Chapter 3363

Yu Xiaofeng also put away most of the black-armored soldiers, then had the puppets stow away some important equipment as well, preparing to withdraw or launch an attack at any time.

Their actions made it impossible for the demons to determine their intentions, so they did not dare act rashly either. Even after the demonic army had completely landed on the planet opposite them, there was still no sign that it intended to attack.

Qi Sang had suffered damage to his spirit and soul as soon as he arrived, which dealt a major blow to the demons’ morale. At the very least, they now knew that the opposing side also had quite a few powerful experts, so they acted with considerable caution.

Moreover, the soul essence Ye Liuyun had refined this time with the Soul Refining Cauldron had incorporated three dragon souls, making it considerably more powerful than his previous spirit and soul.

As soon as the new soul essence emerged, Ye Liuyun drew it into his sea of consciousness and wrapped it in the soul essence he had already fused, accelerating the assimilation process.

Afterward, Ye Tiandao refined another soul essence as well. In order to keep up with Ye Liuyun, she had truly given it her all. Understanding her intentions, Ye Liuyun helped infuse it with elemental power, strengthening the defenses of her spirit and soul.

After Ye Tiandao finished refining the soul essence, Ye Liuyun no longer handed the Soul Refining Cauldron to anyone else. Instead, he gave it to his two avatars and had them use it to devour spirit-and-soul power bit by bit.

Each avatar’s sea of consciousness currently contained only a single strand of his previous spirit and soul. They could not devour too much at once and could only proceed little by little.

Ye Liuyun’s sea of consciousness, meanwhile, now contained three fully refined soul essences, with another still being refined. His spirit-and-soul power was at its peak.

His spiritual sense had already spread across the surrounding planets, monitoring every movement nearby, while his Golden Eyes also helped investigate the demonic army’s situation.

After the demonic army had waited for several days, the backlash Qi Sang had suffered no longer affected him. Seeing that nothing was happening on Ye Liuyun’s side, the demons finally could not hold back and launched an attack. The two-million-strong demonic army did not split up, but advanced toward them as one.

"Break camp and withdraw! Puppets, prepare to intercept with the firepower chariots!" Yu Xiaofeng immediately decided to retreat. He also told Ye Liuyun to take ten thousand female soldiers and cover the rear after the puppets withdrew.

The female soldiers rode Azure Wind Wolves. They were not only fast but also possessed Spatial Force, allowing them to strike and withdraw without worrying about being trapped by the demons.

Yu Xiaofeng released a small warship and had ten thousand puppets form up in front of the camp, with the firepower chariots positioned among them. The black-armored soldiers were responsible for putting away all the remaining tents.

By the time the demonic army landed, Ye Xiaofeng had already boarded the warship with the black-armored soldiers, while the puppet soldiers immediately launched a fierce assault, using the firepower chariots to bombard the warships that had landed first.

The demons’ warships were all of low grade and were quickly blasted apart by the firepower chariots, tumbling from the sky one after another. Three of them were blown to pieces, and nearly all the soldiers inside were killed or wounded.

However, they were merely small warships sent to scout ahead, so the demons’ losses were not particularly great.

By then, demonic soldiers had already emerged from the other large warships and formed ranks.

Waiting behind the puppet soldiers was boring for Ye Liuyun and the others, so he attacked a minor commander of the demonic vanguard with sorcery while using his Crimson Eyes to try casting an illusion on him from a distance.

At the same time, he joined the battle with his saber, taking the opportunity to hone his sword intention. With nothing but pure sword intention, he cleaved several demonic warships in two and killed quite a few demonic soldiers as well.

The minor demonic commander was attacked for no apparent reason and then fell under Ye Liuyun’s illusion. Wielding the spear in his hand, he stabbed at the demons around him, throwing that squad of demonic soldiers into complete chaos.

"The soul essence really is much stronger than my previous spirit and soul. It can make the illusion take effect even from this far away!"

Ye Liuyun was very pleased with the result. He immediately cast his Crimson Eyes’ illusions on two other minor commanders as well, causing them to kill their own kind.

However, his illusions were soon seen through by a powerful demon. Although its spirit-and-soul power was inferior to Qi Sang’s, it used its spiritual sense to play the Nine Nether Prelude, restoring all the demons affected by the illusions to normal.

As for the commander who had fallen under the illusion and been attacked by sorcery, the demonic energy in his body was exhausted, and his Origin Core was dissolved by the power of Buddhist light. He was completely crippled and collapsed to the ground.

The demonic soldiers from the vanguard who had disembarked from the warships also began charging the puppets, drawing the fire of the firepower chariots.

At first, however, the attacks consisted only of small hundred-man squads of demons. Two or three firepower chariots working together could easily wipe them out.

Soon afterward, though, the demons began launching large-scale charges with assembled ten-thousand-man formations.

"Fight while retreating!" Yu Xiaofeng ordered both the firepower chariots and the puppets to withdraw while fighting. The puppets also brought out powerful crossbows, working with the firepower chariots to block the demonic soldiers’ advance.

The demonic army had also made thorough preparations for dealing with the firepower chariots, gathering numerous shields to hold up in front. The firepower chariots were simply too powerful, however. Even those carrying shields were blasted into the air, though the casualties had already been greatly reduced.

They did not dare commit their entire army at once either, since they still had to guard against ambushes by powerful experts and enemy forces. Thus, they maintained formations with armies in the front, center, and rear, advancing steadily.

Ye Liuyun’s firepower chariots and puppets continued retreating, relying on energy cannons and powerful crossbows to keep the demonic army from closing in.

The demons organized charges by several ten-thousand-man formations, but none had any effect. They even sent a squad of powerful soldiers to kill Ye Liuyun.

However, even those powerful demons that managed to approach Ye Liuyun were no match for the Demon-Slaying Saber. He cut them down one by one.

Some powerful demons also approached and attacked the firepower chariots, but the chariots’ defenses left them helpless. When they tried to kill the puppets, they discovered that, enhanced by their armor and weapons, the puppets were actually no weaker than they were. Several puppets working together could even kill them in return.

Other powerful demons released their spirits and souls and charged into Ye Liuyun’s sea of consciousness, but none ever returned.

Thus, after charging for half a day, the demons had lost tens of thousands of soldiers without even killing a single puppet, though they had consumed a considerable amount of energy from the firepower chariots.

Seeing that the stalemate was causing excessive casualties, the demonic commander sent two groups of one hundred thousand soldiers to outflank them from both wings after Qi Sang confirmed that there were indeed no ambushes on either side.

When Ye Liuyun saw that they had finally begun mounting a proper attack, he released the Nine-Headed Demonic Dragon and the Vermilion Bird. One breathed fire while the other spewed poisonous smoke, temporarily holding back the charge of the demonic soldiers. Ye Liuyun then stored the puppets and firepower chariots in his spatial world, mounted the Nine-Headed Demonic Dragon, and withdrew.

Yu Xiaofeng’s warship also began accelerating toward the planet behind them.

The demons could not understand why they had withdrawn before the battle had even officially begun. They therefore sent only a few ten-thousand-man formations to pursue them symbolically. Ye Liuyun suddenly released the female soldiers, who rode Azure Wind Wolves and swiftly killed all the pursuing demonic soldiers.

The Demon-Sealing Stele also emerged to help. After draining those soldiers dry, Ye Liuyun immediately stored it away again.