Ye Yunfei understood that the world he saw was likely the location of the Ancient Heavenly Fox Clan's headquarters.
It was a bustling and prosperous place, with many powerful experts holding the fort within.
Ye Yunfei noticed that on the back of one of the Primordial Heavenly Foxes, ten thick fox tails swayed faintly.
"Aren't Primordial Heavenly Foxes only supposed to have nine tails? That's one of the defining features of their race. How could one have ten?"
Ye Yunfei was somewhat startled by this sight.
"Hun Lao, do you know what's going on?"
Ye Yunfei turned to Hun Lao and asked.
"I suspect it might be a Primordial Heavenly Fox that's in the process of evolving.
Some ancient races could continuously evolve and advance, especially those primordial inheritor beasts. Their bloodlines are incredibly noble.
Over the long march of time, an entire race might undergo constant evolution, becoming more and more formidable, with their racial rank climbing ever higher.
Under normal circumstances, a Primordial Heavenly Fox has nine tails. If one suddenly appears with ten, its strength will certainly have risen to another level. This would also mark the beginning of the evolution of the entire race."
Hun Lao immediately consulted his racial memories for information about primordial inheritor beasts before answering Ye Yunfei's question.
"I see.
It seems this Primordial Heavenly Fox with ten thick tails must have been the most powerful expert of the Ancient Heavenly Fox Clan in ancient times."
Ye Yunfei nodded after hearing Hun Lao's words.
Right at that moment, the images suddenly changed.
Black smoke suddenly rose from the headquarters of the Ancient Heavenly Fox Clan. This smoke possessed terrifying corrosive power; wherever it went, it hissed as it corroded even space itself.
Then, from within that black smoke emerged a number of terrifying dark shadows that began slaughtering the Primordial Heavenly Foxes.
The power of these shadows was extremely frightening, and they seemed to be the perfect counter to the Primordial Heavenly Foxes.
Surrounded and killed by these shadows, the Primordial Heavenly Foxes offered surprisingly little resistance.
"No, this is fake. I don't believe it."
Watching as one Primordial Heavenly Fox after another met brutal deaths under the assaults of the shadows, Hu Miao couldn't accept it. She let out a pained cry.
"What's going on?"
Suddenly, Ye Yunfei felt a stirring in his heart. Something seemed off.
Hu Miao's emotions were agitated at this moment, and she was plunged into immense agony.
"Hu Miao, this might all be an illusion."
Ye Yunfei immediately sent her a voice transmission. Simultaneously, he released a powerful stream of Soul Power energy, instantly attacking into Hu Miao's Soul Sea to protect her soul body.
At this moment, Ye Yunfei noticed that the stele floating above Hu Miao's head was also trembling lightly, seeming quite agitated.
"No, Master. Regardless of whether these people here belong to an illusion or not, these images are real. Our Ancient Heavenly Fox Clan did suffer such a catastrophe in ancient times."
Looking at the constantly shifting scenes before her, the ongoing battle depicted within, Hu Miao shook her head in pain and spoke.
"How do you know it's real?
It could all be a grand illusion designed to disrupt your mental state."
Ye Yunfei said.
"No, Master. This is definitely real, because I can feel the emotions of the Primordial True Fox Stele.
I might be tricked by the illusions here, but the Primordial True Fox Stele couldn't possibly be.
I sense the sorrow emanating from the stele. That's why I know these images are true."
Hu Miao explained.
"I see."
Ye Yunfei glanced over and indeed saw the Primordial True Fox Stele floating above Hu Miao trembling lightly, seeming deeply sad.
"It seems the Ancient Heavenly Fox Clan met with misfortune in ancient times. A battle of this scale, losses on this level... they're almost equivalent to the extinction of the entire race."
Looking at the scenes playing out before Hu Miao, Hun Lao couldn't help but murmur softly.
"Well?
Little fox, see now that I was right?
Your Ancient Heavenly Fox Clan was invaded by strange beings at their headquarters in ancient times. After that war, your race was completely wiped out."
Seeing Hu Miao's sorrowful expression, the brawny man ahead chuckled as he spoke.
"Who says we were completely wiped out? Am I not standing right here, safe and sound? As long as I exist, our race will never truly be extinct."
Hearing the man's words, Hu Miao's mind cleared somewhat. Her willow-leaf brows shot up as she shouted defiantly.
"Indeed, little fox, you are a Primordial Heavenly Fox. However, I'm afraid you're also the last of your kind in this world."
The brawny man chuckled.
"After that ancient war, many of your clansmen did scatter to the winds, but they were all ruthlessly hunted down later on.
I estimate that you're the only one who managed to evade that pursuit and survive by pure luck."
The man spoke again.
"Impossible! My Ancient Heavenly Fox Clan must have other survivors besides me. I simply haven't encountered them yet."
Hu Miao shook her head stubbornly.
"Little fox, if you don't believe it, watch. This was the final fate of your Ancient Heavenly Fox Clan."
Right then, the brawny man spoke up once more.
Hu Miao fixed her gaze and saw that within the scenes, only a single Primordial Heavenly Fox remained within the clan headquarters—the very one possessing ten tails.
However, that special fox's situation wasn't favorable either.
A dozen or so exceptionally powerful dark shadows were surrounding and attacking him. Both sides were locked in a furious battle.
Before long, the ten-tailed Primordial Heavenly Fox was cornered, unable to hold them off. Finally, he was swarmed by the dozen shadows and beaten until he exploded.
"NO!"
Watching the ten-tailed Primordial Heavenly Fox being blasted apart, Hu Miao let out an unwilling, furious roar.
Her emotions then surged uncontrollably; wrath flooded the heavens. Nine thick tails materialized behind her, lashing violently. Wild surges of Illusion Dao energy erupted from her body, creating a dense field of illusions in the surrounding space.
"Hu Miao, calm yourself first!"
Realizing Hu Miao's unstable state, Ye Yunfei hurriedly spoke up to remind her.
But at that moment, Hu Miao paid no heed to Ye Yunfei's words. She suddenly took a step forward, then another, advancing step by step.
"Not good! She seems to be sinking deeper into it."
Ye Yunfei stepped forward immediately, about to intervene.
Yet right then, Hu Miao suddenly halted. The fire of anger in her gaze gradually shifted, growing peaceful. She soon regained complete calm.
"Master... It seems I fell into another illusion just now.
Fortunately, I've managed to break free from it now."
Hu Miao said.
"Look! Ahead! A heap of treasure just appeared!"
At that very moment, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm pointed excitedly ahead.
Sure enough, a large pile of treasure had manifested not far ahead, emitting dazzling divine radiance.
"I understand now. This should be the reward you obtained for dispelling that illusion just now.
It appears that in this place, one can obtain a corresponding reward for each illusion one breaks.
This was probably deliberately set up by Tianmu Shenjun to test later generations."
Hun Lao opened his mouth and said.
"Yes, these are the rewards I've earned."
With a flash of her figure, Hu Miao rushed forward, arriving before the pile of treasure.
"Whatever catches your eye, take it. Don't hold back."
Hu Miao was exceptionally generous. After all, she had already obtained the Primordial True Fox Stele—for her, that was the most precious treasure, surpassing all others. The stele itself contained a large store of high-level cultivation resources suitable for her, so she wasn't in need of cultivation supplies.
"What's this?"
Ye Yunfei stepped forward, his sweeping gaze falling upon a light blue-colored treasure pearl.
Within that pearl, Ye Yunfei sensed the aura of Mental Force energy.
"Master, this is a treasure that contains Mental Force energy.
Since I haven't cultivated Mental Force, you should take it, Master."
Hu Miao glanced at the light blue pearl and spoke.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony."
Ye Yunfei immediately reached out and took the pearl.
Once the pearl was in his hand, the Mental Force energy stored within became even more pronounced.
"This pearl holds a vast amount of Mental Force energy. Moreover, this energy is extremely pure and incredibly ancient—far more advanced than the Mental Force energy I currently possess."
After sensing the energy aura within the pearl, Ye Yunfei was somewhat astonished.
"I'll refine it right now."
With a single thought, Ye Yunfei began refining the pearl.
Given Ye Yunfei's current strength, refining a treasure was naturally a simple task.
Within moments, Ye Yunfei had successfully refined the item.
"This really is a Mental Force energy-type treasure."
After refining the pearl, Ye Yunfei immediately sent his perception into its inner world. He discovered it truly stored a sea of Mental Force energy.
"Somehow, the aura of this Mental Force energy reminds me of that from the Heart Gate.
Could this treasure also be an artifact from the Ancient Heart Gate?"
A thought suddenly struck Ye Yunfei.
He had obtained several artifacts passed down from the Ancient Heart Gate in the past. For example, the Mind-Refining Tower he once acquired belonged to the Ancient Heart Gate. Inside that tower resided a Soul Power imprint left by one of the Ancient Heart Gate's experts.
That expert had also gifted Ye Yunfei a jade slip containing some of the Ancient Heart Gate's legacies.
However, later on, Ye Yunfei's cultivation of Mental Force began to stagnate somewhat, because his own realm and power continued to increase, making him ever stronger.
Yet his Mental Force cultivation failed to see major breakthroughs, limiting its combat effectiveness. Consequently, Ye Yunfei gradually practiced and used Mental Force less frequently.
It had become a point of regret for him. He never expected to obtain another Ancient Heart Gate treasure here.
Clutching the blue pearl in his palm, Ye Yunfei directly activated it.
Boom! A formidable surge of Mental Force energy instantly erupted.
"With this pearl, the intensity of the Mental Force I can unleash has significantly increased."
Feeling the continuous stream of Mental Force energy pouring forth from the pearl, Ye Yunfei was pleasantly surprised.
"Hu Miao, you mentioned before there are many Mental Force-type treasures in this place?"
Ye Yunfei asked Hu Miao.
"Yes, Master.
According to the information I gleaned from the Primordial True Fox Stele, there are indeed many Mental Force treasures here.
Because the Primordial True Fox Stele was originally placed here."
Hu Miao replied.
"Good. Let's keep advancing and explore further."
Ye Yunfei said.
At this time, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, Huang Shang, and Hun Lao had also selected treasures from the earlier pile that appealed to them.
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm picked out a rather stylish-looking golden robe. Upon draping it over himself, the robe immediately masked his original aura, changing his appearance entirely.
Even Ye Yunfei found it difficult to clearly perceive his true soul body aura.
According to Hu Miao, this golden robe was an extremely high-grade Illusion Dao treasure, densely inscribed with numerous Illusion Dao restrictions.
"With this treasure, others will find it much harder to detect me in the future."
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm donned the golden robe, finding it a perfect fit. He was extremely satisfied with its effects.
Huang Shang selected some items that could enhance Soul Power energy.
Hun Lao chose several saplings of precious trees.
These saplings were imbued with dense Illusion Dao energy and Illusion Dao laws.
Hun Lao planned to assimilate and merge with them.
As a Chaos World Tree, Hun Lao could devour and merge with many types of treasured trees.
In the following time, Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao continued to walk forward. As they progressed, Hu Miao mainly relied on the stele floating above her head to guide the way.