Cao Yun's words were echoing into dark, empty corridors. Like a faraway whisper, they could be overheard in the Temple of Supreme Wisdom. The temple itself was the manifestation of Dian Mo. As a spirit, he didn't have a corporeal body. Although he could take several shapes, he oftentimes took the one most familiar to him, the temple in which he had been both prisoner and warden for so many millenniums. But another voice was also thundering through those same corridors. Dian Mo could distinctly hear the voice of his former master, Demon God Da Mo. And he was cowering in fear.
Within the young man's voice was worry. But he wasn't worried about just himself. In his tone, it was clear that he was also afraid for Dian Mo. After all, Dian Mo had almost died when Demon King Mo Wang had attacked Cao Yun's soul. Of course, Cao Yun was worried that he had retained some injuries.
Dian Mo was trying as hard as he could to focus on Cao Yun's voice, but Da Mo's thunderous roar was deafening although he was the only one who could hear it. It was only in Dian Mo's mind, nowhere else. Even Cao Yun couldn't hear this voice. But he could feel Dian Mo's terror.
Anyway, since he was alone, Cao Yun began to try and isolate every ounce of Da Mo's presence within his own body. Thankfully, the Drop of Wrath was protecting his sea of consciousness. Even Da Mo couldn't do much against it. In fact, Cao Yun was probably the one person on the entire Piaolu planet who could resist against Demon God Da Mo's soul attack. At the very least, since Da Mo was so far away, this level of killing intent wasn't enough to kill Cao Yun. But, if he had been facing Demon God Da Mo, his Drop of Wrath could endure but not his Soul Embryo. Cao Yun's sea of consciousness might be annihilated and only his Drop of Wrath would survive, this was the most likely outcome considering Da Mo's current soul strength.
Using all the knowledge of seals Cao Yun had garnered, including from Dian Mo himself, Cao Yun was trying to subdue every trace of Da Mo within him. Ironically, now that the blood essence had been scattered, it was much harder to get rid of it. As long as it was one drop within Cao Yun's heart, kept in check by the Drop of Wrath, there was no problem. But now that it had spread throughout Cao Yun's body, it would take weeks if not months. First of all, Cao Yun had to find it and use seals to contain it. In time, he would be able to reform the drop itself. He might even be able to fully consume Da Mo's soul and absorb his blood essence, especially with his current cultivation. The main problem was always the same, time.
Cao Yun's first move was the most logical one. He circulated his full 'Ashen Feather Seal'. Huang Liyue's technique had helped him so much, and was still going to help him. Instantly, the pressure around him lessened. Indeed, the Empyrean Asura could send his killing intent thanks to the connection he had kept with his own blood essence. But through Cao Yun's 'Ashen Feather Seal', the young man could not only conceal his soul but also isolate himself from the outside world. Qi manifested ashes spread throughout his soul and his flesh. Everything seemed to completely disappear from the world. Even the Empyrean Asura had a hard time sensing the existence of his own blood essence.
No matter how powerful the Empyrean Asura was, or Demon God Da Mo's soul was, he couldn't send his killing intent toward Cao Yun's spot. Of course, he now knew where the young man was thanks to his connection to his own blood essence. But even he couldn't extend his soul that far. That being said, he had already sent the Silver Wolf Marshal on a killing mission.
In the Saint Citadel Sidi, in the Asura Hell Hall, the Empyrean Asura was still standing, fully naked in that dark room. He was looking into the distance with a slight smile when his face changed. He frowned a bit and a flash of surprise lit his face.
"Fangzhi Hunpo?"
As his blood essence had spread throughout Cao Yun's body, he had felt the presence of the Weaver of Souls within the boy. However, he couldn't be sure of what it meant. He was wondering whether his former friend was alive or not. Fangzhi Hunpo, also known as the Weaver of Souls, had been a great ally of Demon God Da Mo when they had subjugated the Piaolu planet. He had even helped him in the Campaign Against the Celestial Blight. But in the end, his former friend had turned against him, moved by the fates of those pathetic humans.
Fangzhi Hunpo's work on the soul had made him too weak. So now, Demon God Da Mo made sure that no one was investigating the soul too much, instead he had decided to focus on Death Energy. No one became too compassionate by studying that, that was for sure. Unfortunately, he had just lost his best searcher on the matter, Yu Xiangling. And he had no time to focus on it either. Fortunately, she had produced a few Supplicant Tyrants. Even if they couldn't replicate the process that easily, they still had enough to use in battle. That was a shame, but Demon God Da Mo could already see his success on the horizon.
Now that Fangzhi Hunpo was back into the equation, Demon God Da Mo became a bit perplex though. He had killed him himself. They had almost destroyed the Desolate Sepulcher during their fight. In a way, they had created the Desolate Sepulcher through their fight. Ultimately, Fangzhi Hunpo had been slain. Demon God Da Mo was certain that he had completely eradicated his Demon Soul. Maybe some blood had remained, but it shouldn't have been enough for him to come back. Besides, if Fangzhi Hunpo had stayed on the Piaolu planet, he should have dissipated long ago. Maybe, he had had the same idea as Demon God Da Mo.
No, he couldn't have gone there. Emperor Nuwa had destroyed every path to those worlds. Even Demon God Da Mo had succeeded in retreating there by pure chance. It was unthinkable that Fangzhi Hunpo had succeeded. It was possible that someone had cultivated his blood... Many thoughts were going through Demon God Da Mo. But one thing was certain, he had to kill that man for good.
Suddenly, the entire room lit up. Candles and oil lamps made it as bright as day. On the ground, on the walls and on the ceiling, one could see vast seals and runes. The entire room was an array formation, or rather a network of array formations, seals and blood runes. Indeed, some paintings could be seen here and there. All of them had been painted with blood mixed in to form complex blood runes.
All around the naked body of Empyrean Asura, clothes appeared. He had a white loincloth around his thin waist adorned with many pieces of golden jewelry, and small chains. On his legs and forearms, he was wearing metallic bands with extremely complex patterns. Finally, a wide collar was decorating his neck and naked chest.
Now that he was wearing some clothes, he called for his Holy Cardinal. In the Empyrean Asura Theocracy, there were three great temples, each with its own holy cardinal. Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng was dead in the Yanbei Region. But the main temple of the Empyrean Asura Theocracy was obviously in the Saint Citadel Sidi. Thus, there was a holy cardinal, directly under Empyrean Asura's rule.
This Holy Cardinal was also a woman. But she was much older than Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng. That being said, she was just as breathtaking. Unlike the aggressive beauty of Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng, Holy Cardinal Feng Gaoxu was extremely elegant and dignified. In her every movement, one could see finesse and subtlety. As a matter of fact, although she was just as devout and fanatical as Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng, she didn't have any of her deviance. Indeed, Holy Cardinal Feng Gaoxu was sometimes even referred to as the Holy Maiden, for good reason. Honestly, the Empyrean Asura preferred her soothing presence and this was why she had been chosen for the Saint Citadel Sidi while Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng had been appointed to the farther Yanbei Region. That being said, the Empyrean Asura didn't care much about what they could do to other demons, heretics or not.
"Venerable Lord, you have called for my humble presence?"
"Yes, I have. We'll have to speed things up a little. The Staircase to Hell must be ready before the end of the year."
According to their calendar, that meant that they had around three hundred days to complete the task. Building this Staircase to Hell had already taken them most of the war. In fact, since their first attempt to create a portal directly into the Imperial City, they had started working on this project. So it had already taken them more than ten years. And they were nowhere near the end of the project either. But if the Empyrean Asura spoke, they had to obey. The Holy Maiden didn't even try to speak up. Instead, she simply bowed respectfully.
"If my Lord wishes, we shall make."
"Good. Don't worry about resources, of any kind. All those who die for the glory of the Heavenly Demon God will be rewarded. Their blood will join his divine blood and prosper throughout the ages. Dying in service of his exalted goals is the greatest honor for those faithful. Refusing to die for him is an act of heresy and should be punished as such."
"Yes, my Lord. His will be done."
-
In Cao Yun's cave, Dian Mo suddenly felt at ease. Demon God Da Mo's killing intent had mostly disappeared. Although he could still hear his former master's voice thundering around himself, a heavy burden had been taken off of Dian Mo. Finally, he could speak again and he directly addressed Cao Yun.
"Boy, I... I'm sorry... I couldn't... I... I'm just a coward. Even feeling his presence made me that weak..."
"Dian Mo, you saved my life enough so you can't call yourself a coward. That's my fault. I should have dealt with his blood essence beforehand. I honestly didn't think it could go through the defenses of the Drop of Wrath. But don't you worry about that, I'll deal with..."
"No! Stop! You don't have enough time! Now, he knows exactly where you are. Even if you've used your stealth art and blocked the connection between his blood essence and himself, he knows where you are. Most likely, powerful demons, or maybe himself, are coming here right now. You have to leave."
"You're right. I'll go to another..."
"No! You can't remain in the demon territory. We can't know for sure if he can still sense your presence. He might be able to somewhat figure out your general position. If he finds you, this is over. There's nothing you can do. But if you get to the Hongchen Kingdom, you'll be safe. Emperor Nuwa's array formation should be enough to completely block the connection. After all, if the array formations weren't strong enough, he would have attacked and destroyed the humans for good. Until now, he's only ever sent other demons, not himself. No one on this planet can vanquish him so it just proves to you how formidable the defenses of Emperor Nuwa and Saint Duan Huang are. They didn't just rely on the Seven Treaties of Saint Xun Ke."
Everything Dian Mo was saying made sense. But Cao Yun noticed something. Dian Mo seemed unable to utter the name of Demon God Da Mo. Until now, he had used it openly. But now, he couldn't even use the name of the Empyrean Asura. As much as Dian Mo tried to keep his voice composed, the young man could hear the irrational fear beneath it. In fact, it might not have been irrational at all. Against Demon God Da Mo, they clearly couldn't win. But they could use Emperor Nuwa's array formations to protect themselves.
"You're right. I'll digest my breakthrough later."
Indeed, Cao Yun wanted to work on what he had learned about the Dao of Death. But now wasn't the time.
"Good decision. If you use your full cultivation and Hongyu, you should be able to reach the Hongchen Kingdom within a month or six weeks tops. You should still use your stealth to conceal yourself and prevent his killing intent from reaching you, so it will probably make the travel longer. Let's say two to three months. We don't have even a minute to lose. Let's go right away."
Cao Yun didn't argue. After feeling the powerful killing intent of Demon God Da Mo, he also agreed that if he were to face the Empyrean Asura, he would have no other fate than death. However, that also changed things. If the Empyrean Asura was someone they could deal with, taking out Emperor Weide was not much of a problem. But now, Cao Yun was certain that no one could take care of the Empyrean Asura. Even the revolts he had started would be crushed in blood. The only reason why they had not been eradicated was because of the current war and that the Empyrean Asura was supposedly busy with something else. As a matter of fact, this didn't bore well for the future. Even though Cao Yun didn't know what this something else was, it couldn't be good for humans.
As much as Cao Yun hated and despised Emperor Weide, he couldn't condemn his entire kingdom or his entire people. Getting rid of a 9th-grade Spirit Warrior would probably be a mistake at this point. But he couldn't let him kill his sister either...
Once again, the young man had to deal with a complex situation. And once again, it was because he was too weak. If he could simply suppress Demon God Da Mo's soul, he wouldn't even need to worry about him and he could topple the Empyrean Asura Theocracy, considering how hated it was from within.
Anyway, now was not the time to think about all that. After all, he had no idea about the current political situation of the Hongchen Kingdom. So Cao Yun left the cave after taking everything in it within his spatial ring. And he called for Hongyu.