With no more enemies left in the Desolate Sea, Ye Liuyun and his beasts had no choice but to leave. Yet although the great clans that once hunted him had been scared off, he had no intention of letting them go.

“Those clans think they can hit us and then run? Not a chance! Time for them to pay up!”

He grinned as he told the demonic beasts to rest and cultivate first, then march on the clans. Knowing another round of plundering was coming, the beasts raced back to train, each having seen their own weaknesses in the last battle and now determined to fix them.

His second avatar handed over the Poison Soul Flower seized from Jiang Yunhan, along with every other resource, for Ye Liuyun to distribute. The black crystal that tempered the soul he kept for himself and the avatars to use in turns; the Soul Tempering Grass he split among his main body and both avatars to refine their spirits. Bloodline and physique resources went straight to the avatars so they could fully catch up to the original.

Galactic origin power, other sources of primordial energy, and spirit stones were also retained. But the treasures, soldiers’ crossbows and shields were sent back via the black teleportation tower to the women and the demon army—he wanted them to suffer fewer losses and gain stronger offense and defense.

The soul-defense treasure of Void rank he gave to Ye Tiandao; the Void-class flying shuttle stayed with her as well, giving the women a faster ride. The Void-rank spear went to Xiao Yunfang, and the Void-grade soft armor to A-Xing. The two special metal ingots were delivered straight to the Heavenfire Ancestor, who was thrilled, declaring the timing perfect for upgrading the Heaven-Swallowing Cauldron.

The True Ninth-Grade flying shuttles—two of them—were assigned one to each demon legion. Shields and crossbows were issued to the demon army at large; the ancient demons’ size made the smaller weapons unsuitable for them anyway.

Only after sending everything back did Ye Liuyun return to the Desolate Sea. He refined the Poison Soul Flower into his sea of consciousness, then began tempering his soul with the black crystal. The pressure it exuded far surpassed the array in the Book-Demon Pagoda—ideal for his current needs. After the Soul Tempering Grass and the crystal, his spirit became denser, ready to absorb more soul power later.

Inside the second avatar’s spatial world were four captive warriors: Chen Piaoran, the Imperial Guard junior commander, and two mid-Ninth-Heaven bodyguards—all injured and needing long recovery. Ye Liuyun wasn’t in a rush to use them, so he offered no life spring water; they could heal under the avatar’s accelerated time.

Both Ye Liuyun and his avatars had burned through a lot of divine essence and needed replenishment. After a stretch of cultivation, his realm finally rose to late Fifth Heaven Unity. Once it stabilized, he refreshed the divine essence stored in his essence stones and set off toward the surrounding clans.

The two demonic flood dragons were stowed in the first avatar’s world; Longnu went to cultivate with the other beasts. Ye Liuyun mounted the snow wolf and rode alone toward the Leng Clan.

The Leng Clan had dispatched experts several times and lost more than half its strength; they no longer dared hunt Ye Liuyun. They never expected him to come knocking.

Arriving, Ye Liuyun slashed at the Leng estate from the void with full force. The domineering blade intent cleaved the entire compound in two, carving a deep ravine into the ground. Every defensive array the Lengs had laid down shattered under that single strike.

“The planets of the Fire-Seal Galaxy—sure enough, their origin power is tightly guarded.”

For the first time he felt the planet’s origin power actively resisting his blow. The realization only reassured him; he could now cut loose without restraint.

That slash alarmed not just the Leng Clan but the entire city; every gaze turned toward the scene. The garrison began mustering at once—private feuds were none of their business, but they feared collateral damage to civilians.

Fire-Seal cities usually stationed five thousand troops. Their gear, however, was far inferior to the Imperial Guard’s—mostly True Fourth or Fifth Grade weapons and armor. Respectable among cultivators, yet Ye Liuyun paid them no mind.

Leng experts rose into the air, warily scanning the void.

Ye Liuyun rode the snow wolf out of the emptiness, the Demon-Slayer Blade resting across his shoulder, calmly sizing up the survivors. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

“Ye Liuyun?” Many in the Leng Clan knew his face; seeing him now, shock filled their eyes.

The Cold Clan Patriarch froze for a heartbeat, then bared his teeth in a savage grin. “You’re truly courting death! We couldn’t even find you, and now you deliver yourself to our doorstep?”

Ye Liuyun shrugged it off. “Heh. Every assassin your Cold Clan sent after me is already dead. I’m here to collect compensation.”

“Compensation? Hahaha!” The patriarch and several elders burst into laughter.

“Such arrogance. Fine—since you’ve come to die, pay the price! Kill him!” Seeing only Ye Liuyun and a single snow-wolf, the patriarch assumed they were hopelessly outnumbered and ordered the clan to strike.

He still believed the earlier teams had failed only because they’d been too few; he hadn’t grasped Ye Liuyun’s true strength. The slash Ye Liuyun had just unleashed, however, made it clear he could fight at late Ninth Heaven.

But the Cold Clan still had a peak late-Ninth expert; they had no reason to fear. And since they lived by plunder, every disciple was battle-hardened.

At the patriarch’s shout, disciples and elders charged.

“If you won’t pay, then be exterminated.”

Ye Liuyun spoke calmly, released his clone and a horde of demonic beasts, and surged forward. A single sweeping slash cut several Cold Clan disciples clean in half.

The clan’s late-Ninth expert struck with a palm aimed at Ye Liuyun. Two clones raised bows: one loosed an arrow to intercept the palm strike, the other shot straight at the expert.

Two thunderous booms rang out. The expert’s attack was shattered; the arrow from the Great Desolation Bow blasted him backward. In desperation he erupted with all his yuan energy, even drawing on the power of his spatial world, and threw up his arms to block. Both arms were pulverized, but he kept his life—yet lost all ability to fight, left sprawled on the ground, unable to rise.

The expert had been too proud to wear any defensive treasures; that pride cost him dearly.

“Tch. Late-Ninth cultivators really are hard to kill,” Ye Liuyun muttered inwardly.