Chapter 2580: Chapter 2580
After giving her orders, Meng Qingyin set out with only ten soldiers in tow.
These soldiers were clad in striking blue armor, specially crafted to catch the eye. Mounted on dragon steeds—renowned for their endurance and speed over long distances—they cut an imposing figure.
Meng Qingyin herself was a vision of martial elegance, the blue armor accentuating her sharp, commanding presence. She was undeniably beautiful, a fact widely acknowledged.
Yet in the military, whether among soldiers, savage beasts, or even demon clansmen, no one dared provoke her—let alone defy her orders. Those who did would swiftly meet their end at her hands.
Just as they were leaving the camp, a demon elder from the alliance arrived on his own dragon steed.
"The alliance leader sent me to accompany you," the elder explained. "My eyes can see far, which will help track Ye Liuyun’s trail and guard against enemy ambushes."
The elder, named Lie Du, held considerable status both within the alliance and among the demon clans.
Truth be told, Cang Jingsong had sent him along because he worried Meng Qingyin’s pride might lead her to offend Ye Liuyun.
Without hesitation, Meng Qingyin allowed Lie Du to join them as they departed their alliance’s territory.
To avoid patrols from the alien races, they took a detour before making straight for the enemy’s stronghold.
The dragon steeds matched falcons in speed and stamina, and each rider had brought spares to switch mounts mid-journey, allowing the beasts to rest. The riders, however, pressed on without pause, traveling day and night.
Lie Du’s unique vision proved invaluable along the way, helping them evade numerous dangers and even scout alien outposts from a distance.
This was a tremendous advantage in locating Ye Liuyun. Otherwise, finding one man in the vast expanse of the cosmos would have been nearly impossible.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun continued his relentless assault on one alien outpost after another. He had wondered why the aliens hadn’t withdrawn the origin energy from these bases beforehand.
But whatever schemes they were plotting, his own strength was growing in earnest. He was content to wait for their next move, though he knew full well—the war with the alien races was far from over.
The fact that the alien race allowed him to act so recklessly could only mean they were brewing some major scheme.
So he merged with his clone, forming a team, and took turns leading everyone into the clone’s spatial world for training. He and his clone alternated between sparring and cultivation, ensuring neither aspect was neglected.
After a period of rigorous tempering, the quality of Ye Liuyun’s advance energy had improved significantly. He estimated that he had already surpassed Dian Qing by a considerable margin.
He had also asked the Demon Vine and the Demon-Sealing Stele whether devouring so many aliens had given them any sense of impending breakthroughs. But both replied that while they felt stronger, there was no sign of an imminent breakthrough.
Frustrated but undeterred, Ye Liuyun had no choice but to push himself even harder.
For a martial cultivator, this kind of training—where the end goal remained unclear—was nothing short of torment.
He had consulted the Book Demon as well, but all it told him was that the Dominator Realm was divided into three tiers. It advised him not to rush and to focus solely on growing stronger.
At the same time, it urged him to continue honing his spatial and temporal powers without slacking off. Even his control over cosmic energy, blade intent, physical strength, soul power, and bloodline abilities needed further refinement.
As for his mastery of lightning, the duality of flame and shadow, the forces of Buddha and Demon, and the power of frost—any available resources had to be utilized, and these abilities had to be continuously elevated.
In short, there was still a long way to go before reaching peak performance in any of these areas.
For a moment, Ye Liuyun felt a pang of frustration. After all his efforts, the Book Demon still didn’t consider him anywhere near his peak.
But he quickly shook it off. At the end of the day, all that mattered was improving his strength. He might as well keep his head down and keep training.
They had sorted through the resources they had previously gathered, along with those looted from the aliens. Anything that could enhance Ye Liuyun’s power, he used without hesitation.
During battles, he also made a habit of devouring the souls of his alien foes, ensuring his soul power remained a step ahead.
Ye Liuyun no longer bothered defending against those ordinary alien creatures, allowing them to attack freely to temper his physical resilience. Eventually, realizing that lower-level aliens barely affected his defenses, he had the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon and the Stone Ape White Tiger strike his body for further refinement.
His other abilities had also improved significantly. His blade intent, in particular, could now manifest over a hundred spirit blades simultaneously—a modest but formidable achievement.
As for spatial power, the Book Demon had once told him that true mastery meant being able to relocate an entire world. Of course, that "grand" goal was still far beyond his reach. Right now, he couldn’t even move a small island. But when it came to cultivation, discouragement was never an option—he simply kept experimenting with different methods to push his limits.
In terms of temporal power, he could now freeze time for thirty to forty breaths and rewind it by a dozen or so. Though still lagging behind the Purple Kylin Snake, the gap between them was steadily narrowing.
Meanwhile, Lei Ming and the others had been focusing on strengthening their soul power, physical resilience, and spatial abilities to shore up their weaknesses.
The Purple Kylin Snake also frequently joined battles, honing its temporal power while gathering more resources. The supplies Ye Liuyun had given it earlier had long been exhausted—it wasn’t exactly frugal—so it often ventured out to replenish its stock.
Ye Liuyun’s group and Meng Qingyin were currently moving toward each other, but the distance between them was so vast that a meeting wouldn’t happen anytime soon.
Meng Qingyin’s team had been traversing the boundless starry expanse for over three months before finally pausing to rest.
Gazing into the endless cosmos, she felt a pang of solitude. She had just checked in with her forces—the battles were fierce, with alien elites multiplying by the day. Though the allied armies held their ground, casualties were mounting.
Fortunately, no overwhelmingly powerful aliens had appeared yet. If they did, their defenses would be in serious jeopardy.
The Alliance World still had dozens of sovereign-level experts. Unless these powerhouses fought to the death, the aliens would struggle to stop them from retreating. So, their top-tier combatants remained intact, and with substantial troop numbers, a catastrophic collapse was unlikely.
"I just hope this Ye Liuyun is worth all the time we’ve spent searching for him," she thought to herself.
After resting for a short while, Meng Qingyin immediately urged the group to continue their journey.
None of them knew how much farther they had to go—they had never traveled this far before. So they pressed on, searching for any trace of Ye Liuyun while also scouting the strength of the various alien outposts along the way.
With every step, the weight of their mission pressed heavier on their hearts.
Each alien stronghold they encountered housed at least tens of thousands of soldiers. Though their individual strength was nothing remarkable, their sheer numbers were overwhelming!
At first, they had even considered thinning the enemy ranks and seizing some resources. After all, both Meng Qingyin and Lie Du were powerful Sovereign-level cultivators—dealing with mere altar guards should have been effortless.
