"Run, let's go back! We'll tell the bosses and let them deal with this kid!"
The brawny leader suddenly turned and fled.
The other two Sand Bandits at the Late Stage True Manifestation Realm also desperately scrambled away in the opposite direction.
However, their speed was no match for Ye Yunfei's.
Whoosh!
Ye Yunfei activated his Heavenly Shadow Robe, taking a single step that brought him up alongside one of the Sand Bandits. Before the bandit could even react, a punch blasted forth, turning him into dust.
Whoosh!
Another step, and Ye Yunfei caught up with the second bandit. A fist turned him into a cloud of blood mist.
Whoosh!
Ye Yunfei's movement technique flashed, and he instantly appeared in front of the final Sand Bandit, blocking his escape route.
This last bandit was the brawny leader.
"You cannot escape," Ye Yunfei said coldly, his hands clasped behind his back as he looked at the man with a faint, mocking smile. "Now speak. Where exactly is your Black Wind Stronghold?"
"Damn you, boy! I'll fight you to the death!"
Terrified and enraged, the brawny man roared. Raging spiritual energy surged from his entire body as he gripped a heavy steel broadsword with both hands and gritted his teeth, charging to hack at Ye Yunfei.
Boom!
Ye Yunfei neither dodged nor avoided. A fist met the charge, its tyrannical force crushing forward.
Clang!
A clear metallic ring erupted. The heavy broadsword collided with Ye Yunfei's fist and instantly shattered, leaving only the hilt clutched in the bandit's trembling hands.
Slap!
A backhanded strike from Ye Yunfei sent the burly man flying away.
Whoosh!
A pitch-black dagger appeared abruptly, its edge pressing against the bandit's throat.
"Don't kill me! I'll tell you whatever you want to know!" the bandit finally pleaded in fear, yelling for mercy.
He realized that in front of this young man, he simply had no power to resist!
"Where is the Black Wind Stronghold? Take me there now," Ye Yunfei demanded coolly.
"Alright! As long as you let me go, I'll take you!" the bandit hurriedly agreed.
Ye Yunfei stepped forward, reaching out to grab the man as if picking up a small chick.
"Show me the way." His voice was flat.
The bandit immediately pointed in a direction.
Ye Yunfei's figure flashed as he sped off in that direction, raising a plume of dust and leaving a billowing trail across the sand.
Half an hour later...
"We're here. Ahead is the Black Wind Stronghold," the bandit suddenly spoke.
Ahead lay undulating dunes where fierce winds howled and yellow sand swept towards the sky.
Ye Yunfei extended his Soul Power to sense the area.
"Ah, so there's a large-scale Illusion Formation here."
Very soon, Ye Yunfei detected fluctuations of array energy in the space ahead and couldn't help but smirk coldly. So, the headquarters of the Black Wind Stronghold was concealed within a large-scale Illusion Formation; no wonder even Ye Yunfei hadn't been able to notice it immediately.
"...Yes. Our stronghold's headquarters is indeed shrouded by an Illusion Formation," the bandit confirmed, shocked that Ye Yunfei had figured it out before he even said anything.
It was precisely because of this large illusion formation that the Black Wind Stronghold's lair remained so mysterious and difficult to find.
"It's merely a remnant ancient formation. Nothing impressive," Ye Yunfei stated after his Soul Power probed and analyzed the array for a few moments. He had already comprehended it inside out.
Ye Yunfei was certain this was an ancient formation that had existed for a very long time. Otherwise, with the skills of those Sand Bandits, they could never have set it up themselves.
"Now, you can go and die."
His gaze fell on the bandit he held, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"No!"
Feeling Ye Yunfei's killing intent, the bandit's courage shattered, and he screamed.
Pfft!
A slight tremor from Ye Yunfei's palm reduced the man's body to a cloud of bloody mist.
The Sand Bandits of the Black Wind Stronghold were notorious and fierce. Specializing in raiding empires around the Blackwind Desert and killing indiscriminately, each bandit's hands were stained with blood. Ye Yunfei naturally showed no mercy to such scum.
Then...
Ye Yunfei activated his movement technique and headed forward.
Boom!
Just a few steps in, a surge of powerful formation energy rushed toward him with overwhelming force.
Ye Yunfei was prepared.
"A formation like this, even someone at the Yuan Foundation Realm wouldn't be able to brute force their way through," he couldn't help but nod slightly, feeling the strength of the energy.
But it was useless against Ye Yunfei.
He took a step, landing his foot on an abstruse node within the formation — as if striking the vital point of a snake — precisely evading the oncoming formation energy.
One had to remember: Ye Yunfei had been a Heavenly Emperor in his past life, roaming the world supreme. The principles underlying all the great formations of the world were an open book to him.
To his eyes, this Illusion Formation before him simply wasn't anything noteworthy.
Moving forward, Ye Yunfei continued, his figure shifting left and right, each step landing precisely on a formation node.
After taking about a dozen more steps...
Hum!
Space trembled slightly.
And the scenery before Ye Yunfei completely changed.
An oasis appeared amidst the desert.
Within the oasis stood numerous crude stone buildings in rows and clusters, looking like a small stone-built city.
Grim-faced Sand Bandits moved about inside.
This, evidently, was the Black Wind Stronghold!
"Rescue the targets first," Ye Yunfei reminded himself, not forgetting the main purpose of his mission.
He immediately released his Soul Power, sweeping it across this stone city.
How powerful was Ye Yunfei's Soul Power? In an instant, he had all the stone buildings under his perception, carefully searching for the Second Prince and Third Princess of the Myriad Beasts Empire.
Back at the palace banquet that evening, the emperor had personally given portraits of the Second Prince and Third Princess to Ye Yunfei and the other four Hudao Academy students.
Thus, Ye Yunfei knew what they looked like.
"Huh? Boy! I don't recognize you. Who are you?!"
Finally, a Sand Bandit noticed Ye Yunfei and shouted a fierce challenge.
Whoosh!
Ye Yunfei raised a finger. The Void Blade traversed space, severing the bandit's throat in a lightning flash.
"Everyone, watch out! An enemy has broken in!"
A nearby Sand Bandit saw this and immediately cried out in alarm.
Instantly, the entire Black Wind Stronghold was thrown into an uproar.
"Who is so bold as to dare invade our Black Wind Stronghold!"
"Where is the enemy?!"
...
Sand Bandits poured out one after another, all holding shiny weapons, roaring fiercely and radiating killing intent.
"He's there!"
Very quickly, they spotted Ye Yunfei and surged toward him from all directions like a tide.
"Found them! The Second Prince and Third Princess!"
Just then, beneath the sweep of his Soul Power, Ye Yunfei finally detected traces of the Second Prince and Third Princess.
In an underground dungeon!
Whoosh!
Ye Yunfei activated his Heavenly Shadow Robe and directly slipped into a spatial dimension, disappearing.
"Huh? Where did that kid go?"
"Did we just see a ghost?"
The charging bandits were all dumbfounded.
They had clearly seen Ye Yunfei just a moment ago, but when they charged over, he was simply gone.
At that moment, Ye Yunfei had already appeared at the entrance of that underground dungeon.
Five Sand Bandits at the Saint Realm guarded the dungeon's entrance.
Ye Yunfei pointed.
Whoosh…
The Void Blade flashed out.
In less than a second, all five Saint Realm Sand Bandits had their throats slit.
To Ye Yunfei's current strength, Saint Realm martial artists were as weak as ants; he could annihilate them with a mere snap of his fingers!