Chapter 3417

“You really came from the Lower Realm?”

During a break along the way, Ye Liuyun roasted meat for everyone, and Qi Tianlin and the others began asking him questions out of curiosity. They all felt that Ye Liuyun’s strength truly did not seem like that of someone from the Lower Realm.

Ye Liuyun’s Spatial Force and control over the power of heaven and earth had gradually surpassed theirs. His divine sense could now reach more than fifteen li away. In addition, his bloodline, blade intent, flames, Buddhist and demonic power, and physical body were all so formidable that everyone found it unbelievable.

Thus, Ye Liuyun had no choice but to tell them that, while he had been in the God Realm, he had encountered a powerhouse from the Void World and experienced its pressure ahead of time. He had therefore made thorough preparations before breaking through, and had even suppressed his cultivation realm to improve his strength in other areas. This finally put their minds at ease.

Otherwise, they would all have thought Ye Liuyun far too monstrous and believed that he should have appeared in a major sect rather than among their army.

Ye Liuyun’s skill at roasting meat also won endless praise from them. They all said that following Ye Liuyun not only allowed them to fight and improve their strength without danger, but also brought them great gains and delicious food. These were truly the most satisfying days of their military careers.

After eating and chatting, Ye Liuyun led everyone onward to scout the path. Before long, they discovered three fairly large bandit groups. The groups were quite close to one another, and each had eighty or ninety members, bringing the total to nearly three hundred.

There were eleven bandit powerhouses at the second level of the Void Realm. They had encountered second-level Void Realm experts before. Ye Liuyun and Qi Tianlin could each handle one on their own, while the others could deal with one by working in pairs. But eleven were already beyond their ability to handle.

Ye Liuyun also did not want to rely on treasures like the golden dragon to win, so he discussed the matter with everyone. “We’ve already had our share of the limelight, and we’ve obtained quite a lot of resources. How about leaving these three bandit groups to the main army to surround and annihilate? Let the other soldiers earn some merit too. We can’t take everything for ourselves.

“Besides, these three bandit groups have a lot of members and are close to one another. If they reinforce each other, we won’t be their match either. We might even end up in danger.

“And if we have to rely on treasures to fight, there wouldn’t be much point. What do you think?”

“We have no objections. We’ll follow your lead!” The others now looked to him in everything and unanimously agreed.

Ye Liuyun then reported the details of the three bandit groups to Xiao Han. How to arrange the attack was Xiao Han’s concern, and Ye Liuyun did not intend to worry about it.

With a thousand men facing three hundred, Xiao Han was certain to win no matter how they fought. Their task was simply to continue monitoring the bandits’ movements and wait for the main army to arrive.

Ye Liuyun could clearly scout the bandit group with his divine sense from fifteen li away, so there was no need for them to approach, making it extremely safe.

Xiao Han soon led his troops over as well, immediately surrounding the bandits.

He had been waiting impatiently in the rear for a long time. Now that he finally had a chance to send the main army into action, he could get in some fighting himself as well.

Once the main army arrived, Ye Liuyun and the others did not charge in with them. Instead, they stayed on the perimeter, watching for martial cultivators trying to escape.

They actually encountered two second-level Void Realm martial cultivators who killed the commanders of two hundred-man units before fighting their way out. In the end, Ye Liuyun wounded one with an arrow from the Great Wilderness Bow and killed the other. No one else needed to act.

Ye Liuyun first wounded one of them and realized that his arrow lacked sufficient power because he had not infused it with the power of heaven and earth. Thus, for his second arrow, he infused it not only with divine essence but also with the power of heaven and earth, killing a second-level Void Realm martial cultivator.

Not a single one of the remaining bandits escaped. The main army killed some and captured the rest, ultimately wiping them out completely.

However, the soldiers also suffered heavy losses in this battle. Nearly three hundred were killed, including the commanders of three hundred-man units, and another two or three hundred were wounded. The main army no longer had the strength to fight another battle.

After the battle ended, the main army stopped to recuperate. Only then did Ye Liuyun and the others return to the army and rejoin Xiao Han.

“If we continue ahead, we may encounter martial cultivators of even higher realms. I’m afraid the army will suffer heavy casualties!”

Xiao Han felt that they had already gained quite enough. With the soldiers having suffered such heavy casualties, he thought they could withdraw.

Ye Liuyun still wanted to test himself against martial cultivators at the highest realms. When a fight was too easy, he felt that he could not force out his own potential.

“Then take some people and give it a try. The main army will recuperate here for the time being. But don’t take too many risks. Put safety first.” Xiao Han was quite considerate of him, allowing him to venture farther and conduct another round of probing while the main army rested.

Thus, Ye Liuyun set out with some men once more. This time, he brought only Liao Yaotian, Chen Mo, Qi Tianlin, Qiang Shi, and Qin Yuan. He did not bring too many people, lest they attract attention and force him to protect the others during battle.

The six of them made a smaller target, making them harder to detect, and they traveled much faster than before.

As they continued onward, the realms of the martial cultivators indeed grew higher and higher. Before long, they encountered third-level Void Realm martial cultivators, and even some at the fourth level.

Moreover, when Ye Liuyun’s divine sense detected some third- and fourth-level Void Realm martial cultivators, they were also able to detect him.

However, when they saw that Ye Liuyun and the other soldiers were at low realms, they did not bother to evade them. As for the fourth-level Void Realm martial cultivators, they could not be bothered to attack soldiers whose realms were so much lower than theirs.

Soldiers were poor and had few resources on them, so it was not worth their while to make a move.

Thus, Ye Liuyun and the others specifically targeted lone third-level Void Realm martial cultivators. Guided by Ye Liuyun’s Golden Eyes, they planned their approach in advance each time. Working together, they actually captured five third-level Void Realm prisoners.

However, Qiang Shi and Chen Mo were both wounded, and Qin Yuan’s sword had broken. Fortunately, the third-level Void Realm martial cultivators carried high-grade swords that could replace it. Ye Liuyun was also injured, though his wounds healed quickly. Even so, his divine essence was nearly depleted.

“Withdraw!”

Ye Liuyun now had a clear understanding of the strength of these third-level Void Realm experts. He could not withstand one of their all-out palm strikes at all. Even after using blade intent, divine essence, and the power of heaven and earth, he could block only most of it and would still be struck and injured.

Even when he used his power of bloodline against these experts, he could reduce their strength by at most one or two tenths, which did not have much effect.

At present, even one arrow from the Great Wilderness Bow could not kill those martial cultivators. At most, it could injure them or serve as a distraction.

The others could only barely withstand the attacks by relying entirely on their weapons and treasures. They could capture their opponents only with the aid of Ye Liuyun’s soul attacks or Qi Tianlin’s ice-sealing treasure.

Ye Liuyun also discovered that although many martial cultivators from the Void World had not condensed a soul origin, their soul power was already quite strong. If he faced a fourth-level Void Realm martial cultivator, he feared that even unleashing two soul origins might not give him much of an advantage.

Therefore, he no longer dared to lead the others into danger and immediately prepared to withdraw.