Although the precise memory of the Netherworld's location had vanished, Ye Yunfei had consumed the soul bodies of those Sovereign Gods from the Great Netherworld and obtained many of their other memories. By following this trail of clues, he was confident he could eventually pinpoint the exact location of this void's Netherworld.
At this moment, the Soul-Seeking Pennant drifted and bobbed within the bewildering expanse of void ahead, yet its speed was incredibly fast. In mere moments, it had traversed a vast stretch of spatial distance.
Ye Yunfei followed closely behind, hands clasped behind his back. Not long after, the pennant suddenly halted, changed direction, and continued its advance.
"Looks like I'll soon find wandering souls," Ye Yunfei couldn't help but feel a flicker of joy before continuing his pursuit.
Soon after, a world group appeared ahead. Once the Soul-Seeking Pennant entered this world group, it shot directly towards one specific world, its speed increasing noticeably.
Ye Yunfei strode along behind it.
Shortly thereafter, the pennant entered that world.
Very soon, the clamorous sounds of battle cries rose from a plain ahead. It turned out two factions were locked in combat on that plain.
Ye Yunfei took a brief look and found the overall strength of both factions to be quite average. The strongest individuals on either side were merely Second-Level Sovereign Gods. They were likely some indigenous factions within this world group.
His Soul-Seeking Pennant drifted ethereally to a position above the battlefield, yet none of the living beings noticed it.
This was because the pennant Ye Yunfei had forged possessed potent concealment effects; even Second or Third-Level Sovereign Gods would find it difficult to detect.
Then, the pennant began to gently rotate in the air above the battlefield, emitting a powerful attractive force.
Ye Yunfei then saw numerous ethereal figures emanating thick deathly auras from the battlefield below. They began to be drawn upwards, rising into the air.
"So there really are wandering souls here," Ye Yunfei thought to himself upon seeing those phantom-like figures.
When living beings were killed, they didn't necessarily transform into wandering souls. This was especially true for those whose soul bodies were utterly destroyed—they truly vanished from the world, not even given the chance to become wandering souls. Therefore, even if beings died, wandering souls weren't guaranteed to appear.
Clearly, there were quite a number of wandering souls within this battlefield, and these were exactly what Ye Yunfei sought.
Ye Yunfei believed that since a Netherworld existed within this Fourth Void, these wandering souls before him would eventually be captured and taken there.
And as long as he secretly followed these souls, he could potentially locate the Netherworld's precise location.
Ye Yunfei beckoned lightly, retrieving the Soul-Seeking Pennant. Then, he found a spot nearby to conceal his form, restrain his aura, and wait quietly.
The wandering souls that had been attracted and now floated above the battlefield appeared quite disoriented at this moment, drifting aimlessly, back and forth, becoming nothing more than unfettered ghostly apparitions.
The battle on the plain below lasted a full three days before concluding. In the end, one faction emerged with a slight advantage, claiming a pyrrhic victory.
The majority of the other faction's forces were slain, with the small remainder fleeing in panic.
However, the victorious faction also paid a heavy price, losing over half their forces on that very plain, as the overall strength of the two factions was actually quite similar.
After the battle ended, the wandering souls continued to drift aimlessly between heaven and earth, utterly alone.
Ye Yunfei waited quietly nearby. Some of the souls had already drifted out of this world, wandering into the bewildering void outside.
Ye Yunfei immediately released several of his Second and Third-Level Sovereign God slaves. He gave them some Soul-Seeking Pennants and instructed them to follow the souls that had left this world.
These Second and Third-Level Sovereign God slaves originally belonged to the Guardian Faction but were now Ye Yunfei's loyal slaves.
They would carry out his orders absolutely and without fail.
In the time that followed, Ye Yunfei continued to wait quietly within this world. Roughly more than half of the wandering souls produced by the earlier battlefield still drifted about within this world.
Time flew by, and soon a month had passed.
A month later, Ye Yunfei's expression shifted. He abruptly opened his eyes and looked in a particular direction.
"Finally here, are they?" A cold smile appeared on Ye Yunfei's face.
At this moment, a figure was stealthily infiltrating this world. The figure wore a black robe, held a black-and-white staff, and wore a white pointed hat on its head. Its movements were drifting and swaying, appearing exceedingly strange.
Moreover, this figure possessed powerful stealth effects. Ye Yunfei estimated that even Sixth or Seventh-Level Sovereign Gods might not be able to detect it.
However, Ye Yunfei's Soul Power energy level had already surpassed that of most Ninth Heaven Godkings. Coupled with the assistance of the Divine Pupil in his forehead, he was able to clearly perceive the figure's arrival the instant it appeared.
Ye Yunfei maintained his composure, continuing to sit cross-legged in his original spot, his gaze fixed tightly on the peculiar-looking figure.
"There are indeed quite a few wandering souls in this world. This trip isn't wasted," the figure shrouded in the black robe emitted an eerie, chilling voice. Then, a black, long banner shot out from within its body and began to gently rotate.
Ye Yunfei recognized it at a glance—that was the Great Netherworld's Soul Summoning Banner, its primary function being to attract wandering souls.
As the banner slowly turned, Ye Yunfei noticed that many wandering souls within this world began to respond, involuntarily drifting towards the banner's location.
Ye Yunfei already possessed a considerable understanding of the various techniques and secret arts of the Great Netherworld, and he could even forge this Soul Summoning Banner himself. Thus, he was very clear on the banner's principles.
The strange, black-robed figure moved back and forth within this world, continuously using the banner to attract more and more souls to gather around it. Then, it would absorb all those souls into the banner.
An indeterminate amount of time later, the black-robed figure finally stopped.
"I've collected most of the wandering souls in this world. It's time to check other places," the figure said softly. Having spoken, it turned and walked outwards.
As soon as the figure exited this world, Ye Yunfei immediately stood up and quietly followed it out.
The black-robed figure practiced only the techniques and secret arts of the Great Netherworld; the movement techniques and stealth arts it employed were also from the Great Netherworld.
Therefore, while this strange, black-robed figure might appear mysterious and difficult to sense to others, it held no such mystery for Ye Yunfei.
In the time that followed, Ye Yunfei stealthily trailed behind the black-robed figure.
After leaving this world, the figure went to other locations, continuously gathering wandering souls.
"Master, once this fellow collects enough wandering souls, he'll probably return to the Netherworld, right?" Hu Miao asked.
"Yes. This individual is known as a Soul-Hooking Ghost Enforcer or a Soul-Hook Envoy within the Netherworld. Their mission is to wander the world, specifically capturing wandering souls to bring back to the Netherworld. These Soul-Hook Envoys have set quotas. Once he's collected a sufficient number, he'll return," Ye Yunfei nodded in reply.
Unbeknownst to them, Ye Yunfei had been secretly following this Soul-Hook Envoy for five months.
Five months later, Ye Yunfei suddenly noticed that the envoy was no longer searching for souls but was instead traveling swiftly in one specific direction.
"It seems this fellow is returning to the Netherworld," Hun Lao said to Ye Yunfei.
"Yes, he is," Ye Yunfei nodded again.
Over ten days later, the Soul-Hook Envoy suddenly arrived at a relatively ordinary world group, entered an ordinary world within it, and proceeded to a vast expanse of primeval forest.
Within this vast primeval forest, there existed an area dense with pitch-black woods. Every tree in this stretch of black forest was ink-black and emitted a thick, chilling aura.
The entire area was thickly coated in deep black profound ice, with rolling frigid air soaring skywards.
Anyone with insufficient strength who came here would likely be instantly frozen into a black ice sculpture.
"Is this the entrance to the Netherworld?" Hu Miao couldn't help but voice upon seeing the black forest and sensing the dense chilling aura emanating from it.
"Hard to say. Let's quietly follow him and see," Ye Yunfei said, watching as the Soul-Hook Envoy had already entered the black woods.
Ye Yunfei quickly concealed his form, restrained his aura, and quietly followed behind. Simultaneously, he retrieved five high-grade stealth talismans from the Rune Sacred Land.
Back in the cultivation cave dwelling of Heavenly Eye Divine Lord, Ye Yunfei had obtained a large quantity of talismans from a Rune Sacred Land elder and still hadn't used them all. Moreover, he had later obtained many more high-grade Rune Sacred Land talismans from the Sovereign Gods of the Guardian Faction, especially those from the faction's Ninth Heaven Godkings, who possessed quite a number of high-level ones.
Thus, Ye Yunfei now owned many Rune Sacred Land talismans, some of exceptionally high grade.
Ye Yunfei also entered the black forest ahead. Shortly after, he arrived at the forest's central area, where a black palace emitting a dense chilling aura stood.
"So there's a Teleportation Altar here. It seems this Soul-Hook Envoy needs to use it to teleport back to the Netherworld," Ye Yunfei thought, seeing the envoy enter the black palace and immediately spotting a grim Teleportation Altar within.
Additionally, more than a dozen figures also shrouded in black robes were seated cross-legged around the altar, each emanating a thick aura of death.
"All of these are members of the Great Netherworld," Ye Yunfei noted inwardly, glancing at those figures seated around the altar.
After entering the black palace, the Soul-Hook Envoy retrieved a uniquely shaped black token, then holding it, stepped onto the Teleportation Altar.
"Master, what should we do now? It looks like he's about to use this altar to teleport back to the Netherworld. Should we go in and stop him?" Hu Miao asked Ye Yunfei.