The old Wizard's combat prowess was indeed formidable. Yet, trapped in a relentless assault by eight advanced Half-Emperors, two perfected Half-Emperors, and Ye Yunfei himself, he found himself utterly incapable of approaching the Vermilion Bird Skeleton! He hadn't even a sliver of a chance to begin refining it.
“Roar… Brat! You'll regret crossing me! You have no idea the power standing behind me! Not just you, even the three Heavenly Emperors who reign openly across the Three Thousand Worlds wouldn't dare provoke the force I represent! Brat, I advise you to back off and abandon your claim to this skeleton. If you do not, the consequences will be dire, and I will not let you live through it!”
While fending off the onslaught from the numerous Half-Emperor experts, the old Wizard glared fiercely at Ye Yunfei, his eyes blazing as he issued his threats.
“It matters little if the power behind you spares me; I will certainly not spare you! You dared to bully my mother and my sister. No matter who stands behind you, none can protect you from my blade. Your death is certain!” Ye Yunfei retorted coldly.
Over the years, this Wizard had daily extracted the essence blood from Miao Ziqiong and Xiao Fei. For Ye Yunfei, this was a debt of blood, a sea of enmity. There was no chance he would let this old monster escape alive.
“Everyone, let's pool our strength and slay this old cur!” Ye Yunfei commanded the other ten Half-Emperors.
“Use the Thunder God's Indomitable Body Art against him! He cultivates a dark-type technique. Dealing with him with lightning energy might prove very effective! Give it a try!”
At this moment, Hun Lao's voice suddenly echoed in Ye Yunfei's mind, offering counsel.
“Understood.”
A moment of clarity dawned upon Ye Yunfei. Most of the techniques cultivated by creatures of the Dark Faction revolved around dark energy and dark laws. They could be categorized as Yin-Attribute energies. Lightning energy, on the other hand, was a Yang-Attribute energy!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ye Yunfei immediately activated the Thunder God's Indomitable Body Art. Thick bolts of lightning manifested one after another, carrying terrifying destructive power, and surged in a vast tide towards the old Wizard.
“Lightning techniques!”
The Wizard was both shocked and furious; he did indeed harbor a degree of fear for lightning-based arts. By now, his true form was fully revealed—a strange black bird, though its head retained its original human face.
Rumble…
The old Wizard swiftly beat his wings, releasing a surge of black fog that continuously spread out, then morphed into countless strange black birds. They swarmed densely, intercepting the oncoming thick lightning bolts.
“Now, attack!”
With a wave of his hand, Ye Yunfei, alongside the ten Half-Emperor experts, launched a ferocious assault against the old Wizard. Ye Yunfei charged at the forefront, utilizing his pure physical strength with each punch causing the very space to tremble violently.
“Brother! My Vermilion Bird Divine Meridian is now able to enter this skeleton!”
At that very moment, Xiao Fei's joyous mental message reached Ye Yunfei.
“My Vermilion Bird Divine Meridian is also entering the skeleton!”
Miao Ziqiong's voice, too, sounded within Ye Yunfei's soul sea.
Sending his Soul Power to sense the situation, Ye Yunfei discovered that his mother and sister's Divine Meridians were indeed beginning to slowly fuse with the colossal skeleton.
Ye Yunfei understood. This was because their Vermilion Bird Divine Meridians were exceptionally high grade and relatively pure in lineage, which allowed them to approach and even enter the skeleton so quickly. If other members of the Miao Clan were to be here, they might not have been accepted by the skeleton with such speed.
“Mother, Xiao Fei, keep going! Strive to inherit this skeleton's legacy and the essence of its bloodline! I'll keep the others at bay for you!” Ye Yunfei sent the mental reply.
The Miao Clan forces outside the palace gates were on the verge of breaching the defensive formation and storming in. Once inside, they would undoubtedly frenzy over this skeleton, as its allure for the Miao Clan members was simply too immense.
“Alright.”
Both Miao Ziqiong and Xiao Fei nodded. They too held the hope of inheriting the legacy held within the Vermilion Bird remains.
“Brother, don't worry, I'll definitely do my best to gain this skeleton's inheritance and bloodline! When I do, I'll become as strong as you… no, even stronger! Then it won't always be you protecting me. I'll be able to protect you all as well!” Xiao Fei declared with fiery determination.
Her brother had been a profound influence on her. During this period, realizing he had reached the Half-Emperor stage had deeply shaken her, spurring a quiet vow within her heart: to cultivate diligently in the future and strive to become a genuine powerhouse capable of protecting both herself and her family, just like her eldest brother.
“That sounds good. I'll be waiting for the day you surpass me. Remember to protect me then.” Ye Yunfei chuckled through their telepathic link.
“Don't worry! When I become stronger, I'll definitely protect Mother, Father, and you!” Xiao Fei promised earnestly, before focusing completely on driving her Vermilion Bird Divine Meridian to slowly merge deeper into the skeleton's internal structure.
Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei and his ten Half-Emperor companions had the old Wizard thoroughly battered and forced to retreat step by step.
“You brought this upon yourselves!” the old Wizard suddenly spat out coldly.
“TRANSFORMATION!”
With a mighty roar, he enacted his power.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Hearing his cry, every single creature of the Dark Faction inside the palace whirled around, turning into streaks of black light that shot towards the Wizard's location. In moments, they reached him, plunging directly into his body one after another, merging seamlessly with his form.
A seemingly endless stream of Dark Faction beings charged into the Wizard's physique. And with every new entity fusing with him, the energy aura he emanated skyrocketed higher and higher!
“These Dark Faction creatures can actually merge with each other, becoming one entity!”
Seeing this, Hun Lao couldn't help but voice his astonishment.
“When I journeyed through the Three Thousand Worlds alongside Senior Guhuang the Great Emperor in the past, I once heard tales of special races whose members could fuse with, or even devour, one another, thereby forming a new, more powerful vessel. I never imagined the Dark Faction possessed such a legacy as well!”
“He is growing stronger by the moment.”
Sensing the Wizard's continuously escalating presence, Ye Yunfei's brow furrowed slightly in concern. The Wizard was already a Perfected Half-Emperor. Now, after fusing with so many other Dark Faction Half-Emperor beings, his power was becoming truly monstrous.
“He's merged so many Half-Emperor opponents, of course he'll keep getting stronger,” Hun Lao stated matter-of-factly.
“All of you, gather around me immediately!” Ye Yunfei urgently commanded his Half-Emperor experts. “I am about to teach you a battle formation. Comprehend it instantly. Soon after, we shall deploy it together! If we don't, we stand no chance against this abomination!”
The Half-Emperor experts, watching the Wizard's aura climb incessantly, were secretly shocked. Upon hearing Ye Yunfei's command, they immediately moved to his side. Ye Yunfei transmitted the specifics of a complex battle formation directly into their soul seas, ordering them to master it at once.
Receiving this tactical knowledge from Ye Yunfei, they were simultaneously startled and overjoyed. The level of this battle formation was extraordinarily high; one could tell at a glance it possessed incredible might. Although these Half-Emperors hailed from ancient times, their knowledge, experience, and collection of various cultivation arts and techniques were still inferior to Ye Yunfei's. After all, Ye Yunfei had once been a Heavenly Emperor. Before the reign of an Emperor, what was the worth of even a large group of Half-Emperors?