Chapter 4219: The Fourth Void
"There's a powerful expert on the other end of this transmission channel. They've shut down the channel's continuation and are trying to destroy it outright. We must hurry back immediately."
Ye Yunfei's Divine Pupil, located between his eyebrows, had not only seen the black palm striking towards him but had also deduced that the other end of this transmission channel had been severed, preventing any further forward travel.
Thus, Ye Yunfei immediately turned around and rushed back at full speed.
Boom…
In the next instant, an enormous black palm appeared behind Ye Yunfei, surging rapidly through the transmission channel from the opposite direction to attack him.
At this moment, Ye Yunfei pushed his movement speed to the absolute limit while simultaneously unleashing his spatial-temporal energy and laws to reinforce the channel.
Hun Lao and the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm also sprang into action at once, employing their race's unique spatial secret arts to assist Ye Yunfei.
Through their combined efforts, the transmission channel behind Ye Yunfei was forcibly sealed, blocking that black palm.
Boom! Boom! Boom…
The next moment, the entire transmission channel began to tremble violently, distorting out of shape. Many spatial rifts appeared, and the whole channel seemed on the verge of disintegrating.
Boom…
The black palm forcefully shattered the spatial seal created by Hun Lao and the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm and continued its pursuit of Ye Yunfei.
"This transmission channel is about to collapse. Since you are currently inside it, if you don't quickly return to the other end, it will be extremely difficult to find the correct path back afterward," Hun Lao said urgently to Ye Yunfei.
A spatial transmission channel was a special construct that established a long-distance connection between two far-off points. A living being within it would be automatically transported from one end to the other by the channel's inherent function. However, if the channel was damaged, it would immediately lose its transmission capability and cease functioning.
Ye Yunfei's current channel was actively being destroyed. Without reaching the starting point in time, he would later have to rely on himself to navigate the vast, trackless void to find his way back.
At this moment, Ye Yunfei had already pushed his movement speed to its fastest limit, racing madly back along the path he had come.
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm and Hun Lao also utilized their spatial secret arts, simultaneously helping Ye Yunfei increase his speed while sealing the channel behind him to hinder the advance of that massive black hand.
An indeterminable amount of time later…
"Good news! We're finally about to reach the starting point," Hun Lao suddenly exclaimed in pleasant surprise.
However, at that exact moment…
Boom…
The giant black hand caught up from behind once more. The remaining segment of the transmission channel also seemed unable to bear the strain any longer and began to explode on a massive scale.
Ye Yunfei exerted his utmost effort, hurtling toward the channel's starting point.
Boom…
The entire channel began to disintegrate completely. Endless fragments of the void churned and surged, and terrifying spatial-temporal energy ran wild.
In the next instant, a spatial rift violently tore open above the Teleportation Altar atop the tall, barren black mountain in the depths of the Gu Han Sect headquarters. Boundless void fragments and a majestic torrent of terrifying spatial-temporal energy erupted violently from that rift, instantly shaking the entire world.
Then, a figure in a rather sorry state shot out from the spatial rift — it was Ye Yunfei.
After emerging, Ye Yunfei steadied himself and turned to look at the spatial rift, which was still spewing out billowing void fragments. His expression was rather grim.
Ye Yunfei knew this Teleportation Altar was most likely connected to the Great Netherworld. But clearly, a powerful expert at the Great Netherworld's end had prevented the altar's transmission. Otherwise, he would be inside the Great Netherworld by now.
"It's possible the expert on the Great Netherworld side sensed you are not a member of their faction and thus denied you entry. Alternatively, using this Teleportation Altar might require consent from the Great Netherworld side beforehand," Hun Lao speculated.
"This Teleportation Altar is temporarily unusable," Ye Yunfei said, glancing at the altar with a very unpleasant look on his face.
"Not necessarily," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm suddenly interjected. "Although the transmission channel of this altar has been destroyed, the altar itself internally records the spatial-temporal information of the other end. Once my cultivation and strength improve by a few levels, perhaps I can repair this altar using that information or locate the specific spatial coordinates of the other end. In that case, we might still be able to enter the Great Netherworld."
"Really?" Ye Yunfei's eyes brightened slightly at these words.
"Of course! The space proficiency of our Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm race isn't just empty talk," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm declared proudly.
"Good. We'll preserve this Teleportation Altar for now and return later when your strength is sufficient to repair it. Of course, perhaps I'll have found another way to reach the Great Netherworld before then," Ye Yunfei nodded and said.
Ye Yunfei then took out a large number of formation flags and began setting up formations around the black mountain. He also arranged a batch of earth-based arrays, encircling the mountain completely.
Under the combined effect of the numerous formations and earth arrays, the black mountain was utterly concealed. Anyone whose strength fell below a certain threshold would be unable to locate it even if they came here. Afterward, Ye Yunfei and the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm took action and thoroughly wiped out the Gu Han Sect.
Ye Yunfei collected the corpses and Soul Bodies of all the Gu Han Sect members. Although Huang Shang wasn't currently by his side, Ye Yunfei still maintained the old habit, gathering corpses to help Huang Shang. Then, he left the Gu Han Sect headquarters.
"Great Netherworld… just you wait," Ye Yunfei said coldly, looking back one last time at the headquarters.
In the following period, Ye Yunfei continued searching throughout the Fifth Void for traces of Huang Shang. Of course, during this process, he simultaneously gathered any news or intelligence concerning the Great Netherworld.
However, Ye Yunfei failed to locate any other branch strongholds of the Great Netherworld within this Fifth Void.
"It's impossible for the Great Netherworld to have only one branch stronghold in this Fifth Void," Ye Yunfei said with a dark expression, standing within the void.
"It's highly likely there are other branch strongholds here, but that organization is simply too mysterious and too low-key. Finding its outposts won't be easy in a short time. We can only proceed slowly," Hun Lao commented.
"Since we haven't made any discoveries in the Fifth Void, we can go look in other Voids," Hun Lao suggested.
"Alright. We shall head to the Fourth Void now," Ye Yunfei nodded in agreement.
Ye Yunfei returned to the Hunyuan Sect headquarters in the Fifth Void and discussed the current situation with Elder Bi and other high-ranking members.
"Young Master Ye, during this time, I have already dispatched envoys and established contact with the Hunyuan Sect branch factions in the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Voids. The forces of our sect and those of the allied armies in those three Voids have already joined together and act in unison. Our Fifth Void Hunyuan Sect faction has strengthened its ties with the forces from those three Voids. Currently, the transmission channels connecting these four Voids — the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth — are all under the control of our own people and are open for use to the vast majority of powers within those Voids. Consequently, these four Voids are now effectively united as a whole; beings from any of the four can travel freely among them," Elder Bi reported to Ye Yunfei.
"Strengthening the connection between the four Voids aids us in concentrating all our forces to uniformly confront the Guardian Faction. I believe this is beneficial," Ye Yunfei nodded in acknowledgment.
"Yes, Young Master Ye. Your proposal was an excellent one. The forces of these four Voids now effectively operate as one entity. Should the Guardian Faction invade, the powers from all four Voids will concentrate their forces for a joint defense," Elder Bi replied.
After conferring with Elder Bi and the other Hunyuan Sect leaders for a while longer, Ye Yunfei discreetly departed, heading for the Fourth Void.
The over four hundred Sovereign Gods Ye Yunfei had selected earlier had all been secluded in cultivation within the Phantom Tower during this period. By now, a significant portion had successfully broken through their cultivation realms. Even those who hadn't yet made a breakthrough showed marked improvements in strength. The Divine Pills Ye Yunfei had bestowed upon them were specifically refined according to their individual cultivation situations and thus held immense value for their development.
"This is the Fourth Void. According to intelligence from our Hunyuan Sect, war between our sect and the Guardian Faction is currently brewing in this Void; both sides are mobilizing troops and preparing for conflict. Our arrival here is perfectly timed," one of the three Eighth Heaven Sovereign Gods whom Ye Yunfei had brought along spoke from within the Phantom Tower, coming to stand beside him. Among these three elders was Elder Song.
At this moment, Ye Yunfei had traveled from the Fifth Void to the Fourth Void via a long-distance teleportation channel and was now standing in the vast, indistinct emptiness of the Fourth Void.
"Young Master Ye, what is our course of action? Perhaps we should directly head to our Hunyuan Sect branch in the Fourth Void. I am acquainted with Elder Li of the branch. We could seek him out and then jointly lead our forces against the Guardian Faction," another Eighth Heaven Sovereign God asked Ye Yunfei.
"No. We'll first silently eliminate all the branch strongholds of the Guardian Faction in this Void. Esteemed Seniors, please immediately contact the scouts of your Hunyuan Sect and have them ascertain the precise locations of all Guardian Faction branch strongholds within this Fourth Void. Compile a list for me. Then, we shall proceed to seize control of each and every one," Ye Yunfei considered for a moment before replying.
"Very well, Young Master Ye. We shall act according to your plan," Elder Song said.
Elder Song had already followed Ye Yunfei across several battlefields and held the young man in high esteem.
Before long, Ye Yunfei had clarified the specific locations of the Guardian Faction's branch strongholds in this Void. Within the Fourth Void, the Guardian Faction was one of the top-tier super forces, so they naturally maintained numerous strongholds.
Soon, Ye Yunfei arrived before the first Guardian Faction branch stronghold. It was a heavily guarded world, with several patrol squads of Guardian Faction members shuttling back and forth near its entrance.
Ye Yunfei strode through the void from afar and instantly reached the outside of this world's entrance.
"Hey, you, stop!…" Immediately, one patrol squad charged toward him, the leader shouting angrily.
Yet, before his sentence was even finished, he abruptly froze in place, his eyes gradually becoming clouded and vacant. And it wasn't just him; the other members of his patrol squad behind him suffered the same fate — it was as if they had all been struck by an inexplicable influence.
Ye Yunfei reached out and grabbed, effortlessly collecting the entire patrol squad into his palm before storing them within the Phantom Tower.
The other patrol squads soon noticed something amiss and also turned to charge at Ye Yunfei.