Ye Liuyun could tell from Guan Shanyue’s words that the East was a different world from the West and the South.

Yet, he was not taken aback by the power of the East.

He was still going to the East, and taking the army with him. Even if it was just to bring them to the border and gather more resources, and pick out stronger individuals for training, they would all belong to his team.

Ye Liuyun made full preparations for his journey to the east.

He brought along Lin Luoyi and Lin Xiyao in case there would be a need for elixirs. He also had Lin Luoyi reserve various materials.

Although Xuanyuan Ling didn’t want them to go, there was no way she could stop Ye Liuyun, she had to reluctantly let them go eventually.

He checked everyone’s weapons and defensive treasures, then made a shopping list.

Xuanyuan Ling would handle the ones she could, whereas the rest were assigned to Guan Shanyue to get them from the Trade Hall of the foreign race battlefield, and then deliver them to Ye Liuyun.

Especially the two 8th-level flying vessels, Ye Liuyun kept one for himself and the other for his clone as an essential for travel and escape.

Ye Liuyun also sent the Concealcape to the Trade Hall for an upgrade.

When everything was ready, Ye Liuyun set off for the eastern border with the Blade Legion and Helian Xiu’s army.

Yu Xiaofeng and Xiao Yunfang, on the other hand, took a temporary rest to train the soldiers and expand the reserve army.

Wherever the Dark Legion went, almost no one dared to resist, they obediently submitted, surrendering their military power.

Ye Liuyun and his army advanced along without obstructions and arrived at the eastern border in 3 months.

The eastern border had an army of three hundred thousand. The moment the leader saw the Dark Legion, he immediately surrendered his military power to allow Ye Liuyun full command, being very cooperative.

Even a fragmented force map of the border battlefield was taken out to explain the situation here to Ye Liuyun.

Once overlapped with the map that Prince Liang gave to Ye Liuyun, the information became even more abundant.

However, after looking at it, Ye Liuyun was somewhat troubled.

On this map, besides some minor forces like bandits under the pressure of several major powers, there was a buffer zone near the border as a temporary safe haven for the martial practitioners from the mortal realm. Nothing else could be targeted.

And this was only the information known to the border commander. There was probably even more that he didn’t know.

"You’ve been stationing here for so long, have you sent out any troops?"

"Yes! But we only sent undercovered scouts out to gather information. We never dared to send out more than that. I’m afraid that if our soldiers go to the buffer zone, we would suffer a loss of more than half of them!"

"Have there ever been powerful forces assaulting the camp?"

"Yes, but it’s rare. Sometimes they don’t even come once a year. There’s no need for those powerful people to rob us, they despise our very little resources!"

After understanding the situation, Ye Liuyun asked the Dark Legion to camp at another location, a spot not far from the original military base but not mixed with it.

Then, he led Ye Tiandao and He Lianxiu, and took the Blade Legion into the spatial world. He sent his clone to scout the situation on the border battlefield in a Concealcape.

No matter what others said, he had to see it for himself to be sure.

The border battlefield here, even in the buffer zone, is indeed different from other places, with no dead bodies scattered everywhere.

The martial practitioners they encountered were also not dressed in rags.

The ones in the buffer zone ranged from first to third levels.

Ye Liuyun and Ye Tiandao both demonstrated the cultivation level of the early fifth layer, while Helian Xiu’s cultivation had already reached the late fourth level.

Wu Qingcheng and the other people and demons all had their levels advanced to late third level with the nourishment of the spiritual ginseng’s tear. They could be considered to be among the most powerful here in this buffer zone.

In addition, having cultivated so diligently over the past three months, they were all itching for some action.

Consequently, Ye Liuyun and the others did not feel particularly threatened.

As they went along, many approached them, asking if they would join various factions, but Ye Liuyun rejected them all.

One day, as Ye Liuyun, Ye Tiandao, and Helian Xiu were taking a break and grilling some meat, another three martial practitioners - one male and two females - approached them and tried to make conversation.

The man politely bowed to Ye Liuyun, "I am the deputy chief of Tiger Mercenary, Cao Meng. Are you all from the South?"

Ye Liuyun knew that these mercenary groups were just clusters of martial practitioners getting paid to do jobs for others, not much different from bandit gangs. They just adopted a better name.

With Cao Meng politeness, he decided to reciprocate, "I’m Ye Liuyun. Can I help you with something? Also, how did you figure out we came from the South?"

Cao Meng felt no hostility from Ye Liuyun and started to chat with him.

"The levels of martial practitioners from the mortal realm are generally not as high as yours. And since you haven’t joined any factions, it’s clear that you aren’t from the East or the border battlefield here."

Ye Liuyun invited them all to sit down and offered them some barbecue.

"We’ve received numerous invitations to join different factions throughout our journey. However, by nature, I don’t really enjoy being restrained by others, and have no plans to join any faction."

"Actually, I am here to invite you to join the Tiger Mercenary," Cao Meng was straightforward. "The moment you set foot on this battlefield, you attracted the attention of many factions."

"Oh? They’re interested in us?" Ye Liuyun immediately perked up. He hadn’t noticed anyone bearing ill-will towards them.

"Don’t get me wrong!" Cao Meng hurriedly explained, "We don’t mean any harm, we just want you to join us! The martial practitioners from the South often have little to offer. Nobody would want trouble either since you’re so highly trained!"

"Oh!" Ye Liuyun nodded. No wonder he didn’t detect any danger.

"The situation in the East is different from the South. The forces here are very complicated, and it’s difficult for one person to survive alone. Martial practitioners need resources, but everyone you see here have people behind their backs, who could you possibly rob?

Even if their backers themselves are not strong, there are even more powerful forces behind them. Acting recklessly could cost you your life."

"I understand what Captain Cao is saying, but if we don’t have to rob to get more resources! We could find our own!"

Cao Meng sighed, "The Eastern region indeed has abundant resources, but they’ve been monopolised by major powers, there’s no way you could get your hands on them!

Once you leave the buffer zone, your cultivation level won’t give you an edge anymore. In the end, if you want to obtain resources, you still need to find a backer who would provide you with them."

"Why can’t I just find a big power to back me up when the time comes?"