Ye Yunfei's true form returned to the World Cluster housing the headquarters of the Guardian Faction.
All combat in this World Cluster had already concluded. The forces of the Hunyuan Sect were clearing up the various traces left by the battle.
It was clear that the Hunyuan Sect had emerged victorious in this conflict, and the Guardian Faction's great army was nowhere to be seen.
The upper echelons of the Hunyuan Sect were immensely delighted to see Ye Yunfei appear. They all took to the air and landed before him.
Earlier during the battle, Ye Yunfei and the powerful experts from the Great Netherworld had delved into the depths of space successively. Then, Ye Yunfei had vanished, and it was only now that he finally reappeared.
"Young Master Ye, it is well that you are unharmed," Elder Bi said to Ye Yunfei.
Elder Bi then gave Ye Yunfei a general account of how that earlier battle had unfolded.
After Ye Yunfei had left the battlefield to search for Huang Shang, the old wizard from the Guardian Faction and that powerful expert who had arrived with the war drum had used that drum to hold off the advance of the Hunyuan Sect's forces.
However, the Guardian Faction's army had suffered far too grievous casualties during the preceding fights. Nearly half had been slain, leaving less than a third of their original troops.
Moreover, the Hunyuan Sect side had close to ten Eighth Level Sovereign Gods, while the Guardian Faction side only had the last three left.
After careful consideration, the Fifth Prison Lord and the old wizard of the Guardian Faction decided to evacuate the remaining troops via the long-distance teleportation channel deep within the headquarters.
Thus, the battle at the Guardian Faction headquarters came to an end.
"Young Master Ye, the Guardian Faction's military presence within the Fifth Void has now been cleared. The war in this Void is over, and our Hunyuan Sect has achieved victory.
However, the Guardian Faction will definitely not simply give up and leave it at that. The Fifth Prison Lord made threatening remarks before he departed, vowing that he would eventually make a comeback."
Elder Bi addressed Ye Yunfei.
"The Guardian Faction's army in the Fifth Void has been crippled. If he intends to make a comeback, he would have to go to their headquarters to gather troops.
But now, a full-scale war between the Hunyuan Sect and the Guardian Faction has broken out across the entire Chaotic Void Sea. It won't be easy for that Fifth Prison Lord to amass a sufficient fighting force for a comeback in a short period," Ye Yunfei stated after a moment of consideration.
"That is indeed the case. The Guardian Faction's military presence in the Fifth Void was originally quite vast, but they have suffered severe losses on several major battlefronts during this period. More than half of their main force has already been annihilated.
It won't be that easy for that Fifth Prison Lord to gather an army strong enough to make a comeback." After hearing Ye Yunfei's words, Elder Bi nodded with a smile.
"Thus, this Void of ours will see a temporary period of peace. But the Guardian Faction will definitely make a comeback sooner or later," Elder Bi continued.
"There's no need to wait for the Guardian Faction to make a comeback. I think we should take the initiative," Ye Yunfei said calmly.
Now that the war in the Fifth Void had temporarily concluded, Ye Yunfei had no intention of letting things rest quietly.
Especially since Huang Shang's current whereabouts were unknown, and his fate uncertain, a towering killing intent burned in Ye Yunfei's heart. Whether it was the Guardian Faction or the Great Netherworld, Ye Yunfei currently harbored only the desire for slaughter.
"Young Master Ye, do you intend to take the initiative and go to other Voids to deal with the Guardian Faction?" Elder Bi asked.
"Yes. The war between us and the Guardian Faction isn't confined to a single Void. It spans the entire Chaotic Void Sea.
Victory in any single Void isn't a true and final victory. We must defeat the Guardian Faction across more Voids to achieve the ultimate success.
I don't think the Voids should fight independently. They should work together, cooperate with each other, and confront the Guardian Faction as one," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"Young Master Ye, you speak sense.
And which Void do you plan to go to next?
Whichever Void you intend to reinforce, our Hunyuan Sect forces in the Fifth Void will heed your every command," Elder Bi declared.
Elder Bi was the highest-ranking leader of the Hunyuan Sect in the Fifth Void. As long as he agreed, all Hunyuan Sect forces in the Fifth Void would obey.
"Next, I plan to go take a look at the Fourth Void.
Additionally, I intend to connect the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Voids as one entity. We'll centralize and deploy these four Voids together, forming a cross-Void force," Ye Yunfei announced after some thought.
"Very well. We will proceed entirely according to your wishes, Young Master Ye." Elder Bi listened to Ye Yunfei's words and, without hesitation, immediately nodded in agreement.
"Also, Senior, I'd appreciate it if you could send men to help me trace the whereabouts of a Ghost Cultivator." Ye Yunfei projected Huang Shang's aura towards Elder Bi as he spoke.
"He is my friend, but he has gone missing. I'd like the Hunyuan Sect to send people to assist in searching for him."
"This friend of yours has gone missing?" Elder Bi observed the aura and was startled.
He immediately recognized that the Ghost Cultivator Ye Yunfei sought was the very same Huang Shang who had demonstrated godlike power on the battlefield not long ago.
Everyone knew Huang Shang was a powerful expert who followed Ye Yunfei. He had played a significant role in several major confrontations between the two great factions in the Fifth Void recently.
"Young Master Ye, did this friend of yours disappear due to those... individuals from the Great Netherworld?" Elder Bi ventured.
Earlier, many of the Hunyuan Sect's experts had witnessed the Great Netherworld's experts arriving suddenly to target Huang Shang.
"Yes. He is being hunted by the Great Netherworld," Ye Yunfei nodded, his expression grim.
"The Great Netherworld has always been a low-profile faction, rarely involving itself in the conflicts between the various powers of the Chaotic Void Sea. But recently, their activities have grown increasingly frequent. They've even openly established branch outposts and moved publicly in some Voids and World Clusters.
Furthermore, it is said there is significant history between the Great Netherworld and the Reincarnation Sect. Apparently, there have been quite a few friction points between them lately.
Never thought they would dare to provoke you, Young Master Ye.
Rest assured, Young Master Ye, I will immediately dispatch our Hunyuan Sect's scouts to search for your Ghost Cultivator friend's whereabouts at any cost." Elder Bi immediately vowed.
"My thanks, Elder Bi," Ye Yunfei said gratefully.
"Please don't stand on ceremony, Young Master Ye. We are all on the same side now." Elder Bi replied.
"Young Master Ye, shall we directly lead our forces to the Fourth Void next?" Elder Bi then inquired.
"I plan to first take a portion of the troops over there to assess the current situation in the Fourth Void before we launch an operation.
The Fifth Void's forces have just endured several battles; let them rest and recuperate first.
We can mobilize them to reinforce the Fourth Void as needed.
Furthermore, we must use teleportation channels to link the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Voids into a unified whole. Those teleportation channels must be under the control of our own people. No other factions can be allowed to lay a finger on them.
Additionally, we must try to mobilize the various powers within these four Voids to unify and form an alliance to jointly resist the Guardian Faction.
Of course, we won't force those who are unwilling to participate. But if any power within these four Voids dares to collude with the Guardian Faction, we must wipe them out without the slightest mercy." Ye Yunfei declared.
"Young Master Ye, I understand," Elder Bi said, immediately showing an expression of admiration after hearing Ye Yunfei's words.
He felt that, although he was the elder, he might not necessarily surpass Ye Yunfei in aspects like strategic planning and deployment of forces.
Following that, Ye Yunfei selected three Eighth Level Sovereign Gods, twenty Seventh Level Sovereign Gods, over a hundred Greater Sovereign Gods, and over three hundred Lesser Sovereign Gods, forming a small team.
Ye Yunfei planned to lead this team to the Fourth Void. But before departing, he intended to continue searching for traces of Huang Shang within the Fifth Void for a period of time.
Huang Shang's safety was currently Ye Yunfei's greatest concern.
The Great Netherworld was far too powerful, and they seemed to possess methods specifically designed to counter Ghost Cultivators. Once the Great Netherworld's experts located Huang Shang, his outcome would be extremely grim.
Ye Yunfei had the four hundred plus Sovereign Gods he had selected enter the Phantom Bell. He then ordered his avatar to begin forging medicinal pills tailored specifically for these Sovereign Gods.
Ever since receiving the Apothecary inheritance of the Heavenly Vision Deity, Ye Yunfei had been constantly researching and cultivating it. With over a dozen clones almost constantly conducting pill refining practice within the Phantom Bell—thanks to the time flow differential between the Phantom Bell and the outside world—Ye Yunfei's practical pill refining experience had become extraordinarily rich. His pill-refining skill was constantly improving.
Ye Yunfei could now barely refine some basic Eighth Level Sovereign God-tier Divine Pills himself. Alchemists of that level were exceedingly rare throughout the entire Chaotic Void Sea.
Soon after, Ye Yunfei began distributing the various Divine Pills forged by his clones to the four hundred plus Sovereign Gods.
Having received these Divine Pills from Ye Yunfei, the four hundred Sovereign Gods were pleasantly surprised to discover that they were exceptionally suited to their needs. It was as if they had been specially tailored just for them.
After refining and absorbing these Divine Pills, the cultivation bases and combat strength of these Sovereign Gods began to improve. Within a short time, many Fourth Level Sovereign Gods broke through realms, advancing from Lesser Sovereign Gods to Greater Sovereign Gods.
Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei traveled across the Fifth Void, constantly deducing and searching for Huang Shang's whereabouts using the Chaos Celestial Fate Art and the celestial vision within his brow.
First, Ye Yunfei retraced the routes previously used to search for Huang Shang, as faint traces of Huang Shang's aura or the Great Netherworld's experts had been left along those paths.
At the same time, Elder Bi had already dispatched Hunyuan Sect scouts to help investigate Huang Shang's disappearance.
Over the following period, Ye Yunfei searched everywhere across the Fifth Void, combing through it World Cluster by World Cluster.
While searching for Huang Shang, Ye Yunfei also deliberately inquired about news regarding the Great Netherworld.
However, to Ye Yunfei's disappointment, he had traversed almost the greater half of the Fifth Void yet still failed to uncover any trace or clue regarding Huang Shang's whereabouts.
The Great Netherworld's experts also seemed to have evaporated from this Void, leaving not a single trace.
"Master, I think the Great Netherworld should have an outpost within the Fifth Void. If we can locate a branch of the Great Netherworld, perhaps we can follow the trail to find Elder Huang's whereabouts," Hu Miao suggested to Ye Yunfei.
"I know. But I have searched many places and found no outpost of the Great Netherworld.
This faction is secretive and low-key, rarely showing their face openly within the Chaotic Void Sea.
But I believe I will find a trace of this faction sooner or later," Ye Yunfei replied.
"And one day, when I am strong enough, I will personally exterminate this faction." Ye Yunfei's voice turned icy.
"Young Master Ye…"
Suddenly, a Hunyuan Sect scout located Ye Yunfei.
"Young Master Ye, we have just discovered a certain power that seems to be related to the Great Netherworld," the scout reported to Ye Yunfei.