Jiang Yunmo wasn’t slow-witted; she immediately proposed to Ye Liuyun that they sign an equal soul contract

As repayment for Ye Liuyun rescuing her, she would transfer full ownership of the Holy Flame Chamber of Commerce to him and guarantee never to reveal any of his secrets

She also asked Ye Liuyun to hire her to keep running the chamber, giving him a certain amount of leverage over her in the process

She had been imprisoned by the Third Prince for three years without advancing a single realm, so of course she wanted revenge. Yet if Ye Liuyun refused to let her continue managing the chamber, she lacked the strength to contend with Jiang Yunyang

This way, the two of them could cooperate on equal footing. Although a royal guardian imprint still sat in her sea of consciousness, an equal contract was still possible

After a moment’s thought, Ye Liuyun agreed and signed the soul contract with her

The four subordinates of the Third Prince he had just captured, along with the twenty ninth-realm experts, he temporarily loaned to Jiang Yunmo. Even Wei Yushan was handed over to serve as her body double, taking risks in her place to keep her safer

All of them signed equal contracts with Jiang Yunmo to assist her, yet in truth they remained under Ye Liuyun’s slave seals

Then Ye Liuyun gave Jiang Yunmo a ninth-grade True-tier flying shuttle and told her to return to the capital at once with those cultivators to take control of the Holy Flame Chamber of Commerce, lest the Third Prince cause trouble

Ye Liuyun kept only the Void-tier shuttle for himself; everything else went with her. Though it looked like a short-term loss, gaining an entire chamber of commerce meant resources would no longer be a concern

The mastiff’s corpse he simply fed to the Demonic Vine. Jiang Yunmo wanted the purple eye back, but Ye Liuyun refused. The eye could see through objects, perceive souls, resist illusions, and even shatter an opponent’s soul outright—though at great soul-power cost

That was why the mastiff’s soul force had been so weak; it occasionally had to carry out assassination missions for the Third Prince, and after each soul-draining use of the eye it needed time to recover

Ye Liuyun didn’t truly need those functions, yet keeping the eye as a hidden trump card was useful. As long as he refrained from using its soul-shattering ability, the drain was minimal

Handing it to Jiang Yunmo, however, would be unpredictable; their relationship was only a partnership. The fact that she had immediately relinquished the chamber and sought continued cooperation upon learning his identity showed she was no simple woman—she clearly intended to leverage his power for her own ends

Her decisive move to seize the chamber the moment she was free displayed a ruthlessness many men lacked

Better safe than sorry, Ye Liuyun decided. Jiang Yunmo said nothing more and left at once

Watching the Demonic Vine devour the mastiff, Ye Liuyun couldn’t help laughing

If not for these royal siblings’ constant scheming, he would never have had a chance to infiltrate the Fire Seal Dynasty 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The Third Prince, Jiang Yunyang, had realized Ye Liuyun might be the one stirring up trouble everywhere and sought to capture and use him against the other princes. Had he reported Ye Liuyun to the dynasty immediately, escaping the capital would have been difficult

Now, with the Fire Seal Dynasty’s eldest princess on his side and the chamber of commerce as a resource and information channel, dealing with the dynasty would be far easier easier

He didn’t rush off; instead he paused to calm his excitement and plan his next steps

His goal had never been to destroy the Fire Seal Dynasty—only to gather resources and temper his strength

With his own information network in place, the dynasty no longer posed the same threat

His forces had grown as well: five thousand soldiers, two Demonic Legions, and a number of elite cultivators—enough to start seizing mines and medicinal fields

He decided to make this place his headquarters. Wu Xiang’s formations made it secure, invisible to outsiders

He released the four eighth-realm old servants and two eighth-realm guards, ordering them to treat the site as a temporary base: repel stray beasts and cultivators and keep the area safe

Xiao Heng, Li Zhaoyuan, Meng Tianlin, and Lin Mo were summoned to lead the five thousand soldiers. The former praetorian were assigned to Xiao Heng and Li Zhaoyuan as the army commanders’ personal escorts

Whether the two had any real command experience didn’t matter; for now they were the only candidates available

When Ye Liuyun told them they would be raiding the Fire Seal system’s resources, excitement swept through the ranks. None had expected him to move against the Fire Seal Dynasty so soon, and all threw themselves into training and strengthening their units

The magical beasts were handed to Hei Shan to be integrated into the legions to boost their overall might.

He set aside a portion of the origin power tainted with demonic qi for his first clone; everything else went to Thunderclap, the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, the Demonic Lion, Black Rock, Sand Xenocide, Black Mountain, and the Tiger-Head Beast King so they could keep pushing their strength higher.

All the corpses of vicious beasts and martial cultivators were handed to the Demonic Vine—enough, he estimated, for it to break through to the ninth level of the Return-to-One realm. Whatever Jiang Yunmo gathered from now on would be stockpiled for the vine as well.

Ye Liuyun no longer needed to be frugal: the Demonic Vine came first, everyone else after. The demon beasts had plenty of food and cultivation resources; there was no need to build further reserves for them.

The martial experts he’d captured were gathered in one place—twenty-eight in total. Among them were fourteen killers from the royal assassination squad, plus a newly-demonized snow wolf, making twenty-nine powerful fighters. Ye Liuyun ordered his second clone to lead them in battle from now on. The first clone stowed the demonic flood dragon into his spatial world and took charge of the demon army.

Third Prince Jiang Yunyang had tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice. Not only had he failed to capture Ye Liuyun, he’d brought fresh trouble on himself.

By now he knew Jiang Yunmo had regained her freedom and retaken the merchant guild. She’d purged every spy Jiang Yunyang had planted inside it—down to the last man.

Yet he was far away in the Prosperous Gold Star System; distant water couldn’t quench a nearby fire, and he had no way to stop her return.

The moment Jiang Yunmo reclaimed the guild, she launched a furious counterattack against the forces Jiang Yunyang controlled. Wei Yushan, privy to many of his secrets, aided her, and Jiang Yunyang’s influence in the capital shrank sharply.

Even the flow of supplies and fresh troops to his army was throttled, forcing him to halt his advance on the battlefield.

To placate Jiang Yunmo’s wrath, Jiang Yunyang dispatched envoys bearing lavish gifts and apologies. Jiang Yunmo accepted every item without hesitation—yet showed no mercy whenever she struck at him.