Tang Xinyao’s nine-man squad instantly locked into formation, relying on their battle array for defense

Ye Liuyun, his two avatars, and the metal puppet ringed the rest of the group, waiting for the spatial puppet to return

Moments later the spatial puppet leapt out of the void, clutching a palm-sized hunting rat. The rodent thrashed but couldn’t break free; its tiny eyes darted over Ye Liuyun and the others

Ye Liuyun struck at once with a soul attack, branding it with a slave seal, then began a soul-search

The rat had indeed been sent by the devil flood dragons to spy on Ye Liuyun’s party from within the void. Most of the powerful vicious beasts had also been recruited by the flood dragons

He dug deeper for information on the Dragon Clan tomb. Unexpectedly, the rat had once scouted it too, but its courage failed; it never dared steal a dragon corpse. Sensing the overwhelming draconic aura, it fled immediately

Ye Liuyun stored the rat for later—its spatial talent was strong, but its combat strength pitiful. He sent the spatial puppet and the magic lion to stand guard in the void, then pressed on toward the devil flood-dragon clan with everyone else

No more beast hordes barred their way. Instead, Ye Liuyun saw several packs actively avoiding them, none containing a ninth-level vicious beast. When White Tiger roared at one pack, the entire group scattered in fright

“Boss, something’s off—the beast kings are missing!” White Tiger sent mentally

“The kings are gone?” Ye Liuyun instantly guessed the flood dragons had gathered them for a combined assault

“Halt and rest. Everyone into the avatars’ spatial world to recover your true essence.”

He stopped the column, leaving only the two avatars and the puppets outside to bait any ambush

Sure enough, strange and specialized beasts soon struck. Those strong in spatial power were intercepted by the spatial puppet. Foes wielding vast heaven-and-earth force—though stronger than Ye Liuyun—were spotted in time, then shot down by the avatars’ Great Desolation or Demon-Slayer bows. Poisoners simply came to die

Illusionists fared no better: the avatars’ soul force held for a moment, then Ye Liuyun countered with his crimson pupils. No beast illusion surpassed them

He finally located another beast whose crimson pupils could be refined into the soul. After killing it, he handed the eyes to the second avatar for immediate refinement; in this danger, every bit of illusion resistance counted

The first avatar also retreated into the spatial world. Together the avatars rebuilt their seas of consciousness: poison soul-flowers guarded the entrance; layered voids filled with toxins and nether ghost-fire lay within. The avatars’ souls now used spatial power, hiding amid stacked voids so enemies could not pinpoint them for illusion attacks

Outside, only Ye Liuyun and the two puppets remained—yet he felt safer, and their pace quickened

Many ambushing beasts were neutralized before they could act, seized by soul attacks or crimson-pupil illusions

Once, a dozen golden serpents struck. Ye Liuyun’s War God armor flared automatically, blocking every blow; the metal puppet rang like a bell under their impacts, its blades unable to cleave the serpents 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Ye Liuyun invoked temporal power, then soul attacks, killing the serpents outright. Their bodies brimmed with metallic essence—perfect tempering resources

Two ninth-level devil flood dragons tried to assassinate him with spatial techniques, but the spatial puppet sensed them first. Ye Liuyun froze time, devoured their souls, and stowed the corpses in his spatial world. Both souls went to the first avatar, accelerating its growth

A soul-search revealed the dragons’ mixed awe and dread of the Dragon tomb: its aura kept even them at bay. They merely patrolled the periphery, never entering

They had intercepted two dragon corpses—stolen by other beasts—and handed them to clan elders for refinement. Two late-stage ninth-level flood dragons with exceptionally powerful physiques owed their strength to those very corpses, though the dragons had no measure of their souls or bloodlines

Ye Liuyun advanced in fits and starts, buying time for his avatars

A soul-mighty horned deer hunted him; one clash later, the Ten-Thousand-God Token in his sea of consciousness obliterated its soul. Ye Liuyun fed that soul to the second avatar, ordering him to refine the crimson pupils first, then use the extra soul force to enhance their illusion attacks

After devouring the dragon soul, Ye Liuyun’s own soul had grown so formidable that he focused on raising his avatars’. With steady infusions, their soul power now neared his own

The devil flood-dragon clan was at its wits’ end. Every elite beast they had dispatched had vanished; Ye Liuyun’s party remained unscathed

The clan chief sent one last mighty flood dragon in a final attempt. Should this one fail, they would have to rely on the beast-king line—every ninth-level king—arrayed as their final defense.

The Demon Flood Dragon chieftain had already guessed that Ye Liuyun and his group were aiming for the Dragon Clan tomb. Both of their previous assaults had been aimed straight at this place. Moreover, Ye Liuyun had a black dragon on his side; perhaps they really could enter the Dragon tomb.

Though they hadn’t fully explored the Dragon tomb, the Demon Flood Dragons had no intention of relinquishing it. Ascending into true dragons was their ultimate dream. Even if the entire clan perished, as long as one of them succeeded in becoming a dragon, they would deem the price worthwhile.

One of their strongest had refined an entire drop of true-dragon blood. His cultivation had soared to the late stage of Return-to-One Ninth Heaven, and his flesh, soul, and bloodline now far surpassed those of ordinary Demon Flood Dragons. Thus, he paid Ye Liuyun no heed and charged straight at him.

His bloodline pressure, soul might, and true essence all crashed down on Ye Liuyun at once.

The instant that pressure rolled out, Ye Liuyun gauged the creature’s strength precisely. In power of bloodline he was slightly stronger; in soul force they were about equal. Using his crimson pupils to subjugate this Demon Flood Dragon would probably be too slow.