"Elder Hou, not long ago, we discovered traces of that Fire Clan woman and immediately sent people to pursue and kill her..."
The man who came to report continued.
"What? You found traces of that Fire Clan woman?
Where is she?"
Elder Hou became agitated before even finishing listening.
"After receiving the news, I immediately dispatched forces, splitting them into several teams to encircle and intercept her. But by the time I arrived at the location where she appeared, she had already vanished.
Moreover, over a dozen of our men died there. After I personally led a thorough search of the surrounding area, I found no trace of the woman, so I rushed back to report to you, Elder Hou."
The man said.
"How is that possible? That woman was severely injured by me. Does she still have the strength to kill so many of our Source Fire Sect members?"
Elder Hou said with some anger.
"Also, I ordered you to investigate the murder of my disciple. Has that been cleared up?"
Elder Hou then asked further.
"We haven't yet identified the true culprit, but I suspect the murderer should be the same person.
Because the dozen or so of our Source Fire Sect members who were just killed died in almost exactly the same manner—their bodies were directly pulverized by a terrifying power."
"Their bodies were pulverized by a terrifying power?
If that's the case, then it probably wasn't done by that Fire Clan woman, because I've seen her techniques and martial arts—all of her attacks are primarily fire-attribute based."
After listening to the man's report, Elder Hou pondered for a moment before speaking.
"It seems someone else is helping her from behind the scenes.
Good, I want to see who has such audacity to go against our Source Fire Sect!
Come, take me to see."
Elder Hou stood up.
The man hurriedly led the way, bringing Elder Hou towards the location where Ye Yunfei had just killed over a dozen Source Fire Sect members.
At this time, Ye Yunfei and the red-clad woman had already entered the mountainous region ahead. Suddenly, roars of angry beasts rang out, and over a hundred fiery wolves appeared, gazing dangerously at Ye Yunfei and the red-clad woman.
Ye Yunfei noticed that the strength of these fire wolves in this mountainous area seemed much greater than those he had encountered before.
In the next instant, the fire wolves were already pouncing at the two of them from all directions.
"Be careful. The fire beasts here are much stronger than those in other places."
The red-clad woman immediately began fighting several fire wolves while reminding Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei's mind stirred, unleashing the Invisible Mind Sword, simultaneously striking over a dozen fire wolves in front of him.
One of Ye Yunfei's Soul Bodies had been continuously seated within the Mind-Refining Pagoda, tirelessly cultivating Mental Force energy and absorbing large amounts of Mental Force energy resources. Therefore, his Mental Force energy had improved significantly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!...
The bodies of those dozen-plus fire wolves directly exploded.
"So powerful!"
The red-clad woman was shocked by Ye Yunfei's bizarre, intangible fighting method. Previously, she thought Ye Yunfei's specialty was his physical strength, but now she realized that besides his terrifying physical power, Ye Yunfei seemed to possess an even more bizarre and terrifying martial art.
"This human's strength is truly too great. If I want to accomplish that matter, I'll probably need his help.
With his help, dealing with those fellows from the Source Fire Sect will be much easier."
While shocked by the sight of Ye Yunfei, without any visible action, causing another dozen-plus fire wolves to explode, the red-clad woman secretly thought to herself, seeming to glimpse some hope.
"Currently, my Mental Force energy allows me to easily defeat perfected Heavenly Immortals, but this is still far from enough. Because most of the enemies I will face next will likely be Demigod-level experts. So, I must continuously elevate my Mental Force energy, making it another trump card of mine."
While dealing with the surrounding pouncing fire wolves using Mental Force energy, Ye Yunfei secretly pondered.
"If I can refine all the Mental Force energy and laws within the Mind-Refining Pagoda into my own Mental Force energy, I estimate I could use it to handle early-stage Demigods."
Sitting within the Mind-Refining Pagoda, one of Ye Yunfei's Soul Bodies spoke after sensing the dense Mental Force energy and laws present in the pagoda's internal space.
Moments later, over a hundred charging fire wolves were all killed by Ye Yunfei using the Invisible Mind Sword. After each fire wolf was slain, a red Beast Core would drop. Ye Yunfei certainly didn't miss these, collecting them all and handing them over to the Vermilion Bird within the Nine Palaces Totem Wheel to refine and absorb.
Roar!...
Right after Ye Yunfei killed that group of fire wolves, angry roars sounded again. In the distance, even more fire wolves appeared, leaping through the air like massive fiery spheres charging from afar.
Besides these fire wolves, over a dozen fiery lions also emerged.
These fire lions had even larger builds and emitted even more powerful energy.
The dozen-plus fire lions leaped into the air, charging towards Ye Yunfei and the woman simultaneously. The space where Ye Yunfei and the red-clad girl stood was constantly being shattered and collapsing under the impacts.
"Be careful. These dozen-plus fire lions are extremely formidable. Their combat power far surpasses those fire wolves."
The red-clad woman immediately cautioned Ye Yunfei. However, Ye Yunfei didn't evade at all. Instead, he took a step forward to meet them, throwing a punch. His fist continuously enlarged, its terrifying physical strength causing the space ahead to disintegrate inch by inch.
Bang! Bang! Bang!...
Wherever Ye Yunfei's fist reached, those large-bodied fire lions resembled giant red watermelons being smashed, exploding mid-air, their flesh and blood scattering, along with pieces of red Beast Cores dropping down.
Ye Yunfei waved his sleeve, gathering all the Beast Cores and letting the Vermilion Bird absorb them.
"Not bad. The fire energy and fire laws contained within these fire lion Beast Cores are even richer."
Sensing the energy, Ye Yunfei nodded.
"This Fire Realm is a good cultivation ground for me."
Ye Yunfei thought to himself.
During this period, the Vermilion Bird had been constantly absorbing various fire energy and fire laws within this world, its strength continuously rising.
Outside, it would be difficult to find so many fire-attribute cultivation resources for the Vermilion Bird to absorb.
Ye Yunfei cultivated the Nine Palaces Totem Wheel; its Nine Divine Beasts each required different attribute energies. Therefore, for Ye Yunfei, most of the world's energies with various attributes could be used for cultivation.
Soon after, the surrounding fire lions and fire wolves were all slaughtered by Ye Yunfei. He obtained a large batch of Beast Cores.
"Where is the Fire Crystal mineral vein you mentioned?"
Ye Yunfei asked the red-clad woman.
"We need to go further in."
The red-clad woman pointed deeper into the mountainous forest.
"Then let's continue inward."
Ye Yunfei took the lead, heading deeper into the mountainous region ahead. Along the way, they encountered more fire wolves and fire lions, but they were all pulverized by Ye Yunfei's formidable physical strength.
"This guy is truly powerful. Last time I came here, I was besieged by these fire lions and had to retreat. But now, following him here, it's like entering unguarded territory."
Following behind Ye Yunfei, watching him punch fire wolf after fire lion, smashing them apart and bulldozing his way deep into the mountains, the red-clad woman couldn't help but secretly marvel.
"To think there exists such a monstrous young genius in the world!
I've always lived within this world, knowing too little about the outside. In the future, if I get the chance, I will definitely leave here and properly see the outside world!"
The red-clad woman thought further.
Not long after.
"Just ahead, several Fire Crystal mineral veins extend in different directions. We should quickly mine them, because even more fire beasts will soon come to besiege us!"
Suddenly pointing to a flat area in the mountains ahead, the red-clad woman spoke to Ye Yunfei.
"Good. We'll seize the time to mine now!"
Ye Yunfei nodded, releasing his Soul Power to sense the location she indicated. Indeed, he detected astonishing fire energy and fire laws underground, continuously steaming up, forming large amounts of red mist.
Once this red mist rose from the ground, it immediately ignited, so the flames in this area were much more intense than elsewhere.
Ye Yunfei's figure flashed as he soared into the air. He then unleashed his physical strength, punching towards the ground. His fist continuously enlarged, like a small mountain peak crashing down from mid-air.
Boom!...
A loud rumble erupted. The ground was instantly blasted open, dust billowed, and large ground fissures appeared.
"This guy is practically a Primeval Wild Bull!"
The red-clad woman secretly felt a chill.
"Let's get to work. Whoever mines them gets to keep them."
After splitting the ground, Ye Yunfei could already see pieces of red Fire Crystals exposed deep underground. Reaching out, he grabbed a large handful.
The red-clad woman also rushed over, unceremoniously jumping straight into the ground fissure and beginning to collect the red Fire Crystals.
Using his Soul Power to sense, Ye Yunfei identified key spots. Then, with several more successive punches, he created even more fissures in this patch of ground, revealing the red Fire Crystals deep underground.
"Master, I'll come out to help!"
Hu Miao appeared, darting into one of the ground fissures to start collecting Fire Crystals from the depths.
Ye Yunfei also descended underground, continuously gathering Fire Crystals.
Roar!...
Suddenly, a roar that sent chills through one's soul echoed from beneath the earth. Then, a vast expanse of ground directly exploded, sending soil and mud flying everywhere.
Next, an enormous python head emerged from the depths. This python was enormous; its head was as large as a tall mountain peak.
Lifting its head high above the ground, it gazed down at Ye Yunfei, the red-clad woman, and Hu Miao.
"Be careful. This thing is extremely formidable. It's guarding these Fire Crystal mineral veins!"
The red-clad woman immediately warned Ye Yunfei.
As soon as she finished speaking, the python's head abruptly opened its maw, spewing forth a vast amount of crimson magma.
Upon leaving the serpent's mouth and contacting the air, this magma instantly burst into fierce flames, radiating astonishing heat.
Streams of crimson magma sprayed towards Ye Yunfei and his two companions.
The three of them hurriedly employed movement techniques to evade.
"Master, this thing is too strong. Its energy aura is suffocating!"
Hu Miao cried out in alarm after sensing the energy emitted by the python.
"The strength of this Fire Python can instantly kill the vast majority of perfected Heavenly Immortals. Even if it's not on par with an early-stage Demigod, it's infinitely close!"
The red-clad woman called out to Ye Yunfei.
Roar!...
The python seemed to have discerned that among the three, Ye Yunfei was the strongest. Its eyes, resembling crimson lakes, fixed on Ye Yunfei. It let out a roar that seemed like a challenge.
Ye Yunfei responded with a cold smile. He then activated his body-tempering divine ability, causing his physique to continuously stretch and enlarge. In a blink, he transformed into a towering giant that seemed to hold up the sky.
Seeing the now-hulking Ye Yunfei, the python became furious. It leaped violently, its colossal serpentine body continuously surging up from the earth's depths.
The python was entirely red, coiled upon itself like a massive fireball, radiating astonishing fire energy from its whole being.
Boom! Boom!...
In the next moment, Ye Yunfei engaged the Fire Python in battle.
Ye Yunfei raised his mountain-like fists, throwing punch after punch at the Fire Python.
The Fire Python continuously spewed vast amounts of crimson, searing-hot magma that blotted out the sky. This magma not only possessed astonishing heat but also harbored terrifying corrosive capabilities. Once touched, the flesh would immediately rot.
Ye Yunfei retrieved several dozen formation flags, throwing them out in succession, instantly setting up several sophisticated isolation formations that sealed all the magma outside.
With his right hand throwing punches and his left hand executing the Myriad Swords Unite as One technique, Ye Yunfei slashed out thick blade after thick blade of sword radiance, continuously slicing onto the Fire Python's head, causing sparks to fly and eventually carving open numerous bloody gashes.
After fighting for a short while, Ye Yunfei punched the Fire Python's head, sending it flying backward.
"Excellent!"
Standing in the distance watching the fierce battle, the red-clad woman could see that Ye Yunfei had gained the upper hand and became very excited.
In fact, she already knew about this powerful Fire Python being here. Her reason for bringing Ye Yunfei here to mine the Fire Crystal mineral veins was precisely to get Ye Yunfei to deal with this formidable Fire Python. Now, seeing Ye Yunfei had the upper hand finally relieved her.
"Let the Nine Divine Beasts deal with this python!"
Ye Yunfei's mind stirred as he activated the Nine Palaces Totem Wheel. A huge, dazzlingly brilliant circular wheel rose from behind Ye Yunfei.
Standing within its nine squares, the Nine Divine Beasts simultaneously let out deafening roars, then joined forces to push the wheel, rolling and crashing towards the Fire Python.
Earlier, the Fire Python had been somewhat dazed from Ye Yunfei's blows. Seeing the wheel rushing towards it, it let out an angry roar and charged to meet it.
Suddenly, the Vermilion Bird within the massive wheel dashed out from its square. Its claws continuously enlarged as they snatched towards the Fire Python.
Simultaneously, the dazzlingly brilliant, enormous wheel rolled forward.
The Nine Divine Beasts now all possessed strength capable of battling perfected Heavenly Immortals. And with all nine divine beasts combining their power to push the wheel—it was the strongest combat form of the Nine Palaces Totem Wheel. In just a few moves, the Fire Python began to struggle, forced into constant retreat.
"Alright, let's continue."
Shooting a glance at the red-clad woman, Ye Yunfei then moved, darting into a wide ground fissure to continue collecting Fire Crystals from the depths.
From the red-clad woman's expression, Ye Yunfei could tell she had already known about this powerful Fire Python.
She had probably brought him here to mine these Fire Crystal mineral veins precisely to make use of him to deal with this Fire Python. However, Ye Yunfei had no intention of holding it against her.
Because, by bringing him here to mine these veins, this red-clad woman was essentially agreeing to split the Fire Crystals with him. So, putting in a bit of effort was only fair.
The red-clad woman also immediately rushed into the underground to start collecting Fire Crystals.
Moments later, Ye Yunfei's gaze suddenly shifted towards the red-clad woman's position, looking thoughtful.
Because Ye Yunfei noticed that at this moment, the red-clad woman was no longer mining or collecting Fire Crystals. Instead, she was charging deeper underground, seemingly searching for something.
"It seems her main goal in coming here isn't the Fire Crystals, but something else.
Good. Let's see exactly what treasure she's looking for."
Ye Yunfei secretly thought to himself.