Chapter 456: Knocking on the Door

Ye Liuyun's speed was actually very fast; in a few breaths he caught up with the Martial Cultivator and first annihilated one of his souls.

But the Martial Cultivator had also cultivated a second soul. So he also severed an arm to survive, ignored that soul, and kept fleeing.

Ye Liuyun then dared not pull both of his souls in at once, fearing he was outmatched. So he could only carefully extinguish them one by one, which gave the Martial Cultivator another chance to escape.

A late-stage Heavenly Gang Realm strongman can cover ten thousand li in an instant. Ye Liuyun annihilated one of his souls in just two breaths, but the Martial Cultivator had already fled far away.

If Ye Liuyun didn't have the ability to slip into the void and traverse, he could never have caught up.

When Ye Liuyun caught up with him a second time, a massive pressure suddenly descended.

He had no time to think further, pulling the man's soul into his own soul domain without damaging the man's physical body, neglecting to retrieve his Storage Ring, and slipped straight into the void to flee.

Fortunately he moved quickly. As soon as he vanished into the void, two black specks on the horizon rushed over and arrived here in the blink of an eye.

Both of these men were Heavenly Gang Eighth Layer strongmen; after learning that Jing Wudi had also brought people, they hurried over, but still arrived a step too late.

Earlier they had seen from afar that the one who killed the Heavenly Gang Seventh Layer strongman was a Golden Pupil youth, whose realm was only shown as Heavenly Gang Second Layer. From the Martial Cultivator's death, it was clear his soul had been annihilated.

"Boom—" With a sudden punch into the air, a Martial Cultivator tore a huge hole in the void, yet it failed to force Ye Liuyun out.

They also hadn't expected Ye Liuyun's void‑slipping ability to be so strong. In fact, Ye Liuyun hadn't moved at all; he was hidden in the fourth layer of the void.

The strongman's punch earlier only shattered the third layer of space. Being in the fourth layer, Ye Liuyun merely felt a slight tremor and was unaffected.

"Probably ran far. That youth must be a Soul Cultivator, not very strong!" one of them said.

"Right, let's split up and chase separately, don't let him get away," the other added.

Immediately, the two kept a certain distance, casting a net‑like search for Ye Liuyun's whereabouts. As Heavenly Gang Eighth Layer Martial Cultivators, their Divine Sense detection range and flight speed far exceeded Ye Liuyun's, so soon they had scoured tens of thousands of li.

Ye Liuyun glanced at them and felt he still couldn't be sure of taking down either one.

"Better drop it! Let's return to Iron Eagle Sect first," he thought, slipping through the void and hurrying back to Iron Eagle Sect.

When he arrived at Iron Eagle Sect, Jing Wudi hadn't returned yet.

Upon appearing, he instantly sent a Transmission Voice to Jing Wudi, informing him that two Heavenly Gang Eighth Layer strongmen were pursuing from behind, and also telling him that he had safely returned to Iron Eagle Sect.

"Activate the protective sect formation."

After receiving the news, Jing Wudi immediately ordered the headquarters garrison to open the protective sect formation, lest those two Heavenly Gang Eighth Layer strongmen come knocking.

At the same time, they all boarded Flying Boats and raced back to Iron Eagle Sect at full speed.

The few Elders beside him, even the weakest at Tian Gang Liu Chong level, sprinted at full speed, faster than the Flying Boats.

When they had just returned to Iron Eagle Sect, the opposing two Heavenly Gang Eighth Layer strongmen also chased over.

At first Ye Liuyun wondered whether Jing Wudi was being overly cautious—how could two Heavenly Gang Eighth Layer strongmen dare to knock on the door? Yet they really did come. It seemed Jing Wudi's foresight was indeed accurate.

"All personnel are forbidden to engage in battle!" Jing Wudi ordered.

Across Iron Eagle Sect, only he was at Heavenly Gang Eighth Layer. He could at most handle one enemy; the other alone could slaughter most of them, so they adopted a defensive stance. With the formation as defense, the two dared not attack rashly. Both sides remained at a stalemate.

"Jing Wudi, hand over that Golden Pupil kid, and we'll settle peacefully!" one Martial Cultivator said to Jing Wudi through the defensive formation.

Jing Wudi burst into a hearty laugh: "If you have the skill, come in! Iron Eagle Sect has never handed over its own brothers before!"

Jing Wudi actually hoped they would strike. As long as the formation could hold one of them, he would have a chance to duel the other.

At this moment, Ye Liuyun was also assessing the odds of eliminating the opponents. Though the chances were slim, if he used the Mourning Bell, he should at least be able to stall one. He worried, however, that the Mourning Bell couldn't shield the opponent.

Then he recalled that the Nine‑Nether Demon had once given him a Magic Vine seed and a set of Hunting Demon Armor and a bow.

He immediately returned to his Cultivation Room and tried it inside the Xuan Kong Shi. He still couldn't draw the bow, so he gave up.

Then he took out the Magic Vine seed again and began studying its usage.

Not long after, he returned to Jing Wudi's side.

Jing Wudi was negotiating with that man: "Night Wind, we're old acquaintances, speak plainly. This matter was clearly provoked by you. You first wiped out our branch, we're just retaliating. So, can't handle the game?"

The middle‑aged man he called Night Wind retorted angrily: "Retaliate? Your retaliation is too ruthless. Not only did you wipe out more than ten of our branches, you also eliminated our two Heavenly Gang Seventh Layer and ten Tian Gang Liu Chong masters. If you don't give us an explanation for this debt, it won't end. I wonder how long your formation can hold. When its energy is exhausted, that will be the downfall of your Iron Eagle Sect."

"Ha ha, sounds nice. With just the two of you, you think you can destroy my Iron Eagle Sect? Your sect master probably wouldn't dare utter such grand words!" Jing Wudi laughed unabashedly.

"Hmph! We've long heard that the Iron Eagle Sect leader hasn't attended sect affairs for years, and we don't know if he's dead or alive. The two of us are over‑confident, yet we want to test it with our own lives."

Night Wind, seeing Jing Wudi's indifferent attitude, also made a probing remark.

"Fine! Then you just wait!" Jing Wudi shrugged, then ordered everyone to withdraw and rest, no need to linger here.

At this moment, Ye Liuyun used his Divine Sense to send a Transmission Voice to Jing Wudi, discussing how to deal with the two.

In truth, Jing Wudi was also extremely anxious. He and Ye Liuyun both knew the sect leader's condition—he couldn't fight at all. Moreover, activating the formation consumed massive energy; once depleted, Iron Eagle Sect would be in danger.

The crux is that if the sect leader doesn't fight, other sects and families will realize the Iron Eagle Sect leader is absent, making future attacks on Iron Eagle Sect even more unrestrained.

Even if the Golden Peng Royal Family learned of this, they might come knocking directly.

Many major sects and families refrain from acting because they are wary of the long‑absent elder sect master.