"Our 35th Battalion has already dispatched many personnel to search for Chief Ye. If there is news of him, it will certainly be sent back immediately," Elder Zhao also spoke up.
"That day we all witnessed Chief Ye being jointly injured by seven Dark Faction experts. We don't know how he is doing now," a middle-aged man in yellow sighed.
"Chief Ye's physical body is of exceptional quality, far beyond ordinary people. His physical body will certainly be fine. We just fear his Soul Body and cultivation realms might be damaged," Commander Wan said softly.
"It's a pity. If Chief Ye's attempt to charge into the Earth Immortal Realm this time hadn't been sabotaged by those seven from the Dark Faction, he would have certainly succeeded in breaking through and become an Earth Immortal. Chief Ye possesses formidable combat prowess even while only at the True Immortal realm. If he became an Earth Immortal expert, I'm afraid it would be hard to find a match for him among Earth Immortals," the commander of another battalion lamented.
Hearing his words, everyone fell silent, their eyes revealing expressions of anger.
The five elders of the 35th Battalion, in particular, were gnashing their teeth, wishing they could go settle accounts with the Dark Faction immediately.
"By the way, how is the situation at headquarters now?" Just then, a slightly portly elder suddenly spoke up.
"Headquarters is already tightly surrounded by the Dark Faction's main army. There hasn't been any fighting yet, temporarily. Who knows what the Dark Faction intends by encircling without attacking?" a tall, thin elder said softly.
"The current situation for our Light Faction is not optimistic. The Dark Faction's overall strength is too powerful. According to headquarters' orders, our thirty-six battalions must unite and fight together against the Dark Faction. Only then is victory possible," another middle-aged man in purple robes said.
The others looked deeply worried because everyone understood in their hearts that the situation was extremely unfavorable for the Light Faction. The Dark Faction had suddenly displayed a terrifying overall strength and was pressing forward against the Light Faction on all fronts. Whether the Light Faction could even hold on was a question, much less any hope of victory. Although none of the battalion leaders wanted to admit it or say it outright, they all understood this fact in their hearts.
"Report! We have just received word. Three bases belonging to the 12th Battalion have been captured by the Dark Faction's army! Commander Ding of the 12th Battalion is severely injured and has fled with a portion of the remaining troops. His whereabouts are unknown!" Just then, a True Immortal-level middle-aged man rushed into the hall to report.
The 12th Battalion was also in trouble! Hearing this, everyone's hearts sank.
"Commander Ding isn't dead yet. That is something to be grateful for," the leader of one battalion said softly.
The commanders of the Light Faction's thirty-six battalions used to frequently gather at headquarters, so they all knew each other.
"Everyone, we must hurry to find Chief Ye, then carefully discuss our next steps. Continuing to wait like this is extremely dangerous," Commander Ba of the 30th Battalion said with a sigh.
"Report! There are six Earth Immortal experts outside. One is a woman. That woman says she wants to ask questions of the five elders of the 35th Battalion!" At that moment, another man hurried into the hall and announced loudly.
Wants to ask us questions? The five elders of the 35th Battalion were taken aback by this news.
"Who are they? Be more specific," Commander Lü of the 36th Battalion said.
"I don't know who they are either. That woman only said she wanted to ask questions of the five elders of the Light Faction's 35th Battalion," the man replied.
"Everyone, we don't know if the newcomers are friend or foe, and their identity is unclear. We must be wary of a trap!" Commander Lü of the 36th Battalion warned.
"Indeed, in this special period of war, we must be cautious and careful! Elders, we'll send a portion of our experts with you to go out and see who they are and their purpose in seeking you out," another battalion commander nodded and spoke.
Soon, over a dozen Earth Immortal experts from other battalions accompanied the five elders of the 35th Battalion out of the Small World's exit and into the outside Chaotic Void.
They saw a woman standing in the void outside with five Earth Immortal experts.
This woman was precisely Su Qingluo!
"Young lady, we five are the elders of the 35th Battalion. Were you looking for us five? What can we do for you?" The five elders of the 35th Battalion stepped forward, with Elder Zhuo speaking up to ask.
"I am Su Qingluo. I sought you out because I wish to inquire about Ye Yunfei. Ye Yunfei... is his injury very severe? Where is he now?" Su Qingluo wasted no words and asked directly.
She did not plan to conceal her identity because Ye Yunfei was the commander of the Light Faction's 35th Battalion, and these five elders before her were essentially Ye Yunfei's subordinates. Thus, Su Qingluo trusted them somewhat.
Su Qingluo? The five elders were startled at first.
"Could she be the Palace Lord Su of the Reincarnation Palace from the Main World?" Suddenly, Elder Chi revealed a shocked expression and sent a sound transmission to the other four elders.
"Yes, it must be her!" The other four elders reacted immediately. So it was Palace Lord Su looking for Chief Ye!
Ye Yunfei's relationship with Su Qingluo had long since become common knowledge throughout the Main World and the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds because Ye Yunfei had previously helped the Reincarnation Palace deal with the Dark Faction.
"So it was Palace Lord Su gracing us with your presence! We apologize for failing to welcome you properly!" The five elders of the 35th Battalion quickly bowed together.
"There's no need for courtesy," Su Qingluo nodded.
"Chief Ye was jointly injured by seven Dark Faction Perfected Earth Immortals during his tribulation crossing. It is estimated his injuries were somewhat severe. However, Chief Ye's physical body quality is extremely strong, so his life likely isn't in danger. We all saw with our own eyes that Chief Ye successfully escaped. During this period, we dispatched a large number of personnel to search for Chief Ye everywhere, but for now, there is no trace of his whereabouts," Elder Qi explained.
"You don't know his whereabouts either?" Su Qingluo felt somewhat disappointed. She had thought that since Ye Yunfei was the commander of the 35th Battalion, these five elders might possibly know his whereabouts.
"Yes, if we knew Chief Ye's whereabouts, we would certainly not hide it from Palace Lord Su! However, Palace Lord Su, please rest assured. We have already sent many people to search for Chief Ye everywhere. Once we have any information about Chief Ye, we will definitely find a way to notify you first," Elder Qi replied.
"Very well. Notify me at the first moment you have news of him," Su Qingluo had no choice but to nod and prepared to leave.
It was right at this moment.
Rumble…
The distant Chaotic Void began to shake violently.
Then, swath after swath of dark, dense armies continuously appeared, like vast, black oceans, surging from all directions to surround them.
"No good, it's the Dark Faction's army! We're surrounded!" someone from the Light Faction shouted in alarm.
"Palace Lord, it's the Dark Faction. We must leave immediately!"
"Palace Lord, the war between the Light Faction and the Dark Faction is not suitable for our Reincarnation Palace to intervene in. Let's go now to avoid suspicion!"
...
The five Earth Immortal experts from the Reincarnation Palace following Su Qingluo were greatly alarmed and hurriedly sent urgent sound transmissions to her.
"We cannot leave. All six of us have already been locked on," Su Qingluo shook her head and said solemnly.
Her perception abilities were extremely powerful. She had long since discovered that the six of them had been locked onto by the enemy experts using Soul Power. Powerful waves of Soul Power energy were sweeping through space, undoubtedly perceiving everything clearly. Silently slipping away was impossible.
By this time, word had already spread into the Small World. The commanders of the various battalions came rushing out with their troops, arranging defensive formations.
The leaders of the ten Light Faction battalions stood in a line before the Small World's entrance.
"Heh heh… This place has already been surrounded by our Dark Faction's army. You Light Faction wretches, even if you grew wings, you wouldn't be able to flee! You will all die, every single one of you!" A wild laugh rang out as a black-robed man slowly appeared not far away, sneering at the crowd.
"Hmph! Who kills who is not yet certain. By the end, perhaps it will be all of you who die!" Commander Ba of the 30th Battalion shouted fiercely.
"Haha… It seems you lot won't be convinced until you see the coffin. Let us first give you a taste of our strength!" The black-robed man burst into loud laughter.
Along with the black-robed man's wild laughter, one Earth Immortal expert after another from the Dark Faction continuously appeared behind him.
Finally, a full two hundred and seventy-plus Dark Faction Earth Immortal experts stood behind the black-robed man. The energy pressures they released converged into a force like a rolling hurricane, shaking the sky.