Ye Yunfei soon arrived before the entrance to a world. Over a dozen blade cultivators, their bodies erupting with rolling blade radiance, stood guard there. This was a publicly known branch stronghold of the Blade Realm.
As a major power with a lineage stretching back through endless years, the Blade Realm was notorious for its domineering and ostentatious ways, never one for secrecy. This particular branch stronghold had existed for a very long time, known to all.
By now, members of the Earth Gate had long since surrounded the Blade Realm stronghold. However, since most Earth Gate operatives were concealed within the earth energy and laws of the surrounding void or hidden inside nearby worlds, the Blade Realm cultivators on guard had yet to detect their presence.
"For some reason, I keep feeling that something's off, but I can't put my finger on what. How about the rest of you? Do any of you have any strange feelings?" one of the blade cultivators suddenly spoke up, his brow slightly furrowed as he scanned the nearby and distant void.
"I think you're just letting your imagination run wild. What could possibly be off? We've been guarding this entrance for decades now. Hasn't it always been like this? Given the prestige and power of our Blade Realm, us standing guard here is mostly just for show. What kind of 'abnormal' event could possibly happen? Does anyone dare to have the guts to come cause trouble here?" another blade cultivator beside him retorted with a sneer.
"That's true. Not many in the entire Chaos Void Sea dare to provoke our Blade Realm," the other blade cultivators nearby nodded in agreement.
"Our squad has been on duty here for decades. In a few more years we'll rotate back to the Blade Realm. Then we won't have to spend every day stuck in this boring guard duty," one of them sighed.
However, right at that moment, he suddenly realized that all sorts of bizarre, peculiar thoughts were sprouting in his mind. He then fell into a state of confusion, his eyes going blank.
"What's wrong with this guy? He suddenly looks all listless and vacant," the other blade cultivators nearby found it strange.
"Could his recent cultivation have run into problems?" someone whispered.
In reality, at that very moment, Ye Yunfei was unleashing the Mind Reading Art and Soul Purification Art to attack that blade cultivator's Soul Body.
A short while later, Ye Yunfei had completely purified that blade cultivator's Soul Body and imprinted it with his own Soul Power mark. In this way, that blade cultivator had become one of Ye Yunfei's clones.
After becoming Ye Yunfei's clone, the blade cultivator's spirit immediately regained its vigor. His eyes shone with intelligence, and he began chatting and laughing. Only then did the others relax.
Soon after, Ye Yunfei used the Mind Reading Art and Soul Purification Art on the other blade cultivators responsible for guarding the entrance.
Given Ye Yunfei's current level of Soul Power energy, dealing with these blade cultivators was far too simple. He could control their Soul Bodies in an instant, plunging them into a state of confusion.
After a short while, Ye Yunfei had turned all the blade cultivators guarding the entrance into his clones.
Ye Yunfei then flashed to the side of one of these clones, entered the Phantom Tower, and had this clone carry the Phantom Tower into the world ahead.
Since this clone was originally responsible for guarding the entrance, of course no one paid any attention when he entered.
In the next moment, this clone entered the Blade Realm's branch stronghold.
It was a fairly large-scale world, with blade cultivators active everywhere. Surging blade radiance shot into the sky, making the entire world appear dazzlingly eye-catching.
Ye Yunfei immediately released his Soul Power energy to sense this world.
"There are no Chaos Gods in this world," Hun Lao said to Ye Yunfei.
"A Chaos God, regardless of which faction they belong to, represents top-tier combat power. Unless absolutely necessary, the Blade Realm generally wouldn't assign a Chaos God to guard a mere branch stronghold," Ye Yunfei responded.
Over the following period, Ye Yunfei began to continuously convert the blade cultivators he encountered within this branch stronghold into clones.
If he encountered blade cultivators at the First, Second, Third, or Fourth Realms, Ye Yunfei would employ the Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art to enslave them.
If he encountered more powerful Greater Sovereign Gods, Ye Yunfei would consume their Soul Bodies.
Having previously consumed the Soul Bodies of quite a few Blade Realm Chaos Gods and even obtained the Black Demon Blade Stele, Ye Yunfei's current blade path cultivation now far surpassed that of ordinary Blade Realm Sovereign Gods. Those Blade Realm Sovereign Gods stood no chance of resisting before Ye Yunfei.
As time passed, the majority of the blade cultivators in this branch stronghold had been turned into Ye Yunfei's clones or slaves.
Finally, six blade cultivators with the strength of Eighth Level Sovereign Gods within this stronghold sensed something amiss. They simultaneously rushed out from their secluded cultivation chambers.
However, when they scrutinized the branch stronghold, they couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong. On the surface, everything seemed normal within the stronghold. Blade cultivators went about their activities, performing their usual tasks.
"For some reason, I feel as if something abnormal has happened in our stronghold. What about you all?" one Eighth Level Sovereign God asked suspiciously.
"I had that feeling just now too, but now everything looks normal again," another Eighth Level Sovereign God said.
"Let's do this: summon all the Greater Sovereign Gods in this stronghold. The few of us have been in secluded cultivation all this time. It's time we properly learned about the operational status of this stronghold and the current situation in the First Void," yet another Eighth Level Sovereign God suggested.
The six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods then issued an order for all the Greater Sovereign Gods in the stronghold to immediately gather in the council hall.
Shortly after, the six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods were seated within a palace.
"That's strange. Why haven't any Greater Sovereign Gods shown up? Where have they gone?" one of the Eighth Level Sovereign Gods finally noticed.
"You're right! No wonder I felt something was off earlier. Why is it that apart from the six of us, all the other Greater Sovereign Gods in this stronghold have disappeared?" another Eighth Level Sovereign God exclaimed.
Only now did the six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods finally understand why they had kept feeling something was wrong. It was because apart from them, all the other Greater Sovereign Gods in this branch stronghold had vanished without a trace.
"Could it be that while we were in seclusion, all the Greater Sovereign Gods in our stronghold were reassigned to participate in the war?" one of the Eighth Level Sovereign Gods wondered aloud.
"Summon the Lesser Sovereign Gods immediately and ask them," another Eighth Level Sovereign God said. He immediately sent a transmission to the Lesser Sovereign Gods within the stronghold.
The six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods were, of course, unaware that all the Lesser Sovereign Gods in this branch stronghold had already become Ye Yunfei's slaves. As for the Greater Sovereign Gods, Ye Yunfei had consumed all their Soul Bodies, and their physical bodies had been collected by Ye Yunfei, to be handed over to Huang Lao in the future.
Thus, at this point, only these six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods remained as Greater Sovereign Gods within the stronghold.
A short while later, quite a few Lesser Sovereign Gods arrived at the council hall. However, once these arriving Lesser Sovereign Gods entered the hall, every single one of them remained silent, their expressions cold.
"What is going on with you all?"
The moment the six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods saw the expressions of these Lesser Sovereign Gods, they knew something was wrong. In the past, these Lesser Sovereign Gods would be utterly deferential and groveling before them. But now, each wore an aloof expression, even with traces of disdainful sneers at the corners of their mouths.
"Just what are you all playing at? You'd best give me a satisfactory explanation, or don't blame me for showing no mercy," one of the more hot-tempered Eighth Level Sovereign Gods couldn't hold back any longer. He abruptly stood up, releasing torrents of blade radiance. Terrifying blade path energy instantly enveloped the entire hall as he roared.
"Such grand airs!"
Right then, a voice rang out. Ye Yunfei walked into the hall from outside, his hands clasped behind his back.
During the time these six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods had summoned the Lesser Sovereign Gods to the council hall, Ye Yunfei had subdued another batch of clones and slaves within the stronghold before arriving at this hall.
"Boy, who are you?"
The gazes of the six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods instantly locked onto Ye Yunfei, filled with shock and fury.
What puzzled them even more was that after Ye Yunfei walked in, all the Lesser Sovereign Gods who had arrived earlier in the hall actually gathered behind Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei stood there with his hands behind his back, looking at the six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods with a faint, ambiguous smile.
"What are you all doing? Just who is this kid? Why are you all standing behind him?"
Utterly shocked and enraged, one of the six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods couldn't help but bellow.
"They've all now forsaken the darkness for the light. The six of you are now commanders without an army. You might as well surrender peacefully," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
"I recognize him! He's Ye Yunfei!"
Suddenly, one of the Eighth Level Sovereign Gods pointed at Ye Yunfei and cried out.
"That's right, it's Ye Yunfei!"
The other five Eighth Level Sovereign Gods also recognized Ye Yunfei.
Upon recognizing him, the six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods involuntarily took several steps back in unison.
The events that had transpired earlier in the Sword Realm had been reported back to the Blade Realm. Quite a number of Blade Realm Sovereign Gods were already aware of Ye Yunfei's various actions in the Sword Realm continent, and some even knew that Blade Realm Chaos Gods had died at Ye Yunfei's hands.
Therefore, when these six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods recognized that the youth standing before them was the famed Ye Yunfei, they all panicked.
"This is bad. I never imagined this little beast would come to our branch stronghold to cause trouble. Could it be that everyone else was forced to submit to him out of fear? What should we do now?"
The six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods stared at Ye Yunfei and the group of Lesser Sovereign Gods standing behind him, communicating rapidly via transmission to discuss their options.
"Ye Yunfei, this is a branch stronghold of our Blade Realm. Why have you come here? Aren't you afraid of incurring the wrath of our Blade Realm?" one of the Eighth Level Sovereign Gods plucked up the courage to speak to Ye Yunfei.
"What's so impressive about your Blade Realm's wrath? Enough nonsense. Prepare to meet your end!"
Ye Yunfei spoke coldly. With a thought, a black stele shot out. With a loud roar, it rapidly expanded, erupting with overwhelming tyrannical blade radiance. In an instant, it suppressed all six of the Eighth Level Sovereign Gods, pinning them in place.
"That's the Black Demon Blade Stele! It's a Chaos God artifact of our Blade Realm!"
Feeling the terrifying blade path energy erupting from the black stele, the six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods turned pale with fright, their faces filled with terror. They were completely immobilized.
Ye Yunfei walked over, grabbing them one by one with each hand. He then sealed them and confined them within the Phantom Tower.
In truth, with Ye Yunfei's current power, he could have easily suppressed these six Eighth Level Sovereign Gods without relying on the Black Demon Blade Stele. However, Ye Yunfei had acted on a sudden whim to employ the stele, curious to see what effect it would have when used against Greater Sovereign Gods.