Chapter 2472: Chapter 2472
"We won’t withdraw until we’ve made them bleed! They will bow their heads in submission!"
Ye Liuyun had made up his mind.
After waiting so long without any hope of cooperation, he realized only strength could settle this. He ordered Yu Xiaofeng to behead the hundreds of thousands of surrendered soldiers from the Sacred Dynasty. The corpses were left for demonic beasts to devour, while the severed heads were delivered by war hawks to the Sacred Dynasty’s military assembly grounds.
Ye Liuyun’s macabre long-distance delivery achieved its intended effect.
The three million troops gathered by the Sacred Dynasty had already been driven to distraction by the relentless hawk attacks. When tens of thousands of heads suddenly rained from the sky, every soldier stood frozen in shock.
These garrison troops from Satellite Island were battle-hardened veterans who had fought against foreign tribes. That Ye Liuyun could capture so many of their elite forces demonstrated his army’s terrifying might.
But what truly chilled them to the bone was Ye Liuyun’s ruthlessness—slaughtering surrendered prisoners on such a massive scale. Fear spread like wildfire through their ranks.
Soon, desertions began among the assembled forces. Commanders had to personally patrol with execution squads, putting fleeing soldiers to the sword, just to maintain shaky discipline.
With this single move, Ye Liuyun had successfully destabilized the Sacred Dynasty’s military morale.
The royal court was equally stunned.
They had been debating whether to deploy troops, with most agreeing the losses would be catastrophic. The deluge of severed heads ended all discussion—no one wanted to face Ye Liuyun’s wrath now.
An emergency decision was made to sue for peace. But when they tried contacting Ye Liuyun, all channels had gone silent.
Panic gripped the entire royal household. A few more psychological blows like this, and their entire army would disintegrate.
Yet Ye Liuyun did not press further, knowing when to stop.
He had no interest in dealing with the royal family. After recalling his hawks and withdrawing all his troops, he headed straight for the demon realm—mining resources and delivering food supplies to the demons and half-beasts under his command. The corpses of tens of thousands of soldiers would serve as ample provisions, sustaining his reserve forces stationed there for quite some time.
The Sacred Dynasty spent several days in panic before finally mustering the courage to send scouts to investigate. To their shock, they found that Ye Liuyun’s entire army had vanished without a trace. Not a single soul remained on the satellite islands.
Ye Liuyun and his forces had disappeared once again!
But this battle had not only shaken the royal family—it sent tremors throughout the entire Sacred Land. Even Xiao Qiwu of the Black Killers couldn’t help but marvel at Ye Liuyun’s ruthlessness.
"That kid actually went through with it! Slaughtering tens of thousands of troops just like that! It also proves one thing—he’s definitely not short on soldiers!"
Xiao Qiwu wasn’t just impressed by Ye Liuyun’s brutality; he also deduced that Ye Liuyun’s forces likely rivaled those of the Sacred Dynasty in numbers. Seizing the opportunity, he spread word through various channels, pinning the blame for provoking Ye Liuyun squarely on the royal family’s refusal to cooperate. He used the chaos to further undermine the monarchy.
With the royal army weakened, Xiao Qiwu took advantage to expand his influence, swaying more commanders and officials to his side. His power to oppose the throne grew even stronger.
For a time, Ye Liuyun became a figure of legend. Some hailed him as a mighty warrior—one who could even slay a Sword-master—commanding an army powerful enough to safeguard the Sacred Land. They argued that the royal family should seek an alliance with him.
Others condemned him as a bloodthirsty demon, accusing him of leading a monstrous horde with unspeakable cruelty. They insisted he must be eradicated before he brought ruin to all.
Yet no one truly knew Ye Liuyun’s real face.
Not even You Ming, Kuang Sha, or those closest to him could be certain whether the visage he showed them was his true form.
Now, Ye Liuyun had vanished completely once more, beyond the reach of both the Black Killers and the Sacred Dynasty. Even if they wanted to strike against him, they had no way to find him.
Having witnessed Ye Liuyun’s terrifying power, their greed for the forces under his command only grew stronger. The Sacred Dynasty began scouring the lands for any wandering martial cultivators, while the Black Killers turned their attention to You Ming.
They believed that You Ming might be the only one who could still reach Ye Liuyun. Thus, if they wanted to deal with him, she was the key.
When You Ming learned of the massive upheaval Ye Liuyun had caused, she was stunned. She hadn’t expected him to strike so ruthlessly.
Deep down, she understood—unless the Sacred Dynasty was truly humbled, they would never back down.
But she was still one of them. Torn between loyalty and her feelings, she struggled with how to face Ye Liuyun.
Xiao Qiwu sought her out, his voice laced with urgency. "Ye Liuyun’s brutality knows no bounds—he slaughtered millions of our people. A demon like him must be eradicated. And to ensure no future retaliation, we must seize his weapons and armies before eliminating him. With that power in our hands, overthrowing the royal family and reclaiming our rightful glory would be effortless. You’re one of us—don’t let personal sentiment cloud your judgment!"
He painted Ye Liuyun as a monster, all while justifying his own ambition to seize the man’s forces.
Xiao Qiwu had noticed that You Ming seemed reluctant to act against Ye Liuyun before—perhaps even harboring some affection for him.
So after speaking with her, he gathered members of their faction to repeatedly pressure her, trying to reshape her perception of Ye Liuyun.
But the truth was, You Ming couldn’t contact Ye Liuyun either. Her messaging talismans failed to reach him, and the equal contract they had once signed had dissolved automatically when their assassination team disbanded.
She even revealed to Xiao Qiwu that Kuang Sha, Tian Yan, and Yi Dao had also formed equal contracts with Ye Liuyun.
The result? Kuang Sha, Tian Yan, and Yi Dao were secretly captured, subjected to soul-searching, and then quietly executed by Xiao Qiwu—erased without a trace.
Youming never intended to harm them—she merely wanted Xiao Qiwu to test whether they could contact Ye Liuyun. Yet unexpectedly, her actions had sent them down a path of no return.
These events remained unknown to Youming, but Mosha, hidden within the headquarters, had uncovered the truth. Without delay, he relayed the information directly to Ye Liuyun. Their communication wasn’t hindered by distance, as they were bound by a master-servant contract rather than relying on mere message talismans.
"Youming got Kuangsha and the others killed?" Ye Liuyun found the news hard to believe.
"She only provided the lead—Xiao Qiwu was the one who took action. And chances are, Youming still doesn’t even know," Mosha replied.
Ye Liuyun sighed. "What a waste." He instructed Mosha to continue monitoring but didn’t blame Youming too harshly. After all, she was inexperienced and easily deceived. Still, he couldn’t help mourning the loss of Kuangsha and his companions.
From now on, he’d have to be more cautious around her.
As for Heisha, Ye Liuyun felt his efforts had been in vain. After all the trouble of infiltrating the headquarters, he’d gained nothing—only drawn Heisha’s attention.
"Seems I’ll have to change tactics for forming an alliance," he mused. "Let them fight the otherworldly invaders first. When they’re on the brink of collapse, that’s when I’ll step in."
With that decision made, he resolved to focus on his cultivation in the demon realm for the time being.
