Chapter 2831: Chapter 2831
After the imperial capital was locked down, Ye Liuyun donned his invisibility cloak and set out to help implant slave seals on the Silver Armor Guards.
When encountering high-ranking Silver Armor Guards with formidable soul power at the eighth or ninth level of mastery, Ye Liuyun and his doppelgänger employed their temporal abilities to swiftly eliminate them. For ordinary soldiers, they methodically implanted slave seals one by one.
In this way, many more Silver Armor Guards became their pawns. The entire capital was in chaos all night—countless Silver Armor Guards perished, yet not a trace of Ye Liuyun or his companions was discovered.
Inside the imperial palace, Liao Yuhui was horrified to find his Interspatial Ring stolen. The entire palace was placed under strict martial law, thick with tension.
At dawn, Ye Liuyun and his doppelgänger shapeshifted into the appearance of Silver Armor Guards and blended into their ranks. Meanwhile, Chi Lian, having absorbed too much bloodline energy, returned to distribute it among their allies before retreating to cultivate, intending to resume his harvest later.
By then, news of the imperial treasury’s theft had spread. Every Silver Armor soldier in the city took to the skies, patrolling in formation. They were practically arresting anyone who dared step outside.
Posing as Silver Armor Guards for the day, Ye Liuyun and his doppelgänger managed to implant slave seals on even more soldiers.
That same day, the Silver Armor Corps arrested tens of thousands of martial artists—even the spies Ye Liuyun had previously sent into the city were captured.
Specialists immediately conducted soul-searches on the detainees to extract information. Those deemed innocent were released, but Ye Liuyun’s remaining spies were eventually exposed.
However, these operatives knew nothing of Ye Liuyun’s arrival in the capital, let alone his plans. Frustrated, the empire had no choice but to execute them.
By dusk, the imperial capital had fallen into complete silence. No one dared venture outside—every household barred its doors, and the Silver Armor soldiers stood vigilant, ready for battle.
Little did they know that Ye Liuyun had already infiltrated their ranks for an entire day, secretly turning many into his puppets.
Once night fell, Ye Liuyun and his doppelgänger began retrieving the Silver Armor soldiers they controlled, fearing Chi Lian might drain them dry as well.
Cloaked in invisibility once more, the two of them and Chi Lian resumed their hunt for Silver Armor soldiers, repeating the same tactics as the previous night. At daybreak, they ceased their attacks and blended back into the Silver Armor ranks, continuing to implant slave seals on unsuspecting soldiers.
Come morning, faced with piles of desiccated corpses, the Silver Armor forces could only burn them in frustration. As for the missing soldiers, they assumed they had been killed, their bodies taken away by Chi Lian.
But as dawn broke, the city fell quiet once more. The silver-armored soldiers, tense for two nights straight, seized the chance to rest, believing the real danger would only come after dark. Ye Liuyun took advantage of this opportunity, patrolling under the guise of duty while ambushing resting soldiers one by one, branding them with slave seals.
"One more night, and I’ll have subdued a good number of these silver-armored troops!" he mused. "With Chi Lian eliminating another portion, we should be ready to strike the Imperial Palace!"
Ye Liuyun assessed his growing forces. Unwilling to risk his demon army, he planned to deploy only the captives in the coming battle.
The capital passed the day in deceptive calm. But as soon as night fell, large groups of soldiers vanished without warning. The remaining troops tensed immediately.
"Ah—!"
A soldier’s scream tore through the silent night.
The remaining silver-armored men shuddered, clustering together in fear, none daring to investigate.
Yet their huddling only made them easier targets for Chi Lian.
Following Ye Liuyun’s orders, she struck precisely where the soldiers gathered. Now stronger than ever, she absorbed their lifeblood at terrifying speed—a single pass was enough to drain a man dry.
Screams echoed endlessly through the capital, crushing morale. Some soldiers, unable to bear the mounting terror, discarded their armor and weapons, disguising themselves as ordinary martial cultivators to hide in inns and taverns.
Others even stormed into noble households, stripping off their silver armor and blending in with the families’ own warriors. The nobles, fearing reprisal, dared not refuse them.
Fortunately, the deserters caused no trouble—they were too busy fleeing for their lives, terrified of drawing Ye Liuyun’s attention.
In truth, he had noticed their desperate attempts to hide but chose to ignore them. These broken men no longer posed a threat.
By now, the once-mighty silver-armored army had dwindled to a mere thirty or forty thousand. Ye Liuyun and his doppelganger worked tirelessly through the night, capturing soldiers and storing them away in their spatial worlds.
Between the two of them, they had seized over thirty thousand. With Chi Lian still hunting relentlessly, by dawn, Ye Liuyun’s forces would indeed outnumber the enemy’s.
Suddenly, a terrifying oppressive force enveloped the imperial capital.
"Shameless vermin! Do you think our capital has no one left to stand against you?" A cold, thunderous voice boomed across the city.
Ye Liuyun, his clone, and Chi Lian instantly felt themselves locked onto by the overwhelming presence.
"Their powerhouse finally made a move!" Though both Ye Liuyun and his clone recognized this aura far surpassed that of a Dominator-class expert.
"Use the Demon Vine or Black Mountain?" The clone urgently asked as the crushing pressure surged toward them. Any delay would leave them defenseless once the enemy struck.
"The Demon Vine—better safe than sorry!" Ye Liuyun released the writhing monstrosity without hesitation.
The Demon Vine shot upward to meet the descending force head-on.
Booming collisions immediately erupted high above, shaking the heavens as the two titans clashed among the stars.
The remaining silver-armored soldiers, who had initially cheered at their empire’s intervention, now gaped in shock as their champion’s oppressive aura was neutralized midair. Clearly, their enemies also possessed power beyond the Dominator realm.
Every soul in the capital craned their necks skyward, though the battle remained invisible to mortal eyes. All waited with bated breath to see which side’s champion would return victorious.
After a brief assessment, Ye Liuyun smirked. The Demon Vine wouldn’t be outmatched—this so-called imperial elder, whether in physical might or vitality, stood no chance against the primordial entity.
Seizing the opportunity, he signaled Chi Lian to resume their operation while he and the clone prepared to capture more targets.
But then—another Dominator-surpassing pressure erupted from the imperial palace, bearing down upon the trio like a collapsing mountain.
"Another powerhouse!" The citizens gasped in renewed hope, never imagining their royalty still hid such trump cards.
This time, the clone immediately unleashed Black Mountain to intercept the new threat.
Ye Liuyun and his duplicate now poised for direct combat. Should the empire reveal yet another supreme expert, they’d assist their summoned entities in eliminating the current opponents first.
"Finish that elder quickly," Ye Liuyun mentally commanded the Demon Vine through their bond. The sooner one threat fell, the less chance they’d be ambushed by hidden imperial forces.
