"Alright then. Now we set off, heading to that senior's location for secluded cultivation, striving to enhance our strength," Ye Yunfei declared.
Having encountered too many powerful beings lately, he knew he was still relatively weak and urgently desired to become stronger. Not only Ye Yunfei, but the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm and the others felt the same way. This small team had faced life-and-death dangers several times recently. If not for good fortune, they would likely have perished together by now.
'This time, no one should intercept me on the way,' Ye Yunfei thought to himself as he retrieved his spacecraft and entered it.
Just as he activated the spacecraft to leave the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, a voice transmitted into his Soul Sea sounded: "Remember, regardless of who it is, always keep an extra measure of caution. Hold something back."
It was the voice of the old man from earlier.
"Thank you for your reminder, Senior. I will be careful," Ye Yunfei respectfully replied immediately.
In the next moment, the spacecraft soared into the air, diving into space, traversing through time and space as it departed. Soon, it had left the boundaries of the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, swiftly advancing through the void sea outside towards the spatial location of that mysterious old man.
This time, Ye Yunfei was exceptionally careful and prepared. He held a Space Teleportation Token in his hand, with both his Soul Power and Mental Force energies released to constantly perceive the surrounding space. The moment he sensed anything amiss, he would immediately activate the token to evacuate from the spacecraft's interior. Hun Lao and the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm were the same, constantly perceiving every single movement outside with great vigilance.
They all understood that they were now far from the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds. If strong enemies came to block their path again, the old man from that world cluster probably wouldn't come to their aid this time. If they encountered another expert of the Guardian Captain level or stronger, it would be a major problem.
Fortunately, they did not encounter any powerful being blocking their path along the way.
"Eh? I keep feeling there's a very mysterious array aura enveloping this spacecraft, isolating it from external perception," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm suddenly exclaimed with some surprise at this moment.
"Array aura?" Both Ye Yunfei and Hun Lao were startled and immediately began a careful perception.
"Indeed, there is a faint, elusive array aura enveloping the entire spacecraft. In this state, the spacecraft is extremely difficult to detect. Because this array aura is truly too profound! When did this spacecraft gain such a high-level array aura?" Hun Lao, having quickly perceived it, said in astonishment.
"I understand. It must be that senior from the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds. He must have secretly acted, fearing you would be intercepted by strong enemies again, and laid this array for you, making your spacecraft harder to detect," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm reasoned.
"That's most likely the case," Ye Yunfei nodded, knowing it was certainly that senior's doing. Last time he traveled in this spacecraft, it was detected immediately after leaving the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds. But this time, they had been traveling for so long without any issues. It turned out that senior had secretly lent a hand. Ye Yunfei's heart swelled with gratitude.
Not long after, Ye Yunfei finally arrived in the desolate space-time that the middle-aged man had brought him to last time. Stepping out of the spacecraft and storing it away, Ye Yunfei directly activated the token at his waist.
*Hum…* A stream of information sent from the token vanished into the space not far away.
*Boom…* Shortly after, a certain location in the distant space trembled lightly, then opened a spatial rift.
"Hehe, Young Master Ye, you've finally arrived," an old man with a tall, lean build walked out from the spatial passage. In a single step, he arrived before Ye Yunfei, smiling warmly.
Ye Yunfei did not recognize this elder.
"I am specially in charge of guarding the entrance and exit of this space. I receive general members who come and go. Young Master Ye, you've really become quite the celebrity among us Restorers now. Youth truly is to be feared!" the elder said with a smile.
"Senior praises me too much," Ye Yunfei hurriedly responded.
"Young Master Ye, let's go in. We shouldn't linger outside for long. Our base here needs to remain secret. Even though there are many formations arranged around this area, if a powerful being comes to pry, they might still discover it," the elder said to Ye Yunfei.
"Alright," Ye Yunfei nodded.
Subsequently, Ye Yunfei followed the elder into that spatial passage. The next moment, he found himself once again in that same expanse of space-time from before.
This stretch of space-time appeared exceedingly desolate, yet it was brimming with all sorts of high-level energy and laws, even to the level of Deity-tier energy and laws. This was precisely why Ye Yunfei had specifically come here for secluded cultivation.
"The feel of this space-time is somewhat similar to the space within the Colorless Abyss. It's a pity the Colorless Abyss has already closed; we cannot enter to cultivate. Otherwise, we wouldn't need to come all this way; entering the Colorless Abyss would suffice," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm remarked while looking at this peculiar space-time before him.
"The Colorless Abyss is far too dangerous. What if we encounter a divine corpse inside? Could you handle that? This place is much safer," Hu Miao interjected.
"Young Master Ye, there are many people here who wish to see you and gather together. Your performance in the last battle against the Watchers was too outstanding. Everyone wants to meet you," that elder said.
"Senior, I intend to go into secluded cultivation for a period first. After I emerge from seclusion, I'll then go meet and gather with everyone. Because I happen to have recently gained some insights in cultivation and need to properly consolidate and contemplate them," Ye Yunfei, after some thought, spoke.
"Ah, I see. In that case, cultivation is indeed the most important," the elder, upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words, nodded.
Insights and realizations in cultivation were extremely important. Moreover, one must seize the moment for contemplation. The sooner, the better—it couldn't wait.
"Young Master Ye, then go ahead with your cultivation first," the elder said.
After finishing his words, the elder turned and left. Ye Yunfei then made his way to that shattered continent where the mysterious old man resided. He found the spot he'd used for secluded cultivation last time, entered a secluded chamber, and out of habit, arranged a small formation space within the chamber. He entered that formation space before finally entering the Phantom Tower.
"Alright, now to properly cultivate in seclusion for a while," Ye Yunfei murmured to himself.
With a wave of his hand, he took out a large batch of cultivation resources. "This time, let the nine divine beasts eat their fill." Ye Yunfei first released the Nine Divine Beasts of the Nine Palaces Totem Wheel, letting them begin to devour cultivation resources.
Over this period, every time Ye Yunfei cultivated, he would take out a batch of resources for these nine divine beasts to consume. Their strength had grown steadily stronger. Ye Yunfei felt that the combat power of these Nine Divine Beasts now was equivalent to the level of a Perfect Demigod. Nine Divine Beasts equaled nine Perfect Demigods. This overall combat power was truly impressive.
Furthermore, Ye Yunfei sensed that the potential of a technique like the Nine Palaces Totem Wheel was far from exhausted; there was still a vast scope for improvement. It had to be said, while cultivating such a technique required consuming a massive quantity of resources, its tier and power were genuinely remarkable.
Next, Ye Yunfei took out a batch of Divine Crystals—at least several hundred—and placed them around his body. Within him, the eight Chaotic Divine Meridians simultaneously manifested, rumbling loudly. The eight divine veins erupted with intense suction force, beginning to absorb the energy from those Divine Crystals arranged around Ye Yunfei's body.
The energy contained within Divine Crystals was immense. From each Divine Crystal, a torrent of rich energy poured forth, flowing ceaselessly into the eight divine veins within Ye Yunfei's body. Concurrently, the Nine-Yang Ancient Scripture inside Ye Yunfei's body began to circulate rapidly.
While cultivating the Nine-Yang Ancient Scripture, Ye Yunfei also cultivated other techniques and martial skills, focusing on Mental Force, Soul Power, swordsmanship, palm techniques, fist techniques, laws, and other aspects.
The effect of Divine Crystals on cultivation was enormous. Ye Yunfei could distinctly feel his strength in all aspects continuously improving.
While refining and absorbing Divine Crystals, Ye Yunfei also took out a batch of Heart-Moon Crystals to cultivate his Mental Force energy.
"These Heart-Moon Crystals truly do contain a tremendous amount of Mental Force energy!" Ye Yunfei couldn't help but feel great joy after refining one. These Heart-Moon Crystals were gifted by that elder within the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, specifically meant for cultivating Mental Force energy.
'That senior possesses formidable strength. The cultivation resources he gifted are truly excellent,' Ye Yunfei thought inwardly. 'Is that senior truly just a lingering strand of obsession left behind by a powerful being from ancient times?' His thoughts turned to that elder's identity again—merely a strand of obsession. A strand of obsession possessing such strength… if spoken aloud, probably no one would believe it.
While Ye Yunfei was in seclusion, Hun Lao, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, Huang Shang, and Hu Miao were also cultivating in seclusion. They had each received a batch of Divine Crystals, refining and absorbing them while simultaneously cultivating.
Though Ye Yunfei and the others remained cultivating in seclusion within the Phantom Tower, they could still utilize the energies and laws present in the external space. This was because Ye Yunfei had not severed the connection between the Phantom Tower and the outside world, allowing energy and laws to flow freely between the interior and exterior. Besides its astonishing differential time flow, the Phantom Tower possessed other marvelous properties.
Inside the Phantom Tower, time flew by. In the blink of an eye, two years passed.
Two years later. 'My Lightning Tribulation has come!' Ye Yunfei's heart stirred mid-cultivation. His figure flashed as he left the Phantom Tower, emerging outside. Sure enough, in the sky high above, dark clouds had gathered densely, with thunder surging violently.
However, since Ye Yunfei was currently an Advanced Demigod, if he wanted to cultivate to become a Perfect Demigod at the Nine-Nine Return to True Immortal level, he first had to avoid this tribulation. Therefore, Ye Yunfei sat cross-legged, immediately restrained his aura, and began applying techniques and secret arts for concealing one's presence, tightly masking his own aura.
*Boom! Boom!* High in the sky, thick bolts of lightning, like dazzling dragons, swam about, emanating destructive intent. However, because Ye Yunfei had hidden his aura, the lightning above could not find its designated target. It roared and raged incessantly, unable to unleash its fury upon anything.
As his strength grew stronger, especially with his Soul Power and Mental Force energy increasing and his Soul Body's comprehension rising, Ye Yunfei's understanding of various invisibility secret arts had grown increasingly profound. Once he applied them, the lightning up high simply could not locate Ye Yunfei's aura. Gradually, Ye Yunfei became akin to a rock or withered wood, emitting neither aura nor life force.
"It's Young Master Ye! He's avoiding a Lightning Tribulation!" "What a high-level invisibility art!" … At this moment, a group of people in the distance were watching Ye Yunfei, whispering among themselves.
Several hours later. Having continuously failed to sense Ye Yunfei's aura, the lightning above began to gradually dissipate. Eventually, all of the thunder vanished entirely.
"This Lightning Tribulation has finally been evaded," Ye Yunfei breathed a light sigh of relief. Then, he returned to the Phantom Tower to continue his cultivation. Hun Lao and the others were still in the midst of their cultivation.
As time passed unceasingly, Ye Yunfei's strength in all aspects continued to improve. After the first batch of resources taken out for the Nine Divine Beasts to consume had been devoured, Ye Yunfei took out another large batch, letting them continue to gorge themselves.
"Eat. Eat as much as you can. Once you've eaten me into poverty, I'll just go earn it back," Ye Yunfei laughed, watching the nine divine beasts whose auras were steadily rising.
"The stronger their strength, the more cultivation resources they'll need. If they keep eating like this, they really might impoverish you," Hun Lao commented.
"Let them impoverish me then. If their strength becomes sufficiently powerful, even if I am impoverished, it'll be worth the price," Ye Yunfei replied.
"Their strength likely won't disappoint you. The potential of your technique is still vast," Hun Lao said.
Hun Lao's cultivation didn't require his full concentration; he could cultivate while still paying attention to other matters, so his cultivation wasn't disrupted by outside disturbances.
During the time that followed, Ye Yunfei continued his secluded cultivation. Unconsciously, another three years passed within the Phantom Tower.
On a certain day three years later. 'My Lightning Tribulation has arrived again!' Ye Yunfei's heart stirred once more as he emerged from the Phantom Tower. Indeed, the sky above was once again churning with surging thunderbolts and roiling tribulation clouds.
"Look! Young Master Ye's Lightning Tribulation is approaching again! I remember his last tribulation wasn't long ago. His cultivation speed is too fast—within such a short period, less than a month, he's welcomed a tribulation twice in succession. At this speed, isn't there a fear of an unstable foundation?" someone remarked doubtfully.
Since these people didn't know Ye Yunfei possessed an artifact with a significant time flow differential, from their perspective, Ye Yunfei had welcomed tribulations twice in quick succession. Such cultivation speed wasn't necessarily good, as it could easily lead to an unstable foundation.
"No need to worry. I can sense Young Master Ye's energy foundation seems quite solid. Perhaps it's because his innate talent is too high. We shouldn't view him with the eyes of ordinary people," another by-stander commented.
*Boom! Boom!* At this moment, the thunder tribulation above Ye Yunfei's head rolled and churned, searching for its designated target. But Ye Yunfei was utilizing his invisibility secret art, meticulously concealing his aura, preventing the lightning above from sensing him. Roughly two hours later, the thunder tribulation above Ye Yunfei's head finally began to dissipate.
"Continue with secluded cultivation," Ye Yunfei muttered to himself, relieved as he watched the vanished tribulation.
Right at this moment. Ye Yunfei's heart moved as he fished out the token from his waist. "There's another mission," he said to himself, perceiving the information within the token.