Chapter 2429: Chapter 2429
Ye Liuyun immediately reactivated his Golden Pupils and the Divine Decree Token, revealing a dilapidated stone city littered with skeletal remains.
"So this entire town was just an illusion!"
He exhaled in relief. At least with the Divine Decree Token’s protection, this place posed no real threat to him—it was the perfect spot for a temporary respite.
After scouring the city, Ye Liuyun gathered numerous storage rings brimming with valuable resources. Just as he contemplated leaving, the ground suddenly teemed with swarms of tiny beetles. The insects converged on him with alarming speed, their numbers multiplying by the second.
Upon closer inspection, he recognized them as carrion beetles.
"These skeletons must be their handiwork," he muttered. "Probably devoured after those warriors fell victim to the illusions."
Without hesitation, Ye Liuyun unleashed his flame energy, incinerating the encroaching beetles. Yet more kept coming, their relentless advance turning the earth black.
"Seems I’ve overstayed my welcome."
Resigned, he channeled flames to carve a path through the swarm, preparing to exit the ruins. But then—an eerie wind howled through the streets as spectral warriors materialized, launching frenzied assaults against him. Apparently, these vengeful spirits refused to acknowledge the Lord of the Underworld.
Cloaking himself in radiant Buddhist light, Ye Liuyun simultaneously invoked incantations against the wraiths. Golden luminescence erupted within each specter, dissolving their shadowy forms from within.
The purifying power of Buddhist light proved their bane. Though formidable, the spirits stood no chance against him. With each vanquished foe, a golden crystalline core materialized—its energy, Ye Liuyun discovered, could be converted directly into Buddhist light force.
This was a resource Ye Liuyun rarely encountered. Without hesitation, he stopped in his tracks and summoned his doppelgänger to help gather the bounty.
Curious, Ye Liuyun even allowed some of the spectral wraiths to invade his consciousness. To his surprise, the Myriad God Token dissolved them effortlessly, converting their essence into nourishment for his soul power.
But then, something else caught his attention.
The swarms of beetles, reduced to ashes by his flames, left behind piles of residue.
"Every danger here seems to come with a reward," he mused. "Could these ashes be valuable too?"
After a moment’s thought, he collected a sample and handed it to Qiong Qi and Tongxin for analysis.
Before long, the two returned, barely containing their excitement. "This stuff is tougher than black gold—perfect for forging!"
Further refining the ashes, they produced a material that was not only incredibly durable but also remarkably flexible.
The only downside was the quantity. Even if Ye Liuyun burned beetles for days, he’d barely gather enough for a single suit of armor.
Ye Liuyun chuckled. "No matter. It’s just a bonus—might as well take it!"
With that, he decided to stay put. While collecting golden crystals to strengthen his soul, he continued incinerating beetles for the rare forging material.
To replenish his expended energy, he relied on the white crystals he’d acquired earlier.
But soon, the spectral wraiths and beetles grew more numerous—and stronger.
Without hesitation, Ye Liuyun summoned the Vermilion Bird to assist. The divine beast could absorb both the wraiths’ energy and the flames’ power.
"This place is incredible!"
The Vermilion Bird had just emerged, marveling at how perfectly suited this place was for its cultivation. But after a few days, it gradually began to feel the mounting pressure.
Though its spiritual power had grown significantly as a result, there was a limit to how much it could absorb. Moreover, the constant release of flames was draining its vital energy, pushing it to the brink of exhaustion.
"Alright, that’s enough," Ye Liuyun muttered to himself, satisfied. Pushing any further might invite even greater dangers.
Thanks to the increasing number and size of the beetles they encountered later, he had already gathered enough materials from their ashes to craft over a dozen sets of armor.
With that, he and the Vermilion Bird began making their way out of the city.
Normally, the Vermilion Bird would have been defenseless against the illusions here, but Ye Liuyun instructed both it and his doppelganger to close their eyes and follow his lead. Thanks to his guidance, neither of them fell prey to the deceptive magic.
Just as they were about to exit the city, a yaksha specter launched a surprise attack on Ye Liuyun.
This spectral fiend was even stronger than him in terms of spiritual power. Even his Buddhist radiance failed to vanquish it instantly. The yaksha managed to invade Ye Liuyun’s sea of consciousness—only to be obliterated by the Divine Decree, which then converted it into nourishment for his own spiritual energy.
The yaksha’s spiritual essence was so potent that Ye Liuyun split the energy equally with his doppelganger. Both of them emerged from the ordeal with significantly enhanced spiritual strength.
Now, he could confidently unleash spiritual attacks against Second-Level Heavenly Realm experts without hesitation.
The Vermilion Bird, too, had grown much stronger after this battle, now capable of holding its own against some Second-Level Heavenly Realm opponents.
Once Ye Liuyun and his companions broke free from the stone city, neither the specters nor the beetles pursued them any further.
Ahead, beyond the city walls, sparse shrubs began to appear. It seemed he was finally about to leave this desert behind.
Without delay, both the doppelganger and the Vermilion Bird retreated into the Void Stone to recuperate and continue their cultivation.
Ye Liuyun and his doppelganger took turns entering the Mystic Void Stone to absorb the golden crystals, enhancing their Buddha Light energy.
No sooner had Ye Liuyun stepped into the thicket than he was ambushed by a lizard. Soon after, rodents and venomous snakes took their turns attacking. He knew another wave of assaults was about to begin, so he summoned his trained companions to assist—both to lighten his burden and to give them a chance to grow stronger.
At Liang Xue’s request, he also released her this time, allowing her to test her limits. But merely surviving here was already a struggle for her, let alone contributing to combat. Her cultivation and strength still hadn’t reached the second level of the Heavenly Realm, forcing Ye Liuyun to constantly shield her.
Reluctantly, Liang Xue volunteered to return to Ye Liuyun’s spatial world, not wanting to be a liability.
However, Ye Tian Dao and over thirty elite warriors from the Blade Corps held their ground. Though individually weaker, their seamless teamwork allowed them to compensate—three of them could match one enemy. Some were only slightly behind in strength, at least not requiring Ye Liuyun’s constant protection.
So, when the danger wasn’t too severe, Ye Liuyun let them stay and temper themselves in battle.
As for Lei Ming and the others, after their previous fight, they now handled these lesser threats with much greater ease. Ye Liuyun decided to give them more opportunities in the future, allowing them to grow stronger and become reliable reinforcements when needed.
After a while, as the difficulty escalated, Ye Liuyun ordered everyone to retreat and rest.
Lei Ming’s group could still step in at critical moments, but Ye Tian Dao and his warriors would be in real danger if they pushed further.
Ye Liuyun himself alternated with his doppelganger—one engaging in combat while the other cultivated—steadily honing their strength in an unending cycle.
