‘Senior, rest assured, I am already prepared. If the Primordial Thunder Tribe dares to come disrupt my Lightning Tribulation again, I will leave them no way back.’
Ye Yunfei replied.
‘Since Young Master Ye is already prepared, then I am at ease. Naturally, we will also continue to stand guard for you here. Young Master Ye, you can just focus on undergoing the tribulation,’ Elder Dongfang said after hearing Ye Yunfei's words.
After experiencing the series of lightning tribulations, Ye Yunfei finally succeeded in breaking through his realm, becoming a Fifth-Level Sovereign God.
‘Master, you are now a great Sovereign God,’ Hu Miao said to Ye Yunfei.
‘Yes, I have finally become a great Sovereign God,’ Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
Although Ye Yunfei's strength far surpassed his cultivation level, breaking through a realm still brought a boost to his overall comprehensive power. It felt as if his entire level of existence had been elevated.
‘Master, since you've successfully broken through, shall we set off immediately to cause trouble for the Fourth Void Netherworld?’ Hu Miao asked.
‘Not yet. I still need to make some preparations,’ Ye Yunfei thought for a moment before speaking.
‘Senior, could you send someone to help me collect these crafting materials and the various items I need?’ Ye Yunfei took out a batch of jade slips, inscribed a list of items onto them, and handed them to Elder Dongfang.
‘Very well. Young Master Ye, rest assured, I will immediately dispatch people to search throughout the Seventh Void for the things you need,’ Elder Dongfang said, taking the jade slips and sensing their contents before nodding.
Elder Dongfang then promptly distributed the jade slips to various large and small leaders of the Hunyuan Sect, ordering them to procure the items recorded within. Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei returned to his secluded cultivation chamber to continue his closed-door training.
In the following period, Ye Yunfei practiced all sorts of techniques and secret arts, and even cultivated some new ones. His overall combat power increased significantly.
Not long after, the Hunyuan Sect procured a large quantity of the items Ye Yunfei needed, delivering them to him in a steady stream. A considerable portion of these items were specifically for crafting puppets.
Ye Yunfei split off several avatars and began crafting Heavenly God-level puppets within the Phantom Tower. These puppets not only had incredibly sturdy bodies and good combat power, but they also lacked consciousness, acting completely according to Ye Yunfei's will.
Previously, these Heavenly God puppets had played a significant role on the battlefield. However, many of them had been destroyed, so Ye Yunfei needed to replenish a batch.
While crafting these Heavenly God puppets, Ye Yunfei took out another large batch of various materials exuding gloomy, Yin-like energy auras.
‘Master, are you planning to craft artifacts of the Great Netherworld?’ Hu Miao asked.
‘Indeed. I am going to storm the Netherworld Palace, so I plan to craft a batch of artifacts specific to the Great Netherworld. They might be useful once I enter,’ Ye Yunfei nodded.
Ye Yunfei had already devoured the Soul Bodies of many powerful experts from the Great Netherworld, obtaining their memories and thus mastering many of their techniques and secret arts, which he had cultivated to a certain level of proficiency.
He had also learned methods for crafting Great Netherworld artifacts from those memories.
In the time that followed, Ye Yunfei began crafting various sinister artifacts. Of course, during this process, he was also continuing to cultivate several other different techniques and secret arts. Naturally, some of his avatars within the Phantom Tower tirelessly refined various grades of medicinal pills without pause.
An unknown length of time passed.
‘Alright, that’s enough,’ Ye Yunfei suddenly whispered.
Then, Ye Yunfei ended this session of closed-door cultivation and walked out of the Phantom Tower. After this period of secluded training, Ye Yunfei had broken through his realm, his overall strength had greatly increased, and even his entire aura seemed different.
‘Young Master Ye, you've finally emerged,’ Elder Dongfang and several other high-ranking members of the Hunyuan Sect immediately flew over as soon as Ye Yunfei stepped out of his cultivation chamber. They had been staying here this whole time.
‘Young Master Ye, our Hunyuan Sect has finished reorganizing this world cluster. We now plan to return to our headquarters. Furthermore, I just received word that since our Hunyuan Sect forces in the Fourth Void have achieved victory, this void is expected to enter a temporary period of peace. Therefore, a portion of our Hunyuan Sect army from the Fourth Void will be reassigned to support other voids. I need to return now to make arrangements,’ Elder Dongfang said to Ye Yunfei.
‘Young Master Ye, what about you? What are your plans? Now that the war in the Fourth Void has ended, do you plan to return to your previous voids, or will you continue with our Hunyuan Sect army to support the other voids embroiled in conflict?’ Elder Liu asked Ye Yunfei curiously.
‘I will stay in the Fourth Void for a while longer. After I finish my business here, I might go to those war-torn voids to continue dealing with the Guardian Faction. This is a critical period for opposing the Guardian Faction; I could not possibly stand aside,’ Ye Yunfei replied.
‘Young Master Ye, you still have business to attend to in the Fourth Void?’ The Hunyuan Sect elders were surprised upon hearing this; they did not know Ye Yunfei planned to search for the Netherworld in the Fourth Void.
‘Young Master Ye, do you need our help with your affairs? Our Hunyuan Sect now controls this Fourth Void; within this void, it will be relatively convenient to do anything,’ Elder Dongfang asked.
‘Senior, could you help me collect a batch of Yang-attribute magic treasures? The best would be those containing Fire energy and Fire laws. If you could help me find some Yang-attribute exotic flames, that would be even better,’ Ye Yunfei thought for a moment before speaking.
‘Very well. Young Master Ye, rest assured, I will immediately send people to collect all Yang-attribute magic treasures, especially those containing Fire energy and Fire laws,’ Elder Dongfang said immediately upon hearing Ye Yunfei's request, promptly issuing the order.
‘Senior, just have someone contact me once you've collected these things. This is a specially made transmission jade slip. As long as I am still in this void, I will receive any transmissions sent from it,’ Ye Yunfei took out a transmission jade slip and handed it to Elder Dongfang. Then, he turned to leave.
‘Young Master Ye, are you planning to seek out the Netherworld Palace, to rescue your ghost cultivator friend?’ Elder Liu suddenly spoke up.
‘Yes,’ Ye Yunfei was taken aback for a moment upon hearing Elder Liu's words, then nodded.
It was no secret that Huang Shang had been pursued by Great Netherworld experts in the Fifth Void before disappearing. The Hunyuan Sect also had forces in the Fifth Void, and a group from the Fifth Void branch had followed Ye Yunfei to the Fourth Void. Therefore, Elder Liu needed only to inquire a little to learn about Huang Shang being hunted by Great Netherworld experts and disappearing, and thus understand the enmity between Ye Yunfei and the Great Netherworld.
‘Young Master Ye, rest assured. From now on, I will have all our Hunyuan Sect scouts keep an eye out for any traces of the Fourth Void Netherworld Palace. If anything is discovered, I will inform you immediately,’ Elder Dongfang said.
‘Thank you, Senior,’ Ye Yunfei said gratefully. Then, he turned and vanished from the world cluster in an instant.
‘It seems the Great Netherworld is truly about to return as well. This ancient and mysterious force reappearing in the world will undoubtedly bring more calamity to the Chaotic Void Sea,’ Elder Dongfang couldn't help but sigh softly, watching Ye Yunfei's departing figure.
‘The Great Netherworld has actually provoked Young Master Ye. Just wait and see; they will surely regret it,’ the Hunyuan Sect Mage looked at Ye Yunfei's departing figure and suddenly sneered.
‘Mage, have you deduced something?’ Elder Dongfang was somewhat curious upon hearing the Mage's words and immediately asked. He knew many of the Mage's utterances were based on his deduction results.
‘I have deduced that regardless of which faction it is, anyone who provokes Young Master Ye is likely to have their world upended. Though the Great Netherworld is ancient and mysterious, since they have offended Young Master Ye, they will not escape having upheaval unleashed upon them,’ the Mage said with a smile.
‘True. Given Young Master Ye's talent, strength, and personality, any faction that provokes him will probably have their world turned upside down,’ Elder Dongfang also smiled upon hearing the Mage's words.
After leaving the Guardian Faction headquarters, Ye Yunfei stood amidst the boundless void. With a thought, a long, black banner surged out from within his body.
This banner exuded a dense aura of death. After appearing, it floated and drifted in the void, slowly moving forward.
‘Is this the Soul-Summoning Banner you crafted? Does it specifically summon undead?’ The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm asked curiously.
‘No, this is not a Soul-Summoning Banner but a Soul-Seeking Banner. Its primary function is to locate places where undead exist,’ Ye Yunfei explained.
‘Do you want to find undead so they can lead the way to the Netherworld Palace?’ the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm asked again.
‘Yes. I estimate that the undead in this void are likely captured in large batches by the Netherworld and taken inside for reincarnation. So, by following these undead, I may be able to enter the Fourth Void's Netherworld Palace,’ Ye Yunfei nodded.
‘Didn't you devour the Soul Bodies of many Sovereign Gods from the Great Netherworld before? Those Soul Bodies should contain the specific location of the Netherworld Palace in this Fourth Void, right? Why do you need undead to lead the way now?’ the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm inquired further.
‘I don't know what's going on either. I previously did learn the specific location of the Netherworld Palace in this Fourth Void from the memories of those Great Netherworld Sovereign Gods. But now, I've actually forgotten it again. There must be something strange going on here,’ Ye Yunfei said.
‘With the quality of your Soul Body and your level of Soul Power, you would actually forget? That is indeed odd. I suspect this is likely a self-protective secret art of the Great Netherworld,’ Hun Lao immediately said upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words.
‘Some supremely powerful ancient figures, especially powerful Chaos Gods, were capable of embedding mysterious, intangible laws within the void realms that could cause living beings to forget certain things unknowingly. I suspect that some powerful Chaos Gods from the Great Netherworld employed this secret art. So, even though you obtained the specific location of the Fourth Void Netherworld Palace from the Great Netherworld's Sovereign Gods, you gradually forgot it,’ Hun Lao explained.
‘The power of Chaos Gods is that terrifying? They can make others forget specific things?’ The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm was startled upon hearing Hun Lao's words.
‘Of course. Chaos Gods are hailed as the highest-grade Deities in the world, far stronger than Sovereign Gods. The methods of a Chaos God are profound and unfathomable; with our current level of strength, we probably cannot comprehend them yet,’ Hun Lao nodded.
‘So that's how it is,’ Ye Yunfei understood upon hearing Hun Lao's words, realizing this was likely the reason.
‘But I will definitely find the Netherworld Palace in this void,’ a cold smile appeared on Ye Yunfei's face.