Ye Yunfei then departed from the Guardian Faction's headquarters and returned to his own Alliance Army headquarters within the Small World.
Since a large number of his Clones were garrisoned at the Alliance Army headquarters, it was as if Ye Yunfei himself were personally overseeing things. Thus, his main body didn’t need to pay any attention to its affairs.
Ye Yunfei gathered all the high-ranking members of the Alliance Army and gave them detailed instructions, then left behind a large batch of precious cultivation resources.
After that, he left the Small World and secretly made his way to the location of the Altar leading to the Sixth Void.
Ye Yunfei took out a huge batch of formation materials and laid down numerous Formations and Earth Formations around the transmission Altar.
Hun Lao, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, Hu Miao, Huang Shang, and a few others also lent their hands, making extensive preparations around the Altar together with Ye Yunfei.
Hun Lao excelled in spatial formations, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm specialized in spatial restrictions, Hu Miao was skilled in illusions, and Huang Shang was proficient in various ghost arrays.
With everyone joining forces on the arrangements, the space around the Altar became strange and bizarre. A variety of different arrays and restrictions completely obscured the Altar. Even a True God who came here would have difficulty discovering it.
After completing these preparations, Ye Yunfei used the transmission Altar to teleport back to the Sixth Void.
Ye Yunfei first returned to the Xuanhuang Continent.
He had taken thirty high-ranking Alliance Army members with him to the Eighth Void in total, and all thirty were intact, having suffered no casualties.
"Young Master Ye, during this time, the Guardian Faction has taken control of many forces within our void. Some forces were annihilated for refusing to obey the Guardian Faction's commands," Elder Qi reported after stepping forward as a large group of the Alliance Army's core leadership gathered in the headquarters' meeting hall upon Ye Yunfei's return. "Furthermore, the Guardian Faction has been relentlessly pursuing the whereabouts of our Alliance Army. They have offered substantial bounties throughout the void. Anyone who provides information about our Alliance Army or kills one of our members receives a large reward. Now, people all over the Sixth Void are searching for us."
"Besides the Guardian Faction, many other forces are also searching for our Alliance Army, such as the Yin Shi Hall," Elder Qi continued.
"Also, due to the Guardian Faction's constant oppression, the conflicts between them and quite a few forces in the Sixth Void are intensifying. For example, the Lingxiao Sect has publicly become enemies with the Guardian Faction. The two sides have already fought several battles. For now, the Guardian Faction is stronger, and the Lingxiao Sect has suffered significant losses. However, many other major forces have secretly dispatched people to support the Lingxiao Sect, which is tantamount to openly opposing the Guardian Faction. Therefore, the Sixth Void can now be considered split into two factions: one led by the Guardian Faction, and another led by forces like the Lingxiao Sect. The conflict between these two factions is growing more intense by the day; open warfare likely isn't far off."
Elder Qi pressed on, "Young Master Ye, the inside contacts you planted within the Guardian Faction have sent back word. The Guardian Faction is accelerating their actions to gain complete control over the Sixth Void. Their goal is to ensure that the Sixth Void only contains the Guardian Faction."
Upon hearing Elder Qi's words, many of the high-ranking members couldn't help but curse, "The Guardian Faction is truly a pack of vicious wolves harboring an evil heart!"
"There is another situation: during this period, the Yin Shi Hall has massacred at least five or six world clusters. Nearly every living being in those world clusters was killed and turned into corpses, which were then taken away by people from the Yin Shi Hall," Elder Qi continued, reporting on other developments in the Sixth Void to Ye Yunfei.
"Since the Guardian Faction intends to speed up their actions in the Sixth Void to control this void, then we must accelerate our own movements as well," Ye Yunfei said slowly after listening to Elder Qi's report.
"Young Master Ye, will our Alliance Army be taking some action soon?" Upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words, the Alliance Army's high-ranking members present all perked up.
During this period, the Alliance Army had been hunted everywhere in the Sixth Void and could only hide within the Xuanhuang Continent, not daring to venture out. The Alliance Army's leaders had long been simmering with rage. Moreover, the Alliance Army's overall strength had grown considerably. These leaders were already itching to have a good fight with the Guardian Faction.
"Not for the time being," Ye Yunfei said after a moment's thought. "For the next period, everyone must still remain at headquarters, devoting all their time and energy to cultivation and improving your strength as much as possible. Never underestimate the Guardian Faction. Their overall strength is even more formidable than we imagined."
Ye Yunfei then left ten Clones on the Xuanhuang Continent, dedicated specifically to alchemy. The pills they refined were primarily for the Alliance Army's use. Any Alliance Army member on the brink of a breakthrough could seek out Ye Yunfei's Clones and request suitable elixirs.
These Clones weren't divided from his main body; they were True Gods he had subdued earlier. These True God-level Clones possessed complete Soul Bodies with excellent Soul Power and decent realms and strength. Their proficiency in alchemy, both in speed and quality, was excellent.
His main body quietly left the Xuanhuang Continent, then specifically sought out True Gods from hostile factions across the Sixth Void. He purified their Soul Bodies one by one, turning them into his own Clones.
True Gods belonging to the Guardian Faction, Yin Shi Hall, Autumn Wind Group, Tianhai Sect, Black Profound Sect, Four Directions Pavilion, and other forces were all his targets.
Gradually, Ye Yunfei amassed an increasing number of subjugated Clones. Since members of these factions were openly active all over the Sixth Void, they were easy to find.
Not only did Ye Yunfei gain more and more Clones, but he also seized control of many of these factions' Branch Strongholds. All the True Gods and Virtual Gods within these captured Branch Strongholds became Ye Yunfei's Clones. Furthermore, all the wealth accumulated in these strongholds became Ye Yunfei's property.
"So far, half of the Guardian Faction's Branch Strongholds in the Eighth Void have fallen into my hands," Ye Yunfei said with a smile after taking control of a Guardian Faction Branch Stronghold within a world cluster called the Sky Ox World Cluster.
"Not just the Guardian Faction, but nearly half of the Autumn Wind Group's Branch Strongholds must also be under your control by now," Hun Lao remarked.
"Yes, many of Autumn Wind Group's Branch Strongholds have also fallen into my hands," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"I estimate that, by now, just the number of True God-level Clones you possess should exceed a thousand. If we add the Virtual God ones, the number is even larger," Hun Lao said.
"That's correct, it's over a thousand. My Clones are now spread throughout the Sixth Void. No matter which world cluster I go to, it's likely I have a Clone there," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
"With all the corpses I currently possess, I could form a sizable corpse army," Huang Shang said, grinning.
During this period, Ye Yunfei had taken control of quite a few Yin Shi Hall Branch Strongholds, and most of the corpses within them had ended up with Huang Shang. Consequently, Huang Shang now possessed an astonishing number of corpses. With a huge supply of corpses, his cultivation in corpse-based techniques was rapidly improving. For a corpse cultivator, corpses were the core cultivation resource—the more one possessed, the faster one's corpse path techniques advanced.
Huang Shang's current proficiency in corpse techniques already surpassed that of many experts within the Yin Shi Hall because the number of corpses he owned far exceeded what most Yin Shi Hall True Gods possessed.
"Elder Huang, you now cultivate both corpses and ghosts. I'm curious, what level of actual combat strength have you reached?" Ye Yunfei asked curiously.
Huang Shang was now not only a ghost cultivator but also a corpse cultivator. Even Ye Yunfei couldn't guess his true combat power.
"My current combat power might not yet match yours, but your ordinary peak-level True God would likely no longer be my opponent," Huang Shang said after thinking for a moment. "Moreover, in battle, simply unleashing my corpse army allows me to easily deal with ordinary True Gods without even needing to act myself."
"In that case, your current combat strength is at the peak True God level. Any further improvement would be at the Heavenly God level," Ye Yunfei said, smiling.
"I think I might undergo a bloodline breakthrough soon," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm suddenly chimed in.
During this period, Ye Yunfei had seized a large number of Branch Strongholds belonging to hostile factions, gaining enormous cultivation resources. Whenever the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm saw cultivation resources suitable for him, he took them without hesitation. Consequently, the amount of resources the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm obtained was staggering. After refining them, he was finally on the verge of experiencing another bloodline breakthrough.
"Master, I think I might also undergo a bloodline breakthrough," Hu Miao said, speaking up.
Hu Miao had also obtained a massive, ample amount of cultivation resources during this period.
Both the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm and Hu Miao were ancient relics; their bloodlines were far superior to those of ordinary living beings. They only needed sufficient and sufficiently high-grade cultivation resources to undergo bloodline breakthroughs and enhance their strength.
"These are pills I refined for you two. You can take them," Ye Yunfei said, taking out a batch of pills and handing them to the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm and Hu Miao.
"Master, I'll go into seclusion now to strive for an early bloodline breakthrough and become stronger. Then, I can better assist you," Hu Miao said upon receiving the pills, before retreating into the Phantom Tower to cultivate in seclusion.
"I must also go into seclusion and try to raise my strength as soon as possible," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said, also immediately choosing to enter the Phantom Tower for closed-door cultivation after receiving his pills.
"Hun Lao, how about your strength? Has it improved any?" Ye Yunfei asked Hun Lao.
"My realm and strength aren't something that can be rushed. My race's bloodline is too noble, too rare. Therefore, the time and cultivation resources I need for realm breakthroughs and strength improvements far exceed what those two need. I can only take it slow," Hun Lao replied.
"Indeed, your lineage as a member of the Chaos World Tree race is far too noble and rare," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"Interesting, the Guardian Faction is dispatching another army to deal with the Lingxiao Sect, even drawing forces from this Branch Stronghold in the Sky Ox World Cluster. In that case, I’ll also follow along to see," Ye Yunfei suddenly chuckled after receiving a sound transmission from one of his Clones.
"Oh, the Guardian Faction and the Lingxiao Sect are going to war again? In that case, let's go join the fun," Hun Lao also said with a grin.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Let's take this opportunity to win over the Lingxiao Sect," Ye Yunfei said after some consideration.
Soon, within the Sky Ox World Cluster, a large contingent of troops marched out from the Guardian Faction's Branch Stronghold and entered the void, heading towards the location where the Guardian Faction and the Lingxiao Sect were preparing to battle.
At the same time, within an ancient palace inside the Guardian Faction's headquarters in the Sixth Void, an old witch wearing a wide robe sat before an altar, her face grim.
This altar's primary function was to assist in divination.
"Why do I keep feeling that our Guardian Faction here in the Sixth Void has fallen into some unprecedented crisis?" the old witch slowly began. "This feeling has lingered for a while now. It seems something very adverse has already happened to our Guardian Faction. What on earth could it be?"
"Moreover, during my divination, I've caught traces of that fellow's image and aura again. Could it be related to him once more? Even stranger, I feel as though that fellow is now on the verge of… merging with our Guardian Faction? This feeling is too bizarre. What has happened?" The old witch frowned deeply, utterly perplexed.
At the same time, in another location within the Sixth Void…
"I have faintly managed to track that fellow's aura… and it's pointing towards the Di Mo Clan's headquarters, the Xuanhuang Continent. Could it be that clansman of mine has secretly infiltrated the Di Mo Clan's headquarters? Good. I'll go to the Di Mo Clan and see," a youth remarked with a cold sneer, his gaze locked on the direction of the Di Mo Clan's headquarters.