Chapter 2916: Chapter 2916
After Tang Xinyao left, Ye Liuyun returned to his cultivation.
But unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, he suddenly received a voice transmission from her.
"Junior Brother Xiaofeng, I’ve brought two senior brothers to brief you on the situation!"
Ye Liuyun stepped out of his spatial world and saw that it was indeed Tang Xinyao accompanied by two Tang Clan disciples at the Unity Realm—both of whom appeared quite capable.
Without suspicion, he immediately opened the door and invited them inside.
He assumed these two were members of the exploration team Tang Xinyao had organized, likely brought along because they were particularly familiar with their destination and could provide him with detailed information.
The two disciples were no weaklings either. With just a casual glance of his golden pupils, Ye Liuyun could tell their true essence was remarkably condensed—their strength probably on par with Tang Qianyu’s.
"Junior Brother Xiaofeng, let me introduce you. These two are also among the Tang Clan’s Five Great Prodigies—Tang Hao and Tang Lie. They’re quite familiar with the area we’re heading to," Tang Xinyao explained.
Ye Liuyun didn’t think much of it and promptly bowed in greeting.
Yet, to his shock, the moment he lowered his head, all three of them simultaneously unleashed their divine souls, invading his sea of consciousness.
The sudden ambush sent a cold sweat down Ye Liuyun’s back.
Though Tang Xinyao had always been mischievous, he never imagined she would outright attack him—let alone bring two powerful reinforcements.
This reeked of conspiracy, and he needed to search their souls for answers.
Fortunately, all three had chosen to strike with divine soul attacks at the same time. Had even one of them held back, he might not have stood a chance.
Inside his sea of consciousness, Ye Liuyun’s divine soul swiftly subdued the intruders. He implanted slave seals into each of them and, in the process, erased their previous soul contracts.
Then, Ye Liuyun erased their memories of this incident. Since all three had seen the true form of his divine soul, they might have deduced that he was an imposter. If these three were ever discovered by the Tang family’s elders or powerful figures, they could expose him.
"Master!" The three of them simultaneously acknowledged Ye Liuyun as their new master.
Ye Liuyun nodded, studying them for a moment before letting out a long sigh of relief.
This ambush had caught him completely off guard. If these three hadn’t resorted to a soul attack, he might not have survived!
*From now on, no matter who I face, I need to be extra cautious,* he thought to himself.
This whole affair could be traced back to the An family’s secret realm, the one containing the golden liquid. Among the four great families of the Demon-Slaying Star System, it was no secret that they constantly schemed against each other’s hidden realms.
Especially the elite inner disciples of each family—they frequently sought opportunities to infiltrate rival realms, not only to plunder resources but also to eliminate the opposing family’s most promising talents.
Tang Xinyao, mischievous and cunning, had long coveted the An family’s secret realm. As far back as two years ago, she had persuaded Tang Hao and Tang Lie to explore it.
Unfortunately, luck was not on their side. They encountered a powerful An family elder who captured them and forcibly bound them with a master-servant contract, effectively turning them into puppets.
The elder then ordered them to return to the Tang family and lure more elite inner disciples back into the realm to be slaughtered. However, their plans were delayed when the three were assigned to join the expeditionary forces. With no opportunity to act, they had been stuck in limbo.
Now that the expedition had returned, the An family elder had reactivated their orders—tasking them with leading Tang disciples to their deaths. The Wan and Zhou families, already stripped of their resources, were in decline. If the An family could cripple the Tang family’s younger generation, they would have a clear path to dominating the Demon-Slaying Star System.
Originally, their mission was to draw in Tang Qianyu, Ye Liuyun, and other outstanding Tang talents to eliminate them within the An family’s secret realm.
But when Tang Xinyao learned that Ye Liuyun was set to enter the Blood Spirit Pool the next day, the An elder had abruptly ordered them to strike early—seizing control of Ye Liuyun to sabotage the Tang family’s sacred pool.
Neither the An elder nor Tang Xinyao had anticipated the formidable protective power within Ye Liuyun’s sea of consciousness. They had assumed that even if he possessed soul-defense artifacts, he wouldn’t withstand the combined assault of three powerful attackers.
Fortunately, the An family’s control extended only to these three. The rest of their original exploration team had been slaughtered by the An family long ago.
"Master, we were previously under the An family’s control and had no choice in our actions. Now that we’ve finally returned to the Tang family, we beg for your forgiveness and our freedom!" Tang Xinyao pleaded earnestly with Ye Liuyun.
They had indeed been helpless under the control of the An family’s experts. But now, they believed it was Tang Xiaofeng—a member of the Tang family—who held their reins. At the very least, they still harbored hope of returning to their own clan.
Their memories of seeing Ye Liuyun’s true soul form had been erased, leaving them unaware of what had truly transpired. All they knew was that they had been controlled the moment they entered.
They had only noticed that the soul contract binding them to the An family had vanished, freeing them from its shackles. Yet, they remained oblivious to the fact that their current master wasn’t Tang Xiaofeng at all—but Ye Liuyun himself.
"Indeed, Master, we are your senior martial brothers and sisters. Our attacks against you were forced upon us by another’s control—never our true intent. If you grant us freedom, we swear never to raise a hand against you again. If you still doubt us, you may take us to the family’s disciplinary hall, where we will publicly explain ourselves and make our vows." Tang Hao and Tang Lie added their voices to the plea.
They assumed Tang Xiaofeng had only retaliated after their assault, never intending to enslave them in the first place.
But to their shock, Ye Liuyun showed no intention of letting them go. Instead, he ruthlessly probed their minds once more, extracting information about the Blood Spirit Pool, the secret realms, and the An family’s hidden territory. Then, through the Slaving Seal, he tightly controlled their thoughts, forcing absolute obedience.
The three of them could only exchange resigned glances, believing Ye Liuyun was still holding a grudge against them.
Reading their thoughts through the imprint, Ye Liuyun played along. "Go back for now. My anger hasn’t subsided yet—we’ll discuss your freedom later. Once you return, prepare to explore the An family’s secret realm. I’ll accompany you. Since the An family knows their soul contract over you has broken, they won’t expect you to bring others. We’ll use this chance to catch them off guard!"
At these words, the trio felt a flicker of hope. Surely, once Ye Liuyun’s temper cooled, he would release them.
Yet, the mention of venturing into the An family’s secret realm again made Tang Xinyao and the others visibly uneasy, their faces tightening with apprehension. The place still haunted them.
