"But one is far from enough."
With a wave of his hand, Ye Yunfei took out another large pile of artifact forging materials and continued crafting puppets.
After roughly two more years inside the Phantom Tower, Ye Yunfei had successfully crafted a total of eight hundred Primary Void God level puppets.
While Ye Yunfei was forging puppets within the Phantom Tower, the various powers within the alliance continuously utilized all their resources and connections to continue collecting the artifact forging materials he needed. Thus, batches of materials were steadily delivered to Ye Yunfei's hands at regular intervals.
Furthermore, Ye Yunfei would also briefly venture out from time to time, purchasing artifact forging materials from various merchant houses.
Because Ye Yunfei was still in cooperation with several large merchant houses in the Sixth Void—he provided them with large quantities of high-quality Divine Pills, and they, in turn, continued to help him gather artifact forging materials—the stock of materials in Ye Yunfei's possession was constantly increasing.
"Next come Intermediate Void God puppets."
After forging eight hundred Primary Void God puppets, Ye Yunfei began attempting to craft Intermediate Void God level puppets.
In fact, Intermediate Void God puppets weren't much different from Primary Void God ones, just a difference of a single minor realm. Therefore, not long after, Ye Yunfei became capable of crafting Intermediate Void God level puppets.
After forging roughly another eight hundred Intermediate Void God level puppets, Ye Yunfei started trying his hand at Advanced Void God level puppets. Naturally, the difficulty of crafting Advanced Void God puppets was greater. However, Ye Yunfei had gained considerable experience from forging so many Deity-level puppets during this period. Moreover, one of his Soul Bodies and several dozen of his Soul Power Planets had been continuously studying and researching the core puppet legacy of the ancient Tiankui Sect. Hence, it wasn't long before Ye Yunfei smoothly succeeded in crafting Advanced Void God level puppets.
In the end, Ye Yunfei forged another eight hundred Advanced Void God level puppets.
"Next up are Perfected Void God level puppets."
Ye Yunfei murmured softly.
Then, Ye Yunfei began attempting to craft Perfected Void God level puppets.
Although Perfected Void God level puppets were only one minor realm above Advanced Void God level, the difficulty in crafting them multiplied several times over.
Initially, Ye Yunfei failed repeatedly. To his pleasant surprise, however, the quality of these forging materials was excellent. Even if the forging failed, only a small portion of the materials was consumed; most could be disassembled and reused.
This was different from Alchemy. When refining pills failed, all the alchemical materials were rendered useless. Forging artifacts was different because most of the materials used were of excellent quality and hardiness; even after enduring the flames multiple times, they could still be reused. This point rather satisfied Ye Yunfei.
In the end, Ye Yunfei had two Soul Bodies and all his Soul Power Stars focus exclusively on studying and researching puppet-forging techniques. Finally, he successfully crafted a Perfected Void God level puppet.
"Unknowingly, I've spent dozens of years inside the Phantom Tower."
Having succeeded in forging a Perfected Void God level puppet, Ye Yunfei couldn't help but sigh.
"Now my level in puppet forging has reached Perfected Void God. Taking the next step would mean forging True God level puppets. But the difficulty in forging True God level puppets is immense. I doubt even Wu Dechang from back in the day could necessarily craft them."
Ye Yunfei said softly.
The highest-level puppets Ye Yunfei had obtained from Wu Dechang were Perfected Void God level. Hence, Ye Yunfei speculated that Wu Dechang might not have been able to forge True God level puppets. On the other hand, it was also possible that any True God level puppets Wu Dechang forged had been handed over for the True Phoenix God Clan's use.
"Moving forward, I'll definitely continue researching the Tiankui Sect's core legacy, striving to one day forge True God level puppets."
Ye Yunfei added.
Next, Ye Yunfei continued to stay inside the Phantom Tower, forging Perfected Void God level puppets. In the end, Ye Yunfei forged another eight hundred Perfected Void God level puppets.
"Master, you've now forged a total of three thousand two hundred Void God level puppets. That's equivalent to three thousand two hundred Void Gods! And in battle, these puppets fear neither pain nor death; their bodies are also incredibly sturdy. They should be able to play a much greater role than living Void Gods."
Hu Miao, looking at the puppets standing before Ye Yunfei, said excitedly.
"That's not necessarily true. These puppets have their strengths, but also their weaknesses. Living Void Gods have cultivated a variety of different techniques and secret arts, possess all kinds of different magical treasures, and, most importantly, they possess thoughts and will—they're much smarter than these puppets. Take me, for example. I'm also a Void God, but do you think these puppets are my match?"
Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
"How could other Void Gods be compared to you, Master? Your current strength is on par with a True God's!"
Hu Miao pouted.
"Again, not necessarily so. As the saying goes, there are always others who are greater. This world has never lacked geniuses; it's just we haven't encountered them yet."
Ye Yunfei replied.
"That's also true. No matter when, we must remember that saying. So far, the spaces we've been active in are only the Eighth Void and Sixth Void. There are six other Void fragments, and the Chaotic Void Sea likely isn't the entirety of space either. Beyond the Chaotic Void Sea, there might be even vaster spaces. So, how many geniuses exist in this world? No one can say."
Hun Lao interjected.
"Three thousand two hundred puppets is only a basic scale, insufficient to form a puppet army. Next, I need to forge even more puppets."
Ye Yunfei released the three thousand two hundred puppets, which stood densely packed before him.
"However, relying on just myself alone to simultaneously control so many Deity-level puppets consumes too much Soul Power energy. So, starting now, we all need to share the burden. Besides, the puppets I possess aren't limited to just these three thousand two hundred."
Ye Yunfei tried it and realized that simultaneously controlling over three thousand puppets in combat required a rather significant consumption of Soul Power energy. Thus, he spoke up.
At the same time, Ye Yunfei also took out all the Deity-level puppets he had crafted previously. This brought the total number of puppets in his possession to over four thousand.
"It would indeed be somewhat taxing to simultaneously control these four thousand-plus puppets in combat. Let's all share the load then."
Hun Lao said.
Thus, Ye Yunfei distributed the over four thousand puppets among Hu Miao, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, Huang Shang, and Hun Lao, with each taking charge of a portion.
Naturally, Ye Yunfei himself took charge of the largest number, over two thousand in total. After all, his current Soul Power energy level was already equivalent to that of a True God, plus he had been continuously cultivating Soul Power, and its level was constantly rising.
"From now on, no matter which faction we encounter, as long as they don't deploy True Gods, these four thousand-plus Void God level puppets can handle them head-on."
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said with a smile.
In the Sixth Void, there weren't many major factions capable of deploying over four thousand Void Gods at once.
"Next, let my avatars continue forging more Void God level puppets."
After crafting over three thousand two hundred Deity-level puppets, Ye Yunfei found he still had a portion of forging materials left. So, he split off several avatars to remain within the Phantom Tower and continue the forging.
Now that his puppet-forging skill had reached the Perfected Void God level, no further research or study was needed. Even using avatars, he could continue forging.
"I suggest you mainly forge Perfected Void God level puppets from now on. The stronger the strength, the greater the impact in battle."
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm advised.
"That depends on the quantity of materials. While Perfected Void God puppets are indeed more powerful, they also require more, higher-grade materials. So, we can only decide which level of puppet is most cost-effective based on the amount and grade of materials available."
Ye Yunfei replied.
Following that, Ye Yunfei left the Phantom Tower.
"Young Master Ye, during this period, we have made contact with five more major forces. All five have suffered attacks from the Guardian Faction. Among them, the headquarters of three have been occupied by Guardian Faction forces. The leadership of those three forces has brought their remaining members to the Xuanhuang Continent and are awaiting your audience, Young Master Ye."
The moment Ye Yunfei emerged from the Phantom Tower, the alliance's high-ranking members sensed it. An Earth Demon Clan Elder immediately came before Ye Yunfei and spoke.
"Alright. Have them gather at the assembly hall now."
Ye Yunfei nodded.
During this period, though Ye Yunfei spent most of his time forging puppets inside the Phantom Tower, he had also ventured out two or three times to purchase forging materials. Therefore, he knew the situation in the Sixth Void was becoming increasingly chaotic.
It was evident that the Guardian Faction had already begun its campaign to conquer this Void—a situation almost identical to what happened previously in the Eighth Void.
Back in the Eighth Void, the Guardian Faction had suddenly launched operations, deploying large numbers of forces against various major factions, outright destroying those who refused to submit.
"We pay our respects to Young Master Ye!"
Inside the assembly hall, over a dozen high-ranking members from the five major forces stepped forward together and bowed respectfully to Ye Yunfei.
"Young Master Ye, the headquarters of the Tianyang Gang, the Zhenxuan Sect, and the Ouyang Family have all been occupied by the Guardian Faction. They are currently taking temporary refuge here on our Xuanhuang Continent."
An Earth Demon Clan Elder said beside him.
"Young Master Ye, I am the leader of the Tianyang Gang. Our headquarters were occupied by the Guardian Faction five days ago. Nearly half of our Tianyang Gang members perished tragically. For this sea of blood and deep hatred, we of the Tianyang Gang must seek vengeance. From now on, our Tianyang Gang is willing to join the alliance, follow Young Master Ye, and jointly resist the Guardian Faction."
An old man with a face full of grief and indignation stepped forward and bowed to Ye Yunfei.
Following that, the leaders or patriarchs of the other four forces also came forward one after another, introducing themselves and expressing their willingness to follow Ye Yunfei.
"Everyone, the main purpose of forming this alliance is to pool everyone's strength to resist the Guardian Faction together. Therefore, all who come for this purpose are welcome. However, the overall strength of our alliance is still temporarily inferior to that of the Guardian Faction; we are still in a period of development and growth. During this period, the most important thing for everyone is to cultivate diligently and enhance your strength. Only strength is our greatest confidence. Without sufficient strength, we lack the confidence to confront the Guardian Faction."
Ye Yunfei glanced at the high-ranking members of the five forces and spoke clearly.
Seeing that Ye Yunfei was willing to accept them, the leaders of those five forces all breathed sighs of relief.
During their time on the Xuanhuang Continent, they had witnessed the overall strength of this alliance. The number of True Gods alone had already reached over sixty, and it was still increasing.
It could be said that the alliance formed by Ye Yunfei had now reached a rather considerable level of strength. Of course, while the number of True Gods in this alliance was considerable, the number of truly powerful experts wasn't high, which was its biggest shortcoming.