"Be careful. These nine are not just puppets. Their bodies are sealed with powerful Soul Bodies. In other words, they are a fusion of puppet and spirit entity. Their combat strength is far greater than the puppets we encountered earlier!" Da Di Daozhang said to Ye Yunfei with a grave expression.
"Indeed," Ye Yunfei nodded. He had long detected the presence of a powerful Soul Body within each of these nine generals.
"That high platform is entirely built from Soul Stones," Da Di Daozhang continued, pointing. "If we want those Soul Stones, we must defeat these nine."
Ye Yunfei's gaze fell upon the platform. It was a hundred meters wide and several hundred meters high, and its interior was completely made of Soul Stones! The sheer quantity hidden there excited him greatly.
"Dare disturb the Venerable One's peace? Die!" roared the nine generals once more.
Immediately, a furious torrent of Yin Wind swept towards Ye Yunfei and Da Di Daozhang, icy and bone-piercing like a blizzard-laden northern gale.
Boom! Boom!...
The nine generals shot forward like cannonballs leaving their barrels, carrying terrifying energy as they charged to kill.
"Hmph! Mere spirits dare to be so presumptuous!" Ye Yunfei snorted coldly. With a flick of his finger, the Five Elements Spirit Swords flew out, forming the Five Elements Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation as they scythed forward.
Clang! Clang! Clang!...
The nine generals swung their broadswords, repeatedly clashing with the Five Elements Spirit Swords and producing crisp metallic impacts.
To Ye Yunfei's surprise, the nine generals not only withstood the Immortal-Slaying Sword Array but also pressed forward step by step, clearly gaining the upper hand! Each general executed a sophisticated saber technique; the nine techniques echoed and complemented each other, seemingly forming a saber formation with formidable power. Jet-black saber beams erupted continuously, forcing Ye Yunfei and Da Di Daozhang to retreat.
"They have some skill," Ye Yunfei remarked.
Swish!
Ye Yunfei activated his Shadow Mantle and flickered beside one of the generals, unleashing a punch. This was the Chain Explosion technique from the True Demon God-Slaying Fist.
Boom! Boom!...
One terrifying fist force after another erupted. The general was blasted away, but in the blink of an eye, it charged back, completely unscathed.
"Their bodies are incredibly sturdy!" Ye Yunfei couldn't help but marvel.
"Ye Yunfei, the cultivation art you practice seems to be of the Yang attribute. It can be used to suppress their Yin energy!" Da Di Daozhang shouted.
Ye Yunfei began operating the Nine Solar Scripture.
Boom...
A massive golden sphere, three hundred meters in diameter, flew out from his dantian, spraying forth rolling golden radiance as it smashed towards the nine generals. Wherever the golden sphere passed, the Yin energy immediately thinned significantly.
Clang! Clang! Clang!...
The nine generals seemed highly wary of this golden sphere, frantically wielding their broadswords to block it while retreating step by step.
"Indeed! Elemental counteraction works! Their bodies house Soul Bodies, which belong to Yin. Ye Yunfei, your cultivation art is Yang, perfectly countering them!" Da Di Daozhang exclaimed in delight.
"For a Soul Body... perhaps using the Heavenly Soul Sword might be effective," Ye Yunfei had a sudden thought.
Swish!
Ye Yunfei launched a Heavenly Soul Sword attack.
Immediately, one of the generals froze in place.
"The Heavenly Soul Sword attack works!" Ye Yunfei was overjoyed. Seizing the chance, he lunged forward and punched the general away. Next, he continuously unleashed Heavenly Soul Sword attacks against the other eight generals. In less than two breaths, all nine generals were sent flying.
Ye Yunfei and Da Di Daozhang rushed toward the platform.
Rumble...
A formation suddenly appeared, blocking their path. A torrential surge of formation energy crashed towards them.
"Such a sophisticated formation!" Da Di Daozhang was startled.
"Tread the ‘Mao’ direction! Move to the ‘Chen’ position, shift to the ‘Wu’ direction!" Ye Yunfei yelled, taking the lead and rushing forward, stepping on specific directions according to a pattern. Da Di Daozhang followed Ye Yunfei's footsteps closely. Then, the two safely traversed the formation and arrived before the platform.
"Ye Yunfei, I truly didn't expect your mastery of formations to be so high! In the future, with the two of us working together, the famous mountains and great tombs of the world will be ours to explore!" Da Di Daozhang exclaimed, both shocked and delighted.
"Not interested," Ye Yunfei retorted with a dismissive curl of his lip.
"Don't underestimate the study of tomb-sensing. It can bring us immense profits. If we find an Emperor's tomb, we'll truly strike it rich!" Da Di Daozhang insisted.
"With your level of skill, you want to enter an Emperor's tomb?" Ye Yunfei chuckled disdainfully.
"That is my greatest ambition!" Da Di Daozhang declared.
Rumble...
While they were talking, the nine generals charged up from behind, brandishing their broadswords.
Ye Yunfei turned and simultaneously deployed the Five Elements Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, the Heavenly Soul Sword, and the Nine Solar Scripture. Within a few breaths, he blasted the nine generals flying once more.
"Let's go, let's check out that coffin on the platform! From my deductions, that coffin should contain some good stuff," Da Di Daozhang said, rushing up the platform. Ye Yunfei followed.
On the platform rested a stone coffin. Da Di Daozhang waved his sleeve, pushing open the coffin lid. The interior of the stone coffin was empty!
"There's nothing here!" Da Di Daozhang was dumbfounded.
"No. This stone coffin is a spatial artifact. Inside lies another Small World. Let's enter and see," Ye Yunfei said, stepping into the coffin. Ye Yunfei could distinctly sense a powerful spatial energy undulating from within the coffin.
"So that's how it is!" Da Di Daozhang exclaimed, following Ye Yunfei into the coffin.
Sure enough, the next moment, Ye Yunfei and Da Di Daozhang found themselves standing within a cave abode. The cave was suffused with abundant spiritual energy, condensed into mist that drifted like colorful ribbons.
"So many spiritual herbs!" Da Di Daozhang suddenly cried out, his eyes gleaming. In front of them was a medicine garden, fragrant and overflowing with a dazzling, radiant glow, filled with spiritual herbs.
"Grade One, Grade Two, Grade Three... Grade Six, Grade Seven! Spiritual herbs ranging from Grade One to Grade Seven! And thousands of them! Heavens, we've struck it rich!" Da Di Daozhang exclaimed dramatically.
Without a word, Ye Yunfei rushed forward and began plucking the herbs.
"Leave some for me!" Da Di Daozhang also charged into the garden, quickly harvesting herbs. These thousands of spiritual herbs would incite a frenzy among major factions even if brought to the Xuanhuang Star Domain. In a short while, the herbs in the garden were divided cleanly between Ye Yunfei and Da Di Daozhang.
Then, the two proceeded deeper into the cave abode.
"Look! Several Illusion-Grade artifacts!" Da Di Daozhang cried out again. Ahead, there was a weapon rack holding over a dozen artifacts.
Swish!
Ye Yunfei flashed and instantly appeared before the weapon rack.
"We split them evenly!" Da Di Daozhang panicked, accelerating his charge toward the rack. But his speed was no match for Ye Yunfei's. With a flick of his sleeve, Ye Yunfei collected a longsword, a small black pagoda, and a silver ancient seal. All three were high-grade Illusion artifacts. Then, Ye Yunfei picked two more mid-grade Illusion artifacts, leaving the rest for Da Di Daozhang.
"You are ruthless," Da Di Daozhang said, picking up the remaining artifacts and looking like he was about to cry.
Next, they continued forward, finally reaching the deepest part of the cave abode. There, they found a small lake. At its center was a miniature island, and upon that island stood a small, jade-green tree just over a meter tall. Beside the tree sat a withered, thin old man.
"A Soul-Nourishing Tree!" Ye Yunfei's pupils constricted as he stared intently at the small tree.
The Soul-Nourishing Tree was truly a remarkable treasure. Planted within the Soul Sea, it could constantly nurture the Soul Body, enhancing Soul Power. It was a supreme treasure of the soul path!
"That small tree... seems vaguely familiar. It must be an incredible treasure!" Da Di Daozhang also stared at the Soul-Nourishing Tree, his eyes shining. His knowledge and insight naturally couldn't compare to Ye Yunfei's, but he knew that small tree must be an extraordinary treasure.
"This tree is mine," Ye Yunfei stated bluntly, without any false courtesy. Facing a supreme treasure like the Soul-Nourishing Tree, Ye Yunfei obviously wouldn't let anyone else have it.
"Fine. I knew you'd snatch any good thing," Da Di Daozhang grumbled indignantly. "But you can't take the lake water from me. It's brimming with rich Soul Force Energy," he said, pointing at the pond. Due to the Soul-Nourishing Tree absorbing the surrounding world's spiritual energy over the years, converting it into Soul Force Energy that infused the water, the small lake contained vast amounts of Soul Force Energy.
"Fine," Ye Yunfei nodded.
Then, Ye Yunfei looked toward the withered old man. Undoubtedly, this was a corpse with no vestige of life remaining. Ye Yunfei sent his Soul Power perception towards it.
Suddenly.
Boom...
A burst of Soul Force Energy erupted.
Then, scenes of imagery shot out from the old man's head, continuously unfolding.
"These are the memories from his life!" Da Di Daozhang cried out.
The images revealed the old man's figure. Ye Yunfei and Da Di Daozhang, after careful observation, gained some understanding of the old man's plight.
Originally, this old man was a top expert in a certain world. He was suddenly betrayed by several disciples who conspired with his enemies, laid a trap, and launched a surprise attack. Severely wounded, the old man desperately fled. His disciples and enemies chased relentlessly. The old man fled his world entirely, escaping towards remote, desolate spaces. During his flight, he stumbled upon a Soul-Nourishing Tree.
Finally, the old man arrived at the Tianxuan Continent and settled in seclusion in the Northern Wastelands. However, his injuries were too severe; even with the Soul-Nourishing Tree, he could not save his life. Later, before his death, he found this Nine Dragons Encircling the Pearl topography, built this underground tomb, and buried himself here. A generation's powerful expert was thus interred in this remote place.
"I, Divine Lord Dongyang... am unwilling!" In the final scene, the old man roared at the heavens, filled with profound resentment.
Then, all the images vanished together.
"So this fellow was called Divine Lord Dongyang," Da Di Daozhang remarked.
Ye Yunfei flashed across to the central island, waved his hand, and uprooted the Soul-Nourishing Tree. With a thought, he sent it into his Soul Sea.
Boom...
Instantly, Ye Yunfei felt his Soul Power surge significantly.
"Indeed, a supreme treasure of the soul path," Ye Yunfei said with great satisfaction.
Plop!
Da Di Daozhang, meanwhile, directly jumped into the lake water, sat down cross-legged, and began absorbing the rich Soul Force Energy contained within.