At the same time, Ye Bufan also felt that his body had reached a critical point. The previous battles with the cultivators from Sakura Island had consumed too much energy, causing him to be somewhat overwhelmed by the attacks after the Living Yama appeared.
Fortunately, there was still the energy of the Dragon Emperor Token within him. This had always been Ye Bufan's trump card, and as his cultivation advanced, his control over the Dragon Emperor Token's energy became more skillful than before.
Facing the relentless pressure from the Living Yama, Ye Bufan decisively mobilized the energy of the Dragon Emperor Token. However, his body was instantly drained by the token, leaving him only able to hold on with a sliver of strength.
"You've lost, Dragon Emperor Token!" Ye Bufan said, looking at the Living Yama.
The Living Yama, seeing Ye Bufan's wry smile, declared, "I'm not convinced! I'm not convinced! Heaven is unfair. Why did the Dragon Emperor Token recognize you as its master? I'm not convinced!"
"Whoosh—"
At that moment, the Black and White Double Fiends and the Ox-Horseheaded Tōra appeared, blocking Ye Bufan's path.
"Boss, hurry and leave!" Bai Wushuang called out to the Living Yama.
Hei Wuyan looked at Ye Bufan and said, "Although our cultivation is not as good as yours, we can still hold you off for a while to help Boss."
"I don't intend to kill him," Ye Bufan replied. "The barrier is about to disappear; you must have felt it. When the time comes, the entire Jiuzhou will need to unite against foreign enemies. Killing a Core Formation expert at this moment will only weaken our forces in Jiuzhou by one."
Hei Wuyan and Bai Wushuang exchanged glances with the Ox-Horseheaded Tōra. None of them could confirm whether Ye Bufan's words were true or false.
Ye Bufan continued to address the Living Yama behind him, "Are you going to hide behind your four subordinates forever? A loss is a loss. Hand over the Dragon Emperor Token."
The Living Yama struggled to pick himself up, spitting out another mouthful of blood.
Both Ye Bufan and the Living Yama looked pale. They exchanged glances, and the Living Yama continued, "I can give you the Dragon Emperor Token. However, I have one condition."
"What condition?" Ye Bufan asked.
"The spiritual energy these past few days, you must have noticed, the barrier for Blue Star has become virtually nonexistent. The barrier will disappear within these few days," the Living Yama said. "I hope that when the entire Blue Star falls into chaos, if I die fighting, you will protect my four brothers."
"Boss!" The Black and White Double Fiends and the Ox-Horseheaded Tōra turned to look at the Living Yama.
"How can you be so sure that I have the ability to protect all four of them?" Ye Bufan inquired.
The Living Yama snorted coldly and replied, "Everyone else doesn't believe you obtained the inheritance of the Supreme Unity Sect, but I have always believed that you were the one who ultimately received it."
"Why have you always believed that I obtained it?" Ye Bufan was very curious. The Living Yama seemed to be fixated on this point, stubbornly believing that Ye Bufan had obtained the Supreme Unity Sect's inheritance.
"A feeling!" the Living Yama said. "Among all those who entered the Supreme Unity Sect that day, only you underwent the greatest change."
Ye Bufan smiled helplessly and said, "Alright! I promise you. However, I also hope that when Jiuzhou faces difficulties, you will step forward."
"On this matter, rest assured. Although we are from the Demonic Cult, we are all people of Jiuzhou. If Jiuzhou is in trouble, I will definitely lead the people of the Demonic Cult to defend Jiuzhou with our lives."
With that, the Living Yama opened his right hand, and the Dragon Emperor Token appeared in his palm.
Ye Bufan used his absorption palm to draw the Dragon Emperor Token towards him. The next second, he vanished from his original position and entered the space of the Supreme Unity Sect.
Upon entering the Supreme Unity Sect's space, Ye Bufan couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. He quickly took out spirit stones to cultivate and replenish his energy.
Just now, the Black and White Double Fiends and the Ox-Horseheaded Tōra could have attacked Ye Bufan. At that time, Ye Bufan had almost no power to fight back. However, their concern for the Living Yama's life had blinded them to other possibilities.
Ye Bufan entered a state of cultivation. The three Dragon Emperor Tokens combined, and their energy began to flow into Ye Bufan's body.
In the northwestern mountain forest.
Beneath a tall mountain, a woodcutter was chopping firewood. Suddenly, the axe in his hand began to vibrate, emitting a wave of energy that startled all the animals in the forest.
The woodcutter looked in the direction of the mountains and said with emotion, "I didn't expect that at the moment the barrier disappears, someone would manage to gather all three Dragon Emperor Tokens."
"Dad," a young woman appeared behind him at that moment. If Ye Bufan were present, he would have recognized her as the girl who had helped the waiter Xiao Hu at the hotel.
"Mingyue, why are you here?" the woodcutter said upon seeing the girl. "You just returned; you should rest a while longer."
"I had just lay down when I felt an energy fluctuation, so I came to see," the girl replied.
The woodcutter smiled slightly and said, "That fluctuation came from the Dragon Emperor Token. Someone has already gathered all three."
"Oh?" The girl was also a little surprised to hear this.
"Let's prepare ourselves. We should be expecting distinguished guests soon," the woodcutter said. He then asked Mingyue to return and rest, and he continued chopping firewood.
Far away in the Supreme Unity Sect's space, Ye Bufan was frantically absorbing the spiritual energy from the spirit stones. The external spiritual energy had already reached a saturation point. The Taiyi Ring began to draw in more external spiritual energy, causing the spiritual energy within the Supreme Unity Sect to remain several times denser than the outside.
When Ye Bufan opened his eyes again, three days had passed. He emerged from the Taiyi Ring, and the forest had returned to its peaceful state. Ye Bufan happened to encounter disciples of the Heavenly Star Sect clearing the bodies of the Sakura Island cultivators.
These disciples were searching the bodies of the Sakura Island cultivators for anything valuable. After stripping them, they would set the corpses ablaze.
"Who goes there?" The Heavenly Star Sect disciples spotted Ye Bufan and instantly surrounded him.
"It's Mr. Ye." Someone in the crowd recognized Ye Bufan and saluted him with clasped fists.
"Where is your Elder Liu Zhe?" Ye Bufan asked.
"Elder Liu Zhe is deep in the forest," one of the disciples replied.
"Alright. If you see him, tell him that I've returned to the city first." Ye Bufan vanished from his original position, leaving the disciples stunned.
Ye Bufan returned to the city and reported his safety to Chu Mengyao. He then made a call to Ye Qingyi.
"Little Brother Ye, I thought you had perished in the northwest," Ye Qingyi said, immediately teasing Ye Bufan upon receiving his call.
"The Dragon Emperor Token only has one piece left. How could I perish?" Ye Bufan replied.