“Mm, I’ve been thinking the same,” Ye Liuyun said. “But I figure the war chariots alone should be enough. Unleashing an army of ancient demons would be way too flashy.”

“Still, we’d better get ready—just in case,” Xiao Yunfang added.

Ye Liuyun nodded, then immediately had Tiger-Head Beast King rally all his half-beasts for battle.

“After this fight, this place will probably be a sea of blood,” he sighed.

He was about to send Dragon Girl out to intimidate the merfolk—avoiding battle if possible—but the moment she appeared, brandishing her war-halberd and sending a towering wave crashing toward them, Ye Liuyun caught the glint of raw greed in the merfolk chieftain’s eyes.

No hesitation: he released three firepower chariots—two underwater, one on the surface—and advanced slowly toward the merfolk army.

Dragon Girl reported back: the enemy hadn’t responded; her intimidation had failed.

“My cultivation is still too low—my power isn’t enough,” she said, frustrated that she couldn’t help Ye Liuyun. She knew a bloodbath awaited the merfolk, yet there was nothing she could do.

Even if they tried to flee now, the merfolk would never let them go.

“No rush. You’ll grow strong enough eventually,” Ye Liuyun comforted her.

The merfolk host moved. They attacked from every angle—above and below the waves.

On the surface alone, nearly ten thousand fins cut the water; underwater, Dragon Girl sensed another twenty thousand. In unison the merfolk shrieked, weapons flashing as they charged. To their chieftain, these few humans were nothing—even with a Unity Eighth-Heaven expert, they’d be worn down.

As for those three big metal spheres—he didn’t recognize them, but surely numbers would swallow any damage they might do.

He realized his mistake within breaths.

The chariots’ six-sided cannons fired in rapid salvos. The surface sphere skimmed the water; its first volley erased twenty percent of the merfolk above. Underwater, the same happened—blasts churned the sea into crimson surf. The entire bay turned red.

Stung, the chieftain screamed new orders: scatter, then swarm the humans.

Ye Liuyun only smiled. He ringed his people with the three chariots; each could fire in every direction. No matter where the merfolk came from, the net of energy bolts held—any stragglers were finished off by the human experts.

They didn’t stop; they kept advancing, driving deeper into the merfolk mass.

The chieftain himself charged—only to be shredded mid-shriek, flesh and scale exploding outward.

Leaderless, the merfolk still refused to retreat. The chariots blazed on all axes; the enemy flooded in from every bearing.

Ye Liuyun had no choice—until the last merfolk died, stopping meant dying. The creatures never learned; they came in waves. Within half an incense-stick, most lay in pieces. Only scattered dozens remained; the cannons switched to single shots, occasional bursts finishing the stubborn.

Corpses bobbed everywhere; the water was pure scarlet.

“Wuuu!”

A jubilant whale-song rolled across the bay. With the chariots still active, the blue whale dared not approach to harvest the merfolk cores.

Deciding enough was enough, Ye Liuyun recalled the three chariots. The surviving merfolk either fled or rushed in one last time—only to be cut down on the spot.Yun then ordered the fiend guards, war-beasts, and bone puppets to scour the battlefield—collect every core they could find. As for the shredded merfolk corpses, if they could eat it, eat it; if they could carry it, carry it; it was all theirs.

The blue whale also cruised the edge of the carnage, scooping up a few cores. Yun couldn’t be bothered to stop it.

When the clean-up was more or less done, he told the whale to lead the way to the merfolk nest.

This time the whale was only too eager—hoping to skim a few more goodies. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The whole party plunged after it into the abyss. Every merfolk they met scattered in panic; no one dared raise a hand against them.

The whale brought them to a colossal palace and began circling it slowly.

“This is their nest,” Long’er sent Yun a silent pulse.

He swept the building with his golden pupils—no guards left; they’d evidently bolted at the first sight of him. Inside he saw several storerooms packed with cultivation resources, pills, weapons, and treasures. Behind the main hall lay a pool whose energy rippled thick enough to taste.

Yun stationed the human experts outside, then stashed the fiend guards, war-beasts, and skeletons in his pocket world.

Once inside, they stripped the place bare. Then they gathered at the pool.

Long’er had shifted to human form. Her obsidian eyes told her at once: the water could strengthen the soul.

Yun sampled a drop. The instant it entered him an icy coolness seeped into his sea of consciousness and began scouring his soul.

“Soul-cleansing water. Split it up—everyone gets a share.”

He divided it on the spot, not stinting a cup, even sending Long’er out to give the blue whale its portion.

The group knew Yun kept a whole harem in his inner world, so they quietly set a generous share aside for him anyway.

When they’d finished, Yun collected the remainder into his pocket world and shared it out. He and his two clones began absorbing it at once, purifying and reinforcing their souls.

The effect was similar to a marrow-washing pill, flushing every impurity from the soul—only far stronger.

Yun’s soul-body shrank another full circle, but its density soared.

Loot was fine, but power was better. This time he walked away happier than any haul of treasures could make him.

With his soul-force now, a late Heaven-Seizing expert wouldn’t be a problem.