"Guard the outside. Don't let anyone disturb me," Ye Yunfei said to Prince Zhenshou.
"Yes," Prince Zhenshou replied before turning and walking away.
"I should head into the Phantom Tower instead," Ye Yunfei thought briefly, then his figure flickered as he entered the tower artifact.
The Phantom Tower shrank into a grain of sand and settled in a corner.
Inside the Phantom Tower, Ye Yunfei took out an enormous iron cauldron. Into it, he poured the three vials of Heavenly Jiao blood essence, the three-hundred-year Demonic Crocodile blood essence, the three low-level Beast Emperor corpses, and the bloodline essence extracted from the three guardian beasts. All these materials, while sparse, were each worth a fortune. Next, he used the Earth Flame to ignite everything inside the cauldron.
Then, Ye Yunfei took out a large quantity of alchemical pills and natural treasures related to Body Tempering and threw them all into the iron cauldron as well.
Finally, Ye Yunfei himself leaped inside.
Immediately, immense pain coursed through his entire body.
Simultaneously, all kinds of body-refining essences seeped into every inch of his flesh and blood, tearing, remodeling, and upgrading it...
Amidst the extreme agony, his raw bodily power began to surge upward!
Time flowed on. In the blink of an eye, a day passed.
One day later, inside the Phantom Tower, the roaring flames within the iron cauldron had already been extinguished. Ye Yunfei's body slowly rose from within.
At this moment, Ye Yunfei's physique had undergone a qualitative transformation.
"The fifth layer of the Heavenly Demon Blood-Refining Body Art! Five million Jin of physical strength!"
With a single controlled release of his aura, a terrifyingly powerful force erupted from his body with a booming sound. Immediately, the ground where Ye Yunfei stood trembled and cracked. Dried bones and loose stones in the vicinity were all swept up, whirling violently and grinding against each other, sparking brilliantly.
Five million Jin of physical strength gave Ye Yunfei the profound sensation that he could pluck stars and grasp the moon. At this moment, Ye Yunfei was akin to a prehistoric primitive beast. His aura alone could injure a True Manifestation Realm martial artist!
"My current physical strength should be enough to kill a Yuan Foundation Realm early-stage cultivator in one punch, effortlessly defeat a mid-stage practitioner, and even hold my own against a late-stage opponent," Ye Yunfei thought, feeling the inexhaustible power within his body and brimming with confidence.
"The stronger my body, the greater the benefit for my spiritual energy cultivation. Indeed, choosing the path of cultivating both mind and body in this life was the correct decision. Both the physical and spiritual aspects of cultivation are equally important; neither can be neglected. Worldly martial artists who focus solely on spiritual energy while neglecting their bodies will inevitably face regret sooner or later."
As he muttered these words to himself, Ye Yunfei extended both fists and gave a slight squeeze.
*Boom…*
The sound of rolling thunder roared from his arms, which instantly swelled enormously, increasing in thickness by at least sixty or seventy-fold! Moreover, intense divine flames ignited on his arms, blazing with a brilliant radiance!
"A Body Divine Ability! It's true, when the body is refined to a certain degree, these abilities surge forth spontaneously!"
Ye Yunfei gazed somewhat excitedly at his pair of thick, elongated colossal arms. Each of these gigantic arms was ten meters long, resembling two great Jiao dragons!
"Legend says that if one refines their body to the absolute extreme, the divine ability of Law Embodiment can spontaneously manifest — reaching heights of ten thousand zhang, effortlessly plucking stars and grasping the moon. It seems that legend is true," Ye Yunfei mused.
"I hope those five fellows are still in the imperial capital. I'll go settle the score with them." A cold smile played on his lips.
Then, his figure flickered as he left the Phantom Tower and walked out.
"Master!" Prince Zhenshou, overjoyed to see Ye Yunfei finally emerge, hurried forward to greet him.
The gate guards were completely unaware of what had transpired. Ye Yunfei had been personally brought here by the prince; they wouldn't dare question him. After all, everyone knew the Emperor had officially named Prince Zhenshou as the Crown Prince, designating him as the next emperor.
"Alright. I don't need you anymore," Ye Yunfei dismissed Prince Zhenshou, instructing him to leave with his entourage.
Then, with his hands clasped behind his back, Ye Yunfei swaggered through the imperial capital, moving about openly. He was sure that if those five Yuan Foundation Realm experts were still in the city, they would detect him.
Thus, Ye Yunfei wandered back and forth along the main streets of the capital for the better part of a day.
Finally, he realized he was being watched!
Several extremely subtle traces of Soul Power quietly locked onto him!
"Heh heh…" A murderous intent stirred in Ye Yunfei's heart. With his hands still behind his back, he strode toward the outskirts.
Outside the capital, in a grassy field, Ye Yunfei stopped.
"Come out," he said as he slowly turned around, looking into the distance with a cold smile.
*Swish swish…*
Five sharp figures, like arrows, shot over and instantly surrounded Ye Yunfei.
It was the same five Yuan Foundation Realm experts who had ambushed him in the palace two days earlier!
All five, faces masked, exuded a palpable killing intent as they locked onto Ye Yunfei, ready to strike at any moment.
"Ye Yunfei. You actually dared to show yourself!" one of them said coldly.
"Hmph. If I'm not mistaken, you fellows are probably students of Hudao Academy, and also hail from a certain major faction in the Eastern Region," Ye Yunfei retorted with a mocking smile, his hands behind his back and his posture relaxed as his gaze swept over the five.
"Ye Yunfei, you seem very confident. It almost felt as if you deliberately lured us out. Have you forgotten how we put you to a dismal flight just two days ago?" one of the Yuan Foundation Realm mid-stage practitioners asked in a low voice.
"That's right. Against you lot, I am indeed confident," Ye Yunfei replied with a faint smile.
*Swish swish…*
No sooner had Ye Yunfei finished speaking than ten ghostly black-clad figures appeared from all around. Each wore an inky-black mask, and each exuded the spiritual energy fluctuations of a Yuan Foundation Realm cultivator.
Ten Yuan Foundation Realm experts! Among them were four at mid-stage and six at early-stage!
"What about now, with the addition of us? Are you still confident?" one of the black-clad men asked in a sinister voice.
"Tianyou Tomb assassins!" Ye Yunfei's eyes narrowed.
All ten of these black-clad figures were assassins from the Tianyou Tomb!
"Haha… Ye Yunfei, even with your power, can you withstand the combined assault of fifteen Yuan Foundation Realm experts? Today, you are doomed!" The original five experts were both startled and overjoyed, bursting into loud laughter.
"Attack!" one of the Tianyou Tomb assassins barked a cold command.
*Swish swish…*
The ten assassins vanished simultaneously.
"Let's attack too!" the other five Yuan Foundation Realm cultivators roared at once, instantly erupting with power as they charged at Ye Yunfei.
"Excellent! Today, I'll indulge in a slaughter," Ye Yunfei declared to the heavens, killing intent surging.
"Still boasting at death's door!" shouted a Yuan Foundation Realm early-stage cultivator, arriving right before Ye Yunfei.
"Die!"
Suddenly, without using any specific technique, Ye Yunfei threw a punch.
*Boom…*
The force of this punch seemed to shatter the pillar holding up the heavens, causing the sky itself to appear to collapse and plunging the surrounding world into momentary darkness.
Faced with this earth-obliterating fist, that early-stage Yuan Foundation Realm expert froze in stunned surprise.
*Thwump!*
The fist landed squarely on his torso, causing his physical body to instantly explode. A rain of blood and gore erupted as he was utterly obliterated, reduced to a cloud of bloody mist!
In the space of a single encounter, an early-stage Yuan Foundation Realm cultivator had been brutally beaten to death by Ye Yunfei's bare fist!