"If you really want to go in, I suggest you consider sending a clone in instead, while your true body waits outside. That way, if there is an ambush inside, you'll have the flexibility to advance or retreat as needed."
Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm advised.
"Alright then, we'll do that. Let's send a clone in to scout."
Ye Yunfei nodded upon hearing Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm's words, immediately splitting off a clone and sending it into the Xiaoliang World Cluster. Meanwhile, his true body concealed itself in a nearby part of the void.
After entering the world cluster, Ye Yunfei's clone confirmed that it was indeed desolate and lifeless, empty and void.
The clone traveled through world after world, finding only some extremely low-level, non-cultivating creatures, including some mortals who had never practiced cultivation at all, and even they were few in number.
"This world cluster indeed experienced an intense battle not long ago!"
In many places, Ye Yunfei saw traces and residual energy left behind from combat: fragments of shattered magical treasures, dismembered limbs and torn flesh floating in the void, pieces of residual Soul Bodies, and even areas where space itself had been smashed to pieces. There were dark, yawning spatial rifts, like so many black spiderwebs—a horrifying sight.
"The Guardian Faction not only destroyed the Restorers' headquarters but also flattened the Xiaoliang Temple's headquarters. They are truly riding high!"
Seeing the shattered spaces within what was once the Xiaoliang Temple headquarters, Ye Yunfei couldn't help but remark coldly.
"What can we do? In this Space Sea, the Guardian Faction has now gained the upper hand, while the Restorer Faction has been beaten into ragged disorder, hiding all over the place. We still don't even know the current situation of the Restorers' senior leadership."
Ye Yunfei's true body was hidden in the void near the world cluster, relaying all that his clone saw to Hun Lao and the others, prompting a sigh from Hun Lao.
Ye Yunfei's clone traversed almost every single world within the Xiaoliang World Cluster and found not a single member of Xiaoliang Temple.
Those worlds only contained some pitifully weak, low-level life forms.
For a period thereafter, Ye Yunfei's true body lay in wait near the world cluster, while his clone found a secluded spot in one of its worlds, went into seclusion, and waited quietly.
While waiting, Ye Yunfei brought out the corpses of Perfected Demigods he had collected during this period and began using corpse-refining techniques to turn them into Corpse Slaves.
Not long ago, Ye Yunfei had slain many Perfected Demigods from several factions: the Guardian Faction, the Flamesource Sect, the Dark Faction, and the Heavenly God Hall. Now, the corpses of all those Perfected Demigods had become Ye Yunfei's Corpse Slaves.
"I think there's no need for us to keep waiting here. Who knows when the temple master might return? What if he never comes back—will we just wait here indefinitely?"
Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm suddenly spoke up.
"Alright, we won't wait any longer."
Ye Yunfei happened to have just finished refining all the Perfected Demigod corpses he had collected earlier into Corpse Slaves. He nodded upon hearing Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm's words.
Just at that moment, Ye Yunfei's expression shifted. He took out his Restorer identity token, which had just received a message.
The Guardian Faction was organizing manpower from several major forces, assembling a great army to attack the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds. It was spearheaded by more than a dozen Deities.
This was the message Ye Yunfei received through his identity token.
"What? Those bastards have the guts to provoke the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds again? Last time six Deities teamed up to cause trouble there and got their noses bloodied, fleeing in a disastrous defeat. Do they dare set their sights on the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds once more?"
Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm cried out after learning of this.
"First the Guardian Faction moved against the Restorers' headquarters, then they took action against Xiaoliang Temple's headquarters. Now it seems their turn has finally come for the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds. The Guardian Faction intends to wipe out all forces in this void sea that oppose them. Moreover, I sense that since the Guardian Faction dares to venture to the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds again, they must have prepared accordingly. After all, the Deities of the Guardian Faction are no fools. On the contrary, the Guardian Faction's origins are profound."
Hun Lao spoke.
"We must return immediately."
Ye Yunfei immediately took out a Restorer Faction flying ship, entered it, and sped towards the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds.
At this moment, Ye Yunfei no longer cared about exposing himself. The Guardian Faction was invading the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds. As a native of that world, and now its primary person in charge, he had to stand up and oppose the Guardian Faction.
Ye Yunfei urged the ship onward without pause, heading back in the direction of the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds. Not long after, he reached the void region where the worlds were located.
Looking into the distance, Ye Yunfei saw a massive force encircling the periphery of the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds.
Ye Yunfei immediately halted the ship, stored it away, then restrained his aura and concealed himself.
He took out his identity token and sent a message. Shortly afterward, six figures stealthily arrived at the location where Ye Yunfei was hidden.
All six were Restorers, among the several dozen he had rescued not long ago.
"What is the current situation?"
Ye Yunfei asked.
"The Guardian Faction has assembled a great number of troops and is encircling the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds. They have already sealed off all the surrounding void. There are over ten Deities leading them. The void around the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds is now surrounded tightly—those inside cannot get out, and those outside cannot get in."
One of the Restorers said.
"More than a dozen Deities dispatched. It seems the Guardian Faction is determined to deal with the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds this time."
Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm gazed at the massive army in the distance, which had already tightly encircled the worlds, and could not help but sigh.
"So how should we get in now?"
Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm then asked.
"I don't know if the spatial teleportation talisman can teleport me inside."
Ye Yunfei took out the spatial teleportation talisman and glanced at the distant army of the Guardian Faction alliance. Among them, more than a dozen figures exuded terrifying Deity-level energy, standing at the forefront of the ranks.
Ye Yunfei knew that the biggest obstacle to his returning to the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds were those dozen-odd Deities.
Because a Deity's perception abilities were too keen; no matter what method he used to try to return to the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, he would likely be detected by those Deities.
"What are you planning now?"
One of the Restorers asked Ye Yunfei.
Although within the Restorer Faction, members rarely inquired about each other's origins or backgrounds, these six Restorers had long known Ye Yunfei's true identity.
"For now, we must find a way into the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds first."
Ye Yunfei replied.
"In my opinion, the wisest course for you now is to surrender immediately and join the Guardian Faction. Doing so might earn you a path to survival."
Suddenly, all six Restorers simultaneously retreated swiftly, putting distance between themselves and Ye Yunfei. Then, one of them spoke with a cold laugh.
"Not good! It seems these guys have already betrayed the Restorer Faction!"
Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm cried out immediately.
"So you lot are traitors!"
Ye Yunfei stared at the six Restorers, his voice turning icy cold.
"Hahaha… Ye Yunfei, the intelligent adapt to the times. Have you not yet seen the situation clearly? The Restorer Faction is teetering on the brink of annihilation, while the Guardian Faction already controls this sea of void. If we wish to survive, to develop, of course we can only pledge allegiance to the Guardian Faction."
"When did you pledge allegiance to the Guardian Faction?"
Ye Yunfei asked coldly.
"To tell you the truth, we six only pledged allegiance to the Guardian Faction not long ago. But that's unimportant now. You don't need to concern yourself with this question. Instead, you should think about yourself, about what you should do now. Make the right choice, and you might still have a chance to survive. Otherwise, you can only perish along with the Restorer Faction."
One of the Restorers said with a cold smirk.
"That's right, Ye Yunfei. You should think about what you should do."
A voice came from far away. Then, from within the army besieging the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, a voice rang out, and a figure shot into the sky at astonishing speed, heading directly for Ye Yunfei.
"Not good! It's a Deity! We have to run, now!"
Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, watching that swiftly approaching figure, was greatly alarmed and immediately warned Ye Yunfei.
"Now you want to flee? Isn't it a bit late for that?"
The six treacherous Restorers roared in unison.
Then, the six Restorers attacked together, simultaneously launching ferocious assaults against Ye Yunfei. At the same time, Formations continuously manifested in the surrounding space, sealing off the space-time, blocking Ye Yunfei's path of retreat.
It turned out these six Restorers had long been ordered to lay preparations here. The surrounding space had already been seeded with numerous formation flags beforehand, setting up various advanced, large-scale Formations specifically designed to deal with Ye Yunfei.
Although Ye Yunfei's Formation skill level was very high, these Formations continuously manifesting around him were of an extremely high grade. Even with Ye Yunfei's formation expertise, instantly cracking them would be quite difficult.
Because these Formations had been laid using formation flags personally refined by a Deity of the Guardian Faction. In other words, they were Deity-level Formations, imbued with terrifying formation power.
"Not good! The power of these Formations is too strong. I'm afraid we won't be able to break them in a short time!"
Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, being extremely familiar with all kinds of Formations and restrictive arrays in the world, recognized how formidable these manifesting Formations were at a glance, crying out in alarm.
Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei had long been using his two Soul Bodies, as well as his twenty-five Soul Power planets, to rapidly perceive, decipher, and analyze these continuously appearing Formations.
At the same time, both his hands were constantly tossing out formation flags—these were Formation-Breaking Flags, specially used to dismantle Formations.
However, Ye Yunfei discovered that these Formation-Breaking Flags he was casting seemed to have little effect and were unable to dismantle the surrounding Formations in a short time.
"Hahaha… Ye Yunfei, these are all Deity-level Formations. There's no way for you to fly away now!"
After fully activating all the Formations they had pre-planted in the surrounding space, the six traitorous Restorers burst into triumphant laughter.
"There were previous rumors that this boy Ye Yunfei had high formation skills, but these are Deity-level Formations. He simply can't handle them!"
One of the Restorers guffawed.
"Everyone attack together, see if we can break these Formations sealing the space."
Ye Yunfei repeatedly activated the spatial teleportation talisman in his hand, trying to teleport away from here, but the Formations around him had tightly sealed off this region of space. The teleportation energy released by the talisman could not tear through the surrounding space to break the seal.
"Everyone make a move, see if we can break the spatial seal imposed by these Formations. Otherwise, we have no way to leave."
Ye Yunfei immediately transmitted his voice to Hun Lao and Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm. Both understood the gravity of the situation and immediately began employing the spatial heritage of their respective races, constantly attempting to break the spatial seal surrounding them.
"You six have performed excellently. You will be richly rewarded."
At that moment, the Deity swiftly approaching from afar spoke placidly.
"Thank you for your reward, great one!"
The six traitorous Restorers were all very excited upon hearing the Deity's words, simultaneously turning around to bow respectfully towards the Deity.
"Continue using your identity tokens to lure and kill as many Restorers as possible. I will assign personnel to cooperate with you in surrounding and annihilating those Restorers drawn here. The more Restorers you lure in, the greater the reward I shall bestow upon you. As long as you serve our Guardian Faction loyally, our faction will not treat you unfairly."
The Deity added placidly.
"Great one, rest assured! From now on, the six of us will wholeheartedly devote ourselves to serving the Guardian Faction, exerting all our efforts, even unto death."
Hearing the Deity's words, all six Restorers were overwhelmed by such undeserved favor.
"And what of you? Ye Yunfei, at such a young age to have attained this level of cultivation, you are indeed a genius. I offer you an opportunity: If you are willing to join our Guardian Faction and become a Watcher, you will be entrusted with important duties. With your talent and potential, coupled with the support and resources of our Guardian Faction, it is highly probable you will one day become a Deity. Moreover, with your current strength, as soon as you agree to join the Guardian Faction, you can immediately become a Watcher Captain, entitled to enjoy more resources than the other Watchers. It now depends on whether you know how to seize this opportunity before you."
At this moment, the Deity's gaze shifted to Ye Yunfei.
"This fellow actually wants to recruit you, to have you join the Guardian Faction, and the terms he's offering aren't bad at that."
Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm immediately transmitted his voice to Ye Yunfei.
"We should be thinking about how to escape this place instead."
Ye Yunfei replied.
"With these Deity-level Formations here, plus a Deity in attendance, how can we possibly escape? There's no chance."
Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm was already feeling despair, sighing as he replied.
"In this new Age of Deities, indeed only Deities are the leading roles of this void! Faced with Deities such as these, we simply don't possess much power to resist."
Hun Lao could not help but sigh emotionally.
"Indeed. In this new era, only Deities are the masters of this void! However, once I become a Deity, I will slaughter every last one of these Guardian Faction Deities!"
Ye Yunfei thought darkly to himself.
"Ye Yunfei, I ask you for the last time. What is your choice? Do not test my patience."
The Deity of the Guardian Faction walked over step by step, drawing closer and closer to Ye Yunfei.
Just at that moment.
"Young Master Ye, you need not worry. We denizens of the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds are not ones to be bullied at will."
A voice suddenly sounded beside Ye Yunfei, followed by the appearance of an old man.
"Senior, it's you."
Seeing the old man, Ye Yunfei was pleasantly surprised.
This old man was precisely the same elder who had previously imparted the Nine Yang Ancient Scripture to Ye Yunfei. The last time Ye Yunfei encountered a powerful expert from the Guardian Faction outside the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, it was also this old man who suddenly appeared and drove that Guardian Faction powerhouse away. Later, this old man had informed Ye Yunfei that he was but a wisp of stubborn obsession left behind by a certain ancient power.
"Young Master Ye, do not be concerned. Our Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds are not as easy to bully as they might think."
The old man nodded at Ye Yunfei.
"When did you arrive?"
Seeing the old man suddenly appear beside Ye Yunfei, the Guardian Faction Deity could not help but be alarmed.
As a Deity, he had actually failed to perceive when this old man had come.
Knowing this old man's strength must be formidable, he did not immediately attack, planning instead to first ascertain the elder's power.