Astral Merging

Ye Chen ran around in the dense forest with Little Tanuki following closely behind him while Dongmen Yingyang remained in hot pursuit. Ye Chen's Astral Body had sensed that Dongmen Yingyang was probably a top Heavenly Venerable Rank powerhouse although he had most likely attained this advancement quite recently since he could barely compare with Great Emperor Mingwu in terms of capabilities. Nonetheless, Ye Chen was still not strong enough to defeat him at this point. Even if Ye Chen released his Astral Body, he would only be at mid-Heavenly Venerable Rank. In terms of physical capabilities, both Ye Chen and Little Tanuki were only at Earthly Venerable Rank, so they were much weaker than a Heavenly Venerable One. 

While Dongmen Yingyang went after Ye Chen, the rest of the people held onto the ropes tightly to keep Little Wingsy in place.