As soon as the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm finished speaking, Ye Yunfei moved. In a single step, he advanced to the right and reached out, forcibly pulling someone out of the space from that direction.
This was a figure entirely swathed in gray robes, wearing a ferocious mask. This mask had the effect of isolating Soul Power perception, making it impossible to sense their true features.
"This is a Sun-Moon Tower assassin!"
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm shouted loudly again.
At this moment, Ye Yunfei’s hand was clenched around the assassin’s throat. Though the killer struggled desperately, Ye Yunfei’s physical strength was far too formidable. There was simply no chance for him to break free.
After struggling for a few breaths, a determined glint flashed in the gray-robed man’s eyes. Suddenly, the energy within his body swelled, releasing a berserk power carrying an aura of destruction.
"This guy is trying to self-destruct to injure his enemy! It’s said this is one of the Sun-Moon Tower’s secret arts to perish together with the foe. When facing inescapable mortal danger, a Sun-Moon Tower assassin will activate this art, causing their body to explode and release immense destructive energy, dying along with the enemy!"
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm immediately warned Ye Yunfei.
By now, Ye Yunfei had already employed the Soul Power Star Technique. Three Soul Power Stars simultaneously charged into the gray-robed man’s soul sea, launching a joint assault on his Soul Body.
Apart from the three Soul Power Stars, Ye Yunfei also unleashed a Soul Sword, which also stormed into the assassin’s soul sea to attack his Soul Body.
Not only was this gray-robed man’s physical body about to explode; his Soul Body was also on the verge of detonation.
However, the attacking power of Ye Yunfei’s three Soul Power Stars was exceedingly potent. Coupled with the Soul Sword, swarming together, they instantly suppressed the gray-robed man’s Soul Body, taking control of his consciousness. Then, almost in the same instant, they forcibly devoured his Soul Body.
This gray-robed man’s cultivation realm was only at the Advanced Heavenly Immortal stage. Because he cultivated various bizarre assassination secret arts of the Sun-Moon Tower, his combat power was far greater than that of an ordinary Advanced Heavenly Immortal. He could even easily carry out assassinations above his realm.
Unfortunately for him, he had encountered Ye Yunfei.
After his Soul Body was devoured, the violent energy aura within his body gradually calmed because his physical form had now come under Ye Yunfei’s control.
Having devoured the gray-robed man’s Soul Body, Ye Yunfei obtained his memories. He was indeed a Sun-Moon Tower assassin.
Through these memories, Ye Yunfei quickly pinpointed over twenty other Sun-Moon Tower assassins concealed in the surrounding space, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
Sun-Moon Tower assassins could locate each other.
From the gray-robed man’s memories, Ye Yunfei learned that the Eternal Fortune Merchant House and Myriad Methods Merchant House had previously pooled funds to hire Sun-Moon Tower assassins with the main objective of having these assassins help locate high-ranking members of the Golden Dragon Merchant House.
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm’s movement techniques were simply too elusive; experts from both Merchant Houses couldn't track its traces.
In fact, the Eternal Fortune and Myriad Methods Merchant Houses had now turned hostile toward each other. However, the forces of these two Merchant Houses here in the Southern Dipper World Cluster, as well as these Sun-Moon Tower assassins, were previously deployed and had not yet received orders to withdraw. They were still carrying out their original mission: to break into Golden Dragon City and annihilate this headquarters of the Golden Dragon Merchant House.
With a thought, Ye Yunfei began attacking the Sun-Moon Tower assassins hidden nearby using three secret arts: Mind Lock, Invisible Mind Sword, and Soul Sword.
From the earlier gray-robed man’s memories, Ye Yunfei had already precisely determined the exact locations of all Sun-Moon Tower assassins in the vicinity. These assassins all cultivated an extremely high-level stealth art that allowed them to perfectly conceal their bodies within space, making them very difficult to detect. Only someone whose realm and strength far surpassed these assassins might be able to find them.
“Ah! Ahhh!”
Screams continuously rang out as one bloody body after another tumbled out of the space surrounding Golden Dragon City.
Moments later, almost all of the over twenty Sun-Moon Tower assassins lying in ambush around Golden Dragon City had been slaughtered by Ye Yunfei.
“How is this possible? How could he know the exact locations of all our assassins and kill them so precisely?”
Within a certain pocket of space near Golden Dragon City, a gray-robed middle-aged man gnashed his teeth in fury and shock.
He had witnessed Ye Yunfei reaching out and plucking one assassin from the air, so he knew it was Ye Yunfei who killed the twenty-plus Sun-Moon Tower assassins.
“Bad!”
At that moment, he suddenly felt a dreadful killing intent rushing toward him.
“I’ve been discovered! I must leave immediately!”
The gray-robed middle-aged man felt a chill run through his entire body. Not daring to hesitate, he turned and fled.
But would Ye Yunfei let him escape? Taking a single step, Ye Yunfei’s speed was beyond belief. In an instant, he appeared behind the gray-robed middle-aged man and unleashed Mind Lock, Invisible Mind Sword, Soul Sword, and the Soul Power Star Technique simultaneously against him.
“Impossible! How did you find me?”
This gray-robed middle-aged man was an Intermediate Demigod. Moreover, thanks to practicing the assassin arts passed down by Sun-Moon Tower, he had unique strengths in concealment, speed, and movement. During missions, he was rarely detected by others. Even if an Advanced Demigod or Perfected Demigod came here, they would need to concentrate their senses and search carefully, spending considerable effort before possibly finding him. Yet, Ye Yunfei locked onto him in such a short time. He couldn’t believe it.
“Is it so hard to find you?” Ye Yunfei sneered, delivering a punch.
Over ten pieces of Perfected Demigod-level magical treasures materialized on his fist as terrifying physical power erupted like a violent torrent, instantly engulfing the space where the gray-robed middle-aged man was.
This gray-robed man excelled at assassination arts, focusing on hiding his tracks and launching surprise attacks without anyone noticing. Head-on confrontations like this were not his forte. Especially facing Ye Yunfei, he had no hope of resisting.
“I am from the Sun-Moon Tower! Dare to kill me, and the Sun-Moon Tower will never let you go!” The gray-robed middle-aged man shouted desperately, brandishing a long sword to meet Ye Yunfei’s advancing fist, though he had little confidence he could block the attack.
Ye Yunfei knew his current mastery of the Soul Power Star Technique was insufficient to devour the Soul Body of an Intermediate Demigod. He had no intention of keeping this one alive.
*Boom!*
Ye Yunfei’s fist swept forward, directly causing the gray-robed middle-aged man to explode into a bloody mist.
By this time, the Demigods under Ye Yunfei’s command had already led their forces into a fierce battle against the troops of the two Merchant Houses. With five Demigods on Ye Yunfei’s side, they held a significant advantage.
The highest-ranked experts within Golden Dragon Merchant House were only Perfected Heavenly Immortals. Thus, Eternal Fortune, Myriad Methods Merchant Houses, and Sun-Moon Tower—three factions—had each dispatched only one Demigod to spearhead the siege on Golden Dragon City. The Sun-Moon Tower Demigod had been annihilated by Ye Yunfei’s fist, leaving only the two Demigods from the Merchant Houses, who were struggling to hold the front.
The sole advantage of the two Merchant Houses lay in their greater numbers, allowing them to hold on—for the moment.
“I’ll join in too!”
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm transformed into a streak of golden light and plunged into the battlefield. With a *bang*, it collided with and pulverized the head of an Advanced Heavenly Immortal.
Its true combat power was actually equivalent to that of a Demigod. Killing a Heavenly Immortal was simply too easy.
“I’ll join as well.”
Hu Miao appeared beside Ye Yunfei, her graceful figure surrounded by layers of illusions.
Ye Yunfei had given her many Divine Crystals for cultivation recently, allowing her bloodline to break through once again.
Now, simply by standing still, intricate illusions spontaneously manifested in the space around her without conscious effort on her part. This realm was known as 'Autonomous Surge of Illusions'.
Hu Miao charged into the fray. Wherever she went, enemies were immediately pulled into surreal fantasy worlds. Some with insufficiently strong Soul Bodies froze on the spot, unable to move; others screamed, hugged their heads, cried, hopelessly trapped within the illusions.
Next, Huang Shang and the Vampire Race Doppelganger appeared, joining the fight.
As for Ye Yunfei, he simply stood to the side, overseeing the battle. If he noticed any lives on his side in danger, he’d intervene.
With a powerhouse like Ye Yunfei overseeing the field, the comparatively stronger experts from the Golden Dragon and Myriad Methods Merchant Houses fell in rapid succession.
Gan Changfeng and the other four Demigods relentlessly encircled the two Merchant House Demigods. In the end, the pair perished almost simultaneously.
Huang Shang roamed the battlefield, continuously devouring Soul Body fragments. The Vampire Race Doppelganger employed its blood-sucking technique, incessantly absorbing the essence of blood and lineage.
After a short while, the two Merchant Houses’ forces were completely overwhelmed and began to rout. The survivors lost all fighting spirit, turning to flee.
Gan Changfeng and the other four Demigods led their subordinates in pursuit.
"Chief! You’ve finally returned!"
Even before the battle concluded, forces stationed inside Golden Dragon City rushed out, paying respects to the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm.
Most of the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm’s main forces were originally from the Alliance Army. Only a smaller portion were later recruits.
“Young Master Ye is here as well! We pay our respects to Young Master Ye!”
Shortly after, the Alliance Army troops spotted Ye Yunfei standing at the battlefield’s edge. They rushed over, a mix of awe and joy on their faces, and bowed deeply.
In truth, everyone understood that Ye Yunfei was the true master of Golden Dragon Merchant House. The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm was simply appointed by Ye Yunfei to operate it. Now, with the actual mastermind in attendance, those of Golden Dragon Merchant House were profoundly moved.
“Young Master Ye, the vast majority of enemies have been annihilated. A small number escaped through sheer luck; I’ve dispatched men to continue pursuing them.” Gan Changfeng reported alongside the other Demigods before Ye Yunfei.
“No matter. Let’s first go into Golden Dragon City for a look.”
Ye Yunfei nodded, then led the way into Golden Dragon City.
The city’s scale was rather impressive, meticulously built by the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm with much effort. Its most distinctive feature was the omnipresent golden dragon motifs. The city walls, streets, and various structures within all bore carvings of golden dragons. Walking into the city, everywhere one looked were shining gold dragon sculptures, creating a lasting impression.
“So, what do you think? Not bad, right? This is the publicly announced headquarters of our Golden Dragon Merchant House. I purposefully made it grand and lavish so as not to embarrass our organization's reputation.”
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said proudly.
“It’s quite good.”
Ye Yunfei answered casually. He wasn't particularly concerned about such matters.
Ye Yunfei’s primary purpose in having the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm establish Golden Dragon Merchant House was to make money. Everything else was secondary.
“Well then, I shall further fortify this Golden Dragon City.”
After walking a lap through Golden Dragon City with the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, Ye Yunfei spoke.
He began by employing Land Surveying Art, setting up Earth Formations.
With Ye Yunfei’s current level in Land Surveying Art, arranging Earth Formations on land was exceedingly simple.
*Rumble…*
Ye Yunfei stomped his foot, resonating with terrestrial energy. From everywhere on the land, surging earth qi and numerous earth dragons galloped forth, ultimately converging beneath Golden Dragon City. This caused the city’s energy density to reach an extreme, transforming into thick immortal mist that soared skyward and enveloped the entire settlement.
Not long after, Ye Yunfei arranged over ten Earth Formations both inside and outside Golden Dragon City. Each formation transformed into either a forbidden zone or a perilous ground, manifesting all manner of bizarre phenomena that struck awe in observers.
He then proceeded to deploy Formations.
Within and around Golden Dragon City, Ye Yunfei established several hundred large arrays: bewildering arrays, defensive arrays, offensive arrays, isolating arrays—not only numerous but also of high grade.
“With these Earth Formations and Formations in place, even Advanced or Perfected Demigods wouldn’t be able to breach the city, right?” The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm eyed the Earth Formations and Formations Ye Yunfei had set up, exclaiming excitedly.
“It's hard to say for certain. If formation masters were to come, or Advanced or Perfected Demigods wielding potent magical treasures—for instance, God-Grade Treasure—they might still break through."
Ye Yunfei pondered before replying.
“From now on, Golden Dragon Merchant House should keep a low profile. Stir up less conflict and focus mainly on business. Seek profit, not provocation.”
Ye Yunfei considered, then addressed the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm.
His original intention in founding Golden Dragon Merchant House was simply to generate wealth. Everything else was insignificant.
“But currently, Myriad Methods Merchant House and Eternal Fortune Merchant House regard us as major enemies. These two Merchant Houses likely won’t easily back down. It’s hard for our Golden Dragon Merchant House to keep a low profile.”
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm complained.
“If these two Merchant Houses seek to annihilate us, naturally we won't stay quiet. When retaliation is needed, we won't hold back.”
Ye Yunfei said calmly.
“That’s more like it.”
Chuckled the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm.
“Alright. Now, let's go to another secret stronghold of Golden Dragon Merchant House here in the Southern Dipper World Cluster. That place is extremely well-concealed and not publicly known. I generally go there to retire and cultivate.”
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm announced.
“Good. We’ll rest there properly. And then… we’ll plunder every branch and outpost of Myriad Methods Merchant House and Eternal Fortune Merchant House clean!”
Ye Yunfei nodded gravely.