Given Ye Yunfei's current level of Soul Power energy, combined with employing the Soul Force Star Method, dealing with a Perfected Heavenly Immortal was effortless.
With a miserable shriek, the manager of this Branch Stronghold found his Soul Body devoured by two soul force stars.
Ye Yunfei then used these soul force stars to take control of the man's Soul Body and physical form, and accessed his memories.
"Steward Liu, what happened?"
The other high-ranking members of the Branch Stronghold present in the hall saw their leader suddenly wearing an agonized expression and heard his cry of pain. They were startled and hurriedly gathered around him.
"It's nothing, everyone," Steward Liu said calmly in a clear voice. He was already composed. "Let us welcome an honored guest together. The manager of the Spring Splendor Court has arrived."
In reality, every action and word from Steward Liu now was being meticulously controlled by Ye Yunfei.
"So Steward Tang is here."
Upon hearing this, the others all revealed meaningful smiles.
These individuals frequented the Spring Splendor Court for relaxation and were quite familiar with its manager, Steward Tang.
An old man walked in from outside the hall — precisely the elder who had previously been at the Spring Splendor Court.
"It is indeed Steward Tang."
Seeing the old man, the group warmly greeted him.
"It seems the soul force stars can indeed perfectly mimic the aura of a Soul Body they've devoured," Ye Yunfei thought, feeling quite satisfied that the high-ranking members of this Branch Stronghold detected no flaw.
Ye Yunfei and Zhu Kun then suddenly stepped out from behind Steward Tang.
"What is this?
He's a senior member of the Golden Dragon Merchant House?!"
When they saw Zhu Kun, everyone in the hall except for Steward Liu was shocked and changed their expressions.
As a senior member of the Golden Dragon Merchant House, Zhu Kun often traveled through this World Cluster handling various affairs for the merchant house, so these people from the Myriad Methods Merchant House knew him by sight.
A thought from Ye Yunfei, and the Power of Heart Mind Shackles was unleashed. Instantly, all the high-ranking members of this Branch Stronghold were suppressed, rendered immobile. With a wave of his hand, Ye Yunfei sealed them all and then teleported them into the Phantom Tower.
Next, Ye Yunfei cleaned out all valuables from this Branch Stronghold before finally leaving.
Up to this point, Ye Yunfei had obtained the memories of two Branch Stronghold managers from the Myriad Methods Merchant House, giving him a certain understanding of the organization.
The Myriad Methods Merchant House was a long-established trading house with Branch Strongholds in many World Clusters across the Chaotic Void Sea.
Furthermore, according to the memories of these two managers, the Myriad Methods Merchant House's upper echelons contained quite a few Demigods, including even Perfected Demigods.
"This appears to be a major power that has managed to keep a low profile," Ye Yunfei mused inwardly.
Any faction that possessed a Perfected Demigod should be quite famous in the Chaotic Void Sea, yet Ye Yunfei hadn't paid attention to this Myriad Methods Merchant House until now.
"Besides the obvious major powers like the Demon Race, Demon Capital, Dark Faction, and Heavenly God Hall on the surface in the Chaotic Void Sea, there should also be quite a few low-profile major factions like the Myriad Methods Merchant House," Hun Lao sent a telepathic message to Ye Yunfei. "Moreover, these low-key major powers are even more dangerous. Since few people usually notice them, they are extremely well-hidden."
By this time, Ye Yunfei had already left the Guheng World Cluster. He was now giving chase, following the direction indicated by the spatial markers left by the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm.
At the same time, the memories from the two Myriad Methods Merchant House Branch Stronghold managers also provided some clues. Particularly, the second manager had received a message from a certain elder of the Myriad Methods Merchant House. It stated that the merchant house had already discovered the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm's traces and was currently encircling and attempting to capture it.
The message from that elder contained the approximate direction and location where the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm was believed to be.
Following a variety of clues, Ye Yunfei continued his pursuit, moving in and out of one different World Cluster after another.
In these World Clusters, he also found many spatial markers left by the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm during his escape.
Within these World Clusters, Ye Yunfei discovered quite a few destroyed Branch Strongholds of the Golden Dragon Merchant House.
"It seems that when escaping, he tried to choose places he was familiar with," Hun Lao suddenly said to Ye Yunfei.
"Yes, several of the destroyed Golden Dragon Merchant House Branch Strongholds contained numerous formations," Ye Yunfei nodded. "He used those formations to delay and confuse his pursuers."
Additionally, in the World Clusters he passed through, Ye Yunfei also discovered Branch Strongholds belonging to the Myriad Methods Merchant House and the Eternal Fortune Merchant House.
Without the slightest mercy, Ye Yunfei directly acted, eliminating all these Branch Strongholds and sweeping away all their valuables.
Along the way, the total number of Myriad Methods Merchant House and Eternal Fortune Merchant House Branch Strongholds destroyed by Ye Yunfei added up to at least over fifteen.
The most powerful experts in these Branch Strongholds were only at the Perfected Heavenly Immortal level, something Ye Yunfei could effortlessly resolve with a single thought.
Not long after, the high-level members of both the Myriad Methods Merchant House and the Eternal Fortune Merchant House began to notice these destroyed Branch Strongholds.
"What is going on?
The head of the Golden Dragon Merchant House and his core high-level followers are currently being hunted by us, driven into hiding everywhere, and they are gradually falling into our encirclement.
They shouldn't have any strength to spare to attack our Branch Strongholds. So who could be doing this?
Does the Golden Dragon Merchant House have an even greater backer?
Is there a major power or influential figure supporting them from behind, seeking revenge now?"
The leaders of both merchant houses couldn't help but speculate.
"We are getting closer and closer to the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm!"
On this day, Ye Yunfei discovered another spatial marker left behind by the creature. Judging from its aura, it had been etched not too long ago, indicating the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm had passed through here recently.
Ye Yunfei then took out five or six messaging jade slips and sensed the information received within them.
These jade slips belonged to various Branch Stronghold managers of the Myriad Methods Merchant House or the Eternal Fortune Merchant House.
The Soul Bodies of these five or six managers had been devoured by Ye Yunfei using the Soul Force Star Method. After gaining their memories and controlling their bodies, Ye Yunfei continuously sent and received information through them, obtaining many useful leads.
"Indeed, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm should be in the World Cluster ahead!"
Ye Yunfei's gaze turned forward, focusing on a relatively large World Cluster named the Jinhua World Cluster.
"It seems he's okay," Ye Yunfei said with a smile, feeling a significant relief.
Having followed Ye Yunfei for so long, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, Hu Miao, Huang Shang, and Hun Lao were all extremely important to him. Losing any one of them would be hard to accept.
"The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm tribe is innately skilled in all sorts of strange spatial secret arts," Hun Lao said, chuckling. "They can freely traverse various spaces, making it difficult for even Demigods to successfully encircle and kill one. So he won't meet trouble easily."
Soon, Ye Yunfei arrived in front of the Jinhua World Cluster.
"This World Cluster has Demigod experts within it, and quite a few of them at that," Hun Lao said to Ye Yunfei. "I can sense their auras."
"Look, there's a spatial marker left by the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm over there!" Hun Lao exclaimed, pointing. "That guy is truly daring. With so many Demigods here, he still dares to leave his markers!"
Ye Yunfei's figure flickered as he arrived before that spatial marker.
"This marker was indeed left by the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm," Ye Yunfei confirmed after sensing it.
At that very moment, the spatial marker suddenly flickered, and a Sound Transmission sounded within Ye Yunfei's soul sea.
"I knew you would come! This marker will actively send a transmission as soon as it senses your aura.
It was my carelessness this time. The Myriad Methods Merchant House deliberately lured me, promising cooperation, and tricked me into going to the Guheng World Cluster, where they ambushed me. Thankfully, I was clever enough to break through their encirclement and escape in time.
However, both the Myriad Methods Merchant House and the Eternal Fortune Merchant House have sent experts and even hired assassins, relentlessly pursuing me all the way, forcing me to hide and dodge constantly.
Finally, I found out the location of the Myriad Methods Merchant House's ancestral graves. Enraged, I came straight to this Jinhua World Cluster, planning to dig up their ancestor's grave. If you arrive in time, join me. That ancestor was likely a deity, surely leaving plenty of good stuff behind."
The transmission sent by the spatial marker continuously resonated within Ye Yunfei's soul sea.
"No way!
This guy actually came here to dig up the ancestral grave of the Myriad Methods Merchant House?
And it might belong to a deity!" Ye Yunfei was startled upon receiving the message.
"Master, that Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm is too unreliable!" Hu Miao cried out after Ye Yunfei told them about the transmission. "Let's just leave! Forget about his fate. How dare he dig up a deity's grave? Isn't that courting death? And he even wants to drag us into it!"
After Ye Yunfei relayed the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm's message to Hu Miao, Hun Lao, and Huang Shang, Hu Miao was the first to react loudly.
"A deity's grave isn't something one can simply dig up," Hun Lao sighed helplessly. "The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm truly has audacity reaching the heavens!"
"Let's go in and take a look," Ye Yunfei said after some thought.
Even knowing full well what the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm intended to do, Ye Yunfei felt compelled to go find him, fearing he might encounter disaster.
Ye Yunfei used a secret technique to alter both his appearance and Soul Body aura, transforming into an inconspicuous-looking young man with an unfamiliar face. He then made his way towards the entrance of the Jinhua World Cluster.
The Jinhua World Cluster was extremely lively, filled with people coming and going.
Just after entering, Ye Yunfei was stopped for questioning by a patrol team. However, the secret technique he used was extremely advanced. Unless meticulously observed, even an average lifeform, a Perfected Heavenly Immortal, or even a Demigod would have difficulty recognizing his true identity.
After passing the inspection, Ye Yunfei moved through the Jinhua World Cluster, searching for any further marks left by the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, knowing his friend would likely have left more to guide him.
"How strange, why are there so many Demigod experts actively moving around openly in this World Cluster? The situation seems abnormal.
Could all these Demigods be here to hunt the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm?"
Very soon, Ye Yunfei noticed numerous Demigods openly moving about within this World Cluster, many wandering around, with more arriving from outside.
Typically, even if Demigods existed within a World Cluster, they rarely revealed themselves casually or wandered about openly.
After all, Demigods were among the top-tier experts in the Chaotic Void Sea. For ordinary people, meeting one was extremely difficult; some even went their entire lives without ever seeing a Demigod.
But here in the Jinhua World Cluster, many Demigods were actively circulating.
Ye Yunfei even spotted several Advanced Demigods.
"Something must definitely be happening here," Ye Yunfei conveyed to Hun Lao. "If these Demigods were pursuing the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, they wouldn't be so conspicuously active."
"Forget it, we're here for the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm. Let's find him quickly first and worry about other matters later," Hun Lao replied.
"Agreed, first we find the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm," Ye Yunfei nodded.
Not long after, both Ye Yunfei and Hun Lao simultaneously sensed a trace of aura left by the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm. Following the trail, they finally located another spatial marker.
"I've finally discovered clues about the ancestral grave of the Myriad Methods Merchant House and have approximately locked its location, which lies within this World Cluster.
If you're coming to find me, hurry and meet up."
A concealed Sound Transmission hidden within the spatial marker resonated within Ye Yunfei's soul sea.
Subsequently, guided by this marker, Ye Yunfei entered a relatively large world.
Ye Yunfei noticed that both the energy and laws within this world were of a high level, indicating its overall strength was relatively robust.
"I can sense the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm's aura! Over there!"
Shortly after entering this world, Hun Lao softly exclaimed.
Whoosh!
Ye Yunfei sensed it simultaneously. His figure flickered as he swiftly dashed in that direction. The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm's aura grew increasingly distinct!
"Halt!"
Suddenly, a stern shout echoed from ahead.
Ye Yunfei swept his Soul Power energy forward and immediately found five Heavenly Immortals blocking the path ahead. Among them was one Perfected Heavenly Immortal and four Advanced Heavenly Immortals.
These five Heavenly Immortals had been concealed within space, only revealing themselves upon detecting someone's approach.
"Three are from the Myriad Methods Merchant House!" Ye Yunfei's expression darkened.
Up to now, having devoured the Soul Bodies of several Myriad Methods Merchant House Branch Stronghold managers using his soul force stars and obtained their memories, Ye Yunfei recognized three among the five Heavenly Immortals as members of the merchant house.
"It seems these five Heavenly Immortals are here to encircle and capture the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm," Ye Yunfei deduced silently.
In the next instant, with a wave of his hand, Ye Yunfei teleported a member of the Demon Race out from the Phantom Tower while simultaneously withdrawing inside himself, concealing his aura.
This Demon Race member was one whose Soul Body Ye Yunfei had devoured during the recent large-scale battle outside the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds using the Soul Force Star Method.
Whenever necessary, Ye Yunfei could utilize the soul force stars controlling this demonic entity to carry out actions under its guise. This was one of the many functions of the Soul Force Star Method: after devouring a target's Soul Body, it could perfectly mimic the target's Soul Body aura, thus controlling the target's physical form to act, performing various tasks while assuming the target's identity.
Not even the closest relatives of the target, nor even Perfected Demigods, could uncover this deception!
"So it's a member of the Demon Race!"
The five Heavenly Immortals ahead instantly closed the distance using movement techniques. Seeing a demon here, they were momentarily stunned.
"That's strange. It was clearly a young human a moment ago. How did it turn into a Demon Race member in the blink of an eye?"
Confusion arose in their hearts as they exchanged Sound Transmissions.
"Perhaps the demon has used a transformation technique. Just let him go," one of the Myriad Methods Merchant House Heavenly Immortals transmitted to the other four. "The Demon Capital isn't easy to provoke. Avoid conflict if possible."