Ye Yunfei entered a state of seclusion cultivation for the following period.
"I should devour all the Soul Bodies of these Sovereign Gods," Ye Yunfei said, looking at the Fourth Level Sovereign Gods and those of even higher realms.
"And there are still four Ninth Heaven Godkings here." Ye Yunfei's gaze finally settled on the four Ninth Heaven Godkings of the Guardian Faction. The Guardian Faction in the Fourth Void had a total of eight Ninth Heaven Godkings. Four had escaped, while the other four had been severely injured, suppressed, sealed, and imprisoned within the Phantom Tower.
"Devouring the Soul Bodies of these four Ninth Heaven Godkings should be greatly beneficial to my Soul Force Energy and my Soul Body," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
Then, Ye Yunfei employed the Soul Force Planets technique. Sixty Soul Force Stars simultaneously roared forth from his Soul Sea, beginning to devour the Soul Body of one of the Ninth Heaven Godkings.
Both the physical body and the Soul Body of this Ninth Heaven Godking had been severely wounded and were jointly sealed by the Ninth Heaven Godkings of the Hunyuan Sect and Ye Yunfei. There was simply no power left to resist.
The sixty Soul Force Stars surged into his soul sea, surrounding his Soul Body before beginning to forcibly gnaw on it.
"Ahhh... You surnamed Ye little bastard! You actually intend to devour my Soul Body! You're utterly ruthless! The Soul Force Martial Arts you are using look suspiciously like an inheritance of the Soul Race! Could it be that your true form is a Soul Race member?!"
The Ninth Heaven Godking was terrified, with their soul flying scattered upon seeing so many massive Soul Force Stars swarming from all directions to chew his Soul Body, and he began to scream wretchedly.
BOOM!
The Soul Body of this Ninth Heaven Godking erupted with powerful Soul Force Energy, forming an energetic defensive layer in an attempt to prevent the Soul Force Stars from gnawing at his Soul Body.
As a Ninth Heaven Godking, his Soul Force Energy level was naturally excellent, and the quality of his Soul Body was also high. The Soul Force Martial Arts used by ordinary Sovereign Gods wouldn't even be able to get close to his Soul Body.
However, Ye Yunfei's Soul Force Energy level was no weaker than his, perhaps even stronger. What's more, the Soul Force Planets technique was an exceedingly profound Soul Force Martial Art, one that even a Ninth Heaven Godking would find troublesome.
Furthermore, while executing the Soul Force Planets technique, Ye Yunfei simultaneously deployed Heart Sword and the Mind Reading Art, continuously disrupting the Soul Body of this Ninth Heaven Godking.
At first, the Ninth Heaven Godking defended with all his might, preventing Ye Yunfei's sixty Soul Force Planets from getting near. But soon, under the assault of Ye Yunfei's various Soul Force and mental energy martial techniques, the Soul Body of this Ninth Heaven Godking finally began to falter, and his defenses were breached.
Several Soul Force Stars violently pierced through his Soul Force energy defensive layer and began gnawing at his Soul Body. Then, more and more Soul Force Stars continuously broke through his defensive layer, frantically chewing his Soul Body. The Ninth Heaven Godking felt immense agony and began to wail loudly.
An unknown amount of time later, Ye Yunfei finally completely devoured the Soul Body of this Ninth Heaven Godking.
"My Soul Force Energy level and my Soul Body have both improved tremendously. The Soul Body of a Ninth Heaven Godking truly is very useful for me," Ye Yunfei said with a pleased smile.
This was the first time Ye Yunfei had devoured a Ninth Heaven Godking's Soul Body, and the gains were substantial.
Moreover, Ye Yunfei also obtained over half of this Ninth Heaven Godking's memories. Some fairly excellent techniques and martial skills among them were completely inherited by Ye Yunfei.
The techniques and martial skills cultivated by a Ninth Heaven Godking were, of course, excellent. Additionally, the remaining magical treasures of this Ninth Heaven Godking also fell into Ye Yunfei's possession. By devouring his Soul Body, Ye Yunfei could easily utilize all the treasures he had left behind.
For the following period, Ye Yunfei began devouring the Soul Bodies of the other three Ninth Heaven Godkings from the Guardian Faction.
Another unknown stretch of time passed before Ye Yunfei finally completely devoured the Soul Bodies of those other three Ninth Heaven Godkings.
With each devoured Soul Body of a Ninth Heaven Godking, Ye Yunfei's Soul Force Energy and his own Soul Body improved by a significant margin.
"My current Soul Force Energy level and the quality of my Soul Body are likely to have surpassed those of the vast majority of Ninth Heaven Godkings. If I encountered that Fourth Prison Master and the Wizard now, defeating them wouldn't be difficult," Ye Yunfei said confidently after sensing his current Soul Force Energy level and Soul Body quality.
Beyond the improvement in Soul Force Energy and Soul Body quality, Ye Yunfei also obtained over half of the memories of those four Ninth Heaven Godkings, acquiring many advanced techniques and secret arts.
"There's still a batch of Sovereign Gods here. I'll devour all their Soul Bodies as well," Ye Yunfei said, his gaze shifting to the other Sovereign Gods of the Guardian Faction.
Besides the four Ninth Heaven Godkings, Ye Yunfei had also captured many Sovereign Gods of other realms.
In the time that followed, Ye Yunfei spent more time devouring the Soul Bodies of those other Guardian Faction Sovereign Gods, one by one.
After devouring all the Soul Bodies of the Guardian Faction Sovereign Gods he had captured, his Soul Force Energy level and Soul Body quality improved yet another significant degree.
"With Soul Force Martial Arts alone, I should be able to easily battle most Ninth Heaven Godkings now," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
"First, I'll enhance the Soul Force Planets technique," Ye Yunfei decided, beginning to cultivate it after devouring all the Guardian Faction Sovereign God Soul Bodies.
After a period of cultivation, the number of Soul Force Stars possessed by Ye Yunfei reached sixty-eight.
"No way! Your Soul Force Energy level has improved so much, so why did you only forge eight new Soul Force stars in this session?" Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm asked curiously.
"It must be that the higher the realm achieved in the Soul Force Planets technique, the greater the difficulty for further improvement," Ye Yunfei answered after some thought.
"The Soul Force Planets technique can forge a total of nine times nine eighty-one Soul Force Stars. You've forged sixty-eight now. To cultivate this Soul Force Martial Art to its highest realm, wouldn't that require Soul Force Energy at the level of a Chaos Deity?" Hun Lao said with some surprise.
"It should be so," Ye Yunfei nodded.
"Next, I'll improve the Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art," Ye Yunfei said softly.
In the following time, Ye Yunfei began cultivating the Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art.
Now possessing sixty-eight Soul Force Stars, plus two Soul Bodies and the Divine Pupil at his glabella, when Ye Yunfei focused on cultivating a particular technique or secret art, his advancement speed was terrifyingly fast.
Before long, Ye Yunfei had raised the realm of the Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art by several layers.
"The power of the Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art I can unleash now should be quite good," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
In the next moment, a large number of translucent Puppet Soul Threads were cast out from Ye Yunfei's Soul Sea. The dense and tightly-woven web of Puppet Soul Threads interlaced, forming a large net that was thrown forward into space. Immediately, the vast area ahead was filled with a terrifying aura of Soul Force Energy.
"This Soul Force Martial Art can be used both to control another's Soul Body and as a powerful offensive Soul Force Martial Art," Hun Lao remarked, sensing the power of that net woven from Puppet Soul Threads.
"Yes, Puppet Soul Threads possess a strong aggressive nature. They can silently infiltrate an opponent's soul sea and attack their Soul Body. This Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art is one of the core inheritances of the Soul Race; its power definitely isn't weak," Ye Yunfei nodded in agreement.
"Next, I'll improve the Soul Weapon Art," Ye Yunfei thought for a moment before beginning to cultivate it.
The Soul Weapon Art was also an extremely practical Soul Force Martial Art, one that Ye Yunfei preferred to use in combat.
"Is this Soul Weapon Art really also an inheritance of the Soul Race? I recall you obtained it before from Elder Lu. Elder Lu lay within that stone coffin pulled by nine golden flood dragons and gifted you a batch of techniques and secret arts before leaving; the Soul Weapon Art was one of them. Could it be that Elder Lu obtained this Soul Weapon Art from the Soul Race?" Hun Lao speculated.
"Hard to say. Elder Lu's origins are extremely mysterious. I estimate he should be a Chaos Deity. It wouldn't be strange if he obtained some high-level technique inheritances from the Soul Race. It's also possible that this Soul Weapon Art is not an inheritance of the Soul Race at all, but merely somewhat similar to their techniques," Ye Yunfei said.
For the following time, Ye Yunfei focused on cultivating the Soul Weapon Art.
"I can now forge over two thousand seven hundred types of Soul Weapons," Ye Yunfei suddenly exclaimed excitedly after an unknown amount of time.
Then, with a thought, a large, dense array of Soul Weapons appeared in the space before him—over two thousand seven hundred varieties in total. Each Soul Weapon emitted a rich aura of Soul Force Energy.
"It seems I'm about to break through my cultivation realm," Ye Yunfei's expression shifted suddenly at this moment as he felt his realm loosening.
Thus, Ye Yunfei flashed and immediately left the Phantom Tower, arriving in the outside space.
Boom!
Dark, looming thunderclouds had already begun gathering in the high sky. Thick bolts of lightning snaked back and forth within the clouds, erupting with dazzling light.
"Master, you really are undergoing a tribulation again," Hu Miao said.
"Yes. I've been engaged in constant combat during this period. Experiential training in real battle is the best method for improving realm and strength," Ye Yunfei nodded and said with a smile.
Soon after, Ye Yunfei's Lightning Tribulation formally began. He released Lei Ze, who stood by his side, massively swallowing the thick thunderbolts falling from the high sky.
Ye Yunfei himself stood there, hands clasped behind his back, allowing the great torrents of tribulation lightning to crash onto his body.
"It's Young Master Ye undergoing a tribulation! Young Master Ye is breaking through realms again!"
Ye Yunfei's tribulation immediately attracted the attention of all the higher-ups of the Hunyuan Sect. Many of them soared into the air, coming to witness Ye Yunfei's Lightning Tribulation.
"The power of Young Master Ye's tribulation is truly extraordinary."
The Hunyuan Sect higher-ups couldn't help but marvel as they sensed the power of Ye Yunfei's tribulation.
"Young Master Ye is indeed a rare young monster in this world. He's only facing a tribulation for impacting the Fifth Level realm, yet its power actually rivals the power of the Eighth or even Ninth Heaven tribulations I faced in the past," one Hunyuan Sect Ninth Heaven Godking couldn't resist exclaiming.
Thick bolts of lightning continuously rained down upon Ye Yunfei's body, sending showers of sparkling sparks flying.
"Young Master Ye, be careful. Guard against being caught off guard in the same manner as last time, where the Primordial Thunder Tribe took advantage of your tribulation to attack you," Elder Dongfang sent a sound transmission to Ye Yunfei, reminding him.
Elder Dongfang had heard from the other Hunyuan Sect Sovereign Gods about how Ye Yunfei had been ambushed during his previous Lightning Tribulation.