Chapter 3290: Great Strength

Ye Liuyun smiled gently at Cui Daoran and said, "After this period of refining, the bandit aura on you has vanished. If you keep refining, I'm afraid you'll grind away even your bloodiness."

"After you reach the Taixu realm, remember to cultivate martial ways; you must still have bloodiness, but don't extinguish your humanity. You're clever and capable, and I trust you'll be able to discern on your own in the future!"

Cui Daoran replied excitedly, "Yes. Thank you, Master, for your trust. Rest assured, after following you for so long, I now know what should be done and what should not be done!"

"Hmm!" Ye Liuyun approved, patting his shoulder to comfort him.

"Focus on your cultivation! I expect you'll reach the Taixu realm first. Later, if you encounter familiar people there, look after them if you can!"

They all nodded in agreement, excitedly returning to the Space World of their avatars to accelerate their cultivation.

Ye Liuyun also specifically instructed the two Magic Flood Dragons, "I don't know when you'll be able to become dragons; cultivate first, at least improving True Essence Quality isn't a bad thing.

Ideally you become dragons in this world, so I can still shield you from thunder tribulations. Of course, if you first breakthrough to the Taixu realm, you needn't force control; perhaps there you'll also find your opportunity."

"If you show signs of becoming dragons or of a breakthrough, tell me; I'll protect you then and lend a helping hand!"

"Thank you, Master!" Both of them expressed deep gratitude to Ye Liuyun.

Since taking them in, Ye Liuyun has not withheld resources, even letting them transform into monsters; when real danger arose, he never sent them to die, so they are sincerely devoted to Ye Liuyun.

Now Ye Liuyun not only offers them the chance to breakthrough to the Taixu realm but also protects them, so their gratitude deepens.

These individuals are all at the Ninth Layer Summit; Ye Liuyun let them breakthrough first because he understands their character better. Even if they cannot reach the Taixu realm after breakthrough, he isn't worried they'll turn against him.

Other Ninth Realm strongmen will wait to see the situation after these people breakthrough. They currently don't know what a breakthrough entails, and Ye Liuyun dares not let too many people breakthrough to that realm together.

Around Ye Liuyun, only Magic Vine and Shi Yuan presently have a greater chance of breakthrough.

Magic Vine has lately been compressing True Essence. Shi Yuan, relying on the stone's origin, has advanced to Return to One Nine Layers Late Stage, but lacking any memory of technique inheritance in his bloodline, he directly switched to cultivating the Taixu Qi Refinement Manual to condense True Essence Quality.

Qiong Qi, using the gathered Fire Flame Power, finally raised his realm to Return to One Seventh Layer, and for now cannot advance further.

Ye Liuyun has completely absorbed the yin‑yang fire powers in his fire gourd. He directly absorbs the Golden Crow Holy Fire, strengthening his Golden Crow Fire Spirit, while the mysterious dark green fire still requires absorption and conversion by Nether Ghost Fire.

However, these two fire powers are now so overwhelming that he finds no opponent and dares not release them lightly.

In the end he could only test a Fourth‑Stage Void‑level Golden Dragon Kuailei in the empty Xingkong, discovering that the Kuailei wouldn't even charge into the fire sea he released, so he stopped testing. He assumes it can handle opponents at Fourth‑Stage Void level.

With two more powerful forces added, Ye Liuyun feels even more confident protecting himself and those around him.

Since resources of the various armies in the Space World were nearly exhausted, he released all the armies, allocated their strengths, and split them into four routes to continue exploring forward.

He took Luo Yu, Tang Xinyao, and the Tang family disciples, separating from the armies to explore the Xingkong alone.

Ye Liuyun's cultivation after splitting his avatar divides his time equally between refining Divine Core and practicing blade intent, Heaven and Earth Power, and Spatial Power.

He bolsters the strength of Soul, bloodline, and Physical Body by absorbing Dragon Soul and Dragon Body and using Pure Blood Pearl for gradual improvement.

However, after reaching Return to One Ninth Realm, Ye Liuyun spent the next six months refining Divine Core, absorbing many True Dragon Essence Pills, yet did not advance another minor realm.

His Divine Core quality, however, increased considerably. Relying solely on Divine Core now, he would not be at a disadvantage fighting Return to One Ninth Layer Summit strongmen.

Thus, six months after leaving the Huo Yin Star System, his realm remained unchanged, but his strength surged dramatically; any combat technique he draws can contend with Martial Cultivators at Return to One Ninth Layer Summit.

Moreover, as long as he releases Monster Beasts (and the women), his chances to intervene are few; with these people growing stronger, they can handle many dangers themselves.

Luo Yu's Demon Wolf also rarely appears in battle, focusing on cultivation, condensing True Essence, and preparing to breakthrough to the Taixu realm.

Lei Ming and Long Nv, after a period of refining, also broke through to Return to One Eighth Layer. The other Monster Beasts, though not yet at Return to One Eighth Layer, are also advancing quickly.

Ye Liuyun again supplied them with Dragon Soul and Dragon Body, bolstering their Soul and Physical Body. Now they can face Martial Cultivators at Return to One Ninth Layer Summit without great danger.

Demon Lion, Little Blue Ice, and Red Training—three Monster Beasts—lack confidence in their bloodline inheritance and have preemptively switched to the Taixu Qi Refinement Manual. The Nine‑Headed Demon Dragon and Qiong Qi will wait a bit longer; the other Monster Beasts are confident in their bloodline inheritance.

In battle, the Monster Beasts handle Martial Cultivators at Return to One Late Stage, the women face those at Return to One Mid Stage, and the Tang family disciples confront those at Return to One Early Stage—a well‑balanced allocation.

Ye Liuyun resorts to blade intent combat only when faced with large numbers. Usually, while racing through the Xingkong, he releases his Soul, soul‑wandering the Taixu, which both refines Soul, monitors the surroundings, and cultivates Heaven and Earth Power, sensing the various forces in the Xingkong.

He combines his Primordial Spirit Secret Technique with soul‑wandering the Taixu, allowing him to detect various energy elements in the air. Consequently, he uncovered some special‑attribute forces—certain fire and ice energies—and lets those in need gather them.

Relying on Spatial Power, Ye Liuyun has reached places the Fire Seal Dynasty's armies have never visited. He continues to rush at full speed, eager to explore further.

The Fire Seal Dynasty's armies previously fought in star systems of modest strength; he aims to find stronger star systems for them to spar in. The stronger the star system, the easier they can locate high‑end cultivation resources.

His armies are the same: Return to One Late Stage strongmen also require high‑end resources. The weaker star systems they now encounter are only suitable for the Death Legion's realm.

Most soldiers of the Death Legion have already reached Return to One Third and Fourth Layers, and Ye Liuyun estimates they will soon need even higher‑end resources.