Chapter 3418

“Hahaha, only thinking of leaving now? Too late!”

Suddenly, a voice appeared out of thin air, ringing in the ears of Ye Liuyun and the others like a thunderclap.

The voice was akin to a sonic attack. Ye Liuyun’s soul power was strong enough to withstand it, but the others were all left dizzy and disoriented, collapsing onto the ground. Only Qi Tianlin fared slightly better and managed to remain conscious.

A martial cultivator at the fourth level of the Void Realm suddenly emerged from the void and appeared directly in front of them.

“Huh? You lowly ants have quite impressive soul power! But you’re all still going to die!” the martial cultivator shouted coldly, thrusting out a palm toward Ye Liuyun and the others.

Ye Liuyun cast an illusion on him with his crimson eyes to disrupt his attack while releasing two golden dragons—one to protect everyone and the other to attack the martial cultivator.

“Hmm? Looks like you lowly ants have quite a few valuable treasures on you!”

The martial cultivator had not expected Ye Liuyun and the others to possess so many treasures. He had been observing them for quite some time and noticed that the treasures they used in battle were all of good quality, making them worth intervening for. He had not expected Ye Liuyun to have even more hidden treasures.

He immediately realized that these soldiers’ identities might not be simple. Ordinary soldiers were absolutely not this wealthy.

At that moment, everyone else was sprawled on the ground, with only Ye Liuyun still standing guard over them. Naturally, the martial cultivator’s attention fell on Ye Liuyun as well. He immediately decided to capture Ye Liuyun alive and claim the two golden dragon puppets for himself.

He immediately used Spatial Force once more, attempting to approach Ye Liuyun through the void.

But Ye Liuyun had already been watching him closely. The moment he moved, Ye Liuyun’s golden eyes released the Golden Crow Fire Spirit, which burned straight into the void.

“Ah!”

The martial cultivator let out a miserable scream and emerged from the void with flames blazing all over his body.

When attacking this martial cultivator, Ye Liuyun had unleashed the Golden Crow Sacred Flame without holding anything back. The flames were powerful enough to burn through even the void, so the martial cultivator naturally could not withstand them. Even a martial cultivator at the fifth level of the Void Realm might not have been able to withstand Ye Liuyun’s Golden Crow Fire Spirit.

Thus, caught unprepared, he suffered a heavy loss. Half of his physical body had already been burned away.

In his desperation, the martial cultivator immediately released both of his souls and sent them charging into Ye Liuyun’s sea of consciousness, intending to kill him first.

Ye Liuyun, however, immediately withdrew the Golden Crow Fire Spirit to avoid burning the martial cultivator to death.

By then, Ye Liuyun had already planted a slave seal on the martial cultivator. No matter how powerful his soul was, he could not withstand Ye Liuyun’s three soul sources and crimson-eye illusion.

“This lowly one, Chen Xiang, pays respects to his master!”

After acknowledging Ye Liuyun as his master, Chen Xiang actually knelt on one knee and gave him a military salute.

“You used to be a soldier in the army?” Ye Liuyun asked curiously.

“Yes. I was originally the commander of a ten-thousand-man unit under Marquis Liefeng. Because I was implicated by Marquis Liefeng, I was demoted to an exile and banished here.

“Then follow me from now on!”

Ye Liuyun immediately searched his soul to learn how he cultivated Spatial Force. Then he returned Chen Xiang’s soul to his body, took him and the golden dragon puppets into his spatial world, and let him recover from his injuries there.

However, the fluctuations from their battle, along with the flames from moments earlier, attracted the scattered martial cultivators in the surrounding area. Before they could withdraw, those martial cultivators had already surrounded them. Seeing only a few injured soldiers, they all wanted to attack and seize the resources in their possession.

Ye Liuyun was helpless and could only fight them. He released his soul sources, planted slave seals on them one by one, and then sent them into his spatial world.

Before long, he had captured another five martial cultivators at the third level of the Void Realm. Seeing this, the others no longer dared approach.

Afterward, they encountered several martial cultivators blocking their path. Ye Liuyun could only strike first, subduing them all with soul attacks.

“I won’t turn in the prisoners I captured. Once my cultivation breaks through, I’ll keep them around to practice on! All the resources in their possession will go to you!” Ye Liuyun explained this to everyone to prevent them from taking issue with it.

“You captured them through your own ability, so you can decide what to do with them! We’ve already gained so much—more than enough! Don’t give all the resources to us either. We’ve already benefited quite a bit by following you. If you feel bad about it, just roast more meat for us when we get back!”

Liao Yaotian had finally recovered somewhat and was the first to voice his agreement. The others had no objections either. They had already made an enormous gain on this outing and did not want to keep taking advantage of Ye Liuyun.

If Ye Liuyun had not brought them along, he would certainly have gained even more, while they themselves would never have dared to venture out and take risks. Without Ye Liuyun, they would have struggled even against a martial cultivator at the second level of the Void Realm.

Seeing that they were not greedy, Ye Liuyun stopped insisting. He immediately led them back to the main army at full speed, then returned with Xiao Han to rest and recuperate.

The armies on the other routes had either advanced relatively slowly or barely contributed at all. Their casualties were not as heavy as this group’s, and naturally, neither were their achievements. When they saw this group return, they all followed them back as well.

After returning, Ye Liuyun and the others handed over the prisoners they had captured together to Xiao Han so that he could exchange them for rewards. As for the powerful individuals Ye Liuyun had captured afterward, he kept them for himself.

Everyone then began recovering from their injuries. Aside from having nearly exhausted their divine essence, their souls had also been shaken and required more than ten days of cultivation to recover.

Ye Liuyun immediately returned to the spatial world within his clone and began sparring with the prisoners he had captured.

The speed of his progress left Meng Yunshan astonished.

“How has your power of heaven and earth improved so much in such a short time? You can already fight me to a draw!” Meng Yunshan exclaimed to Ye Liuyun.

“I’m still far from that! If I want to establish my own faction, I’ll have to become even stronger!” Ye Liuyun replied to Meng Yunshan.

He also found some resources among the martial cultivators he had captured and gave them to Meng Yunshan so that he could improve more quickly. As for Chen Xiang, Ye Liuyun gave him plenty of resources to speed up his recovery from his burns, so that he could later practice and improve his Spatial Force alongside him.

Ye Liuyun and the others had not been cultivating for long when Xiao Han returned from Grand Commander Tai Hao. He not only brought them their rewards, but also brought them some good news.

“We earned the greatest merit this time and received commendation and promotions from the grand commander. Chen Mo, Liao Yaotian, Qi Tianlin, Qiang Shi, and Qin Yuan have all been promoted to commanders of hundred-man units. Because of his outstanding military achievements, Ye Liuyun has been promoted to commander of a thousand-man unit.

I’ve benefited from your achievements as well and have been promoted to commander of a ten-thousand-man unit!”

“Hahaha, now that’s what I call getting promoted and rich! We have to celebrate properly!” Liao Yaotian shouted excitedly when he heard this.

“Indeed, we really hit the jackpot this time! It’s all thanks to you. My treat—I’ll take you all to a restaurant for a feast!” Xiao Han suggested, clearly in a good mood.