"The Rune Sacred Land of antiquity was an exceedingly mysterious power," Hun Lao said in astonishment.
"Hun Lao, do you perhaps know of this Rune Sacred Land faction?" Ye Yunfei immediately inquired.
"Of course, I know," Hun Lao nodded.
"In ancient times, the Rune Sacred Land was a major power on par with the Wanmu Ancestral Land. It is said it housed many highly skilled rune masters adept at crafting various types of charm papers. Many of the talismans still existing today originated from the ancient Rune Sacred Land. However, this power was always extremely low-profile and had little contact with the outside world. They say only some powerful figures in the Chaotic Void Sea would enter the Rune Sacred Land to contact its rune masters when they needed someone to refine talismans. Ordinary beings simply lacked the qualifications or opportunity to come into contact with people from the Rune Sacred Land. To think that the opening of Tianmu Shenjun's cave would attract even them this time," Hun Lao exclaimed in a tone of disbelief.
After the old man in the cyan robe stepped out of the flying vessel, a group of beings immediately followed him out from the same artifact. These beings all wore robes of various colors, and upon each robe flowed numerous esoteric runes. These strange symbols swam and shifted across the fabric of their garments, emitting multicolored light in a decidedly peculiar spectacle.
"These are all rune masters. Such masters were considered exceedingly rare even in ancient times. In this current era, they are rarer still. Also, look: their robes have multiple colors. It's said the different colors represent different levels of attainment in charm-making," Hun Lao explained to Ye Yunfei.
"Master Gu, long time no see." Just then, a gaunt old man with an exceptionally sharp aura suddenly appeared. He walked toward the leading cyan-robed old man of the Rune Sacred Land and greeted him warmly.
"This fellow is a powerhouse from the Blade Realm. I suspect he was the one sensing you earlier," Hun Lao promptly said to Ye Yunfei.
"Yes. This guy is a formidable blade cultivator," Ye Yunfei affirmed, sensing the terrifying Blade Intent erupting from the old man's body, and nodded. Ye Yunfei had also practiced blade techniques and had achieved a decent level in the Dao of Blades, so he could tell that the Blade Intent radiating from the old man was incredibly fierce, something an ordinary blade cultivator of the world could not compare to.
Next, a large group of blade cultivators emanating domineering Blade Intent appeared, following behind that old man.
"Master Gu, let us enter now," the Blade Realm old man said to the Rune Sacred Land's Master Gu, his attitude exceedingly cordial.
"Very well, we shall enter now," Master Gu nodded, then took the lead and walked toward the spatial portal ahead. Everyone's gazes were fixed on Master Gu, wanting to see if he could indeed walk in as he said. In the next moment, the space before Master Gu began to ripple gently like water, and then he smoothly stepped into the spatial portal. The others from the Rune Sacred Land all followed Master Gu and successfully entered the portal.
"Excellent! Master Gu was right. This spatial portal is configured with highly specific spatial restrictions. Flying vessels cannot enter, but we can walk right through," others exclaimed excitedly upon seeing Master Gu lead his people successfully through.
"Let us enter as well." The Blade Realm old man gestured and led his party into the portal.
"Master, look! That guy seems to be Sima Ziyang!" Hu Miao suddenly pointed to a figure among the Blade Realm's ranks and said to Ye Yunfei.
"Indeed, it is him," Ye Yunfei glanced at the figure and immediately recognized Sima Ziyang, the man he had clashed with before.
As Ye Yunfei's gaze landed on Sima Ziyang's back, a cold smirk appeared on Sima Ziyang's face.
‘That brat Ye, so you've come as well. If I encounter you within Tianmu Shenjun's cave, I will make you thoroughly regret ever crossing me,’ Sima Ziyang thought darkly. Just moments ago, he had overheard the Blade Realm's leading elder mention Ye Yunfei's presence, and he had immediately latched onto the thought.
‘Brat Ye, you not only offended me but also became an inheritor of the Sword Realm. From now on, there will be no place for you in the entire Chaotic Void Sea,’ Sima Ziyang further contemplated. Of course, given his capabilities, he was unaware that Ye Yunfei was currently sensing him. His blade cultivation might be considerable, but his Soul Power level did not match Ye Yunfei's.
In a flash, the entire Blade Realm contingent entered the spatial portal.
"Hmm? Miss Zhou is also here!" Suddenly, Ye Yunfei's mind stirred as he spotted a particular flying vessel. A group of beings dressed in green were emerging from it, and among them was a slender and graceful figure — Zhou Wanqing.
Ye Yunfei had once accompanied Zhou Wanqing to the Sword Realm and spent some time with her, so he was naturally quite familiar with her. As Ye Yunfei noticed her, Zhou Wanqing suddenly turned her head, her gaze sweeping towards Ye Yunfei's location as if searching for something. However, Ye Yunfei was still inside his flying vessel; Zhou Wanqing could neither see nor sense him.
"Has Young Master Ye truly come?" Zhou Wanqing asked an old woman beside her while searching.
"He has indeed. However, as he has offended the Blade Realm and stands against the Guardian Faction, it is not advisable for you to become too closely associated with him. Doing so may lead the Blade Realm and the Guardian Faction to misunderstand that our Wanmu Ancestral Land has already chosen a side in his conflicts," the old woman replied in a low voice.
Following that, the Wanmu Ancestral Land's group proceeded through the spatial portal.
Afterwards, beings emerged from every flying vessel, stored their artifacts, and stepped into the portal ahead.
"Indeed. All the beings and factions that have come this time are exceptionally powerful," Ye Yunfei said, his expression somewhat grave as he watched batch after batch of beings enter the portal. There were some powerhouses whose auras were so terrifying that Ye Yunfei simply could not sense them, or dared not attempt to.
"Look! Those appear to be people from the Guardian Faction!" Hun Lao suddenly pointed towards a group of beings.
"Yes, they should be. And likely from the Guardian Faction's headquarters, at that. These guys are strong," Ye Yunfei remarked, his brow involuntarily furrowing slightly as he observed them.
Soon, those Guardian Faction beings entered the spatial portal.
"Let's go in as well!" Ye Yunfei declared.
He then stepped out of his flying vessel, stowed it away, and walked towards the spatial portal. As his foot entered the portal, a dense aura of spatial energy washed over him, and the surrounding scenery abruptly began to shift with dizzying speed.
After an indeterminable length of time, Ye Yunfei felt his feet suddenly land solidly on ground. He focused his gaze. Beneath his feet lay a desolate plain littered with bones. The sky presented an eerie gray-purple hue, and in the distance, mountains resembled massive skulls, exuding an ancient, vicissitudinous atmosphere.
"This is Tianmu Shenjun's cave. Many powerful figures in antiquity would occupy a world or even carve out one of their own to serve as a cultivation cave," Hun Lao said to Ye Yunfei.
"Hun Lao, is it true that your Chaos World Tree Clan can carve out a world?" Ye Yunfei, recalling some legends, asked curiously.
"Yes. Our clan is innately endowed with the ability to create spaces. Upon reaching a certain stage of growth, we can create worlds, even entire voids. However, my main body is a branch from an ancient Chaos World Tree. I am still far from possessing such spatial-creation abilities," Hun Lao replied.
"Don't worry, Hun Lao. In time, you will eventually grow into a complete Chaos World Tree," Ye Yunfei said.
"I hope so. Truly, following by your side all these years, I have continually grown," Hun Lao nodded.
"The energy and laws of this world are special. It is a world of exceptionally high quality," Hun Lao remarked after surveying their surroundings.
"We've now entered Tianmu Shenjun's cave — a rare opportunity indeed. Let's hurry and search for whatever treasures are here. Our actions need to be swift because many other beings have entered besides us. When seeking treasures, one must strive to be the first on the scene!" The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm had long been standing beside Ye Yunfei, itching to get started. As he spoke, he had already begun using his clan's unique treasure-sensing ability to probe in all directions.
"Over there! Follow me!" In no time, the silkworm seemed to have identified a target. He flickered and shot off in a certain direction. Ye Yunfei, whose movement speed was not lacking, also flickered and followed closely.
"There! The forest on that mountain seems to hold something!" the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm shouted. He soon plunged into a nearby tract of primeval, dense forest.
Boom!
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm charged up a hillside and then drove his fist into the ground, forcibly creating a deep fissure in the earth.
He then gestured, and dozens of energy crystals rose from within the chasm. They emanated a soft blue glow, and within their crystalline interiors, countless soul-like filaments seemed to swim.
"They appear to be a special type of soul crystal!" Huang Chang's pitch-black, gleaming Ghost Body materialized directly, his eyes gleaming as he observed the crystals.
"Indeed, a special type of soul crystal. And there are many more down below. It seems we've stumbled upon a deity-level soul crystal mine vein as soon as we entered," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
"Halt!" Just as Ye Yunfei was about to start collecting this vein, over a dozen figures emerged in the distance. They sped over, arriving instantly before Ye Yunfei's group.
"These are all from the Rune Sacred Land," Hun Lao promptly informed Ye Yunfei.
"Gentlemen, these soul crystals would be quite useful for our Rune Sacred Land. Could we trouble you to yield them to us?" a middle-aged man clad in a rune-embroidered daoist robe stepped forward unhurriedly, looked at Ye Yunfei, and spoke.
"Yield them? You want us to give up what we found first? Utter nonsense!" The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm refused outright. As he spoke, he flickered and directly dove into the chasm before them, beginning to collect the soul crystals below.
"I have some talismans from our Rune Sacred Land here, which I can gift to you gentlemen," Seeing the silkworm act so, the middle-aged man's expression soured slightly. He thought for a moment, produced a stack of yellow talisman papers, and presented them before Ye Yunfei, then spoke.