Once Ye Liuyun had locked onto his targets, he kept strolling with Qingyu, eating and chatting idly while eavesdropping on other patrons. When the waiter brought another dish, Ye Liuyun froze time and quietly branded the man with a slave seal.

When they finished and went to settle the bill, he froze time again and planted a second seal on the steward

Neither the steward nor the waiter ever learned who had enslaved them; in the frozen instant they never even glimpsed Ye Liuyun’s face. He offered no explanations—only the silent order to report anything useful through the seal.

After that, Ye Liuyun had Qingyu lead him to several spots popular with scions of great clans. Whenever he spotted a suitable candidate he froze time, sent his soul into the person’s sea of consciousness, checked for any existing contracts, and—if none were found—planted another seal. Then he strolled away with Qingyu as if nothing had happened.

Each new thrall was left bewildered, never having seen their master’s features, knowing only that they must funnel information through the seal.

With the groundwork laid, Ye Liuyun returned to their lodgings, dismissed Qingyu for the night, and told her to continue the tour tomorrow

Qingyu assumed the day had been perfectly ordinary—just another outing as his guide—utterly unaware of what had truly transpired.

After she left, Ye Liuyun summoned the two remaining old servants; they reported nothing out of the ordinary

He ordered his first avatar to reach the capital as fast as possible and complete the transaction. The longer he stayed, the less safe he felt; if the Fire-Seal Dynasty decided to seize him first and investigate later, the consequences would be dire

This was the dynasty’s own capital. Once the city was fully sealed, with its arrays and artifact-craft, even he might not escape.

That night he retreated into his avatar’s pocket world to accelerate his cultivation of divine essence. Facing danger demanded every scrap of strength he could muster

He trained until dawn, then had Qingyu escort him out again. Their first stop: another restaurant.

The capital was vast; every district held eateries suitable for planting informants. Yet when Ye Liuyun tried to enslave this new steward, he found the man already bound by a master-servant contract.

“Someone moved first,” he muttered, abandoning the attempt

Fortunately, time had been frozen; the steward sensed nothing. After a quick soul-search Ye Liuyun withdrew.

To his surprise, the steward’s master turned out to be a supervisor from the Holy Flame Merchant Guild—someone who only wanted information, not total control.

Suspicions flared. “Is the Holy Flame Guild hiding something?”

After the meal he had Qingyu take him to two smaller guild halls. Freezing time, he examined the stewards’ minds; finding no contracts, he branded one and began questioning him about the Holy Flame Guild.

The steward answered at once. “They say the guild has royal backing—rumor claims the eldest princess is running it for the third prince. Management is airtight; even sales clerks must sign soul-oaths of secrecy

Their power is top-tier in the Fire-Seal Dynasty—wealth, experts, you name it. Most of the dynasty’s procurement passes through them, and they have deep ties to the Void Pill Sect, the Chen clan, and the Myriad Transformation Sect.”

Ye Liuyun’s face darkened. “So I walked straight into their web by staying at their inn.”

He pressed on. “Anything else unusual?”

The steward thought a moment. “They employ a violet-eyed youth said to read people and objects flawlessly. Word is those eyes can pierce flesh to see a soul—and even erase it outright. Does that count?”

“So that’s why I couldn’t find a single bargain at the slave or beast markets.”

If the steward spoke true, those violet eyes surpassed his own golden ones; his could only perceive souls after refining a three-eyed alien’s eye, and they certainly couldn’t annihilate a soul directly.

He wondered uneasily whether that violet gaze had already marked him.

Further questions yielded nothing useful, so he left.

On the street he quietly cast a crimson illusion over Qingyu with his soul-red pupils and asked, “What do you know about the abilities of those violet eyes?”

He knew she couldn’t betray guild secrets—but phrased this way, the question had nothing to do with the Holy Flame Guild at all.

As expected, Qingyu told Ye Liuyun bluntly, “It can see through things, view souls, and kill a soul outright.”

“How exactly does it kill a soul?” Ye Liuyun pressed.

“You just look at someone, and their soul is extinguished,” Qingyu replied, sounding as if she herself didn’t fully understand how the violet pupils annihilated souls.

Ye Liuyun immediately dispelled the illusion he’d cast on Qingyu, but inwardly he worried: if the Sacred Fire Guild decided to move against him, his chances of escape looked slim.

“This universe truly holds every marvel—those violet pupils are even stronger than my golden ones!”

Moreover, since the violet pupils could perceive souls, he couldn’t allow his First Clone to enter the royal capital. His own sea of consciousness held the Myriad-God Token; as long as he didn’t release his soul, no one could see it. The clone’s sea of consciousness lacked that protection and would be exposed at once.

So he ordered the First Clone, once it reached the outskirts of the capital, to hand the two demonic flood dragons to the escorts and have them delivered inside. The clone itself would leave immediately and find a temporary hiding place.

After receiving Ye Liuyun’s message, the First Clone had Ye Tiandao release the Void-class flying shuttle and race here at full speed. It should arrive a little after tomorrow evening.

Ye Liuyun had Qingyu lead him to several more locations to seize a few spies, then stopped wandering.

“Fewer spies is fine; these should be enough! Using slave seals in this city is exhausting,” he muttered, deciding to end the spy-hunt in the capital.

For someone of his current strength, the royal city was still too dangerous; he had to tread carefully.

Qingyu simply assumed Ye Liuyun was bored of sightseeing and followed him back. Once they returned, he told her to rest early.

Afterward, Ye Liuyun spread his divine sense and carefully surveyed the Sacred Fire Guild and the surrounding area.