"I am a denizen of the Tianxuan Continent, and you are an invader," Ye Yunfei said to Da Di Daozhang, his tone indifferent.
"I'm different from those Ancient Demon Race beings. I came to the Tianxuan Continent mainly in search of the Heavenly Dao Tower. I had no intention of making enemies of the continent's people. That great war all those years ago? I was forced into it. The people of the Tianxuan Continent saw me as a foe, attacking me ferociously on sight. I only fought back in self-defense. Those Ancient Demon Race beings, however, slaughtered the martial artists of the Tianxuan Continent the moment they arrived, which is why they faced such fierce resistance. Young man, there is no conflict of interest between you and me."
"My name is Ye Yunfei. You'd best not regard the Tianxuan Continent as an enemy. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite," Ye Yunfei said after a moment's thought.
"Hahaha... You can rest assured. Like I said, my purpose in coming to the Tianxuan Continent was the Heavenly Dao Tower. Ye Yunfei, I know that your future accomplishments will undoubtedly be astonishing. I hope that when we meet again, we can be friends, not foes. Here, I'll give you another Sky Compass. It will be a great aid in your Geomancy cultivation."
Da Di Daozhang laughed heartily. Speaking like this made his intentions clear; he wanted to befriend Ye Yunfei.
As he finished speaking, he waved a hand.
A yellow compass flew out from within his physical body and landed before Ye Yunfei.
The center of this compass was hollow, with a white magnetic needle suspended within, gently swaying. Profound and profound earth-attributed laws radiated from the compass.
"Geomancy truly is a discipline dedicated to cultivating earth-attributed energy and laws," Ye Yunfei couldn't help but muse inwardly as he felt the earth-attributed laws emanating from the compass.
"Alright then. I'll accept it." Ye Yunfei considered for a moment before flicking his sleeve, storing the compass away in his spatial ring.
In his previous life, Ye Yunfei had looked down upon Earth Masters to some degree, considering Geomancy as nothing more than unorthodox tricks and disdaining to study it. However, the current Ye Yunfei was still very weak. Studying Geomancy would give him an extra skill for self-defense, which was always beneficial.
Da Di Daozhang smiled faintly. With Ye Yunfei accepting his compass, it signified his acknowledgment of their burgeoning rapport.
"These valuable herbs grew by absorbing the essence of the Earth Spirit Vein. I will refine them into valuable pills. Taking them will be of immense benefit to your resurrection. Consider it repayment for your gift of the Sky Compass."
Ye Yunfei suddenly pointed at the various valuable herbs growing beside the white pool and spoke.
Numerous valuable herbs grew around the pool. The highest grade among them was that of Fifth Grade treasure medicine!
"You know how to refine valuable pills? You are a pill master?" Da Di Daozhang couldn't help but be stunned, finding it hard to believe.
"Indeed." Ye Yunfei waved his sleeve, and a pill cauldron flew out, landing in the great hall. Then, Ye Yunfei plucked all the valuable herbs around the white pool. He also retrieved several types of valuable herbs from his personal collection before beginning to refine pills on the spot.
"Ye Yunfei, you truly are a pill master!" Da Di Daozhang couldn't help but marvel.
A little over half an hour later, Ye Yunfei had refined several dozen valuable pills. There were Second Grade, Third Grade, and Fourth Grade pills among them.
Most surprisingly, there was even a single Fifth Grade treasure pill!
"You are actually a Fifth Grade Pill Master!" Da Di Daozhang stared wide-eyed, utterly incredulous. "Ye Yunfei, you are truly a freak of nature. I don't even know how to describe you." Da Di Daozhang shook his head ruefully.
"These ten Muscle Recovery Pills can restore vitality to your physical body. This one White Lotus Samsara Pill can repair your Soul Body. And the other valuable pills can also nourish your physical body and Soul Body." Ye Yunfei handed over more than twenty pills to Da Di Daozhang.
"Really?! That's wonderful!" Da Di Daozhang took the pills, his Soul Body trembling slightly with excitement.
"With these pills, I believe it won't be long before you can resurrect," Ye Yunfei said, nodding.
"Hahaha, Ye Yunfei, initially, I thought encountering you was a nightmare. But it seems now that you are my lucky star!" Da Di Daozhang laughed loudly. The last trace of misgiving in his heart toward Ye Yunfei vanished completely.
Ye Yunfei smiled slightly.
He could tell that this Da Di Daozhang was not some heinous villain, and coupled with having received benefits from him, Ye Yunfei didn't mind lending a helping hand.
"Alright. I should be going." Ye Yunfei said.
"Wait, I have a piece of intelligence regarding the Ancient Demon Race I wish to share with you. Back then, before the Ancient Demon Race's main force left the Tianxuan Continent, they secretly constructed a large-scale Cross-Boundary Teleportation Altar in the West Sea of the Tianxuan Continent. Their aim was to one day use this altar to return to the Tianxuan Continent. The spatial positioning of the Tianxuan Continent is somewhat special. A thick layer of spatial barrier encases its surroundings, isolating it from the outer starry sky. It is easy to defend but hard to attack."
Da Di Daozhang explained.
"I imagine many Ancient Demon Race beings on the Tianxuan Continent must be resurrecting now. The first thing these resurrected beings will do is head to the West Sea to activate that Cross-Boundary Teleportation Altar. Once that happens, the Ancient Demon Race's main force can return to the Tianxuan Continent at any time. And I believe that when that time comes, it won't be just the Ancient Demon Race; other forces from the Xuanhuang Star Domain are bound to follow. For the Tianxuan Continent, it will be a disaster," Da Di Daozhang continued.
"Such a thing..." Hearing Da Di Daozhang's words, Ye Yunfei's expression turned solemn.
If forces from the Xuanhuang Star Domain truly launched a full-scale invasion of the Tianxuan Continent, it would indeed be a catastrophe for its martial artists.
"Thank you for the warning," Ye Yunfei said to Da Di Daozhang.
"We should go," Ye Yunfei said to Hu Miao.
"Master, what about the Ancient Demon Race corpses? Don't you want them?" Hu Miao pointed at the Ancient Demon Race being in the black pool and those kneeling around it on the ground.
"These corpses are suppressing the Yin-eye of the Inverted Yin-Yang Grand Formation. The essence of their bloodline and marrow has long since drained away by more than half. They are useless for my cultivation now," Ye Yunfei replied.
Subsequently, Ye Yunfei left the underground hall and returned to the surface.
Ye Yunfei found Huang Shang, who was cultivating within this ancient battlefield.
Huang Shang was seated cross-legged in an open area within the core region of the ancient battlefield. Attracted by his presence, countless soul fragments streamed in from all directions, continuously gathering and being absorbed into his body.
Huang Shang's body gleamed darkly, appearing extremely solid, radiating a sinister black light all over.
"It seems Senior Huang's cultivation has reached a very crucial juncture. Let's wait for him a while," Ye Yunfei observed Huang Shang and whispered softly.
"Alright," Hu Miao nodded.
Unconsciously, two days passed. Ye Yunfei discovered that the soul fragments present within this ancient battlefield had grown extremely scarce. Most had been absorbed by Huang Shang.
Rumble...
Two days later, at a certain moment, billowing ghost mist erupted from Huang Shang's body, resembling countless black dragons coiling and swirling madly around him. Within that ghost mist, countless fierce ghosts roared and howled endlessly. For a radius of ten li, the aura became sinister and ghostly. Terrible shades of power coursed through Huang Shang's body like a raging underworld river. His eyes gleamed with a ghastly green light, a truly disturbing sight.
A moment later, all the black ghost mist retracted back into Huang Shang's body. All the strange phenomena vanished. At this moment, Huang Shang appeared like an utterly ordinary old man.
"Senior Huang, congratulations on your breakthrough," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
"Senior Huang, what's your current cultivation level?" Hu Miao couldn't resist asking out of curiosity.
"My current realm is equivalent to a Late Stage Mystic Liquid Realm human martial artist. However, in terms of battle power, I reckon I could do battle with a human at the First Level of the Grotto-Heaven Realm," Huang Shang replied with a smile. Ghost cultivators were far stronger than human martial artists at the same cultivation level.