"A'Fang, don't worry, we're back."
As Xiao Xiao's words finished, Cui Hong had already soared into the air. Like a divine mountain carrying terrifying energy pressure, he charged toward a distant flower sedan surrounded by three Deities of the Guardian Faction.
Among these three Deities, one was an Intermediate Void God, and two were Primary Void Gods.
"The Guardian Faction sent so many Deities into the True Phoenix Tomb, but they still have three here. Truly, the power of the Guardian Faction is frightening, possessing such a vast number of Deities," Ye Yunfei thought to himself as he saw the three Deities.
Boom...
Cui Hong had already launched a ferocious attack, sending the three Deities of the Guardian Faction staggering back with his first move.
"Cui Hong, to think you've returned!"
The three Deities' expressions changed upon seeing the murderous Cui Hong suddenly appear.
"Correct, I've returned to take your dog lives," Cui Hong said in an icy voice.
With a *whoosh*, his fist struck toward the Intermediate Void God, a phantom shadow of an ancient Deity wreathed in roiling flames manifesting above his fist.
"Cui Hong, you're just an energy body. What's there for you to be so arrogant about? With my realm and strength, I can crush you outright," the Intermediate Void God of the Guardian Faction stated.
He then threw a punch to block Cui Hong's fist.
At this moment, Xiao Xiao arrived as well, charging to kill the two Primary Void Gods of the Guardian Faction.
Xiao Xiao was now at the Intermediate Void God realm. Moreover, the cultivation resources and treasures she had gained inside the True Phoenix Tomb over this period had thoroughly stabilized her at the Intermediate level. As soon as she made a move, she sent the two Primary Void Gods retreating continuously, barely able to put up a fight.
"How is this possible?! This little slut has already reached the Intermediate Void God realm!"
The two Deities were horrified. According to Guardian Faction intelligence, Xiao Xiao was merely a Primary Void God.
"Dare to insult my Master? Die!" Xiao Xiao wasted no more words on them.
A massive flower floated and rotated above her head, from which countless blossoms streamed endlessly, transforming into vast oceans of flowers that whistled toward the two Primary Void Gods of the Guardian Faction, surrounding them.
"Not good, this little slut's power is too strong!"
After only a few exchanges, the two Primary Void Gods completely lost their footing. One was blasted far away by Xiao Xiao, smashing halfway through a distant mountain peak.
The other Primary Void God, panic-stricken, tried to turn and flee, but oceans of flowers tightly hemmed him in from all directions.
Each flower spun wildly, slicing into his body. His clothes were cut to tatters, followed by his skin and flesh being carved with bloody gashes, causing his blood to gush out in torrents.
"Well done, Xiao Xiao. It seems your trip to the True Phoenix Tomb yielded considerable gains," a voice came from inside the flower sedan.
"Master, I've already reached the Intermediate Void God realm. These two scoundrels were disrespectful to you just now. I'll kill them now to vent your anger," Xiao Xiao said.
Even as she spoke, her attacks became even more ferocious.
"Hmm, good. Now you can even stand up for your Master," came the voice of the Flower Goddess Palace Master, a note of approval in her tone, clearly very satisfied with this disciple.
Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei, leading thirty puppets, had already slaughtered all the other Guardian Faction members present.
It must be understood that these thirty puppets were all at the Deity-level. Dealing with ordinary Guardian Faction members was a completely one-sided massacre.
The Guardian Faction members offered no resistance whatsoever. The moment the puppets approached, they were suppressed, unable to move, frozen like statues, waiting motionlessly to be slaughtered.
Thus, in mere moments, all Guardian Faction members inside the Fire Realm were annihilated, leaving only the three Deities.
Ye Yunfei waved his hand, withdrawing all thirty puppets.
"Using thirty Deity-level puppets against ordinary Guardian Faction members... that's such bullying. It's like using thirty knives meant for slaughtering cattle to kill a colony of ants," Hun Lao couldn't help but laugh.
"With the Guardian Faction, there's no need for courtesy. I prefer using absolutely overwhelming force to eliminate them all in the shortest possible time," Ye Yunfei replied.
By now, Ye Yunfei had approached the flower sedan. The battles between Cui Hong and the Intermediate Void God, as well as Xiao Xiao and the two Primary Void Gods, were also taking place near the sedan.
"How... how is this possible?! Where are our Guardian Faction men? Are they... all dead?!"
Only at this moment did the three Deities suddenly notice that not a single subordinate they had brought remained; all had been slaughtered.
The Fire Realm was littered with dismembered limbs and shattered flesh, rivers of blood flowing.
During the fight, these three Deities had been thoroughly overwhelmed, their focus and attention entirely dedicated to coping with their opponents' attacks. Moreover, Ye Yunfei and the thirty puppets had exterminated everyone with astonishing speed. Thus, it was only now that these three Guardian Faction Deities suddenly realized their subordinates had been wiped out—completely, without exception—in such a brief time.
"Ye Yunfei, you little beast! Was it you? You were the one who killed all our Guardian Faction men just now?!" the Intermediate Void God roared, glaring at Ye Yunfei with rage-filled eyes.
Ye Yunfei stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He didn't speak, merely looked coldly at the Intermediate Void God.
"Little beast, just you wait! You'll regret crossing our Guardian Faction. Even Cui Hong won't be able to protect you!" the Intermediate Void God continued.
"I think you should consider instead... how you wish to die," Cui Hong said icily.
"Cui Hong, don't think that just because your power has improved, you can oppose our Guardian Faction. I've already sent a message back. More experts from our Guardian Faction will soon arrive. Just wait. Your Fire Clan will be exterminated.
Truth be told, the reason we waited so long to act was precisely to wait for your return so we could eradicate the root. Now that you're back, it's time for you and your Fire Clan to perish!" the Intermediate Void God bellowed angrily.
"Then hurry up and call them. The more, the better. I'll be waiting," Ye Yunfei replied coldly.
For Ye Yunfei, only Advanced Void Gods could pressure him. Primary and Intermediate Void Gods no longer posed any threat.
"Kid, you won't cry until you see the coffin. Clearly, you have no understanding of the Guardian Faction's true power. You truly think Cui Hong and these two sluts from the Flower Goddess Palace can protect you?" the Intermediate Void God sneered.
"Enough nonsense. Summon them. I'll be right here waiting," Ye Yunfei said coldly, a hint of contempt curling at the corner of his mouth.
Meanwhile, inside the Phantom Tower, one of Ye Yunfei's Clones was continuously refining puppet after puppet. Ye Yunfei had obtained over a thousand puppets within the True Phoenix Tomb. However, more than eight hundred of them were semi-finished and not yet fully refined, while five hundred had been fully completed.
Among these five hundred puppets, one hundred were at the Deity-level.
During this period, one of Ye Yunfei's Clones had been constantly refining these puppets inside the Phantom Tower. So far, Ye Yunfei had refined over fifty Deity-level puppets.
However, he discovered that, given his current Soul Power level, controlling thirty Deity-level puppets simultaneously seemed to have reached its limit. Even if he marked all one hundred Deity-level puppets with his Soul Power imprints, using them all would be extremely strenuous, unable to unleash their full combat effectiveness.
"It seems I need to seriously improve my Soul Power," Ye Yunfei inwardly noted.
At the same time, another one of his Clones inside the Phantom Tower was studying and comprehending the dozen-odd skill jade slips obtained earlier from the Divine Pill Hall in the True Phoenix City.
Back then, Ye Yunfei discovered these skill jade slips on the third floor of the core building of the Divine Pill Hall. After breaking through the protective formations on that floor, he obtained over ten of them.
The jade slips all recorded Alchemy techniques collected by the master Alchemists of the True Phoenix Divine Clan's Divine Pill Hall.
"The Alchemy legacies collected by the Divine Pill Hall of the True Phoenix Divine Clan are truly profound! With these legacies, I should be able to refine Divine Pills soon!"
Ye Yunfei soon wore an excited expression.
It could be said these Alchemy legacies opened a vaster world of Pill Dao before him, elevating his understanding to new heights.
In the following time, Ye Yunfei had one Soul Body and a dozen Soul Power star nuclei begin earnestly comprehending these Alchemy legacies.
He understood well that if he could refine Divine Pills, it would bring immense benefits to his own and his companions' cultivation.
"Senior, since these three have already sent messages back, they've lost their value. Kill them all," Ye Yunfei looked coldly at the three Guardian Faction Deities and said.
"Agreed. Go to hell!" Cui Hong nodded.
Both Cui Hong and Xiao Xiao had intentionally held back from dealing a fatal blow thus far, precisely hoping they would send messages back to summon more Guardian Faction forces.
"Cui Hong! Do you think killing me is so easy? Don't delude yourself!" the Intermediate Void God roared immediately upon hearing Ye Yunfei and Cui Hong's dialogue.
"Killing you isn't particularly difficult," Cui Hong replied coldly.
Suddenly, more violent flames began to burn across Cui Hong's body. Roiling pillars of fire soared into the sky.
A pair of long blades appeared in both Cui Hong's hands. The blades, seemingly formed from flames themselves, blazed continuously as he gripped them.
Clasping the flaming blades, Cui Hong slashed forward with both hands simultaneously.