Chapter 264: Using the Ultimate Pardon Power Again

Ye Feng wasn’t actually very familiar with Su Mo—he had only met her a few times in total. Still, bringing her to this area and putting her in danger meant he couldn’t shirk responsibility.
Ye Feng had never considered himself a good person, but if it was his responsibility, then he had to take it on. Although it was Su Mo who asked to enter the palace, he was the one who brought her there. To some extent, this was also related to the fact that she was a woman.
When he heard that the NightNightmare had already met Su Mo, Ye Feng naturally wouldn’t miss this chance. He had to find a way to rescue her.
“Can you take us to where those people are holding my friend?” Ye Feng knew this request was somewhat excessive—after all, they were enemies, and it was unlikely the NightNightmare would help.
“Sure!” To Ye Feng’s and the two beasts’ surprise, the NightNightmare agreed easily.
“I’m not helping you because I care about you. I just hate those idiots more than you do—they even eat their own kind,” the NightNightmare added.
“What?!” Ye Feng was shocked. “They eat people?”
“They eat anything, including their own injured kin!” The NightNightmare spoke with clear disdain.
Ye Feng immediately realized the severity of the situation. Su Mo was likely to become food for those people.
“Take us there, and you’ll be free after that!” Ye Feng proposed a deal.
“Oh, you don’t plan to eat me?” the NightNightmare asked, somewhat puzzled.
“I’m not interested in food like you!” Ye Feng shook his head.
“It seems the toxins I’ve accumulated over time, enough to kill a True Immortal, are useless now,” the NightNightmare said disappointedly.
“Uh…” Ye Feng looked at the NightNightmare, who had revealed his secret, speechlessly.
“Oh, I almost forgot. Given enough time, Nightmares can accumulate massive amounts of soul toxins in their bodies, enough to kill beings a rank higher than themselves. Aside from a few magical beasts that can withstand these toxins, most won’t choose Nightmares as food. Their natural predators are the Blackwater Poison Dragon, which loves to eat Nightmares,” Xiao Bei suddenly remembered something.
“What do you mean the Blackwater Poison Dragon loves to eat us Nightmares? We also eat those dragons!” the Nightmares protested indignantly at Bernard’s description.

“Well, indeed, Nightmares also feed on Poisonous Dragons. But overall, Nightmares of the same rank are slightly weaker than Poisonous Dragons. So usually, in a fight between the two, the Nightmare gets eaten,” Bernard added.

Hearing Bernard’s detailed explanation, the Nightmare lowered its head in frustration. Though it didn’t want to admit it, it was indeed the truth.

“Alright, let’s go!” Ye Feng was worried that Bernard would continue talking. If the Nightmare got angry, it might refuse to take them to the group’s stronghold.

The Nightmare raised its head, glared at Bernard, said nothing, and simply turned to leave in a certain direction. Ye Feng and the two beasts immediately followed.

By the time Ye Feng arrived at the humans’ stronghold, it was already deep night, completely dark.

Ye Feng faintly saw that it was actually a small village, with over twenty houses built from trees—clearly a human settlement.

Ye Feng led the two beasts to hide in the grass not far away and whispered, “Where is that girl locked up?”

“I don’t know. I only saw her get captured,” the Nightmare shook its head. “Normally, I can’t get this close to their territory. If I’m discovered, I’ll be killed. After seeing her captured, I didn’t chase after them either. We know they bring their prey back to their territory.”

“You’d be killed even with your strength?” Ye Feng was surprised. “What kind of strength do these guys have? You should have some idea, right?”

“Overall, their cultivation levels aren’t strong. Most are at the peak of the Tribulation stage, with only one at the peak of the Spirit Immortal stage. But they’re all quite powerful. I once fought one of them who was in the later stages of the Great Vehicle stage, and his strength was almost on par with mine.”

“Fighting beyond one’s rank…” Ye Feng frowned. “Then we must prepare for the worst. That guy at the peak of the Spirit Immortal stage might actually be in the later or even peak stages of the True Immortal stage. Strange—why have these people stayed in such a place for so long if the strongest one is only at the peak of the Spirit Immortal stage?”

“The spiritual energy here can’t be absorbed by humans!” The Nightmare knew some of the reasons. “By hunting the magical beasts here, they can only improve their own strength, not their cultivation level, because they can’t absorb the Yuan Ying inside those beasts.”

Hearing this from the Nightmare, Ye Feng finally understood why these people had to devour their own kind. Only by eating their peers could they obtain the spiritual energy they needed to advance their cultivation. This was also why their cultivation hadn’t improved much.

But what Ye Feng found strange was that he seemed able to absorb the spiritual energy here, though he had no intention of mentioning it. Ye Feng knew that with his current strength, forcing his way into this area was hardly feasible. He had to come up with another plan. “Is there any way to rescue Su Mo?” Ye Feng murmured to himself. “With your strength and numbers, it’s almost impossible, unless someone ties them all to stools—then they can only watch helplessly as you rescue her!” Nightmare sneered. “Tie them to stools?” Hearing this, Ye Feng suddenly had an idea. “I think I know a way! Wait for me here!” With that, he ventured deep into the jungle. After checking that no one was around, he stepped into the Void Realm. “Are there any immortal artifacts similar to the All-Seeing Net that cause depletion? Something that can lock targets, preferably one that can trap all locked targets at once.” “Domain master’s permissions are insufficient. Would you like to use the over-tier purchase privilege?” “Yes!” “Using the over-tier purchase privilege. Remaining over-tier purchase privileges: 0.” “Option 1: Sky Net, a third-tier consumable item. It can capture up to 100 beings at the Xuanxian level or below at once, trapping them for three days without the ability to move. Requires 1 million third-tier domain value. Using the over-tier purchase privilege requires 1 billion second-tier domain value.” “Option 2: Qiankun Silk, a third-tier consumable item. It can instantly capture powerful beings at the Xuanxian level or below, causing them to lose all their vital energy. For Xuanxian-level beings, it takes one day; for Jinxian-level beings, ten days; for Tiexian-level beings, a hundred days… The time increases as the cultivation level decreases. Requires 1 million third-tier domain value. Using the over-tier purchase privilege requires 1 billion second-tier domain value.” “…” After reviewing the results, Ye Feng was shocked. “There are even such terrifying things to buy in the Void Realm!” “There are countless things you can buy in the Void Realm!” Ed suddenly appeared behind Ye Feng. “If your permissions and domain value are sufficient, you can buy anything—even something like a Devouring Beast, a primordial king! If you wish, you can even buy the universe you once lived in and become its master.” “Ed, it’s been a long time!” Hearing this, Ye Feng scratched his head awkwardly.

“Once you’ve overcome the heavenly calamity and reached the immortal realm by breaking through to the Mahayana stage, I’ll leave!” Ed ignored Ye Feng’s greeting and spoke on his own, “With your current progress and what’s about to happen, I don’t have much time left. I don’t even know if there will be another chance to meet.”
“Ye Feng, remember—The Void Realm is omnipotent to you right now! If you want to control it, get stronger! Never be complacent until you fully master The Void Realm, as that means there’s still room for improvement. Even if you think no one in the universe can defeat you, as long as The Void Realm’s rules exist, you must keep getting stronger. Only when there are no more limits on the realm’s power or restrictions on its master can you truly become the master of The Void Realm!”
“One more thing—The Void Realm is not in its complete form yet; it can evolve to be even stronger. It’s searching for a host to help it complete its final evolution!”
Just as Ed was about to continue, loud roars suddenly arose in the sky of The Void Realm, and a voice identical to Ye Feng’s came from the sky, “Ed, you’ve overstepped your authority!”
“I know!” Ed looked up at the sky without fear. “Destroy me! I’ve had enough of this endless imprisonment!”
“Ed, don’t do anything stupid!” Seeing this, Ye Feng remembered the punishment Boy had suffered.
“Ye Feng, to be honest, even now, you’re still not my top choice. My top choice is Boy. Boy trusts you, so I’m willing to trust you too. I’m tired after all these years. I don’t know how much longer I have to wait to escape this nightmare. Perhaps death is the best option!” Ed clearly had thoughts of dying. “I don’t want to see you fail. I don’t want to be disappointed again…”
“Ed, believe me. I won’t fail. I’ll take control of The Void Realm and restore your freedom. I promise you!” Ye Feng took a deep breath. Though he wasn’t entirely confident, he still said those words.
“I’m using the ultimate pardon power to forgive Ed for leaking secrets!” Ye Feng shouted into the sky.

“Ye Feng, is it worth it? For such a useless guy?” The voice in the sky spoke again. “The time for you to unlock the Third Realm is approaching soon. Keeping him is pointless. You should know that one ultimate pardon can be exchanged for many other privileges!”
“I know why you can’t evolve,” Ye Feng said nonchalantly. “You simply don’t understand the difference between objects and humans, so you’ll always remain a cold, emotionless object. As for me, Ed has taught me a lot. He’s my friend, not a tool to be exploited. I need him to be alive. Even if I can never see him again in the future, as long as he’s alive, that’s enough.”
“Very well, I accept your request. But, Ed, to prevent further leaks, your mission is over from now on. The Second Realm no longer needs a guardian.” After hearing Ye Feng’s words, the voice in the void remained silent for a long time before continuing.
“Use the ultimate pardon once!” Suddenly, these words appeared in large letters in the void.
“What will you do to Ed?” Ye Feng was still worried.
“It’s fine. I’ll just be sent back to where Boy is now,” Ed managed to force a smile. “The pardon has freed me from punishment. Take care!”
At that moment, a black door opened in the void without any warning. Ed stepped through it, and then the void slowly closed. In the blink of an eye, only a pile of shelves and Ye Feng were left in the entire Second Realm…