"Elder Chu, in truth, the number of True Gods on our side is not insignificant. If a fight were to break out, there is still hope of victory."
An illusory, fluctuating figure slowly appeared beside Elder Chu and spoke.
This was also a True God, except he had used extremely profound laws of the Grand Dao to shroud his body, making it impossible for others to perceive his true appearance.
"No, if this battle truly erupts, it will inevitably alarm many powers and could even lead to numerous major forces forming an alliance against us. That would be alerting the snake.
Now is not the time. Let's wait a little longer.
Once our Guardian Faction has completed all our deployments, then we will make our move and control this Sixth Void in one fell swoop. Afterward, this Sixth Void will be dominated by us few factions, and all other forces will kneel before us in submission."
Elder Chu still shook his head and then spoke solemnly.
"Then everything shall be done according to Elder Chu's wishes."
The faint, misty figure fell silent for a moment before replying.
"Elder Chu, although Lu Shi from the Lu Family is already dead, that youth of unknown origins is highly likely to still be alive.
Because that lad's strength far surpassed Lu Shi's, it is entirely possible he managed to survive and exit the Yangming Secret Realm.
Therefore, we could conduct a thorough investigation of all the young juniors who emerged from the Yangming Secret Realm. We might be able to find that youth."
A Guardian Faction expert at the Advanced God Realm who was standing nearby respectfully suggested.
"If we do that, we will still end up fighting with those old geezers in the end, because those old folks will definitely not allow us to arbitrarily detain and inspect their young disciples."
Elder Chu shook his head once again.
"Elder Chu, I must be returning now.
This time, the losses among our Heixuan Sect's young disciples have been severe. I must go back and properly consult with the Sect Master and the Supreme Elders."
That faint, misty figure suddenly spoke, then slowly faded from sight and disappeared.
Elder Chu turned to look at the long-vanished entry gate of the Yangming Secret Realm, his expression extremely grim. Finally, he snorted coldly, waved his hand, and led the Guardian Faction members away.
Before entering the Yangming Secret Realm, the Guardian Faction had been at the peak of its influence, even going so far as to station people to guard the realm's entrance gate to levy fees from weaker factions for entry. Moreover, the Guardian Faction had dispatched at least four to five hundred young disciples inside.
Initially, everyone thought that for this grand exploration and treasure hunt within the Yangming Secret Realm, the Guardian Faction would undoubtedly reap the greatest benefits. However, they never expected this outcome—only two or three of the four to five hundred young disciples had emerged, leaving dejectedly in the end.
"Just wait. Soon, the Sixth Void, our Guardian Faction will become the masters of this void realm. When that time comes, all forces and every individual within this void shall be ruled by our Guardian Faction. We will command the world, deciding life and death, granting and taking at our will."
Elder Chu gazed at the few young disciples behind him, gnashing his teeth in fury, a soaring murderous aura radiating from him.
As more and more people departed, the ancient world clusters that had been crowded to the brim recently began to gradually return to their former tranquility.
At this moment, a vessel was flying swiftly through the void. Inside, the five leading elders of the Beidou Sect burst into hearty laughter from time to time.
During this period, they had repeatedly sorted through the various treasures and resources Guo Hua had brought out, feeling immensely excited.
Not to mention anything else, just the quantity of Primary Divine Crystals alone numbered in the tens of millions.
The Beidou Sect had spent over four million Primary Divine Crystals in total to send its twenty-something disciples into the Yangming Secret Realm. Now, the Primary Divine Crystals Guo Hua brought out numbered twenty to thirty million. This single item alone had multiplied the Beidou Sect's gains several times over. Furthermore, there was a large pile of various other, even more valuable treasures, including a batch of precious Divine Pills.
"Haha! For this expedition into the Yangming Secret Realm, although our Beidou Sect paid a price, the harvest is also enormous!"
"We've struck it rich!
This is truly striking it rich!"
"Guo Hua, among these treasures you brought out, there are several that are absolutely priceless."
"Hahaha...
Guo Hua, you've performed a great service!
The wealth you've earned this time is equivalent to several decades of accumulation for our Beidou Sect!
With such a substantial amount of resources, there is hope for our Beidou Sect to rise to prominence."
...
Inside the vessel, all five leading elders of the Beidou Sect appeared exceptionally excited. After finishing inventorying the goods, they surrounded Guo Hua once more, showering him with lavish praise.
"The only regret from this Yangming Secret Realm expedition is that our Beidou Sect dispatched over twenty disciples, but now only nine are returning. A pity."
One of the elders suddenly sighed softly.
Among the dozen or so disciples who had perished, at least four or five were his personal disciples. Thinking of the personal disciples he had painstakingly trained dying within the Yangming Secret Realm pained him slightly.
"You personally slaughtered at least half of those Beidou Sect disciples who died with a single slap,"
Hun Lao suddenly said to Ye Yunfei.
"Yes, at the time, while excavating the Divine Crystal vein, those Beidou Sect disciples saw me unearthing a larger quantity of Divine Crystals and launched a surprise attack on me from behind. Naturally, I wasn't going to be polite,"
Ye Yunfei nodded.
"Then how long do you intend to stay with this Beidou Sect?
Actually, you can leave now. We have already moved far from the ancient world clusters, beyond the perception range of those True Gods."
Hun Lao asked.
"No, next, I plan to go into seclusion and cultivate for a period.
Beidou Sect should be a decent place to lay low. I intend to go into closed-door cultivation within the Beidou Sect headquarters for a while, then decide what to do later.
Besides, if I leave now, these Beidou Sect people will definitely become suspicious. It might leak out and attract the Guardian Faction.
There's no deep grievance or hatred between us, so I can't very well slaughter them all."
Ye Yunfei said.
"Going into seclusion to cultivate for a while is good. It'll give you time to properly digest all the gains from the Yangming Secret Realm."
Hun Lao said.
Hun Lao knew Ye Yunfei had reaped excellent rewards within the Yangming Secret Realm and had also experienced many battles. He indeed needed closed-door cultivation to assimilate them fully.
"We've finally returned to headquarters."
Several days later, the Beidou Sect's five leading elders brought the nine disciples back to headquarters.
Having received the message, the Sect Master of Beidou Sect had already assembled a large group of people and was waiting.
"Hahaha, good, good. Our Beidou Sect's harvest this time is truly remarkable."
Looking at the various treasures and resources the five elders had brought back, the Beidou Sect Master was filled with excitement.
"It's a pity that over twenty of our Beidou Sect's elite disciples went in, but only nine returned—a significant loss. But these gains make up for it."
The Beidou Sect Master and the elders all sighed with emotion.
"Sect Master, the main reason our Beidou Sect was able to obtain such a huge harvest this time is Guo Hua. He is the greatest contributor."
The five leading elders vied with each other to describe Guo Hua's various feats and gains within the Yangming Secret Realm. Of course, all these accounts were fabricated on the spot by Ye Yunfei.
"Guo Hua is indeed a meritorious member of our Beidou Sect. From this moment on, Guo Hua is hereby appointed the Holy Son of our sect."
Finally, with a decisive pronouncement, the Beidou Sect Master made Guo Hua a Holy Son of the Beidou Sect.
The Beidou Sect originally had three Holy Sons, but all had perished within the Yangming Secret Realm. Naturally, these three Holy Sons were also those Ye Yunfei had eliminated with a single slap.
After patiently dealing with the Beidou Sect's higher-ups, Ye Yunfei used the excuse of cultivation to return to Guo Hua's cultivation cave abode and began his closed-door training.
"Haha, good. I've noticed that Guo Hua, after experiencing this Yangming Secret Realm expedition, has become much steadier and more low-key in temperament, without arrogance or impatience. He has chosen to go into closed-door cultivation right after becoming a Holy Son. I believe he will achieve extraordinary accomplishments in the future."
Seeing Guo Hua eager to return and enter seclusion, the Beidou Sect higher-ups felt immensely gratified and continuously praised him.
Of course, these higher-ups were unaware that the real Guo Hua had long since perished within the Yangming Secret Realm, and the Guo Hua before them now was actually Ye Yunfei.
"The strongest in this Beidou Sect is only at the Advanced God Realm. Their overall strength is quite ordinary."
After returning to the cultivation cave abode, Hun Lao couldn't help but remark.
"Within the Sixth Void, only those factions with a True God in residence can be considered major powers. Sects like Beidou Sect are actually a bit... not quite up to that standard."
Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
Having devoured the soul bodies of so many people from the Sixth Void, Ye Yunfei was extremely familiar with the various conditions of this realm.
"But I'm just temporarily finding a place here to cultivate. This Beidou Sect has nothing to do with me."
Ye Yunfei added.
He then set up a small space within the cave using formations, entered this formation space, and then went into the Shadowless Pagoda, where he sat down cross-legged.
"The harvest from this Yangming Secret Realm expedition was quite good."
Ye Yunfei began taking inventory of his various gains from the Yangming Secret Realm. First was the staggering quantity of Divine Crystals—not only Low-Grade ones, but also Mid-Grade, and even a portion of High-Grade ones.
Within the Sixth Void, Divine Crystal veins were relatively scarce, and any that existed were already under the control of superpowers. However, the Yangming Secret Realm contained quite a number of such veins.
Ye Yunfei had excavated many Divine Crystal veins within the Yangming Secret Realm, so his haul was naturally substantial.
"From now on, I'll use High-Grade Divine Crystals primarily for cultivation.
High-Grade Divine Crystals should be more effective for cultivation."
Ye Yunfei sorted out a batch of High-Grade Divine Crystals, thinking to himself.
"The herbs I obtained in the Yangming Secret Realm are not only numerous but also high in grade, with some even being rare varieties seldom found in the outside world."
Next, Ye Yunfei sorted through the various herbs he had harvested.
"These several dozen True God-level medicinal herbs are probably the most precious."
Ye Yunfei took out several dozen herbs emitting brilliant divine light, suspending them before him. Sensing their astonishing medicinal potency, he nodded.
These dozens of True God-level herbs were what Ye Yunfei had obtained in that ancient herb garden.
"My current alchemy skill is only sufficient for refining Virtual God-level Divine Pills. I am not yet capable of refining True God-level Divine Pills. However, I believe as my alchemy level continues to improve, it won't be long before I can concoct True God-level pills."
Gazing at the dozens of True God-level herbs floating before him, Ye Yunfei spoke with confidence.