Chapter 2839: Chapter 2839
Ye Liuyun and his companions didn’t have an easy time facing Jing Tao’s forces either.
The enemy alone had six martial cultivators at the ninth level of the Dominator realm.
Ye Liuyun, his doppelgänger, Ye Tiandao, and the Vermilion Bird each engaged one of these ninth-level Dominators. Ye Tiandao also summoned two additional ninth-level martial cultivators to hold off their opponents. The remaining eighth-level Dominators were left to Lei Ming, the Dragon Maiden, the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, Liang Xue, Feng Hongxiu, the Stone Ape, and the White Tiger.
Most of them were fighting opponents two or three levels above their own, making the battle incredibly taxing. Meanwhile, the Thieving Cat was busy emptying the enemy’s storage rings to prevent them from using any hidden treasures or weapons against them.
The seventh-level Dominators were handled by Chi Lian, along with the Songstress, Lan’er, Little Blue Ice, the Falcon, and three Xuanwu warriors. Chi Lian’s current strength allowed her to swiftly drain the life force of seventh-level martial cultivators, and with the three Xuanwu warriors moving like ghosts, their battles ended the fastest.
Aside from Little Blue Ice, who could engage enemies head-on with her frost powers, the rest of this team relied on agility and assassination techniques, making their strikes swift and lethal.
Once their battles were over, the Songstress, Lan’er, the Falcon, and Little Blue Ice moved to protect weaker fighters like A Xing, while the others went to reinforce Lei Ming and the rest.
The sixth-level Dominators were led by Wu Qingcheng, with Su Miaoyin, Man Shu, Fyeng Wanru, Xia Tianqiong, Xia Lingshuang, Helian Xiu, and the White Tiger Legion joining the fray. Though they were outmatched in individual strength, their numbers and teamwork allowed them to hold their own.
A Xing, Piao Yun, Qing Yan, and Lin Feier, who had only just reached the third level of the Dominator realm, were both outnumbered and outclassed. At first, they could only rely on defensive artifacts and formations, waiting for reinforcements before joining the fight.
The battle raged fiercely. Against the ninth-level Dominators, Ye Liuyun and his allies were mostly at a disadvantage, forced to rely on skill and endurance to hold out.
Ye Liuyun and his doppelgänger attacked with blade intent, dodging with spatial techniques, though occasionally getting grazed by enemy energy. Their formidable physiques, however, made such hits negligible. Both sides were locked in a battle of attrition, waiting to see whose energy reserves would run dry first.
Ye Tiandao and the Vermilion Bird had a tougher time, constantly forced to retreat under heavy pressure. Eventually, the Vermilion Bird unleashed a soul attack, eliminating her opponent before turning to help Ye Tiandao in a two-on-one fight.
The two ninth-level martial cultivators Ye Tiandao had summoned could only stall their enemies, unwilling to risk their lives, leaving the battles at a standstill.
Lei Ming and the others fighting eighth-level Dominators were also locked in desperate struggles, many sustaining injuries. The Nine-Headed Demon Dragon had already used his white light to eliminate two eighth-level martial cultivators to save Liang Xue and Feng Hongxiu.
Liang Xue, Feng Hongxiu, the White Tiger, and the Stone Ape quickly exhausted their energy reserves, leaving only the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, Lei Ming, and the Dragon Maiden to shield them. Most of the attacks were endured through sheer physical resilience.
Liang Xue released Qinglin and joined the battle, using her spatial powers to hold her own against one opponent.
If it weren’t for Scarlet Viper and Vespera swiftly ending their own fights and rushing to reinforce them, Nine-Headed Demon Dragon and Thunderclap would have had to resort to their black-and-white light to finish off their enemies.
This battle was largely won thanks to Scarlet Viper and Vespera. Once they broke through their own engagements, they turned the tide for Thunderclap and Astro’s teams.
The planet they were on had already been shattered beyond recognition. The source energy that Jing Tao had stored in his spatial ring was stolen right back by the cunning cat.
The battle raged across the void of space, shaking the heavens.
Jing Tao’s strength was no mere boast. Even after replenishing his Xuan Yuan energy once, Ye Liuyun still hadn’t drained his opponent’s true essence. Jing Tao, too, grew increasingly alarmed—how could a mere sixth-level Dominator sustain such a prolonged fight against him?
A quick glance at the battlefield revealed the situation turning dire for his side. Worse yet, if this dragged on, his own true essence would be completely exhausted. With a final desperate strike, he disengaged from Ye Liuyun, intending to rely on a defensive treasure to block the latter’s blade intent before aiding a ninth-level Dominator against the doppelganger.
But just as he reached for his treasure, he realized his spatial ring was empty.
"Where is it?" He froze in shock.
Ye Liuyun, though grazed by Jing Tao’s last attack despite his spatial evasion, gritted through the pain and seized the moment to channel all his remaining Xuan Yuan into a single slash.
Jing Tao, drained of true essence and still reeling from the disappearance of his belongings, barely reacted in time. He frantically deployed his spatial powers to deflect and dodge—but with skills on par with Ye Liuyun’s, he gained no advantage. The blade missed his vitals but carved diagonally across his shoulder, nearly severing it entirely.
"ARGH—!"
Jing Tao howled in agony. Seeing Ye Liuyun raise his blade again, he panicked and unleashed his divine soul, forcing his way into Ye Liuyun’s sea of consciousness.
"HA! Should’ve done that from the start!"
Ye Liuyun casually branded him with a slave seal. Since he had delivered himself right to her doorstep, she wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip.
Without hesitation, she swung her blade again, this time to assist her doppelgänger in finishing off its opponent. The enemy facing the doppelgänger was already running low on energy. When he saw Ye Liuyun joining the fray, he frantically reached for a defensive artifact from his Interspatial Ring—only to find it completely empty, just like Jing Tao’s.
“Huh?”
His moment of confusion was all the opening they needed. The doppelgänger and Ye Liuyun struck simultaneously, their blades flashing in perfect sync. Even with his last burst of energy, he couldn’t withstand the combined assault. His body split into four pieces, forming a gruesome cross as they scattered to the ground.
The doppelgänger acted swiftly, seizing his lingering soul before it could escape. With a mental assault, it dragged the man’s consciousness into its own mind and devoured it whole.
“Fall back!”
The remaining nine Sovereign-level cultivators, seeing Jing Tao captured and another comrade slaughtered, immediately called for retreat.
“Not so fast!”
Ye Liuyun had no intention of letting them escape. She and her doppelgänger moved in unison, blades flashing to cut off their path.
“Finish them!” she commanded, signaling the others.
By now, everyone’s energy reserves were nearly depleted, and the battle had dragged on long enough. There was no point in drawing it out further.
Ye Liuyun and her doppelgänger switched tactics, launching soul attacks to subdue the strongest foes. Zhuque and Liang Xue followed suit, while Leiming and the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon unleashed beams of white light. The three Xuanwu warriors countered with dark energy, obliterating their targets.
The rest of the group seized the moment, using their own spiritual power to overwhelm and consume the enemies’ souls. With such a coordinated assault, the fight ended swiftly.
Just as they were about to gather the spoils, an overwhelming pressure—emanating from a Unity Realm expert—descended upon them from a distance.
“You dare kill my men? You must have a death wish!” A furious roar echoed across the battlefield.
Ye Liuyun’s golden pupils narrowed as she spotted the approaching Unity Realm powerhouse. After a quick assessment, she released Liao Tianyang to meet the challenge.
“He’s about your level—perfect for some real combat practice,” she told him. “Fight him evenly, and when the moment’s right, I’ll step in to seize his soul.”
