Chapter 2649: Chapter 2649
Not only had Ye Liuyun enhanced his own spiritual power, but he had also shared the spiritual energy harvested from the captured two hundred Red Armor warriors with his allies, bolstering their spiritual strength as well.
Even those who had previously struggled with weak spiritual energy—be they humans or beasts—now found their powers significantly elevated. At the very least, Ye Liuyun no longer had to worry about them being vulnerable to the Red Armor invaders in future battles.
With their newfound strength, everyone began refining their spiritual energy, preparing for the next confrontation.
Meanwhile, the half a million troops and the third-level Dominator cultivators Ye Liuyun had summoned from the alliance arrived at the frontlines. Even Wu Feng and a group of martial artists had joined the march.
Ye Liuyun briefed them on the current state of the alien forces. Learning that the invaders had retreated across the board, Wu Feng and the others felt slightly relieved.
Yet they also understood that eliminating the aliens in one fell swoop would now be far more difficult for Ye Liuyun.
Moreover, with the aliens having reclaimed the source energy, Ye Liuyun’s forces now faced a dire shortage of resources.
"Don’t worry about us—we still have some reserves," Ye Liuyun reassured them. "You can use the teleportation arrays to visit the trading planets in the Silver Fox Star System. Exchange for cultivation resources there and focus on strengthening yourselves as quickly as possible."
He wasn’t overly concerned about the shortage. After all, they could always seize resources from the aliens themselves. Wu Feng and his comrades likely had no idea just how much wealth the invaders hoarded—after all, they had never once defeated them in battle.
Wu Feng knew fretting was pointless. The only solution was to grow stronger. So he led a group of martial artists to the trading planets first. The sheer variety of resources available there left them awestruck.
But with their own supplies running low, they lacked the means to purchase or barter for what they needed.
Returning to their homeworlds, they scoured every corner for anything of value that could be traded. Fortunately, with several planets under their control—each from different star systems—they had no trouble gathering a diverse array of goods.
Once they secured the necessary resources, they threw themselves into cultivation. Wu Feng left most of the martial artists behind on their homeworlds, taking only a select few to stand guard with Ye Liuyun at the newly advanced outpost.
Meanwhile, Torin, despite withdrawing his forces, was far from accepting defeat. He had no intention of letting Ye Liuyun’s side settle in peace.
In secret, he dispatched six second-level Dominator Red Armor warriors to infiltrate and sabotage Ye Liuyun’s new base.
Ye Liuyun had already handed over the local defense to the elite warriors and military commanders dispatched by the Alliance. Among the martial experts, the leader was Xiao Ran, while the army was commanded by Liu Kui—both old acquaintances whom Ye Liuyun trusted implicitly. Thus, he didn’t even bother to show himself, instead focusing on refining his divine soul within the spatial realm of his avatar.
Meanwhile, the six red-armored aliens sent by the hostile race had managed to evade multiple layers of patrols, relying on their formidable soul power. They began by infiltrating the minds of a few patrolling soldiers, then gradually expanded their control to higher-ranking officers.
Two of the aliens even infiltrated the military camp itself, making it easier for them to manipulate certain commanders. Even some of the martial experts under Wu Feng’s command had fallen under their influence.
The aliens operated with extreme caution, ensuring their actions remained undetected. They avoided direct soul attacks on powerful warriors, but over time, they had already seized control of numerous individuals.
These puppets spread rumors within the ranks, sowing distrust against Ye Liuyun. Even Wu Feng’s own martial experts began questioning his motives.
"They’re only helping us to plunder our resources. Look at how much they’ve already taken from our planet!" the alien-controlled warriors provocatively argued.
Some clear-minded martial experts countered, "Even if they didn’t take them, the aliens would just steal our resources instead. Should they fight for us without any compensation? How else could they sustain the war?"
The two sides clashed frequently, each sticking to their arguments. Wu Feng often mediated, but the alien-controlled warriors only pretended to comply while secretly continuing their subversive whispers.
Tensions escalated as some commanders grew resentful, leading to open confrontations. At one point, a few powerful warriors nearly attacked the locals, prompting a group of commanders to surround Wu Feng and his men with their troops.
Though Liu Kui and Xiao Ran intervened in time, the rift between the factions only deepened.
The discord wasn’t limited to the locals—divisions also emerged within the army itself. Conflicts between soldiers and commanders became increasingly frequent.
Liu Kui even executed a few commanders as a warning, but to his dismay, this only provoked stronger opposition from the ranks. Both he and Xiao Ran were at their wits’ end.
Xiao Ran, who had once been under Ye Liuyun’s control, turned to Liu Kui with suspicion. "Has the Alliance ever seen such hostility between factions before?"
Liu Kui shook his head firmly. "Never. We’re all human martial experts united against the aliens—there’s no reason for infighting."
Lately, he had begun questioning whether his leadership was at fault, yet it never occurred to him that some might already be under alien control.
"Is it possible that someone’s mind has been taken over by the alien race?" Xiao Xun blurted out the question.
The moment he mentioned it, Liu Kui immediately caught on.
"Now that you mention it, that seems highly likely!"
"Then let’s investigate discreetly first, see who’s been stirring up the most trouble," Xiao Xun suggested.
Liu Kui agreed. While conducting their investigation, they also notified Ye Liuyun. Many dynasties in the alliance had previously fallen victim to the aliens’ covert tactics, and it was ultimately Ye Liuyun who had eradicated their influence.
To prevent the situation from escalating beyond repair, Liu Kui thought it best to inform Ye Liuyun in advance.
Upon receiving the news, Ye Liuyun immediately halted his cultivation, donned his invisibility cloak, and began searching in secret. After just one sweep through the military camp, he apprehended two infiltrating aliens.
After extracting their memories through soul-searching, Ye Liuyun quickly uncovered the aliens’ counterattack plan. He promptly captured the remaining four red-armored aliens, then summoned Xiao Xun, Liu Kui, and Wu Feng together. Under his control, the aliens confessed their scheme once more.
This revelation made it clear to all three that some of their subordinates had indeed been compromised.
Ye Liuyun then compiled a unified list of the six alien-controlled martial cultivators, assigning each of them to apprehend their own compromised subordinates.
Once the three leaders had captured the suspects, Ye Liuyun erased the master-servant contracts embedded in their consciousness, freeing them from the aliens’ control.
As for those martial cultivators already corrupted by the aliens’ malevolent energy, they had no choice but to eliminate them outright to prevent future calamity.
Just like that, the aliens’ counterattack plan was effortlessly dismantled by Ye Liuyun.
Yet this incident served as a stark reminder—the aliens might still exploit their psychic advantages to strike again.
