Chapter 2475: Chapter 2475
After clearing up the misunderstanding with Youming, Ye Liuyun discreetly dispatched a team of scouts to assess the strength of the foreign invaders.
At the same time, he sent members of the Black Killers—such as Lone Star and Beard—to various regions of the Sacred Dynasty, tasking them with gathering intelligence on resources and hidden realms. Time was of the essence, and Ye Liuyun wasted none of it.
His methods were bold, sometimes even deploying troops outright to seize resources swiftly before withdrawing, leaving no trace for the Sacred Dynasty to follow.
Most of these resources were hidden within secret realms, which the Sacred Dynasty had largely overlooked. What they truly coveted were Ye Liuyun’s treasures and equipment.
Upon receiving reports of his movements, the Sacred Dynasty devised an elaborate trap tailored for him.
Soon, rumors spread like wildfire across the land—a new hidden realm had emerged. Warriors who ventured inside returned with bountiful resources, and they all spoke of the realm’s breathtaking beauty, describing it as a paradise untouched by time.
When word reached Ye Liuyun, he naturally seized the opportunity without hesitation and made his way there.
But something struck him as odd. Unlike previous hidden realms, which were tightly controlled by major factions, this one had no guards, allowing warriors to come and go freely.
Instead of rushing in, Ye Liuyun lingered at the periphery, observing.
After a while, he noticed something amiss.
Many of the warriors entering in small groups didn’t behave like ordinary cultivators. Their disciplined demeanor, their lack of casual chatter—it all suggested military training, a stark contrast to the free-spirited nature of typical martial artists.
Around the entrance, other warriors loitered, seemingly idle—some sitting, others standing. Yet, whenever someone entered the realm, their eyes would flicker with scrutiny.
"So, it’s a trap," Ye Liuyun realized.
Ye Liuyun immediately sensed something amiss upon seeing this.
However, these few soldiers were clearly no match for him. This made Ye Liuyun wonder—why set up such a trap in the first place?
"This trap is way too simple. I could wipe out these soldiers effortlessly."
Unable to figure out the motive, Ye Liuyun decided against charging in recklessly. Instead, he donned his invisibility cloak and observed the secret realm from a distance.
That very night, he noticed a group of martial artists filing out of the secret realm, their heads hung low in dejection.
Ye Liuyun quietly trailed them all the way to a nearby military camp outside the city.
The moment they arrived, soldiers promptly escorted them inside, issued them uniforms, and pressed them into service.
"Is this how the Sacred Dynasty recruits troops?"
Suspicious, Ye Liuyun infiltrated the camp, seized a soldier, and probed his mind for answers.
But the soldier only knew that these were martial artists who had entered the secret realm. After being forcibly bound by master-servant contracts, they were sent here to serve as soldiers.
As for why this was done, the soldier had no clue.
So Ye Liuyun captured one of the newly arrived martial artists and directly searched his memories to uncover how they had been captured.
What he discovered sent a chill down his spine.
These martial artists had been controlled the moment they stepped into the secret realm, completely at the mercy of their captors. Refusing to sign the soul contract meant instant execution.
To them, it was as if they had entered someone else’s pocket dimension—trapped with no way out.
Ye Liuyun immediately realized that Satellite Island was Liao Yunyang’s spatial domain. He had absolute control over everything on that island.
The only reason it had become an ungoverned territory was that Liao Yunyang had accepted the royal family’s bribes and relinquished his authority over it.
If Liao Yunyang could pull this off, then surely other martial cultivators from the Sacred Dynasty could do the same.
The purpose of this secret realm was now crystal clear. The moment anyone entered, they would fall under someone else’s control. Even if he himself wasn’t lured in, the Sacred Dynasty could still capture plenty of martial cultivators to bolster their army.
"What a vicious scheme! Killing two birds with one stone!"
After slaying the martial cultivator, Ye Liuyun quickly distanced himself from the military camp and turned to Ye Ling.
"If I accidentally enter someone else’s spatial domain, is there any way to counter it?"
Ye Ling didn’t hesitate. "That’s far too dangerous! Once inside another’s domain, you’re completely at their mercy. You wouldn’t even be able to move—how could you possibly fight back?"
"What if you connect with the world’s origin energy and let me absorb it into my own spatial domain?" Ye Liuyun pressed.
"Technically, yes—but there wouldn’t be enough time. The moment you try to link with the origin energy, the domain’s owner would sense it immediately and stop you." Ye Ling shook her head. "It’s not a viable plan."
She added, "Unless your spatial domain is far more powerful than theirs, they wouldn’t be able to control you. But the energy drain would be enormous. Unless it’s a life-or-death situation, I wouldn’t recommend trying it."
Ye Liuyun considered another idea—absorbing the origin energy and then escaping with the Black Tower’s teleportation.
But Ye Ling still thought it was too risky. After all, no one would attempt something like that unless they were truly desperate. In the end, Ye Liuyun abandoned the thought of gambling his way in.
A single source of origin energy wasn’t worth such a tremendous risk.
"That was close. One careless move, and I would’ve walked right into their trap!" A chill ran down his spine at the thought.
However, the Sacred Dynasty had resorted to such ruthless tactics against him—if Ye Liuyun didn’t retaliate, he’d feel downright indignant.
But with no way to enter the secret realm or access the primordial energy, even Ye Ling was powerless.
Then, in a flash of inspiration, Ye Liuyun thought of the Metal Devourer.
That creature had nearly drained an entire secret realm of its metallic essence by now. Perfect timing to unleash it and give the Sacred Dynasty a taste of their own medicine.
The colossal Metal Devourer could extend just one claw into the realm’s entrance—safe from the spatial master’s control inside and immune to attacks from the outside.
Cloaked in invisibility, Ye Liuyun watched from a distance. If the assault grew too fierce, he could simply teleport the beast away in an instant.
With a decisive motion, he released the Metal Devourer and directed it toward the secret realm.
The disguised soldiers guarding the entrance recoiled in shock at the monstrous sight.
Most had no idea what this creature was. Weapons drawn, they hastily formed ranks and launched their assault.
The Metal Devourer paid them no mind, utterly unfazed.
Yet their armor and blades soon crumbled to dust. Even their storage rings were devoured, their contents spilling across the ground—every scrap of metal swiftly absorbed by the ravenous beast.
Slowly, lazily, the Metal Devourer lumbered to the realm’s entrance. It thrust one massive claw inside and began siphoning the metallic energy within. Then it sprawled flat on the ground, motionless, utterly indifferent to the soldiers’ futile attacks.
