follow the Heavenly Emperor Decree. We've come to—"
The questioning Half-Emperor began to explain.
Whoosh!
Ye Yunfei suddenly appeared right in front of him and threw a punch.
Hearing the words 'Heavenly Emperor Decree' was enough for Ye Yunfei; no further explanations were needed.
Boom… Rumble…
Bolts of thick, crackling lightning erupted from Ye Yunfei's fist. In the blink of an eye, a hundred massive lightning bolts, like giant dragons, surrounded the Half-Emperor expert.
"Ye Yunfei! It's you!"
The Half-Emperor screamed in horror. In his shock and rage, he launched a punch at Ye Yunfei in retaliation.
Boom!
Ye Yunfei's lightning-wreathed fist clashed directly with the Half-Emperor's punch.
Bam!
Without even a chance to scream, the Half-Emperor's body exploded into fragments, turned to dust.
A Half-Emperor, instantly killed!
This Half-Emperor was only at the Primary Half-Emperor level. Given Ye Yunfei's current strength, killing him was effortless.
"It's Ye Yunfei! He actually possesses such combat power!"
The other Half-Emperor experts exclaimed in unison.
Boom!
Ye Yunfei launched another punch through the air towards another, more distant Half-Emperor.
Seamless Fist!
This Half-Emperor, being farther away, didn't pay much heed to Ye Yunfei's punch. He brandished a war halberd and charged forward.