The vast, billowing gales and the roaring, swiftly rotating tornadoes seemed intent on obliterating everything between heaven and earth.
"Trouble! Master, the formations you've laid are being rapidly destroyed. If this continues, the formations you've set up won't be able to withstand those raging winds and tornadoes," Hu Miao exclaimed worriedly to Ye Yunfei.
"Why do I feel like the power of these gales and tornadoes suddenly became many times stronger? Their destructive force is still increasing! What on earth is going on?" Hun Lao cried out in shock.
"It's the work of that remnant will," Ye Yunfei replied. The Divine Pupil at the center of his brow saw the shadowy figure hovering amidst the churning winds in the distance, and the black pearl before it. He saw the bizarre black symbols continuously spewing forth from the pearl.
"It seems that remnant will never exerted its full power against us until now, finally unleashing its strongest gales and tornadoes. The formations you've set up don't seem to be of much use anymore. We're in serious trouble," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said, his scalp tingling as he watched the increasingly ferocious winds and whirlwinds raging across the sky.
Ye Yunfei's expression also changed slightly at this moment. He took out handfuls of Formation Flags, continuously hurling them in all directions. Large, glowing formation barriers emerged one after another.
But these barriers, having just materialized, were instantly crushed by the onslaught of wind and tornado, lasting at most for a few breaths.
"Disaster! It looks like your formations truly can't handle these winds anymore. Relying on our physical bodies certainly won't work either. We're in huge trouble!" The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm cried out, his heart trembling as he watched the formations being pulverized.
Meanwhile, the majority of Ye Yunfei's attention remained fixed on that shattered stele.
After this period of research, analysis, and deduction, Ye Yunfei had already read and comprehended the vast majority of the text on the stele. Only the last few lines remained.
Over half the markings on these final lines had been worn away. Ye Yunfei needed to use the Divine Pupil at his brow to deduce and restore the characters.
At the same time, his two Soul Bodies and sixty Soul Force Planets were also operating at high speed, assisting in the study, analysis, and comprehension of the text on the remnant stele.
Ah!
At this moment, the powerhouses of the three major forces suddenly encountered gales and tornadoes whose power had multiplied severalfold. Caught off guard, several of them had their physical bodies instantly ravaged, leaving behind only mutilated, bleeding remnants exposed to the roaring winds. They shrieked in agony.
"Trouble! The power of these winds has suddenly surged!" The expressions of the members of the three factions turned grim.
"Be still!" Seeing the onslaught of wind and whirlwind bearing down upon them, Dao Changkong roared and frantically channeled his divine energy into the white Wind-Settling Pearl.
The pearl immediately burst forth with even more dazzling white light. Simultaneously, it began to expand continuously, swiftly transforming into a massive white sphere with a diameter of a hundred meters. It rotated slowly, releasing waves of strange energy that forcefully resisted the surrounding gales and tornadoes.
The other Blade Realm cultivators huddled closely behind Dao Changkong, not daring to stray from him.
"Take out more talismans related to wind energy and wind laws, now!" The leading elder of the Rune Sacred Land had an extremely grave expression. With a shout, the yellow talisman before him expanded in area, now like a piece of yellow cloud floating above their party, protecting the Rune Sacred Land members.
Simultaneously, the other members of the Rune Sacred Land also took out a greater quantity of talismans, flinging them around as if they were free.
Once activated, these talismans began to resist the surrounding winds and tornadoes.
Meanwhile, the great purple bell before Elder Xu of the Guardian Faction began to ring even more rapidly. *Clang! Clang!* The sounds were incessant, reverberating within the howling gales.
Vast quantities of purple energy transformed into billowing, violent waves, spreading out in all directions.
However, even though the powerhouses of these three forces had methods to cope with the winds, the power of those winds and tornadoes had now multiplied severalfold. More and more gales and whirlwinds began to break through the various defensive methods employed by the three factions, fiercely buffeting the bodies of their members.
"Use blade aura to protect yourselves!" Dao Changkong roared, seeing the cultivators from Blade Realm behind him instantly shredded and lacerated, their bodies covered with horrific, bleeding wounds. He immediately issued a warning.
"Take out any talismans that can enhance fleshly body quality or protect the physical body, immediately! We can't afford to be frugal at a time like this!" The leading elder of the Rune Sacred Land shouted.
The members of the Rune Sacred Land then began taking out even more talismans. They directly fused some into their fleshly bodies to bolster their quality. Others, once activated, expanded continuously, wrapping around the space surrounding their bodies like wide swathes of cloth to block the wind. Still others released brilliant rays of light, forming protective domes that enveloped their bodies.
"Everyone, take out all your magical treasures!" Elder Xu of the Guardian Faction roared. With a wave of his hand, a dozen-plus magical treasures shot out from his palm, activating simultaneously.
At the same time, the large purple bell above his head rang even faster. With each chime, vast quantities of purple energy surged out, flooding out in all directions.
The other strong individuals of the Guardian Faction also took out all their magical treasures, activating them and using them as shields around their bodies.
"Form the battle formation!" Elder Xu commanded solemnly. Immediately, the powerhouses of the Guardian Faction began moving swiftly, quickly assembling into a battle formation.
This was one of the Guardian Faction's core formations, and also one of the most difficult to deploy. Only through the cooperation of these Sovereign Gods could this formation be set up. Of course, on the battlefield, this formation wasn't meant to deal with ordinary beings, but rather the high-level combatants of the enemy.
Once formed, a towering, illusory deity clad in golden armor and holding a golden spear manifested above the formation. This mighty deity exuded an ancient aura of bygone epochs, as if he had crossed time and space from the Ancient Era.
He swung his golden spear in a sweeping horizontal slash. The golden spear continuously expanded, colliding with a massive tornado and actually halting it.
Within the distant winds, the shadowy figure hovered silently. He looked sometimes towards Ye Yunfei and sometimes towards the three factions, his entire body radiating a bone-chilling, dense killing intent.
The black pearl before him was still releasing a flood of strange black symbols. These bizarre runes merged into the surrounding winds, driving them to frenzy and continuously amplifying their power.
"Trouble! Master, the formations you're deploying now can only last for a few breaths," Hu Miao observed at this moment, noticing that the defensive power of Ye Yunfei's formations was becoming increasingly inadequate. Barely lasting a few breaths after being deployed, they were directly crushed by the onslaught of wind and tornado.
"Too terrifying! These gales and tornadoes are endless. There's simply no way we can resist them. We should retreat immediately! If we continue like this, it's only a matter of time before we fail to hold on," someone from the three factions couldn't help but cry out, their scalp tingling as they looked at the vast, billowing winds and swirling tornadoes raging across the world.
At this point, most of the powerhouses among the three factions were already thinking of retreat. Some of the weaker ones were already injured and would have fled in a heartbeat if they could.
But they understood that only by sticking with the group was there any chance of survival. Leaving on their own in such an environment was certain death.
Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei still sat cross-legged before the damaged stele, continuing to study, analyze, and deduce the last few lines.
At the same time, both of his hands continuously threw out large quantities of Formation Flags. The flags hurled out instantly deployed one formation after another.
But these formations shattered into fragments after just a few breaths, crushed by the surrounding wind and tornado.
Witnessing this, Ye Yunfei himself felt a tingle run up his scalp.
Although he still had many formation materials and flags, the power of the surrounding winds and tornadoes was still continuously increasing. If his formations couldn't even last a single breath in the future, then he would truly have no means left to deal with these storms. Relying solely on the quality of his physical body might not be enough to withstand them.
"How about we get out of here, quick! Staying here is like waiting for death," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said, his voice trembling slightly now.
"Don't disrupt the Master's train of thought," Hu Miao said to the silkworm.
"What train of thought? At a time like this? I think our most important task is to flee immediately! Can't you see? The power of these winds and tornadoes is still rising. In a little while, we might not even have a chance to escape."
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm replied.
However, although he desperately wanted to urge Ye Yunfei to flee right now, he didn't stop his actions. He was still utilizing various techniques and martial skills to resist the churning winds around them.
"Elder Xu, we can't hold on much longer! Let's retreat now!" At this moment, someone among the Guardian Faction powerhouses, unable to bear the terrifying pressure any longer, spoke up.
Although the Guardian Faction members had deployed that battle formation, the wind and tornado raging across the world seemed endless, showing no signs of stopping. Continuing like this, the formation they had set up would eventually fail.
Similarly, most members of Blade Realm and the Rune Sacred Land were also thinking of fleeing. Even the leaders of the three forces—Dao Changkong, Elder Xu, and the elder from the Rune Sacred Land—began to consider retreat.
Even though they all knew that the remnant stele before Ye Yunfei was surely a valuable treasure, and most likely a relic left behind by the Wind Demon God from the Ancient Era, facing such terrifying gales, they simply had no confidence in how much longer they could last.
Even more terrifyingly, the power of the winds and tornadoes was still continuously rising. Thus, the three leaders of the major forces began using sound transmission to discuss and deliberate among themselves—should they attempt to seize the stele, or should they leave now?
"Trouble! Master, the formations you're deploying are lasting even less time now. Those winds and tornadoes have gotten even stronger! What should we do?" Hu Miao suddenly cried out again in alarm.
"Finished... we're finished... Looks like this is where we meet our end," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm began complaining, despair creeping in.
"Stop the complaining. Focus on thinking of a way out," Hun Lao spoke up.