At that moment, everyone's faces bore expressions of greed. They all knew that if this continent truly was a place where the Ancient Era's Wind Demon God once cultivated, then it was indeed possible that treasures and a legacy left behind by the Wind Demon God still existed.
"Therefore, I have decided to continue exploring this continent, to see if there are any gains to be made," Dao Changkong spoke again.
"Grand Elder Dao, we will accompany you in continuing to explore this continent," the other blade cultivators chimed in one after another.
The three Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods from the Guardian Faction exchanged glances and quickly communicated via sound transmission.
"Although this continent is extremely dangerous, with Dao Changkong and these blade cultivators here, there shouldn't be anything to fear. Fine then, we will also stay and continue exploring this place," one of the Guardian Faction's Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods said. The other two also expressed their agreement.
Thus, these three Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods from the Guardian Faction simultaneously declared they would explore the continent alongside these blade cultivators.
Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei was already quite far from his previous position. The land ahead remained desolate and deathly silent.
"Look, there are some dilapidated structures ahead," Hun Lao suddenly said to Ye Yunfei.
Sure enough, on the dusty ground ahead lay collapsed, broken walls of crumbling bricks and tiles, along with the foundations of some buildings.
Although these structures appeared incredibly worn and pitted, eroded severely by the passage of time, one could still discern that this place had once housed magnificent buildings of grand scale and opulence.
"Master, look over there! A crumbling stele," Hu Miao suddenly pointed towards a specific spot within this area of ruined structures and spoke to Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei's gaze followed, and he indeed saw a broken monument on the ground there.
The lower half of this crumbling stele was buried in the dust, while its upper half was tattered and ruined. It stood roughly twenty to thirty meters tall. Even as a broken monument, it was considered relatively tall.
"There are some ancient words carved on it," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said.
On that broken stele, indeed, there existed many blurred and indistinct words, emanating an aura of the ravages of time.
These characters were no longer legible. They likely belonged to a script from the Ancient Era and had long since been worn to near-oblivion by the corrosion of temporal laws.
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm tried to decipher the words on the crumbling stele but discovered that over the vast stretch of time, they had been so eroded by temporal laws that they appeared extremely blurry. Moreover, from the few characters one could still faintly make out, this script appeared profoundly ancient.
"I have a feeling this broken stele seems to record some kind of legacy," Hun Lao said based on intuition.
"Indeed, the aura of this broken stele is extraordinary. With so many words carved upon it, it really might record some kind of legacy," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said, straining to make out the characters. However, after a moment's effort, he still couldn't decipher the meaning of the script.
"Let me take a look," Ye Yunfei immediately opened the Divine Pupil in his glabella and began using it to study and analyze the fragmented words on the crumbled monument.
Although Ye Yunfei guessed that these ancient words on the stone stele likely belonged to some now-lost script system of antiquity, he believed he could rely on the Divine Pupil to comprehend their meaning. After all, the eye technique legacy of the Heavenly Eye Divine Lord was renowned as a secret art capable of seeing through everything in the world.
"Look! That little beast Ye Yunfei is up ahead!" Just at that moment, a voice sounded from behind. Then, a group of figures rushed forward, led by none other than Dao Changkong.
"Look! That surnamed Ye little beast seems to be studying that broken stele," one of the blade cultivators spoke upon spotting the crumbled monument ahead of Ye Yunfei.
"It seems that broken stele must be strange. That surnamed Ye little beast is cunning. If there wasn't something attracting him to that broken monument, he definitely wouldn't spend time studying it," another blade cultivator said.
"Let's kill that surnamed Ye little beast first. Studying that stele can come later," one of the Sovereign Gods from the Guardian Faction spoke, a murderous intent in his eyes as he stared at Ye Yunfei's back.
"Those guys are here. Should we retreat for now?" The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm asked Ye Yunfei.
"These guys are truly persistent, like a haunting ghost!" Ye Yunfei's Mental Force energy sensed the beings rapidly approaching from behind as he spoke with a hint of resignation.
Dao Changkong was extremely fast. In but an instant, he had already entered this area of ruined structures, charging straight towards Ye Yunfei's location.
Billowing saber qi erupted from his body, repeatedly slicing through the surrounding space and creating black, yawning spatial rifts.
"This guy is clearly much stronger than other Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods," Ye Yunfei sensed Dao Changkong's aura and couldn't help but frown slightly.
"If I use five Gravity Orbs, I should be able to handle these guys. But this continent is filled with strangeness and danger. That lingering will that controls the violent gales is definitely hiding nearby. If I fight these guys now, that lingering will might seize the opportunity to cause trouble. Bah, I'll retreat for now," Ye Yunfei calculated in his heart, then swiftly rose to his feet, intending to leave.
However, at that very moment...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
From somewhere within this area of ruined structures, violent gales began to appear. Their range continuously expanded, sweeping across heaven and earth.
Simultaneously, towering tornadoes connecting heaven and earth began to materialize within the wind. These tornadoes spun wildly, each one saturated with terrifying wind energy and wind laws.
"Oh no! Those violent winds are back!" Seeing the sudden appearance of the gales, the faces of the three Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods from the Guardian Faction instantly turned ghastly pale. Trembling with fear, they huddled behind the blade cultivators. Having personally experienced the terror of those winds before, they understood they were absolutely incapable of handling them.
"Everyone, be careful! Prepare to retreat and leave this area!" Dao Changkong gazed at the madly surging gales that blotted out the sky and his expression also changed. He too had witnessed the terrifying power of these winds before.
Ye Yunfei's Divine Pupil glanced over and, indeed, spotted that black shadow again within the gales.
Rumble...
The overwhelming, surging winds began to spread continuously, charging towards Ye Yunfei's location and Dao Changkong's group respectively.
"What do we do? I think we should get out of here quickly," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said to Ye Yunfei.
"No, I think this broken stele is significant. I plan to study it properly here. Perhaps there will be some gains," Ye Yunfei thought for a moment and shook his head.
"You feel that this crumbling stele must contain some powerful technique or legacy, and you want to decipher the words on it, is that right?" the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm asked.
"Indeed. This broken monument seems to contain some very special technique or secret art. If I can decipher the words on it, perhaps I can obtain those techniques. No technique or secret art from the Ancient Era can be considered ordinary," Ye Yunfei replied honestly.
As he spoke, Ye Yunfei waved a hand, tossing out a large number of formation flags, quickly arranging one formation after another.
One dazzling formation light curtain after another, like dazzling giant umbrellas, enveloped the space around Ye Yunfei.
Rumble...
The violently raging gales of heaven and earth, along with dozens of giant tornadoes, surged forth, causing the very world to tremble violently.
Then, the overwhelming winds completely submerged Ye Yunfei's location. Countless invisible Wind Blades continuously assaulted the formation light curtains Ye Yunfei had erected.
The sounds of metallic clangs rang out continuously, unceasing.
Ye Yunfei immediately employed his Mental Force Martial Skills, beginning to attack the distant black shadow hidden within the gales.
Mental Force energy was his sole method of dealing with that shadow, and likely the most effective.
Sure enough, after being attacked by the Mental Force Martial Skill, that shadow immediately retreated some distance, distancing itself from Ye Yunfei.
"We have to escape now!" At this moment, the surging gales had already reached the area where the blade cultivators and the three Sovereign Gods from the Guardian Faction were, submerging towards them.
Feeling the onslaught of the roaring wind and the tornadoes connecting heaven and earth, the faces of these blade cultivators and the three Guardian Faction Sovereign Gods all changed wildly. They turned and fled one by one.
Even Dao Changkong did not wish to be caught within these vast, turbulent winds. Propelling himself with saber qi, he turned and fled, instantly putting a great distance behind him.
"Ahhh!" Suddenly, a blade cultivator who was slightly slower was directly submerged by the raging gales. Incessant, invisible Wind Blades continuously hacked at his body, instantly grinding away over half of his flesh and blood, revealing white bone.
"Damn it!" Dao Changkong, who was leading the way, watched that blade cultivator screaming within the winds, his expression grim. However, he couldn't just not rescue him. With a wave of his hand, he tossed back that same broken small knife from before.
The broken small knife moved with incredible speed, instantly plunging into the rolling gales. It then continuously enlarged, releasing surges of saber qi energy to shield that blade cultivator.
"Use it to fly yourself out, now!" Dao Changkong turned his head and roared impatiently at the screaming blade cultivator still trapped in the winds.
The blade cultivator immediately employed a secret technique from the Blade Realm, merging his body with the large saber that the broken small knife had transformed into.
The broken small knife was terrifyingly sturdy. Amid the surging gales, it actually held firm, carrying the blade cultivator to narrowly escape the range of the violent winds.
However, the raging gales behind them pursued relentlessly. The other blade cultivators and the three Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods from the Guardian Faction had long since fled into the distance. Especially those three Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods from the Guardian Faction, with their previous harrowing experience, now instinctively felt terror at the sight of these winds. They wished to put as much distance between themselves and the gales as possible, not daring to get even half a step closer.
"Everyone, increase your speed!" Dao Changkong propelled himself via saber qi. Seeing the winds closing in from behind, along with the rumbling tornadoes connecting heaven and earth, his heart clenched with shock. He immediately shouted.
"Look! That surnamed Ye little beast dared to stay where he was without moving an inch! He's already within the range of the violent winds, yet he seems completely unharmed!" Someone suddenly noticed Ye Yunfei, who was now enveloped by the winds, and spoke in astonishment.