The other three Eighth Layer Sovereign Gods of the Hunyuan Sect also soon learned about Ye Yunfei's covert operations to eliminate a large number of Sovereign Gods and were full of praise.
“It seems the Hunyuan Sect's forces will achieve victory in this battle,” the five Eighth Layer Sovereign Gods of the Hunyuan Sect looked at the situation on the battlefield, their faces filled with confidence.
“Unbelievable. A youngster can actually play such a huge role. We old relics are truly outdated. How shameful!” one of the Eighth Layer Sovereign Gods transmitted a message to the others with a smile.
At the same time, the five Eighth Layer Sovereign Gods from the Guardian Faction had also sensed something was amiss and began searching for the cause.
“Our side's number of Sovereign Gods has decreased by at least two-fifths. Particularly the First Layer, Second Layer, Third Layer, and Fourth Layer Sovereign Gods have nearly vanished in a short period of time.
Can the Hunyuan Sect's combat strength really be so formidable, capable of killing so many of our Sovereign Gods in such a short time?
I believe something fishy is definitely going on.
The combat prowess of our Guardian Faction's Sovereign Gods is not significantly inferior to that of the Hunyuan Sect's. It's impossible for so many to be slain in such a brief period.
We must find the reason. Otherwise, if this continues, our Guardian Faction's army on this battlefield will be unable to hold on.”
The five Eighth Layer Sovereign Gods of the Guardian Faction, while fighting their Hunyuan Sect counterparts, secretly discussed via voice transmission. They also released their Soul Power energy to scan the entire battlefield, attempting to determine why so many of their Sovereign Gods had disappeared in such a short time.
However, Ye Yunfei's movement speed was incredibly fast. During his actions, he utilized various sophisticated stealth secret techniques to conceal his own aura. From the Rune Sacred Land alone, Ye Yunfei had activated five or six stealth talismans. Additionally, Hun Lao and the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm also employed corresponding spatial secret techniques to help Ye Yunfei mask his aura. Therefore, even Eighth Layer Sovereign Gods found it difficult to detect Ye Yunfei's presence within this vast and chaotic battlefield.
At this moment, a space near the battlefield suddenly cracked open, revealing a spatial teleportation channel. An altar then rushed out from this spatial passage, suspending itself in the void.
Seated cross-legged on the altar was an elder wearing a spacious robe. Before him lay some tools specially used for divination and augury.
Beside this robed elder stood three powerful figures exuding formidable divine energy auras.
“Old Wizard, this battlefield is where the messages from several Elders were sent. Anomalous changes have occurred in the battle. A large batch of our Guardian Faction's Sovereign Gods vanished in a short time, causing our forces to begin falling into a disadvantageous position on this battlefield.” a powerhouse addressed the elder in the spacious robe.
This robed elder appeared extremely gaunt, his face covered in wrinkles and cheekbones prominent.
Without speaking, he merely nodded, then extended a finger. Various divination and augury treasures arrayed before him began to shimmer with light.
Next, the elder released his Soul Power energy, starting to scan the entire battlefield while concurrently activating a divination art to perform auguries.
The three elders standing beside him ceased speaking, watching the elder's divination movements with respectful gazes.
This elder was the Old Wizard of the Guardian Faction in the Fifth Void, skilled in divination and a renowned master of augury techniques.
At this moment, Ye Yunfei continued his operations against the Guardian Faction's Sovereign Gods within the chaotic battlefield. Any Sovereign God targeted by Ye Yunfei would disappear in a short time.
Once Ye Yunfei identified a target, he would immediately employ the Heart Sword and Mind Reading Art, attacking and interfering with the target's Soul Body. Then, utilizing his astonishing movement technique, he would dash to their side before they could react. Following that, Ye Yunfei, together with Hun Lao, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, Huang Shang, Hu Miao, and others, would simultaneously strike to suppress the target. When necessary, he directly employed the Gravity Balls.
Thus, these Sovereign Gods were rendered incapable of movement at the first instant, left helplessly at their mercy.
Ye Yunfei generally didn't linger. He would directly reach out and grab the already suppressed Sovereign Gods, then swiftly distance himself in an instant. The entire process was swift as a hawk and nimble as a rabbit, decisive and crisp to the extreme.
After subduing and sealing so many Sovereign Gods, Ye Yunfei had now accumulated ample experience in suppressing and confining them.
“Master, we've captured several hundred more Sovereign Gods on this battlefield,” Hu Miao said excitedly.
“These Guardian Faction Sovereign Gods are quite well-off. We've made a significant profit,” the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said with a laugh.
Whenever Ye Yunfei imprisoned the captured Sovereign Gods into the Phantom Tower, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm would invariably strip them of all valuables first, organize them, and hand them over to Ye Yunfei—unless, of course, he spotted something he fancied, which he would unhesitatingly claim for himself.
“Brother Huang, these Sovereign Gods are all for you. You can go into seclusion for cultivation and see if you can make a breakthrough,” Ye Yunfei thought for a moment and said to Huang Shang.
Previously, Huang Shang had mentioned that if he obtained a sufficient number of Sovereign God Soul Bodies, he could enter seclusion for cultivation to break through.
For Huang Shang, who had always stayed by his side, Ye Yunfei naturally wouldn't be stingy. If Huang Shang's realm could advance and his strength improve, then Ye Yunfei would gain another powerful assistant—a situation with only benefits and no drawbacks.
“Very well. These several hundred Sovereign Gods are more than enough for me to settle down and cultivate in seclusion,” Huang Shang didn't decline, nodded, and then took the several hundred recently suppressed and sealed Sovereign Gods to begin closed-door cultivation.
Meanwhile, near the battlefield, the Old Wizard on the altar continued his divinations. Suddenly, his gaze fixed on a particular spot within the battlefield.
At that location, large numbers of members from both sides were engaged in fierce combat—attacking, defending, clashing back and forth.
That area resonated with roars, rumbling energy explosions, agonized screams, and the despairing sighs of those on the brink of death.
Among them, a Fifth-Level Sovereign God from the Guardian Faction was fighting a Fifth-Level Sovereign God from the Hunyuan Sect. Their strengths were comparable; they had been battling for a long time, yet the outcome remained undecided.
Suddenly, the Guardian Faction's Fifth-Level Sovereign God stiffened. His face first revealed a look of confusion, then one of terror. Subsequently, an ethereal figure flashed into existence behind this Fifth-Level Sovereign God. Then, several figures materialized simultaneously, unleashing a barrage of attacks resembling thunderous lightning strikes using various arts and secret techniques.
By the time the surrounding creatures had processed what happened, the Guardian Faction's Fifth-Level Sovereign God had been suppressed, sealed, and vanished without a trace.
The Old Wizard on the altar near the battlefield now had a brilliant glint in his eyes. He formed a peculiar hand seal with both hands and forcefully thrust them forward. A distinct figure appeared before him—precisely Ye Yunfei's likeness.
“It's Ye Yunfei!” Even before the Old Wizard could speak, the three powerhouses standing beside him immediately displayed expressions of shock, almost crying out simultaneously.
“Yes. That damnable bastard is secretly targeting our side's Sovereign Gods within this battlefield. He is precisely the root cause for so many of our Sovereign Gods vanishing in such a short time,” the Old Wizard's gaze locked onto an elusive, lightning-fast figure in the battlefield, and he spoke through gritted teeth.
“Why is his movement speed so fast? Fast enough that I can barely catch his trail?” As he spoke, the Old Wizard poured his efforts into divination, striving to track Ye Yunfei's silhouette.
It must be admitted his divination art was indeed highly advanced. He soon clearly discerned Ye Yunfei's figure and movement trajectory within this chaotic battlefield.
“As expected, wherever that bastard goes, our side's Sovereign Gods are continuously suppressed, sealed, and then imprisoned within his spatial treasure,” the Old Wizard muttered while observing Ye Yunfei's actions.
“We must stop him. If this continues, our number of Sovereign Gods on this battlefield will dwindle further and further, and our army will undoubtedly face defeat,” the Old Wizard declared.
“Old Wizard, leave him to us,” one of the powerhouses spoke up.
“Very well. The three of you, go deal with that bastard immediately. You must halt him, prevent him from continuing to harm our Guardian Faction's Sovereign Gods. At best, rescue the Sovereign Gods he has imprisoned in his spatial treasure,” the Old Wizard nodded.
The three powerhouses simultaneously soared into the air, charging into the battlefield ahead.
At that very moment...
“Someone is performing divination on you. It should be a highly skilled master of augury,” Hun Lao suddenly said to Ye Yunfei.
“Yes, I also sense many divination symbols traversing space, tracking toward our location,” the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm also spoke up.
“Indeed, someone is divining my whereabouts,” Ye Yunfei opened the Divine Pupil on his forehead and immediately saw many intricate divination symbols traversing the surrounding space, seeking and tracking his location. Clearly, a powerful divination master was attempting to divine his position.
Subsequently, Ye Yunfei's Divine Pupil traced the path of these divination symbols, seeking to identify who was targeting him.
Soon, Ye Yunfei's gaze fixed on the edge of the battlefield, landing on an altar suspended there.
On that altar sat a gaunt elder in a spacious robe.
When Ye Yunfei's gaze met that elder across the distance, that elder's gaze had coincidentally locked onto Ye Yunfei as well.
Both then realized the other had detected them.
“That damned bastard has keen perception. I just started divining his whereabouts, and he already sensed my presence,” the Old Wizard inwardly thought, feeling a shiver of surprise.
“It seems it's that old fellow performing divinations on you. He's likely a divination master from the Guardian Faction,” Hun Lao remarked to Ye Yunfei.
“For him to divine my location in such chaos, his divination arts must be quite exceptional,” Ye Yunfei frowned slightly.
“Ignore him for now. We'll continue capturing more Guardian Faction Sovereign Gods, weakening their overall strength on this battlefield,” Ye Yunfei said.
The words barely left his mouth when Ye Yunfei arrived behind another Guardian Faction Sovereign God—this one a Fourth-Level Sovereign God. This Fourth-Level Sovereign God had already gained the upper hand in combat, forcing a Hunyuan Sect Fourth-Level Sovereign God to retreat repeatedly, wearing a triumphant expression.
Yet, at this moment, his Soul Body suddenly suffered a terrifying attack. A longsword brimming with potent heart energy slashed down upon his Soul Body. Simultaneously, his Soul Body gave rise to a host of bizarre, eccentric thoughts and notions.
Under the interference of these strange thoughts, he felt a fleeting desire to stand utterly still and abandon all resistance.
Immediately after, a figure flashed into being beside him, grabbed his form, and turned to depart.