Chapter 2854: Chapter 2854
Fortunately, their retreat was swift, and six martial cultivators managed to fend off their pursuers with the help of artifacts before escaping by sheer speed. The rest, however, were surrounded by Lin Qing’ao and his men, slaughtered on the spot.
Lin Qing’ao immediately ordered two squads of martial cultivators—six in each group—to chase down the fleeing enemies. Meanwhile, the doppelganger quietly tailed them.
It was only then that Lin Qing’ao realized Li Xinran, Pang Yuan, and their group had vanished. He promptly dispatched scouts to investigate Pang Yuan’s whereabouts and sent others to search for Li Xinran. Ye Liuyun, however, intercepted the men sent after Li Xinran, controlling them and forcing one to return with a false report: *"Li Xinran couldn’t be found—send more men."*
Similarly, the scouts searching for Pang Yuan reported back that his group had disappeared without a trace. The battlefield showed no signs of intense combat.
*"Could Pang Yuan have pursued the enemy instead?"* Lin Qing’ao mused. He dismissed the thought, focusing instead on sending additional searchers for Li Xinran.
He assumed her absence was due to fear—after all, the enemy hadn’t acted as planned. *"She’s just a woman, weak in strength. It’s natural for her to be timid."* The idea didn’t raise his suspicions.
Yet every scout he dispatched fell under Ye Liuyun’s control. Even the two pursuit squads were systematically subdued by the doppelganger, who then used his golden pupils to track down the fleeing ninth-level overlord cultivators, capturing them all.
Now, Ye Liuyun’s only remaining targets were Lin Qing’ao and the few unsubdued fighters by his side. He had to act quickly—Lin Qing’ao was sharp, and given time, he might uncover the ruse.
However, after extracting Pang Yuan’s memories, Ye Liuyun learned Lin Qing’ao still held a hidden trump card: a soul-attacking artifact gifted by Li Daoyuan before their mission. Resembling a long nail, it could kill the soul of a Unity Realm expert—but only three times. To strike, Ye Liuyun needed to bait Lin Qing’ao into exhausting its uses.
So he caught up with Li Xinran, subdued her guards, and stashed them away in his spatial realm. Then, he released the ten Unity Realm experts who had previously fought Pang Yuan, ordering them to stage her abduction.
Pang Yuan’s squad was also released, instructed to confront the "kidnappers" while sending word to Lin Qing’ao for reinforcements.
Upon receiving the message, Lin Qing’ao rallied every available fighter and rushed to the scene.
*"Pang Yuan! What happened? How could you let them take the young mistress?"* he snapped the moment he arrived.
Pang Yuan also feigned helplessness as he explained, "These men have already adapted to the environment here—their full strength is unleashed. We couldn’t hold them off in time."
Across from them, the martial cultivator gripping Li Xinran began negotiating with Lin Qing’ao and the others.
"Lin Qing’ao, Pang Yuan—let us leave, and we’ll return Li Xinran to you. Otherwise, with no way out, we’ll drag you all down with us!"
Lin Qing’ao considered it. Letting them go was out of the question. Even if they did, there was no guarantee they’d actually release Xinran.
"Use the Soul Nail to attack," Pang Yuan suggested, following Ye Liuyun’s instructions. "The rest of us will coordinate a soul assault with you—wipe them all out in one strike."
"It’s the only way." Lin Qing’ao had no better options. Immediately, he sent mental messages to the group, assigning each of them a target.
At the same time, Ye Liuyun, aligning with Lin Qing’ao’s plan, finalized arrangements for those under his control.
"Now!"
The moment Lin Qing’ao gave the order, the Soul Nail shot from his consciousness, streaking toward the martial cultivator holding Xinran with terrifying speed and soul-crushing pressure. The strike obliterated the man’s soul before he could even react.
Every martial cultivator nearby released their souls in response, but only a few surged forward first. Shockingly, the opposing cultivators also unleashed their souls at the same moment, clashing with those initial attackers.
Pang Yuan and the others’ souls then joined the fray—but instead of targeting the enemy, they turned on their own allies, the very souls that had charged ahead.
A brutal soul battle erupted. The few cultivators not yet marked by Ye Liuyun’s slave seal stood no chance against the overwhelming assault. Within moments, they were forcibly bound by soul contracts.
Lin Qing’ao was stunned. He could only recall the Soul Nail, but before he could demand an explanation, the souls of the opposing cultivators suddenly rushed toward him.
Faced with such a swarm of attacking souls, he knew resistance was futile. Without hesitation, he unleashed the Soul Nail again, obliterating them all.
No sooner had the Soul Nails retracted into Lin Qing’ao’s consciousness than the recently subdued souls, now bound by contract, surged once more toward his mind. The others’ souls had already returned to their own consciousnesses—none came to his aid.
"What’s wrong with you?" Lin Qing’ao barked, but faced with the assault, he had no choice but to unleash the Soul Nails again, obliterating them.
Suddenly, the souls of three martial cultivators behind him lunged toward his consciousness.
Having already used the Soul Nails three times in succession, they were now useless. Left with no other option, Lin Qing’ao could only rely on his defensive artifact to ward off the spiritual attacks.
*Boom!* Seizing the moment while others distracted Lin Qing’ao with soul assaults, Pang Yuan struck without warning, sending him flying with a single devastating punch.
"Pang Yuan, you traitor!" Lin Qing’ao finally realized—Pang Yuan had led these men in betrayal.
But it was too late. The ambush had left him grievously wounded, robbing him of any chance to flee or fight back. Only his soul remained capable of resistance.
The three martial cultivators’ souls struggled in vain to breach Lin Qing’ao’s defensive artifact, prompting three more to join the assault.
Even the sturdiest soul-defense treasure couldn’t withstand the combined might of six attackers. The barrier shattered, and the six souls stormed into Lin Qing’ao’s consciousness, forcibly dragging his own soul out.
Though Lin Qing’ao’s soul was formidable, it stood no chance against six united experts. His desperate struggles and curses proved futile.
Ye Liuyun hadn’t lifted a finger throughout the ordeal. Only when Lin Qing’ao’s soul was dragged into his own consciousness did he finally act, branding it with a slave seal.
With that, Lin Qing’ao’s entire squad had been subdued, their souls returning to their respective consciousnesses. Eighteen powerful corpses littered the ground.
"Eighteen lives lost, just to capture you alone," Ye Liuyun sighed in resignation before coldly warning Lin Qing’ao, "If you fail to repay this debt for me, I’ll erase you without hesitation."
"Master, rest assured," Lin Qing’ao hurriedly pledged under the influence of the slave seal, "Given my ties with Li Daoyuan, I’ll make sure you profit from this!"
"But none of you are to harm my father!" Li Xinran stepped forward abruptly, her voice sharp with warning as she glared at Lin Qing’ao.
