"Report! Liu Rulong has entered the Vermilion Bird Realm again! He demands that the Vermilion Bird Realm immediately pay him tribute, or he will take action. The Vermilion Bird King is currently leading the forces of the Vermilion Bird Realm to stand against him!"
At that moment, a middle-aged man rushed over from the distance, shouting his report. This middle-aged man was a steward from the Guardians.
After finishing his report, the middle-aged man spotted Ye Yunfei.
"Young Master Ye! You are here too! This is excellent! The Vermilion Bird Realm is in peril right now. You must go back and take a look immediately," the man said to Ye Yunfei.
"Has the Vermilion Bird King returned to the Vermilion Bird Realm?" Ye Yunfei was slightly surprised upon hearing this.
Previously, the Vermilion Bird King and Ye Yunfei's parents had still been with Mister Liu in Tian Po World, and Ye Yunfei had not yet gone to retrieve them.
"Yes. The Vermilion Bird King, along with his people, returned to the Vermilion Bird Realm not long ago. And it's not just them; the Sky Shadow King and quite a few other forces have also returned from Tian Po World to their original worlds to begin reconstruction work," Old Man Chu chimed in.
"I see," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"Don't worry about that now. You must hurry back to the Vermilion Bird Realm. That Liu Rulong is very powerful, and he has a group of Golden Immortal experts with him. The Vermilion Bird King is no match for him. If you don't return, the Vermilion Bird Realm will be in big trouble," Tianwu Zen Master urged Ye Yunfei.
"Alright. We'll head to the Vermilion Bird Realm immediately," Ye Yunfei's expression darkened. He took out a spatial teleportation talisman, teleported all the people around him into the Illusory Shadow Tower, activated the talisman, and set course for the Vermilion Bird Realm.
"Senior Chu, what is this Liu Rulong's background?" Ye Yunfei transmitted his question to Old Man Chu via Sound Transmission.
"He is said to be a young master from a prominent family in a realm called Tian Gang World, a realm similar to our Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds but with greater overall strength. This Liu Rulong himself is a Perfected Golden Immortal expert, and he has a group of Golden Immortal-level subordinates following him, making his overall power quite formidable. Since arriving in the Three Thousand Worlds some time ago, he has been bullying and oppressing the beings of our realm everywhere he goes. Wherever he arrives, he has plundered and pillaged, lording it over others. At the slightest provocation, he resorts to mass slaughter and has already killed many beings from our realm. Everyone is furious but dares not speak up. Our Guardian Faction has sent experts to engage with him several times. Even we two old fellows have confronted him. But we are no match for him, so there's nothing we can do. Moreover, quite a few of the powerful beings who have entered our realm recently are like Liu Rulong. We two are truly exhausted dealing with them," Old Man Chu replied with a bitter smile.
"To be honest, when you first broke that seal layer, I anticipated this situation. Our realm has been sealed for too long, disconnected from the outside world. Our strength is definitely inferior to other external realms. If experts from other realms come here and conflict arises, we are certainly no match," Tianwu Zen Master said to Ye Yunfei.
"But if I didn't break that seal layer, then our Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds would be sealed forever, forever disconnected. And they might even become increasingly weak. So I had no choice but to break it," Ye Yunfei replied.
"Yes, that seal layer indeed had to be broken. Otherwise, our realm would remain sealed forever with no chance for development. Now, we can only take it one step at a time and hope the overall strength of our realm slowly improves," Old Man Chu nodded, sighing.
A moment later, Ye Yunfei teleported into the Vermilion Bird Realm.
Releasing his Soul Power energy, Ye Yunfei indeed discovered that the forces of the Miao Clan had returned to this world.
"Liu Rulong! Don't push us too far! Our Vermilion Bird Realm is not your subordinate faction. Why should we pay tribute to you?"
A furious voice echoed from afar, traveling a great distance. Ye Yunfei immediately recognized it as the voice of the Vermilion Bird King.
"Now, please leave our Vermilion Bird Realm immediately! You are not welcome here!"
The Vermilion Bird King's angry voice rang out once more.
Ye Yunfei's gaze swept into the distance. He saw the Vermilion Bird King leading a group of Miao Clan forces confronting a young man dressed in white, with over a hundred powerful beings clustered behind the young man.
There was no need to ask; this young man in white must be Liu Rulong.
"Hahaha... Why? You want to know why? Fine, I'll tell you now. In this world, whoever has the bigger fist gets to call the shots. Hand over tribute that satisfies me immediately, or I won't hesitate to wipe out your so-called Miao Clan. Remember, the weak have no right to question, nor should they think of resisting. To my eyes, you are nothing but a swarm of ants."
Liu Rulong spoke in an arrogant tone.
Among the hundred-plus beings behind Liu Rulong, thirty or forty of them were Golden Immortal experts, making their overall power extremely formidable. These Golden Immortal experts deliberately released their energy pressure, which swept forth like terrifying tornadoes, one after another, imposingly bearing down upon the Miao Clan forces. The members of the Miao Clan paled under this terrifying pressure, trembling all over and retreating step by step.
The disparity in strength between the two sides was too vast. Though the Vermilion Bird King and the Miao Clan members were furious, facing such an overwhelming disadvantage, they simply could not make a move.
"Young Master Liu, I've noticed that although this Miao Clan is weak, there are quite a few beauties among them. How about this: make this so-called Vermilion Bird King hand over all the beauties of the Miao Clan. Any brother who takes a fancy can take one," a man with a sharp mouth and monkey-like cheeks spoke up, his expression full of ill intent.
"Haha... That's a great suggestion! I agree!"
"Let this Miao Clan present all their beauties for us all to pick from!"
"Of course, the prettiest ones go to Young Master Liu first. We'll just drink some of the leftover soup!"
...
Hearing the proposal, the other beings behind Liu Rulong burst into raucous laughter.
Every single one of them was haughty and overbearing, their gazes looking at the Miao Clan forces full of disdain, as if they were utterly beneath their notice.
"You are looking for death!"
Hearing these words, the Vermilion Bird King and all the Miao Clan members were enraged, shouting rebukes.
Boom!
A man beside Liu Rulong suddenly took a step forward, unleashing his energy pressure. Terrifying Golden Immortal-level energy surged forth like a vast ocean.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Immediately, a group of Miao Clan members were sent flying as if dumplings dropping into a pot.
The Vermilion Bird King was also forced back, blood even trickling from the corner of his mouth, and his blood and energy roiling within his body.
"Hahaha... These fellows are truly too weak. I could wipe them all out with a single finger! It's laughable that they don't know their own limitations, daring to talk back in front of us. They've grown tired of living!"
The man who released the energy laughed arrogantly.
"Enough. I advise you not to test my patience any further. Hand over tribute that satisfies me now, and surrender all the young women of your clan for us to choose from. Otherwise, I'll wipe out your Miao Clan today," Liu Rulong said coldly, his tone indifferent. His gaze swept over the Miao Clan members, his expression like that of a noble looking down upon lowly commoners.
"I advise you not to go too far! Although you are powerful, there are those within our realm who can deal with you," the Vermilion Bird King said angrily, having taken a healing pill, his furious eyes fixed on Liu Rulong.
"You must be talking about that legendary Ye Yunfei. I heard he defeated the Dark Ancestor. I'd very much like to see just how strong he is. However, he seems to have been hiding away all this time. I wanted to find him but couldn't," Liu Rulong said disdainfully upon hearing the Vermilion Bird King's words.
"Young Master Liu, in my opinion, that Ye Yunfei is definitely afraid of you, so he's hiding somewhere, not daring to show his face like a turtle. What kind of experts can a backwater realm like this have? It's all just exaggeration."
"Knowing that our Young Master Liu has arrived, how would that so-called Ye Yunfei dare not flee?"
...
The people behind Liu Rulong burst into laughter again.
"Alright, enough. Don't waste my patience. Do as I say immediately, or I won't mind resorting to slaughter," Liu Rulong said indifferently, his hands clasped behind his back, looking down at the Miao Clan members from a superior height.
"Do as Young Master Liu says immediately! Otherwise, today will be the end of your Miao Clan!"
The people behind Liu Rulong all revealed fierce expressions, releasing overwhelming waves of energy pressure that began to shake the very world.
"Everyone! Prepare for battle!" the Vermilion Bird King sent a Sound Transmission to the Miao Clan members behind him. "Also! Notify all our clansmen immediately! Tell them to seize any chance to escape!" he transmitted to several elders of the Vermilion Bird Realm.
The Vermilion Bird King knew the people before him were far too strong. If a fight broke out, their side had no chance of victory.
"My patience is wearing thin. I will now count to ten. If you still haven't done as I asked by the tenth count, we will take action," Liu Rulong said coldly.
"One... two... three..."
Then he began counting in that same cold voice.
Listening to the cold counts, the Vermilion Bird King and all the Miao Clan members braced themselves for battle.
Everyone understood that if a fight broke out, their side would suffer heavy casualties, possibly being wiped out entirely.
But the Miao Clan would definitely not comply with Liu Rulong's demands. Paying tribute was one thing, but surrendering all the young women of the clan? That was something the Miao Clan could never do. The only option was a fight to the death.
At this moment, Ye Yunfei was already striding over from the distance, unleashing a surge of overwhelming killing intent. He had heard every word spoken by Liu Rulong and his followers clearly.
The Miao Clan was the family of Ye Yunfei's mother, Miao Ziqiong. To suffer such humiliation and coercion was utterly intolerable for Ye Yunfei.
"...Eight... nine..."
Liu Rulong was still counting, his voice cold and filled with killing intent.
"You can stop counting. Even if you counted to a hundred or a thousand, it would be useless. Not a single one of the Miao Clan's people can you move."
A voice rang out from afar.
"Who is that?"
Hearing the voice, Liu Rulong and all his followers were furious. They simultaneously turned to look.
"It's Ye Yunfei! He's finally here!"
Seeing a young man striding over from the distance, the Vermilion Bird King couldn't help but feel a wave of relief.
"It's Young Master Ye! Young Master Ye is finally here!"
The Miao Clan members saw Ye Yunfei and instantly erupted in cheers.
"So you're Ye Yunfei."
Hearing the cheers, Liu Rulong's face darkened slightly. He scrutinized Ye Yunfei with a sharp, penetrating gaze.
"What? He's only an Earth Immortal? I thought this fellow had three heads and six arms. How could someone like him possibly have defeated the Dark Ancestor?"
"Impossible! It must be that the rumors are wrong!"
"Didn't I say earlier? It must be an exaggeration. Now it's proven. A mere Earth Immortal, no matter how strong, couldn't possibly defeat a Perfected Golden Immortal expert like the Dark Ancestor."
...
Soon, Liu Rulong and his entourage discerned Ye Yunfei's cultivation realm and expressions of disdain appeared on their faces.
Ye Yunfei's defeat of the Dark Ancestor had long since spread throughout the Three Thousand Worlds. All the external beings who had entered recently had also heard of Ye Yunfei, knowing that the strongest figure in this realm was a young man by that name.
Now that Liu Rulong and his followers had clearly seen Ye Yunfei's realm, they immediately concluded that the rumors had to be mistaken.
"You there, brat! Come here and kneel! What did you just say? That we can't move the Miao Clan? Such insolence! Daring to speak to us in that tone! Have you grown tired of living?!"
A man behind Liu Rulong stepped forward, pointing a finger at Ye Yunfei and shouting angrily.
"What's the point talking to a lowly ant like this? Just make your move."
Another man stepped forward, sneering coldly. Then he suddenly thrust out a hand, which rapidly enlarged, shooting towards Ye Yunfei like lightning.
Boom!
The palm released immense energy, directly sealing the space around them. Vaguely, streams of profound Laws emanated from his palm, forming numerous mysterious runes that pressed down on Ye Yunfei.
This man was an Intermediate Golden Immortal, quite a skilled one at that!
Unfortunately for him, he had encountered Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze coldly fixed on the man. He neither spoke nor made any move. The man's gigantic palm was about to envelop Ye Yunfei.
"Why isn't this brat resisting? Is he scared stiff?"
"Not scared stiff, but suppressed. He's just an Earth Immortal. Facing the energy of a Golden Immortal expert, even moving his body must be extremely difficult. That's normal."
"Is that so? I heard about this kid as soon as I arrived in this realm. I thought he was some incredible figure. So he's just this fragile."
...
Watching Ye Yunfei remain motionless, Liu Rulong's followers began to comment.
"Go to hell, brat!"
The man making the move also thought Ye Yunfei was truly suppressed by his energy and unable to move, a smug expression appearing on his face.
However, at that very moment, the man suddenly felt an unbearable agony erupt within his soul sea. He let out a blood-curdling scream as if struck by lightning. His body was sent flying backwards, his face pale, blood flowing from all seven orifices. He crashed headfirst onto the ground in the distance and made not a single sound more.
"What happened?"
Everyone was bewildered by the scene, staring at Ye Yunfei and the man bleeding from his seven orifices in the distance.
"Young Master Liu! Old Huang... he seems... dead!" someone suddenly yelled.
"That fellow really didn't know any better. Your Soul Power energy is probably at the Heavenly Immortal level now. A mere Intermediate Golden Immortal dares to provoke you," Hun Lao transmitted via Sound Transmission, shaking his head at Ye Yunfei.