Chapter 2501: Chapter 2501
While Ye Liuyun was in seclusion cultivating, the Sacred Dynasty was teetering on the brink of collapse.
Xiao Mu’an had eliminated numerous Black Kill experts during his last encounter with Ye Liuyun, and Xiao Qiwu pinned all the blame on the royal family. What followed was a wave of retaliatory assassinations, weakening the dynasty’s control over its territories. In response, the Sacred Dynasty took drastic measures—Liu Kui was dispatched with a massive army to pressure several Black Kill-controlled commanders into surrendering their military authority.
Tensions between the two factions escalated rapidly, with many Black Kill-controlled regions openly rebelling against the dynasty. Opportunistic factions and bandits seized the chaos to pillage and plunder, making it even harder to track down the five foreign intruders.
Xiao Mu’an had already reported these developments to Ye Liuyun during his cultivation. Seeing that both Xiao Qiwu and Xiao Qitian Dynasty Dynasty Dynasty were prioritizing personal vendettas over the greater good, Ye Liuyun decided to back Xiao Mu’an as the future ruler of the Sacred Dynasty. He instructed him to proceed with his original plan—winning over more martial artists and commanders.
Ye Liuyun even dispatched his own martial experts to support Xiao Mu’an, seizing every opportunity to weaken Xiao Qiwu and Xiao Qitian Dynasty Dynasty Dynasty’s factions and redirect their forces to serve Xiao Mu’an’s cause.
Xiao Mu’an proved ruthless in his methods. He orchestrated the assassination of Xiao Muhong, framing the Black Kill for the deed, and falsely accused Xiao Mukun of treason, stripping him of his cultivation core and throwing him into prison. Xiao Mulin, recognizing the inevitable, surrendered to Xiao Mu’an outright. One by one, the remaining princes fell under Xiao Mu’an’s control.
Leveraging the chaos surrounding Ye Liuyun’s actions, Xiao Mu’an increasingly inserted himself into the dynasty’s affairs. Key figures like the Left Minister and Commander Liu Kui threw their support behind him, convinced that after Xiao Muhong’s death, he was the only viable heir to the throne.
Even Xiao Qiwu, under the illusion that Xiao Mu’an was still loyal to him, offered substantial backing—unaware that he had been deceived by the hidden strength of Xiao Mu’an’s guards during their last encounter.
Although Xiao Qitian Dynasty Dynasty Dynasty suspected Xiao Muan’s death was linked to Xiao Mu’an, Xiao Qiwu, in order to protect his inside man, took the initiative to claim responsibility on behalf of Black Kill, framing the incident as a declaration of war against the Holy Land Dynasty.
As a result, Xiao Qitian Dynasty Dynasty Dynasty gradually dismissed his suspicions toward Xiao Mu’an and began entrusting him with more responsibilities. Xiao Mu’an, already highly capable, found his tasks even easier with everyone’s cooperation, earning him increasing favor and trust from Xiao Qitian Dynasty Dynasty Dynasty.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun, having broken through to a new cultivation realm, emerged from seclusion and immediately set his sights on dismantling Black Kill. Using informants like Hu Zi and Lone Star embedded within the organization, he gathered intelligence on Black Kill’s assassination targets and set up counter-ambushes to eliminate their elite forces.
With their help, he even stormed several of Black Kill’s secret strongholds, destroying them and seizing vast resources. The sudden, devastating blows left Black Kill reeling, clueless about the mastermind behind the attacks.
Xiao Qiwu suspected Ye Liuyun but had no way to contact the elusive figure. He could only order Black Kill to relocate and hide their operations. Yet, the efforts proved futile—Ye Liuyun continued dismantling their bases one after another. Desperate, Xiao Qiwu finally resorted to purging suspected spies.
Thanks to a timely warning from Xiao Mu’an, Ye Liuyun managed to extract his informants beforehand. But once the purge ended, Ye Liuyun captured new Black Kill members, coercing them into revealing more stronghold locations before wiping them out—leaving Xiao Qiwu utterly exasperated.
Ye Liuyun also assisted Xiao Mu’an in eliminating numerous Black Kill-controlled military commanders, allowing Xiao Mu’an to install his own loyalists and seize greater control over the armies.
Cornered like a rat in a trap, Xiao Qiwu, following Xiao Mu’an’s suggestion, decided to gamble everything in an all-out assault against Xiao Qitian Dynasty Dynasty Dynasty. However, Xiao Qitian Dynasty Dynasty Dynasty had secretly stockpiled formidable forces within his spatial realm—many even unknown to Xiao Mu’an—and crushed Xiao Qiwu’s elite troops in a single battle.
The defeat was so devastating that Black Kill lost its place in the Death Pilgrimage entirely. Cities across the land began hunting down Black Kill operatives with relentless fervor, pushing the organization’s hidden strongholds to the brink of collapse.
Xiao Qiwu was ultimately left with no choice but to temporarily shut down the Black Kill organization, concealing all its secret bases to avoid complete annihilation.
By now, he had lost most of his military power and his network of spies within the empire. Nearly a third of the secret bases he had painstakingly established had been destroyed. Though he still retained some strength, he was no longer in any position to challenge the Sacred Dynasty.
Seizing the opportunity, Ye Liuyun dispatched his own elite forces and personally led the assault against Xiao Qitian Dynasty Dynasty Dynasty. After a fierce battle, Xiao Qitian Dynasty Dynasty Dynasty was left severely wounded, and it was Xiao Mu’an who ultimately delivered the fatal blow.
"Mother, I’ve finally avenged you!" Xiao Mu’an cried out, dropping to his knees and kowtowing toward the heavens in solemn tribute to his mother’s spirit.
Though Ye Liuyun had some reservations about Xiao Mu’an’s actions, he understood the depth of the vendetta between them and chose not to intervene. Instead, he quietly maneuvered Xiao Mu’an onto the throne.
Later, Xiao Mu’an lured Xiao Qiwu out of hiding, where he was ambushed and killed by Ye Liuyun’s forces. With that, Ye Liuyun took control of Black Kill, confiscating all its resources before disbanding the organization entirely.
All former Black Kill operatives were absorbed into the military under Liu Kui’s command, forming a specialized assassination squad tasked with intelligence gathering and eliminating high-value enemy targets.
Thus, the internal strife within the Sacred Dynasty gradually subsided.
To restore order, Xiao Mu’an then ordered Liu Kui to deploy the assassination squad across the land to suppress banditry, ensuring the empire’s stability.
Once peace was reestablished, Xiao Mu’an turned his attention to the alien races. He offered generous rewards for any leads on their whereabouts, and the assassination squad was dispersed to remote regions to gather intelligence.
Through the empire’s relentless efforts, three more alien hideouts were uncovered, and their inhabitants were captured alive. However, these groups operated independently, leaving no trace of the remaining two alien factions.
Among the ruins of these hideouts, Ye Liuyun discovered altars—each seemingly constructed from collected bones. This suggested that the last two alien groups were the ones who had stockpiled enough remains to build their altars outright.
Judging by the timeline, they should have completed the altar by now.
Yet there was still no trace of those two outsiders, and the uncertainty gnawed at him.
Ye Liuyun turned to Xiao Mu’an with a grim expression. "Notify Liu Kui—tell him to prepare for battle. If those outsiders strike first, they could catch us off guard. The forces they’ve gathered this time won’t be small."
At the same time, Xiao Mu’an fully opened the Path of Death, allowing all martial cultivators at the second level of Heavenly Realm to enter and hone their strength.
Of course, such a large-scale trial would inevitably lead to heavy casualties. But those who survived would be the elite—warriors strong enough to replenish the ranks of their fallen experts after the recent internal strife.
Blacksmiths, alchemists, and formation masters also regrouped, working tirelessly to forge weapons, refine pills, and prepare for the coming war.
