The vast grasslands of North China and Inner Mongolia.
Ye Ling and Xu Changsheng stood in the void, calmly gazing at the massive base deep within the grasslands.
This was the North China branch of the Cloud Palace, second only to the West Sichuan branch in scale within China.
However, due to the vast, sparsely populated, and resource-rich nature of the grasslands, the Cloud Palace was able to develop its subordinate forces here without restraint. Its strength had expanded rapidly in recent years, subtly trending towards surpassing the West Sichuan branch and becoming the largest branch in China.
The Cloud Palace's infiltration of China and its various clandestine activities were primarily handled through this North China branch.
Ye Ling had learned from Wang Die that the faction responsible for targeting Li Xiaomei's family and monitoring Yang Qi and Li Xiaoxiao also originated from this North China branch of the Cloud Palace.
After leaving Wang Die, Ye Ling had handed Li Xiaomei's bracelet to Yang Qi, using him as bait to fend for himself.
With all arrangements made, Ye Ling and Xu Changsheng traversed a thousand miles to reach the North China branch.
It would take some time for the Cloud Palace to discover that Yang Qi possessed Li Xiaomei's device, and there was still one day until the solar eclipse appeared in Shanghai and the entrance to the ancient ruins opened.
During this free time, Ye Ling could take the opportunity to destroy the North China branch of the Cloud Palace.
The West Sichuan and North China branches were the two largest branches of the Cloud Palace in China. However, after Wang Die took control of the West Sichuan branch, the Cloud Palace gradually lost its grip on it. Unable to control Wang Die, they shifted their focus of development to the North China branch.
Once Ye Ling destroyed the Cloud Palace's North China branch, the Cloud Palace would have to rely on the West Sichuan branch, where Wang Die was located, to continue its operations in China.
This way, Ye Ling would not only help Li Xiaoxiao achieve revenge but also gain a more comprehensive understanding of the Cloud Palace's activities in China through Wang Die.
Killing two birds with one stone.
Xu Changsheng looked at the massive base below, sensing many powerful presences hidden within.
He looked at Ye Ling and asked hesitantly, "Senior... don't we need to disguise ourselves this time?"
Ye Ling shook his head, "No need. West Sichuan and Inner Mongolia are far apart, and the two branches don't have much connection. My actions here won't affect West Sichuan."
Xu Changsheng asked again, "Does Senior need my assistance?"
Ye Ling said, "You don't need to act, and don't reveal the Xuanyuan Sword. The people from Shu Mountain traveling such a long distance here might arouse suspicion."
"Just watch from the side."
"Chang Sheng understands." Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, Xu Changsheng bowed respectfully to Ye Ling and no longer offered his assistance.
In fact, Xu Changsheng had yet to witness Ye Ling truly display his strength.
This time, he was also very eager to see how Ye Ling, on his own, would manage to destroy a massive base!
The Cloud Palace was not a Chinese force to begin with, and this Chinese branch was like a tumor growing in China. Even if Ye Ling destroyed this Chinese branch of the Cloud Palace, in Xu Changsheng's view, it would be eliminating a major hidden danger for Yan Hua.
Currently, in China's circle of extraordinary individuals, the Dragon Department and the Azure Flame Army were struggling to deal with the Red Dust Pavilion, and many forces had taken the opportunity to rise, subtly showing signs of breaking away from the Dragon Department's control.
If these forces were not suppressed, China would eventually fall into great chaos.
If the North China branch of the Cloud Palace were destroyed, it would mean one less significant destabilizing factor for China. As an elder of Shu Mountain, Xu Changsheng was happy to see this happen.
Moreover, Ye Ling's consecutive destruction of two branches of the Red Dust Pavilion had already spread throughout the circle. Ye Ling was recognized as the only Red Dust Immortal in the past hundred years, a fact acknowledged by everyone in the circle, yet no one had ever seen Ye Ling actually take action.
Xu Changsheng was also quite curious about Ye Ling's true strength.
Xu Changsheng reminded Ye Ling, "Senior, the defenses of this Cloud Palace North China branch appear very strong. The defensive array covering the exterior seems to be an ancient array. We need to find its core to destroy it. If we attack rashly, we might provoke a strong backlash from the people inside the base."
"Please proceed with caution, Senior."
"There's no need to make things so complicated," Ye Ling said calmly to Xu Changsheng, then raised his right hand, fingers spread.
A ball of dark energy condensed in his hand.
The surrounding space began to distort, and the dark energy ball surged with a power that Xu Changsheng could not comprehend.
Boom!
The ping-pong ball-sized energy ball in Ye Ling's palm suddenly enlarged, hovering above Ye Ling like a black sun!
"What is that?"
The disciples within the Cloud Palace North China branch exclaimed in unison upon seeing the black energy ball suddenly appear in the sky. Many disciples ran out of the base, looking at the sky in fear, with a vague sense of foreboding in their hearts.
"Alert! Catastrophic energy reaction detected! The base will initiate full defense. All personnel please proceed to the evacuation zones!"
At this moment, the Cloud Palace North China branch base lit up with red lights, and a piercing alarm echoed throughout the vast base.
"What in the world is happening?"
A burly man, over two meters tall, emerged from a nutrient capsule. He casually grabbed a passing staff member and asked sternly, "You tell me, why is the base so noisy? I can't even sleep properly!"
The staff member, held in his grasp, showed infinite fear in his eyes and exclaimed, "Reporting to the Deputy Branch Master, there are, there are intruders!"
"A mere intruder has you all so scared?"
The burly man roared at the staff member, spitting in his face, then tossed the staff member he was holding away like garbage, smashing him into a pulp!
The others around, witnessing the burly man's brutal act, were also terrified and scurried away, running around the burly man.
Everyone in the base knew that their Deputy Branch Master was extremely brutal, killing people for the slightest displeasure. Others secretly referred to the Deputy Branch Master as the "Demon King"!
The burly man didn't look at the staff member he had killed. He raised his gaze to the base's ceiling, a scarlet glint flashing in his eyes!
"I'd like to see who has the guts to cause trouble in my territory!"
The burly man roared, bent his legs slightly, and then shot out like a cannonball, crashing through the ceiling and flying towards the outside of the base.
Meanwhile, above the Cloud Palace branch base in China, the energy ball hovering above Ye Ling grew larger and larger, and everyone in the base could feel immense pressure, struggling to breathe.
The atmosphere in the vast Cloud Palace branch became exceptionally oppressive.
A large number of fully armed Cloud Palace disciples flew out of the base, their weapons aimed at Ye Ling. However, upon seeing the "black energy bomb" above Ye Ling, they all froze, not daring to move.
"Senior..."
Xu Changsheng also stared dumbfounded at the massive energy ball above Ye Ling, his eyes almost popping out, unable to utter a word.
This energy ball was simply too terrifying!
"Who dares to be presumptuous here!!!"
The burly man charged out of the base, roaring sternly, his rough voice echoing all around!
The surrounding disciples, seeing the burly man emerge, also showed a flicker of joy in their eyes and quickly called out, "Deputy Branch Master! An intruder has appeared!"
In the eyes of the disciples, their branch's Deputy Branch Master, Wang Kun, was a seventh-rank extraordinary individual with formidable strength. With him out, he would surely resolve the intruder with ease!
Ye Ling looked at Wang Kun, who was charging out below, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.
Without a word, Ye Ling tossed the condensed energy ball towards the base below.
Wang Kun, who had just finished shouting and hadn't even had time to get a clear look at Ye Ling and Xu Changsheng, felt an unimaginable aura descending upon him from above.
He looked up and saw a massive energy ball hurtling towards him.
"What the hell is that?"
Wang Kun's anger and arrogance instantly turned into boundless fear. He was completely stunned by the approaching giant energy ball!
Almost instantly, Wang Kun lost his will to fight and, without hesitation, abandoned the base disciples and fled into the distance!
Such an attack was absolutely not something a human could resist!
Only a fool would stay here to die!
A god had descended upon this place!
But...
Before Wang Kun could escape the energy ball's attack range, he was directly vaporized by the impact of Ye Ling's immense energy!
And evaporated along with Wang Kun was...
The entire Cloud Palace China branch!