Chapter 2502: Chapter 2502
After handling affairs in the Sacred Dynasty, Ye Liuyun returned to the Demon Realm.
The armies he had previously dispatched had gradually returned, each laden with substantial spoils. The soldiers’ strength had significantly improved. Ye Liuyun gathered them all into his spatial world and stationed them on the Satellite Island, ensuring they could swiftly reinforce the Sacred Dynasty via the teleportation array whenever needed.
He also set up another teleportation array on the island, this one leading directly to the Death Pilgrimage—a perilous trial ground where capable soldiers could hone their skills.
Ye Tian Dao led the first batch of three thousand elite Blade Corps soldiers into the Death Pilgrimage for training. Later, Ye Liuyun selected over two thousand more to follow suit.
In contrast, soldiers from the Sacred Dynasty and their allied forces, well aware of the dangers lurking in the Death Pilgrimage, were far more hesitant, resulting in significantly fewer volunteers.
With these arrangements in place, Ye Liuyun mounted his Nine-Headed Netherdragon once more and began circling the Sacred Dynasty’s territory through the starry void, scanning the skies for traces of the alien altars.
This time, however, something unusual caught his attention over the ocean.
He spotted two rival packs of tiger sharks locked in a vicious battle, their frenzy staining the sea crimson. But as some of the slain sharks floated to the surface, Ye Liuyun’s golden pupils detected traces of sinister black energy emanating from their corpses.
Without hesitation, he descended and swiftly eradicated the corrupted tiger sharks. Their power was no match for him, making the task effortless.
The surviving pack, grateful for his intervention, was led by a Shark King who approached to express his thanks.
"Did you know these tiger sharks had been tainted?" Ye Liuyun asked the Shark King.
"We did. That’s why any of our kin bitten by them must be dealt with immediately," the Shark King replied gravely. Even as he spoke, several injured sharks behind him were swiftly executed by their own brethren.
"When did this start?" Ye Liuyun pressed.
"It’s been nearly six months now. Many of the ferocious beasts in the ocean have been corrupted," the tiger shark informed Ye Liuyun.
"Have you seen any of the alien invaders?" Ye Liuyun projected an image of the extraterrestrial beings into its mind, but the shark shook its massive head.
Ye Liuyun realized it made sense—these creatures were too low-level for the aliens to bother with directly. The invaders simply used the corrupted beasts to spread their contamination further.
After patrolling the area, Ye Liuyun discovered more tainted sea creatures. He immediately reported the situation to Xiao Mu’an, urging him to dispatch troops for cleanup operations.
The aliens were undoubtedly here, likely hiding beneath the waves or on some remote island.
With their limited intelligence, the savage marine beasts often resorted to biting during fights. Many wouldn’t initially notice minor wounds, meaning countless must have already been infected.
Ye Liuyun understood the daunting challenge—completely purging the vast numbers of corrupted sea creatures would be nearly impossible.
He advised forming alliances with unaffected beasts to jointly restore the ocean’s purity before departing to track the last alien.
Xiao Mu’an promptly relayed Ye Liuyun’s intelligence to Liu Kui, who mobilized forces to coordinate with uncontaminated marine life for a joint assault.
Thus began the great oceanic campaign.
Though dim-witted, the sea beasts recognized humanity’s assistance. The rapid spread of their corrupted kin had made their lives unbearable, so they cooperated fully, forming an unprecedented land-sea alliance with Liu Kui’s forces.
Liu Kui deployed the colossal battleship purchased from Ye Liuyun, commanding two million soldiers across the crimson-stained waters in a brutal, drawn-out conflict.
When Ye Liuyun returned from his reconnaissance, the allied forces were still battling hordes of corrupted beasts—without having glimpsed a single alien.
"The sea is teeming with corrupted beasts—there’s no end to killing them!" Liu Kui complained bitterly to Ye Liuyun.
"If the aliens are allowed to thrive, this is the inevitable outcome! Keep pushing forward while I scout for their stronghold. Fighting endlessly while they continue their corruption isn’t a solution!"
Ye Liuyun decided it was time to take action.
After circling the area without finding any leads on the other alien faction, he resolved to assist Liu Kui in eliminating the ones here first.
He ventured deep into the heart of the ocean, ensuring the Demon-Sealing Stele and the Demon Vine could maximize their growth. This was the perfect opportunity for them to gain strength—Ye Liuyun had his sights set on infiltrating the alien headquarters, and these two would be his key assets when the time came.
His companions fought with everything they had. Equipped with Energy-Conversion Stones, they could refine the beast cores they harvested into the vital energy they needed, all while remaining immune to the aliens’ corrupting influence.
Ye Liuyun also instructed Xiao Mu’an to order Liu Kui to collect all the corrupted beast cores under the pretense of preventing other sea beasts from consuming them. In reality, they would all end up in Ye Liuyun’s hands.
His entire force carried Energy-Conversion Stones, making every core they gathered invaluable.
Since they had ventured into the deep sea ahead of schedule, they frequently encountered powerful, deadly beasts, often forcing them into perilous situations.
When faced with overwhelming numbers, they had no choice but to retreat, sometimes fleeing into the void of the stars. Fortunately, the sea beasts rarely pursued them far—their strength waned the farther they strayed from the ocean.
Ye Liuyun’s group advanced cautiously, navigating based on the strength of the marine predators they encountered.
Then, one day, his golden pupils caught sight of a submerged island, blackened by alien corruption.
The island was littered with the skeletal remains of sea creatures, arranged in a formation that eerily resembled an altar.
"So that’s where they’ve been hiding—underwater. No wonder I couldn’t find them before!"
Ye Liuyun hadn’t paid much attention to the ocean before, let alone the hidden dark island beneath its surface.
While searching for traces of the devil creature, Ye Liuyun and his companions suddenly found themselves ambushed by dozens of colossal whales. These massive beasts, their inner cores corrupted, were all at the third level of the Heavenly Realm. Their enormous size made them even more formidable in the water.
Reacting swiftly, Ye Liuyun called Yu Xiaofeng to dispatch reinforcements via falcon while simultaneously releasing the forty-one elite martial artists from his spatial world to engage the whales in battle.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun summoned the Demon-Suppressing Stele and the Demon Vine—one to suppress the altar and the other to dismantle it. He and his doppelganger then focused on locating the elusive alien.
Scanning the surroundings with his golden pupils, Ye Liuyun found no trace of the creature.
"Logically, that thing shouldn’t be too far from the altar," he muttered, puzzled. "Even if it stepped away temporarily, with all this commotion from the battle, why hasn’t it returned yet?"
As he pondered the alien’s whereabouts, the Demon-Suppressing Stele and the Demon Vine had already torn down the altar. Inside, they found only a pile of inner cores serving as energy sources—clear evidence that the alien wasn’t exactly wealthy and had failed to gather enough power to activate the altar’s function.
