When that dark shadow departed, all the gales and tornadoes in the surroundings also vanished instantly. The surrounding space returned to tranquility, revealing a desolate, barren land as far as the eye could see.
"Excellent! Those terrifying gales have finally disappeared."
The eight Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods of the Hunyuan Sect all let out a sigh of relief, their hearts filled with the wild joy of having survived a catastrophe.
The pressure those gales had exerted on them earlier was simply too immense. If not for the formations Young Master Ye had deployed to block the winds, they would surely have been completely destroyed, body and soul, by the raging tempest by now.
"Young Master Ye, what shall we do now?"
The gazes of the eight Hunyuan Sect Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods all turned toward Ye Yunfei. In their hearts, of course, they hoped he would lead them away from this perilous continent immediately. However, they saw Ye Yunfei's eyes surveying the distant land, clearly reluctant to leave just yet.
"Honored seniors, here is my suggestion. Why don't you leave first? I intend to continue exploring this continent a while longer," Ye Yunfei said after a moment of thought.
The appearance of that dangerous dark shadow on this continent indicated it was no ordinary place.
The success of using Mental Force martial skills to deal with that shadow and force it to retreat had boosted Ye Yunfei's confidence.
If he encountered that shadow again, Ye Yunfei now had a strategy to handle it.
"This..."
Hearing Ye Yunfei's words, expressions of hesitation appeared on the faces of the eight Hunyuan Sect Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods.
"Young Master Ye, since you intend to continue exploring this continent, we shall accompany you. If danger strikes again, we can watch each other's backs," Elder Feng spoke up after the eight Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods conferred briefly.
All eight of them felt that under the current circumstances, it would be somewhat dishonorable for them to leave this continent while allowing Ye Yunfei to remain here alone.
After all, they were all Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods. If they appeared even less capable than a junior, it would be utterly shameful.
There was another reason: these eight Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods all worried that if they separated from Ye Yunfei and headed back, they would be unable to handle the terrifying gales should they encounter them again. After discussion, they decided to continue following Ye Yunfei.
"Very well," Ye Yunfei nodded, then strode forward. The eight Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods had no choice but to brace themselves and follow.
Ye Yunfei released his Mental Force energy, sensing his surroundings. Simultaneously, the Divine Pupil at the center of his brow opened, scrutinizing the continent.
Soul Force energy was severely suppressed on this continent, but the suppression on Mental Force energy was not as heavy.
With his current level of Mental Force energy, Ye Yunfei could perceive a vast area.
Moreover, the Divine Pupil at Ye Yunfei's brow was completely unaffected by any suppression on this continent.
"It seems I need to focus on practicing those secret techniques that utilize the Divine Pupil to launch attacks," Ye Yunfei thought inwardly.
The legacy of the Heavenly Eye Divine Lord's Pupil Technique encompassed not only how to use pupil techniques to analyze and study everything seen but also how to employ them to launch attacks.
When cultivated to a certain level, the attacks unleashed by pupil techniques could be immensely powerful and exceedingly bizarre, potentially even harder to defend against than Mental Force energy.
However, Ye Yunfei had not yet successfully cultivated those pupil technique secret arts meant for attack.
The legacy of the Heavenly Eye Divine Lord's Pupil Technique was vast and profound. Although Ye Yunfei had received aid from the Soul Power imprint left by the Heavenly Eye Divine Lord and successfully opened his Divine Pupil, he was still only at the entry level. Further cultivation and improvement were needed.
"Up ahead... that seems to be the little bastard surnamed Ye. Let's pick up our pace and catch up!"
Just at that moment, a voice suddenly rang out from behind.
With his Mental Force energy perception, Ye Yunfei saw over a dozen figures radiating sharp, domineering blade auras surging towards him.
"These Blade Realm cultivators possess terrifying strength!" Hun Lao immediately warned Ye Yunfei.
"Indeed, terrifyingly strong. Especially the old fellow leading them. I might not be his match. It seems he belongs to that exceptionally powerful category of Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods, perhaps even an Eighth Level Sovereign God," Ye Yunfei replied.
Ye Yunfei attempted to probe the old man leading the group with his Mental Force energy but was shocked to discover the blade aura emanating from the old man's body was so formidable it actually impeded his Mental Force perception.
Of course, another reason was that the distance between them was still considerable.
"That figure ahead should be the little bastard surnamed Ye. I just used our Blade Realm's secret perception technique to glimpse his appearance. It shouldn't be a mistake," an old man riding on blade energy from the rear spoke to the one at the very front.
"This brat is a successor of the Sword Realm. It seems the Sword Realm is cultivating him. This is the perfect chance for us to kill him and deal a heavy blow to those old fossils of the Sword Realm," the old man leading at the front sneered.
A steel saber, a powerful magic treasure—a legacy from ancient Blade Realm times—suddenly materialized beneath his feet. Standing upon this blade, his speed instantly increased dramatically as he surged forward. The other Blade Realm cultivators behind him also accelerated their pursuit of Ye Yunfei.
"Young Master Ye, those behind us appear to be Blade Realm saber cultivators. Well, shall we engage them?"
At this moment, the eight Hunyuan Sect Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods had also detected the Blade Realm cultivators surging after them. Their eyes turned to Ye Yunfei as they asked.
"Ignore them for now. Let's continue forward," Ye Yunfei said after a moment's consideration.
The experts pursuing them were formidable, especially the old man leading the charge. Even Ye Yunfei couldn't discern his depths and lacked confidence in facing him.
Ye Yunfei, along with the eight Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods, immediately accelerated, charging forward while continuing to release Mental Force energy to scan their surroundings.
"Little bastard surnamed Ye! You can't escape! This place shall be your burial ground!"
The shouts of the Blade Realm cultivators echoed from behind.
"Look, behind them... those seem to be members of the Hunyuan Sect. They're catching up!"
At that moment, three figures on the distant horizon simultaneously turned to look back at Ye Yunfei's group. One of them exclaimed in surprise.
These three were all Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods of the Guardian Faction. They had been the earliest to enter this continent for exploration.
They hadn't noticed Ye Yunfei's group earlier and only discovered them now.
"Damn it! They outnumber us. We are no match. We must flee immediately!"
Seeing no fewer than eight Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods surging towards them, the three Guardian Faction Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods paled.
Ye Yunfei's group was getting closer by the moment, and they could now discern the cultivation realms and auras of the eight Hunyuan Sect members. In fact, these three Guardian Faction Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods also recognized a few of the Hunyuan Sect Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods.
The Hunyuan Sect and the Guardian Faction had been locked in conflict within the Fifth Void for a long time. It was no surprise that powerful members from both sides knew each other.
Not daring to linger, the three Guardian Faction Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods immediately accelerated, fleeing forward.
However, just then, a roaring gale materialized ahead of them. The scale of the winds grew from small to large, and from within the gale, tornadoes began to emerge.
When these tornadoes first appeared, they were relatively small, but within an extremely short time, they transformed into towering, terrifyingly massive tornadoes that seemed to connect heaven and earth.
"What the hell is this?!"
Frowning slightly, the three Guardian Faction Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods watched the sky-obscuring gale and the colossal tornadoes materializing ahead.
Being Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods, they naturally harbored no fear of mere tornadoes. So, the three Sovereign Gods did not stop but charged directly into the oncoming, all-enveloping storm.
Of course, they all released their Deity Power energies, enveloping their bodies to form protective energy shields.
In the next instant, all three Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods plunged into the roaring tempest ahead.
And it was like poking a hornet's nest.
The three Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods discovered with horror that the surrounding gales suddenly turned abnormally violent. The tornadoes also closed in on them from all directions frenziedly. Countless invisible Wind Blades, terrifying to the extreme, slashed against their bodies in an endless, continuous stream.
Almost instantly, the three Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods let out agonized screams. They realized their physical bodies simply could not withstand these horrific gales.
Myriads of invisible Wind Blades, dense and boundless, hacked madly at their flesh. Each Wind Blade left a blood-gushing gash on their bodies. In less than half a breath's time, the three Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods sustained severe physical injuries, their bodies covered in wounds everywhere. Many places revealed ghastly white bones, their abdominal regions exposed blood-drenched internal organs, and intestines even began to spill out continuously. They simply could not resist these dreadful winds.
The protective energy layers they had just wrapped around their bodies shattered like glass before the roaring gale, destroyed instantly.
More horrifyingly, these invisible Wind Blades were actually frantically attacking their soul seas, striving to invade and surround and attack their soul bodies.
"Damn it! How can these gales be so terrifying? I can't hold on any longer!"
One Seventh-Level Sovereign God screamed wretchedly, hurriedly retrieving all his magic treasures.
Another Seventh-Level Sovereign God shouted in alarm. Then, all three Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods immediately took out every magic treasure they possessed, activating them all to shield their surroundings.
But to their shock, the treasures they summoned lasted at most two or three breaths before being relentlessly blasted apart by the roaring gales, reduced to a rain of fragments.
"To think those gales have reappeared," Hun Lao said, unable to hide his surprise as he watched the sky-blotting storm ahead.
"I think we should hurry and get out of here, lest we get caught up in it," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm immediately advised Ye Yunfei.
"Don't worry. We have no reason to fear these gales," Ye Yunfei replied with a smile.
By now, Ye Yunfei's Divine Pupil had spotted that constantly writhing dark shadow within the roaring gale ahead. The shadow's gaze was fixed intently on the three Guardian Faction Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods, seemingly paying Ye Yunfei's group no mind.