"Young Master Ye, your perception is truly astounding! That's right, we all sustained rather severe injuries in a great battle years ago. That's why our cultivation realms have fallen, and our current strength is far from what it once was."
Upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words, The Farmer and the other villagers were somewhat surprised. They had hidden their injuries fairly well, never expecting Ye Yunfei to see through it.
'Mister Liu and his followers must have experienced something back then, which is why they came to live in seclusion within the Tianpo Realm of the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds,' Ye Yunfei thought to himself. However, he didn't press for details. After all, that was their personal secret. Unless they volunteered the information, it would be impolite for an outsider to pry.
Not long after, Ye Yunfei, along with The Farmer and the others, arrived outside the entrance to the Netherworld Palace.
Within the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, the Netherworld was considered a world of considerable scale, brimming with vast amounts of ghost energy and ghostly laws, making it a highly unique realm.
"As expected, a highly sophisticated large-scale Ghost Formation has been set up here," Ye Yunfei said solemnly after carefully examining the entrance to the Netherworld and sensing the energy for a moment.
"Old Huang, what do you think?" Ye Yunfei asked Huang Shang.
Huang Shang was a ghost cultivator. The energy, laws, cultivation techniques, and martial skills he practiced were, in fact, quite similar to the legacies from the Great Netherworld. There were even legends suggesting that ghost cultivation techniques shared the same lineage as the inheritances from the Great Netherworld.
"This large Ghost Formation is indeed extremely sophisticated. However, your skill in Formations is so high that you shouldn't need to fear it. Let's join forces and break it," Huang Shang, appearing beside Ye Yunfei, said after sensing it.
Huang Shang spent most of his time in secluded cultivation within the Phantom Tower. Thanks to the Phantom Tower's special time laws, which provided ample time, and the fact that whenever Ye Yunfei slew powerful opponents, Huang Shang would emerge to absorb their Soul Body energy, his strength had progressed rapidly. He was now approaching the level of a Initial Demigod.
"Very well, Old Huang. Let the two of us work together to break this Ghost Formation," Ye Yunfei nodded.
Although Ye Yunfei was proficient in Formations, he had relatively little prior experience with Ghost Formations. These so-called Ghost Formations were formations arranged using ghost-path energy and laws. However, Ye Yunfei believed the fundamental principles behind all Formations in the world were essentially interconnected.
For the following period, Ye Yunfei stood before the Netherworld's entrance, using his knowledge of Formations to study the Ghost Formation ahead. Huang Shang stood beside him, answering any questions Ye Yunfei had regarding ghost-path energy and laws. Before long...
"Ye Yunfei, so it's you who has returned. The Netherworld has belonged to our Great Netherworld since ancient times. Leave," five Heavenly Immortals emerged from the Netherworld, each exuding a sinister aura of ghostly energy. One of them spoke in an icy voice.
"This place is part of the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds. What does it have to do with your Great Netherworld? When did it become your territory? Get out immediately, or don't blame me for being impolite," Ye Yunfei replied indifferently.
Ye Yunfei had already killed people from the Great Netherworld before and was thus already at odds with them. He had nothing to hold back.
"All Netherworlds across existence belong to our Great Netherworld, no matter which world cluster they reside in. This is common knowledge," one of the five Heavenly Immortals from the Netherworld retorted angrily upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words.
"Spare me your bullshit common knowledge. Get out now, or you will all die!" Ye Yunfei's voice was icy cold, brimming with murderous intent.
"Ye Yunfei, you are too arrogant. Antagonizing our Great Netherworld will not benefit you," the five Heavenly Immortals from the Great Netherworld grew even more furious.
"Hahaha... Of the so-called major powers, I have already offended at least five or six, if not ten. Spouting such things to me is useless. You now have only two paths before you: first, get the hell out of the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds; second, wait for death," Ye Yunfei laughed heartily.
"Arrogant!"
"Seeking death!"
...
The five Heavenly Immortals from the Great Netherworld berated Ye Yunfei angrily, their fury reaching its peak.
"Let's attack together and kill this insolent brat!" One Heavenly Immortal couldn't hold back and wanted to charge at Ye Yunfei.
"This Ye brat's strength is strange. We'd better be careful," another, more cautious Heavenly Immortal from the Great Netherworld transmitted a message to the other four.
"What is there to fear? We are all Perfected Heavenly Immortals. Are we afraid of a junior?" another Heavenly Immortal interjected.
"Wait. There's a legend that two Demigods from the Demon Capital perished because of this brat. We'd still better be cautious. How about this: we go back and fetch the treasure bestowed upon us by the Eighth Temple Yanwang, then come out to deal with him," the more prudent among the five Great Netherworld Heavenly Immortals suggested.
"Very well, we'll go fetch the treasure granted by the Eighth Temple Yanwang." Finally, the five reached a consensus, turned, and left, disappearing back through the Netherworld entrance. As they remained within the protective range of the Ghost Formation, Ye Yunfei did not attack them.
"This Ghost Formation truly is an extremely sophisticated large-scale formation," Huang Shang marveled.
"Of course. A formation that requires the two of us to combine forces to break it wouldn't be simple," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"However, I've already gained some insight. We should be able to enter the Netherworld soon," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
Roughly half an hour later, a cold smile suddenly appeared on Ye Yunfei's face.
"Alright, we can enter now," he said, taking the lead as he walked towards the Netherworld entrance.
"Master, you're incredible! You devised a way to break the array so quickly!"
"I didn't intend to break it. I've just grasped its operating principles and can come and go freely. Let's leave this Ghost Formation here for now. After we kill everyone from the Great Netherworld, this place will be our territory again. Having an extra formation here poses no harm," Ye Yunfei explained.
Soon, Ye Yunfei arrived before the Netherworld entrance. With a wave of his hand, he tossed out a handful of formation flags.
Boom!
Vast, majestic formation energy immediately began to seethe. To everyone's astonishment, a gap opened in the Ghost Formation sealing the Netherworld entrance. Ye Yunfei stepped through the gap.
"I never imagined Young Master Ye's skill in Formations was this high. He broke through this Ghost Formation in just a short while," The Farmer remarked, somewhat surprised.
The Farmer and the other villagers followed Ye Yunfei into the Netherworld.
The next moment, Ye Yunfei, The Farmer, and the villagers appeared within the Netherworld. Looking around, thick, churning ghost fog was everywhere. Vaguely, one could see numerous vengeful spirits and ferocious ghosts wailing.
"Not good! The enemy has broken in! Report to the five masters immediately!" A squad of Great Netherworld troops on patrol paled with shock upon seeing Ye Yunfei and his group.
A cold glint flashed in Ye Yunfei's eyes as he unleashed Mind Force Shackles. The entire squad of Great Netherworld soldiers immediately collapsed, their bodies exploding one after another, shattered to dust that scattered with the wind.
During this period, the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds had been thrown into chaos by these foreign invaders, filled with havoc. Ye Yunfei held no goodwill towards these forces from the major powers and killed without hesitation upon meeting them.
"Those five fellows are over there," Ye Yunfei's gaze swept towards a direction where he sensed the five Great Netherworld Heavenly Immortals from earlier. He also released his Soul Power energy, searching for traces of the Seventh Holy Son.
Ye Yunfei, The Farmer, and the villagers proceeded through the Netherworld. Whenever they encountered Great Netherworld forces, Ye Yunfei showed no mercy, attacking and killing directly.
The ordinary Great Netherworld troops were utterly weak in Ye Yunfei's eyes. With a casual slap, punch, or by unleashing his Formless Heart Sword and Mind Force Shackles, he effortlessly slaughtered every group they met. If faced with a larger group, he would unleash his physical power—a sweeping palm strike, his hand enlarging continuously—slaying a huge number with a single blow.
It was truly a case of deity slaying gods, Buddha halting Buddhas—unstoppable and invincible!
The Farmer and the villagers trailing behind him couldn't help but marvel inwardly as they watched Ye Yunfei dispatch groups of Great Netherworld forces with such ease.
"Now I finally understand why Mister Liu holds him in such high regard. To be this monstrous at such a young age… once he truly matures in the future, he is sure to become a top-tier figure within the Chaotic Void Sea!" one villager transmitted to the others in admiration.
"Hahaha… Mister Liu's skill at judging people naturally far surpasses ours! Back when he allowed Young Master Ye into our mountain village, I already knew this young man was destined for greatness!" The Farmer couldn't help but laugh heartily.
Of course, The Farmer and the villagers communicated via transmission, so Ye Yunfei was unaware of their exchange.
'The Seventh Holy Son isn't within the main Netherworld. He might have already been killed. There's also the possibility he is imprisoned in the Underworld.'
After traveling within the Netherworld for a while without sensing the Seventh Holy Son's aura, Ye Yunfei pondered.
"Let's deal with everything else later. Finding the Seventh Holy Son comes first."
After a moment's thought, Ye Yunfei didn't immediately go to cause trouble for the five Great Netherworld Heavenly Immortals. Instead, he turned and headed towards the direction of the Underworld.
The Underworld was also a realm, tightly connected to the Netherworld—essentially a Small World within it, albeit an extremely large one.
Soon, Ye Yunfei arrived at the entrance to the Underworld. A large group of Great Netherworld troops were guarding it.
"This is a heavily restricted area of the Great Netherworld. Anyone without permission…"
Seeing Ye Yunfei arrive, the Great Netherworld troops were startled. A Perfected Golden Immortal stepped forward, gritting his teeth, and spoke in a stern tone, though his gaze towards Ye Yunfei was filled with trepidation. Behind him stood several dozen other Great Netherworld Golden Immortals, all on high alert.
Word had already spread throughout the Netherworld about Ye Yunfei slaughtering many Great Netherworld troops. Everyone knew a terrifying god of slaughter had invaded from the outside.
Before the Perfected Golden Immortal could finish his sentence, Ye Yunfei launched a Formless Heart Sword attack.
"Don't damage his Soul Body. I'm currently at a critical stage of a realm breakthrough and require a large amount of Soul Body energy for replenishment," Huang Shang immediately told Ye Yunfei.
"Alright, I'll leave his Soul Body intact for you," Ye Yunfei replied.
At that moment, the Great Netherworld Perfected Golden Immortal screamed, his body sent flying backward. His Soul Body was injured, and his physical body was riddled with holes from the Formless Heart Sword.
"You belong to me now."
A sinister, ghostly laugh rang out. Huang Shang's gleaming dark ghostly form appeared beside the injured immortal. Releasing a thick cloud of ghostly fog, he enveloped the Perfected Golden Immortal, then pulled his Soul Body out from the shattered flesh and directly devoured it.
"You are a ghost cultivator!"
The other Great Netherworld Golden Immortals nearby were horrified, knowing all too well that Soul Bodies were precious cultivation resources for ghost cultivators. Once targeted by a ghost cultivator, the Soul Body would be devoured.
Ye Yunfei then proceeded to use the Formless Heart Sword to attack the other Great Netherworld Golden Immortals. Screams echoed continuously as Golden Immortal after Golden Immortal was grievously wounded, only to have their Soul Bodies devoured by Huang Shang.
"We must report this to the five masters immediately!"
The remaining Great Netherworld troops, souls fleeing in terror, turned and fled in disarray.
"All of you shall die!"
Ye Yunfei erupted with might, roaring loudly. He unleashed a palm strike, his hand expanding like a dark cloud blotting out the sky.
With a muffled bang, every single Great Netherworld soldier guarding the Underworld entrance was crushed by Ye Yunfei's palm, scattering into nothingness with the wind.
Ye Yunfei's current physical strength could already allow him to face Demigod experts head-on. Using it to deal with these weak Great Netherworld forces was truly like using a greatsword to kill a chicken.
After slaughtering all the Great Netherworld forces guarding the Underworld entrance, Ye Yunfei discovered it was also sealed by a Ghost Formation. However, this array's level was much lower. In mere moments, Ye Yunfei deciphered it and stepped into the Underworld.
At the same time, deep within the main Netherworld…
Boom!
A vast surge of ghost-path energy shot skyward.
"We've finally activated the Eighth Temple Yanwang's treasure! The Eighth Temple Yanwang is a Perfected Demigod! His treasure is bound to possess boundless power, more than enough to deal with that Ye brat!"
The five Great Netherworld Heavenly Immortals stood gathered around a fist-sized, pitch-black infant statue covered in dense ghostly energy. Its features were hideous, its eyes a bloody red, presenting a profoundly eerie sight. Now, this black infant statue seemed to have come to life, its pair of crimson eyeballs rolling in their sockets.
"We beseech the Eighth Temple Yanwang to slay that Ye brat!"
The five Great Netherworld Heavenly Immortals bowed reverently towards the black infant statue.
"Lead the way."
A voice, ancient and hoarse, emanated from within the black statue.
The five Great Netherworld Heavenly Immortals hurriedly complied. They had just received word that Ye Yunfei had infiltrated the Underworld.
"He must be trying to rescue that Seventh Holy Son of the Flying Sky Yin Monkey! After all, he was the one who personally installed that Seventh Holy Son back then!" one of them said angrily.
"With the Eighth Temple Yanwang taking action, that Ye brat is as good as dead! He won't last much longer!" another sneered coldly.
As it turned out, that pitch-black infant statue housed a sealed fragment of the Eighth Temple Yanwang of the Great Netherworld!
Before long, the five Heavenly Immortals entered the Underworld, bringing the black infant statue with them.
By then, Ye Yunfei had already arrived before a black prison platform in a dungeon of the Underworld. The platform was sealed by numerous ghostly restrictions. Bound to a black pillar upon it was a Flying Sky Yin Monkey—none other than the Seventh Holy Son.
"Master, I knew you would come back to save me one day!"
The moment Ye Yunfei arrived before the prison platform, the Seventh Holy Son bound to the black pillar opened his eyes, his face brimming with joy, and spoke in an extremely weak voice.