Chapter 3580: Underestimating the Enemy

Li Qianjiao gradually realized that Ye Liuyun truly wasn't the lecherous type; no matter what kind of woman he faced, his gaze was clear and without a hint of lust.

She even felt that Ye Liuyun was somewhat blunt in matters of affection, completely unable to read a woman's thoughts.

"How does he find so many women?" Li Qianjiao had also asked Tang Xinyao privately.

"A man like him doesn't even need to look for women; they can't even refuse him!" Tang Xinyao sighed.

Li Qianjiao remained noncommittal. She didn't fully understand Ye Liuyun's strength and character yet. Her current standpoint was still considering matters from the perspective of the family mission.

Ye Liuyun's fight was unsurprising: the Demon Cultivators inside the Formation were eliminated one after another, and those outside were killed by Lei Ming's Demon Beasts. Ye Liuyun gave the resources directly to the Demon Beasts as their cultivation fuel. If they were to fight, they needed extra incentives.

The two Demon Cultivators he had subjugated were kept for Xu Rong to manage later. The demon captured by Lei Ming, named Duanmu Xin, was a legitimate scion of the Duanmu family and held a high status within that clan.

Once released, he negotiated terms with Ye Liuyun: "Our Duanmu family can provide a large amount of resources to ransom me back. You are only after profit; there's no need to kill the chicken to get the egg." He likely already had a plan prepared.

Ye Liuyun thought it over and first placed a Slave Seal on Duanmu Xin to verify authenticity, then had Duanmu Xin use his Transmission Talisman to contact his family and demand the ransom.

When Ye Liuyun spoke, he demanded five hundred units of Primordial Power and forbade any bargaining.

"I'll give you a deadline: if we don't receive your family's ransom before we return to the Royal City, I'll cut off your head!" Ye Liuyun threatened Duanmu Tongdao directly.

Under the control of Ye Liuyun's Slave Seal, Duanmu Xin dared not object and immediately reported the truth to his family.

"Are you really going to let him go back? These demons aren't simple; releasing him could cause endless trouble!" Li Qianjiao warned Ye Liuyun from the side.

"That's even better; we were worried about lacking opponents!" Ye Liuyun was unfazed.

He had already learned through Soul Search that the Duanmu family is one of the top Demon clans, but since this is Human Race territory, they couldn't launch a massive assault.

What Ye Liuyun wanted was not only to collect resources but also to find a strong opponent for himself, lest these people become too idle.

Yet the other side promptly replied to Ye Liuyun, confirming that before they reached the Royal Mansion, they would definitely gather the ransom.

"That's really refreshing! Is your position in your family that important?" Ye Liuyun suddenly felt a bit slighted.

"It is very important; I'm responsible for infiltrating the northern market. But five hundred units of Primordial Power is not a small amount," Duanmu Xin said rather calmly.

Ye Liuyun looked at him and suddenly felt he had underestimated him; if Duanmu Xin were released, he might become a formidable rival later.

Nevertheless, he didn't change his mind. He thought that since he could capture Duanmu Xin once, he could do it again.

Ye Liuyun and his group immediately stopped delaying and returned to the city to rendezvous with the other Mercenaries.

As for the situation in the Secret Realm, Ye Liuyun was too lazy to investigate. He now held a hostage worth five hundred units of Primordial Power, so there was no need to waste more time, lest long nights bring many dreams.

He guessed the Duanmu family might not abandon the rescue and could send interceptors midway. So he ordered Lei Ming to keep Duanmu Xin secured and hidden, and instructed the others on the way back to stay on high alert.

Xu Rong and the Mercenary team immediately followed Ye Liuyun's orders, abandoning their current missions and returning en masse.

Ye Liuyun had the Metal Puppet and Xu Rong pilot the Flying Boat; he stayed aboard with a woman, released his Divine Sense, and monitored the outside.

As expected, the Duanmu Hall never gave up along the way, continuously sending assassins to ambush and Martial Cultivators to intercept. Their attacks were all aimed at Ye Liuyun.

So the cultivators weren't necessarily high-level, just more concealed. One assassin specialized in invisibility, at the Seventh Layer, and was taken down by Li Qianjiao.

On the road they also fought a large detachment of intercepting Martial Cultivators, and Ye Liuyun's side won again. However, those Demon Cultivators were controlled by others, making the battle extremely chaotic.

Over ten Mercenaries on Ye Liuyun's side were killed. Fortunately, Ye Liuyun had captured a few Demon Cultivators of Seventh/Eighth Level Realm as reinforcements, preventing the Mercenary group's strength from waning.

He placed Slave Seals on those captives, erasing the control marks from their minds so the Duanmu Hall could no longer dominate them.

Later, perhaps the Duanmu Hall realized some of the Martial Cultivators they controlled had lost contact, so they stopped sending people and, before Ye Liuyun entered the Royal City, handed over all the Primordial Power they had promised him.

Ye Liuyun kept his promise and released Duanmu Xin on the spot, even removing the Slave Seal immediately to prevent them from studying how to break it.

Once Duanmu Xin's Slave Seal was lifted and control ceased, his gaze turned instantly venomous toward Ye Liuyun.

"Ha ha, Duanmu Xin, I'm always ready for your revenge; just don't disappoint me!"

Ye Liuyun deliberately provoked Duanmu Xin with a remark.

Duanmu Xin wore a grim face, said nothing, and left with the people who came to ransom him.

The more he acted that way, the clearer it became to Ye Liuyun that the fellow harbored a grudge and would surely seek revenge.

So Ye Liuyun was in high spirits, waiting for the Duanmu Hall to strike again.

"Xu Rong, take your men to complete the task; everyone else return to cultivate and prepare for a bigger mission."

Ye Liuyun still hadn't gone to see Song Qing directly. He thought that even if Song Qing saw him now, he wouldn't pay much attention, so it was better to wait until Song Qing wanted to meet him.

This time the Royal Mansion wasted no words; after confirming the target, they paid the bounty outright. Ye Liuyun's group gained a lot, and the resources needed for the Golden Egg were no longer lacking.

After returning to his residence, Ye Liuyun began to hurry using the Golden Egg to advance his cultivation. The Golden Egg had already been fed to ninety percent of its size; if Ye Liuyun didn't consume it soon, it would stop absorbing energy.

He cultivated with the Golden Egg; its energy was purer than his Divine Core, allowing rapid advancement, soon bringing him to the late stage of the Fourth Layer of Taixu.

Seeing that only twenty percent of the energy had been used, Ye Liuyun simply continued to use the remaining energy to solidify his state, keeping his cultivation stable just before the critical point between the late Fourth Layer and the Fourth Layer peak.

He also transferred some of the leftover energy to his Soul; after the Golden Egg had consumed fifty percent of its energy, he paused again.

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