"Let's begin, Elder. The sooner we end this war, the better."
Young Master Ye Yunfei studied the headquarters of the Guardian Faction for a while with the Divine Eye on his forehead, then spoke.
The Guardian Faction's headquarters was a World Cluster of considerable scale, containing at least over a hundred worlds within, along with many, many small worlds. Combined, there were easily several hundred worlds. The Guardian Faction had occupied this cluster for a very long time. It had always been a forbidden zone for the major powers of the Fifth Void, a place no one dared to step into without permission. But today, the army of the Hunyuan Sect had surrounded this World Cluster, so tight not a drop of water could leak through.
"Very well, let's begin."
Elder Bi nodded.
Ye Yunfei's figure flashed, taking the lead as he strode forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom...
The moment Ye Yunfei approached the entrance and exit points of the Guardian Faction headquarters, numerous defensive formations ahead activated in a continuous stream. One formation light barrier after another appeared, like large umbrellas of light, tightly sealing off the space ahead. The might of the formations rolled forth, covering the sky and land.
Ye Yunfei had anticipated this. His Soul Power, his Mind Force, and the Divine Eye on his forehead simultaneously began to analyze and deduce the formations ahead.
With the continuous improvement of his Soul Body's quality, ample practice in deploying formations in every battle, and his astounding comprehension ability, Ye Yunfei's proficiency in formations had been constantly rising. Although the formations before him were sophisticated, they were nothing much to him.
Soon, Ye Yunfei saw through the intricacies of the formations. He took out a large number of formation-breaking flags and, while advancing, continuously threw them out.
In the next moment, the formations ahead were destroyed one by one — some exploding outright, others developing breaches.
Ye Yunfei strode directly through these formations, completely unaffected.
"How is this possible?! That little beast's formation skills are actually so high! He just breezed through and broke our headquarters' defensive formations!"
Inside the Guardian Faction headquarters, the high-ranking members watched, both shocked and furious, as Ye Yunfei broke the formations in moments and strolled inside.
"It seems the rumors were indeed correct. This kid's formation skills are formidable," a core elder said through gritted teeth.
Ye Yunfei often employed large-scale formations to aid him in previous battles, so the Guardian Faction leadership already knew he was skilled with them.
"Let's charge in!"
Elder Bi led the Hunyuan Sect army rolling forward. Since the formations ahead had already been broken by Ye Yunfei, the Hunyuan Sect forces met no obstruction and quickly flooded into the Guardian Faction headquarters.
"It seems the Guardians are scared. They don't even dare to come out from their headquarters to face us," Elder Song, walking beside Elder Bi, laughed loudly.
Normally, if an army from another force arrived here, the Guardian Faction's troops would have long since surged out to meet the enemy. But now, they remained holed up inside their headquarters, which indeed indicated a lack of confidence among their leadership to face this battle.
As Ye Yunfei entered the Guardian Faction headquarters, his gaze swept forward. In the void ahead, the Guardian Faction's army was already waiting, masses of troops filling a vast expanse of the void as far as the eye could see.
At the forefront stood a large group of powerful Guardians.
"Surnamed Ye's little beast, it's you again!"
the Prison Master stood at the very front, looking at Ye Yunfei with furious eyes.
"Old thing, last time you escaped by chance. Let's see if you can run this time," Ye Yunfei retorted coldly, his gaze falling upon the Prison Master.
Then his gaze shifted to the withered, thin old man standing beside the Prison Master, shrouded in a wide robe — it was the old Wizard. Not long ago, both the Prison Master and this old Wizard had fled back to the headquarters in sorry states and had been recovering from their injuries. They never expected the Hunyuan Sect army to come knocking on their door so soon.
"Little beast, you dare to come to our doorstep? Do you really think our Guardian Faction is easy to bully?!" the Prison Master stared venomously at Ye Yunfei, his rage towering to the heavens.
The old Wizard's gaze toward Ye Yunfei was also filled with resentment and malice.
"Prison Master, we must now think of a way to retreat with the main forces. Given the current situation, we are no match for the Hunyuan Sect army."
However, being a highly-skilled master of deduction, the old Wizard had been divining constantly during this time. He knew the Guardian Faction's fate in the Fifth Void had run its course. Continuing this war would only lead to even heavier losses for their faction. The best course now was to swiftly retreat from this void to have a chance at a comeback in the future.
"Activate the Long-Distance Teleportation Channel in the headquarters immediately! Order all forces to evacuate via the channel at top speed!"
The Prison Master was, after all, a major figure presiding over the affairs of a whole void. He knew he couldn't let anger blind his judgment. With decisive resolve, he issued the order to retreat.
After receiving the command, all the Guardian Faction members within the headquarters began rushing towards the location of a large-scale Long-Distance Teleportation Channel deep within the complex. That channel was located within a world at the very edge of this World Cluster.
"Form battle arrays!"
Once the Prison Master issued the retreat order, he roared. Immediately, the Guardian Faction army began forming one combat formation after another.
"No battle array is of any use now," Ye Yunfei spoke indifferently, his expression cold, as he walked through the void of the World Cluster, his hands clasped behind his back.
Rumble...
The moment his words faded, raging gales began to manifest around Ye Yunfei's body.
The scale of these gales grew larger and larger. With each step Ye Yunfei took forward, the area covered by the winds expanded, their scale and power intensifying.
"Damn!
So it really was this little beast who created those winds earlier!"
Seeing this, the Prison Master and the old Wizard's faces immediately turned deathly pale.
They knew all too well how terrifying these winds could be. Even they would find it difficult to break free if trapped within, let alone the average members of the Guardian Faction.
"Run!
Everyone run, as fast as you can!"
The Prison Master realized that no matter what battle formations the Guardian Faction army assumed, it would be meaningless. The average members of the Guardian Faction would likely be reduced to ashes in an instant amid such winds.
The Guardian Faction army had formed one combat formation after another per the Prison Master's earlier command, ready for a great battle. Now, seeing their Prison Master yelling frantically for them to run immediately, they were momentarily dumbfounded.
However, how fast was Ye Yunfei's movement technique? In a flash, he arrived, bringing with him a torrent of gales that instantly enveloped a large portion of the Guardian Faction army members. The terrifying tempests and tornadoes surged forward, obliterating everything in their path.
Ah! Aaah...
Screams began to ring out continuously. Batch after batch of Guardian Faction army members were instantly suppressed by the horrific winds and tornadoes, frozen in place, utterly motionless. All the clothing on their bodies was stripped away by the wind. Even the flesh and blood on their bodies began to erode away under the howling gales, revealing stark white bones and bloody internal organs.
If not for Ye Yunfei wishing to preserve their physical bodies, they would have been turned to dust instantly.
Just like that, everywhere Ye Yunfei passed, group after group of Guardian Faction army members were suppressed.
Ye Yunfei continuously used the Wind Pearl and the Great Wind Stele to create more raging winds and tornadoes, which spread outward in all directions.
"Let's get out of here, fast."
At this point, even the Prison Master and the old Wizard felt their fighting spirit waning. They had been trapped by these winds and tornadoes before and only managed to escape after great difficulty. They had no desire to experience it again.
"Leave these fellows all to me."
As Ye Yunfei unleashed the tempests against the Guardian Faction army, Huang Shang had already rushed out from the Phantom Tower. He released his ghost armies and corpse armies, leading the two waves forward as they began capturing those Guardian Faction members already suppressed by the winds.
Elder Bi, leading the Hunyuan Sect army behind, couldn't help but smile wryly at the scene ahead. The Hunyuan Sect forces hadn't even officially begun fighting, and the Guardian Faction army had already started to collapse.
Every member of the Guardian Faction army was now rushing at high speed towards the deepest recesses of this World Cluster.
"Trying to run? Not so easy."
Using his mind-reading ability, Ye Yunfei had already read the thoughts of the Guardian Faction members and knew the Prison Master had given the retreat order. He also knew there was a Long-Distance Teleportation Channel located in the world at the edge of this cluster.
Ye Yunfei, of course, would not simply let these Guardian Faction forces flee. His figure flashed, he shot into the air, and surged forward with astonishing speed towards a world at the edge of the cluster.
"No! That little beast is trying to stop our evacuation!"
The Prison Master and the old Wizard instantly understood Ye Yunfei's intention when they saw his movements, both their expressions drastically changing.
They knew that if Ye Yunfei managed to block that Long-Distance Teleportation Channel before them, the Guardian Faction army would have no escape route, and could possibly be wiped out completely. Given the current situation, their army was no match. If a real fight ensued now, they'd most likely be annihilated, and even most of the high-ranking members like themselves could fall.
"We must stop that little beast immediately! We cannot let him block our forces' evacuation route!"
The Prison Master shouted at the old Wizard, then shot into the air. That small mirror immediately flew out from within his body, instantly activating and releasing waves of divine radiance.
With a *boom*, the small mirror spat out a thick beam of light aimed directly at Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei instantly halted, stopping his advance. That small mirror was, after all, a Chaos Deity-grade treasure. Its power was immensely terrifying, and he wasn't sure he could withstand it.
Under the pressing urgency, Ye Yunfei prepared to take out the Great Wind Stele to parry the attack. Hu Miao also immediately activated the Primordial True Fox Stele, ready to rush out and help Ye Yunfei face the enemy.
*Hum—*
A longsword materialized in front of Ye Yunfei, radiating powerful divine light.
"Actually, this sword is also a Chaos Deity-grade treasure. It's just that with your current sword cultivation level, you still cannot unleash its true power," a voice transmitted from within the sword. It was none other than Sword Elder's voice. When crafting this sword, Sword Elder had left a strand of soul imprint within it.
"Young Master Ye, do not worry. I will deal with this guy."
Suddenly, Elder Bi arrived riding a feather fan, instantly positioning himself in front of Ye Yunfei.
Grasping the feather fan, he swept it forward. With a mighty *boom*, he intercepted the attack from the small mirror.
"Young Master Ye, leave this fellow to me," Elder Bi said.
"Everyone, run quickly!"
By this time, the old Wizard had already rushed to the farthest edge of the World Cluster. Standing at the entrance of a world, he continuously urged the Guardian Faction army onward.