Chapter 2492: Chapter 2492
Wan Teng had steeled himself for the ultimate sacrifice—to draw the Holy Land Dynasty’s forces away, allowing the others to secure the remaining teleportation channels.
The situation was crystal clear to him. If the Holy Land Dynasty launched a full-scale assault, their defenses would crumble. But if they fell in battle, the enemy would grow complacent, creating an opening.
The Holy Land Dynasty had deployed numerous Swift Falcons and warships to patrol the starry expanse, yet the bulk of their forces were concentrated between the Satellite Isle and the Holy Land itself.
The ten alien warriors first retreated, then circled back in a wide arc toward the Holy Land, deftly evading the Dynasty’s patrols.
Though they had heeded Ye Liuyun’s warning about the Holy Land Dynasty, their focus remained on swiftly eliminating the alien invaders. They overlooked the possibility of some slipping away in advance—a fatal oversight that would haunt them later.
Now, they were scrambling to hasten the production of Swift Falcons, mobilize troops, dispatch formation masters to reinforce defenses, and transport vital resources.
Before leaving, Ye Liuyun made sure to return You Ming to the Holy Land.
He had asked for her opinion once more, but she insisted on staying. Unable to persuade her, he had no choice but to let her be.
Yet the moment he departed, she crushed the communication talisman he had left her and headed straight for the Satellite Isle, ready to fight the aliens to the death.
She had long made up her mind—since death seemed inevitable, she might as well hone her skills in the crucible of battle. Perhaps she could grow stronger quickly. Only by becoming powerful could she ever hope to control her own fate.
Unaware of her resolve, Ye Liuyun was relieved she hadn’t followed him. He already had enough women around him and didn’t want to complicate things further.
So he left with a clear conscience, arriving in the Demon Realm and immediately setting to work sorting through the spoils of war.
He had intended to share a good portion of the alien corpses with the Demon Vine, but it had already fallen into a deep slumber after gorging itself. Left with no alternative, Ye Liuyun let the Demon-Sealing Stele absorb the rest—an insatiable void that left nothing behind.
Still, the stele’s newfound power allowed it to hold its own against the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, so the energy wasn’t wasted.
As for the soldiers’ corpses, he left them for the demons and half-beasts—both as sustenance and cultivation resources.
Ye Liuyun handed over all the armor and weapons to the blacksmiths, instructing them to melt everything down and repurpose the materials.
As for the three energy orbs containing the power of origin seized from the alien race, he didn’t absorb them himself. Instead, he gave them to Ye Ling, asking her to integrate them into his spatial world to strengthen its foundational energy.
The martial cultivators within his spatial world had grown increasingly powerful, stretching its original source of energy thin. But with this new infusion of power, the spiritual energy inside immediately became abundant again.
Ye Liuyun also deployed his army, sending them out into the nearby starry expanse to train for another year. This not only conserved the energy within his spatial world but also sharpened their skills.
Learning from Liu Kui’s earlier mistake, he ordered the commanders to rotate soldiers in piloting the Hawks, ensuring they wouldn’t face a shortage of manpower when needed.
Meanwhile, Ye Tiandao stayed behind with her elite Blade Corps. She intended to use the labyrinth within Ye Liuyun’s spatial world to train all three thousand members into formidable warriors.
To assist them, Ye Liuyun assigned the five experts from the Black Killers, the fifty captives he had subdued, and the alien warrior Nolin to serve as their sparring partners.
Once everything was settled, Ye Liuyun finally turned his focus to cultivation.
The gap between the second and third levels of the Heavenly Realm was vast, but he knew persistence would eventually carry him there.
The memory of the Sword-master commanding ten thousand blades still burned vividly in his mind.
This time, he sought to merge the power of the heavens and earth with the Arcane Spirit Technique, hoping to recreate that spectacle—only with blades instead of swords.
While the Arcane Spirit Technique could manifest countless spirit blades, their power fell far short of his vision.
Easier said than done, however. Though the power of the heavens and earth shared some similarities with the Arcane Spirit Technique, fusing them proved incredibly difficult. Moreover, unleashing ten thousand blades at once demanded an exceptionally strong blade intent.
Ye Liuyun devoted most of his daily cultivation time to refining his advance energy—a persistent weakness he dared not neglect.
Meanwhile, Tong Xin, Qiong Qi, and the other blacksmiths dismantled the colossal alien warship, only to reassemble it anew.
This battleship offered them much to learn from—not just its internal structural design and the load-bearing capacity of each deck and hull, but also its remarkably efficient energy utilization. Even the defensive formations surrounding the ship held valuable insights worth studying.
However, Ye Liuyun and his companions didn’t yet need a vessel of such massive scale. No matter how efficiently it harnessed energy, the sheer size of the ship would inevitably compromise its speed.
Six months later, the battleship would become practically useless to them. Ye Liuyun figured they might as well sell it to the Sacred Dynasty in exchange for resources.
Besides, he was curious to see how the alien invaders had ultimately been eradicated. So he returned to the Sacred Dynasty and immediately reached out to Mo Tianheng and Mo Sha.
Mo Tianheng filled him in: "After you left, the Sacred Dynasty dispatched troops to Satellite Island again and, of course, achieved a sweeping victory. Unfortunately, the alien commander and a few elite warriors escaped beforehand on a Swiftwing. The Sacred Dynasty pursued them for months but never caught up."
"Escaped? They didn’t even bother setting up precautions beforehand?" Ye Liuyun’s face paled in alarm. "Those aliens could easily circle back and return!"
Mo Tianheng sighed helplessly. "Exactly. I suspect they’ll be back. Lately, Mo Shaowen and I have been scouting everywhere for any signs of their resurgence. But you know how it is—aliens would lie low at first, biding their time before revealing themselves."
"Useless fools!" Ye Liuyun couldn’t hide his disappointment in the Sacred Dynasty.
Given his understanding of the aliens, he was certain their elite forces would infiltrate the Sacred Dynasty sooner or later.
Next, he turned to Mo Sha for updates on the Black Killers.
"The Black Killers have begun moving against the Sacred Dynasty!" Mo Sha reported grimly. "They’ve even seized control of several high-ranking commanders. Their influence now far surpasses the Dynasty’s."
"Did the Black Killers make any effort to track down the aliens?" Ye Liuyun pressed.
"The aliens? Weren’t they already driven out?" Mo Sha replied, puzzled. "The Black Killers haven’t taken a single action against them."
"Oh," Ye Liuyun responded absentmindedly. It seemed Black Kill truly didn’t care about the alien threat.
"There’s something else..." Mosha hesitated, his words trailing off.
"Go ahead, it’s fine," Ye Liuyun urged directly.
"Youming is dead," Mosha revealed.
"What? Did Black Kill do it?" Ye Liuyun was visibly startled, never imagining Youming would still fall victim to Black Kill’s cruelty.
"No, it wasn’t Black Kill. She went to the alien battlefield. During the final battle against them, the aliens killed her. I saw her body—it was sent back to Black Kill headquarters..."
