"Fei'er, we're off now. You must take good care of yourself! No matter what happens, your safety comes first."
Before departing, Miao Ziqiong's gaze remained fixed on Ye Yunfei, filled with immense reluctance.
Ye Tianpeng, too, had been earnestly instructing Ye Yunfei on various matters all this while.
Ye Yunfei understood his parents' sentiments and responded patiently.
"The situation in the Chaotic Void Sea is complex. When necessary, you must know how to keep yourself safe," the Vermilion Bird King also turned to look at Ye Yunfei and reminded him.
The other high-ranking members of the Miao Clan all spoke up in turn to bid farewell to Ye Yunfei, also cautioning him to be careful in the days to come.
In recent years, the Miao Clan's overall strength had skyrocketed because of Ye Yunfei. Moreover, Ye Yunfei was considered half a clansman. As such, every member of the Miao Clan felt gratitude for the benefits Ye Yunfei had brought them.
Finally, the Ye Tianpeng couple followed the Vermilion Bird King and the Miao Clan's high-level members onto that ancient altar, then stepped into the teleportation channel suspended above it.
Subsequently, the other members of the Miao Clan also swarmed in like a tide from behind, streaming endlessly into that spatial teleportation channel that radiated a dense aura of time and space.
"Another race returns to the Mother World," Hun Lao couldn't help but sigh softly.
"I always feel this might be portending something," Hun Lao then spoke again.
"Never mind that for now. We'll cross the bridge when we come to it," Ye Yunfei watched with his own eyes as more and more members of the Miao Clan continuously entered that spatial channel and spoke softly.
At this moment, some high-ranking members at the rear of the Miao Clan procession were guarding their rear flank.
Standing to the side, Ye Yunfei watched as clan members departed one after another. Those Miao clansmen he had usually interacted with waved farewell to him before leaving, and Ye Yunfei patiently responded to each in turn.
At this time, the usually bustling Vermilion Bird Realm appeared incomparably desolate. Of course, only the true Miao clansmen had departed. This world still housed many beings who were not of the Miao Race, along with a great number of mortals who did not cultivate.
Moreover, the number of those mortals was far greater. The Miao Clan were merely the rulers of this world, not that all beings within it were Miao clansmen.
After less than half a day, finally all the Miao Clan's forces had entered the teleportation channel above the altar.
Several high-ranking Miao Clan members responsible for the rear guard turned to bid farewell to Ye Yunfei, then also entered that spatial channel and disappeared from sight.
Ye Yunfei's gaze had been fixed on that spatial teleportation channel until all the Miao clansmen had entered.
"I hope Mother, Father, and Xiao Fei are all well," Ye Yunfei murmured softly.
Boom… Rumble…
Suddenly, the ancient altar trembled violently. Then, the spatial channel above the altar began to slowly close, vanishing completely in the end.
Following that, the ancient altar that had been shimmering with light also gradually grew quiet, its radiance fading away as it returned to tranquility. Moments later, it completely reverted to its previous appearance.
The entire Miao Clan ancestral grounds were deathly silent, with only Ye Yunfei standing alone before the ancient altar.
His parents' departure left Ye Yunfei feeling somewhat lost and forlorn, with both worry, concern, and reluctance mingling in his heart.
"Ultimately, it's because our void here isn't good enough, advanced enough, or safe enough that so many races have chosen to return to their Mother World one after another," Ye Yunfei suddenly let out a light sigh after a moment and spoke.
"Indeed, the true purpose of those races returning to the Mother World is to go to a more advanced world with better development prospects. This is called 'A wise bird chooses a good tree to roost on.' If the Chaotic Void Sea were good enough, I doubt so many races would have chosen to leave, including the previous Ice Demon Race and Heaven's Gold Race," Hun Lao also nodded in agreement.
"I don't know when Father, Mother, and Xiao Fei will return to the Chaotic Void Sea in the future, or perhaps after the situation in the Chaotic Void Sea stabilizes, I'll personally go to the Miao Clan's Mother World to find them," Ye Yunfei again spoke softly.
"But before that, I have much to do." As he said this, Ye Yunfei suddenly slowly turned around. His gaze looked outward, into the misty void beyond, and his eyes grew resolute.
Then, Ye Yunfei strode forth. Moments later, he had walked out of the Vermilion Bird Realm.
After some thought, Ye Yunfei turned back and re-entered the Vermilion Bird Realm. Then, he arranged a large number of Formations both inside and outside the entrance-exit of the Vermilion Bird Realm.
Although the main force of the Miao Clan had departed, this was, after all, the Miao Clan's headquarters. The clan might return here in the future.
Therefore, Ye Yunfei set up these Formations to protect the Vermilion Bird Realm.
Hu Miao also assisted in laying down some Illusion Formations. The illusions Hu Miao could create now were something even a major Sovereign God might not see through.
After setting up the Formations, Ye Yunfei left the Vermilion Bird Realm and returned to the headquarters of the Alliance Army.
First, Ye Yunfei inquired about the current situation in the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Voids.
"Reporting, Young Master Ye. Overall, the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Voids are currently relatively quiet. However, according to reports from our scouts, a number of unfamiliar beings have suddenly appeared within these three voids during this period. These unfamiliar beings are quite powerful. Some of the scouts we dispatched have gone missing precisely because they went to track those unfamiliar beings. Furthermore, within these three voids, certain forces that previously had connections with the Guardian Faction have exhibited unusual movements. For instance, suddenly closing the entrances and exits of their headquarters, severing contact with the outside world, or suddenly dispatching a large number of scouts to gather intelligence everywhere," an Elder stepped forward to report to Ye Yunfei.
"It seems members of the Guardian Faction have begun to return to these three voids. This should be a signal that the Guardian Faction's main army is returning," hearing the Elder's report, a cold smile surfaced on Ye Yunfei's face as he spoke.
"Young Master Ye, in the Fifth and Fourth Voids, the war between the Guardian Faction and the Hunyuan Sect has grown increasingly intense. The current state of the battle favors the Guardian Faction side slightly. The situation in the Third Void is somewhat calmer," the Elder reported again.
"Assemble the army immediately. Head for the Fifth Void at once and join the battle," after some thought, Ye Yunfei made a decision and spoke calmly.
Ye Yunfei had no intention of waiting passively in the three voids for the Guardian Faction's main army to come knocking at his door. Instead, he chose to take the initiative.
At Ye Yunfei's command, it wasn't long before forces were dispatched from the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Voids, forming a massive army that arrived in a grand and imposing manner before Ye Yunfei.
This army also included a considerable portion of Hunyuan Sect forces, as the Hunyuan Sect had numerous branch outposts and members within these three voids as well.
Now, all forces of the Hunyuan Sect in these three voids operated under Ye Yunfei's orders.
"Pass down the order. From now on, use every available moment to train these battle formations," Ye Yunfei took out several technique jade slips and handed them to a few core high-level members of the Alliance Army.
These jade slips contained records of some exceedingly sophisticated battle formations.
"Collect a batch of artifact refining materials for me now. The more, the better," Ye Yunfei thought for a moment, then issued another command.
He then imprinted the list of refining materials he required into over ten jade slips, which were distributed.
Very quickly, the three voids became abuzz. Countless forces participated in searching for the refining materials Ye Yunfei required.
Meanwhile, the army that had been assembled earlier began training the battle formations Ye Yunfei had selected.
Not long after, the refining materials collected across the three voids were delivered continuously to Ye Yunfei's hands.
Ye Yunfei entered the Phantom Tower and began refining puppets.
As his strength and realm continuously increased, Ye Yunfei's skill in refining puppets was also gradually improving.
In the following period, Ye Yunfei, along with over a dozen avatars, began continuously refining puppets.
Ye Yunfei knew that in large-scale battles, deploying these puppets could play a significant role. The most obvious benefit was reducing casualties among his own forces.
During Ye Yunfei's puppet refinement process, even more refining materials collected from the three voids were continuously delivered to his hands.
Ye Yunfei was, in fact, already considered the ruler of the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Voids.
Any command he personally issued was now treated with utmost importance by all forces and all world clusters within these three voids.
Unbeknownst to him, several years passed within the Phantom Tower.
After several years, Ye Yunfei had refined a startling number of puppets, forming a sizable puppet army.
Ye Yunfei walked out of the Phantom Tower and arrived at the location where the army was training the battle formations. Seeing the various formations deployed one after another, he nodded, relatively satisfied.
"Pass down the order. We depart now," Ye Yunfei issued the command to set out.