After all, Ye Yunfei's Body Tempering cultivation had already reached a fairly high level. Coupled with Hun Lao's guidance from the side, he soon began to slowly fuse the Taiyi Ancestral Milk into his body.
Ah...
Suddenly, Ye Yunfei felt intense pain and couldn't help but howl out in agony.
However, Ye Yunfei understood this was a common phenomenon for many Body Tempering techniques. The process of refining the body was equivalent to shattering the body's original structure and then reconstructing it, akin to a cycle of destruction and rebirth.
This process inflicted immense pain, and any Body Refiner had to endure this torment if they hoped to succeed.
Such a situation was well within Ye Yunfei's expectations.
While enduring the immense suffering, Ye Yunfei continually swallowed various Divine Pills designed to alleviate pain.
Time slowly flowed by, and Ye Yunfei's agonized cries continued to echo.
"The Body Tempering process is terrifying.
Especially for the Human Race. Their physical bodies are inherently much more fragile than those of other races. Thus, the Humans suffer even greater agony during Body Tempering.
Fortunately, our race boasts an inherently noble bloodline and a naturally robust physique. We don't need to endure such cruel Body Tempering processes like Humans do just to improve our body's quality and strength," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm sighed as it watched Ye Yunfei's ongoing painful cries.
"Ten thousand races were born in nature, and it's true there is inequality among them. You ancient remnant beasts are born with every advantage in terms of physical prowess. As long as you constantly awaken and break through your bloodline barriers, your strength and cultivation levels will continue to increase.
One could say, cultivation is much more convenient for you than for Humans," Hun Lao also sighed.
"Take my race, for example. We, the race of the Primal Chaos World Tree, don't need to cultivate deliberately either. As long as we constantly refine and absorb more cultivation resources, our cultivation levels and power naturally increase over time with our age.
Moreover, our race automatically gives birth to a variety of profound racial talents and technique secrets that the Human Race simply cannot compare with," Hun Lao added.
"However, throughout all ages, no matter which era, the Human Race has always been present among the world's top-tier experts. With bodies of extreme fragility, the Human Race can still stand at the pinnacle of every era because they possess greater intelligence and willpower than other races. Through their wisdom, Humans can create all kinds of profound techniques and secrets—an area where other races cannot compete.
Therefore, one must never underestimate the Human Race. Born into ten thousand races, each has its own strengths," Hun Lao continued.
"That makes sense. Like this guy here for example. Although he's Human, his current strength is the strongest within our whole team," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm nodded in agreement after listening.
Time swiftly flowed, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.
By this point, Ye Yunfei had long since ceased his painful cries. He sat cross-legged, motionless, as if in a state of comprehending the Dao.
At this moment, Ye Yunfei's physical body had undergone a drastic transformation. The Taiyi Ancestral Milk had completely merged into his flesh, becoming an inseparable part of it.
Ye Yunfei's body now looked as though his entire body seemed carved from jade, exuding a pale cyan, crystalline luster.
"He's succeeded!" Hun Lao, who had been observing the state of Ye Yunfei's body the whole time, smiled and announced.
"Correct. I have successfully integrated the Taiyi Ancestral Milk into my physical form. It has now become part of my body's essence," Ye Yunfei abruptly opened his eyes, two beams of intense light erupting from them like two dazzling long swords that stabbed through the space before him.
"What level has your physical body strength reached?" the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm asked, burning with curiosity.
"My current body strength should allow me to contend against low-level True Gods now, shouldn't it?
As for Perfected Void Gods, I feel I could crush one with a single finger now," Ye Yunfei replied with a smile, clenching his fist and savoring the boundless, terrifying power coursing within.
"But it's still not enough. I cannot be content with this.
I want to take this opportunity to fuse some True God-level treasures to further improve my body's quality and strength," Ye Yunfei added after some thought.
"You truly are a cultivation fanatic, perpetually unsatisfied," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm remarked with a touch of admiration.
"The enemies I will face next are True Gods. How can I be satisfied?
Although my strength makes me practically invincible against Void Gods, it doesn't amount to much against True Gods. If several of them gang up on me casually, I'm afraid I'd have no choice but to flee.
The Eighth Void might be relatively peaceful and safe for now, but the Guardian Faction is likely already planning how to deal with it.
So how could I possibly be content?" Ye Yunfei answered.
"True, even though your strength continues to grow, the pressure you face is also increasing. You must keep improving your power," Hun Lao agreed with a nod.
Ye Yunfei then retrieved over a dozen True God-level treasures and began attempting to fuse them.
After absorbing the Taiyi Ancestral Milk, his body quality had achieved a qualitative leap, now possessing the potential to integrate True God-level artifacts.
However, since this was his first attempt at fusing True God-level equipment, he proceeded with extreme caution.
Unknowingly, another three months passed.
"I have fused fifteen True God-level treasures!
My physical body is now equivalent to a True God-level artifact. Even if I stand still without moving, Void God attacks can no longer harm me.
Using pure physical power to fight delivers clean, efficient results, easily achieving absolute domination. I believe facing those Void Gods again, even Perfected Void Gods, should allow for such a forceful crushing, securing instant victory."
After fusing fifteen treasures, Ye Yunfei realized the fusion speed was slowing down considerably, so he stopped attempting to merge any more.
"The quality of every True God treasure collected by Yangming King is excellent, undoubtedly far superior to other treasures of the same grade. So fusing fifteen is already quite impressive.
Moreover, I sense the medicinal efficacy of the Taiyi Ancestral Milk within you hasn't been fully absorbed and digested yet. This treasure is an overwhelmingly heaven-defying resource for Body Tempering. Even after fusing it into your flesh, it still needs a long digestion process.
Just wait and see. When you truly finish digesting that power, your body's quality and strength are bound to increase further," Hun Lao said after intently perceiving Ye Yunfei's condition for a moment.
"Hun Lao, you are right. I can feel it too. It seems the medicinal power of the Taiyi Ancestral Milk inside me hasn't been completely digested yet," Ye Yunfei readily nodded upon hearing this.
One had to admit, the race of the Primal Chaos World Tree truly had an encyclopedic breadth of experience.
"By the way, you probably haven't fully cultivated all those Body Tempering techniques you obtained from the Great Strength Demon God previously, have you?
Now that your body strength and quality have reached the True God level, you should be able to practice most of the legacy from the Great Strength Demon God," Hun Lao remarked further.
"Yes, I was thinking about that too.
When I first obtained the legacy of the Great Strength Demon God, my physical strength was far too weak, greatly limited by my body. I could only cultivate a minor portion of the inheritance back then, but I wasn't qualified to train in those advanced techniques and secrets. But now I am," Ye Yunfei concurred.
Long ago, Ye Yunfei had obtained the inheritance of the Great Strength Demon God, a being who specialized in Body Tempering, reputed to have ascended to divinity through his physique. During an ancient era, this powerhouse had suppressed his epoch, leaving numerous Deities of his time incapable of raising their heads. One could well imagine the incredible power of those Body Tempering techniques.
Previously, with Ye Yunfei's insufficient physical quality and strength, he was utterly unqualified to practice the most formidable techniques within the Demon God's legacy. Having now achieved a body of True God caliber, he could finally attempt training them.
"We shouldn't delay any further. I'll start cultivating two of the Great Strength Demon God's Body Tempering techniques now," Ye Yunfei declared.
For the following period, Ye Yunfei immersed himself once more in cultivation.
Boundary Shattering Fist. This was the first Body Tempering martial skill Ye Yunfei embarked on. Based on physical force, it fused the laws of space and time, constituting a fist technique uniting three energies—bodily power, spatial energy, and temporal energy.
A single punch launched all three merged energies together, instantly suppressing and sealing the time and space ahead before utterly obliterating them. The destructive power was truly fearsome. Moreover, this technique had another exquisite application: it could be used to shatter high-grade Formations or Restrictions with particularly devastating effect.
The second martial skill was called Great Annihilation Divine Fist. When executed, this technique transformed physical power into an energy of pure annihilation, a destructive force belonging to the category of dark energy. It held tremendous destructive power. A single strike could strip all living things of their life force, and it also possessed the capability to seal space and time. Wherever its fist descended, all things would fall into silence, and everything would be reduced to nothingness.
In short, this was a skill of supreme devastation.
Both skills were fist techniques.
Half a year unknowingly passed within the Phantom Tower.
By the half-year mark, Ye Yunfei had successfully cultivated both the Boundary Shattering Fist and the Great Annihilation Divine Fist.
"True God-level combat prowess!
My confidence has soared!" Ye Yunfei stated with assured pride.
"Time to leave seclusion officially now," Ye Yunfei thought.
Emerging from within the Phantom Tower, he appeared within the cultivation cave abode. He then collected all the Formation Flags he had set up around the cave before finally walking out.
"Guo Hua, you're finally out of seclusion."
As soon as Ye Yunfei stepped out of the cultivation cave abode, a regular elder of the Beidou Sect came forward to meet him.
"Elder Chen, what is the matter?" Ye Yunfei asked.
"Guo Hua, how much has your strength improved after this period of closed-door cultivation?" Elder Chen attempted to sense Ye Yunfei's energy aura, only to find he couldn't perceive his true cultivation or power at all, astonishing him.
"Elder Chen, my strength has improved considerably during this seclusion. Moreover, from within the Yangming Secret Realm, I obtained a treasure that can mask my energy aura and cultivation," Ye Yunfei replied.
"So that's how it is!" Upon hearing this, Elder Chen expressed instant understanding.
"Guo Hua, the Sect Leader and several Paramount Elders are waiting for you. Since you are now our Beidou Sect's Saint, you have earned the right to train within the Northern Dipper Divine Cave.
You should first see the Sect Leader and the Paramount Elders before preparing to enter the Northern Dipper Divine Cave," Elder Chen explained.
"Northern Dipper Divine Cave?" Hearing Elder Chen's words, Ye Yunfei immediately searched through Guo Hua's memories and swiftly uncovered information about it.
The Northern Dipper Divine Cave was a secret realm left behind by an ancient progenitor of the Beidou Sect. It was said to be bequeathed by the sect's founding Patriarch, the Northern Dipper Deity, a holy training ground dedicated specifically for cultivating the disciples of the Beidou Sect.
However, not every disciple was permitted to cultivate inside. Only core disciples with exceptional talent singled out for focus by the higher echelons had that privilege, or the sect's designated Saint of each generation who could freely enter for cultivation.
Previously, Guo Hua hadn't qualified as a key disciple in the Beidou Sect, so he couldn't enter for training. But upon returning this time, being enfeoffed as the Beidou Sect's Saint endowed him with this privilege.