Back when they were leaving the Blade Realm, a powerhouse from the Wanmu Ancestral Land had stepped in to help Ye Yunfei. For that, Ye Yunfei felt grateful towards this faction. Coupled with his connection to Zhou Wanqing, he treated this elderly woman with marked respect.
"Such strength and talent at such a young age. A fine mindset, too—neither arrogant nor discouraged, always composed. A truly promising talent," the elderly woman remarked, nodding appreciatively at Ye Yunfei's manner.
"You flatter me, Senior," Ye Yunfei replied.
"Young Master Ye, this is Elder Ruan of our Wanmu Ancestral Land. She is one of the leading elders overseeing our expedition into Tianmu Shenjun's Cultivation Grotto," Zhou Wanqing introduced from the side.
"Elder Ruan. An honor," Ye Yunfei said with a courteous nod.
"Young Master Ye, this maze is incredibly complex. Ever since entering it, I feel like a blind fly buzzing around, completely unable to find my way. Yet you actually managed to reach this place. You're truly amazing!" Zhou Wanqing chimed in again.
"Indeed, Young Master Ye. To rely solely on your own abilities to come this far is no small feat," Elder Ruan immediately agreed upon hearing Zhou Wanqing's words.
"Senior, Miss Zhou, I merely got lucky," Ye Yunfei replied with a smile.
"Let's advance together from here. Let's see if we can make our way through this labyrinth," Elder Ruan said to Ye Yunfei.
"That's wonderful! Young Master Ye, Elder Ruan agrees to let you travel with us!" Zhou Wanqing was delighted.
"Senior, to be frank, I entered this maze with members of the Yang Family. They are waiting for me not far from here," Ye Yunfei considered for a moment before nodding and replying.
Wanmu Ancestral Land possessed strength and heritage no worse than the Blade Realm's. Making such an acquaintance was an opportunity Ye Yunfei wouldn't refuse. In fact, he already suspected the Blade Realm might have allied with the Guardian Faction—strong forces joining forces—so he certainly wouldn't reject building ties with other major factions.
However, he also wouldn't abandon the Yang Family. Given their strength, they would be utterly incapable of traversing this white maze region without him, or even of turning back. Leaving them would mean they'd likely be trapped forever within this white labyrinth.
"Then have the Yang Family members come and join us," Elder Ruan said after thinking for a moment.
"Very well, I'll summon them immediately," Ye Yunfei agreed, seeing her acceptance.
He then dispatched one of his Clones to find the Yang Family and lead them over.
"Young Master Ye, these are people from the Wanmu Ancestral Land?" Yang Feng couldn't hide his astonishment when he saw the group of beings, each exuding dense waves of life essence.
As a Fourth Level Sovereign God, he was naturally somewhat familiar with various factions in the Chaotic Void Sea, especially the famous, prominent ones.
"Indeed. Senior, we will be following the Wanmu Ancestral Land group from here," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"We never imagined Young Master Ye would have ties to Wanmu Ancestral Land as well," the higher-ups of the Yang Family were all deeply shocked. While the Yang Family could be considered a decently large clan, it was far inferior compared to an ancient, time-honored power like Wanmu Ancestral Land. Being able to travel alongside such a mighty faction left every Yang Family member feeling somewhat overwhelmed with favor.
"Then let us proceed. We shouldn't waste time," Elder Ruan swept her gaze over the Yang Family members before turning and striding forward.
Wanmu Ancestral Land disciples quickly followed. Ye Yunfei, leading the Yang Family, promptly kept pace.
"Young Master Ye, your strength seems to have increased significantly since our last parting. Your talent is truly formidable!" Zhou Wanqing, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Ye Yunfei, couldn't help but speak up, recalling the power and variety of techniques he had displayed in the recent battle.
"Miss Zhou, your own realm and power have also progressed," Ye Yunfei replied with a smile.
"My meager improvements are nothing compared to yours. Earlier, several blade cultivators attacked me simultaneously. If you hadn't intervened in time, I wouldn't have been able to handle them," Zhou Wanqing said.
"Why would Blade Realm cultivators attack Wanmu Ancestral Land? Your faction's strength and reputation are not inferior to theirs. Could the Blade Realm truly be intent on severing all ties with you?"
"Young Master Ye, you may not know this. Ever since that time outside the Sword Realm, when our Wanmu Ancestral Land higher-ups intervened to block the Blade Realm powerhouse's attack on the two of us, conflicts have arisen between our factions.
Afterwards, the headquarters of the Guardian Faction sent an emissary, accompanied by an elder from the Blade Realm, to our Wanmu Ancestral Land. They demanded that our faction form an alliance with their two great powers.
We flatly refused. Because so-called 'alliance' is just a pleasant-sounding term. The actual terms laid down by the Guardian Faction amounted to our Wanmu Ancestral Land obeying their commands.
Since our refusal, the relationship between the Blade Realm and our Wanmu Ancestral Land has grown increasingly tense. Naturally, the Guardian Faction's attitude towards us has also cooled considerably.
Earlier, after we entered the white maze region, we ran into the Blade Realm group. Their people mocked and provoked us deliberately, then directly initiated the attack."
"So, the Blade Realm is already in cahoots with the Guardian Faction," Ye Yunfei said coldly.
"Yes. The Guardian Faction's schemes are an open secret. The Blade Realm is also an ambition-driven power that, since ancient times, has been expanding everywhere—otherwise, they wouldn't have invaded your Sword Realm.
Now, with the Guardian Faction stirring up chaos everywhere in the Chaotic Void Sea, it plays right into the Blade Realm's hands. The Blade Realm is taking advantage of the turmoil to operate actively, seizing gains in this chaotic era.
In short, the Blade Realm and the Guardian Faction are collaborators—birds of a feather flock together. Neither are any good."
"I see. In that case, I have even less reason to hold back when I encounter Blade Realm cultivators in the future," Ye Yunfei said, his tone icy.
"Young Master Ye, I've heard that the Blade Realm has issued a kill order targeting you. Be careful in the future," Zhou Wanqing warned him again.
"Thank you for the warning," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"Time to deal with these fellows." Meanwhile, inside the Phantom Tower, one of Ye Yunfei's Clones arrived before the imprisoned Blade Realm cultivators.
"Boy, release us at once! Otherwise, the Blade Realm will absolutely make you pay!" The blade cultivators raged upon seeing Ye Yunfei.
A cold smile graced Ye Yunfei's lips. Without a word, he activated the Soul Power Star Technique. Dozens of condensed spheres of Soul Power howled forth, hurled them into the target cultivator's Soul Sea, and began forcibly devouring his Soul Body.
"Aaaahhh...!" The blade cultivator screamed. Soon after, Ye Yunfei completely consumed the cultivator's Soul Body, obtaining his memories.