Chapter 2973: Chapter 2973
On the demon army’s side, Ye Liuyun watched as the alien forces crumbled and fled. He released the remaining dozen or so puppets, demonic beasts, and female warriors to join the pursuit of the defeated enemy. At the same time, he reminded the demonic beasts and women to seize the opportunity to enhance their soul power.
The Demon-Sealing Stele and the Demon Vine were also unleashed to intercept the fleeing alien soldiers. The Demon Vine extended countless tendrils, instantly sealing off all escape routes for the enemy.
The remaining alien soldiers began surrendering en masse. But neither the Demon-Sealing Stele nor the Demon Vine had any intention of sparing them—these were nothing more than energy resources to be devoured, regardless of surrender.
The aliens had spent two years preparing for this battle, only to see their main forces annihilated in the first clash. The army they had painstakingly cultivated had now become cultivation resources for Ye Liuyun’s forces.
Ye Liuyun and his two avatars took full advantage of the chaos, battling to their hearts’ content and absorbing vast amounts of soul energy. He estimated that even if his soul power hadn’t doubled, it had come close. Still, he suspected that his current strength still fell short of that ancient demon soul master’s level.
The second avatar had actually consumed more alien souls than Ye Liuyun’s main body. With the help of wraiths, countless bone beasts and soldiers’ souls had been funneled into its consciousness, allowing it to devour them one after another. As a result, its soul power had likely surpassed Ye Liuyun’s own gains.
The first avatar had also absorbed a considerable amount, though not as much as the other two. After this battle, all three would need to refine and compress their newly acquired soul power.
They had also devoured the souls of several alien elites and elders, extracting valuable intelligence about their enemy.
It turned out the aliens had indeed been preparing extensively for this offensive, recalling many of their scattered tribes and having their strongest members consume others to grow stronger.
Over the past two years, the aliens had significantly bolstered their strength, believing they could easily crush Ye Liuyun this time. With two main armies attacking simultaneously, they had been certain of victory no matter what.
They had even deployed all six remaining elders of their council—yet Ye Liuyun hadn’t even noticed. He had slaughtered them like ordinary alien warriors. The alien leadership would likely need to rebuild their entire council now.
From the extracted memories, Ye Liuyun learned that three more defensive rings stood between their current position and the alien stronghold. However, the aliens had few elite troops left. He decided it was time to press the advantage and strike straight for their heart before they could recover.
By his calculations, even if the aliens started consuming their own to grow stronger now, their strongest would only reach the third level of the Unity Realm at best. This was the perfect moment to wipe them out completely.
Across all battlefields, the fighting finally drew to a close. The various armies began mopping up, gathering resources. Ye Liuyun and his avatars assisted the Demon Vine in collecting a massive number of alien corpses, prioritizing its advancement before feeding the rest to the Demon-Sealing Stele.
The troops took the opportunity to rest and recuperate. Soldiers busied themselves refining and absorbing their spoils, racing to strengthen themselves before the next battle.
Ye Liuyun and his avatar seized this time to re-enter the Divine Soul Secret Realm, further compressing and refining their spiritual power. By the time he emerged, the spiritual strength of his second avatar had doubled, surpassing even his main body, while the first avatar had grown relatively weaker.
Without delay, Ye Liuyun summoned all his commanders and briefed them on the alien forces’ situation. He ordered Yu Xiaofeng to lead the human soldiers, splitting them into two alternating units to advance and dismantle the outermost layer of the alien defenses.
Meanwhile, the demonic and ancient demonic forces were also divided into two groups to sweep through the aliens’ second line of defense. The first avatar would lead the alien legion and the elite vanguard to assault the aliens’ frontmost defensive layer.
All armies were to launch a full-scale offensive, aiming to obliterate the aliens’ three-tiered defenses entirely.
This time, the primary objective of every force was complete annihilation—to leave no alien alive. After seizing the planet’s core energy, they would convert and absorb it immediately to enhance their strength.
Ye Liuyun believed that even if the aliens were wiped out, they still needed to keep growing stronger. The cosmos was vast, and the aliens were far from the only threat—countless power-hungry predators roamed the universe. Sooner or later, they might face even deadlier foes.
As for himself, he set off with his second avatar to explore distant star systems. The Sky-Soaring Demon Wolves and other demonic beasts were left with the first avatar, while Ye Liuyun only carried the ancient demon puppets with him.
The current spoils of war could no longer sustain the cultivation needs of him and his inner circle. Thus, they had no choice but to venture farther in search of resources.
The Demon-Slaying Corps was also stowed away in his spatial world, ready to be returned to the Demon-Slaying Star System. The aliens’ weakened state no longer required their desperate efforts. They had gained enough experience, and keeping them further would only strain their already scarce resources.
Ye Liuyun also planned to continue his exploration from the Demon-Slaying Star System. The martial artists there were formidable, and the pressure they exerted would force him to grow faster.
After this crushing defeat, the alien forces suffered heavy losses and immediately recalled their scattered invasion fleets, ordering their strongest to consume and evolve. This abrupt withdrawal halted their relentless conquests, easing the burden on other star systems resisting their advance.
Yet, they dared not withdraw their three outer defensive layers, fearing Ye Liuyun might bypass them entirely and strike directly at their nest. Instead, they ordered the remaining defenders to delay his armies as much as possible, buying time for their core forces to grow stronger.
When Tang Xinyao heard they were being sent back, she asked Ye Liuyun, "Is the war over?"
Ye Liuyun shook his head. "Not quite. But the aliens’ main forces have already been crushed—our remaining armies are more than enough to finish the job. Staying here won’t benefit you much. The enemies left are too weak to sharpen your skills, and resources are too scarce. If you linger, your progress will only slow."
Tang Xinyao pondered for a moment and understood Ye Liuyun’s reasoning—the remaining alien soldiers were too weak to serve as adequate training opponents or provide worthwhile resources.
“Then doesn’t the same apply to you?” she countered.
Ye Liuyun nodded in agreement. “Indeed. I face the same dilemma as you. After sending you all back, I’ll also be heading straight into the depths of space to explore.”
“Oh!” Tang Xinyao acknowledged, but her eyes flickered with thought, as if already scheming something else.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun finalized his arrangements before using the Teleportation Black Tower to return to the Exorcism Star System.
From there, he escorted them back to the Tang Family aboard a battleship. Aside from the Tang disciples, he intended to hand over the remaining soldiers to the Tang Family as well.
Whether these individuals had willingly fought against the alien races or not, they were still soldiers who had contributed on the battlefield. He had no desire to keep them enslaved. Yet, he lacked the resources to sustain them all and couldn’t possibly take them along.
If the Tang Family refused to accept them, his only option would be to release them, leaving them to forge their own paths.
