After going through the barrier around the Hongchen Kingdom, Cao Yun was still a bit confused. He could still feel this familiar and yet strange presence. Although the sensation had gone, the young man was trying to hold on to it but it was slipping through his fingers. It felt like a very important memory he was trying to remember but the more he tried to focus on it, the more it eluded him. In a way, it was just like cultivation, focusing too hard on a sensation was the best way to get rid of it. Instead, he had to feel it without focusing too much, while still focusing enough. To Cao Yun, it shouldn't be too difficult in theory, especially considering his cultivation and his mind cultivation in particular, but he simply couldn't do it. Most likely, something in the array formations was making it almost impossible.
Behind Cao Yun, the various Accomplished Demons were striking the array formations with all of their strength. A young man had infiltrated their camps and killed one of theirs. It was obvious that he had obtained some important intel. Although the officer he had killed wasn't very high in the chain of command, she knew enough to make it problematic. At the very least, they would have to alter their plans. Moreover, the Silver Wolf Marshal was absent. Now, the humans would learn of it for sure. They would have to call him back as soon as possible.
With each of their strikes, the barrier materialized itself. It was as if space was made of glass. Their strikes cracked the glass but it never broke. Instead, it repaired itself over and over again. No Accomplished Demon was able to go through it. A few of them tried to force their way in, hoping that its strength had diminished. An old woman was even able to put an entire forearm in the barrier. However, it was obvious from her face that she was in a world of pain. At the very last moment, she pulled out her arm and the glass closed on her hand. She lost her whole hand. It was crushed into a red mist. The more powerful and violent the demons were, the stronger the array formations reacted to them.
That being said, Cao Yun was able to see something that eluded most people. The defenses were not uniform. The difference was so small, almost no one could perceive it. But it was there nonetheless. Some places had weaker reactions than others even against slightly stronger attacks. According to Dian Mo, the spirit of those array formations was dormant. Now, Cao Yun was convinced that the defenses could not last very long. They might be able to hold off the demons for a few decades. But if the war kept on going like that, it might not even endure a full century. Without this barrier, and with the Empyrean Asura ruling over all the demons, mankind would eventually be eradicated. This was the final chance for the Hongchen Kingdom to survive...
"Boy!"
Dian Mo's voice suddenly jolted Cao Yun out of his reverie. All around him, Cao Yun felt a powerful killing intent. Thousands of spears appeared out of thin air. As a matter of fact, they were quite literally made of thin air. They all flew toward Cao Yun and Hongyu. As they were avoiding them, the same spears literally appeared where they were. They were forced to dodge the spears coming for them while moving all the time so new spears didn't randomly appear in their organs. Every bit of air could suddenly turn into a weapon. And obviously, they also had air in their bodies.
Obviously, this was an array formation. But Cao Yun and Dian Mo had failed to see through it. Most likely, it was set up in such a way that it was impossible to perceive from the other side of the barrier. While Cao Yun was in it, he couldn't really analyze it, but surely it was a Heaven grade array formation. In fact, it was probably a Seamless array formation. Unfortunately, it wasn't the only one.
Many array formations got triggered in the sky above the Subei Province. Out of nowhere, a powerful gong echoed. Cao Yun and Hongyu were forced to cover their ears as the sound was about to make their eardrums explode. Despite their best efforts and their use of Wei Qi, the sound crept its way into their flesh. The two of them could feel their bones vibrate. Then, it got even worse, Dian Mo himself heard the sound as it was echoing inside Cao Yun's very soul. The pain was unbearable. It was a single note, but it eclipsed everything else. Just to stay conscious, it took all of Cao Yun's willpower. If he simply unsealed his asura cultivation, he could fight it back easily. But he would expose himself.
Indeed, those array formations had clearly been set by the Hongchen Kingdom. Cao Yun was home, but home was very welcoming at the moment. To be fair, he had just flown from the camps of their worst enemies, on the back of a demonic beast with many Accomplished Demons behind him. He could see how people would perceive that. Maybe all the demons had tried to break through the barrier and only one of them had succeeded. In fact, maybe the demons were getting ready to strike back and to support the only one who got through. Anyway, for the Hongchen Kingdom, it was safer to strike first, and maybe ask questions later if their target was still alive at that time.
Now that he was exactly where he wanted to be, Cao Yun couldn't let himself be killed by mistake. This would not even be funny...
"To the ground!"
Since they couldn't fly back with all the Accomplished Demons waiting for them, Cao Yun asked Hongyu to land. They had to stop fighting and resisting. Hopefully Cao Yun could make them listen to reason...
Thus, Hongyu went to the ground. Honestly, she was falling more than anything. Cao Yun himself wasn't sure whether she was listening to his order or if she was simply out cold. Since they had been dodging the air spears, Cao Yun was not on Hongyu's back anymore, they were flying separately. Thankfully, the humans focused their attention on Cao Yun. A demonic beast wasn't that much of a problem, but a potential Accomplished Demon was.
When he reached the ground, Cao Yun found himself surrounded by twelve humans. Two of them were late Mortal Warriors while the ten others were all early Spirit Warriors. Although Cao Yun was stronger than each one individually, as a team they could probably take him down.
"Listen, I'm..."
Before Cao Yun could talk, he was immediately assaulted.
'Trapping the Ten Thousands Desires'!
'Hammer of Pure Bliss'!
'Buddha Cangjing's Infinite Silence'!
'Virtue of the Great Buddha'!
Among the twelve humans, Cao Yun recognized the red and brown kasayas of the Sutra Faith. They were abbots of the Ten Thousand Rivers Monastery, from the Silent Peak.
From above, half of a cymbal fell on Cao Yun. Beyond the physical pressure caused by the wind moved by the cymbal crushing him, Cao Yun felt an intense emotional and spiritual pressure. Just as the cymbal was isolating Cao Yun from the outside world, he felt it vibrate. A celestial hammer had struck the cymbal. Once again, not only was the air vibrating through his entire body, but the sound pierced his soul. Like when he was in the sky, the sound was attacking his soul directly. Then, there was complete silence. His very sea of consciousness had turned completely white. No matter how much he focused, he couldn't perceive anything anymore. His physical senses were confused by the darkness beneath the cymbal, the vibrating air all around him and the absolute silence.
Besides his physical senses, Cao Yun's spiritual senses could not spread beyond the cymbal. At the same time, he couldn't perceive anything through them as his entire sea of consciousness was white.
Finally, a sensation pierced through this silence. Cao Yun felt an intense pressure on his rib cage, as though a giant hand had just grabbed him and was squeezing tighter and tighter. Soon, Cao Yun's body would quite literally pop.
'Weeping Asura'!
Without using his asura cultivation, Cao Yun's mental and soul attacks were weaker. But he could still manifest them. In all this white noise, he caught a glimpse of what he was focusing on.
In his sea of consciousness, a sudden explosion of bright redness occurred in the sky. This was Cao Yun's Heart Star. As it burned redder and redder, it engulfed the white and the Heart Constellation began to manifest itself. In the physical world, the Heart Constellation appeared above the cymbal. All the humans around it were surprised and terrified. Not a single enemy had been able to fight back against this battle formation. This was the 'Pure Silence Severing the Six Golden Roots', one of the strongest, if not the strongest, battle formation of the Ten Thousand Rivers Monastery. Of course, the abbots were not as strong as their masters, but they had incredible cooperation going for them. They had trained and meditated together for hundreds of years by then. Without telepathy, they could still synchronize their techniques perfectly, making them work with one another flawlessly. All that being said, their opponent could still fight back?!
Inside the cymbal, Cao Yun felt the surge of blood throughout his body.
'Dragon's Heart'!
Using his full lungs, Cao Yun suddenly screamed as loudly as he could. One could quite literally hear the scream of a dragon. Azure scales began to appear around him and the wind was getting crazy. A literal storm was brewing under the golden cymbal. Tornadoes appeared and went crashing against the cymbal. Parts of the ground were rising into the air. From the outside, they could see the cymbal moving around, shaking. At the same time, they heard the scream of a terrifying beast. With the Heart Constellation at their center, the other constellations appeared, the Horn Constellation, the Neck Constellation, the Root Constellation and the Room Constellation. Apart from them, the Tail Star and the Winnowing Basket Star also manifested themselves.
From all seven stars, the figure of a large Azure Dragon emerged. it coiled around the cymbal and began to crush it. Everyone could hear the metal being bent. The Azure Dragon outside was screaming as much as Cao Yun.
The four abbots stood their ground but the other human soldiers were afraid. Their enemy was either a middle Accomplished Demon, or even a late Accomplished Demon who had just been slightly weakened by the barrier. This enemy had been able to go through the array formations set by Emperor Nuwa and Saint Duan Huang. He might actually be the Empyrean Asura himself. Many thoughts crossed their minds, but not a single one of them thought about a very simple explanation. Maybe he had not broken through the defenses. Maybe the defenses had simply let him through. Unfortunately, Cao Yun had been immediately attacked and isolated so no one had been able to sense his spiritual senses and his Soul Embryo. At the very least, it would have given them some pause.
Since their battle formation had not worked, the four abbots were ready to give their lives to buy some time. They knew that stronger Spirit Warriors were coming to their aid. Although the soldiers were afraid, they did not run away, they did not break formation. Not a single one of them wanted to die, but they would still stand with their brothers in arms, no matter what. One could read terror in their eyes as they were certain they would die today. But apart from a few steps backward and some shaking, they did not bring shame on their households.
Finally, a powerful creaking sound resounded. The cymbal got crushed so much that it cracked open. Only a small crack appeared, but it was enough for Cao Yun to fly out. He had no intention of fighting but he had to clear up this misunderstanding. For that, he needed to be able to speak. In fact, he intended to use his spiritual senses to make sure they all felt his Soul Embryo and his human cultivation. Even if they thought he was some kind of spy, no demon spy could actually cultivate to the Spirit Warrior realm.
Just as he left the cymbal, Cao Yun suddenly felt an intense pressure on his neck. It was as if someone had put their weapon right on his neck. He could tell that any movement could spell his death. The tip of a spear had been put just before his throat and was even touching his skin. Although there was no any physical spear, he could still see it very vividly. His own Spear Heart reacted. But what was in front of him was above mere Spear Heart, this was true Spear Spirit. Even the Silver Wolf Marshal had not yet formed his Spear Spirit, but a human had.
It took Cao Yun a few moments, but he recognized the pressure. There was no doubt about it.
Walking from a distance, another man had appeared to support the twelve soldiers. When they saw him, they were overjoyed. This was a very tall man with dark skin. His eyes were piercing red. Cao Yun recognized his face despite the ten years that had gone by. After all, apart from a few scars, he had not changed at all. Unfortunately, Cao Yun also recognized his missing left arm. His armor had been tailored with that in mind.
"Commandant Yun Ping!"
The young man was severe and ready to kill at a moment's notice. It was very clear that he had fought many battles and killed many demons. But he had also watched many of his friends and comrades die as well. However, his face suddenly changed. There was doubt and confusion. The soldiers who were overjoyed did not notice it in the slightest. With a timid voice, Yun Ping spoke two words no one heard but one man.
"Chen Guo?"