It could be said that the Starry Soul Technique had now become the primary cultivation method for Ye Yunfei to enhance the quality of his Soul Body and the level of his Soul Force Energy.
As time passed, Ye Yunfei proceeded to devour, one by one, the Soul Bodies of the Sovereign Gods he had captured from the Watchers' Faction during this period. With each Soul Body devoured, his Soul Force Energy increased by several degrees.
Moreover, after devouring these Sovereign Gods' Soul Bodies, Ye Yunfei had his blood clan avatar refine and absorb their Blood Essence Quintessence. Therefore, the sheer quantity of Sovereign God-level Blood Essence Quintessence refined and absorbed by the blood clan avatar during this time was astonishing, and the avatar's strength had been rising continuously.
Of course, while devouring these Sovereign Gods' Soul Bodies, Ye Yunfei also cultivated several other techniques and secret arts simultaneously. He also took out a large batch of cultivation resources for the nine mythical beasts of the Nine Palaces Totem Wheel to devour. During this time, he had captured so many Sovereign Gods that the amount of various cultivation resources he obtained was staggering.
Ye Yunfei took out heap after heap of cultivation resources, piled up like small mountains, and delivered them respectively to the nine mythical beasts based on the energy attributes they contained, allowing the beasts to devour them. The amount of cultivation resources these nine beasts had devoured over this period was simply enormous, and accordingly, their strength also received a tremendous boost.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, Ye Yunfei finally completely devoured all the Soul Bodies of the Watchers' Faction Sovereign Gods he had captured on the battlefields during this period. Then, Ye Yunfei discovered that his own Soul Force Energy level had undergone a massive improvement.
The Soul Sea was now filled with an endless amount of Soul Power potency, churning and surging wildly at every moment. Along with the enhancement of his Soul Force Energy, the quality of his Soul Body also underwent a qualitative leap; the two Soul Bodies within the Soul Sea both emitted terrifying auras.
“Your current Soul Force Energy level should already be equivalent to a Ninth Level Sovereign God, right? After all, you've devoured so many Sovereign Gods' Soul Bodies during this time. The effects can't be poor," Hun Lao asked curiously.
"Yes, my current Soul Force Energy level should indeed be equivalent to a Ninth Level Sovereign God," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"Now, if I encounter an Eighth Level Sovereign God, dealing with them solely using Soul Force Martial Arts will suffice," Ye Yunfei added with a laugh.
"I should properly enhance my various Soul Force Martial Arts next," Ye Yunfei thought. He did not end this secluded cultivation session and instead intended to continue practicing for a while longer.
Thus, in the time that followed, Ye Yunfei began cultivating his various Soul Force Martial Arts.
"I can now condense over nine hundred Soul Power weapons when casting the Soul Weapon Art," Ye Yunfei suddenly murmured softly after an unknown amount of time. Following a mere thought, over nine hundred Soul Power weapons materialized simultaneously around his head, each radiating terrifying Soul Power energy.
"Besides the Soul Weapon Art, the power of my other Soul Force Martial Arts has also improved considerably," Ye Yunfei said, withdrawing those nine hundred-plus Soul Power weapons.
Then, with a flicker of thought, a large swarm of transparent Soul Threads surged forth from his Soul Sea, rustling and weaving together continuously in the surrounding space. Very quickly, they formed a vast, translucent web woven from Soul Threads.
"I wonder what level of beings you can control now when performing this Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art?" Hun Lao suddenly asked curiously.
The Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art could not only be used to attack enemies but also served another main purpose—controlling the Soul Bodies of other beings, turning them into one's slaves. In the past, Ye Yunfei had once used the Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art to control a group of slaves. However, after cultivating the Soul Purification Art, he felt that purifying an enemy's Soul Body using the Soul Purification Art and then imprinting his own Soul Power mark upon it allowed for a more thorough control.
Whereas controlling a being's Soul Body using the Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art would still preserve all the being's memories and even emotions; only a strong notion of submission would be born, willingly making them a slave to the caster.
Therefore, although both the Soul Purification Art and the Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art could be used to control a being's Soul Body, their principles and effects differed. Using the Soul Purification Art to control another being's Soul Body was more thorough, enabling the target to completely become a clone, with no possibility of ever recovering. However, after using the Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art to control a being's Soul Body, if the target could break those Soul Threads, they could recover and throw off the control.
"Indeed, I should find some beings to test the power of my current Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art," Ye Yunfei replied with a laugh upon hearing Hun Lao's words.
Besides the Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art, the power of the other Soul Force Martial Arts Ye Yunfei cultivated had also improved considerably, such as the Mind-Reading Technique. Ye Yunfei believed the Mind-Reading Technique he could now wield should be able to easily affect Eighth Level Sovereign Gods, or even Ninth Level Sovereign Gods.
"Participating in these large-scale battles truly offers enormous benefits. Your overall strength has increased so much, and the spoils of war I harvested on the battlefield are also quite substantial. I have earned a hefty fortune during this time," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm remarked.
During this period, across various different battlefields, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm's primary task had been collecting spoils from the field. Most of the spoils he collected were handed over to Ye Yunfei for disposal, but those he fancied were unceremoniously taken for himself. His haul over this period was indeed considerable.
"I have been constantly training my illusion techniques on the battlefields during this time, and now my illusion skills have greatly improved as well. There's no denying that combat experience is the best way to improve," Hu Miao also chimed in.
"Indeed, combat experience is the best way for any being to elevate their strength," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"These Deity Pills were specially refined for you all by my avatars during this time," Ye Yunfei said as he produced a large batch of Deity Pills, handing them over to the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, Hu Miao, and Hun Lao. These were refined by Ye Yunfei's avatars based on their specific cultivation situations.
"I should also find some time to properly enter secluded cultivation myself and enhance my strength. During this time, I've been too busy getting rich; my power hasn't increased much. If things continue this way, it will become increasingly harder to catch up to your level," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said after receiving the pills.
"Indeed, you need to find some time for dedicated cultivation and improvement. However, ancient exotic beasts like you don't need to worry much about your realm strength. As long as you possess enough cultivation resources, accumulated time, and sufficient power, your path to elevating your realm and power faces minimal bottlenecks. You will all reach higher levels eventually. This aspect is hard for other races to compare with ancient exotic beasts like you," Ye Yunfei replied with a smile.
"Words may say so, but seeing your realm and strength grow ever stronger, I must not fall too far behind," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm retorted.
"My realm seems to have loosened," Ye Yunfei suddenly felt a stir within and revealed an expression of pleasant surprise, speaking out.
"Master, are you going to undergo a Lightning Tribulation to break through?" Hu Miao asked joyfully upon hearing him.
"Yes, my Lightning Tribulation seems to have already arrived," Ye Yunfei nodded. His figure then flashed, emerging from the Phantom Tower and stepping out of the Formation's small space.
Boom! Rumble…
The sky above the Formation's small space had already grown thick with dark clouds, thunder rolling across the horizon. Thick bolts of lightning resembling dazzling, coiling dragons slithered back and forth within the oppressive black clouds above, radiating a destructive aura of heavenly lightning.
"It seems Young Master Ye is going to undergo his tribulation," at this moment, all the Sovereign Gods of the Hunyuan Sect sensed the disturbance from Ye Yunfei's direction and cast their gazes over.
Seeing Ye Yunfei appear beneath the surging thunderous bolts, they all knew he was about to face his Lightning Tribulation.
"Young Master Ye is only a Third Level Sovereign God, yet he already possesses the strength to fight an Eighth Level Sovereign God. I wonder what kind of Lightning Tribulation a monstrous young prodigy like him will face? It must be terrifying beyond compare." Seeing the thick lightning bolts wildly slithering above Ye Yunfei's head, many Hunyuan Sect Sovereign Gods inwardly exclaimed in shock.
"According to legends, the more monstrous a young prodigy, the more terrifying the Lightning Tribulation they face will be. Ancient legends speak of a very special rule hidden within the fabric of heaven and earth—'heaven’s jealousy towards genius.' The more monstrous a young prodigy, the more they will attract such terrifying Tribulations, making them immensely difficult to survive. Throughout the ages, countless monstrous young talents have been reduced to nothing but dust in fearsome Tribulations, precisely because of this rule. Hence, there’s also a saying: 'The world is never short of geniuses, only those who survive to maturity.' Because those monstrous young talents easily perish in dreadful Tribulations.
Given Young Master Ye’s strength and talent, the Tribulation he attracts will definitely be fearsome and overwhelming. So there might be danger for Young Master Ye soon. We must stay alert and, if we discover that he cannot handle the incoming Lightning Tribulation, do everything in our power to intervene and see if we can assist him through this difficult pass.
I believe with Young Master Ye’s strength and talent, once he successfully overcomes this Tribulation, his strength will become even more formidable," a relatively older Seventh Level Sovereign God of the Hunyuan Sect spoke with a touch of concern upon seeing the majestic spectacle of the Tribulation gathering above Ye Yunfei's head.
"Elder Lu, your reasoning makes sense. So let’s all be on our toes and ready to aid Young Master Ye," an Eighth Level Sovereign God next to him nodded, speaking with a grave expression.
"Well then, from now on, we all must stay vigilant, prepared to assist Young Master Ye in his tribulation at any moment," the surrounding Hunyuan Sect Sovereign Gods all nodded in agreement.
"You don’t need to worry about Young Master Ye at all because you’re overthinking it. Young Master Ye’s ordeal with the Lightning Tribulation is easier than you can imagine," Elder Song, who had been standing to the side listening to the conversation of these two Sovereign Gods, couldn't help but smile, speaking up.
Previously, Elder Song had personally witnessed Ye Yunfei undergo his Third Level Sovereign God Tribulation and knew that although the Tribulation Ye Yunfei faced was exceptionally formidable, it posed no threat whatsoever to him.
The Sovereign Gods who had just expressed worry for Ye Yunfei all came from the Fourth Void.
"Elder Song, have you not heard of the rule of 'heaven’s jealousy towards genius'? Don’t dismiss it lightly. Throughout history, many famous divination masters have deduced this rule and all acknowledged that this special rule indeed exists in the world.
Regardless, we must still be prepared to aid Young Master Ye if needed," a Sovereign God from the Fourth Void asserted.