Chapter 2823: Chapter 2823
Seeing that Ye Liuyun wasn’t hostile toward her, Chilian gradually relaxed and began chattering away enthusiastically.
"Just one drop of your vital essence blood is enough to master your innate divine ability? That Snake King must be quite extraordinary!" Ye Liuyun remarked, genuinely impressed by such an unheard-of phenomenon.
"Indeed, that’s one of its unique talents," Chilian confirmed with a nod.
Meanwhile, outside, a crowd of martial cultivators and local patrols had gathered—clearly seeking retribution against Chilian. Her earlier massacre upon entering the town had inevitably drawn the attention of powerful warriors.
Noticing Ye Liuyun scanning the surroundings with his divine sense, Chilian wrinkled her nose and sniffed the air. She, too, sensed the approaching crowd—though what she detected was the pungent scent of blood.
Suddenly, her expression twisted in alarm. "Oh no!" she shrieked. "The Snake King is coming—I can smell it!"
Ye Liuyun frowned. "If I take you into my spatial world, can it still track you?"
"No, but since I’ve been with you for so long, it might pick up my scent on you and come after you instead!"
"Don’t worry, I have a plan. Let’s get you out of here."
With that, Ye Liuyun swiftly stowed Chilian away into his spatial world before retreating into his doppelgänger’s realm. The doppelgänger then donned an invisibility cloak and slipped out unnoticed.
Once outside, the doppelgänger scanned the area with golden eyes but found no trace of the Snake King. Without hesitation, it sped toward the starry skies, eager to leave the planet behind.
Yet the moment it entered the void, the doppelgänger sensed a pursuer. A quick glance with its golden pupils revealed a black serpentine beast—a ninth-level Dominator, likely the Snake King Chilian had mentioned.
*Why is it chasing me?* the doppelgänger wondered. *Did I somehow pick up Chilian’s scent?*
Though puzzled, it didn’t flee. Instead, it halted, removed the invisibility cloak, and waited for the serpent to close in.
The Snake King, drawn by the scent of potent bloodline energy, hadn’t realized it was tracking a human cultivator. Now, seeing a mere fifth-level Dominator standing before it, the beast licked its lips in excitement and lunged forward with terrifying speed.
"Hahaha, kid, your life force is quite vigorous!" The black serpent demon laughed heartily. As it approached the doppelganger, it immediately activated its bloodline absorption ability.
Sensing the danger, the doppelganger wasted no time and unleashed the power of time, branding the serpent with a slave seal.
This black serpent’s absorption speed was several times faster than even Chilian’s. Had the doppelganger hesitated even for a moment, it would have been completely drained.
After probing the serpent king’s memories and learning of its vile past, the doppelganger decided it wasn’t worth keeping alive.
This creature was utterly despicable—bullying the weak while cowering before the strong, devoid of any honor. It cared nothing for human lives, and even other beasts, including its own kind, weren’t spared from its cruelty.
"Since you delivered yourself to my doorstep, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Hand over all that bloodline energy you’ve absorbed!" The doppelganger used the slave seal to control it, dragging it into the spatial realm and forcing it to transfer its life force to Ye Liuyun without a moment’s hesitation.
The serpent king was furious. The prey it had been about to devour had instead turned the tables. It couldn’t even comprehend how it had been subdued so effortlessly.
Under normal circumstances, it would have tried bargaining with resources or techniques, or even begged for mercy. But now, it couldn’t even think—its mind was singularly focused on obeying the doppelganger’s command.
The serpent king continuously channeled its bloodline energy into Ye Liuyun, who refined and absorbed it, strengthening his own bloodline.
Within a quarter of an hour, the serpent king’s cultivation plummeted to the eighth level of the Dominator Realm—proof of just how much energy it had surrendered in such a short time.
Only when Ye Liuyun felt his bloodline could no longer handle the influx did he order it to stop, replacing himself with the doppelganger.
After transferring more energy to the doppelganger, the serpent king’s cultivation dropped yet another level. But Ye Liuyun wasn’t done. He forced it to continue feeding its energy to Wu Qingcheng, Fyeng Wanru, Ye Tiandao, and others with weaker bloodlines.
By the time its cultivation had fallen to the first level of the Dominator Realm, its body had withered drastically. Only then did Ye Liuyun call a halt and summon Chilian.
"This... is the serpent king? How did it—?" Chilian was both shocked and bewildered at the sight of the emaciated creature.
"Indeed, it is. It tried to absorb my bloodline energy, tailed me with ill intent, so I decided to eliminate it. Whatever’s left of its energy is yours now—drain it dry," Ye Liuyun explained.
"Thank you, Master, for avenging me! Now I won’t have to live in fear of his pursuit anymore!" Chilian exclaimed joyfully, bowing gratefully to Ye Liuyun.
The Serpent King trembled at the sight of Chilian. To think the very serpent he’d been hunting down had now been subdued by Ye Liuyun as well.
All it could do was lament its wretched luck inwardly—of all people to cross paths with, it had to be a powerhouse like Ye Liuyun.
Now stronger than the Serpent King, Chilian swiftly drained the last remnants of its bloodline energy, reducing the once-mighty beast to a withered husk. Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun and his doppelgänger devoured the Serpent King’s soul essence, leaving nothing to waste.
Afterward, both Ye Liuyun and his doppelgänger took turns cultivating, consolidating their newly enhanced power of bloodline.
From then on, in every battle, Ye Liuyun would summon Chilian to assist, allowing her to absorb the bloodline energy of their foes before sharing half of her gains with him, his doppelgänger, and the rest of their group.
Bit by bit, Chilian’s strength grew steadily. Moreover, traveling with Ye Liuyun’s crew provided her with unparalleled safety. Among the many beasts under Ye Liuyun’s command, she faced no prejudice, and before long, she settled in comfortably.
The entire group’s power of bloodline surged rapidly, accelerating their cultivation progress as well.
Ye Liuyun’s own cultivation speed saw a noticeable boost, soon propelling him to the late stage of Dominator Realm’s fifth tier. He began stockpiling energy for his final breakthrough.
One day, his golden pupils detected a planet shrouded in ice and snow.
Drawing from his experience, he immediately sensed the presence of frost energy and wasted no time heading there. He also released Wu Qingcheng, Yuer, Leiming, Manshu, and Little Lanbing—all of whom wielded ice-attribute powers—to help locate the source of the frigid energy.
The entire planet was encased in ice, a clear sign of immense frost power.
As Ye Liuyun and his companions landed on a vast glacial plain, they barely had time to search before being encircled by silver-armored soldiers.
A young man at the forefront scrutinized them and demanded, "Evil Creature?"
"And you’re not?" Leiming shot back bluntly.
To them, this frozen wasteland was far too harsh for ordinary humans to inhabit, devoid of any visible resources. These soldiers had to be outsiders as well.
