"I really couldn't have managed this period without you. If it weren't for your help, our Dark Faction would have paid a far greater price in dealing with those five major forces. The entire Dark Faction will remember this favor," Lü Dandan said.
"In the future, if you ever need help, our Dark Faction will definitely assist you with all our strength, without any excuses!" Lü Dandan added.
"Young Lady Lü, I was just joking! We're all on the same side here, no need to stand on ceremony," Hu Miao said quickly, seeing how serious Lü Dandan was.
"Although the battles recently have been tense and perilous, I've also gained quite a lot from them. I need to return and go into seclusion as soon as possible, to properly digest the harvests and insights I've accumulated in this period," Lü Dandan nodded and said, feeling the darkness energy that flowed even more smoothly within her body, and the pulsations emanating from the Dark Heart, seemingly in sync with her own heartbeat.
"Oh, right. Even though you are still at the Heavenly God realm, your strength is already no less than that of a Sovereign God. Regarding the specific subdivisions of the Sovereign God realm, what's commonly said outside—Elementary Stage, Middle Stage, Advanced Stage, Perfection Stage—is actually not quite correct," Lü Dandan seemed to recall something and said to Ye Yunfei.
"Young Lady Lü, you mean to say, Sovereign Gods are actually divided into nine tiers, with the first to fourth tiers corresponding to the commonly referred to Elementary, Middle, Advanced, and Perfection Stages. And from the fifth to ninth tiers, these five levels are called Greater Sovereign Gods, with the ninth tier being the Great Perfection Sovereign God. Did I get that right?" Ye Yunfei smiled.
"Seems you already know," Lü Dandan nodded.
"An elder told me before," Ye Yunfei replied.
"I'm only at the third-tier Sovereign God right now. My cultivation level is still too low. When I go back to seclusion this time, I must try to break through to the Fourth-tier Small Perfection! Otherwise, in this increasingly chaotic world, it's genuinely difficult to establish myself." Lü Dandan let out a soft sigh.
"Then I wish Young Lady Lü a smooth seclusion and success in one go. I won't return with you to the Dark Faction's headquarters." Watching the undefeatable spirit and determined glint in Lü Dandan's eyes, Ye Yunfei secretly nodded.
"You're leaving?" Lü Dandan was taken aback.
"Yes. But if the Dark Faction encounters any crisis again, send me a message anytime. I'll rush over as quickly as I can," Ye Yunfei answered.
"Alright then," Lü Dandan, knowing Ye Yunfei's character, didn't press him to stay. She just looked at him deeply, suppressing that inexplicable feeling in her heart.
"My Queen! Something's happened! News from Blazing Sun Valley says that Lady Zhou Wanqing, the one from the Evergreen Ancient Land we saved earlier, was taken away by a strange man!" Just as the two were preparing to part ways, a scout of the Dark Faction rushed over urgently, landing before Lü Dandan with a frantic report.
"So she was taken away? That Lady Zhou isn't a member of our Dark Faction. She was bound to leave sooner or later," Lü Dandan's brow immediately furrowed.
"According to the message from Blazing Sun Valley, that man suddenly appeared, seemed to know Lady Zhou, but had a particularly violent temper. He complained that the cultivation resources we provided for Lady Zhou weren't of high enough grade, and actually... actually killed more than a dozen of our members! The deacons stationed in the valley all attacked him together but were no match, and were all killed. Lady Zhou immediately argued with him fiercely, reprimanding him angrily. But later, as if she had some kind of worry, she ended up leaving with the man. Before departing, Lady Zhou secretly Sent a Sound Transmission to a senior elder in charge, saying she *had* to leave, or else she would bring a greater calamity to our Dark Faction. She said that man is incredibly strong, at least at the Small Perfection Sovereign God level, and that he's one who has slaughtered men like cutting grass. She also said... since this matter started because of her, she will definitely find a way to compensate the Dark Faction for the losses caused in the future." The scout quickly detailed everything.
"How dare he?! Hurting my Dark Faction's people?" Lü Dandan's eyes instantly flashed with cold light upon hearing this, the dark energy around her surging uncontrollably.
"Fine! What an audacious fellow! Relay my orders: investigate! Find out that man's identity and origins! If I ever run into him in the future, I will absolutely not let him off!" Lü Dandan said coldly.
Afterwards, Ye Yunfei and Lü Dandan parted ways.
After separating from Lü Dandan, Ye Yunfei set out directly to return to the headquarters of the Guhai Sect.
Sensing that Ye Yunfei had returned, the Ancestral Founder and the Sect Master of Guhai Sect personally came out to greet him, their faces filled with excitement.
"Young Master Ye! You're finally back! During this period, six of our Guhai Sect's elders have successfully broken through, stepping into the Sovereign God realm in one go!" the Sect Master of Guhai Sect said, his voice trembling slightly.
"I see, that's good news," Ye Yunfei smiled.
"Young Master Ye, the pills you left behind are exceptionally useful! Their potency is gentle yet immense, extremely effective for breaking through bottlenecks!" the Ancestral Founder of Guhai Sect answered eagerly, his face flushed red as he explained excitedly.
Gaining six Sovereign Gods all at once meant a leap-like increase in strength for the ordinarily-powered Guhai Sect.
"Something's not right!" At this moment, Ye Yunfei's brow suddenly creased tightly. A very concealed, yet familiar aura flashed past deep within the Guhai Sect headquarters.
"I sense a familiar aura!" Hun Lao also sensed it now and Sent a Sound Transmission.
"It's that aura from the Soul Race member! Absolutely no mistake! It's that very Soul Race member from the Dark Faction headquarters! I never imagined he'd actually come to Guhai Sect's headquarters." Ye Yunfei's gaze instantly sharpened. Powerful Soul Power spread out like invisible quicksilver, silently blanketing the entire Guhai Sect headquarters.
Soon, Ye Yunfei pinpointed the source of that familiar aura: one of Guhai Sect's ordinary elders, Elder Rong. This Elder Rong was one of the six elders who had recently broken through to become Sovereign Gods. This elder was primarily responsible for liaison work between Guhai Sect and the Dark Faction.
Ye Yunfei immediately understood. It must be that Elder Rong had been targeted by that severely injured Soul Race member when he visited the Dark Faction before. The Soul Race member must have controlled his Soul Body, then secretly followed him back and infiltrated Guhai Sect!
"Ancestral Founder, Sect Master, could you please ask Elder Rong to come to the headquarters conference hall immediately? I have some matters to ask him." Ye Yunfei remained impassive, secretly Sending a Sound Transmission to the Ancestral Founder and Sect Master of Guhai Sect. Although the two didn't understand why, they naturally followed Ye Yunfei's words without question and immediately sent someone to invite him.
Not long after, Elder Rong arrived at the conference hall. As soon as Elder Rong saw Ye Yunfei, his face instantly changed wildly, but he forcibly suppressed it, restoring calmness.
This was because before he entered, Ye Yunfei had concealed his aura, so Elder Rong hadn't detected him. If the Soul Race member inside Elder Rong's Soul Sea had known Ye Yunfei was here, he would never have agreed to meet, opting to flee immediately.
On the surface, Elder Rong looked no different from usual, and because he had just broken through to Sovereign God, his aura was still a bit unstable, with an expression of proud satisfaction on his face. But Ye Yunfei could clearly perceive, deep within his Soul Sea, the real Soul Body tightly entangled and controlled like a marionette by countless fine soul threads, and the cluster of frigid, sinister consciousness belonging to the Soul Race member hiding next to that Soul Body.
"It really is that Soul Race fellow! We've met him again so quickly. Be careful, this guy is quite tricky," Hun Lao Sent a Sound Transmission.
"This guy is already severely injured. This time, he's run right into my sights again. I must definitely destroy him," Ye Yunfei laughed coldly to himself.
"Elder Rong, congratulations on breaking through to Sovereign God," Ye Yunfei said lightly.
"Thank you, Young Master Ye. It's all thanks to your divine pills…" Elder Rong answered respectfully.
However, before his words could finish…
A fierce gleam flashed in Ye Yunfei's eyes as he abruptly and without warning lifted a hand and pointed!
One Thought Ice World!
Hum!
A vast ice-type law energy instantly descended. The space within the conference hall seemed to be forcibly split apart. A small world, completely composed of transparent Mysterious Ice, abruptly materialized, directly sealing Elder Rong, along with the Soul Race member inside his Soul Sea, within it!
The bone-piercing cold not only froze his body, but even penetrated directly into his Soul Sea, trapping that Soul Race member dead within as well!
"Young Master Ye! You…!" Elder Rong's face turned pale, a mix of shock and fury, as he desperately struggled. But under the sealing effect of the One Thought Ice World, both his movements and his thoughts were severely restricted.
"It really is you! You sneaky bastard, let's see where you try to escape this time!" Ye Yunfei shouted coldly. His figure flashed as he charged into the Ice Realm. With a thought, he summoned the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, Hu Miao, and Huang Shang!
Space Restriction!
A flash of golden light shone from the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm. Waves of spatial ripples expanded outwards, reinforcing the Ice World and completely severing any possibility of the enemy's escape. As its bloodline continuously improved, the power of the racial heritage awakened by the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm was becoming increasingly formidable.
"You can't escape now!" Hu Miao cried out prettily, pink light swirling in her eyes. She immediately unleashed illusion techniques, beginning her assault on the Soul Race member.
"Ten-Thousand Ghosts Soul Lock!" Huang Shang gave a soft shout and attacked directly. He took out a ghost-qi-drenched Myriad Soul Banner and shook it forcefully. Countless apparitions of fierce ghosts transformed into black chains that drilled directly into Elder Rong's Soul Sea, entangling towards the Soul Race member.
"Damn it! Brat, so you discovered me already! You bully others too far!" The Soul Race member, suddenly assaulted by so many powerful attacks, emitted a sharp, piercing soul roar. He was already severely injured and knew his current situation was extremely perilous. His ferocity erupted completely as he began to burn his already heavily wounded Soul Body, employing various Soul Race secret arts of mutual destruction. Black soul-killing qi surged back like a tide.
Huala-la…
Ye Yunfei released the Soul-Nourishing Tree. Thousands upon thousands of green branches and leaves billowed out, winding towards that Soul Race member.
Boom! Boom!
Several dozen Soul Power Star Crystals then transformed into small whirlpools, madly absorbing the soul force energy erupted by that Soul Race member.