"Ye Yunfei, how dare you! You dare to kill members of our Wu Clan!"
The remaining Wu Clan disciples stared at Ye Yunfei with a mix of shock and rage, shouting angrily.
However, none of them dared to make a move against him again. Instead, they retreated in fear, putting distance between themselves and Ye Yunfei.
"It's precisely Wu Clan members that I kill," Ye Yunfei replied coldly.
Whoosh!
As soon as his words fell, Ye Yunfei focused his will, and Dark Thorn shot out.
"Aaahhh!"
Immediately, the remaining Wu Clan disciples began to scream.
Those still standing were all at the Primordial Soul Realm level—how could they possibly fend off Dark Thorn's sneak attack?
In moments, the Wu Clan disciples at the valley mouth were nearly all slaughtered.
"Let's go in," Ye Yunfei said impassively, withdrawing Dark Thorn. He then stepped forward into the valley.
Hu Miao and Huang Shang immediately followed closely behind.
The thousands gathered at the valley entrance watched with trembling hearts and weak-kneed fear, all eyes fixed on Ye Yunfei's retreating back.
No one dared utter a word, fearing that any misstep might offend Ye Yunfei and bring about their own demise.
Even the five students from the Heavenly Dao Academy were struck dumb.
These Wu Clan disciples were individuals who typically held lofty positions in the Xuanhuang Star Domain, ones that no one dared to provoke.
Yet in moments, Ye Yunfei had killed them all!
"Quick, we need to follow Senior Brother Ye!"
The five students snapped out of their daze and hurriedly chased after Ye Yunfei.
In a blink, Ye Yunfei and his group had entered the valley.
Not long after Ye Yunfei's group disappeared inside,
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several imposing figures cut through the sky.
A tall, handsome young man descended before the valley entrance, leading over fifty other youths.
"Wu Yang, the Wu Clan's young genius, has arrived!"
Someone in the surrounding crowd couldn't help but whisper.
"What is the meaning of this! Who dares to kill members of our Wu Clan? Show yourself!"
Wu Yang immediately spotted the bloodied corpses of his clansmen on the ground and roared in fury.
Boom!
As he spoke, a terrifying aura of spiritual pressure erupted from his body like a hurricane and rolled outward in all directions.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Immediately, a group of people standing too close were caught in the backlash, sent flying, and landed some distance away, groaning in pain.
This Wu Yang was at the late stage of the Soul Formation Realm, his spiritual power immense.
"Cousin Wu Yang... it was Ye Yunfei who killed our people. He has already entered the valley," a bloodied Wu Clan disciple lying on the ground managed to say weakly.
This disciple was at the mid-stage of the Soul Formation Realm. One of his arms and a leg had been severed, and he lay in a pool of his own blood.
"So it's Ye Yunfei! Deserves death a thousand times over! I will tear him limb from limb! Come, follow me!"
With a furious roar, Wu Yang waved his hand and led his clansmen charging into the valley.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At that moment, another group of imposing young figures shot over from afar at astonishing speed, arriving at the valley mouth.
These youths all wore long robes with alternating black and white patterns.
"The Sun-Moon Sect has arrived!"
Someone immediately recognized these youths' affiliations. The Sun-Moon Sect's attire was too distinctive.
"Look! That's Han Yucheng! One of the Sun-Moon Sect's famous young geniuses! It's said his strength ranks within the top ten of the sect's core disciples!"
Someone quietly pointed to a Sun-Moon Sect disciple with a handsome face and dignified presence, whispering.
Soon, these Sun-Moon Sect disciples also charged into the valley.
"Look! The people from the Cangyan Sacred Land and the Nine Li Imperial Dynasty are here too!"
A cry of surprise rose.
Sure enough, two more groups of young people arrived from afar in quick succession, rushing into the valley one after the other.
"Hahaha... So this is the valley rumored to have sixth and seventh-grade Dao herbs! Excellent! Bringing even a single sixth or seventh-grade Dao herb back to our Jiaosu Star Domain would be an immensely valuable prize. Let's go in!"
No sooner had the disciples from Cangyan Sacred Land and the Nine Li Imperial Dynasty entered, than a large group of figures surged to the valley entrance. A bald man among them laughed heartily.
They were from the Jiaosu Star Domain! Many thought to themselves.
The bald man was at the late stage of the Soul Formation Realm, hailing from a superpower in the Jiaosu Star Domain, where he was a famous young genius. Under his lead, this group of youths from Jiaosu Star Domain rushed into the valley.
Immediately afterwards, many more powerful young geniuses arrived one after another, surging into the valley.
Not only geniuses from the Xuanhuang Star Domain, but also those from star domains like Jiaosu, Ziwei, Tianma, and Taiheng had heard the news and come.
"Now that no one's guarding the valley entrance anymore, what are we waiting for? Let's go find treasure!"
Suddenly, someone at the valley entrance shouted.
"He's right! What are we doing, standing here like fools? Let's go!"
Immediately, the young martial artists gathered at the valley entrance swarmed toward the valley like a tide.
Sixth and seventh-grade Dao herbs were far too tempting for these young people. Bringing just one out casually would mean they'd struck it rich.
Meanwhile, deep inside the valley, Ye Yunfei led Hu Miao, Huang Shang, and the five students as they advanced.
The valley was truly vast, with wild, ancient forests everywhere and rugged paths.
Moreover, soon after entering, Ye Yunfei discovered a strange rule in effect within the valley—flight was prohibited.
This meant everyone could only travel by foot within these grounds; flying in mid-air was impossible.
"That’s a manmade rule prohibiting flight, set in place by someone far more powerful than I am at present," Ye Yunfei thought to himself. "This valley isn't simple."
"Everyone, be careful. This valley is a bit dangerous. Stay alert," Ye Yunfei warned.
The five students were startled by his words and immediately moved closer to him.
A moment later, they saw bloodied corpses lying scattered on the ground ahead, obviously dead for not long.
From the residual spiritual fluctuations on the corpses, it was evident they had been at both Primordial Soul Realm and Soul Formation Realm levels during their lives.
"Senior Brother Ye... these people are the ones who rushed into the valley earlier," one of the students whispered to Ye Yunfei, his voice trembling.
"Please... save me..."
Just then, a weak cry for help sounded from not far away.
Ye Yunfei glanced over and saw a young man lying in a pool of blood. A black wound marred his chest, and the blood oozing from it had also turned dark.
This young man was at the mid-stage of the Soul Formation Realm.
"Please... save me. Help me get out. This valley is too dangerous. Don't go any further. There are ghosts up ahead!"
The young man pleaded.
"Ghosts? What's so scary about ghosts?"
Ye Yunfei was momentarily taken aback, then smiled slightly.
"Which faction do you belong to?" he asked, giving the young man a once-over.
"I... I'm Xiao Liang, a disciple of the Fire Worshiping Sect from the Taiheng Star Domain. Believe me, leave this valley quickly. With your strength, if you keep going forward, you're sure to die. Please, take me with you when you go. Once we're out, I'll reward you handsomely."
The young man noticed that not a single person in Ye Yunfei's group had reached the Soul Formation Realm.
"These three Dao Pills, after you take them, your injuries will heal. Once you're recovered, get out of here."
Ye Yunfei flicked his fingers, sending three Dao Pills to land in front of the young man.
"Let's continue on," he said, turning and leading Hu Miao and the others deeper into the valley.
"Fourth-grade Dao Pills!"
The young man stared at the three pills before him, utterly shocked, and cried out on the spot.
Fourth-grade Dao Pills were incredibly precious to him!
Swiftly, he consumed the pills.
Immediately, he felt the injuries on his body healing at a startling rate!
"As expected of fourth-grade Dao Pills. The healing effect is remarkable!"
Overjoyed, the young man then bowed deeply toward the depths of the valley.
"Brother, I will never forget your life-saving kindness!"
"What a decent person... a pity he insists on going deeper. His time is short."
The young man stared into the valley's depths for a moment longer, then turned and dashed back toward the valley exit. He dared not venture any deeper!
Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei and his group continued their advance toward the valley's heart.