"We're going after him!"
The Perfected Earth Immortal stared in the direction Ye Yunfei had departed and said in a deep voice.
"That kid has a long-distance teleportation treasure. By now, he's probably far away. Can we still catch up?" asked a black-robed man beside him.
"My Spiritual Pennant has already imprinted that kid's Soul Body fluctuations. It can automatically track him. As long as he remains within the space-time scope of the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, I have a way to trace him!" the Perfected Earth Immortal sneered.
"So that's how it is!"
The other Dark Faction Earth Immortal experts were overjoyed upon hearing the Perfected Earth Immortal's words, and also filled with envy.
Everyone had personally witnessed the power of that pennant earlier, and they hadn't expected it to possess such an automatic tracking function as well.
"Let's pursue!"
The Perfected Earth Immortal's figure flickered as he chased in the direction Ye Yunfei had departed. The other Dark Faction Earth Immortals also followed suit.
Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei, having utilized the Space Teleportation Token for several consecutive teleportations, was already far from the previous battlefield.
He found a world in a relatively remote location that possessed a continent, burrowed deep underground, laid out several dozen Isolation Formations, and then concealed his aura within the formations before entering the Phantom Tower.
"Hu Miao, how are you?"
Ye Yunfei came to Hu Miao and found her face pale and her aura weak. More importantly, Hu Miao was currently in her race's true form—a beautiful, adorable little fox.
"Master, that fellow's strength was too high, and that pennant was an extremely terrifying treasure. My Soul Body is injured. It's not life-threatening, but I don't know how long it will take to recover through rest," Hu Miao said weakly.
"Damn it!"
Ye Yunfei was furious to the extreme.
Over the years, Hu Miao had always been by his side, never leaving. She was his closest companion, and Ye Yunfei had developed deep feelings for her. One could say Hu Miao's position in Ye Yunfei's heart was equal to that of his family! Seeing her injured like this now pained Ye Yunfei immensely.
"Hu Miao, rest slowly. All these Soul Power-type crystals, medicinal herbs, and various heavenly treasures are for you. Use whatever you need," Ye Yunfei said, taking out a large batch of soul-type treasures, placing them into several spatial rings, and handing them to Hu Miao.
"Thank you, Master. You're always the one who treats me best," Hu Miao smiled.
"Hu Miao, rest assured, I will definitely settle the score with that fellow and avenge you," Ye Yunfei said through gritted teeth.
"Master, don't rush. Your strength isn't sufficient yet. Don't seek revenge too early. Once my injuries are healed, we'll go settle the score together," Hu Miao quickly said.
"Alright, then rest and recover in peace. When the time comes, we'll find that fellow together," Ye Yunfei nodded.
He then let Hu Miao rest and recover while he himself found a quiet spot within the Phantom Tower, sat down cross-legged, and began to examine his physical condition.
Ever since his Lightning Tribulation was interrupted mid-way and he subsequently fought with those Dark Faction Earth Immortals, Ye Yunfei knew he was injured. Even now, he still felt extremely weak.
Ye Yunfei examined his body and found its surface covered in streaks of blood—wounds inflicted by the shockwaves from the Perfected Earth Immortal. These physical injuries were actually insignificant to Ye Yunfei; they weren't enough to cause this feeling of weakness.
It was precisely this that worried Ye Yunfei. He didn't understand why his body felt so weak.
Next, Ye Yunfei began examining his meridians, Immortal Power, and other aspects.
"My Law power has greatly diminished. It seems somewhat difficult to commune with the Laws in the surrounding void!"
Not long after, Ye Yunfei was shocked to discover that his proficiency in Laws across the board had drastically decreased, and sensing and communing with the Laws present in the surrounding space had become quite difficult. This meant his cultivation regarding Laws had been somewhat restricted.
"It feels like the Laws in the surrounding space are rejecting me. In the unseen workings of fate, even the legendary Heavenly Dao seems to be rejecting me. Moreover, this rejection isn't just physical; my Soul Body is subtly suppressed as well! What's going on?" Ye Yunfei was inwardly alarmed.
He then informed Hun Lao of his current physical condition because Hun Lao possessed a portion of the racial memories of the Chaos World Tree and knew many of the world's secrets.
"Your situation resembles the legendary Abandoned Child of the Great Dao," Hun Lao said after carefully searching through the racial memories he possessed upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words.
Abandoned Child of the Great Dao?
Ye Yunfei couldn't help but be startled. This was the first time he had heard of this.
"The so-called Abandoned Child of the Great Dao is one who is not recognized by the Great Dao, even rejected by it. Once a living being is rejected by the Great Dao, the Dao will impose an invisible shackle upon that being's body, constantly draining or weakening its various energies. In short, becoming an Abandoned Child of the Great Dao is a very unfortunate thing. It will prevent that being from cultivating in the future, even causing its strength to weaken progressively," Hun Lao explained.
"You wouldn't have truly become an Abandoned Child of the Great Dao, would you? If so, the trouble would be grave," Hun Lao added.
"Let me examine you."
Hun Lao released his Soul Power and began carefully examining Ye Yunfei's body.
"I can't say for sure. Your current physical state has two possibilities. First, your Earth Immortal Lightning Tribulation was interrupted mid-way, causing a backlash that inflicted hidden injuries upon your body and Soul Body. Second, your tribulation was halfway through; the first half went very smoothly, and you were undergoing the baptism of the Great Dao's laws. But stopping midway caused you to lose your connection with the laws of the Great Dao, thus becoming an Abandoned Child of the Great Dao. In any case, your physical condition is very poor," Hun Lao sighed after a while.
"So what should I do now? Does your racial memory contain any methods regarding this?" Ye Yunfei asked.
"Re-cultivate your Law power, re-perceive the Great Dao, re-establish a connection with the Great Dao," Hun Lao answered after searching his racial memory for another moment.
"Alright then. I can only give it a try," Ye Yunfei said.
Originally, Ye Yunfei was eager to find Di Ming in the Colorless Abyss, but given the current circumstances, he had to recover his body first. Otherwise, entering the Colorless Abyss while injured would make dealing with any dangers difficult.
Ye Yunfei then began closed-door cultivation.
This time, he focused specifically on cultivating Laws, utilizing both his soul bodies simultaneously to comprehend various Laws.
Boom… Boom…
Just as Ye Yunfei was concentrating on cultivation, a deafening roar suddenly erupted from within his body. Following that, he discovered an extremely terrifying energy rampaging wildly inside him, causing intense pain with every impact.
"Since when did such a fearsome energy enter my body?" Ye Yunfei was greatly alarmed.
"This is the energy you gained from experiencing half of the Lightning Tribulation! This energy entered your body. Had you successfully completed the tribulation, this energy would have become yours, greatly enhancing your strength. But since your tribulation ultimately failed, this energy that entered your body in the first half is now trying to break out!" Hun Lao shouted.
"Hmph!
Since I endured half the tribulation, the energy from that half should belong to me! Fuse with me!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Yunfei's temper instantly flared. With a loud roar, he attempted to forcibly fuse with the energy within his body.
This tribulation experience had made Ye Yunfei feel too angry. Now, even this energy that had entered his body wanted to leave. How could he possibly accept that?
"Stop acting recklessly. You failed your tribulation; you can't retain this energy," Hun Lao said.
Boom rumble rumble…
The terrifying energy, sensing Ye Yunfei's attempt to devour and fuse with it, began colliding even more violently. The tremendous impact force started to severely distort Ye Yunfei's form, causing it to continuously swell like a balloon being inflated. His head, limbs, and torso all bulged grotesquely, resembling four or five balloons strung together.
Crack… Crack…
The various organs and tissue within Ye Yunfei's body began to fail under the strain, cracking incessantly, with blood gushing forth wildly.
"Be careful with your body! Don't let it explode! You failed your tribulation, and now you might very well be an Abandoned Child of the Great Dao. You cannot fuse with this energy! Because this energy you gained during the tribulation might have been bestowed upon you by the unseen workings of the Great Dao. Now the Great Dao wants to take it back; you cannot keep it!" Hun Lao exclaimed in alarm.
At that moment.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Five tremendous roars suddenly echoed from within Ye Yunfei's body. Following that, five cave abodes appeared simultaneously. The doors of these five cave abodes opened wide, unleashing massive suction force that began forcibly absorbing the wildly rampaging energy within Ye Yunfei's body!
"These are the Viscera Secret Realms of the Great Supreme Cosmic Cycle Art!"
Ye Yunfei was both shocked and elated.
Before meeting the Great Strength Demon God, Ye Yunfei had called this technique the Great Supreme Cosmic Body Tempering Chapter. Only after meeting the Great Strength Demon God did he learn that this technique had been passed down from him, and its true name was the Great Supreme Cosmic Cycle Art!
Ye Yunfei had previously cultivated the Great Supreme Cosmic Cycle Art and had opened the Viscera Secret Realms. However, as his realm continuously improved later on and his combat strength soared accordingly, he somewhat neglected his Body Tempering technique. Because all Body Tempering techniques in the world shared a characteristic: as physical strength increased, the cultivation speed would slow down. Hence, Ye Yunfei later began favoring Immortal Power realm cultivation.
But now, the Viscera Secret Realms within his body had suddenly opened automatically and were actively absorbing the terrifying energy he had gained from experiencing half the Lightning Tribulation.
Whoosh… Whoosh…
The suction force erupting from the five cave abodes was extremely fearsome, like a whale drinking from a river, continuously and forcibly absorbing that energy.
"This might be a stress response of the Great Supreme Cosmic Cycle Art technique. The rampaging energy collided with the five cave abodes within your body, activating them," Hun Lao shouted.
Previously, when Ye Yunfei followed the Great Strength Demon God to cultivate the Great Supreme Cosmic Cycle Art, Hun Lao had been watching from within the Phantom Tower, so he was very familiar with this technique.