Chapter 2574: Chapter 2574
Not only the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, but the Stone Ape and the three Xuanwu beasts also wanted to give it a try.
The Stone Ape’s eyes possessed a petrifying ability, making them quite unique. Ye Liuyun agreed, figuring it could endure the agony of refining the alien’s tri-eyes.
The Xuanwu beasts also had extraordinary vision, capable of seeing targets clearly even in pitch darkness. However, Ye Liuyun wasn’t sure if their special trait could withstand the damage inflicted during the refinement process.
To play it safe, he didn’t let all three attempt it at once. Instead, he had them choose one among themselves to test first. If it failed, the other two could still preserve their strength.
After some deliberation, they selected Xenocide to go first. If he succeeded, the others would follow.
Ye Liuyun immediately hunted down three more aliens, executed them, and distributed a pair of tri-eyes—capable of emitting black and white beams—to the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, the Stone Ape, and Xenocide.
The three then retreated into the clone’s spatial realm to refine the alien eyes.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun sought out Dian Qing to discuss their next move.
"We’re spent. We need time to recover," Dian Qing said bluntly the moment they met.
He had received orders from both the dynasty and the academy to hold off for now. Aside from heavy casualties, their flying scouts—the Swift Swallows—were also in short supply. A breather would allow them to forge more equipment and train stronger warriors.
Ye Liuyun understood their predicament. Pushing forward now would only weaken them to the level of the Sacred Land Dynasty.
"Then rest up. I’ll keep advancing and clear out the alien strongholds in the western warzone," Ye Liuyun said.
He had no intention of sitting idle. Besides, each stronghold represented a massive trove of energy resources.
The recent battle had yielded an enormous haul of origin energy, enough to sustain their cultivation for a long time. For Ye Liuyun, fighting while cultivating was as good as resting.
Dian Qing naturally had no objections. Having someone else take on the aliens was a blessing, especially since Ye Liuyun didn’t demand any resources from them. He agreed without hesitation.
Thus, Ye Liuyun had his doppelganger continue the journey while he retreated into the spatial world within the clone to cultivate. He first secured the nearby outposts of the alien races to ensure the area’s safety, instructing Dian Qing to establish this place as their base.
All the while, Ye Liuyun kept a close watch on the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, the Stone Ape, and Xenocide as they refined the third eyes harvested from the alien beings.
The process appeared to proceed smoothly, with none of the demonic beasts showing signs of excessive agony.
The Stone Ape was the first to complete the refinement. Yet, to Ye Liuyun’s surprise, there were no visible changes—it seemed as though the effort had been wasted. Neither white nor black light could be emitted from its eyes.
Fortunately, its original vision remained unaffected, so there was no real loss. After testing its abilities and confirming no decline in combat prowess, Ye Liuyun had no choice but to let the matter rest.
Next, Xenocide finished the refinement. It claimed to have successfully assimilated both the white and black light abilities. However, during testing, attempting to emit white light resulted in one of its eyes being scorched to ruin.
Acting swiftly, Ye Liuyun administered Life Spring Water both externally and internally, barely managing to salvage the damaged eye. From then on, Xenocide dared not use the white light again.
Testing the black light, however, proved successful—it could be unleashed without harming the eye.
Seizing the opportunity, Ye Liuyun captured two alien beings capable of emitting black light. After helping Xenocide devour their souls, he gifted their eyes to Phantom Hand and the Vespera, instructing them to refine only the black light ability. Even if it merely enhanced their soul-striking prowess, it would still significantly boost their combat strength.
The Nine-Headed Demon Dragon took the longest to complete the refinement. Ye Liuyun, not wanting to disturb the process, could only wait patiently.
Over ten days later, the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon finally emerged from its refinement.
The moment it opened its eyes, both white and black light erupted simultaneously—proof of a full success. Remarkably, its eyes withstood the dual forces without any damage.
The only peculiarity was that one eye had turned entirely white while the other was pitch black, rendering them useless for vision but perfect for attacks.
Thankfully, with nine heads at its disposal, losing sight in one pair of eyes was inconsequential. It could simply dedicate those eyes to offensive purposes.
Without delay, Ye Liuyun captured four more aliens—two with white light abilities and two with black—assisted the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon in consuming their souls, and then tasked it with further enhancing the power of its third eyes.
The three-eyed aliens captured by Ye Liuyun were all utilized as resources to train his own forces. Their third eyes were refined by demonic beasts, their energy cores converted into pure power, their spiritual souls devoured to replenish the beasts’ own soul energy, and their remaining flesh was tossed to the Demon-Sealing Stele and demonic vines—not a single part went to waste.
After some time, the white and black beams from the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon had grown stronger than those of ordinary three-eyed aliens. The black beams from the three Vespera demonic beasts also proved effective in assassination.
This refinement process had been remarkably successful—no one suffered significant losses, and most of the attempts ended in success.
However, there simply weren’t enough three-eyed aliens capable of emitting black beams left for the Black Tortoises and others. The remaining captives in Ye Liuyun’s possession could only unleash white beams.
In the end, Ye Liuyun kept only the sixteen strongest three-eyed aliens, placing them under Mu Lai’s command to form a covert strike team. Each was equipped with an invisibility cloak.
Meanwhile, Hong Guang led another team consisting of two golden-armored alien elders and sixteen Dominator-level warriors. They served as sparring partners in peacetime and engaged enemy elites in battle.
With their forces organized, Ye Liuyun and his group began targeting alien outposts, using them as training grounds for the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon and the three Black Tortoises while gathering resources.
They continued refining their control over the black and white beams until they no longer needed deliberate practice. Still, they made a habit of accumulating soul energy in future battles, stockpiling fuel for the black beams.
Aside from the demonic beasts who had recently absorbed the aliens’ third eyes, those like Feng Hongxiu—who hadn’t yet reached the Dominator realm—were also sent out to train, pushing them to break through quickly. Each focused on their weaknesses.
Those with weak soul power devoured alien spirits. Those lacking spatial prowess honed their skills by attacking aliens with spatial techniques. Every alien outpost became a proving ground for improvement.
Before long, Feng Hongxiu, the Stone Ape, the White Tiger, Lan Bing, and the three Black Tortoises all ascended to the Dominator realm. They no longer ventured out frequently, instead sparring with captive Dominator-level aliens within their pocket dimension.
Ye Liuyun then turned his attention to training Wu Qingcheng, Fyeng Wanru, Su Miaoyin, Man Shu, Helian Xiu, Xia Lingshuang, and Xia Tianqiong—helping them refine their combat skills, assimilate origin energy, and expand their pocket worlds.
The Vermilion Bird often emerged to feed on lingering spirits but rarely engaged in battle.
As for Ye Liuyun himself, he focused on refining the purity of his advance energy. Each time he ventured out, aside from protecting Wu Qingcheng and the others, his goal was to exhaust his advance energy completely before replenishing it—tempering its quality through relentless cycles of depletion and recovery.
