"I don't know why, but I always feel there's a faint, wisp-like, yet very familiar aura clinging to you. And this aura doesn't belong to you."
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm spoke up.
Some time ago, after its bloodline had upgraded, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm had not only awakened its racial inheritance but also greatly improved its spatial ability and perception.
Furthermore, the spatial talents of the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm species differed from those of the Chaos World Tree. The Dragon Silkworm's spatial talent manifested more in penetration, perception, and capture. It was said that if this species cultivated to its peak state, it could freely traverse the vast majority of spaces in the world and could acutely capture every last aura in existence, making it a first-rate expert in both treasure-seeking and tracking.
While skilled at traversing space before, as its realm and strength increased, the Dragon Silkworm's innate talents in perception and spatial detection began to gradually reveal themselves.
"A faint, wisp-like familiar aura?"
Upon hearing the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm's words, Ye Yunfei couldn't help but stir inwardly.
"You take charge of the Phantom Tower's travel. I'll investigate to find out what's going on," Ye Yunfei said after some thought.
Ye Yunfei knew that, given the Dragon Silkworm's current spatial talent, letting it carry the Phantom Tower wouldn't be slower than if he did it himself, and it might even be faster.
Thus, Ye Yunfei handed the Phantom Tower and the Space Teleportation Token over to the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, letting it travel with the tower. Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei himself entered the Phantom Tower, sat down cross-legged, and began a detailed inspection of his own body from top to bottom, from the inside out, utilizing his Soul Force Energy and Mental Force energy.
"Let me also help you perceive," Hun Lao appeared by Ye Yunfei's side, releasing his Soul Power to assist in the detection.
If it were anyone else, Ye Yunfei naturally wouldn't allow such close-range perception of his body. But Hun Lao was different. To Ye Yunfei, Hun Lao was something of both a friend and a teacher, and they were far too familiar.
Sitting cross-legged within the Phantom Tower, Ye Yunfei inspected his body while simultaneously absorbing the Black Iron Blocks he had obtained earlier.
These Black Iron Blocks contained high-quality Soul Force Energy as well as extremely profound Soul Laws. Absorbing the energy within and comprehending the laws allowed the quality of Ye Yunfei's Soul Body and the level of his Soul Power to rise rapidly.
It could be said that these Black Iron Blocks were the most effective soul-type energy crystals Ye Yunfei had encountered so far.
At the same time, one of Ye Yunfei's souls was constantly sitting inside the Heart-Refining Tower, absorbing the Mental Force energy there while using the tower to refine its own Mental Force energy.
And so, Ye Yunfei repeatedly inspected his own body using Soul Force Energy and Mental Force energy.
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, meanwhile, carried the Phantom Tower as it sped onward through the Chaotic Void Sea.
Ye Yunfei had originally intended to return to the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds. But now, suspecting he carried an extraneous aura meant he might still be tracked. In this situation, immediately returning wasn't advisable, as it could expose his identity and potentially bring a powerful foe to the Three Thousand Worlds, posing a threat.
"That's right. What about those four wooden stakes? Give them to me. Let's see if I can refine and absorb them," Hun Lao said to Ye Yunfei.
"Alright."
Ye Yunfei waved his hand, taking out four wooden stakes and sending them to float before Hun Lao.
The golden-haired man had unleashed a total of ten stakes. Ye Yunfei had managed to snatch four.
Hun Lao immediately extended his root tendrils, wrapping up the four stakes, then began to refine them using his racial absorption technique.
"These four stakes must have originally come from some type of Divine Tree! Even though they're just branches chopped from the tree, they contain extremely high-grade wood-attributed energy! With these four stakes, I might be able to achieve a breakthrough!" Hun Lao soon exclaimed excitedly.
"Such a pity we only got four. If we had snatched all ten, the benefits for you would probably be even greater," Ye Yunfei said with some regret.
"Forget it. That fellow is very strong. Being able to seize four from him is already quite good," Hun Lao replied.
Meanwhile, far behind, a faint, wisp-like golden light streaked rapidly through the Chaotic Void Sea.
"Kid, you won't get away. You stole my treasure, and I will get it back. Furthermore, everything on you belongs to me."
The golden-haired man spoke to himself while advancing quickly.
However, this golden-haired man had now reverted to his ordinary appearance from before, lacking the characteristic mane of golden hair.
"That's right. That kid's physical body quality and power are quite impressive. His vessel is much better than the one I'm occupying now. Should I consider abandoning my current body and performing a new possession?"
A hesitant expression appeared on the golden-haired man's face.
"I've refined this body over several years; it's actually quite decent now. Simply discarding it feels wasteful. Alright, first, I'll get that kid's body, then compare properly. If his body truly has limitless potential, I'll decisively abandon this one and take possession of his. If his body isn't as good as imagined, I'll just forget it."
After some contemplation, he spoke to himself again.
Ye Yunfei had no inkling that his physical body had already caught the fancy of that golden-haired man.
Inside the Phantom Tower, about a month later, Ye Yunfei suddenly changed expression. He had managed to capture an extremely weak, thread-like aura on his person.
This thread of aura was active and could actively evade perception by Soul Power! It was precisely because it kept dodging Soul Power that Ye Yunfei had been unable to detect it for so long. Only under the perception of Mental Force energy had he finally managed to capture its presence.
"It really is that fellow's trickery!" Ye Yunfei immediately recognized the owner of this aura—it was the golden-haired man from not long ago.
"That fellow must be an ancient person, likely sealed away through some secret method back then and awakened in this era. He's a bit dangerous. We'll have to guard against him in the future," Hun Lao remarked.
"It's only because my strength isn't sufficient. If I were strong enough and met that fellow again, I'd definitely teach him a lesson," Ye Yunfei said.
"That's also true. With enough strength, all taboos vanish," Hun Lao nodded.
After discovering the weak aura, Ye Yunfei began to attack it.
The aura's greatest characteristic was its ability to actively evade Soul Power detection. It wasn't very strong in itself, so once discovered, it was easily dealt with.
After just a short while, Ye Yunfei successfully eradicated this weak aura.
"Good. Now we can shake off that guy's tracking," Ye Yunfei sighed in relief.
"However, just to be safe, you should thoroughly inspect your own body again. What if that guy left more than just one strand of aura on you?" Hun Lao suggested to Ye Yunfei.
"Fine, I'll do another full inspection," Ye Yunfei nodded.
And so, in the time that followed, Ye Yunfei once again used Soul Force Energy and Mental Force energy to inspect his own body.
At this moment, far behind in the Chaotic Void, the golden-haired man suddenly stopped, his expression turning extremely unpleasant.
"Damnit! My tracking secret technique was discovered and broken by that kid! Just you wait, I'll find you again sooner or later. This Xu Tianjian's treasures aren't so easily snatched!"
The golden-haired man spoke angrily.