Chapter 2435: Chapter 2435
Soon, Ye Liuyun and his doppelganger reached the far end of the graveyard, having collected every weapon in sight. The lingering spirits within the skeletal remains had all been absorbed, nourishing their spiritual power.
Just as Ye Liuyun thought it was time to leave, he suddenly noticed one of the withered bones twitch. He blinked, and the skeleton lay motionless again.
"Must be the bones giving way after all these years," he muttered dismissively, turning to leave with his doppelganger.
Then—*crack*—a faint sound reached his ears.
This time, his guard was up. His golden pupils gleamed as he unleashed his divine sense, scanning the skeletal remains with heightened vigilance.
And then he saw it—the bones *were* moving. Slow, sporadic twitches at first, their movements stiff and unnatural.
Then, stone coffins began to tremble. Tombstones shuddered as lid after lid was flung aside, skeletal figures lurching upright from within. Withered hands clawed through the earth, dragging emaciated frames from the dirt.
"Fall back—*now*!"
Ye Liuyun and his doppelganger bolted for the exit. The demonic wolf and their prisoners sprinted toward them, rushing to regroup.
But the bones moved faster now, their jerky motions gaining fluidity. Skeletons rose, one after another, their hollow sockets locking onto the fleeing figures.
By the time Ye Liuyun and his companions met in the center of the graveyard, they were surrounded—a sea of clattering bones closing in from all sides.
"An *army* of skeletons?"
Only then did it dawn on Ye Liuyun—he might have just unleashed something far worse than he bargained for.
The trial here was far deadlier than he’d imagined. And now, an entire legion of the undead stood between them and escape.
He and his doppelganger immediately drew their Demon-Slaying Blade and Heaven-Devourer, slashing at the skeletons closing in on them.
With two swift strokes—*whoosh, whoosh*—the two skeletons’ heads went flying.
But to his shock, the headless skeletons didn’t collapse. Instead, they continued lurching forward, their bony arms stiffly reaching for Ye Liuyun and his double. Without hesitation, they hacked away, reducing the skeletons to scattered bones before they finally stopped moving. Where the skeletons had fallen, a white crystal lay gleaming.
Just then, the eerie *clack-clack* of bones echoed around them as the skeletal army surged forward in attack.
Ye Liuyun and his doppelganger leaped onto their demon wolves, brandishing their blades as they ordered the captives to charge ahead on their own mounts.
At first, they made good progress. The skeletons moved sluggishly, barely able to fight back—though they were annoyingly resilient, requiring multiple strikes to shatter them completely and claim their crystals.
But soon, the skeletons grew more agile, dodging blows and even counterattacking. Their strikes became increasingly powerful, their strength now rivaling that of Ye Liuyun’s group.
Casualties began to mount on their side.
The first to fall was Xiao Mulin. At the start, he had tried to boss others around, relying on his former status—only to be swiftly humiliated.
The more arrogant he had been as a prince, the more mercilessly the others now trampled him. Once the one who treated others as cannon fodder, he was now forced into that very role. In every battle, he suffered the most damage, reaped the least rewards, and struggled to replenish his depleted energy.
This time, the group shoved him to the front lines. Predictably, he was the first to be knocked off his demon wolf, tumbling straight into the skeletal horde. The creatures tore him apart in seconds.
Ye Liuyun paid no mind to the infighting. Seeing the demon wolves bogged down, he had his doppelganger unleash their beast army to join the assault.
Now, the monstrous beasts clashed with the undead legion in a chaotic, brutal melee.
Ye Liuyun summoned ten metal puppets and ten martial experts, along with his own demonic beasts, Ye Tiandao, and the thirty soldiers of the Vanguard Regiment, deploying them all into battle.
He and his doppelganger focused on protecting Ye Tiandao and the Vanguard Regiment, ensuring their formation could unleash its full might. Meanwhile, under Ye Liuyun’s command, the Devil Beast army, led by the Demon Lion, carved a bloody path forward, charging into motion. Once the beasts surged into a stampede, the skeletal warriors stood no chance.
The Demon Lion guided the rampaging horde in a sweeping circle across the battlefield, trampling everything in its wake. Skeletons were sent flying, their bones scattering like broken twigs. The ten metal puppets, ten martial experts, and Ye Liuyun’s Vanguard Regiment formed a triangular defensive formation.
As for the prisoners, they blended into the beast horde under the Demon Wolf’s lead. Though two were struck down by skeletons before the stampede began, the rest survived by staying within the chaotic tide.
After several rounds of crushing momentum, the demonic beasts had all but annihilated the skeletal army. Ye Liuyun recalled the ten experts and metal puppets, while his doppelganger withdrew the beasts, leaving only scattered remnants for the others to finish off.
Just as Ye Liuyun, his doppelganger, the Vanguard Regiment, and the demonic beasts were mopping up the last of the skeletons, a group of martial cultivators suddenly appeared on the battlefield.
Drawn by the tremors of the earlier battle, they had come to investigate. Seeing the fight nearing its end and the ground littered with unclaimed spirit stones, they quickly gathered, scheming to swoop in and loot the spoils.
There was no way Ye Liuyun would let them steal the hard-earned resources his group hadn’t even had time to collect—especially not with Lei Ming and the other beasts around.
"Outrageous! How dare they try to rob us?" Lei Ming roared, charging forward in a storm of crackling lightning.
Without hesitation, Ye Liuyun unleashed the ten martial experts and the pack of Demon Wolves to cut down the intruders. Even the prisoners were sent into the fray, ensuring no one walked away with what wasn’t theirs.
The doppelganger also led the demonic beasts to attack the martial artists, leaving the remaining skeletons to Liu Yun and the Vanguard Corps.
And so, another fierce battle erupted.
Dozens of martial artists clashed with Liu Yun and his forces. These opponents were no pushovers—initially, the doppelganger and his group were at a disadvantage.
But as the stronger fighters among the enemy were gradually taken down or mind-controlled by the doppelganger’s soul attacks, the tide of battle swiftly turned. The more they fought, the fewer enemies remained.
"Stop! Can’t we just retreat?"
"Exactly! Is it really worth dying over such meager resources?"
The desperate cries of the enemy rang out.
By then, the prisoners Liu Yun had captured had already been slain, along with a few of the weaker demon wolves.
Fifteen or sixteen of their opponents had fallen. Seeing how relentlessly the doppelganger and his ferocious beasts fought, the remaining enemies scrambled to flee.
But the doppelganger showed no mercy, relentlessly launching soul attacks. Alongside Liao Yunyang and ten other elite fighters, he struck with brutal efficiency.
Lei Ming sneered, "Think you can run now? Too late! You dared to steal from us—none of you are leaving alive!"
"ROAR!" With a deafening roar, the White Tiger charged forward without another word, tearing into the enemy.
Regret gnawed at the survivors, but their numbers dwindled by the second. Trapped by the demon wolf pack and hunted by Liu Yun’s strongest warriors, escape was impossible.
As more and more of their comrades fell, some dropped to their knees in surrender—but the beasts and demonic creatures showed no mercy, slaughtering them without hesitation.
