Chapter 2873: Chapter 2873
Over the course of a month, Ye Liuyun had successfully taken control of over thirty more Unity Realm experts. Lin Qing’ao promptly arranged for Pang Yuan to lead these nearly sixty controlled martial cultivators—under various pretexts—to attack the factions supporting Li Daoyuan.
Li Daoyuan had already delegated all such matters to Lin Qing’ao, focusing solely on subduing the remaining Unity Realm experts who still resisted him. This allowed Lin Qing’ao to easily fabricate excuses and manipulate the situation without raising suspicion.
Before long, the number of forces backing Li Daoyuan began to dwindle significantly. Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun reaped the benefits, acquiring substantial resources and powerful experts from several major factions.
Lin Qing’ao handed all seized resources and captured martial experts over to Ye Liuyun, who gradually built them into a considerable force under his command. In addition to Lin Qing’ao and Pang Yuan, the other experts controlled by Ye Liuyun were systematically drawn into his inner space world after each battle, bit by bit. Before long, all fifty-plus Unity Realm experts under Li Daoyuan had been quietly absorbed.
Lin Qing’ao and Pang Yuan continued to recruit and persuade others, delivering them to Ye Liuyun for control, steadily increasing their hold over Li Daoyuan’s top-tier forces.
Meanwhile, Li Xinran focused on dealing with Dominator Ninth Level experts. She organized all such cultivators within the estate under the guise of forming an elite guard unit. Each time she gathered around a hundred or two of them, she would hand them over to Pang Yuan, claiming they needed combat experience for training purposes. In reality, they were sent directly to Ye Liuyun, who then assigned them to Ye Tiandao for management.
Eventually, Li Daoyuan suddenly realized that nearly half of his personnel had vanished. He immediately sought out Lin Qing’ao for an explanation. Lin Qing’ao calmly replied, “Recent battles have been frequent, and more factions are growing defiant. Our martial cultivators have suffered heavy casualties.”
Worried that Fang Sihai and his followers might make a comeback, Li Daoyuan suggested recruiting more experts. But Lin Qing’ao advised, “Truthfully, the forces we currently have are more than enough to handle Fang Sihai. If we recruit too many, it might make him hesitate to act. Dragging this out only drains our resources further. Supporting hundreds of Unity Realm experts and thousands of Dominator Ninth Level cultivators requires immense resources—we simply don’t have enough to sustain them indefinitely.”
He continued persuasively, “I propose that Pang Yuan and I temporarily store some experts in our spatial worlds. This will give Fang Sihai the impression that we’ve let our guard down, luring him into making a move sooner. Given the recent frequent clashes, a reduction in our numbers won’t seem suspicious. This is a perfect opportunity to draw him out. Wouldn’t it be better to eliminate him early so you can focus on your other plans without constant vigilance? Once we deal with Fang Sihai’s group, you can intimidate the remaining major factions, and the entire Iron Horn Galaxy will effectively be under your control!”
Lin Qing’ao not only pinpointed Li Daoyuan’s weakness but also painted a vivid picture of the scenario after eliminating Fang Sihai, which stirred Li Daoyuan’s interest.
Yet, Li Daoyuan still voiced his concern, "Are you confident you can handle them?"
"Rest assured," Lin Qing’ao declared firmly. "We still have over a hundred and fifty elite fighters, and with your own formidable strength, we are more than capable. We’ll also recruit formation masters, artifact forgers, and alchemists to bolster our defenses and provide resources for our forces. This will ensure everyone remains highly motivated and cooperative!"
"Very well," Li Daoyuan finally agreed. "I will focus on cultivating to enhance my strength. I’ll leave these matters in your hands."
Li Daoyuan entrusted all arrangements to Lin Qing’ao, who readily accepted the responsibility.
Subsequently, Lin Qing’ao and Pang Yuan each took fifty Unity Realm experts into their spatial treasures, while the remaining fifty or so left in the open were already largely under Ye Liuyun’s control. By inviting them out individually for meals and drinks, Lin Qing’ao and Pang Yuan soon secured their allegiance completely.
As for the hundred Unity Realm experts confined within their spatial worlds, they became sitting ducks. Lin Qing’ao and Pang Yuan seized opportunities to release them one by one, allowing Ye Liuyun to take control.
With this accelerated plan, nearly all of Li Daoyuan’s Unity Realm experts fell under Ye Liuyun’s dominion.
But that wasn’t the end of it. Lin Qing’ao began recruiting formation masters, artifact forgers, and alchemists in Li Daoyuan’s name. The most skilled among them were sent to Ye Liuyun, while only the mediocre ones were retained by the Li family to assist with formations, weapon forging, and pill refining.
Even these individuals were merely going through the motions and were soon dismissed one after another by Lin Qing’ao.
Seeing that Li Daoyuan’s forces had been largely neutralized and his doppelgänger’s strength had improved during this time, Ye Liuyun decided it was time to act. Through Lin Qing’ao, Pang Yuan, and Li Xinran, he set his plan in motion.
Lin Qing’ao found an excuse to take the remaining Dominator Ninth-Level guards out for "training," only to deliver them all to Ye Liuyun.
After bringing them under his control, Ye Liuyun and his doppelgänger used the Thousand Illusions Art to disguise themselves as Dominator Ninth-Level guards and returned to the Li residence with the group.
One was stationed as a guard near Li Daoyuan’s cultivation chamber, while the other was placed close to Li Xinran’s quarters. Additionally, a formation master was released under the pretext of upgrading the defensive formations, only to dismantle all the arrays outside Li Daoyuan’s cultivation chamber.
Once everything was in place, Lin Qing’ao sent someone to inform Li Daoyuan under the guise of having discovered traces of Fang Sihai.
Li Daoyuan, believing that Fang Sihai had finally taken the bait, hurried toward the main assembly hall.
Upon arrival, he found Lin Qing’ao waiting with fifty experts at the Unity Realm, all poised for action. A flicker of excitement crossed Li Daoyuan’s face as he immediately asked Lin Qing’ao, “Well? Have you located Fang Sihai?”
“We have!” Lin Qing’ao replied, his voice tinged with a nervous energy.
In truth, he was deeply anxious. Today’s operation had to succeed in capturing Li Daoyuan—if it failed, Li would undoubtedly hold a grudge, and Lin would be the first target of his retaliation.
“Excellent! Where is he?” Li Daoyan pressed, striding forward eagerly.
“He’s already on our planet,” Lin Qing’ao revealed, no longer masking the tension in his tone.
Just then, Ye Liuyun received word that Li Daoyuan had stepped into their trap. Without delay, he signaled the martial artists to strike.
“What? He’s here? No wonder we couldn’t find him!” Li Daoyuan exclaimed, startled by the revelation that Fang Sihai had been hiding right under his nose.
But in an instant, the collective spiritual consciousness of the Unity Realm experts surged into his sea of consciousness.
“Huh?”
Li Daoyuan’s expression twisted in shock and confusion. Before he could grasp what was happening, his own soul was surrounded by the invading spiritual forces. Simultaneously, Ye Liuyun seized control of the Soul Suppressing Bell, neutralizing its defensive capabilities.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Li Daoyuan’s soul roared in fury at the encircling experts. He had finally realized—they had betrayed him.
Ignoring his outrage, the experts bypassed the Soul Suppressing Bell entirely and forcibly dragged his soul out of its mental sanctuary.
