The spacecraft flew through the boundless expanse of stars.
Ye Yunfei sat cross-legged inside the craft, his face slightly pale. The Time-Chasing Soul Technique was a forbidden secret art. In a short period, Ye Yunfei had used it twice consecutively, depleting his vital essence quite severely.
Ye Yunfei took out a dozen or so Dao Pills and swallowed them. Only then did he feel his vigor slowly recovering.
"They didn’t kill my father but brought him to the Xuanhuang Star Domain. The only reason must be that they intend to use him to threaten me," Ye Yunfei thought as he sat meditating in the spacecraft.
"If those six men intend to use my father to threaten me, they’ll surely go to the Xuanhuang Star, since that’s my main area of activity. Therefore, I should first return to the Xuanhuang Star to search for my father!" Ye Yunfei muttered to himself.
He entered the Phantom Tower and summoned several of the Early Stage Imperial Realm slaves who hailed from Star Nation.
"Slaves," he asked, "is there a family surnamed Pang in your Star Nation?"
"Master, there is indeed a Pang Clan in our Star Nation, and they’re quite powerful," one of the slaves replied.
"Are there any members of the Pang Clan in the Empire’s Expeditionary Army?" Ye Yunfei’s heart stirred, and he continued his questioning.
"Absolutely. The Pang Clan has many experts who hold official positions in the Empire’s imperial court. Moreover, the clan often has its younger members join the Empire’s grand army and participate in distant campaigns—it’s a form of training for them," the slave answered.
"Oh? Could it be that the experts who captured my father are from Star Nation’s Pang Clan?" Ye Yunfei’s gaze turned sharp.
He recalled that the three men who used his father’s blood to target him were all at the Late Imperial Stage. For a clan to have three Late Imperial Stage experts, it must be a formidable force! It really was possible they came from Star Nation.
"The five of you have accumulated enough foundation within the Early Stage Imperial Realm and possess the prerequisites to break through to the Mid Imperial Stage. For now, I’ll help you five achieve your breakthroughs first."
From among the thirteen Early Stage Imperial Realm slaves, Ye Yunfei selected five. Their spiritual foundations were relatively solid, and their accumulation within their current realm was quite deep. Thus, Ye Yunfei decided to assist them. At a time when he desperately needed manpower, he naturally hoped these slaves would grow stronger.
Next, Ye Yunfei began concocting pills, producing a batch specifically for aiding breakthroughs. There were Eighth-Level Dao Pills and Ninth-Level Dao Pills. For Imperial Realm experts, Eighth and Ninth-Level Dao Pills were already extremely precious and highly effective.
He then had the five slaves begin their attempts to break through their realms while he stood guard for them.
After approximately two months within the Phantom Tower, all five slaves successfully broke through to the Mid Imperial Stage.
"These thirteen Innate Treasures—each of you take one."
Ye Yunfei retrieved thirteen Innate Treasures and distributed them among the thirteen slaves. All thirteen were Low-Grade Innate Treasures. Ye Yunfei himself still possessed a few more Low-Grade treasures and three Intermediate-Grade Innate Treasures, which were sufficient for his own use.
"Once we return to the Xuanhuang Star, you are to immediately split up and act. There are two main tasks: First, search for my father. Second, investigate within the Xuanhuang Star Domain and the surrounding Jiaoxiu Star Domain, Taiheng Star Domain, Ziwei Star Domain, and Tianma Star Domain to see if there are any families surnamed Pang within these domains."
Ye Yunfei gathered all thirteen Early Stage Imperial Realm slaves before him and issued his orders. As he spoke, he refined thirteen jade slips and handed them out to the slaves. These jade slips contained images and the soul aura of Ye Tianpeng to facilitate their search.
"Yes," the thirteen slaves received the jade slips and answered respectfully.
"You," Ye Yunfei said to one of the Mid Imperial Stage slaves, "go to the Guyao Realm first and deliver these jade slips to the three Demon Kings." He refined several dozen more jade slips and handed them over.
"Understood, Master," the slave accepted the jade slips and replied.
One day later, the spacecraft returned to the Xuanhuang Star.
The thirteen slaves left the spacecraft to carry out their tasks according to Ye Yunfei’s orders. All of them were Imperial Realm experts, and each carried an Innate Treasure, so Ye Yunfei wasn’t worried about them encountering mishaps.
As for Ye Yunfei himself, he went directly to the underground cave complex in the North Wasteland Domain.
"Young Master Ye, you’ve finally returned!"
Seeing Ye Yunfei return, Elder Tang Wu and the Houtu Sect Leader were overjoyed.
With a thought, Ye Yunfei teleported everyone out from the Phantom Tower. Altogether, he had taken over thirty thousand people to the Guyao Realm, with almost no casualties.
"Young Master Ye, these past few days, I received reports from scouts that the Guyao Realm has seemed quiet and untroubled this whole time. I was worried about all of you. Young Master Ye, was the defense of the Guyao Realm too tight? Did you not get a chance to enter?" Elder Tang Wu asked, puzzled.
"Elder Five, you don’t know," Tang Boguang stepped forward before Ye Yunfei could answer, speaking to Elder Tang Wu. "Young Master Ye indeed led us into the Guyao Realm, and we slaughtered many Ancient Demons. The great vengeance of our Tang Clan has essentially been repaid. From now on, the enmity between our Tang Clan and the Ancient Demons is settled."
"What is going on?" Both Elder Tang Wu and the Houtu Sect Leader were taken aback.
"Elder Boguang, you can explain this matter slowly to Elder Tang Wu," Ye Yunfei said.
"Now, where is the Star Nation Expeditionary Army?" Ye Yunfei asked.
"According to the news I’ve received," the Houtu Sect Leader answered, "Star Nation’s Expeditionary Army is currently attacking the Jiaoxiu Star Domain. Forces from several star domains have formed a joint army and are resisting Star Nation’s Expeditionary Army. Both sides are currently in a stalemate."
"Elder Tang Wu," Ye Yunfei said, "during this period, have everyone stay here and avoid going out for the time being. I need to be away for a while."
After speaking, Ye Yunfei turned and left. Right now, all he could think about was how to find his father.
"Young Master Ye, where are you going?" Elder Tang Wu asked.
"I’m going to look for someone," Ye Yunfei said.
The next moment, Ye Yunfei had vanished.
He hadn’t told Elder Tang Wu and the others about his father’s disappearance because their strength was too weak; telling them wouldn’t be of any help.
"Look for someone?" Elder Tang Wu and the Houtu Sect Leader were both startled.
"Who is Young Master Ye looking for?" Elder Tang Wu looked towards Tang Boguang and asked.
"I don’t know either," Tang Boguang shook his head. During this period, he had been staying inside the Phantom Tower and had no knowledge of Ye Tianpeng’s disappearance.
By now, Ye Yunfei had already left the underground cave complex, entered his spacecraft, and shot up into the sky, heading toward the distant horizon.
"Master, where are you going now?" Hu Miao asked.
"To the Jiaoxiu Star Domain, to find Star Nation’s Expeditionary Army!" Ye Yunfei declared.
"Master, do you suspect that Star Nation’s Expeditionary Army captured your father?" Hu Miao asked again.
"They are the most likely suspects," Ye Yunfei nodded.