Chapter 2496: Chapter 2496
A sudden realization dawned upon Ye Liuyun. He had always been uncertain about which side Xiao Mu’an truly belonged to, but now everything became crystal clear.
"No wonder he could gather intel from every faction!" the doppelgänger remarked with awe.
At that moment, Xiao Mu’an noticed one of the martial cultivators being controlled and immediately ordered the others to retreat.
"They’re getting away!" the doppelgänger warned Ye Liuyun.
"After them—every one we catch counts!" Without hesitation, Ye Liuyun and his doppelgänger gave chase, apprehending another formidable fighter.
"One’s still here!" They soon spotted a lone figure who hadn’t fled.
As they drew closer, they realized this one was a member of the Black Killers.
The Black Killer’s vigilance far surpassed that of the royal faction’s warriors. Even with Ye Liuyun and his doppelgänger’s mastery of spatial concealment, the assassin sensed their approach, his sharp gaze snapping toward their hidden position.
"Now!" Ye Liuyun and his doppelgänger struck simultaneously.
Though the Black Killer was prepared, he was no match for their soul attack.
Yet within his consciousness burned a protective flame—a clear sign he had trained in specialized soul defense techniques to counter such assaults.
Unfortunately for him, Ye Liuyun and his doppelgänger wielded flames of their own—spectral hellfire. The assassin’s defenses crumbled before them, and soon, he too bore the mark of enslavement.
Once subdued, they swiftly stashed him away in their spatial realm. Ye Liuyun then had both the Black Killer and the royal warrior change into soldier uniforms to avoid confusion during battle.
The same went for the seventy-plus martial cultivators he had captured earlier—all were dressed as common soldiers.
With so many prisoners under his control, even Ye Liuyun struggled to keep track. The last thing he needed was friendly fire in the heat of combat.
Not only could he not remember himself, but others also needed to communicate via divine sense to confirm whether someone was an ally. This was extremely perilous in high-stakes battles—even a moment’s hesitation could spell death.
After organizing his men, Ye Liuyun instructed the Demon Vine to lie in wait underground, handing it a Interspatial Ring to collect the divine crystals when the time came.
Meanwhile, he and his avatar reflected on their experience, realizing that attacking someone’s sea of consciousness alone was too risky. These experts were no pushovers—they could easily set traps within their minds.
On the other end, after losing two martial cultivators, Xiao Mu’an noticed that Ye Liuyun hadn’t confronted him about it and began suspecting that the Black Killers might be responsible.
He decided to test the waters by reaching out to Ye Liuyun: *"We’re almost at the meeting time—no changes on your end, right? I’m about to retrieve the crystals for you!"*
Suppressing a smirk, Ye Liuyun replied coolly, *"Of course not. But when you arrive, you’d better display those divine crystals. If I don’t see them, I won’t show myself."*
Xiao Mu’an cursed inwardly but quickly countered, *"That’s a massive haul! If I display them openly, how many guards do you think I’d need?"*
*"Bring as many as you want. I won’t trust you unless I see those crystals,"* Ye Liuyun retorted deliberately.
He knew Xiao Mu’an’s earlier ambush had been foiled, so the man was likely switching tactics—bringing his forces openly this time. But Ye Liuyun didn’t care whether they were hidden or in plain sight. His goal was to capture as many as possible for his own use.
*"Fine!"* Xiao Mu’an feigned reluctance before agreeing.
He then recalled his martial cultivators, disguising them as regular guards to accompany him openly in apprehending Ye Liuyun.
Not that he didn’t suspect Ye Liuyun. But as long as Ye Liuyun showed up, the Black Killers would strike—and Xiao Mu’an was far more interested in crushing them than dealing with Ye Liuyun.
So even if those two missing men had been taken by Ye Liuyun, it hardly mattered to him.
Thirty elite martial cultivators and a hundred thousand troops—he refused to believe they couldn’t overpower the Black Kill assassins.
A day before the agreed time, Mosha sent another message to Ye Liuyun: the rest of the Black Kill members had set out as well. Not nine, but nineteen.
That night, the assassins arrived at the ambush zone, concealing themselves with eerie precision. Some burrowed underground; others melded into the trees. Without his golden pupils, even Ye Liuyun would have struggled to spot them. A few were so adept at stealth that he couldn’t pinpoint their exact locations. Worse, they remained hyper-vigilant, forcing him to keep his distance.
After a painstaking night of cautious maneuvering, he and his doppelgänger managed to capture only six.
"These killers are too slippery," Ye Liuyun muttered, exhausted. "We’ll have to wait for the rest to show themselves."
With sixteen elite fighters now on their side, it was a decent force. Both he and his doppelgänger donned double-layered soft armor and made thorough preparations.
At the appointed hour the next day, a small airship streaked into the encirclement. Xiao Mu’an emerged with thirty-eight disguised elite guards, their cultivation levels concealed. He arranged piles of divine crystals in plain sight, ordering his men to guard them closely.
Meanwhile, Liu Kui arrived overhead with two hundred thousand troops, advancing through the starry void. But the moment he spotted the squadron of Skyhawks, he halted his forces and urgently contacted Xiao Mu’an.
"Just a patrol of Skyhawks—nothing to worry about," Xiao Mu’an reassured him. "They won’t attack unless provoked. Trust me, once I capture him, his soldiers won’t matter."
Xiao Mu’an was confident. If he could seize Ye Liuyun quickly, the man’s troops would be powerless.
"Fine," Liu Kui agreed, though he still kept his fleet at a cautious distance, careful not to provoke the aerial predators.
Ye Liuyun had also received the news and immediately instructed the Falcon team to maintain their distance.
Beard and Lone Star quickly updated him: "All teleportation arrays in the nearby cities have been shut down, and the garrisons have taken defensive positions on the walls."
"Got it," Ye Liuyun replied.
With that, he summoned the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, shedding his invisibility cloak as he mounted the beast. His clone, meanwhile, was clutched in the dragon’s talons as they sped toward Xiao Mu’an.
The moment Ye Liuyun and the demon dragon appeared, Xiao Mu’an visibly relaxed.
But the assassins from Black Kill wasted no time—several lunged at Ye Liuyun without hesitation.
"Stop them!" Xiao Mu’an barked, immediately directing his own men to intercept the attackers, clearing a path for Ye Liuyun to reach the divine crystals.
With a quick glance at Xiao Mu’an, Ye Liuyun couldn’t help but admire inwardly: *So he’s a soul cultivator—and a powerful one at that.*
Xiao Mu’an’s spiritual energy far surpassed even the elders of Black Kill, proof of his relentless training and well-concealed strength.
Dismounting the demon dragon, Ye Liuyun directed it to land atop the pile of crystals before tossing out the colossal alien warship nearby for Xiao Mu’an’s inspection.
The massive vessel instantly blocked off swathes of assassins, making it nearly impossible for them to get close.
"Time to verify the goods," Ye Liuyun announced, already stashing divine crystals into his spatial world.
Xiao Mu’an, however, didn’t bother inspecting the ship—he began refining it on the spot, absorbing it directly.
