Chapter 2606: Chapter 2606
Just as Ye Liuyun’s army was closing in on the alien outpost, the scout falcon suddenly returned with alarming news—the enemy stronghold ahead had vanished without a trace.
"It seems the aliens want to lure us straight into their lair for a final showdown."
Ye Liuyun and his commanders quickly deduced the enemy’s strategy. The aliens had abandoned their delaying tactics, unwilling to leave any resources behind for them.
"Then we press forward!"
Without hesitation, Ye Liuyun ordered the army to advance. His own million-strong forces were already deployed, splitting into multiple units to race toward the remaining alien outposts. Their goal was to seize as many sources of primal energy as possible before the enemy could reclaim them.
Meanwhile, his doppelgangers roamed freely, scouring scattered island worlds and absorbing them into his spatial realm to steadily amplify its power.
Ever since witnessing the formidable potential of spatial manipulation, Ye Liuyun had tasked his duplicates with mastering this force. Though not cultivated through his own efforts, this borrowed strength could prove decisive in critical moments. Even if unused in daily battles, it served as a reliable safeguard in emergencies.
Still, Ye Liuyun remained cautious. He avoided spreading his forces too thin during the assaults, wary of a preemptive strike by the aliens that could inflict heavy losses.
All captured alien soul energy was funneled into the three Vespera beasts and the nine-headed Nether Dragon, charging their dark radiance for the battles ahead.
Ye Liuyun divided his inner circle into two teams. Leading the first, he struck with overwhelming force, annihilating each alien altar in a single devastating blow before handing the site over to the second team for cleanup. Then, without pause, he rushed the first team to the next target.
By the time they neared the alien stronghold, they had seized over twenty outposts. The primal energy from these sites was swiftly refined by his allies and absorbed into their spatial realms.
His million-strong army, divided into ten columns, also managed to capture more than a dozen sources of primal energy before the aliens could withdraw—all with minimal resistance.
The corpses of fallen aliens were left for Hongguang, Mulai, and other allied outsiders to scavenge, further bolstering their strength.
Soon after, all the alien outposts vanished without a trace. Apart from his doppelgänger, the rest of the allied forces gradually regrouped and merged with the main fleet.
The alliance’s armada was an awe-inspiring sight—dominated by the colossal martial cultivator battleships, flanked by ten massive vessels each capable of carrying a hundred thousand troops. Thousands of agile Hawk-class patrol ships circled the perimeter, maintaining vigilant watch as the fleet advanced toward the alien stronghold in a formidable display of power.
Inside the flagship, every soldier was preparing for the impending battle. Even Ye Liuyun had fully charged his Energy Storage Stones and converted vast reserves of energy into his Conversion Stones. Simultaneously, he absorbed and refined primordial essence to bolster his strength.
Months later, when Ye Liuyun received word that the elite Blade Corps had assembled, his doppelgänger immediately teleported to their location using the Black Tower and brought them back.
Though the Blade Corps now numbered fewer than three thousand, over three hundred of them—including Ye Tiandao—had broken through to the Dominator Realm.
For Ye Liuyun, this was tremendous news. These three hundred elite warriors, along with the remaining two thousand high-tier combatants, would play a decisive role in the coming battle.
Moreover, they had amassed vast resources, ensuring their continued cultivation—and likely more breakthroughs to the Dominator Realm in the future.
Yet Ye Liuyun kept them in his doppelgänger’s spatial realm, allowing them to recuperate in secret. He intended to unleash this force at the critical moment, catching the aliens completely off guard.
He also gave Ye Tiandao special attention, supplying her with additional primordial essence from several worlds to refine into her own spatial realm, further enhancing her combat prowess.
To his delight, Ye Tiandao had focused on strengthening her soul power and spatial abilities during this time, achieving a more balanced skill set with no glaring weaknesses.
Her mastery of blade intent had nearly reached his own level, and her unique blade-shaped Golden Core finally revealed its true potential in combat.
Yet no matter how formidable she became or how much her leadership skills improved, Ye Tiandao never displayed the slightest hint of arrogance toward Ye Liuyun. She addressed him as "Master" with unwavering respect and executed his orders without hesitation.
Ye Liuyun also entrusted the Songstress and Lan’er to Ye Tiandao’s care, sending them to train with the Blade Corps. In battle, they would watch each other’s backs.
Once Ye Tiandao and the others were retrieved, the doppelgänger returned to Ye Liuyun’s side, accompanied by three Xuanwu beasts and a captured golden-armored alien elder tasked with guiding them. Then, they quietly slipped away from the fleet once more.
Their mission was to infiltrate the alien stronghold ahead of the main force—scouting the terrain, gathering intelligence, and securing the optimal landing site for the alliance’s invasion.
The colossal battleship moved at a slower pace, forcing the rest of the fleet to adjust their speed accordingly. To ensure ample time for reconnaissance, the doppelganger decided to forge ahead alone.
Cloaked in his invisibility mantle, the doppelganger raced toward the alien stronghold at full speed. Along the way, he spotted several alien reconnaissance squads—swift as swallows—and even two alien overlords radiating formidable auras. Yet he refrained from engaging, leaving them for Ye Liuyun to handle.
True to form, Ye Liuyun dispatched only the Nine-Headed Netherdrake and the Vermilion Bird, effortlessly annihilating the alien scouts.
Unhindered, the doppelganger arrived at the alien stronghold and finally beheld the true nature of this world.
It was a massive planet, twice the size of the Sacred Land, referred to by the aliens as the "Base." The world’s primordial energy still lingered, though it had originally been a demonic realm. After prolonged alien occupation, an additional layer of malevolent aura had seeped into its essence.
From a distance, the planet appeared pitch black. The doppelganger scrutinized it with his golden pupils, realizing they had vastly underestimated the alien numbers.
Over fifty million soldiers capable of resisting the alliance forces were stationed here. Among them, thirty million were already battle-ready, while the remaining twenty million were scattered across the planet.
This was no longer just a stronghold of gold-armored and silver-armored aliens. Evidently, the aliens had been consolidating their forces from other regions, reinforcing their defenses in advance.
Moreover, countless lower-tier aliens were dispersed throughout the world. No matter where Ye Liuyun’s forces landed, they would inevitably be detected, leaving them no choice but to launch a full-frontal assault.
The layout of the alien structures resembled tribal settlements, devoid of towering edifices. The tallest among them—a three-story stone building—was likely their command center. Guarded by silver-armored aliens, it housed only gold-armored elites.
The other notable structures were dozens of altars strategically positioned across the planet, enabling the aliens to teleport troops at will. To sever their ability to mobilize forces, these altars would need to be destroyed beforehand.
Focusing his attention on the alien command center, the doppelganger spotted Xing Yan and ten newly appointed gold-armored elders. However, the recently bred three-eyed gold-armored aliens were conspicuously absent. For now, he considered Xing Yan the strongest among them.
Though Xing Yan’s energy quality surpassed that of Zhou Ning, Dian Qing, and Hong Guang, he still posed no significant threat to Ye Liuyun.
