Hong Yin's body was now devoid of any will or soul. Everything had collapsed and been consumed by Cao Yun. Then, his body fell on the ground and a massive killing intent spread throughout the room. A powerful surge of Evil Qi emanated from the corpse as his Po could not do its work properly, Hong Yin's death was brutal and most of his emotions corrupted his Qi. For almost anyone, being in this room would be torture. Even Cao Yun's spiritual senses could endure it for a very long time. Besides, he knew that he didn't have to wait too long either.
Indeed, soon, Hong Yin's Evil Qi attacked the array formations all around the sealed room. Obviously, it raised some alarm. In no time, several priests came to open the training room. As soon as the door opened, Cao Yun's spiritual senses felt their connection with Cao Yun's body again. Cao Yun didn't wait at all. His spiritual senses left the room whose walls were full of Void Nurtured Platinum. Without that obstacle, Cao Yun felt as though he had reconnected with a part of his soul. And in a sense, he had. Although the Void Nurtured Platinum had not cut them off completely, it had almost achieved that result.
Until now Cao Yun had only a vague understanding of what his spiritual senses had discovered. It was as though it had been a semi-lucid dream. But suddenly, his mind was much clearer on what had happened. His main target was thus Yu Xiangling. Unfortunately, Hong Yin knew where she was spending most if not all of her time. Yu Xiangling was obsessed with her work and always remained in her laboratory unless Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng called for her. And obviously, this was the most well-protected area of the entire Temple of Grace and Submission. After all, one of Yu Xiangling's roles was to replenish the Burning Blood of the Heavenly Demon God.
Even Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng wasn't protected so well. So getting to Yu Xiangling without physically entering the Temple of Grace and Submission was simply impossible. At the same time, after learning that a woman with so much importance and expertise was there, Cao Yun couldn't go away. He had to get to her and all her secrets. With Dian Mo as support, he was confident he could destroy any seal in her soul and get all her memories out. Then, he would know almost everything the Empyrean Asura Theocracy knew about seals, array formations and Death Energy. He might finally get a chance of perfecting his 'Death Verses'. Although he had made some progress, his understanding of 'Soul Chains' was still limited. And it could be incredibly useful for the last stage of the Accomplished Demon realm. Considering that he was getting closer and close to it, such an opportunity couldn't be ignored.
"So, boy, what did you find?"
Cao Yun didn't respond to Dian Mo's question. Instead, he let him see through his own memories.
"Interesting... This Burning Blood... There's no doubt about it..."
"It's from Demon God Da Mo."
Dian Mo wasn't surprised that Cao Yun had been able to deduce that. But he was surprised that such blood existed. It was much purer than the blood of the Weaver of Souls used by the Sisters of the Abyss.
"But it doesn't come from essence blood. I'm sure of it. However, it feels... I don't know... I can't be sure..."
"It feels fresh! As if Demon God Da Mo had given it recently."
Of course, the notion of 'recently' for a Reborn Demon could mean decades or even centuries considering that they could live for two millenniums, just like Spirit Warrior. As a matter of fact, the fourth and fifth cultivation realms didn't bring any increase in lifespan, neither for demons nor for humans. But, all eighteen stages combined, they could take almost a millennium to be completed for an average to mediocre cultivator. In other words, if one couldn't break through to the 1st-grade Sage or 1st-grade Exalted Demon before they were 1,000 years old, they probably would never reach the sixth realm, the Immortal realm for humans and Immortal Demon for asura. One wasn't a true immortal at this stage but their lifespan would increase until they formed an Immortal Body that could live for tens of thousands of years.
Those two realms were extremely complex though as one would need to study the Dao and refine their inner world. The ways of humans and demons became even more different from there.
Dian Mo and Cao Yun didn't talk about the subject any longer. If Cao Yun could get to the pool of Burning Blood in the Temple of Grace and Submission, he could get more information. But for now, they would only be speculating. But both of them had the same idea. What if Demon God Da Mo is still alive?
This wasn't the only answer though. After all, another body had been grown for Demon God Da Mo under the Devil's Jail. So maybe the Empyrean Asura Theocracy had found some secret. Or they might have gotten access to the strange realm where Demon God Da Mo and the Weaver of Souls kept going to. Obviously, Cao Yun was also very interested in that. But from the Weaver of Souls' memories, every known access to this realm had been found. Emperor Nuwa had vowed to close them all. But maybe they had failed to find one, she had decided not to close them all, or some had gotten open again for some reason. Instead of speculating on all of that, Cao Yun and Dian mo focused on how to sneak into the Temple of Grace and Submission.
"Boy, with what this geezer knew, I think you could enter the Temple of Grace and Submission without being discovered by the array formation. But unless we completely understand it, it could still trap you inside. Getting out isn't impossible, but it could take years. By that time, the Empyrean Asura Theocracy will have sent experts or even the Empyrean Asura himself. Then, you're dead even if you're able to exit the temple. Besides, this Yu Xiangling is extremely important to the theocracy. Attacking her is a declaration of war against the Empyrean Asura."
"It seems like the war has already been declared."
"I mean... The entire theocracy will want to skin you alive and drink your blood, boy."
"Precisely! They'll stretch their forces to find me. And this will help me get back into the Hongchen Kingdom. Besides, with the intelligence I'll have gathered, I'll be able to become much more useful to the kingdom. In itself, it will give me an edge against Emperor Weide. By making myself more and more indispensable, getting rid of Emperor Weide will be easier. My strength is still not quite there yet, so I'll have to rely on my brains instead."
Although Cao Yun was a 7th-grade Accomplished Demon, he was still only a 5th-grade Spirit Warrior. Since he couldn't exhibit his demon cultivation in the Hongchen Kingdom, he would be considered as a middle Spirit Warrior. Even if he was a very powerful middle Spirit Warrior, he still wasn't part of the most powerful cultivators of the kingdom. That being said, his master was one of the only three 9th-grade Spirit Warrior and he had some relationship with the Huang family who had birthed another one of those 9th-grade Spirit Warriors. Moreover, he also had a deep connection with the best alchemists and array formation masters of the continent. Cao Yun's position really wasn't weak to begin with.
"Boy, we should still examine the array formation for some time before making any rash decision, right?"
"I do agree. But in a couple days, I'll get inside. I'm confident that I didn't leave any trace behind me, but I can't be sure. If Yu Xiangling examines Hong Yin's body, she might be able to guess that something was off. Since they're already on high alert, we shouldn't leave them even more time to prepare themselves. They've called reinforcements from the Saint Citadel Sidi. I have to get to Yu Xiangling before this reinforcement arrives. Hong Yin wasn't sure, but it's possible that the Silver Wolf Marshal, Marshal Shanyin Guan, could come in person. If he's on par with Silver Wolf General Long Cheng, I really don't want to be there when he arrives."
Silver Wolf General Long Cheng was the Governor of the Sunmen province, and the father of Long Jian and Long Huafang. Both of his children were geniuses. And from everything Cao Yun knew about this man, he was even better than the two of them combined. Above all else, his expertise was war. He was a 7th-grade Spirit Warrior, but on the battlefield, he was almost a living god. There were many legends about his achievements against the demons over the years. That man was probably the most important soldier in the entire Hongchen Kingdom army.
Apparently, his counterpart Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan was not inferior in any capacity. In fact, the Empyrean Asura Theocracy was forced to negotiate with him while they conquered every other kingdom by force. Despite their fanaticism, they even allowed Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan not to fully convert to the Heavenly Demon God Faith and to keep protecting religious minorities in his Langyin Region. This fact alone was a testament to his strength and importance. Of course, killing him would turn the tides of the war, but even Cao Yun wasn't confident about that at the moment. He would have to use all of his strength to fight Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan, but that would leave him vulnerable to anyone else. Fighting this man in the middle of Holy Hongxue City would most likely be suicide.
-
In the Temple of Grace and Submission, Hong Yin's death was indeed considered suspicious. But after investigating, Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng herself concluded that this moron had died by his own inadequacy. That old man had always been hard-working yes, but he had also always been lacking. His brain wasn't that good to begin with. But even Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng didn't think that he would be this stupid and inept. Anyway, it gave her some pleasure. Indeed, this Hong Yin was one of the only priests whom Yu Xiangling appreciated. She also thought that the old man was rather stupid, but she liked his persistence. Just like her, he could drown himself in work and persist through it.
Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng needed to vent her recent frustration. Having this Yu Xiangling in her own temple who could disregard her orders whenever she wanted felt terrible. In fact, she had gone through many servants and slaves just to appease herself. Even Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng thought that she was being excessive. At the very least, she could try to keep them alive to enjoy them longer. She regretted some of the men she had killed as she had not found better toys yet...
Usually, Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng despised going to Yu Xiangling and preferred to have her called to her chambers. But this time, she went there with a sadistic smile and trepidation. This smile turned sour when she realized that the doors were closed. She had to ask permission to enter. The two guards on each side of the door were absolutely terrified and livid. But they had to obey Yu Xiangling's orders, even if they would be severely punished by Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng. To avoid that, they had to hope that Yu Xiangling would keep protecting them. As long as she employed them, they were safe.
In the end, Yu Xiangling let Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng enter. But her tone was dismissive and rude.
"What do you want? I don't produce any aphrodisiac here, so there's no reason for you to come. But I could suggest some beasts that might be able to satiate your appetites."
Yu Xiangling's first words were so insulting that Ling Weisheng almost lost it. Thankfully, she controlled herself or she would have flayed the disheveled woman alive on the spot. Until now, Yu Xiangling had never shown such contempt. However, being disturbed in her work, in her own laboratory, felt like a violation. She truly hated it and wanted this stupid Ling Weisheng out of there as fast as possible.
"I just came to give you some disturbing news. Hong Yin died while cultivating. Qi deviation."
"Qi deviation?!"
Yu Xiangling paused for only an instant.
"You're the one who examined the body?"
Seeing that Yu Xiangling was clearly affected, Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng decided that her time had been well spent. She could stomach those insults if she could hurt this insufferable woman.
"Indeed. Inner demons completely destroyed his soul. His very sea of consciousness collapsed. And most of his Qi turned into Evil Qi. It took us several hours just to be able to get inside the training room."
Yu Xiangling sighed deeply while shaking her head. Obviously, Ling Weisheng took that as a sign of her pain. But she was terribly mistaken.
"And you thought this was a mere Qi deviation?! How could someone that incompetent be a Holy Cardinal?! I do feel for our Empyrean Asura... I personally crafted the seals within Hong Yin's Burning Blood. There's no way inner demons could destroy him. Besides, he was lacking in talent but not completely useless like some people I can think of. This wasn't an error in his cultivation. We're under attack, you imbecile!"
"If we were, our array formations would have detected it already. I won't have you spread your fear-mongering among my priests. You're just upset that your little pet died by his own stupidity!"
For the very first time, Yu Xiangling took her eyes off the documents on her table.
"Listen to me, you pompous cretin! I'm in charge of those array formations and I tell you that we're under attack."
Since Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng would not listen to reason, Yu Xiangling took something out of her stained robe.