At this moment, the crimson glow before the white-haired elder suddenly accelerated, shooting fiercely in one direction.
"It seems something's happening."
The white-haired elder's heart stirred, and he immediately sped up, following closely behind that crimson glow.
"It might have already locked onto that brat!"
"Excellent!"
"Wait until I find him; I'll definitely make him taste my power!"
...
The other Perfected Void Gods all felt their spirits lift. They promptly increased their speed and followed.
At this very moment, Ye Yunfei felt his law refinement and body tempering had reached the most critical juncture. A large number of Great Dao's Law Flames within his body were burning wildly, releasing astonishing heat. Rolling flames surged out of his body, thoroughly igniting the surrounding space.
The spot where Ye Yunfei now sat cross-legged had transformed into a sea of fire. The space was constantly twisted and distorted by the scorching heat. The dense forest beneath him was incinerated completely, turned into a stretch of pitch-black scorched earth.
The corpses of countless beasts had also been roasted, steaming and smoking, emitting the charred aroma of a barbecue.
"Excellent, it's finally about to succeed!"
Hun Lao had now sensed Ye Yunfei's state undergoing some kind of qualitative change.
"I can sense it too! Master is finally about to become a Deity!"
Hu Miao cried out joyfully, then immediately covered her mouth, worried her voice might disturb Ye Yunfei.
The Great Dao's Law Flames within Ye Yunfei's body seemed to reach a peak state, releasing terrifying heat as they continuously tempered Ye Yunfei's flesh, even including his Soul Sea and Soul Body.
After undergoing this tempering by the Great Dao's Law Flames for a period, Ye Yunfei's flesh seemed refined to perfection, crystalline and radiant, glowing with rolling divine light.
At this moment, Ye Yunfei felt a qualitative transformation occurring from his physical body to his Soul Body. It was a leap forward, an evolution of his life essence.
"I've finally become a Deity!"
Ye Yunfei slowly stood up. The Great Dao's Law Flames within his body were gradually extinguishing, while those principles that had been drawn into his body were slowly merging into his flesh and blood, becoming part of them.
Law refinement and body tempering involved not only using the Great Dao's Law Flames to temper the flesh but also ultimately absorbing these Great Dao principles to become part of the body.
This was also why True Gods were so much stronger than ordinary Deities: part of a True God's flesh was composed of the Great Dao's principles. Every movement could perfectly harmonize with all things between heaven and earth.
"Master, you've become a Deity! That's wonderful!"
Seeing Ye Yunfei stand up, Hu Miao immediately rushed forward excitedly.
"Yes, I have finally become a Deity!"
Ye Yunfei examined his own form. It was now a genuine Deity's physique, emanating rolling divine light, seeming eternally indestructible.
"How's your current combat power?"
Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm also quickly moved closer, asking curiously.
"My current combat power is hard to say. After all, I just broke through and haven't fully stabilized my state yet," Ye Yunfei replied.
Right at this moment, Ye Yunfei suddenly discovered that inside his body, near his heart, there was a crimson glow. This glow possessed a sinister, dark power that was slowly devouring his heart.
Previously, with the Great Dao's Law Flames constantly tempering his body, this crimson glow seemed to have hidden within his heart without manifesting. Now that all the Law Flames within him had been extinguished, this crimson glow began to appear, emitting a strange energy as it corroded and consumed the surrounding flesh and blood. Ye Yunfei even felt its influence on his Soul Body.
"Not good! It's that crimson glow from before!"
"When did it manage to invade my body?!"
Ye Yunfei suddenly remembered the red light that had been tracking him earlier and knew that this crimson glow within his heart must be that same strange red light he had sensed.
Back then, Ye Yunfei had even used Seamless Phantasm Technique to evade it. But after he had entered that long-distance teleportation formation and departed, he hadn't sensed the crimson glow again and had continued his law refinement in this new world.
Ye Yunfei had thought he'd shaken it off, never imagining it had managed to enter his heart undetected, hidden itself, and only now revealed itself.
"What is this thing?"
"So sinister and terrifying that even I fell victim!"
Ye Yunfei was somewhat astonished. He immediately told Hun Lao about the situation with the crimson glow in his heart.
"What? That red light has quietly entered your heart? Even I failed to detect it!"
Hearing this, Hun Lao was also greatly shocked and immediately extended his senses towards Ye Yunfei's heart.
"This should be a curse technique passed down from ancient times," Hun Lao stated after a moment of sensing.
"A curse?" Ye Yunfei was taken aback.
"Yes. Someone has cursed you," Hun Lao nodded.
"Curses are a type of sinister secret art that existed even in ancient times. Those who practice curses need only grasp a target's aura, especially their Soul Body's aura, to curse someone remotely using bizarre methods.
"Once a curse is cast, it will shadow its target relentlessly, tightly locking onto their Soul Body, continuously tracking and entwining them. Finally, it will enter the target's body, destroying their life force—both physical and Soul Body vitality—causing severe injury or death.
"Moreover, curses are often extremely covert. Those lacking strong perception may not understand what happened even as they face death.
"Your perception is very strong, which is why you sensed this red light earlier."
"I sensed it before, but it still managed to sneak into my body without me knowing," Ye Yunfei said with a bitter smile after hearing Hun Lao's explanation.
"That's because you were completely focused on your law refinement earlier, so it seized that opportunity," Hun Lao replied.
"I believe I've heard of, and perhaps even encountered, curse arts before. But those I've encountered were very low-level.
"Now that I'm already a Deity, this crimson glow still stubbornly occupies my heart. I just tried to force it out but failed.
"This is the first time I've encountered such a terrifying curse. How should I cleanse it?" Ye Yunfei asked.
Ye Yunfei knew that Hun Lao's knowledge must come from his racial inherited memories. The Chaos World Tree Clan was an extremely ancient race, said to have existed even before the various voids were created in the world. Therefore, this race preserved vast amounts of varied knowledge.
"Curses are sinister and terrifying. Once tainted by one, cleansing it thoroughly is extremely difficult. But for our Chaos World Tree Clan, it's not a big problem, because our bloodline naturally possesses resistance and repulsion against various curse arts," Hun Lao said with a smile.
"Really? Can you help me eliminate this red glow?" Ye Yunfei was overjoyed.
"Of course I can. In fact, you've already refined and fused with the Bloodline Essence of my race before. So, even though this red glow has been lurking inside your body for quite some time, the damage it has caused you so far is minimal.
"I'll give you a few more drops of my race's Bloodline Essence. After you refine and absorb it, I'll teach you how to completely remove it. However, this will require some time."
"Good. Let's start immediately," Ye Yunfei said, delighted.
He definitely didn't want that strange crimson glow lurking in his heart any longer.
Next, Ye Yunfei found another concealed spot within this world, set up a small Formations space, and then entered the Phantom Tower.
Hun Lao condensed five drops of his Bloodline Essence and handed them to Ye Yunfei.
The Chaos World Tree Clan was an extremely ancient and noble race. Five drops of their Bloodline Essence could be considered supreme treasures, containing boundless life force.
Ye Yunfei immediately began refining and fusing with these five drops of essence.
At the same time, the white-haired elder led the other Perfected Void Gods, still tracking Ye Yunfei's whereabouts.
The crimson glow was continuously advancing through the void, getting closer and closer to the world where Ye Yunfei was.
"Chief Officer, we're about to find that brat. He must be somewhere nearby!" a Perfected Void God exclaimed joyfully.
"Excellent!"
The other Perfected Void Gods were also thrilled.
Not long after, led by the crimson glow, these Perfected Void Gods entered a world, arriving above a vast mountain range.
"There!"
"That brat must have performed law refinement there not long ago."
Their perceptive abilities were astonishing. They immediately spotted a location within the mountains that had been completely burned away, turned into an area of black scorched earth.
They all sensed Ye Yunfei's residual aura.
"Indeed. That brat did perform law refinement here not long ago. And it seems he succeeded," the white-haired elder said slowly, his expression somewhat grim as he looked at the charred ground below.
"What? That brat has already become a Deity?"
"How is that possible?"
"We interrupted his law refinement midway before. Moreover, he left the world where he underwent the tribulation. How could he continue his law refinement successfully in a different place, and after such a long gap?"
One Perfected Void God cried out unwillingly.
"That's right. I can also feel that brat seems to have truly become a Deity," another Perfected Void God with relatively strong perception said slowly.
Standing in the air above the mountain range, these Perfected Void Gods all seethed with rage, their eyes blazing.
A whole ten Perfected Void Gods had worked together to disrupt Ye Yunfei's tribulation. They never imagined that in the end, Ye Yunfei had still succeeded in crossing the tribulation and breaking through to Deityhood. Such a result was unacceptable to them.
"It seems that brat not only possesses exceptional talent, but his luck is also quite good," the white-haired elder said darkly.
"Everyone, I can feel that the curse I placed on that brat is still active. This means that although he's become a Deity, he hasn't yet cleansed my curse."
"My curse art is a high-level technique passed down from ancient times. Even though he's become a Deity, it won't be easy for him to get rid of."
"Let's hurry and find him now. As long as my curse is still effective, I believe we can kill him."
"So what if he's become a Deity?"
"Even a Deity will still be slain by us!"
At this moment, one of the Perfected Void Gods suddenly spoke up. He was the one who had originally cast the curse on Ye Yunfei.
"That's right. The fact that your curse can lead us here to find him proves that your curse on him is still effective. Hurry and lead us to him now," the white-haired elder nodded.
"Exactly! So what if that brat has become a Deity? He's only a beginner Void God. There's nothing to fear."
"I refuse to believe that ten of us Perfected Void Gods can't handle him."
The other Perfected Void Gods each chimed in.
"Alright then. I'll use my curse art to find him now."
The Perfected Void God who had cursed Ye Yunfei declared. He then began moving his hands constantly, intricate motions resembling butterflies fluttering through flowers, forming one strange hand seal after another.
Moments later, he simultaneously pushed both hands towards the crimson glow nearby, and repeatedly spat out several mouthfuls of essence blood. His face paled considerably.
A hum resonated. The crimson glow trembled violently. Previously looking somewhat dim, it now suddenly bloomed with rolling crimson light, brilliant and dazzling. It then shot towards a direction in the distance.
"That brat must be in that direction. Let's chase!"
The Perfected Void God took a step forward, leading the pursuit. The others followed closely.
Back within the Phantom Tower...
"Excellent, Master! The curse on you has finally been removed!"
After refining and fusing with Hun Lao's Bloodline Essence and undergoing some guidance from him, Ye Yunfei finally succeeded in completely expelling the crimson glow that had been hidden in his heart.
The energy of this crimson glow now seemed largely depleted. It had become very dim and faint, floating nearby, flickering in and out of existence as if it might dissipate at any moment.
"Don't mind it anymore. This curse's energy is nearly exhausted. It's no longer a threat to you," Hun Lao said, glancing at the crimson glow.