Chapter 2473: Chapter 2473
Ye Liuyun realized that since the Sacred Dynasty lacked the vision to unite against the alien races, his continued efforts would only deplete their strength without yielding any real benefit in the war. It made more sense to let them fend for themselves while he focused on recuperating and strengthening his own power.
Apart from instructing Mo Tianheng and his network to gather intelligence, Ye Liuyun severed all contact with the Sacred Dynasty, leaving them to speculate about his whereabouts. This period of respite, coupled with ample supplies of crafting materials, allowed master artisans like Tong Xin to dedicate themselves fully to forging equipment for the army. Meanwhile, the soldiers seized the opportunity to train and improve their combat skills.
Within Ye Liuyun’s spatial world, life had settled into a peaceful rhythm. For its inhabitants, daily existence remained undisturbed—in fact, they felt even safer, free from the looming threat of alien invasions. As the absolute ruler of this realm, Ye Liuyun ensured that law and order improved significantly. Many military garrisons were disbanded, with former soldiers either transitioning into civilian martial practitioners or joining the anti-alien forces.
All cultivators above the seventh level of the Immortal Realm automatically became members of the Ten Thousand Gods Alliance. Should war break out with the alien races, every individual would be mobilized as reserve forces to defend their hard-won peace. While competition for resources among martial practitioners—driven by the pursuit of strength—could not be entirely eradicated, instances of the strong oppressing the weak without cause had become rare.
With sufficient foundational energy and a thriving population, Ye Liuyun’s spatial world had begun to sustain its own ecological cycle. He scattered unused resources across the realm, encouraging martial practitioners to explore and discover them, effectively supplementing their cultivation needs. However, certain critical areas remained off-limits, such as the residential zones for his inner circle, medicinal herb plantations, resource stockpiles, foundational energy reserves, and alchemy and forging facilities.
Beast clans, demonic tribes, magical creatures, and demi-humans each had their designated territories, where they could thrive undisturbed. Only the occasional adventurous martial practitioner ventured into these regions, ensuring minimal human intrusion. Meanwhile, formations masters, alchemists, and craftsmen took on numerous apprentices, nurturing the next generation of talent to bolster the spatial world’s future strength.
Ye Liuyun also established several martial arts academies, allowing more people to receive guidance from mentors and accelerate their cultivation progress.
The women by Ye Liuyun’s side—Liang Xue and Feng Hongxiu—had already reached the tenth level of the Immortal Realm, while Lei Ming and the Dragon Maiden were beginning their breakthrough into the second level of the Celestial Realm. The others were all at the ninth level of the Immortal Realm, striving to reach the tenth.
They frequently trained in the labyrinth to strengthen their soul power and spatial abilities, seizing every moment to enhance their strength.
Ye Liuyun knew that his own power had only recently advanced, and further breakthroughs wouldn’t happen overnight. Moreover, the awe-inspiring sight of the Sword Sovereign commanding countless blades had left a deep impression on him. It made him realize just how far he still was from true mastery.
Thus, he set out with Qin Peng, Tie Jun, and a force of two hundred thousand soldiers aboard warships, departing from the Demon Realm to explore the vast cosmos. This journey would not only allow him to discover more resources but also temper Qin Peng, Tie Jun, and the others, forging them into capable commanders.
As they traversed the stars, whenever Ye Liuyun encountered small islands of value, he would integrate them into his spatial world as secret realms for martial artists to explore. Larger, resource-rich islands became training grounds—once conquered, they too were absorbed into his spatial domain.
Gradually, he discovered that the islands surrounding the Demon Realm were astonishingly abundant in resources. Within nearly a year, he had claimed two more major islands. One was uninhabited, teeming with demonic beasts, while the other housed both humans and demons locked in constant conflict. After several battles, Ye Liuyun subdued them, then relocated the demons to their own designated region within his spatial world, separating them from the humans to prevent further large-scale clashes.
During this time, Ye Liuyun also encountered numerous cosmic behemoths in the void. Half of them he could defeat alone, while others required the aid of his doppelgangers.
Just a small portion required the assistance of Falcon and other martial experts.
Ye Liuyun even managed to imprint slave seals on two extraordinary cosmic beasts. One was the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, a creature not only formidable in combat but also exceptionally powerful in soul force and spatial manipulation.
For over ten days, Ye Liuyun, along with Ling Hai and other martial experts, pursued the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon with a fleet of two hundred Falcon warships. The battle cost the lives of more than a dozen elite warriors and over thirty Falcon ships before they finally provoked it into launching a soul attack. Seizing the moment, Ye Liuyun used the Divine Command Token to subdue it and successfully imprinted the slave seal.
The other cosmic beast was even more peculiar—a Metal Devourer. Shaped like a colossal lion, its appearance was far gentler than that of a typical ferocious beast. It didn’t prey on living creatures or kill; instead, it specialized in consuming metals from islands and planets. Operating with remarkable stealth, it would silently absorb the metallic essence of a celestial body once it drew near. Any metal it consumed would eventually crumble into dust.
When Ye Liuyun first encountered it, one of his warships nearly disintegrated under its absorption. Fortunately, he reacted swiftly, stowing the entire vessel into his spatial realm before it could drain the metal from the soldiers’ armor and weapons. By the time he retrieved it, however, the ship was practically ruined, its defenses so weakened that even a seventh-level Immortal Realm martial artist could shatter it with a single strike.
Against this monster, neither Falcon ships nor conventional weapons stood a chance. Its body was like solid metal, impervious to all attacks. Ye Liuyun tried everything—freezing it with ice, scorching it with flames—but the beast remained unfazed. It simply ignored human assaults, continuing to absorb metal from a massive island even while under attack. Its soul force was also extraordinarily potent, though it never initiated soul-based offensives.
In the end, Ye Liuyun had to join forces with his doppelgänger, Qiong Qi, and the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon to overwhelm it with a coordinated soul attack, finally imprinting the slave seal and subduing it.
To keep the Metal Devourer, Ye Liuyun specially prepared a large island rich in metal resources as its lair. He dared not let it roam freely, fearing it might inadvertently drain all nearby metal.
Over the course of more than a year, Ye Liuyun reaped tremendous rewards. His mastery of cosmic energy had significantly improved, his cultivation foundation solidified, and he had amassed no small amount of resources.
Meanwhile, Tong Xin and the others had not only fully equipped the army but also crafted ten thousand sets of enhanced exo-armor. They had initially planned to produce more, but Ye Liuyun believed that over-reliance on such armor would stifle the soldiers’ motivation to grow stronger.
With these ten thousand suits, martial artists at the ninth level of the Immortal Realm could elevate their combat power to that of a third-level Celestial Being. A force of ten thousand at that tier was more than sufficient to handle most threats. If the need arose, they could always forge additional armor from their stockpiled materials—there was no rush.
