"At worst, I'll just announce my departure from the Lu Family when the time comes. Then I can openly follow and work with you, Brother Ye. In fact, according to our Lu Family's founding ancestor's divination, the Guardian Faction has long been secretly targeting our Lu Family from the shadows. So even if we avoid provoking them, a direct confrontation with the Guardian Faction is inevitable in the future. That's why every time I see those Guardian Faction bastards, I'm filled with anger. Brother Ye, don't worry, I will absolutely not bow down to those scum."
At this moment, Lu Shi spoke again.
"Good. Now that Brother Lu has made your decision, I am at ease," Ye Yunfei replied.
"For now, let's first ascend to the Yangming King's cultivation cave and see if we can obtain some good treasures," Ye Yunfei continued, his approval of Lu Shi growing within him.
"Brother Lu, take these divine pills as you climb. I have plenty more," Ye Yunfei added, taking out more than ten jade vials and handing them to Lu Shi. Ye Yunfei's clones were constantly refining pills inside the Phantom Tower, and due to the time difference between inside and outside, he could produce a new batch of pills every so often.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony! Thank you, Brother Ye!" Lu Shi hurriedly accepted the pills. He knew any pill given by Ye Yunfei would be of high quality.
Thus, Ye Yunfei brought Lu Shi along as they climbed up the mountain, drawing ever closer to the cultivation cave above.
Meanwhile, a large group of Guardian Faction members were also rapidly scaling the mountain, chasing after Ye Yunfei.
"It seems the Guardian Faction's foundation is truly formidable. They've actually cultivated so many powerful young members," Hun Lao remarked, sighing as he looked at the several dozen Guardian Faction figures pursuing Ye Yunfei.
"The Guardian Faction's foundation is indeed deep. However, these people are nothing to me. They're basically sending themselves to their deaths by seeking trouble with me," Ye Yunfei glanced back and said coldly.
"Brother Ye, we're almost at the Yangming King's cultivation cave!" Lu Shi exclaimed excitedly at that moment.
While climbing, Lu Shi swallowed the Divine Pills Ye Yunfei had given him. The effects were quite evident; although he felt increasing invisible pressure during the ascent, he could still manage to keep up with Ye Yunfei all the way up.
Ahead of them, there were several other young powerhouses also continuing their climb toward the cave. However, at this current height, everyone's speed had slowed significantly. Many seemed to be at the end of their rope, climbing with extreme difficulty step by step. The higher they went, the more people were eliminated.
"Hahaha… I've finally made it up!" Just then, a triumphant laugh echoed from above.
Everyone quickly looked up and saw that one young powerhouse had already reached the front of the Yangming King's cultivation cave. There was a small plaza before the cave's entrance, and that young powerhouse had already stepped onto it. He stared at the cultivation cave at the end of the plaza, visibly excited.
"Everyone, I am the first to ascend, which proves that I, Ge Shanhai, belong to the top-ranked powerhouses among the younger generation in the Sixth Void. Allow me to explore this Yangming King's cultivation cave. You can all go back down," that young powerhouse turned his head and declared loudly, sounding immensely proud as he looked at the other young powerhouses struggling to climb.
After speaking, he strode towards the cultivation cave at the plaza's end.
"Who says being first up makes you the strongest? You simply started climbing earlier than me," a white-robed young man had also arrived, stepping onto the plaza just then, and retorted with a cold laugh.
As these two young powerhouses had ascended from the other side of the mountain, Ye Yunfei hadn't seen them before.
"Senior Brother Yang has made it up!" The moment the white-robed young man stepped onto the plaza, disciples from the Lingxiao Sect at a certain spot below cheered excitedly.
"So he's from Lingxiao Sect," Ye Yunfei swept a glance at the white-robed man.
Following that, several other young powerhouses climbed up to the plaza one after another, including Sima Xuan.
"Let's speed up as well," Ye Yunfei said to Lu Shi.
"Brother Ye, the pressure on me is growing stronger and stronger. I'm afraid I can't go any faster," Lu Shi replied with a bitter smile.
"It's fine," Ye Yunfei waved his sleeve, enveloping Lu Shi with it. Then, his figure flashed, and he dramatically increased his speed.
"Brother Ye, so you were capable of this speed all along!" Lu Shi felt shocked by Ye Yunfei's sudden acceleration.
"Brother Ye, does that mean you were intentionally slowing down before because you were waiting for me?" Lu Shi couldn't help but ask.
While Lu Shi was speaking, Ye Yunfei was swiftly charging towards the plaza above. By the time Lu Shi finished his question, Ye Yunfei had already stepped onto the plaza.
At this moment, over twenty young powerhouses had reached the plaza.
Upon stepping onto the plaza, Ye Yunfei immediately sensed that the invisible pressure here was even more terrifying, rolling out from all sides.
"Brother Ye, this place is too terrifying!" Lu Shi's face instantly paled. Given his strength, being here was immensely strenuous. If Ye Yunfei hadn't been protecting him with his own energy aura, he likely would have been unable to endure.
Ye Yunfei saw that every young powerhouse who entered this plaza was extraordinary. Some were Perfected Void Gods. Some carried extremely high-grade treasures. Others possessed strength far exceeding their cultivation realm.
Right as Ye Yunfei stepped onto the plaza, another five or six young powerhouses following behind him also climbed up to this point.
"That's the cave where Yangming King secluded himself for cultivation! Let's hurry inside and take a look!" Everyone who entered the plaza endured the plaza's utterly terrifying pressure as they moved step by step towards the cultivation cave at the end.
The gates to that cultivation cave were closed. Neither Soul Power nor other forms of energy perception could penetrate inside; no one knew the situation within.
By now, some young powerhouses who had arrived earlier were nearly at the cave's gates. The closer one got to the gates, the more terrifying the invisible pressure became. So, everyone was moving slowly forward step by step, some even shifting with great difficulty. The few at the very front already looked flushed and strained, but with the Yangming King's cave just ahead, no one was willing to give up.
These young powerhouses constantly took out various cultivation resources as they struggled forward to replenish their energy.
"Brother Ye, that's the Yangming King's cultivation cave," Lu Shi said, his face full of yearning as he gazed at the cave at the plaza's end, even while feeling the overwhelming invisible pressure rolling towards him.
"Let's go take a look!" Ye Yunfei used his sleeve to grasp Lu Shi's arm and pulled him along as he strode forward.
Although the pressure Ye Yunfei felt upon entering the plaza was much greater than before, he could still move freely. This was because Ye Yunfei's physical strength was too formidable, and the Divine Power energy within his body was also stronger than that of an ordinary Perfected Void God. The combination of physical strength and Divine Power energy gave Ye Yunfei tremendous endurance.
"This guy can still move so quickly in this plaza!" Those nearby were astonished to see Ye Yunfei striding forward.
At this point, the number of young powerhouses who had entered the plaza had surpassed thirty, nearly forty.
Ye Yunfei saw Ba Yizhou, struggling along with several Lingxiao Sect young powerhouses, barely making it to the plaza. However, Ba Yizhou looked utterly exhausted. Just after stepping into the plaza's area, he stood at its edge, panting heavily.
Ye Yunfei took out a spatial ring, filled it with a large batch of the Divine Pills he had refined, flicked his finger, and sent it quietly to Ba Yizhou's front, then sent him a Sound Transmission.
Upon receiving Ye Yunfei's Sound Transmission, Ba Yizhou's spirit instantly rallied. He immediately stored away the spatial ring that had arrived before him, took out the Divine Pills inside, and began swallowing them, also sharing some with the other Lingxiao Sect disciples.
After swallowing the Divine Pills Ye Yunfei had gifted, Ba Yizhou immediately felt much more energized.
Since becoming a Divine Pill Master, Ye Yunfei's clones had been constantly refining Divine Pills inside the Phantom Tower. With extensive practice, his pill-refining skills had continuously improved. Therefore, the quality and effects of the Divine Pills Ye Yunfei refined now were excellent.
"Just who is that guy? He still seems so relaxed in this plaza," many people couldn't help but whisper among themselves as they noticed Ye Yunfei striding across the plaza with Lu Shi, quickly capturing the attention of most present. Every young powerhouse who could climb the peak and reach this plaza was an elite among the Sixth Void's younger generation. So many of them knew each other. Ye Yunfei, however, was the sole stranger. Thus, many cast surprised glances towards Ye Yunfei, some inquiring about his identity and background discreetly.
Apart from Ba Yizhou, no one there truly knew Ye Yunfei's origins.
In just a short moment, Ye Yunfei had overtaken most of the people in the plaza as he headed towards the cultivation cave at its end.
"The Yangming King's cultivation cave… I've finally reached it." Suddenly, a proud voice rang out from the plaza's far end.
Then everyone saw a young powerhouse had rushed ahead to stand before the Yangming King's cave, his face full of excitement as he reached out to push the cave's gates. Anticipating that the cave gates might be protected by highly advanced Formations, dozens of clearly high-grade formation-breaking flags floated around his body, ready to break any formations that might appear.
RUMBLE…
Sure enough, the moment his palm touched the cultivation cave's gates ahead, a terrifyingly immense wave of energy pressure erupted instantly. Immediately after, a vast number of dazzling, brilliant Dao Principle chains appeared in the sky above the entire plaza. These chains, of numerous types and different colors, densely packed and rustling, intertwined with each other, almost instantly sealing off all the space above the plaza.
At this moment, everyone in the plaza, including Ye Yunfei, felt an incredibly fearsome Dao Principle pressure. The pressure from principles differed somewhat from energy pressure. Principle pressure was more terrifying, sealing everything, suppressing everything, because principles were more profound and fundamental than energy. In fact, energy itself was an external manifestation of principles. Legend has it that all things in the world are composed of principles—including space, time, matter, life, and energy itself. Thus, the pressure of principles was more terrible, more fundamental pressure.
Everyone in the plaza stopped moving, feeling as if they had been struck by a body-locking spell. Not only could they not take another half-step, even moving a finger became extremely difficult.
"What's going on?" Everyone felt terror. Even Ye Yunfei's expression changed.
The next moment…
"Who is that?!" someone suddenly pointed at a high point in the plaza's central area and cried out in alarm.
Then, everyone's gaze shifted to that spot. They saw a luminescent figure condensed from principles slowly materializing. Finally, a majestic figure completely appeared before their eyes.
As this figure appeared, the principle pressure felt by everyone in the plaza grew even more horrifying. Even space itself seemed unable to bear it. The pressure emitted by this figure caused space to crackle faintly.
THUD THUD THUD…
Some of the weaker individuals couldn't stay on their feet and immediately knelt on the spot. Only about a dozen or so young powerhouses remained standing.
Lu Shi would have collapsed long ago, but Ye Yunfei was gripping his arm, so he barely managed to stand there, trembling.
At this moment, everyone finally saw the figure's appearance clearly: it was a middle-aged man. This middle-aged man appeared quite ordinary at first glance, yet seemed towering and majestic. His entire being emanated a glorious, sacred, and towering will. Even mystical runes flowed slowly around his form, further accentuating his extraordinary aura.
"Three hundred years… My will has finally been reawakened." The middle-aged man slowly swept his gaze over the plaza's young powerhouses, then spoke softly. Each word he uttered made the plaza's space tremble violently once. Everyone shivered in unison with his every word.