"Young Master Wu, if you truly take a fancy to this Fox Race woman, we can simply seize her by force. There's no need to gift them those cultivation resources."
Upon seeing Ye Yunfei prepare to leave with Hu Miao, a Deity beside Young Master Wu immediately sent a voice transmission.
"No. That young man is extremely dangerous. Just now, he locked onto my aura, and it made me feel a sense of extreme peril. When I feel such danger, I will not provoke the other party further," the young master replied, shaking his head as he gazed warily at Ye Yunfei's departing figure.
"Young Master Wu, how is that possible? That young man is merely a Perfected Demigod. He can actually make you feel an aura of extreme danger?" the deity who had sent the voice transmission found it hard to believe.
"Indeed, I truly sensed an aura of extreme danger from him. You know I carry a high-grade treasure capable of discerning truth from falsehood that my father gave me. It's always been exceptionally accurate," Young Master Wu answered.
"Could that young man be concealing his true depths?" The deity's expression grew doubtful upon hearing Wu's words.
He knew Young Master Wu possessed a highly sophisticated scouting-type artifact, a treasure so rare it was legendary. Merely wearing it was said to allow one to see through most illusion arts and all manner of disguises, accurately perceiving the Soul Body aura of a target. Hearing this, the deity no longer doubted Wu's words.
"Moreover, before I left home, Father repeatedly urged me to remain low-key in my actions and keep a low profile while traveling. I am not to cause trouble, and most importantly, I must not provoke those I cannot afford to offend," Young Master Wu continued. "So, the moment I sensed danger from that young man, I immediately abandoned any thought of further provoking him."
Hearing this, the Deities surrounding Young Master Wu said nothing more.
Their duty was to protect Young Master Wu. If the young master himself could stay low-key and not provoke unnecessary conflicts, their task would be much easier.
"Young Master Wu, that Fox Race woman appears to be the legendary Primordial Heavenly Fox," another Deity by his side spoke up.
"Indeed. I noticed long ago. Their numbers are exceedingly rare; I never imagined I'd encounter one today," Young Master Wu nodded. "However, I've heard our clan elders say that although the Primordial Heavenly Fox Race is small in number, they still endure in this world, their legacy unbroken. Moreover, they possess formidable foundations. Unless absolutely necessary, it's best to avoid provoking their kind, for they are notoriously vengeful. Once marked by the hatred of the Primordial Heavenly Fox Race, retribution is only a matter of time."
"If so, Young Master Wu, why did you speak to that Primordial Heavenly Fox woman the way you did earlier?" the deity asked, puzzled.
"I merely wished to express my admiration. That's perfectly normal. If I could truly win her favor and court a Primordial Heavenly Fox as a companion, that wouldn't be bad either," Young Master Wu remarked, his gaze lingering in the direction Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao had departed.
"Alright, let's go. Continue exploring for treasures." Young Master Wu waved his hand and left instantly with his retinue of Deities.
By this time, Ye Yunfei had already traveled far from that location with Hu Miao and the others.
"Master, that fellow gifted us quite a few valuable items," Hu Miao said, holding a spatial ring.
She had accepted all the cultivation resources Young Master Wu offered without reservation, storing them in this spatial ring. The resources were all Deity-grade, including a significant number of energy crystals, Divine Pills, Divine-grade magical treasures, and a large batch of other Deity-level cultivation materials.
"That fellow must have entered from some other region of the Void. He has so many Deities following him; his status is likely not insignificant," Ye Yunfei replied. "Forget about him. If he doesn't provoke me, I won't provoke him. Since he offered these resources, there's no need to dwell on it. Otherwise, given his initial attitude, I would have already taken action against him."
"Indeed, Master. If he hadn't gifted us these resources, I would have already made a move too," Hu Miao said.
As time passed, Ye Yunfei continued moving about the True Phoenix Tomb, gradually acquiring even more treasures.
The True Phoenix Tomb's space was vast, containing countless fragmented worlds and shattered stars. Almost every broken world and star hid a considerable number of natural treasures. The many explorers searching the tomb combed through these ruined celestial bodies one by one. After a period of exploration and treasure hunting, almost everyone who had entered had gained something. Many had even acquired enormous harvests.
"I've collected a considerable amount of Star Mother Sand now. It's time to attempt refining and fusing it into my fleshly body."
As time went by, the quantity of Star Mother Sand Ye Yunfei obtained increased significantly. He decided to refine all the collected Star Mother Sand into his fleshly body. He entered a remote, broken world, then ventured deep inside a bare mountain peak. There, he set up a large earth formation before entering the formation and proceeding into the Phantom Tower.
Ye Yunfei waved his hand, causing a large quantity of golden Star Mother Sand to materialize before him. Golden flecks of light sparkled, resembling a sky full of golden stars distributed through the space before him, dazzling and brilliant.
"Star Mother Sand can be used for crafting artifacts or for body tempering. However, you must be very careful attempting to refine and fuse it into your physical form," a voice transmission from Cui Hong suddenly reached Ye Yunfei. "Star Mother Sand is extremely heavy. An ordinary physical body cannot bear its weight. If your body cannot withstand it, you risk backlash—the sand could shatter your body from within."
"Elder Cui Hong, have you refined that Divine King Fruit already?" Ye Yunfei asked, pleasantly surprised.
"Indeed, I have. My current strength has significantly increased compared to before," Cui Hong replied with a laugh.
*BOOM!*
At that moment, Ye Yunfei suddenly noticed a massive accumulation of dark clouds gathering in the space above the Phantom Tower outside.
"I'm going to face a Lightning Tribulation," Xiao Xiao sent a voice transmission.
"Xiao Xiao, have you also refined the Divine King Fruit?" Ye Yunfei asked happily.
"Yes, I've fully refined that fruit. I'm about to undergo the tribulation now. Guard for me," Xiao Xiao replied.
In the next moment, Ye Yunfei teleported Xiao Xiao out of the Phantom Tower. Together, they emerged atop the mountain outside. The space above the peak was now filled with massive banks of tribulation clouds, with rolling and churning thunder gathering, its momentum terrifying.
As soon as Xiao Xiao appeared, she ascended into the sky. An enormous flower materialized beside her, spinning rapidly.
（After consuming and refining the Divine King Fruit, Xiao Xiao was about to break through and ascend!）
Cui Hong appeared beside Ye Yunfei. "Elder, your strength has indeed grown substantially," Ye Yunfei said, sensing Cui Hong's energy aura and feeling elated. He found that Cui Hong's current energy intensity was at least five to six times greater than before.
*If Elder Cui Hong were to encounter an Intermediate Void God now, he should be able to win very easily,* Ye Yunfei mused inwardly.
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
The Lightning Tribulation soon officially began. A deluge of densely packed, rolling lightning descended from the heavens.
Xiao Xiao let out a long cry and ascended step by step against the sky, the giant flower accompanying her as she battled the heavenly thunder.
"Excellent. Xiao Xiao's strength has also increased significantly. She will undoubtedly succeed in this tribulation. The Divine King Fruit truly lives up to its reputation," Cui Hong nodded approvingly as he watched Xiao Xiao bathing in the sea of thunder in the distance.
"Indeed, she will succeed in this tribulation," Ye Yunfei concurred after merely a few moments of observation.
"Elder, please guard Xiao Xiao. I must seize the time to refine the Star Mother Sand into my fleshly body to enhance my power," Ye Yunfei said to Cui Hong after a moment's consideration.
"Very well, I'll guard her. You can focus on your cultivation," Cui Hong nodded. In a flash, Ye Yunfei returned to the Phantom Tower.
Ye Yunfei waved his hand and retrieved over a dozen bottles of pills. These included both Divine Pills and Demigod Pills, with the latter all refined by Ye Yunfei himself.
He emptied the pills from their jade vials. Opening his mouth, he took a deep breath, causing pill after pill to rise continuously and fly into his mouth.
All of these pills were beneficial to the physical body. As a large number of them entered his stomach, a surge of potent medicinal energy erupted, roaring and churning within his form. Instantly, this power reached every corner and every cell of his body.
After refining all the pills, Ye Yunfei felt the quality of his physique had improved noticeably.
"Good. Now begins the refinement and fusion of this Star Mother Sand into my body."
As Cui Hong had explained, refining Star Mother Sand into one's flesh was perilous. The sand was incredibly heavy, and if one's physical quality was insufficient, forcing the refinement could be harmful rather than strengthening.
However, Ye Yunfei believed his physical quality was sufficient to refine and fuse the Star Mother Sand.
Next, Ye Yunfei employed the Heaven-Metal Race's technique, the Fused Physique Incarnation, to begin refining the dazzling golden flecks of Star Mother Sand shimmering before him.