Chapter 2825: Chapter 2825
Ye Liuyun knew the empire wouldn’t let this slide easily, so he urged everyone to work faster. He even went so far as to threaten the planet’s primordial essence—submit to refinement or face total annihilation.
The planet’s essence had already been drained of its icy energy by Ye Liuyun and his companions, leaving it weakened and vulnerable. When he issued his ultimatum, it had no choice but to yield. However, instead of choosing Ye Liuyun, it gravitated toward Manshu, whose mastery over frost was the strongest and most alluring.
This suited Ye Liuyun just fine. He had never intended to claim the planet for himself—his lightning and flame abilities were formidable enough without adding another overpowering element. With Manshu refining this world, she would be better equipped to help others absorb similar ice-aligned primordial energies in the future.
Just before the empire’s forces arrived, Manshu successfully stored the entire planet within her spatial realm. The group wasted no time, immediately fleeing to another world.
This star system was rich in frost-aligned primordial energy, and Ye Liuyun planned to harvest as much as possible to strengthen his allies’ ice-based powers. But no sooner had they left than his golden pupils caught sight of the empire’s fleet closing in.
"What a headache," he muttered. Not keen on a direct confrontation, he swiftly scanned nearby planets with his golden gaze. Spotting an uninhabited world, he gathered everyone onto the Spirit Cat battleship and warped there in an instant.
"Quick, extract the essence—we’ve got company!" Ye Liuyun warned, urging them to move faster.
Now that Manshu possessed a frost-aligned world, she no longer needed guidance to locate the local primordial energy. Her heightened senses led them straight to it.
As before, the group first absorbed some of the Power of Frost before Wǔ Qīngchéng began storing the essence in her spatial realm. But just as she started, the four ninth-level sovereigns keeping watch alerted Ye Liuyun—a squad of elite warriors and soldiers was closing in.
"Keep working. I’ll handle them," he ordered, charging into the void while leaving a clone behind to protect the others.
"The Snowfrost Empire’s forces are no joke," he mused.
Ye Liuyun’s golden eyes narrowed as he spotted over a dozen Ninth-level Dominator experts approaching in the distance. He couldn’t help but sigh.
"Truth be told, we don’t have many Ninth-level Dominators in our ranks. But since you killed the Crown Prince, the entire nation is now mobilized to hunt you down!" A subdued martial artist, eager to curry favor, hastily explained to Ye Liuyun.
"Strong or weak, it doesn’t matter—if they provoke me, they die," Ye Liuyun scoffed. Glancing at the soldiers trailing behind the experts, he decided they would make perfect practice targets for his companions. Without hesitation, he summoned everyone from his spatial world to join the fight.
He assigned the four subdued martial artists to protect the group rather than engage directly in combat. Meanwhile, he took the Demon Vine and Scarlet Lian to harvest the bloodline energy of the stronger foes. The Seventh and Eighth-level Dominators were left to Black Mountain and Ye Tiandao.
Their roles were clearly defined. The Demon Vine lashed out with its tendrils, ensnaring half of the Ninth-level Dominators. Ye Liuyun devoured their souls, while Scarlet Lian absorbed their bloodline energy. Black Mountain then extracted their core elixirs for cultivation. The remaining half were left for the Demon Vine to consume.
As a Ninth-level Dominator himself, Black Mountain made quick work of the weaker martial artists. Once done, he collected the corpses and left the rest for the others and their beast companions to practice on. Ye Tiandao used the higher-level opponents to hone her blade intent and physical strength before shifting to guard the women.
When the soldiers swarmed in greater numbers, Ye Liuyun joined the fray, burning through his own energy reserves.
The enemy squad was swiftly annihilated, but their location had been exposed. Through his golden pupils, Ye Liuyun saw the vast army of the Frost Empire shifting direction, marching straight toward them.
Without delay, he ordered the four subdued martial artists to keep watch while he stashed the others back into his spatial world. Then, he rushed back to assist Wu Qingcheng in claiming the planet.
If Wu Qingcheng couldn’t absorb the planet in time, he would have no choice but to unleash his demon army through his clone to wipe out the incoming forces.
Though the group had already absorbed a considerable amount of icy energy, the planet’s core essence remained stubbornly resistant.
With the empire’s hundred-thousand-strong army closing in and Wu Qingcheng still needing more time, Ye Liuyun’s patience snapped. He drew the Demon-Slaying Blade and delivered a devastating slash straight into the planet’s core.
The blade’s edge cleaved through until it hovered right before the core essence.
"Submit to being claimed, or I’ll split you in half for good!" Ye Liuyun threatened.
As expected, brute force worked best. Faced with annihilation, the core essence immediately yielded, surrendering to Wu Qingcheng out of sheer self-preservation.
"I’ve figured it out—even these semi-sentient origin forces are nothing but bullies who prey on the weak. Next time, we should just threaten them outright. Might get better results!" Lei Ming declared bluntly.
"Sounds like a plan," Ye Liuyun agreed with a nod.
Just as the Ice Snow Empire’s army was about to land, Wu Qingcheng whisked the entire planet into her spatial world, leaving the troops dumbstruck as their target vanished before their eyes.
Seizing the moment, Ye Liuyun summoned his spirit cat and, along with the four martial experts, slipped away right under their noses.
Truth be told, the army only had two ninth-level Sovereigns left—hardly a formidable force. Ye Liuyun simply didn’t want to slaughter so many human cultivators, which was why he avoided confrontation.
But the soldiers misinterpreted his retreat as fear. They immediately gave chase, signaling the empire to dispatch another battalion to cut him off.
Unfortunately for them, their mobilization was no match for Ye Liuyun’s speed. He and his group soon arrived at the next uninhabited planet.
"This time, you handle the extraction. If it resists, just threaten it," Ye Liuyun instructed Lei Ming directly.
After Man Shu located the origin force, Lei Ming eagerly attempted to communicate with it. When it ignored him, his temper flared.
"Not even a reply? Looks like you’re asking for a beating!"
With a furious roar, he shifted into his true form and slammed a massive paw down onto the planet.
"Too much force!" Ye Liuyun groaned, covering his face—but it was too late. The blow had already landed.
"Huh?" Lei Ming blinked, realizing his mistake only after the fact.
"Oh no! What do we do now?" He widened his eyes at Ye Liuyun in dismay.
"What else? Just absorb the origin force directly," Ye Liuyun chuckled.
The others burst into laughter, teasing Lei Ming for being as reckless as ever.
Staring at the crumbling planet, Lei Ming pondered for a moment—then let out another roar and delivered two more crushing blows, reducing the world to rubble before extracting the origin force.
"Humph! That’s what you get for ignoring me!"
Muttering under his breath, he shifted back to human form.
