"Now that we've discovered their scheme, we should just take a detour. There's no need to walk into this trap," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said.
"No, we don't need to take a detour. We should still walk into this trap, but let's wait a bit first," Ye Yunfei replied after some thought.
"What? We're going to walk into the trap? Why? Isn't that just volunteering to be trapped?" the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm asked, confused.
"Because that guy is there. We need to find him and seize the things on him," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
"So that's how it is. But they have strength in numbers. When we fight, we might not be able to defeat them. Especially that woman named Immortal Maiden Qingxia. I always feel she's unfathomably deep. In the previous fight, it seemed she didn't give it her all," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said.
"That Immortal Maiden Qingxia is indeed a bit mysterious. But she's not our target. We can just ignore her," Ye Yunfei said.
"I'll enter the Phantom Tower now to cultivate for a period of time. You carry the Phantom Tower and hide within a secluded spot in the space nearby. When I leave seclusion, we'll make our move," Ye Yunfei said again.
"Alright then," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm replied helplessly.
Ye Yunfei then entered the Phantom Tower and instructed the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm to take it to a remote location nearby, slipping into the space.
Inside the Phantom Tower, Ye Yunfei took out a red treasure box.
"I estimate that half the reason the Celestial Flame Divine Bird agreed to gift me this Tianyan Divine Pearl was because of Jian Shenzi. But since I've cultivated the sword technique inheritance of Jian Shenzi, I am indeed his successor. Never thought I'd just pick up a benefactor master like that," Ye Yunfei mused to himself.
Then Ye Yunfei opened the red treasure box. Instantly, a vast amount of brilliant and eye-catching crimson divine radiance erupted from the box, dyeing the surrounding space red.
Ye Yunfei's gaze fell upon the contents of the box. He saw a crimson inner dan.
This crimson inner dan emitted a dazzling divine glow. Inside the dan, it seemed like a majestic and divine bird was spreading its wings to soar through space and time. Boundless, terrifying energy continuously emanated from this divine bird's body.
Ye Yunfei knew the divine bird inside this crimson inner dan was merely a phantom image. But facing the energetic pressure released by that divine bird, he couldn't suppress a feeling of worship and awe that arose in his heart.
"Is this the Celestial Flame Divine Bird? Truly formidable!" Ye Yunfei couldn't help but exclaim.
"With this Tianyan Divine Pearl, I can start cultivating the third layer of the Nine-Yang Ancient Scripture." Ye Yunfei slowly took a deep breath and then began cultivating the Nine-Yang Ancient Scripture. The eight Chaotic God Veins within his body manifested simultaneously. Mighty Immortal energy surged and roared like a great river through these eight Chaotic God Veins.
In the following period, Ye Yunfei remained in seclusion, cultivating the Nine-Yang Ancient Scripture.
Until one year later.
Ye Yunfei suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the Tianyan Divine Pearl that had been hovering before him.
"Fuse!" Ye Yunfei uttered in a low voice.
With a booming rumble, the Tianyan Divine Pearl, drawn by the aura of the Nine-Yang Ancient Scripture within Ye Yunfei's body, trembled violently once and was then pulled by a powerful attractive force. It directly charged into Ye Yunfei's body and finally settled at his dantian.
Next, Ye Yunfei began fusing this Tianyan Divine Pearl into the third layer of the Nine-Yang Ancient Scripture. But this couldn't be rushed; it required a certain amount of time.
Unknowingly, Ye Yunfei cultivated inside the Phantom Tower for another year.
One day, a year later, Ye Yunfei suddenly opened his eyes, his expression somewhat excited.
"I've finally fused the Tianyan Divine Pearl into the third layer of the Nine-Yang Ancient Scripture. Now I can manifest the third layer's phenomenon: 'Three Rams Herald Prosperity'."
As Ye Yunfei's words fell, three massive golden spheres of light simultaneously emerged from his dantian, then shot upwards, hovering above his head.
Each enormous golden sphere of light radiated endless golden divine radiance. Terrifying yang-attribute energy auras centered on these three golden spheres swept out, transforming into a golden ocean of energy. The churning, billowing energy continuously shook and distorted the surrounding space.
"I've finally cultivated the Nine-Yang Ancient Scripture to the third layer! The energy within my body is now much denser than before, and its power should be much stronger. To cultivate the fourth layer of the Nine-Yang Ancient Scripture, I need to find another rare yang-attribute treasure. Although the Nine-Yang Ancient Scripture is an excellent cultivation method, each advancement requires finding a rarely-seen yang-attribute treasure. That's an incredibly steep requirement." Ye Yunfei couldn't help but smile wryly and shake his head.
"I not only obtained the Tianyan Divine Pearl but also this Sky Flame Sword." Ye Yunfei waved his hand. A crimson longsword, constantly emitting flames, appeared and hovered before him, bobbing up and down.
"According to what that elder from the Fire Bird Clan said, this Sky Flame Sword was forged by the Celestial Flame Divine Bird using one of its own life-feathers. The Celestial Flame Divine Bird is an ancient, exalted divine bird. Its life-feather should be incredibly precious. Therefore, this Sky Flame Sword must be an extraordinary magical treasure."
Ye Yunfei willed it, releasing his Soul Power energy to sense and enter the interior of the Sky Flame Sword, beginning the refinement process.
Since this Sky Flame Sword had been voluntarily gifted by a Soul Power imprint of the Celestial Flame Divine Bird, Ye Yunfei didn't expend much effort. Soon after, he successfully refined it.
Ye Yunfei reached out his hand. The Sky Flame Sword flew over and landed in his palm. An intense, scorching fire-attribute energy surged out from the Sky Flame Sword.
Instantly, the surrounding space burst into fierce flames, transforming into one sea of fire after another, spreading continuously in all directions.
"The power of the Sky Flame Sword is indeed excellent." Ye Yunfei casually lifted the sword and gently slashed. He saw a massive, pitch-black spatial tear slash open in front of him, with terrifying spatial fierce winds blowing out from within.
"This Sky Flame Sword has an even more pleasantly surprising function. It can fuse into any other magical treasure, as long as their attributes aren't mutually incompatible. It can merge into one with other treasures, increasing their power. This is because this Sky Flame Sword was originally a feather of the Celestial Flame Divine Bird. As long as another treasure doesn't reject its fire attribute, they can fuse. If I fuse this Sky Flame Sword into my Flying Sword, its power will definitely be greatly enhanced." Ye Yunfei murmured to himself.
This was a function he discovered after refining the Sky Flame Sword.
"I already have a Flying Sword; I don't need another longsword. So it's better to fuse it into the Flying Sword." After considering for a moment, Ye Yunfei made his decision. He willed it, and the Flying Sword flew out from his head, hovering side-by-side with the Sky Flame Sword in front of him.
Next, Ye Yunfei began attempting to fuse the Sky Flame Sword into his own Flying Sword.
This Flying Sword was forged using divine-grade materials and was originally a divine artifact. The Sky Flame Sword was forged from a life-feather of the Celestial Flame Divine Bird. In fact, it also belonged to a divine-grade magical treasure because the Celestial Flame Divine Bird was an ancient divine bird, whose strength far surpassed that of ordinary Deities.
Now, two divine-grade magical treasures hovered side-by-side before Ye Yunfei, releasing an extremely terrifying energetic pressure. Mighty waves of energetic pressure radiated outwards in all directions.
In the following period, Ye Yunfei began fusing these two treasures.
Since both treasures had been refined by Ye Yunfei, he could manipulate them as he wished. Especially the Sky Flame Sword; it was originally capable of fusing with other treasures as long as they weren't incompatible. So the focus fell on the Flying Sword.
To Ye Yunfei's delight, the Flying Sword showed no rejection towards the Sky Flame Sword. Therefore, everything became simpler.
Approximately one month later, Ye Yunfei successfully caused the two treasures to merge into one.
At this moment, the Sky Flame Sword had disappeared, leaving only the Flying Sword hovering there.
Boom!
When the two treasures merged into one, a powerful wave of energy swept out from the Flying Sword.
"Not bad. Two treasures merging into one has indeed increased its power significantly." Ye Yunfei sensed the energetic pressure sweeping out from the Flying Sword and nodded, feeling quite satisfied.
"Alright. Now, we prepare to act!" Ye Yunfei walked out of the Phantom Tower and announced.
"Those guys have been waiting out there for several days already. They're starting to get a bit impatient now," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said to Ye Yunfei.
During these past few days, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm had been observing the movements of those people ahead. It was extremely sensitive to space and possessed numerous profound spatial racial secret arts. Even from a considerable distance, as long as it focused, it could perceive things clearly.
Over the past few days, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm continuously released its race's unique spatial runes to perceive from afar, so it had a very clear grasp of those people's actions.
"That's precisely why it's the perfect time to act," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
"Lead the way," Ye Yunfei said to the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm.
"During the entire process, we should stay hidden as much as possible. Don't show our faces if we can avoid it. Until we're discovered, remain in a concealed state," Ye Yunfei instructed the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm. Then Ye Yunfei returned inside the Phantom Tower.
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm carried the Phantom Tower, traversed into the depths of space, and disappeared.
"What on earth is going on? We've been waiting here for several days already. That lad, Ye Yunfei, still hasn't come out. Does he intend to stay inside forever?" At this moment, at a location ahead, a large group of experts, all concealed in the surroundings, formed an encirclement.
The space at this location had been filled with numerous spatial restrictions and various Formations, as well as other methods to seal time and space. At the very least, a dozen or so demigod-grade magical treasures specifically for sealing space and time had been deployed into this space.
One could say, even if a Perfected Demigod expert passed through here, they would be instantly sealed and left at the mercy of the attackers. If Ye Yunfei unknowingly stumbled into this place, he would most likely fall into this spatial trap, finding himself in dire straits.
Because those lying in ambush around here were all top-notch experts. If an ordinary Perfected Demigod happened to come here, they would likely be killed in moments.
However, Ye Yunfei already knew all of this. Throughout the entire process, a doppelganger of Ye Yunfei had been hiding nearby, observing and keeping track of every move these people made. Because this doppelganger was created using an Avatar Statue, it could perfectly conceal its aura. So far, it hadn't been discovered.
The Avatar Statue was made of a very special stone material. When concealing its aura, it appeared as a very ordinary piece of stone, one that was particularly difficult for others to perceive.
"I think he will definitely come out, and it won't be much longer. He previously helped the Fire Bird Clan, so these past few days were probably the Fire Bird Clan hosting a feast in his honor. Most likely, they even gifted him the Celestial Flame Divine Bird's treasures," the young man from the Tianhuang Forbidden Land said, his gaze directed towards the distant volcanic region where the Fire Bird Clan's Ancestral Hall was located.
Upon hearing his words, everyone's eyes lit up.
Having waited here for several days, many had come precisely for the Celestial Flame Divine Bird's treasures. They all believed Ye Yunfei had a high chance of obtaining them.
"Let's do this: we'll wait here for a few more days and see if that lad comes out," another man nearby suggested.
Immortal Maiden Qingxia stood with her maidservants at a distance, far from the others. Her expression was cool and detached, projecting an aura of 'strangers keep away'.
During these past few days, quite a few men had actively approached her to strike up conversations. But Immortal Maiden Qingxia maintained her cool and detached, almost indifferent attitude the entire time. Thus, those men who had taken the initiative eventually came away disappointed.
However, no one dared to show displeasure towards Immortal Maiden Qingxia, because she not only possessed formidable personal strength, but her backing was also a tremendously powerful force. Under normal circumstances, no one dared to deliberately offend her.
"Will that lad really stay hidden inside and not come out? Are we supposed to just wait here for him like this? It's been several days already," one of the maidservants, starting to lose patience, spoke up.
"There's no need to rush. Wait a while longer," Immortal Maiden Qingxia said coldly.
At another location in the distance, Xu Tianjian, having executed a very advanced concealment secret art, stood in the depths of space, meditating with his eyes closed, silent.
"When that lad comes out, I must find a way to seize his physical body. That boy's physique has already been trained to an excellent level. Obtaining his body and then devouring his Soul Body will undoubtedly bring great benefits to my cultivation. My current body is not bad, but compared to that boy's, it still falls short."
Xu Tianjian's gaze was fixed on the distant volcanic region where the Fire Bird Clan's Ancestral Hall stood, harboring these dark thoughts.
"That boy has the audacity to seize my four Innate Jianmu trunks. This is tantamount to bringing immense disaster upon himself, making me set my sights on him. When the time comes, I won't just take over his physical body and devour his Soul Body; I'll also take back those four Innate Jianmu trunks. Only by gathering a complete set of ten Innate Jianmu trunks can I begin cultivating that profound wood-attribute technique I obtained in the past."
Xu Tianjian spoke these words, but his voice was very low, audible only to himself.