"Second Elder, the Great Elder has sent me to report a piece of wonderful news to you."
At that moment, an old man arrived in front of the palace gates, speaking in a clear, loud voice.
"What wonderful news could that be?"
The figure inside the palace immediately grew interested.
The one cultivating in seclusion within the palace was the Second Elder of the Great Nether's Corpse World, a high-ranking and powerful figure.
"The Great Elder says we have once again established contact with that lord in the Outer Void.
That lord has expressed willingness to help our Corpse World train a batch of Nether Deities, strengthening our forces.
Moreover, if the opportunity arises in the future, he will assist our Corpse World's army in traveling to the Outer Void."
The old man outside the palace gates said excitedly.
"What?
Are you telling the truth?
Has the Great Elder really contacted that lord in the Outer Void again?"
Upon hearing this, the Second Elder inside the palace instantly stood up, exclaiming excitedly.
"The Great Elder indeed said this. I dare not utter a single false word."
The old man outside the gates replied.
"Good, very good. With the assistance of that lord from the Outer Void, our Corpse World will surely develop and expand rapidly in a short time."
The Second Elder let out a shrill, eerie laugh within the palace.
"You may return and inform the Great Elder that I am aware of this matter.
Recently, I need to cultivate in seclusion to break through to Nether Deity; I am close to success.
After I become a Corpse God, I will emerge from seclusion and discuss this matter with the Great Elder."
The Second Elder declared.
"Second Elder, that lord from the Outer Void also said that after our Corpse World's strength has grown, we must exterminate all living beings in this region of void for him, offering the collected corpses as tribute."
The old man outside the palace added.
"Exterminate all living beings in this region of void?"
Hearing this, the Second Elder inside was shocked.
Although he had sent several disciples out to exterminate numerous worlds, this region of the void had many world clusters, with an even greater number of individual worlds. Exterminating some worlds was one thing, but wiping out all living beings in this entire region of void was an entirely different concept.
It would be equivalent to completely destroying this region of void and declaring war against all major powers within it.
"But given our Corpse World's current strength, is such a feat possible? Could it backfire on us?
Especially with the presence of the Watchers and Restorers factions—our Corpse World may not necessarily be a match for these two major forces."
The Second Elder hesitated, voicing his concern.
"The Great Elder has already reported the situation truthfully to that lord in the Outer Void. The lord guarantees that with his help, many Nether Deities will be born within our Corpse World, and our overall strength will increase substantially.
When the time comes, our power will surpass that of all major forces in this region of void, including the Guardian Faction and the Restorer Faction.
Our Corpse World will dominate this region of void!"
The old man outside the palace exclaimed, his words laced with excitement.
"That would be splendid!
If that lord from the Outer Void truly can help our Corpse World become the strongest major power in this region of void, then what does it matter if we exterminate all living beings here!
In any case, our Corpse World has no intention of developing indefinitely within this fragmented piece of residual void.
We need a much broader stage!"
The Second Elder within the palace uttered a sinister, sharp laugh.
Inside the Phantom Tower, roughly a year later, Ye Yunfei now possessed a total of twenty-five soul power stars.
The higher the realm of the Soul Force Star Method, the greater the difficulty of continuing to advance. It had taken Ye Yunfei a full year of cultivation to produce just five additional stars.
Still, these five extra soul power stars had slightly elevated his soul power energy level once more.
"Now, I should cultivate some Corpse Path martial techniques."
Ye Yunfei had devoured and refined the soul bodies of many of those black-clad attackers, acquiring the Corpse Path inheritance of the Great Nether. Moreover, he had also obtained a large number of Corpse Slaves from their bodies.
These Corpse Slaves were not only numerous but also possessed decent combat capabilities; some even had combat power equivalent to a Demigod level. Being able to control them meant gaining a group of expendable fighters, which was quite useful.
Subsequently, Ye Yunfei utilized both his soul bodies and twenty-five soul power stars to simultaneously cultivate several different martial techniques. Of course, his main focus remained on comprehending and cultivating the Corpse Path inheritance.
At the same time, Ye Yunfei released the Nine Divine Beasts summoned by the Nine Palaces Totem Wheel and withdrew a batch of cultivation resources for them to devour and refine.
And so, unknowingly, another year passed within the Phantom Tower.
A year later, Ye Yunfei suddenly stood up. With a wave of his hand, around a hundred Corpse Slaves stood neatly before him.
Ye Yunfei focused his will. Simultaneously, the Corpse Slaves extended their claws—ten black, sharp corpse claws—lunging toward the space ahead.
The hardened corpse claws scraping against space produced sharp, grating screeches.
"I can now control and command these Corpse Slaves," Ye Yunfei murmured to himself.
"That means you have an additional group of fighters that fear neither life nor death and will obey your orders absolutely. Unleashing them in battle will be a very useful combat force," Hun Lao said with a chuckle.
"Yes, but this method of refining corpses is cruel.
This technique is extremely unorthodox," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"Cruel or not? As long as you don't harm innocent beings or refine them into Corpse Slaves, it's fine.
You can refine those with ill intentions into Corpse Slaves! For example, those cultivators of the Corpse Path from the Great Netherworld—they can refine other innocent beings into Corpse Slaves. Next time you encounter them, show no mercy and refine them instead! Isn't that perfect?
Furthermore, anyone who dares provoke us or treats us as enemies in the future—just refine them into Corpse Slaves. Making use of waste is better than killing them outright," Hun Lao replied.
"Hun Lao, what you say makes sense." Ye Yunfei nodded with a smile.
"I've already seized several hundred Corpse Slaves from those Great Netherworld fellows. In the future, when I encounter enemies, I'll refine them all into Corpse Slaves—make good use of waste." Ye Yunfei said with a grin.
In truth, Ye Yunfei had previously dabbled in corpse-refining techniques, but those were relatively low-level. The Corpse Path inheritance he acquired from the black-clad men of the Great Netherworld was far more advanced and orthodox.
"The strength of these Nine Divine Beasts has improved somewhat again," Ye Yunfei commented, turning his gaze to them and nodding.
"I wonder what level of technique this Nine Palaces Totem Wheel truly belongs to?" Ye Yunfei muttered, looking at the Nine Divine Beasts.
The cultivation method of the Nine Palaces Totem Wheel was straightforward yet brutal: simply allowing the Nine Divine Beasts to continuously devour cultivation resources of corresponding attributes would elevate their strength.
This method was exceedingly simple, yet simultaneously required consuming massive amounts of cultivation resources for the Nine Divine Beasts' strength to potentially increase continually.
Ye Yunfei, perhaps, was exceptional in this regard. If it were anyone else, they would likely struggle to gather so many cultivation resources for the Nine Divine Beasts to devour.
After all, during this period, the Nine Divine Beasts had consumed cultivation resources even at the Deity level to reach their current state.
Ye Yunfei ended his seclusion cultivation and emerged from the Phantom Tower.
"I should visit the Restorers' secret base!" Ye Yunfei pondered.
He had spent considerable time within the Reincarnation Passage of the Main World's Reincarnation Palace. While inside the passage, he had been cut off from any communication with the Restorer Faction, so he intended to check their status.
Ye Yunfei did not use a Restorer faction airship for travel through the void. Such vessels symbolized their faction's identity; once detected, they would inevitably be attacked.
The Guardian Faction had already rallied a large group of major powers within the Chaotic Void Sea and was everywhere investigating the whereabouts of the Restorer Faction.
Ye Yunfei employed a disguise technique, altering his face and transforming into an unfamiliar middle-aged man. Using spatial teleportation tokens coupled with his own movement arts, he hastened through the void toward the direction of the Restorer Faction's secret base.
Gradually, he drew closer to the secret base. Just as he was about to reach the area of void where the secret base was located…
"I think I spotted a Restorer Faction airship.
Look in that direction."
Hun Lao suddenly spoke, pointing a certain way to Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei looked in that direction and indeed saw an airship flash by in the distance, speeding away.
Then several more airships appeared, all rushing in the same direction.
They were all airships of the Restorer Faction.
"What's going on?" Ye Yunfei frowned slightly.
"Let's follow and see!"
Ye Yunfei immediately retrieved an airship of his own, boarded it, and gave chase in that direction.
Because Restorer airships were extremely fast and frequently burrowed into deeper space during flight, they were sometimes difficult to detect.
Merely using spatial teleportation tokens might not guarantee catching up; he needed a Restorer Faction airship to ensure pursuit, as these ships could sense each other, preventing him from losing track.
Not long after, Ye Yunfei spotted even more Restorer airships, all heading in the same direction.
"It seems something has happened," Ye Yunfei murmured to himself, seated in the airship as he urged it to full speed.
Soon after, a world cluster appeared ahead.
All the Restorer airships rushed into this world cluster, eventually converging into a single world.
Ye Yunfei halted his airship outside this world, stowed it away, and used a spatial teleportation token to teleport inside.
"Thank you all for coming to assist!
Several of us are besieged by the Source Fire Sect; the situation is critical, so we sought help!"
As soon as Ye Yunfei entered this world, his Restorer identity token received a sound transmission, which included a specific positional coordinate.
"Fellow Restorers are under siege by the Source Fire Sect?
If that's truly the case, we can't ignore it." Ye Yunfei thought inwardly.
Ye Yunfei concealed his form and suppressed his aura, arriving high above the continent of this world. His gaze fell upon an expansive city on the land below.
He extended his soul power energy, quickly sensing that quite a few Restorers had already arrived, lurking around the city.
"This city indeed has members of the Source Fire Sect." Ye Yunfei sensed the unique fire-attributed energy signatures characteristic of Source Fire Sect members, silently noting.
"Where do you think you're escaping to?"
A moment later, seven swift figures suddenly shot out from the city, followed by a furious roar from behind them.
"These seven are all Restorers!"
Ye Yunfei sensed the seven figures and couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
Each of them carried the aura of a Restorer identity token.
When Restorer members were relatively close, they could sense each other's token auras.
"You Restorers have grown bold indeed! Daring to show your faces within the Chaotic Void Sea—you must be tired of living!"
After the seven Restorers emerged from the city, a large group of Source Fire Sect personnel pursued them out.
Each Source Fire Sect member's body blazed with roaring flames, causing the temperature of the surroundings to skyrocket instantly. Even the nearby space began to ignite, transforming into sheets of fiery seas.
The sight alone clearly indicated they were members of the Source Fire Sect.
Recently, the Source Fire Sect's overall power had continuously grown, expanding in scale dramatically. Now, throughout the Chaotic Void Sea, Source Fire Sect forces could be seen swaggering around with arrogant pride.
"You Source Fire Sect scum dare lay hands on members of our Restorer Faction! You're the ones tired of living!"
Once the seven Restorers escaped the city, dozens of Restorer members hiding in the surrounding space quickly revealed themselves, converging with the original seven. They began confronting the Source Fire Sect pursuers.
Though the Source Fire Sect forces were numerous, each Restorer possessed formidable strength. With several dozen present, they were more than sufficient to handle the situation. Hence, the seven fleeing Restorers halted their escape, turning back to glare angrily at their pursuers.
Ye Yunfei also revealed himself, joining the several dozen Restorers.
However, he was disguised as an unfamiliar middle-aged man with a falsified soul body aura.
Thus, no one recognized his true identity.
"Hmph, so many Restorers are here. Excellent—we'll round you all up in one swoop today!"
The Source Fire Sect forces halted. The red-robed elder leading them stepped forward, his piercing gaze sweeping over the dozen Restorers as he spoke coldly.
This red-robed elder was a Perfected Demigod expert, radiating intense fiery energy. Flames roiled continuously from his body, causing the surrounding space to warp and distort from the heat.
"Is that all? Do you truly believe that just because the Source Fire Sect produced one deity, you have the confidence to oppose our Restorer Faction? Ridiculous!
Let's move. Wipe out every last one of these Source Fire Sect wretches!"
A Restorer exuding a sharp aura stepped forward, his tone solemn.
"Hahaha…
If it were only our Source Fire Sect, of course we wouldn't confront you Restorers head-on."
The Source Fire Sect's red-robed elder suddenly burst into maniacal laughter.
As his voice fell, batches of forces suddenly emerged from different directions, swarming forward from all sides and encircling the dozen Restorers completely.
"There are members of the Guardian Faction, members of the Dark Faction, and even people from the Divine Gods Hall!
It seems forces from these sects were lying in ambush here long ago!" Hun Lao reported to Ye Yunfei.
"This is a trap. Someone lured these Restorers here for slaughter," Ye Yunfei nodded and replied.
"So it's a trap!" The Restorer who had spoken earlier wore a deeply grim expression as he uttered coldly.
"Indeed, it is precisely a trap set for luring you Restorers here!
Too bad. This time, only a dozen Restorers came—it falls short of my expectations!"
A hazy figure stepped forward, speaking indifferently.
This individual was a Watcher.
At this point, a massive force tightly encircled the area, thoroughly surrounding the dozen Restorers.
Despite the Restorers' formidable individual strength, their opponents vastly outnumbered them and included many powerful experts from those factions. In a fight, they certainly wouldn't gain the upper hand.
"Which of you seven sent the distress signal?"
The several dozen Restorers who had rushed here turned questioning gazes toward the seven who fled from the city.
Suddenly, they all sensed that these seven might be problematic.
"Each of us sent distress signals at some point. You guessed right—all seven of us have already pledged allegiance to the Guardian Faction."
The seven Restorers who had fled the city flickered and moved to the opposing side. One of them sneered contemptuously.
"Shameful traitors!
You were nurtured by the Restorer Faction! To turn against us—you're worse than swine or dogs!" a Restorer beside Ye Yunfei roared angrily.
"The Restorer Faction is already in decline, forced to hide cowering, living in constant fear.
'Smart people choose the right master to serve.' You Restorers have no future; surrendering now is the wisest choice.
I offer you a choice: If you surrender immediately and join our Guardian Faction henceforth, you can spare yourselves today.
Otherwise, perish here altogether." a Watcher declared with laughter.
"Not good!
If these seven Restorers have defected to the Watchers, doesn't that mean the Restorer Faction's secret base has been exposed?
It seems many events unknown to me have transpired within the Restorer Faction during this period," Ye Yunfei thought silently from amidst the dozen Restorers.
"Think you can make us surrender to your Guardian Faction? Dream on!" a Restorer bellowed.
"Exactly! We will never surrender!
Your Guardian Faction is the arch-enemy of all living beings within this void sea, guilty of heinous sins!"
"Fight to the death with them!"
...
One Restorer after another shouted defiantly, unwilling to surrender.
"Very well. Encountering a bunch of stubborn ones today—then annihilate them all!"
A Watcher sneered coldly.
"Act now. Slaughter every last one of these Restorers! Leave none alive!"
The Watcher waved a hand, issuing a low command.
He was a leader responsible for this operation.
"All of you, why must you be like this?
The Restorer Faction has lost its advantage and will soon be hunted down entirely. You should withdraw and protect yourselves while you can.
If you pledge allegiance to the Guardian Faction, I guarantee you'll be treated well, receiving better terms and more cultivation resources than you ever did within the Restorer Faction. I stake my life on this.
All seven of us once swore loyalty to the Restorer Faction, but lately we realized… 'Smart people choose the right master to serve.' No need to hang ourselves from the same tree," one of the seven who had switched sides sighed and spoke up.
"You seven carry Restorer identity tokens, but you are not Restorers.
You intend to impersonate Restorers to persuade us to surrender. This playacting is utterly disgusting."
At this moment, Ye Yunfei suddenly stepped forward, his gaze fixed upon the seven defectors standing with the Guardian Faction, as he uttered coldly.