Chapter 1418: Bloodbath of the West Phoenix

Qujing now also regrets his poor judgment of people, having dragged everyone into the trap with him.

If the West Phoenix King were to order an attack now, even if Ye Liuyun intervened, his two hundred thousand troops would likely be almost all gone by then.

But at this moment Ye Liuyun has no intention of acting, standing aside indifferently watching everything before him.

Qujing previously did not trust him and made an agreement to wait for Qujing's confirmation. So if Qujing does not ask him, he will not act.

However, Qu Wanying is very curious why Ye Liuyun does not step in to save her.

After being captured, she was not panicked at all, because she believed that with Ye Liuyun here, he would never stand by as something happened to her.

The West Phoenix King saw Qujing contemplating and thought he was about to soften, a smug smile spreading across his face.

"Alas! I never expected that after I saved your life, you wouldn't even be grateful, and now you betray me at the crucial moment! I truly have poor judgment of people!" Qujing suddenly sighed.

When the West Phoenix King saw his tone soften, he also lamented, "I have no choice either; the Empire forces us. Actually, if you look at it from another angle, our goals are the same—we both oppose the Empire. If you view mining as a different division of labor, it's easier to accept."

"If you said that nicely, I'd be fine with each of us contributing half the forces, mining together, and sharing the profits. But your method is clearly exploiting a crisis, not something a gentleman would do," Qujing shook his head and sighed.

"Without strength, how can one have a voice? Why should I share the lands I fought hard to seize, and even discuss it?"

The West Phoenix King fired a series of retorts, not because he was making excuses, but because that is how he understood it.

He believes that only the strong have a say in this world, and everything is built on the basis of profit.

"Young Master Ye, you truly have foresight! It is I who not only misjudge people but cannot discern right from wrong! I solemnly apologize and hope you will intervene to save us," Qujing transmitted this to Ye Liuyun.

He has completely lost hope regarding the West Phoenix King.

If it drags on longer, he fears the West Phoenix King will do something even more outrageous.

Ye Liuyun, seeing his sincere apology, realized that he finally recognized the West Phoenix King's true nature.

"Fine!" Ye Liuyun replied and decisively acted.

His first Spiritual Soul Attack targeted the Martial Cultivator who had captured Qu Wanying.

Soon, five fire wolves of the Heavenly Venerable Triple appeared beside him. Though few in number, they were enough to suppress the Martial Cultivators brought by the West Phoenix King.

In less than fifteen minutes, aside from the West Phoenix King, everyone he brought was eliminated.

At this point the West Phoenix King, having used a Divine Soul Contract, summoned all Martial Cultivators of the Tianzun Realm and Earth Sovereign to rush over and rescue him.

Ye Liuyun had guessed he would call for help, so he deliberately did not kill him.

The West Phoenix King then immediately put on a false front: "Brother Qu, what are you doing? I was just joking, no need to take it seriously! See, I had someone capture your daughter but didn't actually harm her, right?"

"Enough chatter! Save your strength and go back!" Ye Liuyun, too lazy to endure his façade, ordered the fire wolves to escort him back.

Not far along, Ye Liuyun's Divine Sense detected a large number of Martial Cultivators of the Tianzun Realm and Earth Sovereign rushing here.

"That West Phoenix King really knows the game, calling all the elites!"

Ye Liuyun felt a secret delight, realizing he could eliminate all these elites in one go.

When they drew near, Ye Liuyun released all the ferocious beasts, surrounding them.

At the same time, Ye Liuyun began using Spiritual Soul Attack on the West Phoenix King, conducting Soul Search for information while absorbing his Divine Soul Power.

Within the battle circle, the Red-spotted Green Snake and Barbarian Bear, being of the highest realm, entered a killing frenzy. Each time they killed someone, they would pack the corpse into a Storage Ring as food reserves.

These beasts, the higher the Martial Cultivator realm they slay, the more food reserves they obtain.

Thus most beasts push toward their own limits, fighting with great vigor.

Originally there were many Tianzun Realm beasts; consequently, the hundreds of Martial Cultivators who arrived were swiftly wiped out, leaving no bodies behind.

However, the Storage Rings and weapons were scattered on the ground, untouched by anyone.

Finally, Ye Liuyun casually tossed the West Phoenix King's corpse to a beast, giving all his storage space to Qujing.

Qujing immediately ordered Wen Chenggang and others to gather the scattered resources.

Then, Ye Liuyun released an Evil Dragon, brandished a Soul Banner, and divided the Yin Soul, ferocious beasts, and Kuailei into four squads, sending each to assault the West Phoenix army from a different direction.

He and the others rushed back to the camp to command.

Upon reaching the camp, Qujing immediately instructed the various armies to fortify their defenses and not to launch hasty attacks.

Having Ye Liuyun's beasts and Yin Souls attack is sufficient; they only need to hold the camp and minimize casualties.

During this time, Ye Liuyun relayed the West Phoenix King's territorial defense layout and other information to Qujing, preparing him to take over.

After learning the defense layout, Qujing felt a bit troubled.

"The defense is thorough, but for us it still lacks Tianzun Realm strongmen to guard against the opponent's elite raids!"

Ye Liuyun offered a suggestion: "I think the West Phoenix King's approach is worth considering."

Thus Ye Liuyun also told Qujing about the West Phoenix King's recruitment of Martial Cultivators.

Qujing immediately decided that once the fighting here ends, he will send people to handle it right away.

At this moment, the West Phoenix territory is filled with wailing cries.

Deprived of high-level Martial Cultivator protection, the West Phoenix King's four hundred thousand troops cannot withstand the onslaught of Ye Liuyun's Yin Souls and beasts.

Hearing the cries everywhere, Qujing felt a pang of remorse.

"You still need people for future mining, right? How about leaving some soldiers as miners?" Qujing suggested.

"I don't need miners to extract the Mineral Vein!" Ye Liuyun replied outright.

He understood Qujing's intention was to spare more lives.

But Qujing cannot afford to keep those soldiers. If released, they would not only pose security risks to the defense here, but also cause trouble for nearby civilians after leaving.

Therefore Ye Liuyun must eliminate them here, leaving no lingering threat.

Seeing Ye Liuyun refuse, Qujing urged him: "You said the Foreign Tribe was a threat and that the Xie family must be eradicated. Yet look—more people are dying because of you now!"

Ye Liuyun glanced at Qujing and retorted, "Can you afford to support these people? If you release them, can you guarantee they won't leak the defense layout? Can you guarantee they won't harm ordinary civilians after leaving?"

Qujing actually knew these issues deep down; he just felt uneasy about them.