Ye Yunfei simultaneously deployed the Mind Reading Art and the Soul Weapon Art, continuously assaulting the gray-robed middle-aged man's Soul Body.
"Now I know this guy's background," Hun Lao suddenly spoke up. "Turns out he's an expert from the Rune Sacred Land, and he carries many talismans on him. Those from the Rune Sacred Land are accustomed to relying on talismans in battle, which ironically makes their inherent combat strength rather weak. Although this guy should be considered quite formidable within the Rune Sacred Land, compared to experts of similar realm from other powers, his actual combat prowess, willpower, and combat experience or techniques all fall short. This is a fundamental weakness of the Rune Sacred Land's experts."
"Makes sense," Ye Yunfei nodded. "Even though this guy's realm is powerful, as a member of the Rune Sacred Land, his usual battles must rely heavily on talismans and external aids. This results in his willpower not being particularly strong, and his combat experience and skills are also lacking. That's why he got trapped here by Tianmu Shenjun's illusion formations, and faced with the sudden attacks from Hu Miao and me, he was momentarily at a loss on how to respond. If an expert of the same level from another power were here, Hu Miao's and my ambush might not have succeeded."
"Those guys from the Rune Sacred Land are so used to fighting with talismans. This fellow got stuck in an illusion and couldn't use his talismans right away, so his actual combat strength dropped significantly compared to normal. He's just unlucky," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said with a laugh.
"Master, you're all correct. This guy is indeed an expert from the Rune Sacred Land; I discovered that a while ago," Hu Miao chimed in with a smile. "Originally, this guy in the illusion was about to start using his talismans. I used several illusions in succession to forcibly suppress him, making him forget about the talismans he carried on him."
Right at this moment.
"Watch out! He's about to use his talismans!" Hun Lao suddenly warned.
Ye Yunfei's eyes also sharpened, seeing the gray-robed middle-aged man start to retrieve talismans from a spatial ring.
"Just die already!" Ye Yunfei roared. In that instant, he unleashed a barrage of various techniques and martial skills. The Heavenly Dao Divine Dragon Fist executed by his left hand, in particular, delivered dozens of punches in a flash, each one bombarding the gray-robed middle-aged man's body. The longsword gripped in his right hand also slashed repeatedly onto the man's flesh.
At the same time, Ye Yunfei's several dozen Soul Power Planets instantly swarmed and surrounded the gray-robed man's Soul Body, coordinating with twenty or thirty Soul Power Weapons to attack it jointly. Simultaneously, Ye Yunfei deployed the Puppet Soul Threads secret art, scattering a large number of transparent soul threads that twisted and wound towards the gray-robed man's Soul Body.
The Puppet Soul Threads Ye Yunfei unleashed now were completely transparent, formless, and colorless, but their quality was even more terrifying. Once entangled, they were incredibly difficult to shake off. The gray-robed man's Soul Body was originally extremely formidable. Under normal circumstances, Ye Yunfei's soul-based martial arts wouldn't have caused much impact on it. But now, the man was trapped in illusions, and after the combined attacks from Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao, he was already injured. Thus, he was quickly entangled by over a dozen Puppet Soul Threads.
Once these Puppet Soul Threads came into contact with the gray-robed man's Soul Body, they immediately burrowed deep inside, beginning to influence his soul. Ye Yunfei's Mind Reading Art could interfere with the opponent's thoughts and impulses, while the Puppet Soul Threads could induce drastic changes in the Soul Body, attempting to control it and instill feelings of submission.
After these transparent Puppet Soul Threads drilled into the gray-robed man's Soul Body, they immediately began releasing a large number of strange runes, starting to dominate his soul. Although only a dozen or so threads couldn't truly control such a powerful Soul Body, they created significant interference.
Utilizing these Puppet Soul Threads and combining them with the Mind Reading Art, Ye Yunfei made it impossible for the gray-robed man's Soul Body to concentrate on dealing with the multitude of fearsome assaults it was currently enduring. The Mind Reading Art and Puppet Soul Threads even continuously hinted at him, suggesting he should give up resisting. As a result, the gray-robed man's resistance grew even feebler.
He had intended to use his talismans, but under the combined efforts of Hu Miao and Ye Yunfei, he actually momentarily forgot about them, failing to retrieve the talismans in time.
"Ahhhhh…!
What in the world is the reason for this?!
Something must be wrong somewhere.
How could my life be so miserable?!
I don't believe it. This isn't my life. I don't belong in this world!"
Under the internal and external assaults from Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao, the gray-robed middle-aged man's injuries grew increasingly severe. Suddenly, he let out a hysterical roar.
"Not good. It seems he's about to snap out of it soon," Ye Yunfei was startled upon hearing the man's furious cries. It appeared the gray-robed man was facing a great crisis within the illusion, but judging by his words, he might already be sensing that the world he was in wasn't necessarily real, that the life he was experiencing might not be his true life.
"That's right, Master. We need to attack him harder and faster," Hu Miao said to Ye Yunfei. "He'll soon break free from the illusion. We must kill him before he manages to escape!"
"Okay," Ye Yunfei nodded.
Then, with a sword in his right hand and a fist in his left, Ye Yunfei simultaneously employed several different techniques and martial skills, launching a frenzied offensive once more at an astonishing speed. Meanwhile, Hu Miao deployed all sorts of illusion arts, creating one bizarre fantastical illusion after another, entangling the gray-robed man in layers upon layers of phantasmal worlds. Huang Shang also unleashed various Ghost Cultivation Art techniques, attacking maniacally.
"I'll join too!"
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm appeared nearby, then began assaulting the gray-robed middle-aged man using the various innate techniques of his race.
Under the combined onslaught of Ye Yunfei, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, Huang Shang, and Hu Miao, the gray-robed man's injuries worsened drastically. Not only was his physical body repeatedly blasted apart, but his Soul Body was also riddled with grievous, horrifying wounds.
"Just die!"
Seeing the gray-robed man's Soul Body sustaining more and more damage, Ye Yunfei gritted his teeth, commanding his dozens of Soul Power Planets to swarm forward. They forcefully grappled the gray-robed man's Soul Body and began a violent devouring process. At the same time, the dozens of Soul Power Weapons Ye Yunfei had created using the Soul Weapon Art all struck the gray-robed man's Soul Body.
"Ah!"
The gray-robed man let out a pained scream.
The next moment.
"I understand now. All those experiences just now… they were all in an illusion," the gray-robed middle-aged man suddenly regained clarity. With a sweep of his gaze around him, he immediately understood what had transpired.
"Damn it!
You wretched little brats! To actually ambush me while I was trapped in an illusion! Damn you all! Every single one of you deserves death!"
Upon discovering his physical body had been shattered and his Soul Body severely wounded, the gray-robed man instantly flew into a rage, roaring hysterically. Given his realm and strength, he had never considered Ye Yunfei and the others a threat. Previously, when pursuing Ye Yunfei and Hu Miao, he had regarded them with contempt, believing that catching up would mean easily subduing them with a single move. He never imagined being so miserably battered, reduced to this state by a bunch of juniors. It was utterly unacceptable.
"The one who deserves death is you!" Ye Yunfei sneered coldly.
"Don't be afraid, everyone. This guy is gravely injured; his actual combat strength has plummeted drastically. Take advantage of his weakened state and finish him off. Keep attacking!" Ye Yunfei roared. His dozens of Soul Power planets swarmed forward again, with his Soul Power weapons charging ahead. A flood of transparent Puppet Soul Threads, coordinated with the Mind Reading Art, unleashed yet another savage assault on the gray-robed man's Soul Body.
By this point, the gray-robed man's physical body had been blasted apart numerous times, incurring massive energy consumption. Moreover, the Blood Clan Clone was nearby, employing the Blood Control Great Art to commandeer his blood, forcing it to spill out in all directions and preventing him from reforming his physical body in the short term.
*BOOOOOOOM…!*
Suddenly, Hu Miao urged the Primordial True Fox Stele hovering above her head to smash violently towards the gray-robed middle-aged man's Soul Body.
"No!"
The gray-robed man, already occupied dealing with Ye Yunfei's terrifying array of soul attacks, was startled to see the Primordial True Fox Stele whistling towards him. He knew this stele was tremendously powerful—an ancient sacred relic of the Primordial Fox Clan. Even in the hands of a junior, its might could not be underestimated. Moreover, in his current precarious state, with both his body and Soul Body severely wounded, he lacked the confidence to withstand this stele under such circumstances.
In a panic, he tried to turn and flee. But the Primordial True Fox Stele had already locked onto his aura. Moving at a horrifying speed, it pierced through space in an instant and smashed directly onto the gray-robed man's Soul Body.
"Ah!"
The gray-robed middle-aged man, struck head-on by the stele, let out a shrill cry. His Soul Body then detonated violently on the spot, blasted into scattered fragments.
Seeing this, Ye Yunfei and Huang Shang immediately rushed forward, deploying secret arts of soul devourment to begin forcibly consuming the gray-robed man's shattered soul fragments.
"Damn you, juniors! How dare you try to devour my Soul Body! Over my dead body!"
Realizing that Ye Yunfei and Huang Shang were attempting to devour his Soul Body—and had already absorbed some fragments—the gray-robed man erupted in furious rage.
*BOOM!*
A formidable burst of Soul Power energy erupted from the gray-robed man's shattered Soul Body, simultaneously crashing towards Ye Yunfei, Hu Miao, and Huang Shang. After all, it was mainly these three who were attacking his soul. As for the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, he was already busy searching through the valuables scattered from the remnants of the gray-robed man's physical body.
"Let's go all out against him!" Huang Shang shouted. His jet-black Ghost Body seemed to darken even further, like a fathomless black hole ready to consume everything. Surging Ghost Qi and Corpse Qi soared skywards like columns of black smoke, while layer upon layer of Ghost Walls materialized endlessly within the surrounding space. With his constantly rising strength, the power of Huang Shang's Ghost Walls had become truly terrifying, capable of tightly sealing off an entire area.
Meanwhile, both of Ye Yunfei's souls, his dozens of Soul Power Planets, and his Nourishing Soul Art simultaneously erupted with potent energy. Using this Soul Power energy, Ye Yunfei forged dozens of Soul Power weapons, which then arranged themselves into a battle formation, assailing the gray-robed man's Soul Body from all directions. Hu Miao wove numerous illusions around the space, with one fantastical realm after another drifting towards the gray-robed man.
"Damn it! It's a Blood Clan clone interfering with me reassembling my body!" At this moment, the gray-robed man was struggling to reform his physical body. But the Blood Clan Clone was continuously employing the Blood Control Great Art, already seizing control of a considerable portion of his blood. Under the Clone's manipulation, this blood roiled and churned violently, akin to a pot of boiling water.