Chapter 324: One Hand Covers the Sky

"Heh, I already told you—you've underestimated my resolve to kill you. No matter what you say, you must die!"

Ye Liuyun remained unmoved, and his attacks grew ever fiercer. The Nether Ghost Fire was now scorching Huo Yunfei's Soul.

Huo Yunfei forced himself to stay calm. "Can't you imagine—if your information were leaked, what would your situation become?"

"I bet you haven't told anyone! People like you are too calm! Your confidence is what keeps you from sharing the juicy bits with others!" Ye Liuyun gave a faint smile.

He wasn't really gambling; he simply understood the greed of these Martial Cultivators too well.

Someone like Huo Yunfei plainly assumes he's already secured his target, which is why he approaches so calmly. And a person so confident would never share what he has with anyone else.

From then on, whatever Huo Yunfei said, he could not escape the fate of having his Soul absorbed.

Moreover, before Ye Liuyun completely absorbed his Soul, he also scanned his memories.

His guess was correct—Huo Yunfei truly hadn't told anyone. He had originally come to Wanbaoge to purchase a Crystal Core, but after visiting several Wanbaoge locations, he found the Crystal Cores all being shipped here. So he lingered outside Wanbaoge, waiting. Only when he saw the recently bustling Ye Liuyun did he confirm he was the buyer.

Thus, he suspected Ye Liuyun was also a member of the North Domain Alliance, which explained his interest in buying Crystal Cores. As an Elder of the North Domain Alliance, he could consult the Alliance's member list. In that list, he indeed found Ye Liuyun's information.

He had calculated every possibility, assuming Ye Liuyun would surely fall into his trap. Even if negotiations failed, he was protected inside Water Moon Tower, and Ye Liuyun dared not act against him.

Unexpectedly, he truly underestimated Ye Liuyun's resolve to kill him and failed to investigate Ye Liuyun's connection to Water Moon Tower, ultimately sealing his own death!

Ye Liuyun summoned the proprietor of Water Moon Tower and ordered her to deal with Huo Yunfei. He claimed the other party made the first move, so it was self‑defense. After all, the person is dead, leaving no evidence. Moreover, that person had actively approached Ye Liuyun's group and even broke into their private room.

Even if the proprietor discovered Ye Liuyun had acted first, she could not do anything to him. So she simply followed Ye Liuyun's instruction and had the corpse disposed of.

Ye Liuyun led the group back to rest for a night, and at dawn the next day left Water Moon Tower, using a Teleportation Array Disc to return directly to the North Domain Alliance.

When Jin Lei finally tracked down Ye Liuyun's whereabouts and rushed to Water Moon Tower with his men, Ye Liuyun had already left.

The whole group was depressed to death, spun around by Ye Liuyun's tricks, not seeing a single silhouette. Now they've lost him again and have no idea where to look.

For several days they received no word from Ye Liuyun, as if he had vanished into thin air.

At this moment, the Jin Family was being targeted jointly by the other three great families, who sought to squeeze the Jin Family out of the Four Great Families and seize all its assets. The Jin Family suddenly needed manpower. With no other choice, they recalled these few people back to the Jin Family, to wait until Ye Liuyun reappeared.

Ye Liuyun's party was far from calm. He and Lin Feier had just returned to the Alliance when they were spotted. Within the Alliance, many people lie in wait for those who return from hunting Corpse Demons to snatch their Crystal Cores.

Ye Liuyun's group was no exception; before they could reach their own mountain peak, a crowd surrounded them.

These people ranged in cultivation from Nascent Core First Layer to Seventh Layer. Leading them was a tall man with a full beard covering his cheeks, wielding a great axe, his voice like a bull.

He said to Ye Liuyun, "Kid, we are members of the Severed Heaven Pavilion. Anyone who goes out to hunt Corpse Demons must surrender ten Crystal Cores to us upon return. Refuse, and we'll turn you into waste and hand you over to Kuailei for disposal."

"Severed Heaven Pavilion? How come I've never heard of it before?" Ye Liuyun frowned, thinking to himself, "Why does every place have factions forming to bully people! Looks like my desire for quiet cultivation is impossible!"

The bearded man proudly introduced, "Our pavilion master of the Severed Heaven Pavilion is the peak master of the highest mountain, Liu Tianfeng. Moreover, of the first fifty peaks, more than half are our members."

Then the bearded man cast a lecherous glance at Lin Feier.

"Kid, if you want to join our Severed Heaven Pavilion, I could be your sponsor, but…"

Ye Liuyun couldn't help but snort at that point.

Lin Feier, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, immediately spat, "Disgusting!"

The bearded man's face darkened instantly, his eyes bulging like copper bells, and he threatened viciously, "Are the two of you looking for death?"

A pretty boy beside him immediately added, "Don't you dare be ungrateful! Offend the Severed Heaven Pavilion, and you'll never survive in the Alliance again!"

"I won't associate with trash!" Ye Liuyun said calmly.

"Kid, since you give us a face but take no face, I'll ruin you and let you see with your own eyes how your woman is being toyed with by us!" The bearded man sneered, raised his great axe, and charged at Ye Liuyun.

"Just because of that, you're dead today!"

Ye Liuyun also erupted in anger! "The Alliance still has this kind of trash—do they select members only by cultivation level and ignore character?"

At that thought, Ye Liuyun unleashed a Thunder Fire Domain, pulling the bearded man's Soul into it.

"Eradicate them all, leave none!" he ordered the Hell Mingshe.

Only then did these people feel fear, but no matter how they begged for mercy, Ye Liuyun gave them no reprieve.

After devouring their Souls, Ye Liuyun collected their essence blood one by one and took their Storage Rings.

Then he and Lin Feier went to a Grand Hall to exchange cultivation resources.

After securing the exchanged resources, Lin Feier furrowed her brows and suggested to Ye Liuyun, "Should we leave the Alliance?"

"Are you afraid they'll come trouble us?" Ye Liuyun asked.

Lin Feier replied anxiously, "Yes! The Severed Heaven Pavilion is too powerful; we should lay low for now. I don't want you to always have to stand up for me."

Ye Liuyun laughed, "Even without you, I'd still not let those people go! If you feel guilty, think of nothing else—just cultivate. When you gain strength, you can repay my favor!"

Seeing Ye Liuyun's relaxed, confident demeanor, Lin Feier's mood brightened instantly.

"Alright! Then I'll still need you to protect me!"

"With pleasure!"

The two exchanged smiles and returned together to their dwelling.

But before they could reach their mountain peak, over a dozen people blocked their way.

Ye Liuyun's Golden Pupil glanced at them, then joked to Lin Feier, "Looks like they don't want us to go back; they want us to move to a higher peak!"

Lin Feier immediately understood—the newcomers' cultivation must be higher.

"Alas!"

Lin Feier sighed, lamenting that she couldn't aid Ye Liuyun and could only rely on him to shield her. She never imagined that as the top young prodigy of the Divine Sword Palace, she would be stuck in the North Domain Alliance!