"I must say," Hun Lao remarked, watching Ye Yunfei closely, "your physical body, having been modified by that senior and tempered by your recent cultivation, is indeed much stronger than before. Despite being struck by so many deities, it didn't explode outright and has managed to stay in one piece.
Ye Yunfei's body was indeed riddled with fissures from head to toe, and copious amounts of blood streamed out noisily. Yet, it remained largely intact. Under similar circumstances—attacked by over twenty deities, including quite a few Intermediate Void Gods—any other cultivator would have long since detonated into nothingness. That Ye Yunfei had forced his way out through sheer bodily might spoke volumes about the astounding quality of his physique.
"I don't think I'll die for now," Ye Yunfei said with a bitter smile after assessing his condition. "But recovering...will probably require a lot of resources and time."
In truth, Ye Yunfei discovered that his two Soul Bodies had also sustained injuries. After all, when his physical form was struck, the Soul Bodies were inevitably affected. Moreover, during the fight, those twenty-odd deities had relentlessly unleashed Soul Force Martial Arts attacks against him.
*I must seize every moment to heal*, Ye Yunfei thought to himself.
He began taking out handfuls of pills, tossing them into his mouth and swallowing them down.
During this period, one of Ye Yunfei's avatars had been tirelessly concocting pills inside the Illusory Shadow Tower without rest. Simultaneously, one of his Soul Bodies, aided by over a dozen Soul Force planets, had been continuously contemplating the alchemical techniques passed down by the white-haired elder of the Skillful Hand Pavilion. Consequently, Ye Yunfei's pill-refining skills had been steadily rising. He produced an increasing number of pills of ever-higher quality, including a special batch specifically designed for healing.
Now, Ye Yunfei was stuffing and ingesting these pills en masse. Such a quantity would have been impossible for anyone else to refine and absorb all at once. But Ye Yunfei was different. His body had refined and assimilated far too many magical artifacts. It was no exaggeration to say that his current flesh was akin to a painstakingly forged magical treasure—moreover, one at the deity level. Thus, consuming such a vast quantity of healing pills in one go would not cause his body to burst.
As he ingested and refined more pills, Ye Yunfei felt the injuries on his body slowly beginning to mend.
To his pleasant surprise, the True Phoenix Divine Fire, which he had already refined into the fourth layer of the Nine-Yang Ancient Scripture, began to release a special essence of energy. This energy flowed along the cracks that riddled his body, hastening their repair. Nourished by this special essence, his bodily injuries started healing at an accelerated pace.
*It seems the True Phoenix Divine Fire truly has a sort of flame of rebirth effect, very beneficial to the physique*, Ye Yunfei mused inwardly.
Meanwhile, apart from Ye Yunfei, Cui Hong and Xiao Xiao were also continuously consuming healing pills, albeit not in the same quantities as Ye Yunfei.
Patriarch Cui Hong, Ye Yunfei, and Xiao Xiao were all exceptionally fast. Additionally, Ye Yunfei kept throwing large quantities of formation flags behind them, setting up one Formation after another to block their pursuers. Almost everywhere he stepped, an Earth Formation would manifest, conjuring various dreadful visions to obstruct the deities behind.
"Damn it!" cursed the over twenty deities chasing them. "We never imagined Ye Yunfei would be so adept at Formations and Geomancy Technique. He can instantly set up Formations and Earth Formations!"
Though these Formations and Earth Formations couldn't harm them, they caused a great deal of interference, slowing down their pursuit. Xiao Xiao, while fleeing, continuously performed secret arts of the Flower Goddess Palace, leaving vast seas of flowers in her wake that attacked and impeded the oncoming deities.
Boom...
The twenty-odd deities pursuing them were unwilling to let Cui Hong's trio escape so easily. During the chase, they unleashed their spatial and temporal secret arts, along with Soul Force Martial Arts, while simultaneously employing various magical artifacts to launch long-range attacks against the three.
"Trying to compete with me in artifacts, are they?" Ye Yunfei sneered.
The number of artifacts Ye Yunfei had amassed during this period was staggering. Aside from others, the spatial ring gifted by the white-haired elder of the Skillful Hand Pavilion alone contained a massive quantity of deity-grade artifacts. That elder was, after all, a remarkably skilled alchemist—and as is well known, alchemists earn money with great ease. Nearly every master alchemist was incredibly wealthy. So, the elder possessed immense riches and treasures, including a huge stash of deity-grade artifacts.
Ye Yunfei took out one artifact after another, activating them and hurling them backward without a second thought, as if they cost nothing. These deity-grade artifacts served to disrupt and hinder the chasing deities.
"Easy there! These artifacts are precious! Every single one is deity-grade!" Golden Horned Silkworm Dragon cried out in anguish as he watched Ye Yunfei treat the treasures like common stones.
"Right now, is escaping more important, or are these artifacts more important?" Ye Yunfei retorted, vexed.
"Be careful! Those guys are starting a coordinated Soul Force attack!"
Suddenly, Patriarch Cui Hong sent a mental message to Ye Yunfei and Xiao Xiao.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Vast and mighty waves of Soul Power energy tore through the sky, transforming into various shapes and sweeping forward to bombard Cui Hong, Ye Yunfei, and Xiao Xiao.
"Senior, young lady Xiao Xiao," Ye Yunfei waved a hand, sending two spatial rings floating in front of Cui Hong and Xiao Xiao. "Here are some deity-grade Soul Force Energy Crystals. Take a portion."
The crystals within were rich in potent Soul Force Energy, a gift from the white-haired elder of the Skillful Hand Pavilion. The energy crystals treasured by such a master alchemist were, unsurprisingly, of extremely high grade and effectiveness.
Thereafter, Ye Yunfei, Cui Hong, and Xiao Xiao refined these Soul Force Energy-rich crystals while utilizing their own Soul Force Martial Arts to fend off the twenty deities' barrage.
There was no denying the terrifying might of a Soul Force attack launched simultaneously by over twenty deities. However, Cui Hong, Ye Yunfei, and Xiao Xiao had all cultivated highly advanced Soul Force Martial Arts. Coupled with the distance that had opened between the two parties, they managed to hold their ground, if barely.
Ye Yunfei suddenly noticed that Patriarch Cui Hong seemed to be struggling more than himself against the enemies' Soul Force Martial Arts attacks.
"Patriarch Cui Hong is currently a union of an energy body and a physical body. Moreover, what controls his physical form is but a remnant soul. Thus, attacks of this nature affect him more severely," Hun Lao explained, seeing Ye Yunfei's confusion.
"Right, that should be it," Ye Yunfei nodded. With a thought, he activated his Soul Sword to attack the deities closing in behind.
Alongside the Soul Sword, Ye Yunfei also unleashed the Invisible Heart Sword. As his strength and Soul Power steadily increased, the might of his Soul Sword naturally grew far more potent than before.
The Primary Void Gods among the pursuers showed startled expressions upon being struck by Ye Yunfei's Soul Sword, feeling genuine danger from the assault.
"How is this possible?" they exclaimed in alarm. "This brat's Soul Force Martial Arts are shockingly powerful, seemingly threatening to us! Although his bodily quality and strength are impressive, he's only a Perfected Half-God. Why is his Soul Power also so formidable?"
As they fled, Ye Yunfei, Cui Hong, and Xiao Xiao exhausted every possible method to slow down their twenty-plus pursuers while moving forward at breakneck speed. Finally, after some time, they gradually began pulling away.
"Damn it!" The pursuers were growing impatient. "These three are too fast. Who knows when we'll catch up."
Their primary goal for entering this place was exploration and treasure hunting. Spending too much time chasing the trio would impede that.
"Forget it," a deity suddenly spoke up. "I think we should hurry and see if we can obtain the Divine King Fruit. If we're too late, we might miss it."
"Yes," another chimed in. "I believe seizing the Divine King Fruit should be our top priority. As for those three... we can deal with them another time."
"I also think our most urgent task is competing for the Divine King Fruit."
...
Inspired by the first deity's words, the other members of the Guardian Faction voiced their agreement.
"Very well," the leader of the Guardian Faction contingent suddenly halted, glaring darkly at the retreating figures of Cui Hong, Ye Yunfei, and Xiao Xiao. "Those three are far too swift; catching them quickly will be difficult. Let's go for the Divine King Fruit first, lest we waste this opportunity."
He then waved a hand, leading the twenty-odd deities as they turned and left.
"It seems they've given up chasing us," Patriarch Cui Hong said, coming to a stop.
"Looks like they've decided to go for the Divine King Fruit first and deal with us later," he added.
"Being weak is truly humiliating," Ye Yunfei conveyed mentally to Hun Lao, watching the departing Guardian Faction deities with frustration.
"Indeed, lacking strength means being restrained everywhere; nothing comes easy," Hun Lao sighed in agreement. "Given our current power, we hold no significant advantage against such deities—unless we encounter a lone Primary Void God or two, then we could barely manage."
"Senior," Xiao Xiao looked at Cui Hong, "what should we do now?"
"The Divine King Fruit is a rare treasure indeed. We should go take a look as well," Patriarch Cui Hong replied after some thought. "However, from now on, we must change our appearances, suppress our auras, and keep a low profile. We need to conceal our identities as much as possible."
He then asked, "What do you two think?"
"Senior, let's proceed exactly as you say," Ye Yunfei answered. Xiao Xiao nodded in agreement.
The trio then began employing their respective disguise arts, altering their appearances and masking the auras of their Soul Bodies.
For Ye Yunfei, this was a simple task. He possessed a Concealment Talisman, a gift from Tong Hao when he left the Three Thousand Worlds. This talisman could thoroughly conceal the aura of his Soul Body.
"Young Master Ye," Cui Hong showed a shocked expression after Ye Yunfei activated the talisman, "what art are you using? I can't sense your Soul Body's aura at all!"
"This is due to a powerful Concealment Talisman I possess, Senior," Ye Yunfei answered honestly.
"I see," Cui Hong and Xiao Xiao both understood.
"Senior, young lady Xiao Xiao," Ye Yunfei then added, "when the time comes, stay close to me. This Concealment Talisman not only masks my own aura but also, within a certain range, can help conceal the auras of those around me. It works quite well."
Having used this talisman many times, Ye Yunfei had long discovered this added function.
"That's excellent!" Cui Hong nodded.
The three of them then turned back, retracing their path.
"They say the Divine King Fruit is in a dense forest up ahead. Many have already entered; we must hurry."
Soon after, they encountered many others on the road, all rushing toward a single direction.
Finally, Cui Hong, Ye Yunfei, and Xiao Xiao followed the stream of people and arrived at the outskirts of a vast, primitive forest.
"The Divine King Fruit is somewhere inside this forest. Let's go in!" Someone pointed in a certain direction within the woods.
The person then soared up and charged toward that area. Naturally, no one wanted to be left behind. Figures darted forward, utilizing their movement techniques.
Caw! Caw! Caw!
Suddenly, a mass of black clouds surged out from the forest, emanating billowing, bloodthirsty killing intent.
"Crows! Those are all crows!" Someone cried out in alarm.
Everyone knew that the avian and bestial lifeforms on this ancient continent were anything but ordinary. Instinctively, they tried to dodge the swarm of crows. However, the numbers pouring out from the dense forest below only increased.
"Scram!" A deity drew a long blade and cleaved at several crows ahead, instantly splitting them in two. Yet, the next moment, masses of crows surged toward him from all sides, like a black sea with fluttering wings.
"Damned things!" Enraged, the deity infused his long blade with torrential divine light, a massive blade projection manifesting. He swung it horizontally.
This strike slaughtered dozens of crows, but the flock besieging him numbered in the tens of thousands. Killing a few dozen did little to alleviate the situation.
The next instant, a sea of black crows submerged him from every direction.
This deity, a Primary Void God with decent strength, was completely overwhelmed against such sheer numbers.
Moments later, agonized screams echoed as the countless crows tore him apart, ending his life on the spot.
"So these crows are this terrifying!" The onlookers felt their scalps crawl.
Everyone could tell that the individual combat strength of each crow wasn't particularly high. But there were just too many; swarming like that made them nearly impossible to deal with.
"Begone before Buddha!"
A loud roar thundered. Then, the crowd saw a Buddhist monk clutching a wooden fish in his left hand and a short wooden rod in his right. Radiating rolling Buddhist light, wherever he moved, the surrounding black crows were repelled, flying backward.
"These crows possess yin-cold energy! We must use yang to restrain yin! Suppress them with yang-attribute auras!"
Seeing the Buddhist monk's radiant light prove effective, directly clearing a path before him as he plunged deeper into the forest, someone gained inspiration and shouted.
"Right! These crows emanate chilling, yin energies. We can use yang to counter yin!"
Others grasped the idea and began using various yang-attribute artifacts or unleashing yang-attribute techniques and martial skills to repel the oncoming crows. And indeed, it worked wonders.
At that moment, Ye Yunfei willed two mythical beasts to emerge from his back—the Vermilion Bird and the Fire Candle from his Nine Palaces Totem Wheel.
The Vermilion Bird was, of course, a yang-attribute divine beast.
The Fire Clan's Flame Beast, a mythical creature said to be related to the sun, was also yang-attribute.
The two divine beasts radiated blazing divine light and fierce yang energy while also opening their maws to spew torrents of scorching flames, instantly clearing a wide swath of crows ahead.
"What art is that guy cultivating? He can conjure the likenesses of two legendary yang-attribute divine beasts!" The onlookers stared at the Vermilion Bird and Fire Candle flanking Ye Yunfei in astonishment.
Cui Hong's physical body, though a corpse, was suppressed by the True Phoenix Divine Fire, allowing it to release terrifying fire-attribute energies.
Xiao Xiao stayed behind Cui Hong and Ye Yunfei, her form surrounded by dense clusters of flowers. Whenever crows attempted to swarm her, the flowers would spin with incredible speed, slicing the birds to pieces.
In mere moments, Cui Hong, Ye Yunfei, and Xiao Xiao shook off the crow assault and plunged deep into the heart of the primeval forest.
Not long after, Ye Yunfei spotted a spacious valley up ahead. In the valley lay a lake with shimmering, crystalline waters resembling an enormous piece of jade placed at its center.
In the middle of the lake rested a small island. Upon this island grew an immense divine tree whose radiance was unbearably brilliant. It was enveloped in shimmering, multicolored clouds and swirling halos of dazzling, iridescent essence, as if carved from ruby-red agate.
Even more startling, a hazy, ancient silhouette of a deity seemed to be seated cross-legged atop the magnificent tree, emanating an aura that left all present struggling to breathe.
"It seems that must be the Divine King Fruit Tree," Ye Yunfei said, gazing at the towering divine tree on the lake's central island from afar.