What replaced the pain was a firm resolve, as if a new goal and belief had been born in his heart. His face grew peaceful, no longer letting out agonizing screams. Bathed in divine light and heavenly sounds, his entire soul was cleansed, his bloodline refined. All the evil qi within him seemed to vanish completely in that moment, purified away. At this moment, this Yellow Turban warrior was truly a member of the human race.
Moreover, deep in his soul was now etched an indelible mark of loyalty — to humanity, to the Great Yi Dynasty, and to Yi Tianxing himself.
"Purification, transformation. Washing the soul, dispelling all evil, removing the demonic power from their bloodline, stripping away their killing frenzy and destructive thoughts, turning enemies into allies. This Wu Xie Heavenly Sound Treasure Tree does little to others, but in my hands it unleashes a peerless power. Among the Eternal Night's ragtag army, many are actually human warriors. If I can suppress and capture all of them, sending them into the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Tower, the Great Yi will gain countless elite and loyal soldiers."
Yi Tianxing watched as the murderous intent in the Yellow Turban warrior's eyes completely disappeared, replaced instead by unwavering loyalty — to himself and to humanity. It was as if the original Yellow Turban was a corrupted demon, but under the influence of the Wu Xie Heavenly Sound Treasure Tree, he had been purified and transformed. It was a rebirth.
This was now a genuine human being, no longer a puppet soldier of the Eternal Night, but an elite warrior of humanity.
During the transformation, loyalty was directly engraved into their souls.
Without a doubt, these were the most loyal soldiers to Yi Tianxing, even to the point of being willing to die at his command without hesitation or doubt.
On the battlefield of gods and demons, the only thing abundant were the infinite numbers of Eternal Night's ragtag troops — like mountains, like seas. As long as they could be captured and sent into this tower space, they could all be purified and transformed into our own. Given enough time, tens of thousands, even millions or tens of millions of elite soldiers could be harvested in the shortest time.
This would be an enormous boon for the Great Yi to hold its ground on the battlefield of gods and demons.
"This matter must be kept as secret as possible. At the very least, no other races can easily find out. Even if they know I can purify and transform Eternal Night's ragtag troops, they must never learn how. This is an absolutely overwhelming trump card on the battlefield."
Yi Tianxing made this decision firmly in his heart.
The best approach was secrecy. Even if purification and transformation were possible, not all purified soldiers should be released at once. Instead, release them in small groups, integrating them into Luori City as soldiers who have defected from the battlefield — kindred human brothers.
Especially since the Wu Xie Heavenly Sound Treasure Tree was just tested openly and had failed to completely erase the Eternal Night puppet's qi, suspicion would be less likely to arise.
"Brother Yuan, I wonder if the human puppet soldiers swallowed by your wooden horse can all be handed over to me. Of course, not for free. You like delicacies; I can exchange one box of military rations for one Eternal Night puppet soldier. How does that sound?"
Yi Tianxing spoke to Yuan Gang.
"Use the delicacies we just ate to trade?" Yuan Gang's eyes lit up immediately. Those Eternal Night soldiers seemed like useless scraps to him. Since the wooden horse swallowed them without any effort, now being able to exchange them for delicacies made him excited. His appetite stirred again.
"Deal. One delicacy for one human puppet soldier."
Yuan Gang found no reason to refuse and quickly agreed without hesitation.
He patted the wooden horse and shouted loudly, "Baoma, quickly, spit out all the human puppet soldiers inside you. As many as you have. If you dare refuse, don't blame me for beating you!"
He raised his fists threateningly.
The wooden horse's ruby-like eyes showed anger but it still opened its mouth, continuously spitting out human soldiers.
Most were Yellow Turban warriors, but there were others too. No matter what, they were humans — or at least appeared completely human — so Yi Tianxing treated them as humans.
More than fifty thousand human puppet soldiers appeared in the city lord's mansion.
After their appearance, Yi Tianxing immediately used a spatial gate to send them inside the tower space. Although the spatial gate was a bit redundant, it was to ensure secrecy.
In an instant, over fifty thousand Eternal Night human puppet soldiers appeared inside the newly created tower space.
In the void, the mysterious heavenly sound rang out again.
Brilliant white light shone like sunlight, quickly covering every inch. The human puppet soldiers emitted piercing screams, as if demons were being engulfed by a fatal nemesis. Black qi dissipated with the screams — these black qI were extraordinary.
After purification, they turned into a mysterious power that merged into the tower space itself, causing it to naturally expand outward. Though the expansion was slow and limited, it was undeniable. It seemed the refined Eternal Night evil qi could nourish the tower space's growth.
This subtle change did not escape Yi Tianxing's notice — this was his life treasure, and no change could avoid his sensing.
"Interesting. I didn't expect such a benefit from the purification process."
Yi Tianxing smiled secretly. It was a win-win situation.
This tower space purifying tens of thousands of Eternal Night soldiers at once naturally took longer and consumed more resources than purifying a single one. Without activating his own true essence, the Wu Xie Heavenly Sound Treasure Tree alone would take even longer.
He took out a batch of military rations and, after Yuan Gang stored them, smiled and said, "Brother Yuan, do you have a place to stay? If not, you can temporarily settle in my Luori City. Of course, if you want to leave anytime, feel free. Luori City does not restrict friends' comings and goings."
"No need. I came to this battlefield to see the world and find worthy opponents to fight. This battlefield attracts powerful warriors from all races of the Eternal Continent. How could I not meet them in person?"
Yuan Gang shook his head firmly. He had no plans to stop roaming. His goal was to travel, fight strong opponents, and enjoy the thrill of battle. Also, traveling helped him collect treasures.
"Alright then. I won't force you to stay, but you can freely explore Luori City for a while."
Yi Tianxing smiled and nodded.
Whether Yuan Gang stayed or left didn't matter much to him. Staying was good, but not necessary.
After a short while, Yang Ye waited for Yuan Gang to leave the city lord's mansion to head to the military camp — apparently to spar.
However, Jia Xu stayed behind.
"My lord, do you really have a way to purify these Eternal puppets?"
Jia Xu looked at Yi Tianxing and asked.
"Yes. The Wu Xie Heavenly Sound Treasure Tree's power was not fully unleashed earlier. At full power, it can purify the Eternal Night puppet soldiers. Once purified, their bloodlines become truly human and they will no longer be controlled by killing or destruction desires."
Yi Tianxing nodded. It was no surprise he could discern this.
"Are you certain there will be no hidden dangers after purification?"
Jia Xu's eyes brightened and his tone grew serious as he asked.
"Of course. There will be absolutely no risks."
Yi Tianxing was confident.
Even the souls had been purified and imprinted with loyalty. If problems still occurred, then it would be beyond human control.
"Your Majesty, your ability to purify Eternal Night soldiers must not be leaked lightly. Once revealed, we will become targets of many. Whether from Eternal Night or the myriad races of the Eternal Heavens, they will move against us — either to co-opt or to destroy. Also, the purified soldiers cannot be released all at once; maintain a certain number in Luori City, replacing fallen troops gradually. Their entry should be disguised as soldiers defecting from the battlefield to avoid suspicion."
"Other soldiers can remain in Your Majesty's treasure domain, training and growing stronger daily. At crucial moments, they will be a surprise ace, a secret weapon."
Jia Xu's eyes glittered.
Being able to continuously replenish soldiers on the battlefield — soldiers completely loyal to Great Yi — was a battle-changing advantage. Other races would likely lose troops over time, but knowing Yi Tianxing could endlessly turn enemies into allies would surely make Great Yi the prime target of every other race.