As those black-clad Deities continued their incantations, a terrible resonance formed in the surrounding space. Within the vast expanse of time and space, a booming echo arose, as if heavenly deities and Buddhist figures were all howling in fury, shaking this expanse of void until it trembled like sifting grains.
Boom...
The colossal black mountain continued to expand in size, growing more and more terrifying. It almost seemed about to fill this entire region of void, releasing a frightening gravitational force as it pressed down toward the Master of Xiaoliang Temple.
Ye Yunfei could see that this Dark Faction Deity was going all out.
"Petty tricks dare to be paraded before me," the Master of Xiaoliang Temple said with a disdainful smile, watching that enormous black mountain rolling toward him. Then, a golden yellow temple rushed out from within his body. At first it was only the size of a fist, but instantly it expanded at extreme speed, continuously enlarging until it filled that space ahead, moving forward to block the attack.
Boom...
The temple and the black mountain collided violently. In that moment, it felt like the world's end had come—this space instantly began to collapse.
Then, under the astonished gaze of the Dark Faction Deity, the black mountain he had summoned was knocked back, flying in reverse.
The Dark Faction Deity was implicated by the backlash, retreating several steps consecutively. In both exchanges now, he had been at a disadvantage—a result he found hard to accept.
"Are you alone here today? If so, then I won't hold back today," the Master of Xiaoliang Temple said coldly to the Dark Faction Deity.
As soon as the words fell, the Master was already soaring into the air, his entire body erupting with rolling divine radiance so dazzling it was impossible to look directly at him.
Boom...
An ancient-styled longsword rushed out from the Master's forehead, shooting skyward and continuously expanding, transforming in an instant into a giant sword.
Then this giant sword split into two, then into four, into eight, into sixteen... multiplying continuously.
Within moments, the space around the Master of Xiaoliang Temple was already densely packed with hovering giant swords—countless in number. Each giant sword exuded extremely sharp sword qi, relentlessly slicing and fracturing the surrounding space, a sight that made one's scalp tingle.
"This sword technique is too formidable," Ye Yunfei thought, standing in the distance and watching the densely packed giant swords floating in the space around the Master. "The Myriad Swords Return to One technique I cultivate compresses a large quantity of sword qi. But this technique of the Master actually produces vast quantities of sword qi and disperses them. Yet the power of each strand of sword qi is so terrifying. This technique can probably only display its true might when executed by a Deity, for only a Deity possesses energy reserves vast enough to sustain such a staggering number of giant swords."
"Young Master Ye, you should leave quickly. Several Deities are already rushing here, and they might pose a threat to you," Ye Yunfei suddenly received a Sound Transmission from the Master of Xiaoliang Temple.
"Very well, Senior Master. I will depart immediately," Ye Yunfei replied.
He had originally planned to stay and continue watching the battle between the two Deities, as such opportunities were exceptionally rare for him. Observing Deity-level combat could yield many insights. However, since other Deities were approaching, he had no choice but to go.
Ye Yunfei knew that currently, the Guardian Faction held the upper hand in terms of strength and had also roped in several other major forces. Any Deities now approaching would either belong to the Guardian Faction or those allied major forces. If they spotted Ye Yunfei, they would certainly attack.
Ye Yunfei took out his flying ship, boarded it, activated it directly, and swiftly departed.
The battle between the Master of Xiaoliang Temple and the Dark Faction Deity grew increasingly fierce. By now, the Dark Faction Deity was at a clear disadvantage, pressed relentlessly by the Master and forced into continuous retreat.
Both were Deities, both having broken through not long ago, yet the Master's strength was demonstrably superior.
"Damn it! Even after becoming a Deity, he still holds an edge over me," the Dark Faction Deity thought bitterly, though he had to admit the truth before him.
However, a cold smile soon appeared on his face, because several of his comrades were on their way. He believed that even if the Master was strong, once his companions arrived, they could definitely deal with him together.
"Soon you'll know true fear. I will make you pay—ideally, kill you outright today," the Dark Faction Deity's gaze toward the Master brimmed with killing intent.
"Are you thinking that once those fellows arrive, you can join forces to deal with me?" the Master suddenly spoke.
"You know they're coming too?" The Dark Faction Deity was somewhat startled. The approaching Deities had been concealing their auras, moving with great stealth, aiming to launch a surprise attack without the Master's prior knowledge. Yet the Master's perception was astonishingly sharp—he had long since detected several other beings secretly approaching.
"You think you can hide anything from my senses?" the Master sneered coldly. Then, pointing with his hand, the temple hovering above his head erupted with overwhelming golden divine radiance and smashed violently toward the Dark Faction Deity. Immediately after, the Master turned and fled.
"Wait. I will come for you again, because that day you also assaulted Xiaoliang Temple and slaughtered many of its members," the Master said coldly.
The Master knew that once several enemy Deities arrived simultaneously, he might not be able to overcome them all.
"Where do you think you're escaping?!" Seeing the Master attempting to leave, the Dark Faction Deity grew anxious and immediately charged forward to block him.
But he was no match for the Master, and besides, stopping a Deity who wished to flee was exceptionally difficult.
The Master punched back, his fist continuously enlarging. A single punch forced the Dark Faction Deity to retreat a great distance. Then, with a wave of his hand, the Master retrieved his temple. His body shook violently several times, then vanished like a phantom.
Deities had mastered numerous great Daos, gaining deep comprehension and understanding of each, including the Dao laws of Time and Space. With a mere thought, a Deity could mobilize the Time and Space Dao laws in the surrounding heaven and earth for their own use. Therefore, a Deity's speed was terrifying—a single step could traverse vast spatial distances. Moreover, they could combine this with advanced secret techniques, perfectly merging their physical form with the surrounding space, even becoming part of space itself, rendering them undetectable to enemies.
Of course, only those Deities possessing extreme attainment in both Time and Space Dao laws could achieve such complete fusion with their surroundings.
Shortly after the Master's departure—perhaps two or three breaths of time later—three Deities arrived simultaneously, abruptly appearing in the space where the battle had just occurred.
"Where is the Master of Xiaoliang Temple?" As soon as they arrived, these three Deities immediately began searching for him. They had come specifically after receiving news to deal with him.
"You're too late. He's already gone," the Dark Faction Deity said sourly, feeling immensely frustrated. Earlier, he'd been suppressed by the Master, and now his reinforcements had arrived, only to be a step too slow.
"Why didn't you keep him entangled? If you had held him for just two or three more breaths, we could have blocked him," one of the Deities spoke, clearly sounding reproachful.
"I tried my best, but he was too strong. I'm simply no match for him," the Dark Faction Deity said gloomily.
"He's that powerful?" The other three Deities were all shocked. Their strength was roughly equivalent to this Dark Faction Deity's. If he couldn't defeat the Master, it meant their strength also fell short.
"However, the few of us together could definitely defeat him. It's just that he's already escaped now," the Dark Faction Deity said.
"It's fine. I refuse to believe he can hide forever. Our Guardian Faction will continue searching for traces of those Restorers. And your factions should also send people to seek out the remnants of the Restorer Faction. Furthermore, all forces and individuals connected to the Restorer Faction must be investigated, so we can capture them all in one sweep," one of the Deities declared.
This Deity belonged to the Guardian Faction and had also broken through to Deityhood not long ago. Although the Guardian Faction had been obstructing Perfected Demigods across this void from undertaking their Divine Tribulation, within their own ranks, many Deities had emerged recently—all to enhance the overall strength of the Guardian Faction and suppress the Restorers.
"Also, that Ye Yunfei from the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds was here earlier. If you had arrived sooner, you could have trapped him. That lad's power has grown even stronger now. Ordinary Demigods are no match for him at all. He can even fight over a dozen Demigods simultaneously. With such talent and strength, if he continues to grow, he will surely become a calamity for us in the future," the Dark Faction Deity added.
"Ye Yunfei from the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds? That lad is indeed a tricky character—young, but absolutely not to be underestimated."
After leaving the battle site of the two Deities, Ye Yunfei headed toward the location of the Restorers' secret base.
Not long after, Ye Yunfei arrived at the region of void where the Restorer Faction's secret base was situated. However, he did not immediately approach the base. Instead, he went in another direction.
After putting some distance between himself and the base's location, Ye Yunfei stopped his flying ship, disembarked, stored the ship, then activated a concealment secret art, suppressing his own aura. He then turned and stealthily made his way toward the location of the secret base.
Since those seven impostors posing as Restorers earlier had possessed Restorer identity tokens, Ye Yunfei knew this secret base was at constant risk of exposure—it might even already be compromised. Hence, he had to be cautious.
Not long after, Ye Yunfei had quietly arrived in the space near the entrance of the secret base, extending his senses toward it.
The entrance was concealed by several extremely advanced Deity-level formations. An ordinary person arriving here would never detect it. Only a member of the Restorer Faction, using an identity token, could perceive those Deity formations, open a gap in them, and thus enter the secret base.
Ye Yunfei activated his identity token. It immediately released several illusory symbols that spread out, quickly sensing the several formations guarding the base.
"Everything seems normal. Could it be this secret base hasn't been discovered by the Guardian Faction yet?" Ye Yunfei used his token to examine those formations and the base entrance and found nothing unusual.
However, Ye Yunfei did not rush to enter. Instead, he remained hidden in place, motionless, suppressing his aura as he carefully observed the spatial location of the base entrance.
With his continuously rising strength, particularly the improvement in his Soul Body quality and Soul Power levels, Ye Yunfei could now conceal his aura almost perfectly. Unless a Deity came and performed a detailed scan of his concealed position, he would likely remain undetected. Even a Demigod expert would struggle to discover him if passing nearby.
And so, Ye Yunfei lay concealed there for two days and two nights. He observed no discoveries, nor did anyone enter or exit through the secret base's entrance.
"It seems this secret base probably hasn't been discovered," Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm transmitted via Sound Transmission.
"Master, I have a feeling something isn't quite right," Hu Miao suddenly spoke up.
"What could be abnormal? Everything seems perfectly normal to me," Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said.
"Not long ago, we encountered over thirty Restorers. That proves this secret base normally has members coming and going. Yet for two whole days, not a single person has entered or left. Is that a coincidence, or does it indicate something is wrong with the base?" Hu Miao explained.
"That's just your speculation. The Restorer Faction is currently being hunted by the Guardian Faction and allied major forces, which is precisely why they are hiding in this secret base. Of course, they wouldn't have people constantly coming and going daily. I think it's perfectly normal," Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm retorted after hearing Hu Miao's words.
"Let's wait a bit longer and observe the situation," Ye Yunfei said after some thought.
"Aren't there dozens of Restorers in the Phantom Tower? Ask them," Hun Lao suggested to Ye Yunfei.
"Right. I'll ask them," Ye Yunfei nodded.
Due to the sudden arrival of the Dark Faction Deity earlier, Ye Yunfei had teleported these several dozen Restorers into the Phantom Tower and fled hastily. Later, encountering the Master of Xiaoliang Temple and witnessing the battle between the two Deities, he hadn't found the time until now to question those Restorers.
Ye Yunfei entered the Phantom Tower and inquired about the recent circumstances of the Restorer Faction and this secret base.
After questioning, Ye Yunfei learned that since leaving the Restorer headquarters, these members had never actually entered this secret base. Instead, they had been dispatched to secretly operate throughout the Chaotic Void Sea, gathering intelligence.
They essentially served as scouts. After obtaining information, they transmitted it via various secret channels to the high-ranking members of the Restorer Faction.
However, some time ago, these Restorers secretly active across the Chaotic Void Sea had all continuously received distress signals. Someone was sending urgent messages to their identity tokens, claiming they were besieged by powerful enemies and pleading for aid.
After receiving these distress messages, these Restorers immediately reported the situation to their superiors. Yet, they received no response for a long time. Meanwhile, distress messages continued to pour into their tokens one after another. Therefore, these Restorers had no choice but to proceed to the locations specified in the messages to render assistance.
Thus, these dozens of Restorers went to the previous world and ended up trapped in the encirclement. Fortunately, Ye Yunfei had also received a distress signal and arrived promptly to rescue everyone.
"So it seems you are unaware of the current situation within our Restorer secret base?" Ye Yunfei asked, somewhat resigned.
"That's correct. We've never even entered the secret base—we don't even know its precise location—so we have no idea what's happening inside now," one Restorer replied.
"Then tell me about the various intelligence you've gathered across the Chaotic Void Sea during this period," Ye Yunfei said after a moment's thought.
Before leaving the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, Elder Kong of the Alliance Army had given Ye Yunfei a general report on the current state of affairs in the Chaotic Void Sea. However, some time had passed since then. Furthermore, these Restorers were undoubtedly stronger than the Alliance's scouts, so the intelligence they gathered might be more extensive.
During this period, the Guardian Faction had allied with several major forces to form an alliance—a coalition with immense overall strength. Every major faction within it possessed Deities, making this alliance essentially the ruler of the Chaotic Void Sea. All other forces and world clusters had to bow in submission.
The Guardian Faction had achieved initial dominion over this void sea, and together with those major factions, they had issued a declaration: Any Perfected Demigod within the Chaotic Void Sea, regardless of which force, family, or world cluster they belonged to, wishing to undergo Divine Tribulation and breakthrough to Deityhood, must first report to the Guardian Faction. Only after obtaining approval from the Guardian Faction's high council could they undertake the tribulation.
Otherwise, once discovered, they would face immediate joint suppression by the Guardian Faction and its allied forces.
Those Perfected Demigods who underwent the tribulation without authorization would be hunted down relentlessly even if they managed to evade the coalition's obstruction and luckily become Deities.
Because the alliance formed by the Guardian Faction and those major forces already possessed numerous Deities—especially the Guardian Faction, rumored to have the highest number, at least five or six.
Given such circumstances, throughout the entire Chaotic Void Sea, no one dared provoke the alliance led by the Guardian Faction.
"This alliance truly is overbearing," Ye Yunfei said, feeling intense anger after hearing the account.
"This way, the Guardian Faction can completely control this Chaotic Void Sea through this alliance. Anyone wishing to break through to Deityhood must obtain their permission. That means from now on, all Deities within this void sea must pledge allegiance to the Guardian Faction, falling under their jurisdiction," Hun Lao spoke up.
"Additionally, during this period, both the Guardian Faction and those major forces have dispatched large numbers of personnel to trace the whereabouts of our Restorer Faction. Once any trace of a Restorer is found, they pursue and kill without regard for cost. Moreover, their alliance has issued orders across the entire Chaotic Void Sea, demanding that all forces, all world clusters assist in tracking down the Restorer Faction. Anyone discovering and reporting the whereabouts of Restorers will receive substantial rewards. Presently, our Restorer Faction faces a highly precarious situation in this void sea. Once we reveal ourselves, we immediately face relentless pursuit," another Restorer added.
"The alliance formed by the Guardian Faction aims to completely exterminate us Restorers," a nearby Restorer sighed.
"After you received those distress signals earlier, you attempted to contact the Restorer Faction's high council. Have you received any reply from them since then?" Ye Yunfei asked after pondering.
"No. Up to now, we haven't received any communication from the high council," one Restorer said with a grave expression.
"We haven't either," the others chimed in.
A sense of foreboding settled over everyone.
These dozens of Restorers were all specialists tasked with external intelligence gathering—the eyes and ears of the Restorer Faction in the outside world. Logically, the high council would maintain close contact with such scouts. It should be impossible for them to go unanswered. That none of these Restorers had received a reply strongly indicated something was amiss.
"Could something truly have happened to the Restorer secret base?" Ye Yunfei couldn't help but frown deeply.